As Mirage stumbled down the hall, he tried to ignore Victor's ragged breathing. Easier said than done when Victor's head lolled against his shoulder, mouth mere inches from his ear. Every gasp, every wheeze, echoed inside Mirage's head like he had front-row seats to the world's most dreadful concert.
Gritting his teeth, he fought back the panic beginning to claw inside him. It would do him no good. Right now, he had to keep all his focus on his Levia. If he let his attention slip for even a heartbeat, the faintly fluttering rose petals would scatter to the winds.
As it was, he had barely enough left for a single invisibility illusion – and with it he could only mask their appearances, not the noises they made. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, but not nearly as loud as Victor's breaths.
When Victor sagged, his weight dragging to the left, Mirage almost tumbled to the floor. He caught Victor's arm just in time, squeezing the bracer until his fingers went numb, and tugged with all his might to keep Victor upright and leaning against his body.
From this angle, he couldn't see the injury on Victor's side – and perhaps that was for the better. Though Victor had done an admirable job fending off both Sir Azimuth and Sir Equinox, his luck had run out when Azimuth had managed to break through his defenses. Only a timely illusion had saved him from being gutted like a fish.
As fast as he could, Mirage had fled with Victor in tow. Every step of the way he cursed his uselessness – and doubly so when he lost the ability to disguise sound. If he'd been stronger, more capable, he wouldn't have had to force Victor to face two homunculus knights alone. Yes, Mirage had tried to help out by casting illusions, messing with the opponents' perceptions like he'd been practicing, but it hadn't been enough.
Nor had he regimented his usage of Levia as carefully as he ought to have. Now he didn't know if he had enough to cover their escape.
It did not help, of course, that he hadn't the first clue how to escape. It felt like they'd been wandering this maze of hallways for hours. While the knights had yet to catch them and they hadn't run into any further guards, those were small blessings indeed when they were still trapped inside the workshop. Not to mention he could not even begin to figure out where their companions might have wandered off to.
When Victor's Levia stirred inside him, the purple flames faint but distinct, Mirage blinked. Was his wizard trying to tell him something? But if he tried to ask, he knew he would lose control over the already faltering illusion.
Instead, he clenched his teeth and struggled onward. A corner loomed ahead, its blind spot promising both threat and possibility. Mirage made to tug them closer to the wall, so they at least wouldn't be so in the open.
That was when his Levia gave a violent wrench – and just like that, the rose petals swirled away at once. He made a desperate, mindless attempt at grabbing the last stragglers, but it was too late. The illusion shattered, and Mirage staggered forward before sinking to his knees.
Beside him, Victor hit the floor with a deafening crash of armor on marble. The sound seemed to echo for miles, wiping all thought from Mirage's mind and leaving behind only numb terror. And even that fled when the full weight of Victor's body pressed down on his side, crushing the breath from his lungs.
Even so, Mirage made a futile attempt at shoving Victor off of him. When he finally managed to gulp in his some air, he gasped out, "Victor! Victor!"
He tried to keep his voice a whisper – pointless, of course. Everybody and their mother would have heard Victor hitting the floor. When Victor mumbled something incoherent into his shoulder, the panic clawed harder at Mirage's insides.
"Please – " But beneath his racing heartbeat and whistling breaths, he heard a new sound. A subtle scrape, like stone against stone.
And he felt something too, a spark stirring through his Levia.
Barely daring to breathe, Mirage lifted his head.
He blinked. Once, twice. But the insane sight in front of him didn't go away. A section of the wall was sliding open, revealing a rectangle just tall and wide enough for a man to pass through.
What? Am I hallucinating?
When Victor stiffened and breathed in sharply, Mirage had to concede he must be seeing the same thing. Not that it meant things made any more sense.
Was this a secret passageway? Why had it opened now? Had the noise they'd made somehow triggered it?
More importantly, where did it lead?
Was it a trap?
"Mirage...." Though Victor's voice was barely a murmur, it sliced at Mirage's heart like a scalpel. "Let's...go."
Objections still bubbled inside Mirage, but he stuffed them down with all his might. They didn't have time to contemplate their options. If this secret passageway existed, then they might as well use it.
Setting his jaw, forcing strength into his muscles, Mirage staggered to his feet. Though Victor's weight made his entire body ache, he noticed it wasn't quite as overwhelming as before. When Victor took a lurching step forward, Mirage realized he must be trying to move on his own.
Heartened, Mirage helped him stumble over to the opening. Because it was so narrow, he had to push Victor in front of him. It took a bit of maneuvering, but his wizard managed to slip inside. Now behind him, Mirage had a clear view of the ragged gash on his left side, the sickeningly red blood against his black armor.
Nausea swelled in Mirage's throat, but he swallowed it down. Instead, he braced one arm against Victor's waist and the other on his shoulder, helping him stay upright.
The passage was pitch-black and smelled musty, but Mirage was in no position to complain. At least it didn't seem to have any branching paths, so they wouldn't get lost. Then again, he hadn't the faintest idea where it might lead in the first place.
When the sound of scraping stone filled the air again, Mirage jolted in surprise. He could only stare as a new doorway slid open to their right.
Though Victor turned toward it, Mirage hesitated. After all, this passage still continued ahead. But when Victor slipped free from his grasp, Mirage hurried after him.
They entered a new passage, but didn't stay in it long before another doorway opened. This time, Mirage was better prepared for it. He and Victor kept going in the dark, footsteps echoing, breaths rasping, relying only on the doors that opened along the way to guide them.
As they headed deeper, doubts twisted through Mirage's heart like skeins of black thread. Was this really going to help them find the way out? Or were they doomed to wander this maze until they died of starvation? It seemed a somewhat drawn-out and sadistic method of execution, but Mirage wouldn't put it past Emperor Astraeon – or rather, the Infernal Lord.
Just when the thought struck him, Victor lurched to a stop. "What's wrong?" Mirage demanded, pressing his hands to his wizard's back.
"Dead end," Victor grunted. Mirage's heart plummeted to his stomach.
So he'd been right, it was a trap – but the familiar sound of scraping stone sliced apart his rising panic. And when light spilled into the passage, harsh and blinding, Mirage reeled like he had been struck.
It only took a few blinks for his demonic eyes to adjust. Victor must be completely blind, but he stumbled ahead without hesitation. Heart pounding like a war drum, Mirage followed after him. So they were finally leaving the maze of hidden passages. What awaited them now?
When they emerged in an airy hallway, walls lined with windows, it took all of Mirage's self-control not to groan. Great, they'd only ended up in a different part of the workshop.
But then his eyes fell on the people in the middle of the hall. A slight dark-haired youth, a boy with pink-streaked hair, and between them a knight in shining armor.
Victor inhaled sharply. "Theo. Did you...?"
"Victor!" Theo lurched forward, though he didn't let go of Zenith. "Where did you – you're hurt!"
His voice rose to a squeak that made Mirage wince, though he couldn't begrudge Theo the sentiment. And anyway, before he could say anything, a familiar scraping greeted his ears.
This time, it came from the wall several yards ahead. The entire group watched as the doorway slid open – this one much wider than all the others, enough to admit two people abreast.
Darian nodded at Theo, and together they dragged Zenith into the doorway. Mirage had to admire their utter lack of hesitation, though again, it wasn't like they had much choice. He glanced at Victor, who nodded back, and the two of them quickly followed.
The instant they passed through the entry, the wall slid shut again with a decisive thud. Mirage jumped, startled, and didn't calm down when he saw where they were. Instead of a dark passage, they had entered a room. It was small and simply furnished, with just enough room for all of them to fit along with a low table in the center.
And someone stood behind the table. A small, silver-haired figure clad in gleaming armor, midnight blue cape draped behind her.