Chapter 17

Finding A Crystal In A Chinese Restaurant Is Harder Than Expected

A young Asian woman approached us. "Can I help you?" she asked.

I glanced at Spindler, who was looking around the room. Besides the red and gold decorations, various paintings and sculptures, and the overwhelming smell of stir-fry, there wasn't a lot to indicate that the mysterious crystal from Elven lore was here. For a moment, I thought that after all of our hard work, we had come to the wrong place.

"I sense the Azurro," Spindler said.

"Wait, what?" the waitress said.

"Never mind that," Spindler replied. "We're just looking around."

"So you don't need a table?" the waitress said, surprised.

"No we don't," Raven said. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"There's a door in the back," Spindler said. "I think that's where the Azurro is."

There was a golden door in the back of the restaurant, which I assumed led to the kitchen. I wasn't sure if the Azurro was back there or not, but it was worth a try.

We made our way towards the door. "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men was playing in the background as I wove my way between tables to get to the back of the restaurant.

"Are we ready?" Spindler asked as he put his hand on the handle of the door. Raven and I nodded. Spindler yanked on the door handle, but the door wouldn't budge.

The door was locked.

I took out my wand and waved it around. Purple sparks came out and bounced off the door, but the door didn't unlock. I tried that again, this time saying "Alohamora," hoping my knowledge of Harry Potter spells would help. Nothing worked. The door was still locked.

"Does anyone have a dime? Or a quarter?" Raven asked.

"What, you know how to pick locks?" Theodore said.

"Yes. Does anyone have any coins?"

"It's probably best to do this legally," Spindler stated.

"Avery, help me. Do you have any coins on you?"

I fumbled through my pockets and found a dime. I handed it to Raven, who picked the lock. The door swung open. I peered into the kitchen, where chefs were cooking the food served in the restaurant. I tried to sneak past one man who was watching over a pan of vegetables, but he turned around as I wandered by.

"What are you doing back here?" he shouted.

"Nothing," I said. I noticed a flight of stairs leading downwards. I ran towards the stairs, assuming they would lead me to the Azurro. I noticed Spindler, Raven, and Theodore also heading that direction.

I scrambled down the stairs, hoping the others would catch up to me. The staircase spiraled around and around. I ran down the stairs. I wasn't even sure where I was going. I only knew that I would go wherever this spiral staircase led me.

I looked back up towards the kitchen. Spindler, Raven, and Theodore were following me downstairs. "Wait up, Avery!" Raven exclaimed.

I stopped and waited for the others. "The Azurro is close," Spindler said.

"There's a monster down there, right?" I asked, a little scared.

"Yes, and you must defeat it. I have told you that before," Spindler replied.

We continued down the staircase. It was getting continuously darker as we descended into the basement of the restaurant. When we reached the basement, all I could see was a golden fence. There was a gold plate on the fence with something written on it in a foreign language.

"It's in Old Elvish," Spindler said. "It says... Here...Lies...Nightingale. What's that supposed to mean?"

"I have no idea," I said.

A thunderous noise echoed through the room and a pair of red eyes emerged from behind the fence.