31 Lapis's Beast

'What do you have in mind?' Falcon said.

'A plan to bait the person into showing themselves. What if you contact your client and tell him you've found the stone?'

'That's really reckless, you are being impatient. If we fail, Cyan and your grandfather could die.'

'We won't fail. The man will show up to receive the stone and we can ambush him. Even if he doesn't show up himself, he will provide a way and we will get a clue to follow, which is better than just sitting like this.'

'We are not sitting like this.' He said quietly. 'And that's a huge risk, Aurelia.'

'Well, do you have an alternate plan?'

Falcon grew quiet. It was true he was out of ideas. As far as he could see, they had no clue to follow, and the helplessness was turning the fatigue inside him into a slow simmering rage.

Falcon felt his heart grow heavy with dread as he lifted his wrist and tapped in a quick message on the device, while Aurelia leaned in close to look at the words. She hummed slightly in agreement and Falcon pressed SEND before he lifted his head to look at her and found her staring at his wrist in fear and anticipation. His nerves jumped and he was hyper-aware of their proximity, which wasn't a new thing, but recently he had become a jumpy mess whenever she was close.

It seemed like an eternity later that the device pinged, but Falcon knew it had only been a few minutes. They were still standing in the hallway, the murmur of voices from inside the meeting room floating over like dust motes. Aurelia jumped slightly at the beep and their eyes met for a brief second, the dread and distress he was feeling mirrored in them. Falcon pressed the message and she leaned in close, her warm breath mixing in his' and they read it together.

Aurelia gasped loudly and Falcon knew he was shocked too, a part of his suspicions coming true when the location appeared brightly on the screen. He glanced at her quickly, she was pale as a ghost and he knew she had jumped to the conclusion too.

'This man wants us to go THERE?' she whispered. 'Why?'

Falcon gulped. He was sure she knew, but her ambiguous question was both a statement of denial and a palpable fury, and all Falcon could do was stare at her in dismay as she fought for control.

'He knows.' Falcon said in an undertone. 'And I am not surprised.'

'Fine. Let's get this over with.' Aurelia tugged at his jacket and he realized she was asking him to move, but a scared part inside him refused to do so. He was too stubborn to acknowledge he was afraid, still, he found himself mumbling the words before he could stop himself.

'Aurelia, wait, the last time we went to a location given by 453, Cyan got abducted. We were both there.'

'It will work, Falcon. Trust me.' She whispered. 'This time we know of the danger.'

'Doesn't make it less dangerous.'

'Come on.'

XXX

The forest was a vibrant green, the tall trees extending their leaves out to form a tightly knit canopy over his head. A few sneaky sunbeams had managed to come through, the ground aflame with the orange light of dusk which made the dew on the leaves glisten like sweat.

A stream gurgled from somewhere close, the merry sound managing to drown out the slight scamper of wild animals and only the rustle of bushes gave away the activity in the foliage. He had spotted a bobcat a few minutes prior and hoped not to run into any predators that might be slinking over; the lingering exhaustion had caught on to him and his mind was slowly slipping into a slumber.

Falcon wasn't surprised at the small amount of time it had taken them to reach there; Aurelia had slipped the coachman a thick wad of money to reach the forest in under thirty minutes and Falcon was grateful. If they caught the man today, Cyan would be safe and Falcon would be free of the debt. Then what? His mind asked suddenly and Falcon felt his heart plummet. I leave, he answered. I will rescue Cyan and then leave and never look back.

Aurelia had disappeared into the trees, a hushed whisper emanating from them and then dying out as the wind rustled them. He knew she was somewhere in them, perched atop a high branch and keeping an eye out for 453. The back of his neck was prickling and he knew she was watching him too. It felt strange to be stared at by a girl and Falcon found himself bouncing on the balls of his feet before he mumbled "Get a grip" to himself and fell absolutely still.

He knew that she was thinking the same thing as him. Why had 453 given the location of a forest on the outskirts of Lapis Valley?

A chipmunk scuttled over the leaves, an acorn gripped in its tiny paws and Falcon startled. His heart had jumped to his throat and he made a face at the animal, whose doleful eyes were watching him to see if he would attack. 'Shoo.' He whispered. The animal dropped the acorn and scurried away, startling a swarm of butterflies which flew off with a whoosh.

The acid in his stomach sent a rush of nausea up his throat and he clenched his teeth. The anxiety grew with the darkness, the sun sinking into the horizon steadily and the forest becoming alive slowly.

Falcon stared at a worm in the ground by his feet and waited with his heart hammering in his chest. Will the man even turn up? Would he send someone else or drop a smoke bomb again? Never mind, this time they were prepared.

The undergrowth rustled, a telltale whisper of the presence of someone, and before Falcon had the chance to turn around, the rustle turned to heavy padding of what he unmistakably identified as the sound of a wolf-beast approaching him from behind. He dimly realized he had no idea how to deal with the giant creatures and felt a dizzying rush of blood that sent his senses reeling.

The beast emitted a snarl and Falcon jumped out of his skin like a madman, spinning around while his heart raced up to the beat of a marching band. The creature behind him looked much like Alaska, deadly and impossibly huge, with fangs the size of elephant tusks. Its fur was a deep red-gold, magnificent if not menacing; the mouth dripping saliva in clusters, and lips pulled back tightly, as if it was grinning at Falcon's panicked terror. It stood a few feet away, staring directly at him with eyes rimmed with red and fury dripping like poison.

He heard a sharp intake of breath from behind him. Aurelia had appeared and her presence felt like a soothing salve over his anxiety. She stayed still, a few feet away from him as he waited with bated breath for her to make a move.

'Don't run.' Aurelia whispered, her words floating towards him. He heard her dimly, like he was in a trance where reality ceased to exist. 'Don't look it in the eye.'

Falcon realized he had been doing just that, and quickly lowered his gaze. He could hear the animal's short pants, indicating it was aggressive and would most likely attack them.

'Slowly make your way towards me.' Aurelia kept whispering, and Falcon was grateful for her help, he was too numb to do anything but be scared at the moment.

He took slow, peaceful steps backwards, until he felt his back hit Aurelia, who placed the palm of her hand on the small of his back. Warmth seeped through his icy fear, making him shiver but also relieved at the contact.

'It's rabid, which means it is twice as dangerous. Either we take it down or it kills us. Do you still have your gun?'

He nodded his head just a fraction, of course, he had his pistol, Falcon never went anywhere without his weapon. He slowly pulled it out from his jacket pocket and slipped back the safety catch.

'Try your best to protect your neck at all costs, it will lunge for your face.'

If they weren't in a life or death situation, Falcon would have told her the wolf had the sharpest claws and a strong jaw to rip him to shreds while he was protecting his neck, but he feared Aurelia would leave him alone in the woods if he mocked her, so he remained silent.

'Shoot it in the gut.'

The wolf went low on its paws, ready to pounce and he felt Aurelia stiffen, and she briefly fisted his shirt before letting go. It happened in a flash, the beast lunged for them with a snarl, the mouth wide and Falcon saw a tongue the size of a platter.

He yelled 'left' at the same moment Aurelia shouted 'right' and jumped, landing in a sprawling heap a few feet away from her. He felt a sudden urge to laugh and knew Aurelia felt it too when the corners of her mouth tugged upwards. The beast hit the tree directly in front of it with a thud that shook the ground. To Falcon's surprise, it did not fall down but turned on its paws and raced for Aurelia. Aurelia seemed unfazed, that's what you get for living with wolves ever since you were born, he thought as she rolled away neatly from where the wolf jumped on her and Falcon pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit the wolf in the gut, jerking it back as its body hit a tree trunk behind Aurelia. He could see the animal was alive, gasping for breath but had been fatally wounded. He saw Aurelia get back up and go over to the animal, placing a gentle hand on its fur. She stroked the animal and he watched it go still, the quivering ears and fluttering eyes peaceful at last. There was silence for a few moments, then Aurelia whispered. 'It's dead.'

Falcon sighed. As much as he was grateful to be alive, the animal had done nothing wrong except obey its master and he wished they had just scared it away.

'You do know what this means?' Aurelia said after a while, as they both struggled to catch their breath.

Falcon nodded. 'It means the man we are looking for is someone from Lapis Valley.'

XXX

'Wolf-beasts are a rarity to Lapis Valley. They can only be controlled by a slayer and this rabid beast was sent to the location the client gave us, which means one slayer in the valley would be missing their wolf right now.' Aurelia said as they turned into her street, the curtain of darkness dense over the village.

Lamps had been lit on tall poles and the glow they cast on the pebbles looked divine. Cyan would have loved to paint this, he thought wistfully, as he realized he was seeing Lapis Valley for the first time at night. He had been here less than a day and it already felt like an eternity.

'So all we have to do is check which slayer doesn't have their dog with them.'

'Wolf.' Aurelia corrected. 'And no. There are thousands of such beasts here, and many people own entire breeds of them. It will be extremely difficult but Neptune and Zue are not to be underestimated. Neptune knows almost every one of this valley's beasts.'

Falcon nodded. Neptune and a few of Aurelia's trainees were currently running a check on all the slayers. He shuddered to think if they found nothing, they would have hit another dead end very harshly this time.

'Aurelia, the man knew we were bluffing. What do you think will happen to Cyan now?'

'I wish I knew.' She said quietly. She shivered slightly as a chilly breeze blew and Falcon considered giving her his jacket but thought better of it. He didn't want her to give him an odd look or be suspicious. Aurelia was staring at the ground as if demanding an answer from the pebbles when Alaska bounded over. Aurelia brightened slightly and scratched the wolf under its jaw, causing a pleased moan to spill from its mouth. Falcon wondered how Alaska could look so harmless when a beast like her had just tried to kill them in the forest.

Falcon noticed Alaska was clutching something in her fangs and pulled it out with much difficulty, his hand now covered in spit.

'Oh.' Aurelia said. 'She brought my mail. Good girl.' She kissed the wolf on her snout and Falcon turned away disgusted when Aurelia took what he now noticed was an envelope from his hands.

She tore open the envelope eagerly while Alaska whiffed at his collar, sending bursts of hot air down his shirt. He stepped away from the wolf subtly so Aurelia wouldn't notice and turned to her, only to see that her eyes were wide and her face stricken, and she was staring at the envelope with an almost tangible horror.

'What is it, Aurelia?' He said urgently. Aurelia's face looked like a sheet, ashen and paler than usual. Falcon knew she hadn't even heard him. He grabbed her hand, which was icy cold, and snatched the envelope from her grip, his heartbeat wavering with anxiety.

There was a smatter of blood on the inside of the waxy paper, almost black in the darkness of the night. There was something solid lying at the bottom and it took him a few moments to understand what it was.

Cyan Yarrow's smallest finger was lying in the pool of blood inside the wax envelope.