The Clue

When Falcon finally snapped back to reality, the thumb was lying at his feet, shriveled like a raisin. Blood splattered out occasionally in fat drops, as if someone was squeezing the last of it out like an empty tube of toothpaste.

He stepped back, cringing against the squelches, and turned towards the table. The parchment was still burning, spreading the sick smell of ash, like the one burnt-out matchsticks have.

Something glinted from underneath the table, having been caught in the miserable candlelight. Falcon picked it up, realizing it was a piece of paper.

'Ari,' he murmured. 'There's something written here...'

A few lopsided letters were drawn on the paper with, what he realized, was blood. They looked like a toddler's handwriting. Even in his last moments, Xander Renatus had left them a clue.

'Ari,' he turned towards her again. 'He's not dead. If he was, we would have found him here. Cyrus must have taken him to wherever he went.'

Aurelia turned her ashen face towards him, her eyes empty.

He grabbed one of the candlesticks from the table and shone light on the words. The blood gleamed ominously as soon as the bright light touched them, reflecting off the surface.

He squinted at the letters, trying to make out the hastily written words. The letters spelled out the last word he had thought of reading in a situation like this.

VOLCANO

'Volcano? What does that mean?' he looked up at Aurelia, confused.

She looked up at him, her body rigid. 'Is that what it says?'

He handed her the page which she gripped eagerly, staring hard at the words. 'This makes perfect sense.'

'Really?' he asked, utterly perplexed. 'You understand what he's trying to tell you?'

'Of course. Volcano.'

'I made that much out by myself,' he grimaced.

Aurelia looked at him with complaint in her eyes. 'You don't know about this town's volcano?'

Falcon shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets to maintain dignity. 'Mn.'

'Why do you think Lapis Valley has tourists? The volcano is the most famous site here...' she got up, holding onto his arm for support. 'Since the volcano is extinct, we used to have many researchers year-round before Grandpa declared the volcano dangerous. After that, we shut it down.'

'And...Cyrus has left for somewhere around this site?'

'No, not somewhere. Inside the volcano.'

'In...inside?'

'It's an extinct volcano, Falcon. It hasn't spewed lava for centuries. Grandpa used to go in there often and now I understand why...the gateway must be in there...'

Falcon let out a low whistle, thinking of entering a volcano. He imagined the walls rumbling and red-hot lava burning them all to ashes.

'It's...it's the perfect place, oh.' Aurelia smacked her forehead. 'I should have understood sooner...

Although Falcon couldn't understand what was so perfect, he could see the puzzle pieces fitting inside Aurelia's head. Her eyes were wide and she looked hopeful.

'The gateway is in there,' she murmured. 'I just have to get there.'

'We. We have to get there now.'

Aurelia stared at him. 'Don't be silly. You are not going in there and risking your life. This is a job for the demon slayer.'

'Did you really assume I was going to let you walk into a place that has the potential gate to open up a lair of monsters? Not to mention, there is a bloodthirsty ginger with a magic stone in there who mutilates any human who gets in his way...'

Aurelia stared at him. He realized he had been speaking heatedly and let out a breath. He wanted to laugh at her expression. She was staring at him, mouth open like she couldn't believe he was asking to come with her towards danger and there was nothing she could do to stop him.

'Lift down,' she said finally, snapping her mouth shut. 'You can't walk into a volcano, doofus. We go in there with the help of a lift.'

'You take an elevator down inside a volcano. You people are insane.'

She shrugged proudly, 'That, we are.'

'Come on, we should hurry. How long does it take to get there?'

'About two hours.'

'Two…..what?'

'But if we take the fastest horse, we can reach it sooner than that. Cyrus already has a headstart, so we need to hurry. He also doesn't know we're chasing him, so that gives us an upper hand...'

'It's raining buckets outside. It will impede the journey.'

'That's why we are taking horses. And the rain would slow Cyrus down too. We can catch up to him.'

'Where are your fastest horses, then?'

Aurelia hesitated. Falcon saw fear in her eyes, the kind of fear you feel not for yourself, but for someone else.

'No, I am coming with you. Nothing you ever say or do will change my mind,' he scowled.

'I would knock you out, but there is no time. Have it your way, then.'