More Bloody Information

'I am confused,' Falcon began. 'Where did you get the gun from?'

'The lookout, of course.' Aurelia laughed at Falcon's look of alarm. 'Don't worry. He won't be waking up for another couple of hours.'

'Where is he?' Falcon actually felt concerned for a second; the possibilities of misfortunes befalling a person in the presence of Aurelia were too high to be ignored.

'Boiler room,' Aurelia shrugged.

'Damn,' he whistled. 'Though I feel sorrier for the other three locked up in the closet.'

'Are you certain the binds will hold?'

'Of course. I did them myself.'

'If you say so. I just care for my ice cream now.' As if on cue, Falcon saw the waitress making her way towards them. 'You are in luck. Here it is.'

When the waitress placed the platter of lobster before him, he felt his mouth water. He rarely indulged in a luxury like such, avoiding all food except salads, particularly during missions. He had been trained to grill his body to the maximum and he liked discovering his potential, accepting self-deprivation as a challenge.

'And the dessert for the lady.' The waitress said graciously, placing a giant serving of ice cream in front of Aurelia, who smiled fondly at her ice cream as if it were her newborn child. 

Falcon stared. When the waitress walked away he hissed. 'When you said about getting ice cream, you meant just ice cream?'

'Uh-huh,' she mumbled. She had already gotten through one-fourth of the mega serving.

She caught his look of disbelief and grinned, a bit of chocolate sauce smeared on the corner of her mouth.

'Why should I eat something else when I can eat ice cream?' She shrugged, going back to scooping it into her mouth.

'That makes sense.' He nodded, peeling the shell off his lobster. The tender meat revealed itself, cooked to perfection. Falcon attacked it with as much grace as he could before he was taking large mouthfuls. He reminded himself he had to go through it without choking, all of his patience invested in holding his fork back.

'So, demon slayer, mind telling me everything about the stone? What else about the stone do you know and I don't.'

Aurelia swallowed. She winced at his face and he wondered what was wrong with her before she grimaced and said, 'Sorry, brain freeze.'

He sighed. Most of the things Aurelia Renatus did were actually questionable.

'I already told you everything, Falcon,' she said finally.

'Sure,' he said with a snort. 'Except what you conveniently chose to forget.'

Aurelia's face fell. He felt a bit of remorse making its way to his gut, but turned his attention back to the lobster, shrugging it away.

'You have got to stop guilt-tripping me, Falcon. You act like I am the only one hiding my true identity between the two of us.'

'Let's just not breach these waters anymore,' he held up his hands, almost stabbing himself in the eye with his fork.

Aurelia nodded. 'Fine by me,' she scooped up sauce onto her spoon. 'You are missing out,' she said, pointing towards the ice cream.

'On the contrary,' he pushed his platter towards her. 'Try this.'

Aurelia made a face and turned back to her bowl. 'Let's start at the beginning.'

'This stone has the power to release ancient invisible monsters,' Falcon started.

'Correct,' she nodded. 'Extra points for you.' She made a show of clapping with enthusiasm. 'As the demon slayer, it is my job to make sure these demons stay in control. That is why my grandfather sent me to take hold of the stone after Dill and Dahlia Yarrow were found dead, who also happens to be Grandpa's brother, as we found out through Canis.' Aurelia said.

'So Darius Renatus asked you to bring home Cyan and the stone. He must have great faith in you.'

'Yes...' Aurelia said, a sad smile on her face. 'I wonder why, I am not the best slayer out there. I mean, Neptune's skills are second to Grandpa's, he could have picked him and Cyan would already be with Grandpa.'

'Hey...don't be stupid,' Falcon shook his head. 'You are the best slayer out there, the way you handled the mutant monkeys was ingenious. Trust your skills.'

'I thought you didn't know how I did it...' Aurelia placed her chin on her palm and watched him with interest.

Falcon felt his face going red. Dammit. 'I might have read "Tales of Renatus" last night...' he shrugged, going back to his meal.

When Aurelia laughed, he felt a sheepish grin spread across his face. Ignoring her smug look, he stared at the table and made a show of thinking with concentration. 'So your grandfather wanted Cyan to be the next heir...why him, though? He could have chosen you...'

'Ah,' Aurelia let out a soft start of realization. 'I totally forgot...do you know how the power of the Invisibles is passed from one inheritor to the other?'

'I don't know. Have you told me?'

'You might want to finish eating before you hear it.'

'I am finished...' he came to terms with his empty plate with a sigh. 

'Well...the person who has to inherit the stone has to slash the previous heir's throat with it,' she said hurriedly as if trying to get over with it as soon as she could. 'And drink their blood,' she continued.

Falcon just stared at her aghast. He watched in numb silence as she placed a finger underneath his chin and tried to snap his mouth shut, at which he realized it was hanging open.

'But this means...' he whispered.

Aurelia nodded. 'If we hand over the stone…..'

'Darius Renatus will most certainly die...' he finished her sentence.

'And Cyan has to perform this ritual.'