When Falcon finally shook his head to get out of the stunned daze that had taken control of his mind, the girl had already gone inside the cabin and closed the rickety door behind her. He snarled low under his breath, confusion, anger, and disbelief crashing down all at the same time until the mix of emotions filled him to the brim. But most of all, he felt silly. Incredibly silly. The tiny waitress had managed to twist him around her fingers craftily, manipulating his assumptions about her in every way she wanted.
But, why? Someone inside him asked. She hired me, why would she try to come between me and the package?
Maybe she was staying close to you to keep a check on you, his other half responded, shrugging his shoulders. It's time you go in after her.
His foolishness had turned to anger, strong and impulsive. He felt an urge to bang his head on the tree branch, every time his inner self mocked him for being totally unsuspecting, regarding the girl as his competitor and not even considering her as 453 for a moment.
Falcon jumped from the tree branch with a soft thump on the mud, his locked muscles screaming in protest at the movement. He looked up to see the crows staring at him with their beetle black eyes, and made a face at them, grimacing at the birds lounging about in their nest. He put his cap back on, pulling it low over his eyes, and replaced the mask on his face.
With a wave of fresh adrenaline pumping through his veins, Falcon stooped low and went over to the hut, moving along the wall of the cabin slowly, one ear pressed against the wood until he reached the window.
He crouched as he heard her, grumbling loudly at something, perhaps the very inconvenience an unconscious Cyan must be causing her. It gave him a little pleasure to know that she was finding it annoying, though the guilt of tying Cyan up was still coursing through him.
Falcon grabbed his gun from his waistband. He was going to make her cough up every cent she owned him and he was not going to hold back. He was about to go inside the cabin when he heard Cyan, spluttering loudly as if someone had drowned him in water, which she probably had.
His splutters were followed by loud grumbles, as Cyan muttered incoherent nonsense from being woken up like that. His complaints reached Falcon outside the cabin and he gave a small smile, Cyan sounded like a child sulking when sent to bed early in the evening.
He heard her then, loud and clear, and her voice sent another wave of snappish anger through him. 'Wake up, Mr. Yarrow.' She commanded, enough for her voice to reach him. 'We have to move quickly.'
Cyan's confused mumble followed then a creak as he shifted in his chair. He imagined him then, tied up with the ropes cutting into his skin, blinking in confusion at the strange girl in front of him. He said something slowly, that Falcon had to preen his ears but failed to catch the painful words, which sounded like a question.
Autumn's outrageous cry came in response to what he said, like Cyan's inquiry was downright offending and unbelievable.
'What? No!' She exclaimed loudly. 'I did no such thing.'
Falcon scoffed. She had most likely done whatever Cyan had accused her of. Everything was falling into place now, how she had gear in her room and her following Falcon at the party. She had been assuring her work was being done, and she had eaten up his money.
'Mr. Yarrow, please, where is the stone? Please you need to get to it now.' She was pleading desperately, as if an invisible clock was ticking steadily towards a faceless danger.
Stone? What did she mean stone? The package he had gotten his hands on from behind Cyan's painting contained a stone. What did it mean? Had Cyan been tricking him into believing it was fake? But 453 had confirmed that the stone was fake, hadn't he?
Falcon listened close, in case Cyan yielded and revealed the stone's location, untangling the wildly entwined wires of agitated questions inside his own mind. However Cyan remained completely silent, or maybe he was saying something so low that his voice couldn't quite reach him.
He heard her agitated moan, clearly on the edge of yelling at Cyan. 'I DID NOT kill them. Please believe me.' Her voice grew softer by the end and she was pleading for Cyan to understand.
Falcon's heart made a painful leap in his chest. Cyan was asking about his parents, putting two and two together that he was in the clutches of the person Falcon had kidnapped him for. And his first question had been about his parents.
He could see his face in his head now. The sad eyes, downcast, as he mourned the loss of his mother and father. Maybe some of the tears were back in his eyes, or rolling down his cheeks, as...
Oh, stop it, he shrugged off the disturbing thoughts. Focus.
Falcon moved closer to the door, the voices fading a bit as he moved away from the window. He wondered how long Autumn was going to keep the innocent façade going before she would finally give in and get Cyan to reveal the place where he'd hidden the package. Either way, it didn't matter. He had to get his money and get out of here. This would be the last he would see of Cyan, and hopefully, Autumn.
Then she said something, which made him halt in his tracks. He breathed shortly and lowered his hand from the door handle, quietly staring at the wood, trying to decipher the meaning behind her words.
'Mr. Yarrow, don't you want answers? Surely, you must be a bit curious about the stone and your parent's death. Let me take you to the answers.'
He heard Cyan, then, his voice loud enough to reach his ears though it was raspy and he coughed twice. 'Leave me alone. You will never get the package, so quit trying.'
'I can't. Trust me, I hate this mess just as much as you do and I am trying to help you. Please don't attack me, I am untying you and we are leaving.'
He heard the creaking of wood, then a loud grunt from Cyan. Before he could hear anything else, Falcon pushed open the door violently, almost knocking it off its hinges, before bursting into the room and brandishing his gun.
'You are doing no such thing.' He snarled at Autumn, who hadn't even flinched at the intrusion and was now staring at him with an annoyed expression, as if daring to ask why he had shown his face here.
Autumn was dressed in the gear he had seen in her room, the complete black dress as dark as the night almost blended her in the dark wood of the cabin. She looked grown and dangerous and almost nothing like the shy waitress she had been the night of the engagement party.
Her short hair was tied in a ponytail at her nape, a single brown curl escaping and dangling over her cheek. There was a knife at the belt at her waist, the ugly metal gleaming in the light. Her hand had jumped to the hilt and she was gripping it tightly. There was a water bottle hanging in a holder next to the knife, the sloshing of the liquid making a merry sound against the plastic. The bottle was half full, the rest must have been the source of Cyan's splutter he had heard from outside.
Cyan was staring at him, his mouth wide open in disbelief. He was tied up just like Falcon had left him, but he was awake, though resting his head at the back of the chair. He had been startled, but had recovered soon, flitting his gaze between Autumn and Falcon.
'You are not untying him.' Falcon growled. 'Not until you...'
He was interrupted by her as she rolled her eyes, exaggerating every move, and snarled. 'Oh, shut up, guard. You do not understand the situation. You both do not realize how serious it is and we need to move.'
'And why is that?' He asked politely, the mocking statement making her snap at him.
'I swear if you try to come in my way, I will not hold back.' Her eyes were bloodshot as she stared him down, nostrils flaring, daring him to contradict her. 'Now, quickly, please, before he turns up.'
'Before who turns up?' Her reply prompted a question out of him before he could stop himself. Something was very wrong here.
'Are you stupid?' She blinked at him.
Her unexpected response left him confused for a moment, before her returned her stare, utterly perplexed. 'Huh?'
'The man you were handing Mr. Yarrow over to, of course.' She said slowly.
'What do you mean?' He whispered, his breath hitching, as a few of the puzzle pieces floating about his head fell into place. 'You are not 453?'
'Who?'
'The person I was handing Cyan over to, of course.'
'Are you out of your mind? Why would I be them?' She gave a short laugh.
'I don't know. You tell me.' He snarled. He was sick of her game-playing, but a small part of him nagged at the back of his thoughts that she was right. The unknown man could be standing right outside now, while they indulged in their baseless quarrel, intent on proving the other one wrong.
'How about you both carry on with your argument after you untie me?' Cyan mumbled.
They both turned to him just as silence fell in the cabin. Then Autumn was muttering an apology and moving towards his chair while removing the knife from her belt.
Autumn swished the knife in a motion so swift he barely caught the movement before the binds fell to the floor in shreds. A closer look at her showed traces of makeup on her face, and she looked underfed and agitated. The bags under her eyes stood out against her pale skin, too pale that she looked almost sick, like all the blood had left her body. She hadn't let go of the weapon but stood facing him, the knife held out to him in a challenge.
Falcon kept the gun trained on her face as they stared each other down, both unyielding, both furious as the birds trilled in the woods, their songs the only sounds in the cabin during their silent battle.
Cyan got up from the chair, but immediately fell back down, his knees buckling due to being in the same position for so long. He shook his limbs a few times to get the blood flowing again, rubbing his right palm on his wrist in a fruitless attempt to get rid of the angry marks the binds had left there.
Falcon eyed his movements from the corner of his eye, a fresh wave of guilt washing over him as Cyan grimaced, the feeling staying there this time. Falcon let it be, he did not have the energy to fight with himself anymore.
Cyan looked up at the both of them, eyes locked in the silent fight, and sighed. Autumn was closer to him, one hand on the back of his chair while the other held out the knife at Falcon, in a pose to protect Cyan and threaten Falcon. Her stance made Falcon furious, he would never hurt Cyan. Why was she acting like he would approach Cyan any second and try to gun him down?
Wouldn't you? The ugly voice inside him was back. If your client offers you more payment for this task, you won't hesitate, right?
Falcon didn't respond to it, kept his eyes trained on the girl and all senses tuned in to the two other people in the cabin, waiting for the moment one of them decided to make a move.
That was a mistake. If he hadn't been so engrossed in the situation inside the hut, he would never have missed the slight sound of footsteps outside, ceasing just as quickly and vanishing.
Cyan placed a hand on Autumn's arm, and with gentle pressure, lowered the hand along with the weapon, until she stopped resisting and returned the weapon to her belt. Cyan looked at him, his eyes holding a silent plea for understanding and Falcon sighed. He lowered the gun but did not put it inside his waistband, instead loosely cradled the weapon which sent the message effectively.
I have my weapon and will not hesitate to use it if I have to. He sent her a silent message, but her look also held a challenging message.
So do I. Her eyes conveyed.
The silence only lasted a few seconds where everyone breathed deeply, and while Cyan relaxed in his breaths, Falcon and Autumn tensed as the moments stretched into a timeless zone as the emotions hovered, waiting for a stimulus to be released.
'You did not kill my parents, that is right?' Cyan said, standing between the two of them with his hands on his waist. If he thought the pose made him look defiant, he was wrong. He looked weak and vulnerable, in the dirty clothes and that hollow look in his eyes, like he was two seconds away from breaking down.
'Yes.' Autumn said, in a forceful plea for him to believe her.
'Then do you know who did?' Cyan asked.
'The man he's working for.' She jerked her head towards Falcon, a look of disgust on her face.
It hurt. To be reminded his client was a murderer, and there was more to things than he could see on the surface. But, that really wasn't his fault, was it? He was just doing his job, wasn't he?
Falcon groaned at the questions inside his mind. He didn't like the feeling, the self-doubt, and guilt, which had been attacking him fiercely since the day he had taken on this assignment.
'I don't think he knows that.' Cyan said.
It broke Falcon's heart that Cyan had taken to defend him again, despite the things he had done to him. He wanted Autumn to know exactly what Cyan was trying to tell her, that he was just doing his job and did not know the dangers his actions were bringing them all closer to.
'Well, now he does.' Autumn retorted.
'Why should I believe you, though?' Falcon said, the fury and embarrassment quick to claim his cheeks.
'Because you have no other option.' She said. 'This is not about who's right and who's wrong anymore. It's about saving Mr. Yarrow and the stone as soon as we can before that client of yours gets here and we lose our chance.'
'I am afraid I can't tell you the location of the stone. But, it is safe, that I can promise.' Cyan said.
'You have to trust me.' Autumn pulled at her hair. 'I am not after the stone. I mean, I am after the stone, but not in that way. Oh, how do I explain?' She looked close to crying.
Falcon understood her frustration. She had to take Cyan into confidence without alarming him so that he could confide with her. And she was doing a bad job of making him trust her.
'I do have to know what the power of this stone is that my mother and father specifically left for me.' Cyan said, as if he was thinking aloud.
Autumn looked so relieved in that instant that Falcon thought her lips would stretch from the grin. 'Then please come with me. If you want to uncover the secret, you will have to leave with me to go see the demon slayer.'
'No, Cyan, don't trust her. It is her way of abducting you for who knows what.' Falcon spoke up immediately, just as that prickly feeling returned. The indication that something was about to go horribly wrong.
'I am sorry, who's the criminal here?' Autumn said.
Cyan, however, was not listening to either of them. He was deep in thought, trying to place the puzzle pieces in the right order for the picture to finally make sense.
'Why did Mom and Dad have to die, though?' Cyan whispered. 'I have to know that.'
Autumn gave Falcon a triumphant look and turned towards Cyan. 'Please, my grandfather has all the answers you want. We need to leave immediately.'
'You grandfather?' Cyan asked.
Autumn cast Falcon a suspicious look, unable to decide if she should say more in front of him or not. She must have decided it was worth the risk because she opened her mouth to continue, but before she could say a word Falcon interrupted.
'Is he the demon slayer?'
Autumn bared her teeth at his intrusion. She looked like she would snap at him for interrupting her yet again but instead said:
'Yes. And he's waiting for us.'
'So this is the story you come up with? About a demon slayer awaiting our arrival so he can give us answers about a stone that is causing people's deaths. I wonder if his dragon is waiting outside to take us to him.' Falcon said, the smirk on his face growing bigger with every passing moment.
It wasn't that he didn't believe her. He just didn't want this girl to enter the scene like a rescuer and whisk Cyan away with a carefully crafted story and emerge as the hero. While he remained the criminal here, the man who had helped an unknown person for money to take hold of the man who had tried to give him a life.
'You want me to call our ride here, then?' Autumn said, putting two fingers to her lips as if whistling for the dragon.
'See?' He turned to Cyan. 'Now she's jumping on the dragon story too. You can't possibly believe her?'
'I am willing to risk just for the sake of answers this time.' Cyan said, and Falcon's mouth dropped open.
'Idiot.' He slapped his hand to his forehead, hissing at Cyan's sheer absurdity. Autumn smiled at Cyan before giving him a smirk without Cyan seeing it and placed a hand on the knife at her belt.
'Get out of the way.' She said.
'No.' He stood there with the weapon raised, his legs parted as he blocked the door. He wondered what Cyan was making of the situation, the two fighters in black, glaring at each other with weapons at the ready.