The clouds held a seamless veil over Lapis Valley when their horses rolled into the small town square. The magnificent statue was sparkling with beads of water, as if heaven itself had vowed to keep the ancient slayer immaculate. Contrary to the last time, Aurelia hadn't slept a wink. She looked alert as a chamois, and as soon as the horses stopped moving, she was out of the carriage and down the road. Falcon scurried after her as they made their way to the town hall.
'Shouldn't your father be at home at this time?' he panted, catching up with her finally.
'I strongly doubt that. I am sure he would be at the Town Hall.'
'I still don't think we should use his help. It would put him and your mom in danger.'
The plan to return to Lapis Valley had been abrupt. Falcon tried to recall the reasons he had faith in Aurelia's judgment, but to his dismay, he came up with none. He preferred doing things on his own, and the involvement of people close to the girl he fancied had dragged him to the brink of irritation.
'We don't have any other choice.' Aurelia walked steadily, head ducked against the wind and hands inside her coat pocket.
Falcon saw the familiar building approaching, the grey and white structure standing like a giant against the night sky. The giant wooden doors were closed and no light shone from inside, the darkness and silence unappealing as the still air. Aurelia raised her fist and knocked, the sound loud and thundering against the muffled peace of the night. Falcon heard footsteps approaching and he backed a little, hoping he wouldn't have to stare right into Xander Renatus's eyes. He was in luck, as Neptune's earnest face showed through the slit, lighting up at the sight of Aurelia.
'Hey, Neptune. You remember Falcon, right?' Neptune smiled and mumbled a hurried "of course" before he turned to Aurelia in distress.
'Where HAVE you been...you need to start trusting the rest of us more...worried sick...Zue almost bit my head off...' Neptune trailed off as soon as he saw Aurelia's face.
'Is Dad inside?' Aurelia asked, already past him and up the stairs.
'Yes, he is in the meeting room with Cyrus. They are going over some developmental plans for the town. Go on in.' Neptune motioned to his right. They had reached the corridor of the conference room where they had barged in on the council and the grumpy Mr. Arlo before.
Xander's booming voice came through the door, loud and full of authority as they approached with nimble footsteps. He sounded like he was disagreeing on something, quiet anger lacing through his speech. Aurelia didn't hesitate, she knocked once politely before opening the door and storming inside.
The people in the room stopped what they were doing, looking up from the countless parchments spread across the table, polite inquiry on their faces. There were three people in the room. Xander was sitting at the head of the table with full authority, back straight against his chair. He was a man with power and knew how to use it.
Behind him was Cyrus, the creases between his eyebrows deep as crevices, twirling a pencil in his fingers while his cold eyes bore into Falcon's. The third person was the miserable Mr. Arlo, sipping gingerly from a porcelain teacup as he squinted at the intruders. Falcon realized Neptune hadn't followed them in, and that the door was now closed.
'Aurelia...when did you get back?' Xander pushed back his chair and grabbed his daughter by the shoulders.
'Just now...I have to talk to you,' she nearly whispered and Falcon barely caught the words.
Mr. Arlo got up from his chair and grabbed his coat with trembling hands. 'Xander, it is late, I must be off now. I trust your decision on this...' he motioned towards the parchments and hobbled to the door.
Xander nodded slowly. Falcon locked the door behind the ancient council member and hoped no one else would come to disturb them.
'What is it, Aurelia?' Xander said.
Aurelia glanced uneasily at Cyrus, whose expression hardened when he realized Aurelia was not okay with his presence.
'Dad, it is extremely urgent. I want to talk to you in private.'
'If you mean Cyrus, then you don't have to worry. Cyrus has been with me for five years, trusting me is trusting him.' Xander clapped the redhead's shoulder with pride, who gave a grim smile.
'Very well then...' Aurelia took a seat at the table, but Falcon remained standing. He hoped they wouldn't address him and was more than happy Aurelia was taking charge. Nobody glanced at him twice, and he was grateful. Well, nobody except Cyrus.
When Aurelia spoke, her voice was hushed but urgent. 'I need help, Father. The only person I can trust with this is you. You can not tell anyone else, or Cyan will die.'
'Cyan?'
'It…it's a long story, Dad. For now, do you have an extremely secure place...like a vault or something that only you can get to?'
'Why, yes, of course. It's right here in this room. It's a promising chamber which can only be opened via my thumbprint.'
Aurelia sighed in relief. Falcon felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. This was better than he had expected. No digging a hole and burying the ring there. The quicker they carried out the plan, the sooner Cyan would be free.
'Then could you please keep this in there?' Aurelia asked, extracting the box from her coat pocket. She opened it and took out the ring. The glow from the stone lit the room with hues unimaginable, reflecting off the pale walls. Xander whistled, his pupils reflecting the splendor. 'That's a brilliant ring...where did you get it from?'
Falcon glanced at Cyrus to see his mouth hanging wide open, his eyes gleaming as he eyed the ring hungrily. Not for the first time, a wave of unease washed over him.
'Like I said, long story. I will explain everything later...we don't have much time,' she handed the ring to Xander who cradled it in his palm with reverence.
Not for the first time, Falcon was doubting their plan. The gamble they were taking this time could really kill Cyan, assuming he was still alive. One thing was for sure, Canis wouldn't betray them. The man was easy to bribe, once Falcon promised to not reveal his real identity to Teal in exchange for secrecy, Canis all but fell to his knees in front of him. Guess the man really cared about his fiancée.
All that was left now was to place the fake ring in the box and ambush '453' in the location the client himself had picked. Which also happened to be right in Lapis Valley. The man couldn't have been more obvious.
Falcon glanced at Aurelia, his heart contracting at the sight of her, placing the fake glinting ring in the box. The light reflected off her pale skin, and though she looked weak and frenzied, to Falcon, she looked ethereal. He had tried convincing her to let him go to the location alone, but she had responded was a resolute and annoyed "NO," closing the matter. Well, at least he was accompanying her...
'Dad, at midnight, a man will turn up at the wishing well. We HAVE to catch him however we can. Luckily, Jason and I have a plan...we just need a few warriors to assist us. Can I borrow some of your team?'
'Of course...have Neptune supervise it...' Xander got up and made for the wall behind him. If he hadn't pressed his thumb into a pad on the wall, Falcon would have never noticed the small vault, the door of which had swung open. Xander placed the ring inside and closed the door with a satisfying click. Simultaneously, Aurelia and Falcon let out a sigh of relief. There was something appeasing about the ring inside the vault...safe and away from '453.'
'As far as we know, 453 is working alone now. This...if everything goes right...will be a piece of cake.' Aurelia let out a shaky breath.
'Half an hour...' Falcon muttered, causing the other three to look at him. 'We should get going...'
Aurelia nodded. They still had to collect the slayers and the wolves, and station them around in a way that 453 wouldn't have a hint of suspicion that he was walking into a trap.
Xander's eyes followed Aurelia with fierce pride as they walked to the door. 'Be very careful.'
Aurelia nodded. 'You too, Dad.'
But Falcon could not dissipate the unease inside him; something was about to go horribly wrong.