The Shadow's Acid

X.

TW: blood, injuries, dead bodies, blood

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Grian sat at the desk, tapping the nib on the wood. Ink splattered across the oak table, making a few blue spots on the paper. He sighed, mopping up the mess with a rag. He stared at the clock, watching the hand creep closer and closer to midnight. It struck, his tall clock ringing its ancient bell.

Across the sleeping city, more clocks rang out, ringing eerily across the rooftops. They were out of sync and out of tune with each other. The haunting peals blended and rebounded, lending the air a chilly and spooky tone. Caspian cooed softly from his perch, burying his head further under his wing as the bells concluded ringing.

Grian turned back to his paper, left hand buried in his hair as he made more nonsensical marks. He frowned, drawing a line through what he had written. Scowling, he crumpled the paper, grabbing a new sheet from the stack on the end of the table. Taking the quill, he began anew.

First kill = Beef. Possible motives: beating everyone at UNO? Also had a minor conflict with Keralis over where he would sell his steaks. Wels had an incident with Beef a year ago, too. An evil clone, I think. 'Rache' is German, so perhaps Doc? I don't know if anyone else speaks the language... Iskall, maybe. Keralis is (again) a possibility? No clue.

He tapped the feather against his lip, the bristles tickling the skin. Frowning, he started a new line, leaving space for more notes.

Tango. He's annoyed everyone at least once. I'm sure all of those have been made up, though. It doesn't sound like anyone is still angry. I've heard about Doc's revenge tendencies... This kill could also be a ruse to distract from the actual killer, though. No real leads.

Cub. I can see a motive, since he knew who took the acid. I doubt he would have kept any records, though. Even if he did, I doubt they're anywhere near accessible. Honestly, I'm surprised the murderer got away. Cub doesn't seem like the person who would let them escape.

Grian sighed, the tedious work boring him. He stood, walking to the window and staring at the moonless night. Clouds crept across the sky, dully reflecting what little light there was from the stars. The streets were dark, the lanterns blown out for the time being. Somewhere below him, a zombie moaned, only to be cut down by a patrolling Ravager.

Wels had upped the security, sending Ravagers to patrol the streets while the city rested. However, the chief of security, Xisuma, and Grian all knew that nowhere in the city was safe from the Labyrinth and the person lurking in them. All they could hope was that the Ravagers would prevent the killer from escaping.

He stretched, a coil of anxiety preventing him from sleep. His stomach churned, detecting that something was amiss. Of course, being a stomach, it wouldn't tell him what it was. He stumbled down the dark staircase, lighting a candle as he went. He lit the lantern in the sitting room, going to the kitchen to set the kettle on the stove.

He returned, settling into the armchair to wait for the water to boil. Something ran into his window, producing a resounding thump in the silent house. Grian jumped up, taking a candle to the glass. Wings fluttered, beating against the panes as the pigeon fought to enter through the invisible glass.

He allowed the bird to enter, opening the window just far enough for it to squeeze through. It collapsed on the floor, jumping up only seconds later to scurry about, panicking. Grian grabbed it, tucking the bird under one arm and stroking its head with his hand. It pecked at his fingers, protesting the action in its panic.

"What's wrong, boy?" he asked, noting the spot patterns on the wings. "You're False's pigeon, right?" It cooed at the name of its owner. "Something's wrong at the castle, isn't it." The bird answered by struggling out of his grip and flying into the front hall.