Tingen, West Borough.
Caven no longer lived at the Hunter Club. Sifa had obtained the Seer's address from Nefi.
"The southwestern corner of the West Borough, huh..."
"I think I've been here before."
Walking along the rather muddy, filthy road, Sifa saw a broad river surging endlessly a short distance away, reflecting the crimson moonlight.
It was the Tussock River.
By the dim yellow light of the nearby streetlamps, Sifa examined the houses here. They were all two-story buildings with gardens of their own.
They looked almost identical, so Sifa could only keep an eye on their house numbers. When he saw a plaque marked "No. 6," he stopped.
The Seer lived here.
Sifa looked up. Light shone from the living room, but the curtains were drawn, making it barely visible.
The upstairs bedroom was completely dark. Apparently, Caven had not gone to bed yet.
Sifa took a breath and started toward the porch. Suddenly, he caught a strange scent.
It was neither pleasant nor foul, just peculiar and difficult to describe.
And...
For some reason, Sifa found the scent familiar.
Suddenly, a memory flashed through his mind. Two months ago, when he had attended a Beyonder gathering in Tingen, the Novelist had been murdered that night. The killer had carried this very scent.
Damn it!
Sifa abruptly turned toward the living room.
Inside, the fireplace blazed, and the gas lamp cast a warm glow, illuminating a trail of blood on the floor.
The trail wound toward the living room doorway. There, Caven leaned against the wall, clutching his side. His lips were bluish as he stared at the man before him.
The man looked about twenty-four or twenty-five. His long, grayish-white hair reached his waist, his features were handsome, and his skin was almost sickly pale.
He wore a