“I should shoot you where you stand! We had a deal, damn it! I help you get that rat Oscar, and you get the hell out of my town! Instead, you kill all those people and try to burn the place down! And I know you’re responsible for whatever that blasted thing out there is! I’ve had enough of you damn Latores Veritatis bastards. I will not let you do here what you did to Corpus!”

Harlan’s words came out in an unrelenting torrent, his voice rising with every syllable. His face flushed a deep red, veins bulging in his neck as his fury spilled over. Despite his anger, his grip on the shotgun was steady, and the barrel never wavered from its aim at Billy.

Billy stood motionless, his hands raised in a gesture of surrender. He was confident he could survive a shotgun blast, but the time it might take to recover wasn’t a luxury he could afford. Diplomacy, as unappealing as it was, seemed the only viable option.

“Now, Sheriff, you’ve got every right to be angrier than a rattler with a stepped-on tail,” Billy began, his voice calm but urgent. “I am dreadful sorry for messing up your town and for those men who died, but that was self-defence. May lightning strike me if I’m lying.”

“SELF-DEFENSE?!” Harlan snapped, his voice like a crack of thunder. He caught himself, exhaling sharply and forcing himself to calm down. “The Latores Veritatis cause this kind of trouble wherever you go. I’ve seen it before. You bastards drew the Kraken to Corpus. My brother gave his life to save those people, so don’t you stand there and tell me it was self-defence! There’s too much of a pattern of destruction. And now…” Harlan’s voice broke slightly before hardening again. “Now you’ve brought that monster to my town.”

Billy’s brow furrowed as confusion settled over him. “Sheriff, I... I just ain’t following your trail on this one. I don’t know what Lateral Verity is. Yeah, I’m partially responsible for that volcano titan heading this way, but I swear I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about with the rest of it.”

“Don’t you lie to me, boy!” Harlan barked, his grip tightening on the shotgun. “I saw your magic. Ain’t no one but the Latores Veritatis can do what you did. But don’t you even think about trying anything funny, ’cause I’ve picked up a few tricks of my own.”

“Sheriff, full honesty, I don’t fully know how I got this magic, but it’s got nothin’ to do with latte velocity or whatever,” Billy replied, exhaling a frustrated sigh. “Look, we ain’t got time for this back-and-forth. That volcano titan’s coming, and if we don’t get a move on, we’re all gonna be the proverbial snowballs in when it turns this place to hell. So, even if you don’t believe me, can we set this aside long enough to make sure everyone’s safe?”

Harlan’s jaw tightened as his thoughts swirled, the weight of his decision clear in his eyes. Finally, with a sharp exhale, he lowered his gun. “Gah. This ain’t finished, you understand?” he growled. “I’ve already got everyone moving out of town. If you really can help me keep them safe, that’ll go a long way to me believing you.” He gave Billy an appraising look, his finger slowly leaving the trigger. “So okay. Start talking. How can you help? What the hell is a volcano titan?”

“A volcano titan would be the end stage of a fire golem,” Billy began.

“They end up as magma golems,” Harlan interjected.

“That’s they word they give to every man and his dog, sure, ’cause most of the time, a fire golem never even makes it to the magma golem stage. But every now and then, if it survives long enough and consumes enough magic, it’ll turn into a volcano titan. There are only a handful of records, sketchy ones, from Hawaii, the South Seas, and the Old World. Nothing this century”

“Where’d this one come from then?” Harlan asked, his tone sharp.

Billy ran a hand through his hair, exhaling. “I flushed it out of the canyon when it was just a molten golem. I’m sure you know that the stronger a magic beast is, the more magic it needs to survive. Usually, the stronger ones force weaker ones to collect crystals for ’em, but I separated this one from its clan. It started wandering, looking for food. Somewhere along the way, it got strong enough to take down a Scorchback Leviathan. That’s probably when it transformed into a volcano titan.”

Harlan’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I appreciate the lesson,” he said flatly. “But how do we kill it?”

Billy clenched his jaw, the weight of the truth visible in his expression. “I... I don’t know if we can,” he admitted, his voice low. “I’ve been fighting that thing for days, Sheriff. Days. Nothing I’ve thrown at it has made a lick of difference. It’s got a shield of heat so powerful, so intense, that even my strongest attacks can’t break through. On top of that, it’s spitting out fire golems like some kind of demon hen on a mission. We’ve got a swarm of those headed this way ahead of it.”

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“Yer not givin’ me much confidence here. There’s gotta be something we can do, some way to save the town,” Harlan said, his voice laced with frustration and urgency.

Billy hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, there’s a Hawaiian myth about Pele, goddess of volcanoes, gettin’ tricked into the ocean by Namakaokahai, the goddess of the sea. Some historians think the myth was actually about the Hawaiians defeating a volcano titan, so that gave me an idea. I figured the best shot I had was to lead the volcano titan to the Gulf, like herding cattle into a corral. Ya see, whenever I attack, I must give off enough magic for it to want to try and consume me. So it starts following me”

Harlan frowned, crossing his arms. “That’s gotta be 150 miles from here. There’s gotta be somewhere else.”

“’Fraid not,” Billy replied grimly. “You’ve seen the size of it. The Gulf’s the only bathtub big enough to drown this beasty. Thing is, It was working, too. I was steering it around Blackwater until whatever that explosion was went off. That blast must’ve unleashed an immense amount of magic because now the titan’s locked onto where it happened. And, unfortunately, Blackwater’s in its way.”

Harlan rubbed his temples, trying to process the information. He wasn’t particularly worried about his own safety, his resistance to fire and heat saw to that, but the people of Blackwater were counting on him to save their town. Their trust in him weighed heavily on his shoulders, and he couldn’t bear the thought of letting them down.

“Alright,” Harlan said finally, his voice resolute. “So all we gotta do is give off enough magic that the titan decides to follow us instead. Then we lead it to the Gulf.”

Billy let out a weary sigh. “Shootin’ the breeze ain’t the same as wrangling the herd, Sheriff. I unleashed the strongest magic I got, and it didn’t even notice me. I don’t think there’s anything more I can do.”

“Well, you ain’t the only one with a bit of magic,” Harlan said, a small grin tugging at his lips. “Like I told you, I’ve picked up a few tricks myself.” To punctuate his point, he blew a small jet of fire out of his mouth, earning a yip of approval from Ignivora, the largest phoenix fox at his side. “And Iggy here ain’t a slouch, either.”

Billy raised an eyebrow, glancing between the old sheriff and the fiery fox. “Huh,” he muttered before letting out a resigned sigh. “Well, we ain’t got no other cards to play in this hand, so we might as well give it some.”

The two men stepped out of the sheriff’s office into the blistering heat of the day. The wind carried the acrid scent of sulphur and fire, and the sun seemed to bear down heavier than usual. The last of the townsfolk were making their way toward the reservoir, their caravan of wagons and horses kicking up a trail of dust in the distance.

Harlan bent down to pick up Cinderis, the phoenix fox pup, and carefully tucked her wriggling form into a saddlebag slung over Pudding, his steadfast horse. The tiny creature flared her fiery tail in protest, trying in vain to escape.

“Now, Cindy, I’ve got a very important job for you,” Harlan said, scratching her behind the ears until she stilled. “I need you and yer ma to head on up to the reservoir and keep these people safe. Can you do that for me?”

Cinderis yipped with excitement at the request, earning a small smile from Harlan. “Alright then, off you go. I’ll see you soon.”

Pudding trotted toward the caravan with Cinderis nestled in the saddlebag, her mother padding along protectively beside her.

“Is it wise to let ’em take off like that?” Billy asked, watching the pair disappear into the distance. “We could use the extra magic power.”

“With the amount of effort I went through to save that pup and her ma, I ain’t riskin’ them for this,” Harlan replied firmly. “Besides, Iggy should be more than enough.”

Billy nodded, mounting his horse. “Well, alright then. Let’s rustle up some action.”

Before Billy could spur his horse forward, Harlan took off at a sprint, blitzing past him on foot with Iggy racing at his side. The sight startled Billy’s horse, and the usually stoic man couldn’t hide his surprise. Clearing his thoughts, he urged his horse to gallop faster, trying to keep pace.

It wasn’t long before they reached the front line of the mass of fire golems. The heat was overwhelming, the air shimmering with waves of distortion as if the entire landscape were melting. The volcano titan loomed in the distance, an immense figure of black rock and glowing lava that towered above the rest of the infernal creatures, dominating the horizon. Wisps of smoke rose from the ground as vegetation in its path ignited, leaving a trail of scorched earth.

“Hmmm,” Harlan muttered, his eyes narrowing as he took in the sheer size of the titan and the fiery swarm surrounding it. “This ain’t the worst idea I’ve ever had, but it’s definitely in the runnin’.”

Billy gave a grim chuckle. “This ain’t even in my top ten. But I always was an overachiever at bein’ an idiot.”

Harlan smirked despite himself. “Well since you’re the expert, how do we go about this?”

Billy dismounted his horse and nodded toward the fiery wall ahead. “Reckon we tear into those fire golems like a pack a’ coyotes on a carcass. Use as much magic as we can and hope we get the big fella’s attention.”

“Well alright then” replied Harlan

The two men exchanged a glance, the nervousness they felt apparent on their faces. Giving each other a small nod, then charged straight at the flaming horde.