Shai

Qiara came back into their bedroom after strolling around the palace for twenty minutes. Shai lifted her eyebrows questioningly.

Her friend shook her head. “The guards didn’t allow me to go anywhere without being tailed.”

Shai sighed. “I was afraid of that.” She glanced toward the window, where the sky was nearly black, a half-moon shining faintly into the room. “At least it’s dark now. We can leave by the window and sneak our way to the fortress.”

“It’ll be easy for us, since we’re used to climbing out of windows. I don’t know about Tivon though. He should probably stay here while we do the recon.”

“Right. Let’s go to him.”

They left their room. Out in the hallway, two guards waited, watching their every move. Shai smiled at them as she and Qiara moved down the hall to the other bedroom. After knocking, Tivon told them to come in.

The room he shared with Leiam was furnished the same way as theirs, with two beds, two wardrobes, a couch, and a coffee table. Tivon sat on the couch, parchments sprawled out in front of him as usual. He looked up as they walked over.

“What’s the plan?” he asked.

“Guards everywhere; we have to sneak out the window,” Qiara reported. “So Shai and I should go by ourselves.”

He nodded. “I suppose that would be wise. And you both will need something in case you’re caught by a guard.”

“Why can’t I just shock them?”

Shai frowned at her. “Because you would probably kill them, and we’d definitely sound the alarm if we left behind a dead body.”

Qiara pouted. “I hate when you’re right.”

Tivon reached into his bag next to the couch and got out two vials of brown powder. “Use these. Pour half into your hand and throw it into the guard’s face. It will knock them out, and they won’t remember what happened the hour before they went to sleep.”

Qiara peered at her vial after taking it. “What is it?”

“Slumber Root I crushed into powder.”

Slumber Root, Shai remembered, was a nickname for the herb that caused deep unconsciousness. When someone inhaled it, not even a cyclone from a meteoromancer could wake them.

“Clever thinking,” Shai said. “Thanks, Tivon.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Smart men are so sexy,” Qiara added with a wink, making Tivon’s cheek redden, and he even started fumbling with his parchments, dropping a couple on the floor. Shai bit her lip, trying not to snicker. Her friends were too cute.

“Alright, we need to tie knots in these bed sheets so we can climb down,” Shai said.

The three of them got to work. When they were finished, they tied one end of the sheets to the bedpost, then threw the other end out the window, after looking around to make sure no one was watching. Luckily, there were no guards behind the palace, except for those that were several yards away within the towers of the Treasure Fortress.

“Don’t forget to cover your faces,” Tivon advised as they stood next to the window.

“Right.” Shai lifted her headscarf until it covered most of her face. Qiara did the same.

Then the electromancer swung a leg over the windowsill and began climbing down first. Shai went next, placing her feet in cracks along the outer wall as she descended. She was used to sneaking in and out of places during heists, so it wasn’t difficult for her to scale down and jump onto the grass at the bottom. Tivon pulled the sheet-rope back into the room.

Shai and Qiara moved quickly but quietly across several yards of brown grass toward the looming fortress up ahead. The structure seemed impossibly large the closer they got to it, and Shai didn’t want to even imagine the size of the labyrinth underneath.

There were a few scrawny trees, so they hid behind them whenever they reached one, hoping the darkness also concealed them well. Then they reached the Treasure Fortress, a square structure with hundred-foot-high walls of cinderblock. There was a guard tower at each corner, with two guards in each, not including the guards who also paced on the walls between the towers. Luckily for Shai and Qiara, the tower they were closest to had a couple of bored-looking guards more interested in their card game than watching their surroundings.

“We can cover more ground if we split up,” Shai suggested.

Qiara nodded, then they darted their separate ways, Shai going right and her friend going left. Shai kept close to the wall to make it harder for the guards to see her. The wall’s shadow made it darker too, which was a plus.

She came to her first entrance into the fortress, stopping to inspect it. It was blocked by a short iron gate with a simple lock that could easily be picked, and Shai saw why. She sensed a strong magical barrier blocking the way, which most people probably wouldn’t have noticed, but she was used to looking for such obstacles.

As she was figuring out how much mana it would take to remove the barrier, a voice behind her said, “I wouldn’t touch it if I were you.”

She jumped, startled, then realized she recognized the voice. She spun around, glaring. “You shouldn’t be here. You aren’t even wearing a mask; the guards could see you.”

“I’m being careful,” Edmun said, practically blending in with the darkness. “I’m a professional at this, or have you forgotten?”

She narrowed her eyes. “How did you even get past the guard towers into Zanteos? We didn’t bring a wagon for you to hide in.”

“Madame Kalyssah has connections in this country as well.”

Of course she did. Someone must’ve somehow smuggled Ed in.

Shai scoffed and turned back to inspect the magic barrier. “You can go now. I’m busy.”

“I know. But you can’t take down that ward. The guards will notice when they patrol by here from the inside.”

Curse him. He was right. She couldn’t make the guards suspicious this soon, when her team wouldn’t perform the actual heist for two more days.

She turned back to Ed. “I would’ve figured that out on my own.”

He snickered. “Sure. But this makes me realize. Your team needs me. I have more experience in thievery than that other pyromancer. You should tell Jistan to replace him with me.”

“Absolutely not!” she hissed, glancing up at the nearest guard tower to make sure they weren’t spotted. “Jistan can’t know about you or The Cliq! He will make sure Madame Kalyssah never gets the chest.”

“He doesn’t have to know our leader wants it. Besides, he trusts you, doesn’t he? I’ve seen how chummy you two have become.”

She gritted her teeth, hating this scoundrel and hating herself even more.

“So he’ll never suspect what you’re really up to, whether I’m there or not,” he continued. “You could tell him I’m an old friend of yours.”

“You’re not joining our team.”

“Think about it. You know my skills could come in handy.”

“What skills? Killing innocent people?”

“That, among others. Besides, I’m getting bored just waiting around for—”

He cut off as a bolt of electricity zapped him from behind, Qiara appearing from the shadows. Ed collapsed to the ground, convulsing as volts ripped through his body.

Qiara held her hand in his direction and looked at Shai. “Are you alright? Did this bastard hurt you?”

“No, no I’m fine.” Shai had a moment of satisfaction seeing Ed on the ground, slowly coming back to his senses.

“What is he even doing here?”

“None of your business,” Ed growled, panting hard.

“I’m going to kill you,” Qiara hissed at him, white bolts snaking around her hand.

He raised a palm toward her, fire glowing within it. “Not if I kill you first, you bitch.”

Shai lifted her own hand and curled her fingers into a fist, making Ed’s fire go out. He cursed at her.

“I told you, I won’t allow you to harm her,” Shai growled. Qiara smirked down at him.

He sneered, pushing himself up to his feet and taking a threatening step toward them.

But all three of them froze when a voice above cried, “Hey, I think I saw something down there!”