Gideon waited impatiently, arms crossed, drumming his fingers against his arm and breathing through his mouth. Underfoot, grime caked the cobbles, the gaps between the stones full of unspeakable things. Rats scrabbled in a pile of rotting, half-eaten food nearby. The scents of rotting food, urine, and effluent hung thick in the air.

At last, Angel emerged from the back of The Exotic in a tight gray shirt and equally tight white riding trousers, a thin pair of flats, and no makeup. The long lashes, smoky eyes, and full red lips were gone, replaced by a tough-faced girl with a small upturned nose, small eyes, and thin lips. She nodded at him, and he pushed off the wall and took the lead.

“This way. I did a bit of mental math… I think the vent’s right over here,” Gideon said, gesturing at her.

“You haven’t fully cased the joint?” Angel asked, twisting her lips.

Gideon scowled at her. “It’s a bit of a crime of opportunity. If we don’t move now, I don’t know if we’ll get another chance.”

“I just got more expensive,” Angel muttered.

“Get me that stone, and we can bump you up to an eleven percent cut,” Gideon replied.

Angel licked her lips and smiled. “Deal.”

They turned another corner. Gideon glanced around, then crouched by an innocuous grate at floor level in a low building. He peered inside, then nodded. “This is the one.”

“What’re you doing?”

Gideon and Angel both turned. Kat stood at the end of the alley, tilting her head.

“You’re small. Want to join in, thief girl?” Gideon offered.

“Join in on what?” Kat asked innocently.

Gideon shook his head at her. “You don’t get to know the job until you’re in. So? In or out?”

Kat hesitated, then shook her head. “I’m not stupid.”

“Stupid? The stupid ones are the ones ignoring pure profit, sitting around right in front of them,” Gideon said. He grabbed the grate and gave it a good yank, popping it out of the vent.

Kat stared. “Jet wouldn’t like this.”

“I know.”

“This isn’t right. You shouldn’t do this,” Kat protested.

“That’s rich, coming from a self-proclaimed thief girl. Unless… you aren’t a thief at all?” Gideon turned to her, his eyes narrowed. He reached out, hand hovering over her head.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Kat jumped back, hands over her head. “What do you mean? I’m a thief?”

“Unless you’re a dragon,” Gideon said, suspicious.

Angel furrowed her brows. “Unless she’s a… what?”

“Dragons… lesser dragons, that is, can turn into humans. I know, I know. I’m just as surprised as you are. You should’ve seen my face when I first figured it out,” Gideon said.

“I’m not a dragon,” Kat replied, frowning at him.

“Sounds like something a dragon would say,” Gideon said, quirking a brow at her.

“Dragons can’t turn into people,” Angel said, looking sideways at Gideon.

“Sounds like something Jet would say,” Gideon muttered.

Kat crossed her arms. “If I was a dragon, why would I be here, travelling with you? Why wouldn’t I just… kill you?”

“One, you’d travel with us to keep an eye on me, obviously. I’m a threat to the True Dragon and, quite frankly, all dragons, everywhere. Two, you wouldn’t just kill me, because the second you reveal yourself, I’ll kill you. It makes perfect sense,” Gideon said. He shrugged and spread his hands, helpless against such an obvious truth.

Kat looked at Angel. She shook her head, rolling her eyes slightly at Gideon.

Angel pressed her lips together and raised her eyebrows back, slightly helpless.

“Alright. If you aren’t going to help, get out of here,” Gideon said, flicking his hand at her dismissively.

“I’m going to tell Jet,” Kat threatened.

“Tattletale. How lame. Are you really going to tattle? Wow, I’m embarrassed for you,” Gideon said, laughing.

She scowled and turned on her heel, running off, ragged hair flying after her like a filthy flag.

Angel watched her go. “You’re letting her go?”

Gideon shrugged. “If she’s not a dragon, I don’t want to kill a kid for no reason. Come on, let’s hurry up. We need to finish before she gets back.”

Angel glanced at the vent, then stretched, limbering up. “It’ll be tight, but I should be able to squeeze through. A stone on a necklace?”

“Just the stone. Should be in the dead-ahead vault, opaque, orangey stone. Can you pick locks?” Gideon patted down his pockets, looking for something.

“Can I pick locks,” Angel scoffed.

“Good, then I don’t have to use the key staff,” Gideon said, holding up a short, knobby white wand for a second before he tucked it back away.

“You’ve even got a key staff. You’re serious about this Gideon stuff,” Angel muttered under her breath.

Gideon looked at her. “What are you talking about? Seriously. I have no idea.”

“Gideon Nightfellow. The Gideon,” Angel prompted.

“That’s… me?” Gideon said, confused.

She sighed. “No, I mean… there’s always a Gideon.”

“Yes…?”

“You really don’t know?” Angel asked.

Gideon shook his head.

“Gideon Nightfellow… is something of a ceremonial title. Whosoever bears that name will be the leader of the Nightfellows.”

“Right, right,” Gideon said, nodding.

“So whenever a leader… dies, weakens, retires, a bunch of fools start calling themselves Gideon Nightfellow, putting their names in the proverbial pot to become the next leader of the Nightfellows. Might as well put a target on their back, for all the good it does them. And the last Gideon Nightfellow died last month. If it’s some weird coincidence that your name is Gideon Nightfellow, change it, unless you like having a target on your back,” Angel advised.

“I don’t like having a target on my back,” Gideon said.

“Right, so—”

He straightened up tall, proud, and yanked at his robes, straightening them. “But I’m not going to change my name, either. I am Gideon Nightfellow. No one can take that from me.”

Angel sighed. “Alright, fine. Your neck. Stay alive long enough to pay me, alright?”

With that, she removed her pants, revealing tight, tiny shorts beneath, and stripped out of her shirt, leaving only a tight but flexible corset. She slid herself into the vent feet-first and vanished into the darkness.

“Get that stone!” Gideon called encouragingly after her.