“Alright, gather round. Let’s take stock of the situation before we start putting a plan together.”

Illuminated by the lanterns, Alverd, Alicia, Sheena, Monaco, and I sat in a circle in Deotra’s rundown shrine looking at a map of Blossom City. Deotra was at the hearth cooking more food as the sun began to set outside on our first day since agreeing to work together to steal the Hand of the Usurper.

Monaco had made a list in the morning of equipment she needed, mostly things that had been left behind in her crew’s lair in the Broken Mirror district. She had given said list to Alverd, who scowled in a familiar, disapproving way.

“I think it’s mildly insulting that you believe I know where to find some of the items on this list, Monaco.” He had said at the time. “Although it isn’t as insulting as you believing I can acquire them with no issue.”

The thief had winked at him, causing Sheena to grind her teeth so loud I could hear them gnashing in her closed mouth. “I tried to go easy on you. If it helps most of that can be found in the Silken River, and whatever you can’t find just get the base components and I’ll assemble the rest later.” She sprawled out on the floor, making me wonder if the bandages on her leg and shoulder were now just for show. “Off you go. Be a good boy and be back before sundown. I’ve got plans to formulate.”

I was about to stand up when her hand snapped out and grabbed my wrist. “Oh no, not you. You’re staying here and helping me scheme. Plus if the Swords find us, you can protect little ol’ me like you did the other night.” She gave me a ridiculous catlike grin that exuded smugness. This little pot stirrer. I don’t know what your game is but it can’t be good. I’ll play along for now, but gods above is she going to be insufferable.

As the day wore on, Monaco and I strategized about how we’d pull off what she admitted was going to be the most difficult theft of her whole career. “Going in blind changes all the variables. There is no way to get eyes inside the Repository without getting in there to see it myself. On our short timetable, we don’t have the luxury of being able to forge identities or steal uniforms, nor do I even believe that’s how security works for such an important location.”

She had propped herself upright against the wall, and as we discussed plans I noticed every so often her testing her shoulder by rotating it. It was too overt a gesture for her to disguise as idle discomfort, and she repeated it often enough to make me think it was intentional. She’s trying to see if she can rely on her shoulder. Given what Drache did, I guess it’s only natural.

As I had been the first to wake this morning, Deotra was waiting for me when I opened my eyes. She was practically hovering over my face with her inquisitive golden eyes. She led me outside, where we watched the sun creep up into the sky over the course of an hour. During that time, she had come clean about what Drache had done to stabilize Monaco’s condition, although I was still worried to hear about it.

I already knew that Deotra apparently lacked the power to cast healing magic. I wasn’t expecting the explanation to take this turn, though. Deotra knelt before me and confessed to me what had gone down. “Drache had to take over the healing responsibilities because I’m not human. As a familiar, I’m a creature of magic, so I don’t have the same physical vulnerabilities as a human. I could be run through the heart by a blade and survive because my life derives from your mana, not blood.”

“So then that means you don’t… understand how mortal bodies work?”

“A bit oversimplified but yes. You’re flesh and blood, and I’m made of raw magic. Us being connected through our contract means we have an emotional and magical link, which allows me to intrinsically interpret how your body works. ” She tilted her head in the direction of Monaco. “It’s the same for her. Mortals can exist out here in the world without a need to absorb mana constantly. Familiars require that. Even if I had empathy for Monaco’s life, which I don’t…” Her eyes flashed malevolently, and I shivered. “I don’t understand enough about how mortal bodies work to treat her wounds. Even back in Ishmar, it was Drache who had to repair the damage done to you by Eliza’s blade. She had to use a more direct method than the one she used on Monaco. Such a grievous wound needed an immediate response, and so she expended a lot of her mana reserves to help you. She may not have a body right now, but since she was human once, she knew how to heal you when the need arose.”

I remember that. It was almost as though there were never a stab wound to begin with. , though. ” I pondered her words for a moment. “Could you learn how to treat injuries?”

She shook her head. “Even if I were to read books and acquire the knowledge, there is still a block. It’s like how doctors and veterinarians both practice medicine, but the anatomy of animals and humans are different fields, . the same techniques you would use on a human aren’t always the ones you’d use on a cat or dog, and vice versa.”

An important distinction, I’ll keep that in mind. Knowing Deotra and Drache’s separate capabilities is helpful. It also gives me a bit more insight into how their “arrangement” works. It seems like Drache’s ability to be the active personality in control of their shared body is voluntary, and only when Deotra deems it necessary. Plus, she can wrest control back from Drache if need be based on past experience. So no matter what, Deotra has ways to assert herself over Drache if the latter gets out of hand.

Letting out a small sigh of relief, I stretched my arms. “Good to know. Is Monaco in the clear?”

“She will be capable of full movement by nightfall. Deotra’s response was flat, devoid of concern or emotion. But I still don’t trust her. In the event she tries to double cross us, I have a way to deal with her.” Can’t help but be a little concerned when she says that. Still, if Monaco really is dumb enough to try and stab us in the back after all we’ve done for her, she deserves whatever she gets.

Deotra looked at me expectantly with her hands folded in her lap. Is she waiting for me to praise her? She looks like a puppy. I reached out my hand and ran it through her hair, scritching the space between her prominent fox ears. “You did well,” I said. Her mouth curled into a smile and she made a happy mumbling noise as she leaned towards me, enjoying the sensation of my hand in her hair.

“Thank you. Anything for you.”

The sound of Monaco’s voice droning at me shook me from my daydream. “Hey. You dozing off? You’ve got some far off look in your eye.”

“Sorry. I was thinking about something else.” She waved her hand at me irritably. “Listen here. You get distracted on a job like this and everything goes to shit. If you aren’t where you need to be or taking care of your part of the heist at exactly the right time, you throw the whole thing out of whack. We’ve got to be a well oiled machine, or the plan is doomed from the start.” She took a swig of something from a small metal flask on her belt before hooking it back in place. “Doubly so since we’re making most of this up as we go.”

“So we’re just going to have to accept that we can’t predict the guards’ movements or patrol patterns?” I asked.

“Yes. With no way to get inside the Repository, we can’t get information on their numbers, positions or schedules. Traps I can deal with as they come, but guards are the fly in the ointment.” She was making notes on a piece of parchment, which she showed me as she spoke. Most guards will follow some rules. They’ll cover set amounts of ground if they’re patrolling, to avoid being spread too far thin. Some are meant to remain stationary to guard bottlenecks or high traffic areas. It’s just a matter of figuring out which is which. The former can be avoided, but if we encounter the latter we have to use force.”

“So once we have to use violence, everything falls apart, huh?” I asked. “In that case, what’s your exit strategy?”

Sheonaco pointed at a map of Blossom City she’d laid out on the floor. “There are a few buildings near the Repository’s central tower. I sent Alverd and the rest out to estimate the distance between the tower and the adjacent buildings. If they’re close enough, a grappling hook and zipline will serve as the best exit.”

The nearest building was a housing complex built in a more modern style, with a flat roof. “What happens if the distance is too far?” She clucked her tongue. “Oh, don’t you worry I have a plan for that too. Have you ever heard of a parachute?” I blinked.

“A pair of what?”

She smirked at me. “Nevermind. It’ll be easier to show you rather than describe it. Tomorrow we can test it out, because if we have to rely on it there’s no room for mistakes. Now. “Physical traps I can manage. Anything mundane or nonmagical I can either finesse with my tools or have Alverd or that Ishmarian bust down with brute strength. It’s the magical traps I need help with.” Monaco had a number of tools on her person, which she dug out of a pouch belted to her leg and spread out across the floor. Many of them were narrow pieces of metal with small protrusions, although a few were metal loops and fasteners and even something that looked like a lump of clay. That’s where you come in, Kuro.”

“Couldn’t Sheena help with those?” I said.

“Hell no, I don’t trust her. I’ve seen the way she looks at me, like she wants to bury me in a shallow grave. Anytime I flirt with Alverd I can sense her glaring at me, which is part of the reason I do it.” She smirked at me facetiously. “What’s life without a little drama? Pretty damn boring if you ask me. So no, I’d rather have you take care of any enchantments or glyphs we might find.”

I don’t understand how anyone can be so astute and yet so childish at the same time, and I’ve spent plenty of time in Sheena’s company now. I guess for some people it’s easier to present a contradictory facade than show who they really are. Although in these girls’ defense, if people knew who they really were underneath those masks, they could probably use it against them.

“What kind of magical defenses are you expecting?”

Monaco presented me with a small journal that had been secured in yet another part of her belt. Opening it, I saw diagrams of glyphs, magical devices, and other booby traps wizards and witches had invented over the years to guard places of great importance. “Considering the danger the artifacts inside the Repository pose, all of these and more. Might be some things I’ve never even seen. The angels that served the Goddess were said to have had a hand in overseeing the construction of the Repository, so they might have put a trap in there that only they would know about.”

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

A few of the traps in Monaco’s journal were ones I’d seen before. Some of them worked similar to traditional mechanical traps in that they had simple triggers and effects, such as pressure detection in the glyph causing a retaliatory blast of fire magic to engulf the offender. A more complicated device was designed to create an effect that sucked the air out of the room, suffocating anyone in it, and it was triggered by a change in air temperature. She certainly has a lot of useful information. Alverd may not agree but we would have benefited a lot from having someone like her with us during our mercenary years.

My errant thought reminded me of a question I had been meaning to ask. “Your dad must be really important, huh?” She froze in the middle of her calculations, her eyes slowing looking up from her parchment. “Even in spite of the fact that you know that the Guildmaster double-crossed you, you’re still gonna get the Hand. Are you thinking you can try to leverage it to get that medicine? Play the player, so to speak?”

When she didn’t respond, I pushed a little harder. “You can’t seriously think you can just walk back to Margloom with a knife that slays godly beings and put it in the hands of some treacherous bitch who tried to have her goons leave you for dead, do you? You’ll be dead the second you enter Margloom. You won’t even make it back to Dawnbreeze City.”

Her lips parted and I could see her sharp, clenched teeth. “Watch yourself, Kuro. I’m desperate, not stupid.” I leaned forward, wasn’t gonna back down.

“Desperation can easily lead to stupidity. The Guildmaster isn’t just pulling your strings, she’s pulling your heartstrings. She’s relying on you making one mistake, just one, so she can nail you to the wall. If we hadn’t come along, you’d still be running around Blossom City with a crew itching to shank you when you least expected it.”

There was silence as we stared at each other, like two predators daring the other to make a move. Finally, Monaco leaned back and hissed a sigh out between her teeth. “Dad didn’t want me to be a thief. Said he joined the guild so he could make enough money that I could choose whatever path in life I wished instead of resorting to crime like him. So you can imagine how much it pissed him off when I joined the guild myself.”

“Like father, like daughter, huh?” I said.

“Gonna stop you right there.” She held up her hand. “I didn’t join that guild because I wanted to prove something to him. It’s what I wanted to do. Around Margloom, the Four Winds are respected enough. They’re one of the only guilds willing to take in people with checkered pasts and give them clean jobs. They take steps to rehabilitate people who pay their debts to society but keep paying the price long after they get out of prison.”

Then, she pulled out that familiar, mischievous grin again. “Of course it wasn’t long until the higher ups found out that thieving ran in our family. Once they saw I had some of my dad’s talent, they put me to work as one of their retrievers. My dad hemmed and hawed but I know deep down he was kind of proud of me. The apple of his eye not falling too far away from the tree.” The smile faded and was replaced with worry. “I wonder how my mom is doing right now. She must be falling apart. Before she only had to deal with dad being sick, now she’s probably worried about me too.”

The closest I ever got to parents was Alverd’s mom fussing over me when I’d come to visit. Alverd’s mother would bombard me with questions, asking me if I was eating okay because I was so thin and small, if I was getting enough sleep, or if it was okay if she made some cookies for me to take back to the academy.

Okay, so I can trust that Monaco will be with us right until we get the Hand. But once she has it, all bets are off. She can still find ways to leave us behind to take the fall while getting a head start on her trip back to Margloom. Let’s even the odds a little bit. “Well, we can make sure that her daughter gets home safe at the very least. Speaking of which, there’s something I should mention about the Hand of the Usurper. I’ve learned that the knife itself is extremely dangerous.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “Yes, yes, I know. Slaying gods and demons. I know the scripture. My mom made me go to church every week, not much of it sunk in.”

Hook’s in, go for the sinker. “No, I mean just being near it can be hazardous. Anyone who touches the Hand has the potential to go mad. I can try to negate that power if I get a look at it first. The last thing we need is for one of us to have a psychotic break during this heist.” Technically it’s the truth. Anyone who looks into the blade will see what I saw.

Monaco’s eyes widened slightly, then settled back to normal size. “I hadn’t heard that. Is your source reliable?”

“Extremely. I did some digging while you were recovering. The blade itself is like a window into the past, allowing you to see the atrocities committed with it during the War of the Five Kings. I’d even go so far to say that it might be capable of influencing you if you stare into it. Don’t know if it’s true or not, but we can’t take that chance either way.” I was incredibly careful to leave out that the information had come from Drache.

Keep her focused on the heist, and I’ll pull the wool over her eyes for once. As tough as things are with her dad, the best case scenario for all of us is that Alverd and I are the ones holding the Hand when this is all said and done. As she furled her brow in deep thought, processing my information, I tried not to betray any of my own thoughts by maintaining a neutral expression. The instant she gets the Hand, she’ll burn us. One moment of distraction or misdirection and she’ll slip away and leave us holding the bag. By the time the truth comes out, she’ll be halfway back to Margloom. Paranoia is a poor companion but at least you’ll live long enough to resent its company.

I had to stifle a sigh of relief when Monaco shook her head and continued on with her plan. “In that case, I can probably put that redhead elf on the task of providing some kind of shielding spell. Something to block mental influencing?”

I nodded emphatically. “Yes, it’s possible. It’ll require constant concentration to keep the effect up, so if you put Sheena on it I can stay free to disarm any other magical traps.”

You’re clever, but I’m devious. I’ll be able to watch you like a hawk, Monaco.Damn, I really should’ve learned how to play chess. I would’ve been a literal wizard at it, hahaha.

Throughout the conversation I kept stealing glances over at Deotra. For some reason she seemed completely at ease in regards to the things being discussed. She must have feelings about the amount of danger I’m going to be in, but she’s… calm. Not once has she stopped what she’s doing to glare at Monaco or assert herself. She was in fact at the moment tidying up her home with a broom, sweeping dust into a small metal tray that she used to dump it all out of the boarded up window.

Monaco caught me watching Deotra. “So what’s the deal with the girl?”

My face turned red when I saw I’d been caught in the act. “She’s, uh, um, erm, someone I met recently.” Deotra’s back was turned to me, but her tall fox ears pricked straight up instantly. She’s listening now. Thanks, Monaco.

“Nuh-uh, you’re gonna have to give me more details than that. Come on, the juicy stuff. I want the sleazy, salacious, scandalous truth. Gimme gimme.” She gave me a wide, toothy smile. “Spill it. A guy like you just happens to meet a cute little thing like that and suddenly you want to keep everything hush hush? Something doesn’t add up. You’re not ashamed of anything you’ve done, have you?”

Narrowing my eyes, I scoffed at her. “Maybe I do, maybe I don’t. That’s none of your business, and you can run the filthy little hamster wheels in your head all you want trying to fill in the blanks. I don’t kiss and tell.”

The implications of my statement didn’t sink in until the grin on Monaco’s face got so big it threatened to stretch past the limits of her face. From the corner, Deotra mumbled, her tail curling back and forth on the ground as she shivered from embarrassment. Damn this wolf. She’s nothing but trouble.

Time passed and plans were made, scrapped, remade, modified, and refined. Alverd and the girls came back from the Silken River with most of what Monaco had asked for sometime in the early afternoon. With some instruction from Monaco, we assembled the equipment she had asked for that wasn’t available in the market. That was when I learned what a parachute was. She was explaining the theory of it, using a special cloth to catch air over my head to slowly lower me to the ground when Alicia spoke up.

“That might work for most of us, but what about Alverd? Won’t his armor make him too heavy?”

She nodded. “Yes, I’m fairly certain that my basic parachute isn’t going to be able to hold his weight. If I had time and the right tools to make a proper parachute I would, but we don’t. Alverd, did you calculate the distance between the Repository and the nearby buildings like I asked?”

Sheena scowled, folding her arms. “I took care of that. Based on what I saw, your contraption will have enough rope to bridge the gap. It’ll still take an insanely accurate shot with a crossbow to hit the target you had me set up on that other building.” Monaco scoffed.

“What? Think I can’t make that shot, Red?”

Alverd cleared his throat. “That’s enough, ladies. Focus on the task at hand, please.”

Sheena sulked, but sat herself down cross-legged in front of the map. When it was clear she wasn’t going to start any trouble, Monaco walked us through the details of her plan. “Entry into the Repository is simple enough. You’re not gonna like it but it works every time. A building that size has to have a significant guard barracks to accommodate it, and that many guards means it’s unrealistic to dig latrines. It’ll have a sewer entrance we can use to get past the outer wall, which will open up somewhere inside the grounds.”

“What’s a sewer?” Alicia asked. All eyes turned to her.

“Right,” I said, exasperated. “Ishmar would be behind on implementation of basic public amenities.” I quickly summarized what a sewer was for her, at which point her face twisted into an expression of absolute disgust at the envisioned rivers of feces and sludge water running below the busy streets of a bustling city.

“Why would anyone think that that’s a good idea?” She asked, but Monacoo was already moving on to the next part of the plan.

“Once we’re aboveground, we get into the Repository and make our way upstairs. I’m going to guess that something as important as the Hand is way up near the top of the tower. We avoid the guards, locate the Hand and snag it, then use the parachutes and zipline at the top to escape.” She finished her recap and regarded us smugly. “Any questions?”

Sheena raised her hand. Monaco waited a moment before pointing at her, and I saw a hint of irritation on the her face. “Is there anything we do know for certain about the inner tower that you’re not telling us about? I get the feeling you’re not being completely honest about what we’re up against. Also, the fact that so much of your equipment relies on physical means tells me exactly what I want to know. You expect to find anti-magic defenses, don’t you?”

Well, well, well. For once, she raises a good point. Monaco didn’t answer right away, instead mulling over her answer carefully. Finally, she sighed and rolled her shoulder again, this time with no difficulty. “I ran into a trap like that once on a job. Half our kit was built around magical tools. When the anti-magic field hit us, we weren’t ready. Two of my crew almost died and the rest were almost caught. So nowadays I try not to rely so heavily on magic in case I encounter something similar.”

Deotra came and put bowls of a warm, pleasant-smelling soup in front of each of us. I drained mine quickly, although the others were still waiting for Monaco to elaborate. “Look, there’s no guarantee we’ll even run into a trap like that. And even if we do, Alverd and Alicia can deal with anything that gets thrown at us while we undo the anti-magic field. It’s not like it’s a solid bubble where magic can’t be used. It simply scrambles your ability to use magic so it’s damn near impossible.”

“But, you said it yourself, Monaco. The angels who helped build the Repository might have capabilities beyond anything we’ve ever seen,” I pointed out. “What happens if it is exactly that?” Unphased by my question, she stood her ground. “Then we have Alverd and Alicia find the source for the trap and break it. Whatever would be emanating that field would be susceptible to physical tampering. Again, that’s if the Repository even has that kind of defense…”

Returning with small trays, Deotra laid out strips of meat in front of us after placing a small cauldron of hot water in the hearth. “You dip the meat in the hot water to boil it. I’m preparing some vegetables too. Get started without me, I’ll catch up.” She advised before going back to her corner to prepare more food, and the others took the opportunity to finally have blessed silence with no arguing.

At least that’s what I thought would happen until Alicia pointed at me, then Deotra. “So what is the story between the two of you?” I practically spit out a mouthful of boiled beef. “What? It’s a valid question. Nobody has told me anything about what’s going on. I want to know.” Gods, everyone’s on my ass these days.

The next time Deotra came over to place food on the trays arrayed in front of us, I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her close to me. Even without looking at her I could tell she was about to go crazy; the stammering sounds and her twitching ears poking the side of my face was all I needed to tell me she was having a little breakdown.

“We found each other. I like her and she likes me. Now, is everyone done prying? Are we good? Does anyone else want to put my love life under a magnifying glass?”

Alverd raised his hand and I immediately cut him off. “That was a rhetorical question, Alverd, I couldn't care less what anyone thinks. And that’s the last I have to say about it.” I scowled at all of the, all the while listening to the sound of Deotra’s tail thumping against me and the floor as she futilely tried to calm herself down.

Fox is out of the bag now. No way to put her back in it, either. Like it or not, she’s stuck with us now. Although knowing her that’s what she’d prefer. In spite of what had just happened, she was now hugging me, her face nestled in my robe. “So now that we’re done with that, I have a question of my own. What’s the timetable for this heist?”

Monaco rolled up the map of Blossom City and tucked it into one of her many belt pouches. “The night before the coronation. Guunzel is supposed to be making some big appearance at the Imperial Palace. It’s the perfect distraction. Guards will be expecting to respond to an emergency at the Palace rather than the Repository. That means we’ll be going in tomorrow night.”

Yawning, Alverd stretched his arms. “Alright. I still have a few issues about stealing the Hand, but for now the priority is keeping it away from Guunzel. We can figure out what to do after we have it in our possession. Let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow night is going to be interesting to say the least.”

As the others settled into their futons, extinguishing the lanterns, I pulled the covers over on mine only to feel Deotra sneak in with me. She put her finger up to her lips, then snuggled up against me. Yeah, I was pretty forward on that one. But if I’m going to have to stick with Deotra and Drache, might as well find a way to make it so I don’t have to lie all the time.

Pulling Deotra in close, I felt my eyes droop until I couldn’t keep them open. Being positive isn’t really my thing. But somehow, as long as I have Deotra with me, I think I can try. Let’s pray everything goes smoothly for once.