Even if Nora had gave in to temptation and taken a look behind her, it would have done her no good. Whether the nobles were close or far, whether the guard was coming through the window, her plan remained the same. Evade. Run away. Don't get caught.

From below her, she could hear boots thudding on the porch's wooden slats as orders and shouts of both gruff women and men shattered the peaceful lull of falling raindrops.

Now, the guard from the room was only one of her many problems. The rest of the guards had been alerted.

Using her magic could buy her some time, but the problem was, the guards probably had magic, too.

Nearly all nobles made sure to employ at least a few mages, and since the Taeguns were dripping with wealth, Nora was willing to bet they had hired a lot more than a few.

As if in confirmation of her assumption, several blinding white balls of light shot up into the air and illuminated the outside of the mansion and its numerous gardens. There were no shadows left to hide in, and to make the situation worse, the door to the balcony flew open.

Going back down the trellis was out of the question. It ended too close to the front porch, but staying on this balcony would end up in her capture in a matter of seconds.

Emphasizing her need to move, boots sloshed on the wet balcony.

Nora needed time that she didn't have to form a plan, and so she did the only thing she could; she shoved the ring in one of her trousers' pocket, pounced from the balcony onto the trellis, and climbed straight up to the roof of the luxurious mansion.

The sweet scent of honeysuckle didn't make her smile this time. It was a reminder that she should have examined the house properly before she attempted this heist and found a better escape route than a honeysuckle-covered trellis which descended close to the front door.

To her relief, the owner of the thudding boots did not hop onto the trellis after her. The guard was probably too big and would cause the trellis to fall. Heavy footsteps could be heard retreating inside the mansion.

Rain was now rushing down in a hurry, and Nora's feet kept slipping on the shingles of the roof after reaching the top of the trellis and hauled herself onto the roof. Her hood was soaked, and heavy tendrils of her hair clung to her neck, forehead, and jawline beneath the thick fabric.

She ended up crawling in a crouch with her hands down on the shingles to avoid slipping. With much effort, she reached a peak in the roof, and held on as tightly as she could while her mind raced with frightening scenes of her capture.

'This can't be happening. It can't be,' Nora deluded herself. It had been at least a year since she'd been spotted on a job.

Shaking her from her delusions, a woman's stern voice exclaimed, "She's on the roof! Where's the ladder!?".

Nora knew she couldn't hang here any longer, but there was nowhere to go except down into the mess of guards. Carefully, she raised her feet and balanced on the roof's peak.

In a last-ditch effort, she then used her magic. Purple mist poured from her outward-facing palms, and she quickly moved her hands as if she were sloppily shaping clay.

A perfect copy of herself formed in front of her eyes. Wearing a permanent frown, the illusion stared blankly at Nora, who whispered to it, "Lead them away from here!", then slammed a pointed finger forward toward the side of the house that was closest to an outcrop of trees.

The trees were a far distance, but it wasn't a wild idea that she'd go there. The guards would assume she'd run for cover, so it was the perfect place to send her copy.

If only this house were surrounded by others in the city, but no. The Taeguns owned not only this exorbitant mansion but many acres of land.

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While there were a few other buildings, such as the servants' quarters, barracks, and stables, she knew those buildings would provide her with no shelter. If she managed to lose the guards' line of sight, they would look in the surrounding buildings first. She might use them to disappear momentarily and use what little magical strength she had let to conjure another illusion, but it wouldn't be enough time to rest.

A cacophony of voices filled the air as her illusion climbed down the trellis and vaulted toward the ground. It wouldn't be long before they found out the thief they were chasing was a fake, so she peeled her eyes away from the scene despite wanting to know how far her illusion would make it before being dispelled.

Once again focused on how to escape her impending doom, she slowly pushed her legs out in front of her, planting her bottom on the side of the roof she hadn't just climbed up while gripping the peak with a hand.

Then, she let go and slid on her bottom down the backside of the house.

She was going too fast to stop as she neared the edge, so she flipped over onto her stomach with her palms flat against the slick shingles beneath her.

Continuing her slide, she felt the smooth shingles on her skin until her body reached the end of the roof. There was only air on all sides of her legs, then her waist, and finally her arms as she fell from the roof.

With fingers extended like claws, she clutched the edge of the roof. One hand slipped, and her breath hitched. With dread-widened eyes, she brought the loose hand back up to grab the roof's edge, then took a moment to search for a way down.

On her right, there was a balcony on the third floor, but it was quite far away. She'd have to shimmy to reach it. That might take too long, and she could lose her hold again.

To the left, there was a roof, probably covering a back porch but it was on the second floor. Either option was bad. She knew there would be guards at the doors there, and she didn't fancy a drop to the second floor, especially onto a sloping roof in the rain.

Directly below her position was some sort of tall hedge. If she landed in it, it might break her fall, but she was hanging from the roof of a 3-story mansion. It was a huge risk.

"There's another thief back here!" barked a guard from somewhere below and to her left. With no time left for planning, Nora quickly decided to shimmy to the third story balcony. If she made it there, she could then drop down onto the second-story balcony beneath there and easily leap to the ground after.

From all around her, guards were communicating about her position, and the doors of the balcony she was heading for suddenly rattled open. A mountain of a man wrapped in dark leather armor with a scimitar sheathed on his hip glared at her with an amused smirk.

She scowled back at him and lost her focus, endangering her precarious hold on the roof. One of her hands slipped again. His smirked only widened. He knew, just as she did, the chances of her escaping were slim, and so he extended his arm to her and motioned toward himself, beckoning her to shimmy closer so he could help her down right into his ensnaring arms to arrest her.

Defiance raged inside Nora. She would not be helped by this man who taunted her. Once more, she looked down, as if calculating the distance to the ground, when her eyes caught on something that might just save her.

Nora's tense face relaxed slightly, and she flashed the arrogant guard a mocking smile. Unexpectedly, she dropped her other hand from the roof's edge. Slick cobblestones slipped across her palms and bare toes as she purposely slid down the wall.

Seconds passed, and then then her fingers snagged a large, protruding stone in the wall. Pain shot from her fingers to her wrists at the impact, but she clenched her jaw and suffered through it without a whimper.

Once more, she glanced down. She was much closer to the ground now. The fall might hurt, but it wouldn't do any serious harm. Taking a deep breath in, she let go of the stone, used her toes against the wall to lightly turn her body away from the wall, and tumbled into a roll and onto the muddy ground below.

With not even a second to catch her breath, she hopped up and began dashing away from the house. Searing red and orange light flared behind her. Heat scorched her right-side, nearly burning her, but the mage that had hurled the fire bolt narrowly missed.

"NO MORE FIRE!" roared the guard that had smirked at her. Just as he had ordered, the fire bolts stopped immediately, and the threatening flares at the edges of Nora's vision were extinguished.

A couple loud thuds sounded from behind her. The commanding guard must have dropped from the third-story balcony to the second-story one beneath it, and then the ground. Another set of loud, squishy footfalls began to chase after her.

'So, they won't kill me,' she stated in thought. This was actually worse than if they would because it meant they knew what she had taken.

If they managed to get their hands on her, she would be interrogated about how she knew about the ring. If she let any information about the Wraiths slip, she was as good as dead anyway, but not before the guild tortured her for her inadequacy.

Even if she had to humiliate herself, she needed to be successful tonight or she would not live much longer.