A simple link is all that's needed to keep us bound. A strand of darkness from my feet that connects her spirit-like essence as she leaves my body and manifests in the real world. She’s her own entity—full of attitude and all—but she listens when I need her to.
She slides along the floor and up one of the shelves, mimicking my shape… mostly. The wisps of her hair, though, float around her as if manipulated by water, and her limbs are a bit longer than what’s natural.
Sayah skitters across the room. In a flash, she rounds the edge of the shelves and dances right in front of the dogs. They leap to their feet and try snapping their jaws at her, but she’s too quick. As she zooms toward the door, the dogs howl and give chase into the main store.
Good boys.
Frantically, I pull at the ropes and lower myself. My feet touch the floor, and I unlatch the harness. Dropping the equipment down, I sprint to the door and slam it shut. I reach down and flick the lock. The shadowy cord between me and Sayah shifts back and forth under the space beneath the door as she teases the mutts. Booming barks and nasty snarls come from the other side, so I don't waste another second.
Knowing exactly where to go now, I run down to the end of the last row of shelves. Now that I’m on the ground, my skin crawls with the strong pulses of magic all around me. This place is full of things touched with the stuff, but the strongest and darkest one that vibrates above them all is the one I want. The Orb of Chaos.
I glance over my shoulder just to make sure I'm alone. I am. It's just paranoia at seeing those hounds. Several wooden crates sit against the wall, but they look unopened, so I doubt what I’m here for is in there.
Pivoting toward the shelves, I pull the small flashlight from my pocket and flick it on. Rapidly I scan the artifacts, searching past the Greek tea set, the figurines of animals that are salt and pepper shakers and quite cute.
No, Aria. Don't take the cute piglet set. Even though it’s adorable. Following the rapid tingles, I crouch low, and through the darkness something gives off a faint, pulsing glow from the back of the shelf. I direct the beam back there and discover a circular orb. It sits in a miniature wooden basket lined with red velvet.
Bingo.
I grab the orb, the surface round and smooth and cold to the touch. Inside, the silver liquid looks like mercury, and the way it swishes and flows is mesmerizing.
The object hums in my grasp, almost vibrating. This bad boy is going to bring in a lot of money. Water from Hell or not. It’s special. I can tell just by the way it feels in my hand.
"No idea what you are, but you're going to make me a hell of a lot of money," I whisper to the thing like it can understand me.
Tiny waves inside begin ebbing and crashing into the glass, reminding me of the unruly ocean right before a storm.
I stand and stuff the orb into the satchel on my hip, then turn and run toward the rope two aisles down.
A hissing sound surges in my ears, buzzing across my mind like a swarm of angry cicadas have taken residence in there. Seconds later, the door to the store flings open and rebounds against the wall. My heart jumps into my chest, and I skid to a halt.
Two guard dogs stare at me from the doorway.
The twist in my gut turns into a shiver.
Shit!
This close, they look like feral things. Black ears plastered to their heads, sharp fangs exposed from peeled-back lips as they growl viciously.
Sayah returns, snapping back into me. Our link allows me to feel her general emotions too, if a shadow can feel such things. And right now, it feels like she’s disappointed she let me down.
My anxiety shoots up a notch, the danger more real. If I don't get out of here, I'll become dog food in moments.
I spin on my heel and dart in the opposite direction, racing down the corridor between the wall shelves.
Paws thump the stone floor behind me, claws click-clacking as the dogs close in on me. Panic claws up my throat. I sure as hell don't want to end up found mauled to death by dogs in this place.
Feet pounding the floor, I run for my life.
I careen around the shelves and dart past the next parallel aisle. I swing into the second lane where my rope dangles about fifteen feet away.
Sprinting for it, I glance back. The savage hounds make the turn, teeth snapping and snarls ricocheting through the warehouse. The rope’s close but feels miles away. The dogs are upon me in seconds, their hot breaths practically on the back of my legs. I spin last minute, and a sudden snap of jaws comes inches from my calf, the wind fluttering against my jeans.
Son of a bitch.
Heart racing, I run up a set of crates near the shelves and catapult myself up toward the dangling rope. Snatching it mid-air, I swing violently and hold on for dear life. I pull my knees up high so they reach my elbows and wrap the rope around my ankles. Working quickly, I use it to push myself higher. My muscles scream in protest, but the immediate danger has me scrambling for more height.
A sharp, excruciating pain tears right into my calf. It comes so fast and hard that I cry out.
The dog jerks its head, teeth scraping down my pants and tearing skin. The pain is so intense I almost let go, but instead I thrash to force myself into a wild swing.
"Fuck off!" I slam my other foot into its face to dislodge it.
It whines and lets go, squealing when it hits the ground.
Frantic now, I scale up the rope like a crazy squirrel, moving on pure adrenaline. Higher and higher I climb above the hounds that are jumping up after me and tugging on the cord.
My pulse thunders in my ears, and I hate how damn terrified I feel.
Perspiration runs down the side of my face, and halfway up and out of reach, I pause, gasping for air.
Down below, the damn things are snarling and making a racket, enough to wake the neighborhood. A sudden tug on the rope has my grip slipping. These dogs are relentless! I slide down and a scream escapes past my lips. Frantically, I grasp the rope and jolt for a hold, my palms burning, knuckles white.
Fuck!
Snarls echo through the room while agonizing pain digs deeper into my leg from the bite. I swear, if I get rabies, I'm coming back for revenge.
I resume my escape, dragging myself up by my sore arms, my feet twisting around the rope for leverage and pushing myself up. I hate to admit this isn’t my first breaking and entering attempt, and with my funds absolutely abysmal currently, it probably won’t be the last. I try not to make it a habit, especially since things always seem to go wrong—like with the teeth marks in my leg, for example.
The dogs continue to jump and bark ferociously at me, but I’m too far up to catch now. That doesn’t slow me down any though. With all the ruckus, I’m waiting for the police sirens next.
The windowpane in the ceiling sits half-open from where I left it, and just as I reach for the edge, something bursts inside and flutters right past me.
I shudder and flinch, my heart nearly bursting out of my rib cage.
“The fuck!?” I look back down to see Sir Surchion’s stupid crow landing on top of a shelf. It tilts its head, beady black eyes studying me.
Damn bird. Damn dogs. It’s a freaking zoo in here.
Clumsily, I grab hold of the edge of the open window and haul myself out. Sitting there with my legs dangling inside, I gasp for each breath, trying to calm my raging pulse.
This night has sucked, but at least I got the orb. I heave the rope and harness up, away from the dogs. They snap at it a few more times before giving up and rushing back into the store as if knowing they've lost this battle. Or maybe they heard another sound?