"We are simply objects moving in infinite space in a certain time continuum. Every spark of life brings upon a bought of hope, yet every death creates primordial pain. One cannot exist without the other, they coexist in harmony—"

"Oh my gods can someone turn that off?" Adahlia snapped as she turned the key in the padlock to the vault. She released a small breath when the mechanisms inside the vault door clicked and the lock loosened.

Adahlia slowly pushed against the massive iron door and froze when a hint of a squeak peeped from the hinges.

Cursing all noisy doors around the realm, Adahlia sprayed oily perfume onto the hinge connecting the vault door to the steel-plated walls and waited for the oil to sink in before pushing the door further open.

"I'm in position, Eclipse, are the cameras disabled?" Adahlia whispered into the silent corridor and a staticky response sounded into her ear through the thin headset she was wearing.

"Done and done. Is the vault open, Asteria?" 

Adahlia answered, nearly silent, and Eclipse continued on with the instructions.

"Your gloves are on right? Keep your hair tucked into your cap. No skin is showing, right? Is your face covered?" Eclipse kept on drilling her tips into Adahlia's brain. "Don't take anything besides what we're here for. Agency doesn't need an old copy of The Book With No Pictures."

Adahlia silently snorted and edged into the vault. Her dark hair was securely tucked into her beanie and she was wearing leather gloves to prevent any skin or hair cells to give away her identity. She was covered head-to-toe in dark leather—less constrictive than jeans and the midnight color of the material helped her blend into the dark.

The only part of her that was exposed was her dark brown eyes.

In a world where racism was an everyday occurrence and a normal thing, she was constantly attacked, but ever since she lost her identity, fitting in was quite easy.

She blended into the dark obsidian walls and edged along the wall toward the back of the vault. All the lights on the security cameras were off and for good measure, they were turned towards the left side of the vault, where she would never go.

She made no noise as her soft-soled shoes slid across the marble floor and soon, she was in front of the Demon Spell, a book written by primordial beings. Or so it was said.

The cover was rotting black with gold engravings written in foreign archaic symbols. The spine was busted and the pages were turned in all directions.

Adahlia sniffed and the smell of rot sparked recognition in her. This book was old, and the weight trigger would also account for the mold.

She had only brought two one-pound sandbags with her to trick the trigger and steal away the book.

Knowing not to speak aloud in case they missed some microphones, Adahlia clenched her right fist and set her other hand on the book gently.

The trigger didn't go off so she wrapped her left hand around the spine and lifted some pressure off of the weight machine. Her other hand came down on the cool metal trigger and eased some pressure on it.

Lifting the book higher and higher and putting more pressure on the weight trigger allowed her to press her right hand directly on the trigger and that left the Demon Book in her possession.

She gently set the book next to her foot and took the weights from her slim pockets.

Doing the same process as before but in reverse, the weights were in place and the book was safely in her jacket pocket.

She waited a few minutes before daring to step off the raised dais the book once rested on.

She felt the heavy presence of the book as she slid back down to the ground. The iron cover was most of the weight and made guessing the mass harder than it could've been.

They had been researching this book for twenty years now, and they chose her to safely retrieve it.

She safely sneaked out of the safe and heard the lock click as she closed the vault door. 

She dare let out a small breath for her victory. She slid out of the hallway and into the next corridor. She stayed pressed against the wall and held the book close to her chest within her jacket.

She heard the soft whir of a machine through her pointed fae ears and quickly crouched on the floor to avoid the line of sight of the security camera. She remained bent in half as she crawled toward the door at the end of the hall.

"Asteria? Is the book secured?" Eclipse asked quietly through the headset. A soft ruffling sound followed the question as if a stack of papers were being shuffled. "I'm keeping an eye on the guards. You're good."

Adahlia tapped the microphone in thanks and continued towards the exit.

"Watch out for the guard in the room on your right. Oh, and don't go through that door in front of you, I haven't dismantled the alarm yet."

Adahlia huffed a sigh and asked quietly, "Is there another way out?"

"Not near where you are, you might have to backtrack, there's a door out where you came in," Eclipse offered.

Adahlia shook her head, even if she knew Eclipse couldn't see her, "That door's compromised, guards are circling like vultures there, I had to throw a cheese sandwich at the wall across to just get into the next hall."

"Ok, fine, I'm working on the door in front then." 

"Hurry up, Eclipse. I can't be squatting here for too long. The guard inside the door could come out anytime," Adahlia whisper-hissed into her headset.

"I can't rush the process, I might miss something," Eclipse hissed right back, the sound of her fingers frantically typing on her computer contradicting her words. "Oh shit, the guard's heading towards the door. Wait, there are multiple guards. Dang it, Asteria, why did you have to park your butt outside the guard hangout."

"How would I have known that?" she glanced from the exit to the guards behind the closed door. "Stars above, I'll just run now."

"Wait, what? Asteria! You can't go through yet, the alarm is still on, I'm still overriding the system!" The frantic typing on the other end intensified.

"I have no choice! The guards are coming, I can hear them now. I have to—shoot, they're coming," Adahlia shot up and immediately started sprinting towards the door at the far end of the hall.

She shoved against it, her shoulder slamming the door wide open for her escape. Unfortunately, the alarm sounded. The shriek shrill pierced her ears and she nearly dropped the book to cover them, her fae hearing more sensitive to the noise.

Her feet flew across the pavement outside, heading towards the street where she could hopefully blend in with the tourists.

Shouting escalated behind her and she heard the thumping footsteps of people chasing after her.

She willed herself to run faster, pleading with the fae side of her to get her through the gates outside of the Art Museum.

She felt her speed accelerate and the human guards behind her falling further and further behind.

"Close the gates," a voice behind her shouted towards the guard on duty near the exit. The guard immediately jumped up and fumbled with the controls to the gate.

There was still a good 200 meters to the closing gate, which was shutting way too fast.

She debated jumping the wall to the streets beyond but there was no way she could get over it, at least not without climbing which would cost her precious time. She raced closer to the now-closed gate and she had to slow to a stop to avoid crashing into solid iron.

The guards pursuing her came in closer and soon was in fighting distance. Shoot.

Adahlia muttered into the microphone at her mouth, "I have to fight. Eclipse, be ready to meet me on the roof."

"Roger that."

The nearest guard whipped out a taser, the best weapon he had on him, and aimed it towards her.

"Nice taser," Adahlia gave him a little grin as the other guards circled her, tasers in hand. "Too bad they won't do any good."

Adahlia took out a dagger from the sheath tied on her thigh. The silver blade glinted in the mid-afternoon sun.

"Puny sword," a woman laughed as the tasers all aimed at her came closer. Adahlia smirked, "Not so much."

Summoning a bolt of lightning, the tasers in their hands exploded. Adahlia felt the air around her electrify and she swung the dagger towards them, the blade glinting with lightning.

"Fae monster," one of the guards hissed as they ran away, scattering to the wind.

Adahlia shook her head as she sheathed her dagger. The electricity in the air had fried a wire in the controls and the gate easily swung open.

Adahlia smiled with the knowledge that she had taken one of the most powerful writings from the world's stupidest guards. She passed pedestrians, all of them taking one glance at her all-black, shit-eating leathers, and stayed a healthy distance away.

She hugged the book closer to her and inhaled the musty scent. What secrets are you hiding?

. . .

Crouched behind a potted plant, Eclipse hid on the roof of their main warehouse. Her face was lit up with the computer screen's light, a headset wrapped around her head.

"Are you kidding me, Asteria? I could've had the door open before you ran out! Why'd you have to electrocute the guards, it broke a part of the mystery," Eclipse complained as she kept her eyes trained on the screen before her.

"I had to undo everything I did and remove any trace of me while you were off running." The typing eventually cooled down and Eclipse slammed the laptop shut.

"Did you get it?" she asked. Adahlia nodded and took out the old book from her jacket.

"Thank gods, we would have been knee-deep in shit if you didn't get it," Eclipse touched the binding of the ancient book. "Rotted away down there too. Stupid museum people won't even be bothered to care for a piece of demon knowledge."

"Let's run this down to Crescent, hopefully, she isn't mad that it took this long," Eclipse nodded towards the book.

"Cress better not be, I had to run from that vault all the way across town," Adahlia pocketed the book and headed towards the stairs down into the warehouse.

"Asteria, don't mention that you used your magic," Eclipse warned. Adahlia nodded. Of course, she knew that. Within the 1% of fae on the planet, nearly none of them had magic. It was a one in a billion chance that they would be born with even a speck of power, and here she was, loaded with fae magic.

Most of the kids in the gang were human, save for Crescent and herself. Crescent had no powers beyond the extra strength and abilities, unlike Adahlia.

She had been blessed with magic leaning towards elemental, and that was a fact that Cress never forgot.

"C'mon, we don't want to be late for dinner," Eclipse hooked her arm through Adahlia's and led her down the stairs.

january 03, 2022
𝖙𝖊𝖊𝖍𝖊𝖊, 𝐁𝐚𝐢
© azalyme ₂₀₂₂