The next night, Ghost climbed onto the roof tops. He preferred to be up high where the view was unobstructed. The wide open space gave him a sense of freedom and peace.

The cool night wind blew around him, whipping his long ponytail and messy bangs from his face which he had not bothered to cover. His clothes flapped wildly about him. Automatically, he changed his stance to steady his footing and balance.

The Shard made his way to his favorite spot. This house had an extra floor which allowed him an awesome view of the city. He needed to clear his head and think. The coming mission at House Zhai was a challenging one. One main mission with three side jobs. Of course, they would get their cut for those too. The problem was in the smooth executions of each.

First of all, he was trained to kill not to protect. He sniffed shaking his head, how does that work? Crow said it was the opposite of killing. Just keep her alive and safe for three months? Safe meant from physical harm in all situations, including those brought on by strangers, people around her, family or even herself. After thinking about it for a while, he managed to wrap his mind around it and thought of some adjustments to be done for the job. The Target, Shuang was to be preserved not terminated.

Next was Key's side mission. He grinned when he remembered how offended Key was when Night implied stealing the seals might be too difficult for him. The Three had to prove his outstanding thievery skills again, something he hadn't had to do for a long time.

Well, he would leave that up to Key. He was sure the master thief would come up with a plan. He would be on standby to help if needed to. After all, he was the ranking Shard on the mission and would have to shoulder the overall responsibility of its success.

Ghost sighed. His own mission, killing Lord Wen should be no problem except that he didn't know much about the Target. He needed information on Lord Wen, the people around him and his habits. Customizing a suitable death and making it look natural in a highly secured environment would take extensive preparation. He had some homework to do. He would do that before Lord Zhai accepted the deal. A couple of days lurking in the Wen household should provide him some useful information.

And Ice, Ghost shook his head at the mess. Ice and Key were seeing each other. He didn't know how serious it was until Key's strong reaction to the news of her captivity. Key had tried to keep calm during the mission briefing, but once they were alone, Key had exploded.

Somehow, the master thief had managed to make Ghost swear to get Ice out, whatever it took. After all, wasn't he a Five now? Ghost was a really, really, real-ly awesome Shard, right? That's why he admired him so much and he would have no problem getting Ice out even if they were not properly trained for extrication (A Six's job). Weren't they good friends? He promised to help in all Ghost's future theft missions so that the Five could relax but receive the commission. He couldn't live without Ice!

Ghost sighed recalling the mission outline in the second scroll. Ice, a new level Three had taken on more than she could chew. After acing her level Two test, she had been promoted to a Three and commenced basic level three training into advanced thievery. However only after a month, she had gone rogue.

Not full on rogue but still sort of rogue.

Ice had broken into House Zhai's high security grounds to 'practice'. Since Key had told her so much about Ghost, she had wanted to impress him by following in Ghost's legendary footsteps. She wanted to prove that she was just as good as Ghost if not better when he was a Three. Ice was going to show him that she was not just a pretty face but also had outstanding skills. She wanted him to like and admire her more than Ghost.

However when she got caught, Old Wolf had suggested they let her try to escape herself. An impromptu trial to test her mettle. Other Threes would be challenged somewhat and while some may escape, Ghost definitely could.

Ice had done some (standard) homework before going in. After obtaining information on the property's layout and tight security schedules she had proceeded with her plan. Unfortunately, she had been caught sneaking around by a random servant. He raised the alarm at the intruder when she was unable to explain her presence satisfactorily. They fought. The matter escalated quickly when the scuffle led to the accidental death of the said servant. By then, the well trained Elite guards had arrived.

She was arrested and thrown into House Zhai's jail for further investigation. The jail sat on a corner of Lord Zhai's land. Now they had to get her out before she was exposed as a Shard and bring unwanted attention to the Dark Sect.

Ghost sighed. It was partly Key's fault for repeating the story to her. However, he supposed it was also his fault for being so damn good.

"What a mess," he muttered but the wind took the word from his lips.

Love did weird things to people. She should have waited until she had more training and experience before attempting such a stunt. What on earth had possessed her to risk her life, reputation and potentially exposing the Sect just to impress Key? No one just 'practiced' in the ruling House.

He himself had worked and practiced hard starting with common households, shops and later progressing to higher security places before attempting the Ruling House. Didn't she know that? Or did she just believe the exaggerated rumours of his exciting escapades? It became wilder with each retelling, so much so that even he had to laugh at some of the outrageous add-ons.

No one was that good without constant practice and challenges.

Now they had to think of a way to get her out, preferably alive. Poor Key, he was beside himself when he read the details.

House Zhai's jail. He had not explored that part of the property, there was nothing to steal there. He formulated a plan but would change it when he knew the layout and guard rotation. This was proving to be quite the challenge for both of them. Was it some kind of test too? He mulled at the weird tension between Old Wolf, Nightshade and Crow.

Ghost sat on the rooftop for a long time. The cold wind cleared his mind enabling him to focus. When he finally decided on his course of action, he got up. There was another matter which he wanted to check out.

A faint rumour had spread that a special guest was arriving tonight, a month ahead of the formal scheduled arrival of delegates from the neighbouring regions. The fact that rumor had died down as quickly as it had sprung up was suspicious indeed. Not even a whisper was left, only a deafening silence. Those who knew anything about it were tight lipped or feigned ignorance. Ghost knew only of one person who had the power to control such information.

Swiftly, he ran along the familiar thief's highway until he came to the city's Western gates. The guards were alert but relaxed, huddling around the small warming fire. Soft murmurs reached his ears. A small palanquin with only four guards. Minimal luggage. Was he really that important?

The person had just passed the gates and was already in the city. Where? Which route? Ghost made an educated guess. An entourage like that would need to move along the streets. And the guest, if he guessed right, would stay at the 'White Lotus', the best guest house in the city ... and his usual lodgings. The 'White Lotus' was known for its excellent service, fine cuisine and above all, it's discretion.

Ghost moved from rooftop to rooftop, easily covering the main streets into town. Finally, he came across the slow-moving group.

Ahhh, there it was.

A plain palanquin carried by six bearers came into sight. Its path was lighted by a lone lantern. Ghost crouched on the roof, then followed silently to observe.

The four guards surrounding the guest confirmed his or her importance. That, and the fact that the bearers made only minimal sound as they moved in perfect tandem. Ghost narrowed his eyes assessing them professionally. They were not simple bearers; they were skilled in martial arts indeed. He nodded to himself, yup, that made a total of ten guards.

It was enough to confirm his guess and the occupant's importance. Ghost's lips curved into a smile. Why was he sneaking into the city when he could enter in broad daylight to a warm welcome from the ruling House? All the delegates had formal invitations to the city for Shuang's nuptials. Surely, as the groom, he had one too. Ghost wondered at the suspicious behaviour of his friend but supposed the palanquin's occupant had his reasons.

Stealthily, Ghost followed the group from above. It moved at a quick pace indicating that the group had a destination and was familiar with the streets.

Several rooftops later, he slowed down. There was another shadow following the group below. Hmmm, it seemed that he wasn't the only one interested. The shadow kept up but with difficulty. He was not familiar with the city's layout nor its roofs. But, he was light and agile. Ghost did a double take as a strong breeze blew against the stalker's clothes, outlining her feminine shape.

A girl.