Anarchy 8
KiNa had no trouble smuggling ShiKon into the Manor. Kids from the school passed through the gates every day, and the guards didn’t look twice after they identified the boy on first glance.
He quickly pointed out the door to Zemus’ office, then let ShiKon go off to do her thing. In the meantime, he hid out in Master SoYa’s office, which was thankfully vacant for the evening. The girl finally returned, just as the last light of the sun began to fade.
The boy glanced up as she slipped through the office door. His tone was expectant and somewhat relieved, “All done? Good. Did you find anything we can use?”
Instead of answering, ShiKon threw something heavy and dark on top of him. A momentary panic shivered through his body as he tried to sort out what just happened. When he finally pulled the cloth off his head, he could see it was a very dark set of robes, complete with a dark hood.
“I didn’t do anything yet, Spotty,” she snorted.
“What do you mean? You’ve been gone for hours,” he complained.
“You think I’m going to break into a Master’s office in daylight?” ShiKon shook her head, as if writing him off for a lost cause. “And without any equipment?”
KiNa realized she, too, had a set of robes with a hood. Then he muttered, “Where did you get this… equipment.”
“Oh, it was just lying around,” she beamed an innocent grin.
He didn’t buy it, but it was too late to do much about it. That’s when he realized there were two robes.
“Wait, what’s this for?” he pointed to the set she cast on him.
“See how that fits,” the girl answered, already slipping her robes over her head.
“Oh no… That wasn’t part of the deal,” KiNa shook his head. His first thought was to throw the robes right back at her. It was one thing to pirate her into the Manor. It was another when breaking and entering was involved. “What happened to just get you inside the Manor?”
“I thought you could use the practice,” she told him. “Seeing a real pro in action is good for you.”
He glowered.
“Oh, come on,” ShiKon teased, pulling a mask over the bottom of her face so that only her eyes remained visible. Mirth shimmered in them, and if he didn’t know she was picking at him, he could have mistaken it for genuine fondness.
“Alright,” he finally said, pulling the robe on. “But if you get in trouble, I’m not bailing you out. Understood?”
“Fair enough,” she nodded, pressing the window to Master SoYa’s office open from the inside. “If I get caught, I deserve it. But I’m not going to get caught.”
“What… are you doing?” KiNa furrowed his brow, pulling up his own mask.
“Do you think we’re just going to walk through the door?” the sound of ShiKon’s laughter trailed in the night breeze as she swung out on to the window ledge, then began to inch her way along the wall.
He couldn’t stop his mouth from hanging open this time. This was the craziest thing she’d dragged him into so far, and he had a feeling that it wasn’t going to get any better.
~You coming?~ her mindspeak tickled.
KiNa breathed through his nose a few times, trying to ignore the fact that they were two stories off the ground. Instead, he flung himself through the open window and plastered his chest against the wall. Eyes half clamped shut, he began to inch after her, lacking all of the girl’s grace and confidence.
When they finally got to the target window, ShiKon stopped. He didn’t know what she was doing, but he heard all sorts of strange rattling and displeasure.
What’s wrong?
She glanced back over her shoulder, indicating that she heard his mindspeak.
~It’s locked.~
He had to work hard not to laugh out loud.
Of course it is, Pro. You think people like Zemus just leave windows open around here?
ShiKon grimaced. ~Guess we’ll have to bust it.~
Then she casually began searching her pockets for the instrument of destruction.
Wait. Let me try something first. We can’t just go messing up Manor property.
~You’re just ruining all my fun tonight,~ she shook her head but moved aside for him.
He was glad of the dark robes that kept his shaky knees hidden in the shadows of the night. Inching over to the window, KiNa reached one hand out and placed it against the frame and closed his eyes. His mind traced over the locks on the inside, quickly constructing a blueprint in his mind. Within the matter of seconds, he could see how each piece fit into the other and how the lock mechanism worked.
Got it.
Sucking on his bottom lip, his mind closed around the lever and willed it to move. With a click, the window unlocked, allowing him to push it open and gratefully shuffle inside.
~Huh.~ ShiKon tried to hide her admiration as she landed behind him. ~I knew I brought you for something.~
KiNa peered around the office, holding his breath. He heard nothing and felt no one within the room. It seemed impossibly clear… for now. That didn’t stop the unease that crept across his skin.
Maybe it was because the office looked so ordinary while it felt so malevolent. All he could see were neat stacks of papers on the desk and a number of worn books on the shelves. Everything sat perfectly in its place, not a trace of dust or disorder anywhere.
Instead, every fingerprint, every imprint there was filled with a sense of overpowering dread. The dark intentions of the Master hung over the room, an invisible threatening thundercloud. Even ShiKon didn’t seem so certain anymore.
~Do you feel that?~ her mind speech made him jump.
He nodded, trying not to let the fear show in his eyes.
~Let’s find what we can and get out of here.~ ShiKon made a beeline for the desk, pulling out a small hand crystal for light. Flipping quickly through the paperwork, she began to search for anything they could use.
Not sure what he was supposed to look for, KiNa began browsing the shelves for something out of the ordinary. Everything was so boring, even the trinkets placed for decoration felt uninspired, as if just there to maintain outward status quo.
Zemus had no pictures of himself or loved ones. No indication of family or pets. No display that spoke of care for any other living creature in the world.
This is all too perfect…
~I know. Really. He even keeps all his files alphabetical.~ ShiKon agreed. ~People don’t really live like this, do they?~
KiNa scowled, not daring to touch the strange tapestry that hung on the far wall.
Maybe if they’re trying to cover up how messed up they really are.
That’s when his eye was drawn to it – the one thing that seemed unperfect. Something that was worn with use. A small closed book with a few parchment hanging out of the side, squirreled away on the top shelf. Carefully, KiNa reached up and pulled it down, opening the pages to peer at the parchment in interest.
A list of names.
ShiKon paused and looked back at him. ~What did you find?~
Some of them are crossed out.
He swallowed. He didn’t know any of the names personally, but something about it was really, really creepy.
The girl peered up over his shoulder, eyes widening. ~Jackpot. This might be something.~
It doesn’t actually tell us anything… like what the names are for.
~It’s more than we had before. Just take the whole thing.~ ShiKon grabbed the list, eyes scanning it quickly, as if trying to memorize what she saw.
KiNa grit his teeth.
If we do that, he’ll know that we…
Before he could finish his protest, the heavy office door swung open. The boy nearly dropped the book in shock as Zemus’ face materialized from the darkness in the hall. His expression was angry, but not surprised. He somehow knew that they were there.
Despite the protection of the mask, KiNa couldn’t help but feel Zemus might know more. Like who they were and why they were there.
Zemus was creepy, but he always held himself as someone with class and aloof dignity, even while under fire. He relied on his wit, words and charm to weasel his way through everything. That’s why it took the boy by surprise when Zemus spoke not a word, but went straight for the attack.
The air condensed around them, the only warning before the shadows swarmed up like a living thing, slicing the air as they struck out at ShiKon. With a shout, KiNa leapt forward, wrapping his arms around the girl and throwing his entire weight on top of her. Ignoring the thought that she would probably kill him later if Zemus didn’t kill him first, he rolled her out of the shadow’s blast.
ShiKon didn’t miss a moment, sweeping away from him, lithely landing on her toes. Her eyes flashed, measuring the futility of the fight, ducking down just as another streak of darkness sizzled from the dark mage’s hand.
With the way to the window wide open, KiNa expected her to rush for the exit. Instead, the girl rolled forward across the floor into the madness.
What are you doing?!
The room began to groan, the perfection coming apart piece by piece as Zemus began to advance on them, eyes taking on the same darkness as his magic.
~The list!~ was all that he could hear from her frantic mind speak.
He could see it there on the floor – the wrinkled parchment that bore the list of names they discovered. ShiKon must have dropped it when he pulled her out of the way.
Leave it! It’s not worth…
The girl’s fingers brushed the paper for a split second before Zemus struck. Darklight bolts rained down around her, ripping into her robe, igniting the parchment in a sickly dark violet flame. ShiKon gave a cry, though he couldn’t tell whether it was because she was hurt or because the object of their mission was lost.
They were outsmarted. And now, out powered.
KiNa tried to push forward into the volley of magic, reaching desperately for the girl that he could no longer see. As he did, everything within the room began to shake and rattle, rising up in a storm powered by the mind mage’s terror.
Books leapt from the shelves, flinging across the room at the dark mage. Zemus ducked as trinkets crashed from every side, the chair narrowly missing his head. The desk screeched as it swung across the floor and barreled straight into Zemus’ stomach. Then it flipped up longways as the boy mind-shoved it with all his strength, splintering it against the wall.
The dark mage gave a shout of surprise, followed by a groan of pain as the heavy wooden desk pinned him flat against the stone. Almost instantly, the shadow magics vanished, releasing ShiKon. Not waiting to see if she was moving, the boy grabbed her and began to drag her towards the window. That’s when he realized he had no idea how they were going to get down.
~I’m okay! I’m okay!~
KiNa choked down his sound of relief.
The girl was already moving, doing something strange to the window ledge. Before he could say a word, she grabbed him and pulled her close, bringing them nose to nose.
~Hold on!~
ShiKon threw them both over the edge of the sill, casting them into a dizzying descent. He heard a whirring sound from above, eyes catching sight of the almost invisible cord that the girl fastened to the ledge only moments ago. Holding on to her tighter than he meant, he didn’t let out a breath until their feet touched the ground.
With one quick yank, ShiKon pulled the cord loose from above, reeling it in faster than his eyes could follow. Then she was running. And so was he.
***
They ran and ran until the adrenaline that pumped them forward went dry. Suddenly, exhaustion overtook fear, and KiNa found himself unable to run another step. They were far enough away from the city that they would be safe to catch their breath. Having ditched the dark cloaks in an alley a long time back, it was just him, ShiKon and the sock-gloves.
The boy collapsed in a soft patch of clover and flowers just on the fringe of the forest. His breath wheezed, leaving long dry scratches along his throat. But pain meant nothing next to the fact that they had actually survived.
ShiKon stumbled next to him and flopped in the grass nearby. He half expected to hear some tease about how he had to stop and rest so early in the run. Surprisingly, all she did was let out a short, raspy laugh.
“That… was amazing!” the girl choked between gasps and laughs.
He thought she was seriously losing it now.
“I didn’t think we were going to make it,” he confided.
“Yeah, I know. Wasn’t it great?” ShiKon laughed, back flat against the ground, staring up into the night sky.
“Not particularly,” KiNa grimaced.
They lay there for a while, the girl laughing as if she was drunk off the excitement of it all. Then she said, “Did you see Zemus’ face when the desk hit him?”
“No, I didn’t,” he blinked over at her, grieved that he had actually missed that. His moment of glory.
“He went all bug-eyed,” she turned and grinned at him.
KiNa couldn’t help but grin a bit in return. Hitting Zemus with a desk was a once in a lifetime thing, but it was strangely satisfying. Before he knew it, he, too, was laughing along with her at the insanity of it all.
When the laughter finally ended, ShiKon sat up, her long silver-white hair streaming wildly over one shoulder. In the darkness, she watched him. Her voice held warmness for the first time, “You helped me out back there. Thanks for that.”
“You’re welcome,” KiNa said, the words coming before he could stop them. “You were pretty cool back there, too.”
She gave a smile, then got to her feet, walking back towards the base. Despite himself, KiNa admired the view for a moment, then got up to follow her.
Though they were once again empty-handed for the mission, maybe it wasn’t such a bad night in the end.