Rhen dropped her bag on the floor of the makeshift tent which she called home. The walk home had been uneventful save the crashing turmoil pounding in her head. She felt like she was back there again, by the fire, screaming after her father whom she would never see again. Their tea mugs lay broken by her feet.
She fingered her earring, remembering the Wizard's voice and how it had sounded as if he was standing beside her, towering over her. William.
"Want some soup?" In popped Cherry, her little head hung out of the slit of the tent. The small community which lived on the outskirts were the only family Rhen had left. She felt her lips light with a smile.
"I am not really hungry. You can have my share, honey." She said with a yawn.
Cherry giggled happily and replied, "Thanks Rhenny! Oh, by the way, Hyra was looking for you and she didn't look happy…"
Rhen slid out of her cloak and let her naked arms and chest tingle in the chill of the air. Her top accentuated her breasts, narrowing down with strings at her waist. Her hair, the color of dying embers, hung across her back in various messy braids, leaving several strands of loose hair to crown her face. She wondered what Hyra would have to say to her.
She bent down to tickle Cherry who laughed loudly. "I'd better go find Hyra then. And I want you to finish dinner and climb into bed in an hour or else she would hex you into growing a pig's tail!"
After the child had finished giggling and leaving the tent, Rhen pulled up the curtain of a window to gaze at the dying rays of the sun. For a minute, she was transfixed by the haze of colors before leaving the tent herself. She ran headfirst into a tall, slim woman dressed in an ivory gown. Jewels, gems and pieces of moonstones hung from her blond curls. Hyra. Worse, Hyra in a bad mood.
"M' lady." Rhen said, feigning a smile. Her mind was twisting the more the clock inched towards midnight.
Hyra's beetle eyes glowed in the dark with an emotion Rhen couldn't make out. Her long nails painted with golden rose up to touch Rhen's arm as she whispered fearfully, "Where were you? I felt this chill down my spine and I saw you sitting in an empty alleyway…"
Rhen giggled nervously. Hyra's psychic powers proved to be accurate once more but it doesn't fall in Rhen's favour. She cannot tell the truth to Hyra- to protect her from this mess she has landed herself into.
"Reign in your mind, Hy. Your visions are out of control and might I say, very inaccurate. I was simply counting my loot, admiring the sunset and taking the scenic route home. There's nothing to be scared about. I am okay." A blatant lie.
"For as much as a skilled thief you are, you are a ridiculous liar." Hyra replied, wiping the thin layer of shiny sweat which had settled on her forehead. "You have a tough choice to make, I see. Which way are you leaning?"
Ofcourse, Rhen thought, Hyra doesn't need an explanation. She always knows. Rhen let her shoulders sink as they begin walking towards the communal campfire.
"Do I really have a choice? When a wizard comes with his hand pressed to your neck, choice is not really on the table anymore."
Hyra tapped the gems on her bracelet and said with her eyes closed, "No. You still have a choice. It might not be obvious but it's there. The blond man isn't your enemy. Not yet anyway."
"So you think I should do it? Rob the most precious thing in all of Edyn Towers? My life would be completely turned upside down. I would have to be on the run my whole life. That is assuming I survive the heist."
Rhen noticed with a start that Hyra's eyes were glowing white now. She was seeing a vision.
"Yes, loss is something you'd face. But your destiny… lies… at the top. Inside the shimmering cave. Your blood will awaken the beast." She said, lost in some trance. As quietly as it had started, her eyes turned to black again and she looked like she just woke up. "What did I just say?" She asked timidly.
"Nothing but a cryptic poem which I cannot understand for the life of me. Thanks for that." Rhen laughed, enveloping Hyra's cold fingers in hers to warm them up. Her creepy fortune could wait an hour or two. For now, the warmth of the fire and the company of her friend was enough.
Rhen had been lying stiff on her camp bed for the past hour, waiting for yet dreading midnight. Her eyelids fell down lazily as the small fire she had built cooled down. The blank of her mind conjured an image- William, his blond hair whipping in the wind.
"Thinking about me?" A cheeky voice came from the corner of the tent.
Rhen smiled without opening her eyes, "Thinking of all the ways I could slit your throat, handsome."
"I'd love for you to try, Rhenys."
When he said her full name, her heart skipped a beat. She got up to look at the man who had appeared in her home. He sat casually on a stool in the corner, his twilight robe strewn around him. His nose was pink from the cold.
"Down to business now. What will your answer be?" He said, breaking the silence. Rhen noticed William's eyes sliding from her face, down her neck and down to her…. She sat up, pulling her top to secure it further. His gaze only lingered for a split moment.
"I have a few questions for you before all that. Will that be fine?"
"I'll answer the ones I can." He said slowly, flexing his hands absentmindedly.
"Where is this order coming from? I mean, a blind person would be able to tell that you are just doing someone's bidding. Who is your father?"
William ran a hand through his hair. "All you need to know is that he is a rich man who only wants to get richer. I will definitely not let you tangle in this mess more than necessary. Give us what we want and let's split ways."
"Is that concern I sense in your tone? The man whose hands were wrapped around my neck not a few hours ago?" Rhen said in a hurry. Before she could get all the words out, she understood how awkward her sentence was. She saw William stifle a cocky grin.
"If you must put it like that, it sounds like you must have enjoyed the whole ordeal." He couldn't hide his wide smile. He smiled like a child. She still couldn't believe that he was a powerful wizard underneath all that boyish charm.
"Ugh." Rhen whispered before standing up and pacing the room. "You wish, magic boy. Anyway, so I steal the stone, give it to you and you leave me alone? It's never that simple is it?"
"A slight hitch. You mustn't get caught. We cannot let the Edyn Royalty get wind of our operation. So… if you do come under suspicion…you will be killed by a spell you would be put under." William's voice got smaller.
Rhen wanted to laugh out loud or perhaps crawl into a hole and cry. "And you thought I'd be okay with that? How in the name of hell-"
"It might be hard to see but this is more for your benefit. If you get caught…you will be tortured to no end until you let slip my name and then they'd kill you anyway. See?"
An uncomfortable silence ensued. William shifted awkwardly in his seat, as if regretting speaking so harshly. His soft blue eyes looked shimmery in the moonlight.
"You're right. I'd rather die than rot in one of their cells my whole life. You can kill me if things go sideways-" Rhen whispered. She wasn't afraid of death. She always wondered if her father would be there, ready to welcome her with a smile when she did die. It made her feel better.
"Alas! I won't get to fry you with my magic. You know why? Because you are the best goddamn thief I have ever seen in my life, Rhen." William said calmly. He meant every word. Inwardly, he was in awe of her.
Rhen's amber eyes met with his and they stayed there for a while. She noticed the dewdrops which clung from his hair. His soft, pink lips. She wanted to slap herself for staring but couldn't stop either.
Oh no. She wasn't crushing on this stranger now was she? Not only was he a stranger, but a masterful wizard. Rhen wanted to run away from him and run into his arms at the same time.
The sky was a lovely purple by the time Rhen was alone in the tent. The small fire she had built had fallen apart a while back and she shivered underneath her old blanket. Her mind raced back and forth as a tear slipped down her cheek.
"You said yes to this mystery man?" Hyra appeared silently. She held a black shawl around her chest. Rhen didn't startle, she was much used to her friend creeping up on her like a ghost.
"I did. I leave for the city tomorrow. In case I don't make it back, make sure Cherry gets my share of dinner every night." She smiled sadly.
"Don't fret, dear. Often what seems to be the worst thing for us can transform in ways we cannot imagine. I sense something good. That Stone will bring you what you want."
"I won't get to keep it. Honestly, the sooner I get rid of the damn thing, the better. William was talking about some reward, I'd be much happier taking that."
"If you say so. Here-" Hyra produced a leather bag. "Thought you deserved a fighting chance. I have filled the bag with certain magical artefacts I have worked on for a few months. I have a feeling you are about to embark on an adventure of a lifetime and I'd be glad if I came of some help."
Before Hyra could complete her words, Rhen had already crashed into her for a hug. She could smell jasmine incense wafting from Hyra's skin and she breathed it in. In case it was the last time she was smelling it.
"Oh and-" Hyra whispered amidst tears. "Don't fall for strange wizards from the city."
Rhen giggled. Ofcourse, Hyra already knew.
"Why? You're afraid he will sweep me off on his magic carpet?"
"No. Because you'd break the poor boy's heart. He wouldn't know what hit him."