Thief: Shadows and Death Saga

Chapter 1

~ Persi ~

The minivan door slid open as I approached, Danni, my red headed spitfire of a best friend and ops handler greeted me with one of her brilliant smiles and a finger wave from the driver's seat as I slid inside. I barely got the door shut before she pulled away from the curb and headed for midtown Eastmoreland. I quickly shucked my tactical vest and plucked the earbud and mic from my body placing it all into their designated spots inside the retrofitted interior of what otherwise appeared to be a normal mom-mobile complete with a "Pixie Princess on board" decal in the rear windshield that my bestie simply couldn't resist adding.

I pulled my black long sleeve shirt off, tossing it into my duffle leaving the thin black cropped halter I used as a makeshift bra I wore beneath it before climbing through the center console to the passenger seat. Content to sit in my crop top and cargo pants in front of the cold vent of ac, I allowed the artic blast to chase off the heat of the sweltering summer night from my skin. I would remove my tall moccasin style boots to cool my feet but Danni always complained my feet might stink up the whole van if I did. Fae didn't actually have unpleasant body odors but it was the principle of the thing, at least according to her. I think she was just jealous that when I sweat I smelled more floral than normal instead of the stink humans tended to produce.

"So you got it?" Danni asked as she maneuvered the vehicle through the city's light evening traffic. I lifted a necklace from my warded belt pouch, the deep red of the pendants ruby pulsed faintly with the hidden magic within. "Yep, bet the humans didn't even know what they bought. It was stuffed in with all of the other jewelry the lady of the house had and boy did she have a collection… I grabbed a few handfuls of other pieces just to cover our tracks but at least the amulet will go back to the rightful owner now." I shrugged before slipping it back into the jewelry laden bag.

Yes I was a thief technically speaking, my employer sent me after magic infused items: artifacts, relics, and heirlooms other supernaturals hired him to retrieve. My particular skill-set as a fae made me excel at this particular vocation. Not just my ability to glamour but also my body's natural proclivity to move with a quick silent grace with increased strength, speed, and stamina. The combination of which made breaking and entering physically a breeze in most cases.

Then there were my other fae gifts, my magic. I could manipulate shadows to do my bidding, be it to pick a lock, subdue a threat or even weave into another's magic to circumvent it. I could alter memories to a certain degree as well. Unlike the full fae of each respective court of my split lineage my magic took a toll and I wasn't able to hold a full glamour for long when using other aspects of my gifts simultaneously. I had a few other tricks by birthright but I kept those talents well hidden along with my true name and form, even from Jacques Deveraux the centuries old witch I had been working with for the past 120 some odd years.

We pulled up to an office building and a tall man appearing in his mid 30s met us at the curb. I passed the pouch of ill gotten goods to him through a partially opened window. Jacques flashed us a debonair smile, "well done ladies. Enjoy the rest of your weekend I will wire you your usual fee," and with that we were off again. I let out a weary sigh, I had used more magic tonight than I had wanted and could feel the drain in my center.

"Let's go home Danni, I need a shower and a solid 8 hours." I yawned out. Her hazel eyes found mine in the rear view of the van. "Oh no, you promised we'd go out to celebrate. So shower sure, but get dressed… we're going dancing b***h!" She grinned as I groaned. "But I'm exhausted! Can't we go out a different night?" I whined only resulting in her smirking and shaking her head, "nope absolutely not, you've bailed on me 3 girls nights in a row. I need my wingman, come on. Let your hair down a little, you could use a bit of fun! Besides you need to feed and what better place to drum up some extreme human emotions than in a club?" I sighed in defeat at her insistence, I did need to feed. "Fine… but only for a few hours, deal?" I looked at her pointedly. She laughed, "Um no, I know better than to make deals with you, Tink. I won't make a deal but I'll agree we won't stay until closing." I huffed, that was as close of a compromise as I was going to get.

We headed to the warehouse district of Eastmoreland, the city in which we made our home, to change clothes and trade the van for Danni's little black coup. Back in our apartment I grabbed a quick shower and traded my tactical gear for a backless slinky black halter top, a pair of low rise skinny jeans and my favorite black high heeled ankle boots. I stood in front of the mirror glamouring my waist length hair into river of rose gold tones before I pulled it into a high sleek pony the tail left to fall in loose spirals that brushed the middle of my exposed back, I left my eyes unglamoured letting them revert to their gemstone tones the left a violet-blue akin to tanzanite the other the deep green of emeralds. The crystalline hues were accented by my naturally dark lashes and a touch of black eyeliner. My skin I altered to a soft sunkissed glow and of course I rounded out my ears and blunted my small fangs to mortal standards.

I didn't need my fangs to feed, I wasn't a vampire. Vampires, they had real fangs, mine were rather a leftover from a full monstrous unseelie form my magic wasn't strong enough to access; thanks mom! I mostly ate normal mortal foods though I tended to forgo meat at least in this realm, but from time to time, especially after a sustained expenditure of magic or, goddess forbid, a significant physical injury I would need to feed off the emotions of humans or even other supernatural beings to replenish my magic reserves and heal my flesh more quickly. Emotional energies were plentiful in nightclubs, my preferred hunting ground: lust, anger, sadness, joy, desperation, even love on occasion depending on the venue saturated the air. I wouldn't even have to get close to anyone in particular to siphon off enough to sate my needs.