Sky Fire

Heat seared down as the fire swept across the sky. She stood and watched in silence as it obliterated the clouds and any birds foolish enough to be flying that high.

The sky burned every morning and night. As soon as the sun touched the horizon, the flames were set free to wreak their havoc. She pulled the hood of her grey and black speckled coat up to ward off the ash that fell.

No use standing around. Time to go to work.

Crouching on the edge of the roof, she searched the street and alley. Not a single soul to be seen. All the citizens with any sense had retreated indoors before the fire started.

She eyed the short distance to the next roof backed up a few paces, the stone roof crunching under her feet. With a running start, she leapt across the alley, landing soft, and breathed in the molten air as she stretched to her full height.

She continued west across the flat stone roofs and past the metal chimney pipes. At the edge of town was a large blue house with a slanted roof. She crouched on the flat roof across from it and scanned the windows. All closed with the curtains drawn.

With a sigh, she leaned back against a pipe and waited. The fire covered the entire sky, casting everything in orange light. Heat sizzled down.

The sun slowly sunk below the horizon and the flames started dying out. It didn’t take long for the world to be drenched in darkness. She waited, her eyes adjusting, as the windows started lighting up. She focused her attention on one of the upstairs windows that so far remained dark.

Shouldn’t be too much longer.

After the heat of the fire, night brought a drastic chill and she pulled her coat around herself tighter. Minutes dragged on.

A light finally flickered to life in the window and she sat forward. The shadow of a person moved back and forth beyond the curtain. She inched forward, watching intently. The lights in the rest of the house started blinking out.

A breeze picked up, whistling around corners. She shivered and pulled her coat tight again. She really should think about another line of work. The light finally shut off, and she blew out a breath. The entire house was dark and quiet.

She started a steady count to three hundred. When she got to the end, she stood up. With an expert twirl, she sent the hook flying across the space between buildings to wrap around the opposite chimney pipe. With a tug to ensure it was secure, she tied the loose end to the vent pipe behind her. She plucked the rope, listening to the muted twang. Perfect.

She stretched, easing the chill out of her muscles, and walked in a circle for another minute to warm up. With a final shake she turned and sprinted across the rope. On the other side, she stopped and dropped into a crouch. After a moment to be sure no one had heard anything, she turned and peeked over the edge at the window.

Gripping the roof, she carefully swung her legs down reaching with her toes to the window ledge. Easing down, she held onto the window frame, maneuvering until she could reach down to wedge her tool under the window.

It was unlocked. Typical. Certain types of people always think their top floors are secure simply because they aren’t on the ground. Stowing her jimmy tool away, she slid the window up. There wasn’t even a single creak or squeak.

The curtains waved as the outside air hit them, and she peered inside cautiously. She could just barely make out the shadowy outlines of the bedroom furniture. On the far wall to the right was a bed. A snoring lump on top indicated the occupant was sound asleep. She slid inside, her slippered feet making no sound on the carpeted floor.

Bedside table. She sidled across the room, all her senses hyper alert to any change of sound in the house. As she reached the bed, she pulled a glow-stone out of her pocket, letting the gentle light illuminate the man. A loud snore erupted from him.

Definitely him. Definitely sleeping.

She turned to the table and pulled open the drawer. Sparkles lit up her face as the glow-stone’s light fell on the jewelry inside. Precious gems set in gold and silver. All bought with blood money. A smile creased her face and she gently lifted each piece out and into her waist pouch.

Next order of business.

She closed the now empty drawer and turned back to the sleeping man. She slid a knife out of her ankle and with one swift swing, she slashed the razor sharp edge across his exposed throat. As she pulled back from the fountain of blood, she tossed a handful of papers across the room. Papers that revealed the man’s true nature. Another instant and she was sliding out the window, closing it, and climbing back up to the roof.

She unhooked the rope from the chimney pipe, tossed it back across to the other building and leapt after it. After gathering it up, she pulled her coat closed and headed back east.

Mission complete.

Next day the front page of the newspaper featured the grisly images of a man murdered and robbed in his sleep. Police were stumped, as this was the fifth such crime to have taken place in the past month, yet there seemed to be no evidence as to who could be the perpetrator.

A young woman walked down the main street, reading the back pages of a paper, munching on a juicy red apple. All around her the crowds were talking about the crimes the murdered man had committed. There seemed to be no sympathy for the way his life had ended.

She walked along, ignoring them. On to the next. She looked up at the clear blue sky. In between sunrise and sunset, one would never think that the sky could catch fire. People oblivious to the way the world used to be, when it didn’t try to rain fire down on their heads twice a day. Oblivious to the danger she herself presented.

She glanced down an alley. A big, burly man finished beating his victim to death, took the poor soul’s life possessions, and walked away. No one the wiser. No one except her.

No one will care when another bad man dies.