The Glass Thief

Chapter One

VIA

The harsh ringing of the Execution Bell boomed in my ears as I ran down the narrow street.

"Can't we slow down?" Tarah gasped, trying to keep pace.

I clenched my fist, feeling a scrap of paper crumple in my palm. "Of course..."

"Oh, thank goodness." Tarah started slowing down.

"... we can't." I gave her a mischievous grin. When I saw she wasn't smiling back, I sighed and walked over.

"Tarah, the bookstore is closing in ten minutes. We've run all the way from the Academy to get here on time. This note tells me that if I don't buy the copy of The Sigil Compendium IV right now, then it'll go on auction tomorrow."

When I saw that my friend still wasn't convinced, I offered, "You know, you can always just go back to the Academy and wait for me there."

"No!" Tarah looked indignant, but to my relief, started walking slowly after me. "I won't leave you. After all, you wanted to get here so quickly you didn't want to pack your Pendant. Who knows what could happen to us out here?"

"You sound like a teacher." I grimaced. I had to admit that Tarah was right.

Our tutors at the Academy were always telling us about how important it was to take our Pendants with us at all times for our own protection. They were simple necklaces given to every Academy student, and despite having only a single glass bead, they had been bound with powerful sigils that could be called upon to defend us.

The truth was, I hadn't really forgotten to bring my Pendant. I'd just not been wearing it for the past few days because lately, I had been feeling the strangest itching sensation whenever it was around my neck.

Tarah frowned. "All right, let's go grab your book. But I don't like the look of this place." She touched the cord of her Pendant as if to make sure it was still there.

Glancing around, I saw that Tarah was, again, right. The floating city of Inarra was a collection of islands suspended thousands of feet over an endless sea. The nobility lived on the islands that floated the highest, while the Lower Isles housed the seedier parts of the city.

The buildings of the Lower Isles looked run-down and worn, completely devoid of the elegant artistry that Tarah and I were used to back at the Academy. Suspicious eyes glared at us between the slits of shutters.

I was suddenly aware of how out of place we looked in our Academy robes. Unconsciously, I started moving faster.

"Once I get the Compendium, my collection will be complete," I told Tarah, more to reassure myself than anything else.

"And how do you suppose this bookseller came by this particular tome?" Tarah asked. "Stole it, probably?"

I didn't answer. As much as I hated making judgements on people who I hadn't even met, this place did give off an unsettling aura.

"We're here," I said, stopping at the mouth of a shadowed alley.

Tarah blinked slowly. "We are not going in there."

"Yes, we are." I tried to sound confident. "Come on, it's just a little dark."

The Execution Bell was still tolling, adding an ominous layer to my words. Even though the Bell was situated on the highest island, it had been carved with sigils that magnified its sound, allowing everyone in Inarra to hear its voice.

It was probably another poor criminal that the High Archons wanted to make an example of.

I had seen an Execution before, several years ago, when I'd still been new to the Academy and had been made to go on a dare. Even today, certain details of what had happened remained burned into my mind.