𝑺𝑯𝑨𝑫𝑶𝑾'𝑺 𝑨𝑳𝑻𝑨𝑹 - 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈

CHAPTER I.

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𝟒:𝟑𝟔 𝐚𝐦. 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭.
𝐊𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐦, 𝐊𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐡.
༻✧༺
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𝕿he only sound piercing the nightly silence was the regular croaking of the crow. A glimpse of his ebony wings caught in the dim light of streetlamps, barely working on this side of the Barrel. The crow perched itself on top of a chimney, his beak opening and closing as he croaked again, head tilting with interest, seeing something no human eye could.

And suddenly, a fluttering shadow, on the roof across the street, immediately followed by another. The crow shook its wings, taking off the mantel to follow the shadows, which almost looked like they were flying, leaping from roof to roof with unequaled grace. They slowly left the Barrel to penetrate in the wealthier side of Ketterdam, the Garden District, where the streets were clean, and the scent of blood wasn't constantly floating in the polluted air. The shadows seemed to slow down as they jumped onto a large, red-bricked roof, undoubtedly sheltering wealthy individuals. 

The crow landed near them and let out a last sound, that almost sounded like a laugh, making one of the shadows raise its head in direction of the bird. The silver moonlight revealed its identity: it was no shadow, but a girl. Her sharp, dark eyes focused solely on the bird as she lowered the scarf masking her face, her mouth curving into a cunning smile, and put a finger above her thin lips. 

She then disappeared along the pipe attached to the walls, and the crow took off again, fading into the shadows, as if its mission had been completed. The girl rejoined with her companion in front of the window, the other girl focusing on picking the lock with the help of sharp tools.

"Anytime now, Wraith." The first girl whispered, looking sharply across the glass for any kind of movement.

"Almost there." The second girl replied, her face still concealed by a black scarf. A few seconds later, the lock opened in a soft clicking, the window opening towards the inside. The Wraith immediately slid through with as much noise as a gust of wind. The first girl put her scarf back in place and joined her just as quietly, squinting her eyes to adapt to the inside darkness.

As the Wraith had already been there in recon and knew her way, the first girl let her take the lead and followed her in the corridor, covered in rich tapestries, making the first girl roll her eyes in disdain. These merchants only had to snap their fingers to have anything they could possibly want. But this time, he would not be walking out of this. The Wraith stopped at the turn and raised two fingers in direction of her companion, who nodded.

She then closed her eyes and let her senses wander around her, immediately hearing the heartbeat of the two guards indicated by her partner, slowed by their boredom to be standing guard in the middle of the night. Amusing how they thought themselves safe, especially at night. They should know better than to trust shadows...

The first girl raised her hands and stepped out in the middle of the hallway. The guards did not even have time to make the faintest sound and their blood pressure dropped. The clang of their metal spikes as they collapsed to the ground would have awoken the entire house if the Wraith, faster than an arrow, had not caught them and silently put them down, both unconscious.

The first girl turned the metal handle of the door, which opened without the tiniest resistance, making her laugh under her beard. "Look at that, Inej. It's not even locked." She chuckled in a low voice. "Amateurs."

"Come on, Nessa." Inej said, more serious, even though a spike of amusement could be perceived in her voice. "We still have a job to do."

The room was only lightened by the moonlight piercing through the curtains, the steady breath of the couple asleep being even louder than the steps of the two girls. They both made their way towards the gigantic bed, each one of them going on either side of it. They exchanged a nod, daggers materializing into their hands. The first girl, Nessa, jumped on the bed and unceremoniously presse the dagger to the man's throat, slamming a gloved hand on his mouth and whispering in an almost amused tone: "Wakey wakey, Mr. Günter. You have some debts to pay."