Songs of the Wicked

Chapter One

     My fingers ghosted over the shelf, the leather of the gloves sliding over the metal easily. Collecting as many stacks as my hands could carry. The bag at my feet filled quickly with thick stacks of fresh pressed bills. The vault door hung open off to the side. I didn't have a lot of time before something would set off the alarm. Deep breaths rolled out of my lungs and through the thick black mask that covered the lover half of my face. Stack after stack thumped into the duffle at my feet until the shelves were bare. I glanced at the face of my watch on the inside of my waist, a small timer ticked down slowly as my window for free escape dwindled. The toe of my boot nudged the bag along as I pulled more bundles off the shelves. My watch beeped once, signaling a minute remaining. I was pushing it, cutting it close. Normally, the minute mark meant it was time to leave. But what was the point in rushing out. It's not like I didn't have a solid escape plan. 

      I continued to pull fresh stacks of bills until the bag was filled to the brim. A quick calculation showed that there was no way I could fit anything else in the bag. It was a risk I wasn't willing to take. I knelt down next to the bag, pulling the zipper closed. The lock clicked, locking the two zippers together to keep any money from slipping out. The strap slipped over my head, synching it tight over my chest. My watch beeped again. It was time to go. I pressed my hand against the darkest part of the wall. The soft leather of the glove slid across the wall smoothly. 

     Before I could decide what to do next, a high pitched alarm pierced the air. A blinding white light shattered the darkness. My eyes skidded across the room, searching for any shadow. Lights flooded every corner of the vault, shading all the shadows away. I cursed, panic sitting in my chest. My escape route was just destroyed. 

     The vault door swung open, the metal slamming into the wall. I jumped back, the sound startling me. A squad of heavily armored police crowded around the small door. Red laser sights dotted my chest as the guns leveled down at me. I shuffled back a few steps, my hands out by my side. The room outside the vault was washed in a soft light. I needed to get closer to the shadows before I could utilize them to help me escape. One of the officers stepped over the threshold of the vault, the gun never leaving me. 

     "The gig is up Ghost," the man in the front growled low in his throat. I tried to keep my breathing even but I could feel my heart racing. I knew from experience that panicking would not end well for anyone in the vicinity. Somehow I needed to get my gloves off. At least one. That would be the only way I could get out of this without getting shot. I inched my hands closer together until they were clasped in front of me, "Raise your hands," the man demanded. I pulled the fingers out of the gloves quickly, pulling my hand free from the glove before raising my hands up by my head. The officer took another small step forward before discarding his gun around his back. He reached out for my arm, yanking me forward harshly. My fingers wrapped around his wrist to keep from falling. My fingers found their way onto the skin of his wrist under his sleeve. I forced my mind clear of every thought and feeling, focusing all my attention on one singular emotion. 

     Protectiveness. 

     I forced the emotion down through my fingers and into his skin, putting the idea into his mind that the only thing he wanted to do was protect me. I watched his face closely, watching the green sparks of jealousy spike up his skin, his eyes flashing green for a moment. As soon as I saw that flash for the emotion that I pushed forward, I knew that it was successful. The officer's grip on my arm loosened slightly to a more protective grasp. All I needed was for the officer to get me out of all the light and I could figure the rest out. All I needed was to get across the threshold. The officer turned, pushing me forward slightly. 

     "Sir, you need to check her for weapons," one of the other officers spoke up. 

     "Watch yourself," the officer warned from behind me, pushing me forward again. I was a few feet from threshold. Just a few more inches. 

     "Sir!" the officer started again. The officer behind me pushed me to the side, bringing his gun back up in front of him and aiming it at the officer questioning him. 

     "Out of the way Conroy," he growled. All the guns were immediately shifted from me to to the officer next to me. I pressed myself into the wall, away from him. 

     "Sir, what's gotten into you," Officer Conroy asked, all of them completely ignoring me. I inched closer to the threshold as slowly as I could to try and avoid drawing any of their attention toward me. My hand reached out toward the darker room outside the vault. My fingers stretched out until the shadow outside the vault covered the tips of my fingers. A rush ran up my arm and through my entire body. I pulled the shadow up from my fingers, up my arm, and across my shoulders. The dark was cool against my skin as I pulled the shadow around my body. It didn't take longer than a few seconds for the shadow to envelop my entire body in black. I slipped passed officers completely unnoticed now that I was nothing more than a completely shadow. Every step I took was careful so that it didn't echo around the bank and draw any attention to myself. I glanced over my shoulder back at the vault where the officers still fought over nothing. The toe of my boot caught a chair, it skidding ever so slightly across the tile. All the arguing stopped suddenly, drawing their attention away. I cursed at myself for not paying attention where I was. Above me a bright light turned on, chasing the shadow away from my body and allowing the officers to see me again. I turned on my heels and ran, chasing the darkness to hide myself again. Above me, lights followed me, turning on over me every time I seemed close to making it into the darkness. My heart rate skyrocketed as I tried to find a way out of the impossible situation that I had put myself in. Behind me, I could feel the officers growing closer and their shouts deafening in my ears. Ahead, a tall window spiraled up and looked like my only way out. I reached out my hand, desperate for some cover of darkness to cover myself in. The hair on the back of my neck prickled as fingers brushed my back. I pulled the darkness in desperately, covering half of my body while the other half stayed visible in the light. With one frantic kick, I launched myself up onto a wooden table against the window and threw myself at the glass. My arms went up around my head to protect it from the impact with the large glass panes and the inevitable fall. 

     My body abruptly collided with something damp and soft, knocking all the air from my lungs. The impact sent a jarring shock up my body but it wasn't the pain that I was waiting for. I didn't feel glass pierce my skin or the heavy impact with the concrete below the bank. I forced my eyes open, glancing around my body cautiously as the gasped wracked my body. Trees towered over me, wind blowing the leaves and rushing through the grass around me. Soft street lights filtered through the leaves but didn't quite reach where I lay. Honking and traffic floated on the air somewhere close to me. It took a moment for me to fully realize where I was. 

     This was in Central Park, six and a half miles from where I'd robbed the bank.

     I sat back on my heels, my hands on my knees, trying to figure out how I'd teleported from the Financial District up to Central Park. I'd never been able to transport myself across great distances before, only travel invisible in existing shadows that were touching. The craziest thing I could do was travel with the shadows through windows and under door jams. But this. This was something else entirely. This meant I was able to transport myself across vast distances through darkness without needing to be there. A small smile broke across my face, turning in to a painfully wide smile with a manic laugh bubbling out of my throat. I pushed myself up from the grass, brushing the dirt from my knees and arms before setting out toward the street. 

     This changed everything.