The Skylands

1

The woman crept silently through the many streets of the city. The luminous moon slowly arose, making its ominous presence more noticeable. She wore a dark robe and hood which kept her face unrecognizable to any passerby. The woman trudged through the foggy mist, making her way to an old rundown store.

Usually, she wouldn't make such unnecessary stops, but this mission was personal. She was determined to get revenge on that slug. She went in through the backdoor, making sure nobody saw her.

Shutting the door silently, she went to the salesman behind the counter of the secluded secret section of Ferendall Drugstore. He had black curls that sat atop his lightly colored face. The woman knew he was probably sick and poisoned by most of the drugs he sold, as he did not have much of his hair left and a pale, lethargic look sat on his face.

The woman had hoped to see Aaron's face behind the counter today, but he must have been either fired from the job or too sick too continue since a new guy was positioned here. God bless his soul. The woman thought silently, then focused her attention back to the task at hand.

"What can I get you today, miss?" The salesman said with the type of evil, devilish smirk that only seemed to appear in books or movies. He sounded normal, even though the deep dark circles under his eyes suggested that he was behind on some much needed rest. Behind the man was a variety of lethal and non-lethal poisons, special medicines, and other substances not available to the general public. "Polonium 210. I want to see them suffer." The woman replied softly.

The man was surprised by how young the lady was, but decided to not question it. His lucrative job was to handle and sell these drugs illegally to private clients, so there wasn't much use making a ruckus about somebody's age of all things. "How much do you need, liquid or gas?" He asked nonchalantly. "I don't need much. 5 millilitres, liquid." The woman said. A teaspoon worth of polonium would be enough to kill hundreds.

The man nodded and skimmed the shelves. A small bottle of a grayish blue liquid sat on one of the shelves. He plucked it away from the rest and set it down on the counter, still gripping the plastic bottle.

The woman reached for it, but the man didn't budge. "Money first." He said expectantly. The woman silently cursed herself for not remembering such a simple rule and handed the man a thin stack of hundreds and twenties. Forgetting the money first rule was like going to a fancy restaurant and eating the food with your hands. It made you seem undisciplined.

He handed her the bottle and she set off. None of the few passerby gave even the slightest acknowledgement of her existence as she made her way to the edge of The Dalmatian Woods. Nobody even saw her enter the wooded thicket.

Minutes later, after tucking the bottle into her pocket, she arrived at the opening of the cave, which looked like a bunch of bushes and vines unless you knew it was there. "Hey, Amber!" a voice spoke. The woman, Amber, not a bit surprised, looked up to find her friend resting up in tree. He jumped off the branch and glided down effortlessly using his beautiful huge raven-like wings.

He sounded a lot younger than he actually was, but his height made up for it. His frame was large and bulky even though he was thin, and a naturally slick layer of dusty blonde hair covered his head. He was 7 feet and 3 inches tall, making Amber seem short at 5 feet and 11 inches. His eyes were a deep green color.

"Did you get it?" The man asked expectantly. "Yeah. Come on." Amber briefly showed him the bottle and headed into the cave. She set the bottle down in the secret drawer in the wooden desk by the entrance. "It's getting late Spencer. I'm going to bed." Amber said and yawned.

"Sure. I'm going out for a flight." The man, Spencer, said and set off. The night, especially since it was foggy, lifted a false sense of freedom. His dark wings were as much of a blessing as they were a curse. He cruised above the trees, going with the wind.