Shadow Market

Chapter Five

The Vault:

The map led us to a sprawling mansion on the outskirts of the city. It was owned by a reclusive collector known for hoarding rare and powerful artifacts.

"We need to be careful," Dante whispered as we crouched behind a hedge, surveying the mansion's security. "This guy has top-notch protection."

I nodded, glancing at the map. "The second soul is in his vault. We need to find a way in without alerting the entire neighborhood."

We waited until nightfall, then made our move. Using the cover of darkness, we scaled the fence and crept towards the mansion. The building was heavily guarded, with patrols circling the perimeter and surveillance cameras scanning the grounds.

Dante motioned to a small window on the second floor. "That's our way in. We need to get past the guards."

I pulled out a small device. "This should disable the cameras for a few minutes. We'll have to move fast."

I activated the device, and the cameras' red lights blinked off. We sprinted across the lawn and climbed up to the window. Dante pried it open, and we slipped inside, landing silently in a dimly lit hallway.

"Which way to the vault?" Dante asked, glancing around. I looked at the compass. "This way, let's go."

We navigated through the mansion, avoiding guards and slipping past laser security grids. Finally, the compass led us to the basement door. It was unlocked, which set off alarm bells. "Why would it be unlocked?"  I muttered, hesitating.

"Trap, maybe?" Dante suggested. "I knew we shouldn't have involved Raven." He sneered.

"She wouldn't betray me, you maybe, but never me." I hissed." Besides, We don't have a choice. Let's just be careful," I replied, pushing the door open gently.

The basement was dimly lit, a long corridor stretching out before us.  We crept forward, the silence only broken by the occasional drip of water echoing in the distance. 

"Why are basements always so drab, even rich people's basements." Dante giggled, and I elbowed him. "Pay attention, ass."

We reached the end of the corridor where a large, reinforced vault door stood ominously. The compass pointed directly at it. I examined the door, noticing a complex combination lock and a series of magical runes glowing faintly.

"This is going to be tricky," I murmured.

Dante knelt beside me, studying the lock. "We can bypass the combination, but those runes are a different story."

"What about one of the potions we have?" I pulled out the potions, looking over them.

Dante grabs one. "This one." He held it out to me.

 "Are you sure?"

"No, but what else are we going to do?" He smirked at me, and I wanted to punch him.

Sprinkling the powder over the runes, we watched as they flickered and dimmed. Dante worked on the combination lock, his fingers moving deftly over the dials. Suddenly, the runes flared back to life, brighter than before.

"Damn it, it's not holding!" I exclaimed.

At that moment, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed down the corridor. "We've got company," Dante hissed.

The footsteps grew louder, accompanied by the metallic clink of weapons. My heart raced as I glanced back at the vault. "We don't have much time. Keep working on it!"

Dante nodded, his face set in concentration. The lock clicked, and I felt a momentary surge of hope, but the runes flared violently, and a shockwave of energy knocked us both back.

I scrambled to my feet, adrenaline coursing through my veins. "We need another plan, now!"

Dante shook his head. "We need to go before it's too late."

"FUUCK!" I glanced down the corridor where the shadows of the guards were getting closer.

"Come on." I grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. We sprinted down the corridor, the guards now in full pursuit. Bullets whizzed by, and I screamed and covered my head as I ran.

As we reached the basement stairs, the guards were nearly upon us. I threw a handful of Raven's powder behind us, creating a blinding flash of light and a thick cloud of smoke. The guards stumbled, disoriented.

We burst out of the basement and raced through the mansion, dodging security systems and slipping past the remaining guards.

"We're not going to make it!" Dante shouted,

"Yes, we are!" I yelled back." Just keep moving."

With a final burst of energy, we leaped out of the window and rolled onto the grass outside. We sprinted towards the fence, my muscles screaming in protest.

As we scaled the fence and dropped down on the other side, I glanced back to see the guards pouring out of the mansion.  We didn't stop running until we were deep into the city, finally collapsing in an alley, gasping for breath. The pain in my arm was excruciating. The curse was not happy we failed.

We stumbled into Raven's apartment, breathless and battered. Dante helped me to the couch as Raven rushed over, her eyes widening at the sight of my arm.

"Lena, what happened?" she exclaimed, grabbing a cloth and some water to clean up my wounds.

"It's the curse," I panted, clenching my jaw against the pain.

Raven's face darkened as she carefully wiped the blood from my arm, revealing the blackening skin creeping from my fingers toward my wrist. "This is bad. The curse is advancing. We need to do something, and fast."

Dante paced the room,  "Can't you do anything, Raven? Some kind of potion to stop it?"

Raven shook her head, frustration clear in her eyes. "I'm not a miracle worker, Dante. Curses like this are ancient and powerful. We need more than just herbs.

"How about your connection, the ones you got the potions from? Can they help?" Dante was scared. I don't think I have ever seen him scared.

"No," I gasped out. "No one can know. If Viktor found out .. you know what would happened. It's too risky."

I winced as another wave of pain shot through my arm. "I'll do what I can to ease the pain." Raven went to the kitchen and started mixing all kinds of things. I can't imagine what her concoction will taste like.

As Raven worked, Dante came over and sat beside me. "We'll figure this out, Lena. We've come this far." He leaned down a kissed my forehead. It was a sweet gesture, not like him at all. I must look worse than I feel.