Placed

Chapter One

There was a letter sitting on her kitchen table when she arrived home that evening. How it got there, Nymira Pryde had no idea. She was certain she had locked up when she left for work that morning. As she approached, the elegant calligraphy of the address came into view. It was the same print that the Royal Court used to send letters to the public. From her, they mostly requested simple deal agreements, but they paid almost double the amount a regular dealer would. It was curious, however, that they only addressed the letter to her and not Ansley as well.

Nymira and Ansley were a tag team in their line of work, and they were good too. The Royal Court knew this, which meant the envelope was not a business inquiry but something else entirely, she suspected. Nymira slowly pulled out the note, careful not to rip the fancy parchment.

Ms. Pryde

Your presence is requested at North Castle in four days time. Tell no one for this matter is of utmost importance.

Signed,

Queen Rhys

Utmost importance? Nymira thought, Tell no one? Nymira knew she was good at what she did, but what was so great about her that she wasn't allowed to tell anyone? Most Magicks proudly announced they were going to the castle. Most went with their partners. Most weren't singled out like this, their own home broken into to deliver a two-line note.

She squinted at the paper for a few more minutes before she realized that it was getting harder to read as the sun set for the day. Tomorrow, she decided, she would tell Ansley despite a stupid rule written in fancy script. If anyone deserved to know she was leaving, it was Ansley. Plus, they had work to finish tomorrow.

--

It was a crisp fall morning when Nymira stepped outside to make her way to work. The market, on the other hand was the opposite. There was nothing crisp about an overcrowded underground meeting place filled with drunk men and women. Not to mention, there were hardly any windows to let in natural light. The place had to be illuminated with few overhead lights, bathing the market in a dim yellow color. She supposed it was meant to give a seductive or secretive feel, but instead it just added more to the disgustingness of it all. Nymira despised working there, but it paid her rent and she liked to eat gourmet meals every now and again.

Elbowing her way through the crowd of people desperate for illegal goods, she made her way to the back where the services were. Typically, Nymira would exchange words with some of the other Magicks in the trade, but she was a one-track mind today, and everyone else knew it. She had one of those personalities that gave warnings of either "you may approach" or "back off." Today it was "back off." Some tried to wave and smile, ever cheerful with their gloved hands wrapped around steaming cups of tea, but she just kept walking. She and Ansley had a table set up in the very back. Only those who had made it through the throngs of other Magicks and hadn't found what they were looking for made it back here. They charged double the normal rate, but most were willing to lay down the extra coins for a perfect deal.

When Nymira finally made it back to the table, Ansley was already seated. Her black hair tied neatly in its usual ponytail nearly touched the floor with the way she was seated in the chair. She was slouched all the way back, arms crossed, and eyes closed with her head tilted and resting on the top of the chair. It couldn't have been comfortable, but Nymira thought she looked as relaxed as ever. Her clunky boots were propped up on the table, and her petite frame was almost completely stretched out.

Seeing Ansley like this calmed her ever so slightly before she pulled out her chair and plopped herself down next to her friend. Without opening her eyes or missing a beat, Ansley said, "What crawled up your ass this morning?"