Midnight Thief

One

This job could kill her.

Kyra peered off the ledge, squinting at the cobblestone four stories below. A false step in the darkness would be deadly, and even if she survived the fall, Red Shields would finish he off. She stared a few moments more before forcing her gaze back up. The time for second thoughts had passed. Now she just needed to keep moving.                                                                                                                                                        The jump ahead was two body lengths long , so Kyra backed away from the ledge.Ten steps, then she drew a breath and sprinted forward.   She pushed off just before the drop, clearing a gap of three strides before softening her body for the landing. There was a slap of soft leather on stone as she hit the next ledge. The impacted sent a wave of vibrations through the balls  of her feet, and Kyrah touched a hand to the wall for balance.                                                                                                                                          Too hard, and too loud. 

Silently cursing her clumsiness, Kyrah scanned the grounds, looking for anyone who might have heard her. If she squinted, she could make out faint outlines of buildings around her---- some as high as her ledge, some even taller. The pathways below were lined with torches that flickered, casting shadows that played tricks with her vision. Since she couldn't trust her eyes,she listened. Other than the wind blowing across her ears,the night was silent, and Kyrah relaxed. Tucking away a stray lock of hair, she set off, dashing deeper into the compound.

Two days ago,a man had come to The Drunken Dog, introducing himself as James and asking for Kyrah by name. He'd moved with a deliberate confidence, and his gaze had swept over the room,evaluating and dismissing each of its occupants. When Kyrah had finally approached him, James laid out an unusual offer.There was a ruby in the Palace compound. He wanted her to fetch it for him, and he was willing to pay.  

     "The Palace is guarded tight" Kyrah had told him. "If you want jewels, you'll better get them elsewhere."

      "The ruby's got sentimental value,"he'd replied. Kyrah didn't consider herself the most astute judge of character. But she also wasn't an idiot, and she'd swallow her grappling hook before she'd believe that this man would do anything for sentimental reasons. The pay he offered was good though, and the job an intriguing challenge. The Palace was a far cry from the rich man's houses Kyrah usually raided, with their handful of sentries guarding two or three floors. The Palace's massive buildings were patrolled by so many guards it was impossible to walk the grounds undetected. Rumor had it that even the rooftops were closely watched.

Which was why Kyrah was neither on the ground nor on rooftops. Instead, she balanced in a ledge outside a fourth-floor  window, darting from shadow to shadow. The moon had not yet risen, and darkness concealed her from the Red Shields that were below. Unfortunately,it also had hid the ledges from her own sight; so the boundary between stone and air was really easy to miss. But from time to time, she slid a foot out to check her position,tracing her toe along the edge to fix her border in her mind.

    Yes, she could die tonight. But as Kyrah had crept through the darkness, her doubts faded against her excitement of a challenging job. Those who knew her understood skills. They knew she had no fear of heights and never lost her balance. But not even Flick, the closest thing to an older brother she ever had, understood the sheer joy that came over her every time she raced through the night. There was something about the way the darkness had forced her to rely on other senses, the way her body  rose to the challenge. Her limbs silently promised her that she would not fall, and by now she knew that she could trust them.