Hurriedly the little man stuffed his papers carelessly into his briefcase, sweating profusely. Next, he pulled out an old, worn book with ancient inscriptions scrawled across the cover. Whispering an incantaion under his breath, he watched as the wispy white smoke circled around it, keeping it closed to all but the only other person who could read the inscription. He whispered something else, and as soon as the smoke cleared, he smiled. The book had vanished.
Trying to appear calm (and failing), he strode out of his office building and into the dark alley that was his road home. He knew that the book was safely with its Reader by now, but he couldn't help but wonder if they'd seen what he'd done with it. If they ambushed him, he would die within minutes. He had to be prepared. He habitually put his hand in his pocket and found comfort knowing that the rough, ancient stick that was his wand still safely resided with him.
Nervously he walked to the parking lot, necktie flapping in the wind, and unlocked his car a full 10 feet before he reached it. Opening the trunk, he set the briefcase inside, concealing it with old newspapers and extraneous objects he'd forgotten to take out. If they searched his car and found the case, they would only find his work files inside. He smiled to himself, they would be sorely disappointed.
A strange feeling suddenly overcame him, as if someone was standing right behind him. Quickly he turned, and saw that there was no one. Yet the feeling did not go away. He knew this feeling, yes, he knew it well. He felt it on the first night, and every night following. Every time, he turned to look. Every time, he saw no one. But he knew.
They were watching him.
He got in his car, satisfied that they weren't coming for him tonight, and was about to turn the ignition when he happened to look in the rear-view mirror. The sight that met his eyes sent terrified shivers down his spine. There, with a sickeningly sweet smile plastered onto her porcelain face, sat a slender woman with long, curly black hair and onyx eyes to match.
She appeared to be in her early 20's, though he knew that, because of her immortality, she could be anywhere from 23 to 230. She leaned forward, never taking her eyes off of his reflected ones and hissed, "Where is it?"
Somehow managing to keep his voice steady, he answered her just as quietly, "I won't tell you. Never."
The woman raised her hands and gripped the back of his seat. "Tell me... you know we need it. You've put this off for far too long, Aleazer. Where is The Book Of Adam??"
"I've put this off?" He asked, raising his voice slightly, "You are the ones who never told me when to find you, much less where. If you do not have it by now, that is not my fault. However, you will find that the book is no longer in my possession." He smirked at her aghast expression. They obviously hadn't been keeping as close a watch as they'd originally threatened.
"What have you done with it, you traitor? Do you realize that that Book is the most powerful thing in this dimension??" She screeched, her eyes glowing a charcoal color.
"Yes, I do. And that is why I felt it should be protected by someone who was worthy. Not by some ragamuffin group of thieving, evil, power-hungry MONSTERS." Aleazer whipped around to face her. "Do you even realize how much destruction that book could bring to the world if used in the correct way? No, it will be much safer now, for it is out of the reach of you and The Dark Ones."
"FOOL! Where have you sent it??" She shrieked, obviously trying to restrain herself from tearing him to pieces.
With a smug grin and a dark look in his eyes, Aleazer pulled out his wand and held it up partway. It started to glow a light blue as he replied "Somewhere you, Carlita, will never even think to look."
With a flick of the stick, Aleazer vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving Carlita to howl in anger, and claw at the empty air where he once sat.
