Runaway Magic

twelve

We sat in the Tavern for what felt like hours, nursing our emptied drinks until the sky darkened to an inky tar, interrupted only by the moon's silver-swelled form. The chatter around us faded as patrons trickled out, nodding at Crow as they left. For someone no more than a year or two older than me and Amina, Crow had established quite the business for himself. If I dared to admit it, I was jealous of him. He was independent, something I could never be. Even without Kenna to worry about, people would never trust a woman to run anything more than a small tea shop or a laundry service. But as I gazed around at our companions' faces, taking in Amina's alcohol-gilded smirk, Ekki's ice-cut concentration, and Xia's quiet intellect, I wondered what awaited us over the Ijinislj border. If they respected witches over there, maybe they were more progressive about gender roles too. At least, a girl could dream.

Finally, as the last customer stumbled their intoxicated way out the entrance, the Tavern was empty of life except for the six of us.

"Are we just going to sit here forever, or we can we get a move on?" Kenna whined. I kicked her shin under the table, but no one else seemed to mind her insolence. Ekki and Amina were as eager to leave as she was; their bodies practically thrummed with pent-up energy.

"Wait," Crow said suddenly, sensing the adrenaline coiled within Amina's body. He grabbed her wrist before she could rise out of her seat. His striking features softened, something oddly akin to concern glittering in his multicolored eyes. "Just be careful, ok? I can't have my favorite thief getting nabbed by the police."

Even though Crow tried to hide his apprehension behind his hollow joke, we could all see the emotions roiling through him. As I watched him and Amina stare at each other, a thousand words fluttering between them in the silence, a heat coursed through my veins. Like Kenna and I, they shared a bond that could only be forged by time. A bond, I realized with a pang, I could never replicate.

Luckily, Amina broke the awkwardness with a flippant jab of her own. "I'll try to come back in one piece," she said, drawing away from his loosened grip, "but I make no promises. Not even to you, Crow." And in true Amina fashion, she strutted out the door with a mere brush of her thick hair, leaving us to pick up the pieces.

"Bye, I guess," Kenna called, following Ekki and Xia as they trailed Amina without a word. I stepped away too, nodding a thank-you at Crow as I made my way toward the entrance, but the look in his eyes forced me to pause.

"Just make sure she doesn't get herself killed," he whispered softly from his seat, burying his spindly fingers in his tousled hair.

"I'll try," I replied. Then, before the sappiness haunting his gaunt features could threaten my resolve, I forced myself to leave. One foot in front of the other until the star-stretched sky greeted me, twinkling with flimsy promises and uncertain fates.

"Where are we going?" I asked breathlessly, sprinting to catch up with the rest of the group. I tried not to let it sting that they hadn't bothered to wait for me, focusing instead on the sly arc of the moon gracing the sky.

"To Earnest Morning's grave," Ekki answered, pointing at Xia, who was leading the way. I swore that girl had a compass built into her heart and a map scrawled across her skin. She had more sense of direction compressed into her pinky finger than I did in my entire body.

"That's it, we're just going to waltz into a graveyard and pry the jewel from his decaying corpse?" I asked, frowning. Amina favored hastily-constructed plans, but this one seemed flimsy, even by her standards.

"Ew," Kenna said, scrunching her nose up.

"No, we're not going to pry the jewel from his decaying corpse," Amina drawled. I waited suspiciously. Her grin only sharpened, a playful look dancing in her eyes. "Well, maybe, but I wouldn't put it that way. We're simply going to break into his graveyard - Ekki's a fantastic lockpick, did you know that? - and Kenna will use her magic to portal into his grave. Then, we'll grab the jewel and run. No one will ever know we were ever there. No corpse-disturbing involved."

My frown deepened, as did Kenna's. Neither of us liked the idea of using her magic to commit a crime. Possessing it alone was enough to get us both locked up for life. Besides, Kenna was still just a kid, and graveyards were spooky enough normally, let alone at midnight with a bunch of thieves in a near-deserted town.

"It'll be quick," Amina promised, noticing our wary expressions. She motioned to Xia, who was standing at the end of the street with her limbs crossed. The black-haired girl's almond eyes were impatient, her foot tapping a muffled rhythm against the uneven cobblestones. "See, we're already there," she said as we approached Xia.

A thick, iron-wrought gate decorated with an intricate swirling pattern stood behind her, framed by a neat stone wall that swooped around in a wide circle. Tall, manicured bushes poked out above the barrier from the background. There was no way this was one person's grave. Back in our village, you were lucky if your loved one's mouth didn't rest at someone else's skeletal feet. Everyone was jammed together in a grim labyrinth, not laid to rest in a plot of land large enough for a house. Multiple houses, even.

"Are you sure we can't just scale the wall?" Ekki grumbled, eyeing the stone boundary. She flexed her arms, as if she was calculating how quickly she could haul herself over.

"Unfortunately, not all of us are in the same pristine physical condition as you," Amina responded, shaking her head. I was glad I wasn't the only one feeling guiltily unfit compared to the Fjallen girl. "Besides, I thought you loved lock-picking?"

"Not anymore," Ekki muttered with a scowl. "Ever since I broke into your bedroom and saw you kissing that silly blonde-haired girl. I like collecting people's secrets, but some things deserve never to see the light of day." Amina elbowed the wraith-like girl in her bony ribs before she could laugh, hissing at her to be quiet. "Fine," Ekki sighed, retrieving a slender hairpin from her pocket.

She rubbed it between her pale fingers before bending down, examining the hefty lock chained to the gate. She pursed her lips as she slid the pin into the keyhole, fiddling with it with an intense concentration. After a few unproductive moments of wiggling the rod of metal back and forth, the lock made a clicking sound. The only sign that betrayed the Fjallen girl's satisfaction was the ghost of a smile gracing her lips as she twisted the pin all the way and pushed the gate open.

We all winced as its hinges groaned in corroded cries. For such a majestic place, it didn't seem like anyone had been hired to maintain it. All the easier for us to complete the mission without being noticed.

"Voila," she said, stepping back to admire her handiwork. She casually slid the pin back into her pocket, ignoring me and Kenna's flabbergasted looks.

"You still need to teach me that trick," Amina said cheerfully, striding forward. She passed Ekki, pausing in the entranceway. The moonlight illuminated the side of her tanned face as she twisted her chin over her shoulder, grinning wolfishly.

"Now let's go rob a rich man's grave."