Extreme Heights (discontinued/read authors note)

Katsai: Thief

My feet flew across the cobbled street as pedestrians and bystanders turned their heads in my direction. My dark cloak billowed behind me as I took a sharp left into a dark alley. My eyes scanned the narrow route. To the left of me stood a dozen small boxes, crumpled and broken down due to weather and misuse. To my right stood a ten-foot wall that leads to the roof of a local tavern. The faint footsteps of my pursuers could be heard behind me as I bit my lower lip.

"The boxes are too broken for me to stand on, so they are a no go. The roof is also a bad decision for multiple reasons." I muttered to myself, turning in a circle to look around the alley. "Nope. A dead-end that way, those guards will catch up to m-"

    "HEY! GET BACK HERE, YOU THIEF!"

I rolled my head lazily to the side, looking over my shoulder to the guard who held me at spear point. The metal tip poked dangerously into the divet of my back as the guard's rough voice filled the narrow space.

"I have you now. I wouldn't move a muscle or this spear is going straight through your spine, you hear me?" His voice shook as I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

"Yeah, yeah. Quit your blubbering. You saw what I did to your little friends a few hours ago, yeah? I don't think your little threat carries much weight with me. Now if you will excuse me, I have a home to get to and I would rather not be taken into custody before then." I sighed, rubbing my forearm out of annoyance. The guard shook beside me; his knees shaking at the carefree tone of my voice. "Eh? Why are you shaking in your boots? It's not like I killed the suckers."

    "You're crazy..." His voice trailed off as he pushed the spear point further into my back.

    "Hey hey hey! Dude, chill. That hurts like hell!" I grumbled. "And I know I am crazy, it's what makes it fun!"

    "What...?" The guard took a step back as I slowly lifted my left hand. A silver ring curled around my middle finger, a gray and white stone glistening on top. It glowed a soft gray as shadows slowly began to swirl on the walls surrounding me. I tilted my head lightly, admiring my hand with a playful smirk.

    "I just love this thing. I guess you could call it sentimental."

    "You-you're a magic-user..."

    "You're not? That's a pity. It's no fun fighting Dulls. They just run. Oh, hey! You happen to be a part of the royal guard, correct?" The shadows around me seemed to slow down with creeping malice. They glided from the wall towards my left foot, swirling beneath the shoe ominously. 

    The guard fell backward as his knees seemed to collapse out of fear. He pushed himself backward, using his hands to pull him.

    "I-I know who you are! You're that menace from Maelstrom, the one who stole the K-" Shadows curled around his mouth, silencing him.

    "Hey, no need to announce such things! While you may be correct, we wouldn't want the whole village to know, now would we?" I crouched down in front of the man. My shadows held him in place as I slowly moved the spear point from my back. I frowned as I held up the tip of the weapon. I poked the end lightly, tilting my head.

"Oh come on. You guys can do so much better than these worthless pieces of crap, like seriously, it isn't even sharpened! I'd hate to die to weapons like these. You should really ask Galterius for a raise next time you see him, eh?" I threw the spear to the ground, giving it a light kick with my boot to make a point.

The man struggled against my shadows, letting out muffled grunts and yells. I gave off a light sigh as the man continued to struggle. He fell onto his side in a fetal-like position, tears now streaming down his face. My face contorted into that of pure confusion and disgust.