Swan Song

Heist

I've already gotten past the guards in my room, but there will still be more guarding the scroll. I know I have enough emotions in me to take them out.

I tailgate a guard and slip into the safe room; hiding in the shadows.

The scroll glares at me as it sits in the hard-glass safe. The ancient ripples of paper ever so delicately flutter as my movements disturb the air. It's loopy, elegant cursive shows through a bare corner, so dainty yet so powerful.

It's beautiful.

The only disturbance to the picture is that it is being held captive by the most malicious people I know. The people with the darkest desires for its use.

I eye them carefully, and summon all my darkest thoughts. All my rage at the unfairness of the world is inflicted onto all the guards at once, and their surprised and pained looks are priceless.

Wait. Iggy's here! I inflicted on him too!

I run up to his furry little body. A small whimper escapes him as he rolls to the ground, his lifeless body curled up into a ball.

"Oh Iggy," Teardrops escape my eyes as I hold him to my chest. "I'm so sorry."

His furry body is still warm when I take him to a nice spot to be buried. Rest In Peace.

I wipe my tears off. It's okay. I can't dwell on this, or my conscience will shatter.

I hurry before the others hear their screams and come to their aid.

I grab the keys off one of the unconscious guards and lift the case off the beautiful parchment.

The scroll feels as if it will tear with the softest touch. I tuck it gently into my tunic and scurry out the door.

My eyes search the guards for the shimmer of a crystal. I had to get out of here before they came.

A reflective shine catches my eyes. A purple crystal? My eyes widen. How do they have crystals to Alluveterre?

It doesn't matter. I grab it and catch a wave of light from a nearby bulb.

I glitter away into the light and appear in the familiar landscape of Alluveterre.

Incoherent shouts come from a nearby building. My walk turns into a jog, and then a sprint. I have to go tell them I have the scroll.

What were they shouting about?

Thoughts go through me as my footsteps pound up to the door. All conversation stops as I twist the knob and the door creaks open.

"Sophie," Forkle sounds like he doesn't believe I'm actually here. "Is it really you?"

"It's me. And I have the scroll. After I was captured, I got your message from Iggy and I managed to break free and steal the scroll from them."

"But where's Iggy?"

I inhale a shaky breath. "He's dead. I don't wanna talk about it."

"I'm sorry for your loss, Ms. Foster. But you stayed strong and brought back what was important."

I reel out at Mr. Forkle. "IGGY IS IMPORTANT."

"I'm so sorry Ms. Foster, but we really can't afford to think about what we have lost. We have to focus on bringing them back."

I know he's right but I still sigh. "Let's start figuring out the scroll."

"Wait. We can't do this here. Let's go back to the Lost Cities where everyone else is. We'll need all the help we can get protecting this from the DarkCode. I've been researching this, and I found that in the ritual the people are reborn out of Troll hives. We need to contact Luzia Vacker."

I nod and take his hand.