The Unknown Thief

Part 1

Chapter 1

She slid the window open and winced as a creaking sound echoed through the room.  Pushing her head through the opening, she glanced around the study.  It was empty.  She let out a soundless sigh as the information registered in her mind.  Her luck was looking up.

Gliding one foot through, she waited until her boot clad foot connected to the ground before slinking the rest of her body in.  For once, she thanked her parents for making her learn things she once thought were pointless.  Her eyes darted around the room before settling on the painting she had come for.  It was quite ugly in her opinion, but it would sell at a pricey cost.

Pressing the heel of her foot to the ground, she rolled them to keep her footsteps silent.  Finally, she stood in front of the object of desire.  One hand reached down blindly to the knife sheathed on her thigh, while the other reached up to grab the painting.  Turning, she placed it face down on the desk.  The knife grazed across the back as she pressed it as close to the frame as possible.  Quickly but efficiently, she sliced down, freeing the painting from its edging. 

She handled it with caution as she rolled it into the cylinder she had strapped across her back.  The lid snapped down with a click.  Biting her lip, she looked around for anyone who may have heard the noise.  Nothing was lurking in the shadows.  Well, she had thought nothing lurked there.  To her surprise, a light flickered on.

Turning she glanced at the hand holding a small ball of light and smirked.  She brought her hand up and snapped causing her own light orb to emit in the room.  The only difference was that hers happened to be larger than his.

The man took a step forward and held his hand higher dramatically.  The orb in his hand enlarged and became brighter.  Letting out a sigh, she dimmed hers.  People were always trying to best her with magic.  Usually, she would humor the man, but at the moment, she needed to hurry.  There was an event she needed to get to quick.

“I would love to play whose is bigger with you, but sadly, I must be leaving,” she said while turning her back to the man.

She heard the man groan in frustration.  “It is not that I want the painting.  I would have paid you to steal it myself because the thing is horrendous.  It’s the principle of the matter.  I cannot let you just leave my manor without repercussions.”

“Kill me then,” she said as she faced him once more.  Spreading her arms away from her body, she gave the illusion of complete surrender.  He should know better though.  She never surrendered.

He stared at the intruder.  Mixed emotions flew through his body.  Either she was a wonderful actress or she was giving in.  Taking a step forward, he brightened the light as he tried to get a glimpse of her face.  The only thing he was able to see though was her large brown eyes staring at him.  They flickered to green before settling back to brown.  

“You have strong magic?” he asked in wonder.

“Yes,” she said and snapped her mouth closed in frustration.  Her eyes sparkled dangerously.  They were daring him to make a move.  She wanted him to do something drastic.  The question was what she had planned.  Did she want him to let his guard down so she could escape?  Or did she plan on killing him?

“This is ridiculous,” she told him with a huff.  “Either kill me or let me flee.  I feel quite foolish standing here like this.”

He shook her head at him.  “Sorry, my lady, but I cannot let you leave.  I have some questions for you.”

“I will just refuse to answer them,” she told him as the clock struck twelve.

Her eyes glanced towards the clock then took on a panicked look.  “I am sorry about your window.”

“What do you mean?” he asked but got no answer in return as she shouted, “Daisy!”

The window door flew open and a small creature fell onto his carpet.  Taking a step closer, he made out what looked like wings and a snout and scales.  A dragon; the lady had a dragon?  He jumped back away from the tiny dragon and looked at her in shock.

“What can he do?”

The intruder looked at him.  “Daisy is a girl.  She can morph her size.  Damn you!  Stop asking questions!”

A chuckled escaped his lips at her outburst.  This chit was deranged.  She was not only a thief, but she should also be locked up in bedlam.  Bending down, she grabbed the dragon and cradled it to her chest.  To his surprise, it gave her a toothy grin.  Dragons weren’t nice.  They were evil creatures who stole their women for ransom.

“I am quite sorry, sir, but Daisy and I must be going,” the woman said and walked towards the window.  In shock, he watched as she launched herself out of the opening.  Letting out a shout, he leapt towards her, but he missed.  He scrambled to the window expecting to see his thief falling to her death, but what he saw was her clutching the back of a full grown dragon.

He let out a sigh of relief.  Her dragon morphed and had saved her life.  The woman was mad, but strangely compelling.  He did not know her name or her looks, but he knew one thing; he was going to find the woman.