That Grey Area - Book 1 - The girl from Otherworld

Prologue

A shadow sneaked through the small opening. A cat flap closed without a sound. Velvet paws jumped onto the counter and pushed the lock open. A small click of the keyhole later, the door opened to reveal the dark and sleeping house. The hinge should have creaked, but the spell muffled the sound. Yet there were noises: buzzing from the refrigerator, a tick-tock from a grandfather clock, a car revving past on its way back from a party. Probably. Who knew, with these foreign sounds? Back home it would have been the wind in the trees, hooves striking damp earth and friendly barking. But he was a long way from home.

He waited until he was sure his entrance had not set off any alarm, then crept up the staircase. It was pitch black there, but he knew which door to head for. He had studied the comings and goings of the inhabitants enough to know. Not enough to displace himself straight into the room – that would have been too dangerous. And in any case, he did not need to. The shadows he had summoned cloaked him; it was as close to being invisible as he could without wasting his magic on illusions. He felt his way along the rough painted wall, his fingers exploring the surface for clues as to where he was. Around a corner his hand closed around a handle and pushed it down.

He tiptoed past the chest of drawers to the bed and the girl stirred as though she felt his presence. As though she sensed all that that was to come. A silver blade appeared from the darkness and moved towards the pillow. The moonlight shone through the window, but he was safe. Even if she woke up now, all she would see was shadows. The dagger fell toward the girl's bare neck.

In a flash of silver and the swish of a cloak, he was down the stairs and out of the house, clutching a lock of silvery-blonde hair.

~*~

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