Now I know better.
“Forty seconds,” Daisy whispers in my head and I nod, but don’t respond verbally. I’m pretty sure she can see me. There are cameras sprinkled throughout the hallway and I don’t bother trying to hide from them. That’s Daisy’s department. I’m the thief; she’s the brains. She gets me in and gets me out and then we split the profits from whatever it is I’m supposed to take.
Today it’s some sort of knife. It’s old as hell, and if we succeed, the payday is going to be exactly what we’ve been waiting for. Daisy has a family to feed, after all.
And me?
Well, it’s just me now.
I hurry to the end of the hall and then turn. Three more turns and finally, I find myself standing in front of a treasure trove. That’s really the only way to describe what I’m looking at. It’s fucking gorgeous: an entire room full of every imaginable item. There are piles of jewelry and display cases with vases and statutes and gold bars. I feel like Aladdin in the Cave of Wonders.
It’s vast.
It’s incredible.
And it’s all right here.
“Songbird, stay focused,” I hear Daisy’s voice in my head, and I know that she’s right. I’m not out of the woods yet. The Vampire King is not exactly known for his patience. If he found out someone was trying to rip him off, he’d be on my neck in an instant. That’s why I’m the only one who would take this job. That’s why I got to charge whatever the hell I wanted for this job.
And charging hell is exactly what I’m doing.
After this, I’ll be able to retire: free and clear.
There will be no more robbing.
No more thieving.
No more dodging vampires.
Nope.
After tonight, Daisy and I are packing up. She’s taking her family somewhere else: maybe someplace warm, like the beach. And me?
I’ve got a cabin in the woods just calling my name.
I’m ready to escape from people, from reality.
I’ll be happy if I never see another fucking vampire again.
I scurry into the room and look around quickly. I have only seconds to grab the knife and get the hell out of dodge. There are stacks of books and piles of gold coins. There are trophies and gold statues. Basically, everything I’m looking at is bright and shiny. I don’t know where to even start looking for the knife.
But we’re certain that’s it here.
Our intel is never wrong.
Bad intel means that we all die, so Daisy and I go above and beyond to make sure that anything we look for is a sure thing.
And a magical weapon?
That’s a pretty sure fucking thing.
Magical swords and knives have been around since the dawn of time. It’s impossible to tell which ones really existed. Humans love fairy tales and nothing makes for a good story quite like a magical object. I mean, there’s Excalibur, wielded by King Arthur. There’s Caesar’s Crocea Mors. Hell, there’s even Ninurta’s Sharur. These weapons have been talked about, studied, and sought for thousands upon thousands of years.
Yet very few magical items have been found or captured.
Until now.
The Sword of Edith isn’t something most people know about or most people have been able to get. Not any humans, anyway. Not that many are looking for it. Most people are too damn scared of Derek’s army or his reach to be willing to sneak directly into his home and steal from him.