Wilt had a brief moment of professional jealousy but it was almost completely over shadowed with curiosity. He knew for a fact that learning the art of the thief was no easy task and while his natural agility made some aspects easier, only experience made a successful thief. He had searched that entire bookshelf twice and it didn’t even register that those books were upside down.
“I think we may have found it,” Lukas said as he peeled back the cloth to reveal an old, worn book; its cover a deep, mottled green with a detailed sun motif embossed in gold thread.
“That’s it.” Wilt’s eyes shone in the dull light as he reverently touched the soft leather of the cover. He took care to rewrap it tightly and carefully nestled it in his satchel; somewhat unnecessary as magical books tended to be unnaturally robust. He had heard of entire buildings burning down and a magical book being found in the ashes, completely unharmed.
“We make a pretty good team.” Wilt grinned widely and pressed his ear to the door. The storm had eased slightly but it was still impossible to hear anything over the din. He opened the door a crack and held his breath. Halfway down the hall was a lit candelabra that had not been there before. Its owner was nowhere in sight but that was even more concerning. He strained his ears, listening for any movement in the house, but it was still.
“I think someone else is up. Be quick and quiet, and keep a sharp lookout.” Wilt whispered before he slipped through the door. Lukas was close on his heels as the pair padded down the hallway on their toes. As Wilt passed the candelabra he blew out the candles. He paused a moment as his eyes shifted to the dimmer light and Lukas crashed into the back of him.
“What is it?” Lukas whispered, his eyes darting from side to side looking for anything out of place.
“It’s nothing, let’s keep going,” Wilt urged and caught the edge of his sleeve and pulled Lukas behind him.
- - -
“Stupid draughty house,” a voice sounded from behind just as Wilt’s foot was poised on the first step. Both men froze and peered back down the dark hallway.
The secretary appeared as a ghost dressed in a long white nightdress, her hair released from its tight bun to gently cascade over her shoulders.
Any moment Lukas expected her to turn and scream as she had done in the library, but her attention was focused on the candelabra that Wilt had blown out.
A small tug drew his attention back to Wilt; he jerked his head and they started their descent carefully. The stairs back down to the kitchen seemed to take twice as long and every step threatened to shriek as they pick their way down, and as they descended Wilt kept hold of his sleeve the whole time.
The kitchen was still silent and dark, but a new aroma permeated the dull space. A hum of satisfaction bubbled up from the depths of Lukas’ soul.
“Coffee,” he sighed before inhaling long and deep. It smelt better than any coffee he had ever smelt before and would be a far cry from the stale left-overs he was used to.
“Wait, hold up,” Wilt cautioned as Lukas moved to follow his nose. “Someone could walk in at any moment.” But just as the warning left his lips a creak sounded on the stairs above. “Move.” A hard urgency flickered in his eyes as they slipped around the kitchen benches and out the door. Wilt grabbed the handle and yanked it hard enough to jolt the latch in place just as a crash of thunder ripped through the sky.
“Lucky,” he flashed a wicked smile and turned to pull them both back into the storm. “We need to put as much distance between us and this place as we can before we rest.”
As they wove through the gardens and into the forest Wilt never let go of Lukas’ sleeve.
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