and went home with it
It was a black night, a perfect night; they could not have planned it any better.
Laughter still danced through his mind, the realization that they were here, and no one was any the wiser, settling in and taking hold. The adrenaline was a fierce thing, coursing through his veins and turning his heart sour; it was all he could do to remain composed, to not laugh in the faces of the very guards who had let them through the gates. They had been disguised as gypsies, it was true; but they should have known better. They were paid to know better. And he had fooled them all.
Clouds drifted lazily across the sky, occasionally blotting out the stars and new moon that were scattered across the sky, stealing their light like a blind pulled across a window. It was a quiet night - as if the darkened moon had sucked all the life and energy from the land, as if the people with stars in their eyes were fueled by the stars in the sky, and couldn’t function properly in their absence.
Toulouse planned to steal something else from them before the night was over.
The light from a street lamp was tempting, the flames within its cage dancing and flickering and throwing their orange tint across the cobblestones. It reached hungrily for his flame, promising to turn him golden - but he turned away from it. it was a sharp contrast; the lamps were spaced out widely here, intermittently, so the streets were cast in shadows so deep they seemed to swallow life itself. Nothing moved, nothing made a sound, nothing even seemed to breathe. They were alone.
There were two others somewhere else in the city, he knew; two others with a mission the same as their own. But right now, they mattered little to Toulouse. It was just him, the bay-and-striped boy beside him, and the darkness than enveloped them.
He can’t help but look down a sidestreet they pass, tracing the pathway in his mind. 10 paces then take a left, take the first right you find, then look for the white house. The Scarab he knew, would be waiting for him, the way it always was: tempting, intoxicating, irresistible to lesser men. The image of a red rose comes to mind as the alley way disappears behind them. He’d told his brother to be far away tonight, but Toulouse had never been one for caution. Was he there tonight, dancing with a girl with gemstone eyes?
It didn’t matter. If his twin was in the city, it served to give him an even better alibi.
He stopped, his diamond-shod hoof clinking against stone. His eyes turning silver in the moonlight, he watched as the rest of their company disappeared. And so four become two. The wind was a whisper against his cheek as they disappeared into the dark of Denocte.
There was a smile in his eyes as he turned to Abel. "Shall we?" His voice was low, so low that his companion would have to strain to hear his words. Before them, the road had come to a dead end - they could go right or left, but not forward.
A cloud passed overhead again, and only the brightness of their eyes could be seen shining in the night.
I know the secret pathways of Denocte, Abel's voice whispered through his mind still, a reminder from the meeting in the cave. It had been only four days prior, and yet, it felt like an eternity ago. If we are swift - if we are not stupid - we should not fail.
This time, Toulouse couldn't help the smile splitting across his face.
@abel
