Thief In The Shadows by Tyler Lace (books for students to read TXT) 📕

"Who ever killed your parents wanted the Gem. It was a rare one, at that. I tried to look in papers for the market to see who sold the Gem, but it only showed who bought it-"

"Then let's go," Azad had snapped.

Vafa had raised his hand up, to stop Azad. "I went to find them. When I got there, the guy was dead and the Gem was gone."

Azad had looked at the ground, his hands slightly trembling. "So, who ever stole it in the first place, wanted it back?"

Vafa had nodded. "They sold it, not knowing how much it was worth. Once they found out, they must have gotten mad and went to retrieve it. Either that, or they were planning to get it back in the first place and just wanted, or needed, the money." Vafa had taken a deep breath, leaning his head against the wall and closed his eyes.

"What happens at the end?" Azad had looked back up.

Vafa had opened one eye. "What do you mean?"

"In the story, what happens at the end?"

The other boy had stood up straight and looked up, the now evening sun glaring at him. The coin was thrown in the air. He caught it and placed it in his pocket. "That part, I'm afraid, is entirely up to you, thief in the shadows."

It was all a bit strange. From there, Vafa had patted his shoulder and took the painting. The boy climbed the roof and ran along it, jumping off and disappearing into the underground piping, after giving his friend a quick glance and a nod.

It had been a week from that day, and, as the young women started yelling and cussing at the other customer, he couldn't help but wave the thought away.

"If that is all the money ya got then step aside for the other customers," barked the young woman. She had a thick Jamaican accent and her hair hung past her shoulders, covered in colorful beads. Azad could see that, inside the beads, were cut crystals. The woman was well known in this business and was usually kind. But, when she was angry, she was very spiteful. She was also clever.

The woman's name was Cleo. Her story was a sad one and was, like her, well known. Her family had been killed due to a misunderstanding with some bandits. From there, she had nowhere else to go and her mother told her of the town and the job opportunity. She had no choice but to agree and found passage to her home, leaving it all behind.

Bandits did that. They were found in between towns and would jump you. Some bandits offered protection from others, taking families to different towns. They used fear and manipulation to get you to help them with their little games, and, to some people, they reminded them highly of the kingdom and guards.

The elderly woman, in front, stepped to the side, as told.

Cleo gestured for Azad to come forward. He did so and lay the crystals, he had taken from the mansion, on the table. The elderly woman stared at the Gems in fascination. Azad could see she had never seen anything like it.

The stall owner gave him the money and he froze for a second. A sigh escaped him and he pulled out many coins, placing them in front of the elderly woman.

She looked shocked and looked up, but Azad was already walking away, his hood now pulled up and hands in his cloak pocket.

"Here." Azad took the piece of paper. He looked closely at it and found scribbles of information. Vafa was lucky Azad could read his fast-writing. "That's the next item I need you to get. You think you can?"

"Pfft, of course," he replied. He shoved the note in his pocket as the two walked further into the underground tunnel. The smell of sewerage and death wafted into their noses, as the two trudged their way through the low light. Water touched their boots at the bottom, never going higher than half way up their feet.

"Any thought yet?"

"About what?"

"About what you are going to do, regarding your parents and the Gem," he stated, glancing at Azad, who walked alongside him.

"I don't know what to do. Judging on what you told me, there is no specific leads to anyone." Azad stared up at the brick. He could barely see and it was only due to Vafa's torch that he didn't trip over rubble. The thief could see well in the dark but he was out of it today. He wouldn't even had left his shelter if it weren't for Vafa sending one of his fellow black marketers to give Azad a message. Vafa never gave his own messages. It would put him in danger if he were seen talking to a criminal. So, he had met Vafa to discuss his next job.

Vafa felt sorry for Azad as he saw his friend close off. Azad was known for putting on a distant face when ever he didn't want to be disturbed. "That is odd," he stated, pulling out the silver coin and moving it between his fingers.

"What?"

Vafa, with a smirk on his face, continued to move the coin. "Just that . . . revenge is usually in your system." He shrugged, playing with a piece of paper in his cloak pocket, while his right hand still moved the coin. Azad always knew that Vafa was cunning and manipulative, that is how he made his money anyway. He usually could get when Vafa was trying to trick him and would pull him up on it. But, now, he just guessed that it was second nature to Vafa, so he ignored it.

"Not when there is no point. My parents are already dead and we know nothing-" he stopped when he saw Vafa trembling with anger. He was trying to restrain himself, which he could usually do.

"They're dead. So, don't you want to do something?" he asked, his voice shaky and, again, it was easy to tell he was trying to stop himself from an outburst. Vafa was never entirely open about his family life and even Azad knew nothing. No one knew anything.

"Sorry, Vafa," he stated.

Vafa stared at him in shock for a moment, before staring back at the ground. He flicked the coin in the air, caught it, and placed it in his pocket. His blonde hair concealed his eyes as he continued to stare at the ground. He spoke quietly. "Yeah, well, I don't know what you are apologizing for . . ." He looked up ahead again.

"Well-" he was stopped by Vafa putting his arm up, stopping and staring up.

He kneeled on the ground and pulled out his grapple hook, chucking it at Azad. "We're here."

Azad took out his gun from his belt and loaded it, then put it back. He stared up as well. There was a cylinder plate, light shining from the edges. Now the area was a bit lighter. They could now see clearly the intertwining vines up the side of the tunnel.

"You have a plan?"

"Sort of."

"Well," Azad pushed.

Vafa laughed slightly, a smirk on his face. "The plan is to let you wing it." He got back up, his hands in his pockets.

Azad sighed, aimed the grapple hook and released. It flew up and connected in the gap of the plate. His gear was fully black and now visible as he started to go up. Just before he got to the top, he looked down. "Where are you going to be?"

Vafa stopped from walking, looking over his shoulder as he spoke. "I have some business. I'll meet you at the port in an hour."

Azad nodded, getting ready to go up higher. He put his fingers in the plate, and, just before he could move it, Vafa spoke again. "Azad?"

"Yeah?"

Vafa looked back ahead, away from his friend as he kept walking. "Be careful?"

Azad froze for a second and watched as Vafa disappeared into darkness, his hood now pulled up and hands in pockets. Him and Vafa knew that wishing for someone to be careful was not the good thing to do. If the person did not return then they had broken their promise to do the opposite. So, they never wished each other to be safe out loud. A nod would indicate the thought. On occasion, though, Vafa would say it. Azad had yet to figure out why his friend did it at those times. His first thought was that it was only when it was a dangerous mission, but he still was unsure.

Azad looked up, staring at his passage into the mansion. He took a deep breath and moved the plate.

He stood up, the plate now closed. The room he stood in was huge, filled with boxes of tools and unused expensive accessories. Azad was disgusted by this, and tempted.

He locked his grapple gun and headed for the stairs. He was going to kill Vafa if the floor plans were wrong and he ended up somewhere else. It wouldn't be the first time. One time Vafa got it wrong and Azad ended up finding himself in the bathroom instead of the chamber. To make it worse, he couldn't get out from the bathroom. From there he had to locate it by himself. After all of it he yelled at Vafa but he had just simply waved it off and apologized. Azad had no clue why Vafa was his main person to see about stealing.

He snuck through the halls of the mansion, the lights all off. If Vafa was correct, then the secret room was located in the large library. The shelves were filled with hundreds of different books. He had never seen anything like it.

Azad traced his gloved hands along the books, muttering to himself constantly. He froze. The book his finger landed on had a rigged spine.

He pulled out the book and opened it, smiling at the sight of the hidden key. So far, Vafa had done him no wrong.

Azad slipped the key into his belt and looked up, the rip in the wallpaper on the ceiling catching his eye. He pulled out a dagger, aimed, and threw it up. The weapon skimmed the ceiling and ripped the paper more. This revealed a hatch with a handle, and a smirk on his face.

He moved fast and caught the dagger. When he stood back up, he had his grapple gun in his hand, and the hook had attached to the handle of the hatch. Azad pulled at it and it opened, stairs falling out in front of him. They creaked slightly as he carefully crawled up, the gun now away.

"I hate you so much," Azad sighed as he lay on the port, the moon reflecting on the water and the nights air hitting his bare arms. All he was wearing at that moment was black sleeveless gear with his weapons still in place, and his cloak with his hood pulled up. Another sigh escaped his lips as he thought about the job he had just done. The dagger he stole