[The interior of a dark warehouse stacked with crates. Clotho and Nyx hide behind a large barrel, a guard's lantern light sweeping in the distance.]
"This is the dumbest plan we've ever had," Nyx whispered.
"You're the one who said we needed food."
"I said steal bread. Not break into the Manipulator Council's warehouse!"
I peeked out from behind the barrel. This warehouse stored Aether Crystals—the energy source for steam machines and amplifiers for Manipulator powers. One small crystal could feed us for a month.
Or get us executed if we were caught.
"Shut up and follow me," I said, slipping into the next patch of shadow.
Nyx cursed under her breath, but her shadows were already creeping forward, scouting the area. That was the advantage of having an Abstract Manipulator as a partner—they could do things ordinary Elementals couldn't.
We slipped past three guards with ease. Too easy.
"Clotho…" Nyx grabbed my arm. "This is a trap."
I froze. She was right. No alarms. No tight patrols. For a place storing the Council's most valuable assets, this—
"Welcome, thieves."
The voice made my blood run cold. A girl stepped out of the darkness, her silver-white hair softly glowing in the gloom. Her eyes were blue like a clear sky—far too clean for a place like this.
[ Aether emerges from the shadows, one hand raised as light dances across her palm. Her expression is serious, but not hostile.]
"Aether of the Luxford Familia," Nyx tensed. "A Lightweave Manipulator. We're dead."
The girl—Aether—smiled faintly. "Not necessarily. I have an offer for you."
I stared at her warily. "What kind of offer?"
"Help me steal something from the Council. And I'll give you what you're looking for."
"And that is?"
Her gaze locked onto mine. "A path to the Second Heaven."