How to Make a Sinner Sleep

27 | masks; the shadows that lurk

They had to wait until nightfall to take action, slipping out of their rooms in the dead night where shadows ran rampant and the living slept.

The Academy's curfew was rather relaxed, though something to be followed. It was easy to apply for an extended curfew, but for those who didn't and were caught, great trouble would ensue.

It was almost as if they were like stray animals being monitored and every waking moment.

Kaden wondered, with their blessings that had them under the eyes of the Watchers, if that  made them abnormal. Different.

He lifted his head up at the starry night skies. Since the Academy was slightly away, further into the woods than the town, the skies were especially clear, twinkling high above.

He shivered at a gust of cool wind that blew through his dark cloak, a scarf masking the bottom half of his face. Crouching low outside of the Academy's gates, he waited patiently. Soon, another figure jumped down.

Noah glanced around with languid eyes, a touch of sleepiness pulling his narrow gaze. Dressed in a similar fashion that hid most of his features, it couldn't hide the domineering disposition that ran in his blood.

For the better, thought Kaden with a laugh, since status and attitude determined how others treated you in that Tavern.

Then, something tumbled off the walls dramatically, spinning around and around. Kaden widened his eyes, reaching out a hand before the body smashed into him, causing the two to form a heap on the ground.

Kaden groaned, a muffled sound, before he shoved the body off him. "Niklas... learn some subtleness..."

Niklas rubbed his waist in pain, rolling into a sitting position. "It can't be helped. I tripped over a jutted piece of stone and the top. What a safety hazard."

"They don't really intend for students to jump over, you see."

"Well, I suppose that was a successful foil then."

Kaden shook his head before noticing three masks hanging at Niklas's hips. A bad feeling washed over him.

Expectedly, Niklas pulled the masks out and spread them under the moonlight, grinning widely. "Of course, code names and disguises are a must in a stakeout! Be glad I remembered them, I almost forgot and had to run back."

Kaden wanted to disagree, but it was true that a secret name wasn't rare when such dangerous deals were made. Nobles or the high-ranking that committed heinous crimes under an alias.

At least, he praised Niklas's rare moment of remembering, when his memory was poor and unreliable.

He plucked one from the pile without looking, fastening it around his face. A white skeleton mask that covered the top half of his face.

Niklas nodded. "Wise choice, Mr. Fox."

"...animal masks?"

"It was all I could find under short notice."

He turned to Noah, holding the remaining too. "Unfortunately there are no dragon masks, but that might be a giveaway. Make your choice, Noah."

The dragon looked over vaguely, and even in the expressionless stare, Kaden felt as if he was unwilling to choose either. It was a little childish, the glimmer of reluctance.

Kaden laughed under his breath at that idea, pulling a golden coin from his pocket as he twirled it between long and slender fingers.

"Heads or tails, my dearest dragon?"

Noah glanced at him coldly, watching the coin glide between the gaps of the man's fingers before answering, "Heads."

A flick, and the coin danced high into the air before landing on the back of Kaden's hand. He smiled, lifting his palm. "It's heads."