Elemental Thief

Chapter 1

The dark afternoon sky crackled with magic as Ridley Kayne crept across the penthouse apartment she was about to rob. She kept her hood up and her head angled away from the cameras, hiding both her face and her distinctive white-blond hair. Years had passed since she was last at the top of Aura Tower, but not much had changed. The open-plan space with its high ceilings and gleaming surfaces was still decorated with uncomfortable-looking furniture, exotic art, and the Davenports' private collection of ancient artifacts. That last bit was where Ridley's interest lay, so she was relieved to see the Davenports hadn't grown tired of showing off their most priceless possessions.

She tiptoed past glass cases containing centuries-old urns, hand-painted beads, and items fashioned from rusted metal and carved bone. It was a wonder no one had robbed this collection before, especially since the items were now infinitely more valuable than they'd been before the Cataclysm destroyed most of the world's history. Then again, Ridley thought as she paused before a porcelain vase to breathe in the unusual scent of fresh flowers, it was probably impossible for anyone who didn't possess her exact skill set to get in and out of this apartment undetected. No doubt the richest family in Lumina City thought they were untouchable way up here on the two-hundredth floor.

She exhaled and continued moving, marveling at how quiet it was up here. The sounds that usually accompanied her jobs—the revving of car engines, the ads on billboard screens, the buzz of scanner drones—were almost nonexistent at the top of the city's tallest building. All Ridley could hear through the floor-to-ceiling windows was the wind and the faint hiss and crack of magic in the storm clouds. She turned near the grand piano, her eyes moving from one artifact to the next—some familiar; others new to her—as she searched for one in particular. Her gaze skimmed across a coffee table, a rug, and up to the paintings on the opposite wall.

And finally, she spotted it. On a pedestal positioned between two paintings stood a solid gold figurine with a ring of tiny green stones around its neck. It was enclosed within a glass box, but that was no problem for Ridley. She headed straight for it, wondering how much time would pass before the Davenports noticed it was—

At the sound of a lock clicking, Ridley froze. Her gaze snapped toward the pair of entrance doors. Then, without hesitating a moment longer, she darted forward and slipped around the corner into the passageway that led to the bedrooms. Her heart thumped uncomfortably as she pictured the doors swinging open. A moment later, they closed. Someone muttered something in a voice too quiet for Ridley to tell whether the owner was male or female. She knew what the muttering was about though. A shrill beep should have pierced the air the moment the door opened, but Ridley had disabled the apartment's entire security system as soon as she'd arrived, and so the newcomer was greeted by silence.

The staccato click of heels against the polished floor met Ridley's ears. So it wasn't Mr. Davenport who was home, and it wasn't the Davenports' son—not that Ridley would ever have expected Archer Davenport to walk in; he'd left Lumina City more than a year ago and hadn't been back since. That left—

"Mom, you forgot the alarm again," a voice groaned.

Delilah Davenport. She wasn't supposed to be home yet. Ridley was almost certain she had a dance class on Thursday afternoons. "Well I just got home, and it wasn't on," Lilah continued, presumably speaking into her commscreen. "And neither is the smart home system, it would seem. Probably needs an update." Ridley heard a tap and a beep and then—

"Good evening, Delilah," a feminine voice purred.

"There we go," Lilah muttered as Ridley smirked. She'd disabled the home automation system along with the security. The last thing she needed when attempting a heist was a robotic voice greeting her and offering her a drink or asking what music she wanted to listen to.