The Skin Thief

Chapter 56

The world is a blur beneath me as I hurtle through the sky. The lights of the city flash by in a disorientating streak.

My body begins to slow until I eventually come to another dingy pub, just like the first time. I faze through the wall, following the golden thread to a dark corner where a man sits. He's hunched over, wearing a cheap suit. He grips his ale tightly.

A faint golden glow surrounds him. I push forward and step into his body. Immediately, he tenses. For a second, I feel his confusion and panic as his muscles stiffen uncontrollably. I push his consciousness down, and soon, I'm looking through his eyes.

With a sneer, I put the warm glass of ale down before I stretch out his tight neck.

A figure appears next to me; a woman. She's middle-aged, her brown hair mixed with streaks of grey. It is ratty and greasy.

I open my mouth to speak.

"Dusk," she says, sounding bored.

I gulp and say my codeword back. Immediately, Cobalt sits down in the chair next to me. I tense, my heart rate spiking in fear at what they are about to say.

"You look different," I mutter, trying to make small talk.

"As do you, Little Bird," Cobalt replies. Her voice is scratchy, so much so that it makes me cringe.

"Why have you called me here?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"I trust you had a good training weekend?" Cobalt asks, ignoring my question.

"I did," I reply through my gritted teeth.

"Are you feeling confident?"

"Yes," I reply curtly.

"Excellent. Things have changed."

"What?" I hiss, my heart rate spiking. The last thing I need right now on an already stressful week is for the whole plan to change.

"Not by much," Cobalt assures me, chuckling. "We just want you to do something."

"What?" I ask again.

"The camera in the location where you'll make the shot. We don't want you to disable it."

My eyes widen and my stomach drops. The fear that pulses through me dries my mouth out completely.

"You want me to what?" I ask, refraining from shouting. "No way. The last thing I need is there a recording of me..." I trail off before I finish the sentence.

"Relax, Little Bird," Cobalt says, "if you're disguised as instructed and are using what we've provided for you, there is no way you'll be identifiable."

"Why don't you want me to disable the camera?" I ask.

"We want you to say something," Cobalt says, smiling calmly.

"What?"

"You need to leave a message in Athainian."

"Why?"

"One, so they know it was us. And two, so that Mr Kasier calls upon you to help translate," Cobalt tells me.

My stomach churns and I feel physically sick. "There is no way he'd get me to translate something like that," I argue. "It is far too confidential."

"My sources tell me that Kaiser has grown rather fond of you," Cobalt says, smirking.

I look away, staring at the table. Cobalt laughs and slaps me on the back.

"He'll go to you for the translation, I'll make sure of it."

I turn, looking at Cobalt with narrowed eyes, wondering how much power he or she has in this realm. Who are they disguising themselves as with their shapeshifter abilities?