Clan of Thieves

My body is shocked with the bite of ice-cold water, the ropes binding my wrists together not helping my need to reach the surface. My eyes sting from salt, as I thrash hopelessly amidst the roaring waves. My mouth opens in a useless cry. 

 

The sound of my screaming alerts the doctors of my state. I taste salt from the tears and sweat covering my face. My breath quickens as two doctors come into the room I’m in. I start to hyperventilate, my flailing limbs striking one of the doctors trying to come near me. Their features and what they are saying are incomprehensible as I try to understand how I got here. The bite of cold water is still tingling on my skin. Who knew a dream could feel so real? A doctor grabs my arm. I see through my panicked haze a needle being inserted into my arm. The world goes blank as my eyelids flutter shut.

 

My nostrils burn as I spew up what feels like gallons of saltwater. Someone’s patting me on the back in a consoling manner, but I’m too busy retching to see who. 

 

“C’mon Rebecca, just breathe,” a female voice says.

I turn and see who was patting my back - a strikingly beautiful woman with silver blond hair and bright purple eyes. A woman that I recognize. I’m still heaving up water when I hear a chuckle come from someone standing over me. I look up and see another familiar face. A tall, muscular boy with dark, untidy hair, and lilac eyes. He grins down at me, his smile arrogant. 

 

“Liam, stop your taunting. It easily could have been you who was thrown into the water,” the woman, Periwinkle, says while caressing my soaking wet brown hair. 

 

I know these people. Or at least I think I do. Waking up in a hospital was just a hallucination from adrenaline, due to my almost-drowning. I banish that thought from my mind while trying to remember what happened. 

 

Periwinkle takes my hand and helps me up, slinging one of my arms over her shoulder, as Liam takes my other arm. I tear my arm away from him, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing me weak and in need of help. His smile grows wider because of the annoyance painted on my face. Periwinkle reaches into her pocket for a spray bottle and spritzers all three of us with dew, concealing us from anyone else. 

 

“Where are we?” I say, startled at the hoarse croak of my voice. 

 

“Rebecca, how unobservant are you? Look up,” Liam says, his attempt at banter enhancing my annoyance.

 

I look up, and see the cliff where Philpert castle is, the same cliff that I was so graciously thrown off of. I was caught trying to steal the Philpert gold collection. I had already successfully gotten the silver set months ago, and, to Liam’s great amusement, got caught in action. We walk for what seems like hours to get to the sewers that lead to headquarter’s entrance. I stumble through and find a chair to collapse in. Periwinkle fills up a glass of water for me and I gulp eagerly as she calls for everyone to surround the table where I am seated. 

 

“Rebecca! We were worried!” a woman with dark magenta eyes says when she sees me.

 

“The Philperts announced your capture and execution to all of Casentry Kingdom. Should've known that falling off a cliff wouldn't have killed you though,” a man with reddish-purple eyes and the same silver blonde hair as Periwinkle says with a wink, ruffling my salt-caked hair. 

 

Aegean, the man, and Laura, the woman, sit down at the table as eight others follow them. All of them look at me, some relieved, some less thrilled. 

 

“What happened? How did you get caught? You’ve never been caught before,” a heavyset man with eyes like fire, Arik, says after a few minutes of discussing my capture and attempted execution. He talks in an oddly accusing manner.

 

“Everything was going smoothly until I had secured the jewels and disabled the alarm systems. I was cornered by the palace hounds,” I say.

 

Although it was only a few hours ago, it feels like weeks. The unnervingly realistic dream of a hospital is still on my mind. 

 

Aegean and Periwinkle shudder almost simultaneously, looking like the twins that they are. The hounds are not taken lightly. 

 

“I can go to the palace soon, probably even tonight, and get the jewels since Becca was unable to,” Liam says, grinning again.

 

“And who says that you’ll be able to?” I say.

 

Liam and I are Periwinkle's only trainees in the tribe of thieves we were raised in. There has always been some competition between us.

Everyone in the Casentry Kingdom knows about the notorious thieves, yet no one knows the details about who we are or where our headquarters are. 

 

“I also think that sending Liam is a good idea, and the Philperts will not be expecting another attempt at the jewels this soon,” Laura says in a breathy, whimsical voice, her dark magenta eyes flashing.

 

“This is my mission, not his,” I say, annoyed. 

 

“You’re sixteen. There are many more jobs for you to fulfill,” Laura says.

 

“He’s seventeen, he has options too! He shouldn't get to take my spot,” I respond, eyeing Laura disdainfully. 

 

I’m about to say something else in that manner when Periwinkle interrupts me.

 

“Enough, I’d like to talk to Rebecca and Liam, alone please.”

 

Periwinkle’s the only one with enough authority who could say that without any question. Arik shoots a meaningful glance toward two other men who have looked annoyed this entire meeting. Periwinkle sprays some dew around me and her, and gestures for Liam to sit in one of the newly vacated seats around us to spray him as well. She mutters something that I recognize as a noise-canceling charm. She and Aegean are the only ones who can manipulate the dew, being the creators of it. They have a rare gift that’s sent to twins born during a full moon right when an asteroid and a shooting star cross paths.

 

“Listen closely. Someone set you up. That is the only explanation for the hounds being out of the dungeons, and Arik’s behavior hints to him knowing something about it. I suspect Laura to be knowledgeable as well,” Periwinkle says rapidly. “Aegean agrees with me. He noticed something unfaithful was going around in our tribe ever since you stole the silver set of Philpert jewels.”

 

Hearing about Laura and Arik surprises me, as they are descendants of leading families in our tribe. 

 

“Those snakes,” Liam says darkly.

 

“But what is to gain from getting me captured?” I ask.

 

“Maybe they wanted to find a way to get the gold for themselves, or maybe it’s part of some larger scheme.” 

 

All three of us are silent, as we are deep in thought, when I suddenly see Periwinkle's eyes dart up in surprise and I crumple off my chair to the ground.

 

The shrill beeps of a heart monitor wake me up. It is not a peaceful awakening, such as when you sit up with a yawn and stretch your arms over your head. It is quite the opposite, with my head jerking up and then regretting the action due to a stab of pain in my temple. I try to reach my hands to my pounding head, but they can only move a couple of centimeters before cold metal restricts them. I look down and notice handcuffs, and an irritated mark around my wrists, as if they had been pushed against the handcuffs repeatedly. I see that I’m in a hospital room, the same one as before. The pounding in my head feels louder as my eyes shut from the pain of it, and I drift off into sleep. 

 

“Wake up, Becca.,” I know it has to be Liam talking, because he’s the only person who calls me Becca. 

 

I rub my eyes in confusion as I look up at him.

 

“It’s getting tiring having to wait for you to wake up and nurse you back to health,” he says with a hint of a smile.

 

I am too busy looking at my surroundings to respond. I seem to have gone from a clean hospital bed reeking of artificial detergent to a dark alleyway.  

 

“What happened?” I ask.

 

“It seems like someone threw a dart at the back of your head. You got knocked out, and me and Periwinkle saved your life, so you’d better be extra nice to me,” he says.

 

“Where’s Periwinkle?” 

 

“She’s trying to see if headquarters have been infiltrated by whoever tried to attack us. We’ve been here for about an hour. She put dew on us when we got here, so no one can see us.”

 

“Rebecca? Liam? It’s me, Aegean. Periwinkle sent me. She’s at headquarters, but it’s not safe for you guys to go back yet,” he says, coming nearer to our spot on the ground.

 

“Aegean! What’s happening?” I call, ignoring my headache.

 

“Arik’s been injured, probably by the same person who hurt you. Laura thinks he’ll be alright. Honestly, it was probably just some Philpert supporter who wanted revenge for the hound that was stolen,” he says matter-of-factly.

 

“What! A hound was stolen?” Liam asks, the confusion on his face matching mine.

 

“A hound was stolen and is presumed dead. They think you did it before the hounds caught you, Rebecca. This is why you shouldn’t go back to headquarters if the location was leaked,” Aegean says. “Headquarters became less secret with Laura and Arik being careless on their outings.”

 

After a moment of silence, he says, “Periwinkle is coming."

 

“Arik has come around., He says that all he saw of his attacker were purple eyes,” Periwinkle says as she appears next to Aegean. “How are you feeling Rebecca?”

 

“I’m fine. What’s the plan now?” I ask. 

 

 “You and Liam will go to the Philpert castle and get the jewels. Laura was right, they’ll not be expecting an attack this soon,” she says with finality. 

 

“Periwinkle, have you gone mad?” Aegean exclaims harshly. “They’ll have their guards up to defend. Focus on something else and leave the Philpert jewels.”

 

My senses, trained for manipulation and thievery, pick up on Aegean's sudden tenseness. Liam's eyes narrow, and I’m sure he notices it too.

 

“Aegean, the target will be on our clan's back no matter what. We might as well take advantage of it by doing the unexpected,” Periwinkle says. “Go back to headquarters and check on Arik.”

 

“Okay, but Periwinkle, consider what I’ve said,” he says, abruptly turning away.

 

“My decision’s final. You two will go to Philpert castle at twilight, which is in two hours. In the meantime, I’ll get us some food,” Periwinkle says after Aegean is out of sight.

 

She walks off quickly, not wanting to leave us alone for too long.

 

“So, what do you wanna do?” Liam asks.

 

“No,” I say, not wanting to waste my energy on him.

 

“Come on, Becca. Are you upset that you failed your mission and need me to make sure you don’t fail again?” he asks innocently.

 

“I didn’t fail. I was set up,” I say, not taking the bait that surely would lead to one of us being injured by the other one's actions.

 

“You need my help to succeed,” he says in a sing-songy voice. 

 

He chuckles when I don’t respond. 

 

 “That’s why I’m here and not at headquarters.”

 

“I’m not talking to you,” I mutter, lying down and using his leg as a pillow.

 

“Move it,” he says, shoving my head.

 

“I’m injured, be nice to me,” I say, my eyes closed, lying back down.

 

I ignore his attempts to pester me as I think of a plan for tonight. Too soon, Periwinkle is back with a brown paper bag. We open it and munch on the apple slices and chicken skewers she bought for us. 

 

“Now, infiltrating the castle will be easy, Rebecca., You know the guard rotation schedules. I saw from the star pattern above the location, and the jewels were moved to the eldest Philpert child’s room. It will be easier to get in there than it was to get into the throne room where the jewels were before. I know that you must be exhausted from your injuries--”

 

“And almost drowning, amateur,” Liam mutters, which I respond to with a quick elbow to his side.

 

“As I was saying, if the hounds find you, make sure to see if their eyes are all the same color – their eye color switches depending on who controls them,” Periwinkle says. Liam rolls his eyes at this common knowledge, and I have to stop myself from doing the same. As brilliant and tough as Periwinkle is, she sometimes underestimates our awareness.

 

She mutters something, sprays dew onto us, and we appear outside of the castle without her.

 

We make our way through the castle after tapping the stone on the outside three times. It was meant to be used as an escape route for the Philperts, but there’s no harm in using it to our advantage. Although I would never admit it to Liam, he and I are a fairly good team. The dew wears off when Periwinkle’s presence is not near, so we are extra cautious with our actions. We get to the eldest child William Philpert’s room with one close encounter with a guard, which was narrowly avoided by running into a broom closet. Liam opens William's door, and panic shoots through me as I am sure an alarm of some sort will go off without a key. Liam pulls me into the room, stopping me from making a run for it. Surprisingly, no alarm goes off, and there is no one in the bed.

 

“I’ll look for the jewels, you check for William,” Liam whispers. 

 

I walk around William’s room, my hand on the knife securely in my belt. I go to the bathroom and gasp at what I see. Liam hears and rushes to me. There, on the floor, is William, gagged, blindfolded, and tied up.

 

“Should we leave him?” I ask, stunned. At the sound of my voice, William starts squirming on the tile floor, a muffled ‘help’ coming from his gag.

 

Liam nods and then says, “There's a bigger problem.” He points at the empty glass casing that should’ve held the Philpert gold collection. 

 

Suddenly, the door bursts open with six hounds running into us, biting our limbs, bringing us to the throne room. A silent alarm must have gone off when we entered the prince's room. They release us in the middle of the cavernous room, circling us to prohibit escape. They have bright, reddish-purple eyes. I look up from my bleeding, bitten hands and see a man spraying the doors of the throne room with something. My breathing stops, and I feel Liam tense beside me. Aegean is the man spraying, seeming to soundproof the room with dew. Us entering William’s room wasn’t the giveaway of our presence in the castle – a betrayal was. 

 

“Everything would’ve been simpler if Periwinkle listened, and you stayed away,” he says, walking towards us. “I guess I should've known that she wouldn't listen.” His red-purple eyes matched the dogs’.

 

“They’re your eyes,” I say, coming to a realization. “You control them. Did you set me up? You got me thrown off a cliff?” 

 

“I had no choice if I wanted to use the jewels. I needed the gold set. The silvers didn’t work. I needed it. I had no choice.” He repeats his words like he is trying to convince himself that what he is saying is true. 

 

“Why?” 

 

I need an explanation for his betrayal.

 

“Getting the jewels made the Philperts the head of Casentry Kingdom, no work necessary. Legend states that on the winter solstice, anything can be reversed if you break what caused it, at midnight under dragon's fire, with two sacrifices. Breaking the silver set did nothing, so I need the gold ones for it to work. Then, Periwinkle and my family will be ruling once more,” he says menacingly.

 

“Periwinkle knew about this?” Liam asks.

 

“No, only Arik found out, but I took care of that. I’m the one with initiative. I will bring our family out of the sewers. Me, not Periwinkle,” he emphasizes as a hound drops something in his hand – my knife. “It will only take a quick slit of your throats, and the sacrifice will be complete.”

 

Aegean mutters things to himself, phrases similar to, “You need to do this,” and “For Family.”. He grabs Liam by his hair, and Liam starts struggling to escape. My scream echoes through the room as Aegean slashes a large gash from Liam's eye to his neck. He hits Liam hard enough for him to pass out. He grabs me and cuts into my thigh, bottles up my blood, then cuts my face, and lastly, rams the handle into my head.

 

I start to choke as my eyes flash open, expecting my mouth to fill with blood, but it’s dry. My eyes dart to the side of the hospital room as I see a door opening, and a doctor coming in with a clipboard. 

 

“Rebecca, good, you’re awake,” she says. She notices me staring at my hands and assumes I’m looking at the handcuffs surrounding my wrists. “Those were put to prevent your arms from thrashing when you were first brought in., They were removed when you went into your three-year coma, but they were put back on after you recently started to come back to us occasionally.” 

 

A coma? What about my life in Casentry Kingdom?

 

I look at the scars on my hands, scars that look suspiciously like bite marks. I kick off the thin blanket covering my legs and see a new-looking slash on my thigh. Something that shouldn’t be there if I was in a coma for three years. 

 

The doctor's voice is drowned out with a sharp ringing in my ears. My head continuously pounds, as if just struck with something hard, something like the handle of my trusty dagger that was just taken from me. My heart quickens, my breath unsteady, as the doctor's expression shifts to one of concern. Suddenly, I can hear again as the pain in my head shifts to my gut. 

 

“Rebecca, talk to me, what hurts?” The doctor asks while looking at the fast beeps on the heart monitor next to my bed. 
I open my mouth to respond, but an uncontainable shriek escapes my lips. 

 

“Becca!” I hear a boy call. The only people in the room are me and the doctor, but the voice sounds identical to Liam’s. The line between reality and fantasy becomes thinner and thinner. 

 

My shriek subsides into a sigh, as my eyes flutter shut. Heat overwhelms me as hot, sticky blood oozes out of the fresh slit on my throat, and bubbles up in my mouth.

 

“Someone come in here and bring gauze!” The doctor yells, her voice laced with shock and fear. 

 

The last thing I hear is the beeping on the heart monitor slow and then cease. A metallic taste overwhelms my mouth. Gone so suddenly, as if sacrificed.

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Since a young age, Lila has loved writing. Both reading the French books that her mother put her to bed with or attempting the lyrics of her dad’s favorite childhood Turkish songs, she noticed words. Heavy emotions can sometimes be burdening, and writing things, like her submission, helps release it. 

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