The cramped chamber of Skyhaven's outpost buzzed with tension. Scrolls, jade maps, and discarded reports lay scattered across the table when a talisman flared to life, its surface sparking with urgent light.
Lira Voss was already on her feet, cloak snapping around her shoulders as her soul rings pulsed with restrained energy. Jain Holt, slower, shoved a crumpled Starlight Circus flyer into his pocket, his eyes flicking toward the faint silhouette on the slate.
The wall-slate glowed with burning script: "Skyhaven Vault Breach in Progress."
The jade clock ticked past dawn, its soft pulse mocking the silence before the storm.
"All units, robbery in progress at Skyhaven Vault," the talisman crackled, the voice tight with panic. "The core chamber has been breached. Suspect is masked, fleeing east!"
"That's him," Lira snapped, seizing her spirit probe. "Kael Vaelor. Move."
Jain groaned, one hand fumbling for his half-drunk tea. "Can I at least finish this first? Every time I sit....."
"No." Lira's glare cut like glass. "This time we stop him. Or Captain Rhen will strip our rings."
"Fine, fine," Jain muttered, stumbling over a jade stool before catching himself. "But if I tear another pair of boots chasing him across the city, you're replacing them."
Outside, Captain Rhen stood by a waiting Ironhoof Stag cart, his expression grim. "Vault perimeter is sealed, but he's moving fast. Illusion traps, mist barriers....we've lost two patrols already."
Lira leaned over the jade slate mounted on the cart's railing. Faint traces of spirit energy still shimmered across the map, the vault's defense corridors now riddled with false trails.
"He has planned this," she said coldly. "Mist veils. Decoys. He's turned the vault into a stage."
Jain's grip tightened on the railing, half-exasperated, half-impressed. "A stage, huh? Then I'd bet he's already halfway up the rooftops, bowing to the crowd with that smug grin."
Lira shot him a look. "Do not get cocky. Did you see the word he left on the vault wall?"
"Yeah." Jain's mouth twisted into a smirk. "'Trickster.'"
"He's not just escaping," Lira said, her voice sharp with focus. "He's playing with us."
Jain chuckled under his breath. "Playing? Sounds personal. But I'll give him this, he does know how to put on a show."
Captain Rhen cracked the reins. The stag-cart surged forward, racing through the morning streets toward the bank district.
Ahead, the first glimmer of gold coins and spirit stones scattering over Skyhaven's skyline shimmered in the dawn.
The Skyhaven vault loomed above the jade-lined avenues, its crystalline façade glinting like a mountain of glass beneath the morning sun.
Inside the bank, Kael Vaelor, his face hidden behind a plain black mask, sprinted through marble corridors. The thunder of armored boots echoed behind him, city guards closing in. He darted through stairwells until the roof opened before him, the chill mountain air biting against his skin.
Ahead was the sheer drop of the crystalline cliff; behind him, guards raised their soul-powered crossbows.
"Do not move!" one guard barked.
"Hands where we can see them!" another demanded.
Kael stopped, raising both arms. In his right hand, something small gleamed in the light. Recognition hit,the guards eyes went wide.
"Soul bomb! Fall back!"
The guards scattered a step, hesitation breaking their formation. Kael's left hand dipped to the satchel on his back. A soul-forged grappling bolt fired, arcing across the gap to the opposite spire. The cord snapped taut. With one press of the rune in his palm, the mechanism whirred, yanking him up and across. He soared above their heads, swinging to the next rooftop. His boots struck stone lightly, the rope retracting in an instant. He vanished into a stairwell before blades could be raised.
By the time the guards regrouped, Kael was gone.
Moments later, he burst into the jade-cobbled streets . He ran through Skyhaven's avenues, weaving between carts and startled pedestrians with impossible precision.
Behind him, patrols were chasing through carts.
"Suspect fleeing east." guard voice rang over the talisman.
Kael sprinted down the jade-paved road, boots striking hard against the stone. From ahead, a patrol cart screeched to a halt, blocking the street. He swerved sharply, darting down a narrow corner only to find Jain Holt barreling from the opposite lane, hammer strapped across his back, his grin wide.
Kael didn't slow. If anything, he sped up. As they closed the distance, Kael skidded low, clutching the ground with one hand. His momentum whipped his body into a sliding pivot, the heel of his boot snapping upward. The sudden brake-spin sent him sliding past Jain, the kick barely missing the inspector's head. Jain staggered back, stunned, but unharmed.
The chase intensified. Kael bolted through the streets, carts and guards closing in behind him, Jain pounding after with surprising speed.
From above, Inspector Lira Voss spread the spectral wings of her Jade Falcon, soaring across the rooftops, her sharp gaze fixed on the thief below.
Kael dashed toward Skyhaven's crystal bridge. But waiting at the far side was another patrol cart, blocking his escape. He halted, glancing back, behind him Jain, more guards, and Lira circling overhead. Below, the cold river surged.
At that moment, the bridge groaned. Its crystalline plates began to rise from the center, opening like twin wings. The sudden incline dragged Kael backward, his footing slipping toward the river's edge. Jain pulled his cart onto the slope, smirking as Kael slid, certain the chase was won.
But Kael only gritted his teeth. He sprinted uphill, forcing his body forward until he reached the lip of the rising bridge. With a final surge, he dove from the edge, plummeting toward the water.
Lira's eyes widened. Jain's grin froze. They watched as Kael plunged into the river, yet instead of sinking, the satchel on his back snapped open, releasing a fold of soul-forged plates. In seconds they unfurled, shaping into a sleek glider. It cut the water's surface like a spirit beast, propelling Kael forward in a spray of silver arcs.
"Don't let him reach the lakeshore!" Lira barked, her voice carrying on the wind.
"Yes, Inspector!" Jain shouted back, though his brows knit. "But which way is the lakeshore again?"
Ignoring him, Lira descended, wings flashing as she sought a boat tethered below the bridge as to save her soul power. She landed hard, loosing the rope and surging after Kael across the water. Jain scrambled to another boat nearby, wrestling it free and rowing with all his strength.
Together, they closed in. Jain's vessel cut across Kael's path, blocking him. But Kael never faltered. At the last instant, he vaulted, using the glider's momentum to spring upward, vaulting clean over Jain's boat. He landed on the far side with perfect balance, glider skimming back into motion.
"By the ancestors…" Jain muttered, jaw slack. "He just jumped my boat."
From above, a falcon-mounted patrol joined the chase, their signal blazing. Kael steered toward shore, vaulted from the glider, and burst back onto land, sprinting through Skyhaven's streets.
High above, Lira Voss soared on her Jade Falcon wings, eyes glowing faint jade as she activated Falcon's Insight, scanning Kael's movements and aura for weaknesses.
Lira swooped down from her falcon wings, with a swift gesture, she unleashed Jade Wing Flare, a volley of razor-sharp jade feathers that cut through the air with deadly precision. One struck grazing Kael's shoulder and tearing blood across his sleeve. Kael staggered but didn't fall. Gritting his teeth, he pushed harder, vanishing into the dark mouth of a tunnel.
"Suspect is heading into the underways! He's wounded!" one guard shouted through his comm-tailsmen.
Carts screeched to a halt at the tunnel's entrance. Lira landed lightly, her falcon wings folding into her back. Jain stumbled up beside her, panting. They searched the echoing stone paths of the underpass. Nothing. Kael had vanished.
Jain whistled. "Lira… vanish like thin air. He runs too fast. I don't know how he does it, but I like him already." His goofy grin returned, unbothered by failure.
"Enough," Lira cut him short, her gaze sharpening. "We know where he'll return. A thief hides only where shadows protect him."
Jain tilted his head. "And where's that?"
"The Great Starlight Circus," she said, eyes narrowing with determination.
To be continued....