Darkness and Hellfire

Chapter 29 Lady Luck,

While Isaac and Lenna were off enjoying themselves, a certain street urchin turned ghost story was checking in on Duncan Ebbenson to make absolutely sure that they had gotten all of the slaves. Duncan had actually sent all of the slaves that Team Shadow, as Lenny had taken to calling them, had known about. Lenny had also all but left his old name behind. It had been two days since he had last taken the mask off but in his mind it was necessary. Lenny was now simply ‘Phantom’ in his own mind. In a way, it was a means of separating work from fun. Though, if he was honest with himself, he had been having the time of his life.

Phantom was, at the moment, picking the three stage magical lock to get into the basement of Duncan Ebbenson’s house. He had already disabled the alarm spell and the magical lock that kept the roof access secure, snuck through the entirety of the man’s house, found Duncan sound asleep with one of the ladies of the night from Janice’s Joyrides, Crystal or something was her name, and then made his way down until he found a very secure door that could only have led to either a small closet or the basement. Unfortunately, or fortunately if he was being honest with himself, that was the only place they hadn’t checked yet.

He swallowed hard and his sweat stung his eyes. ‘Almost.’ He thought to himself. There was an almost imperceptible sound like someone stepping on mostly crushed glass and he felt the magic of the ward on the door start to dissipate. It would take a few minutes but that was fine as he had two more to go before he could even start picking the physical lock. What felt like hours, but was probably around fifteen minutes, passed before he finally finished and the door was unlocked. He slowly lifted the latch and picked up on the door as he pulled it open. The hinges felt like they wanted to make noise but the magical earplugs he had gotten at a five finger discount were doing their jobs. The items projected a small sound nullification field that was barely big enough to cover the hinges on the door.

Phantom took one last quick glance behind him before he slipped inside. He couldn’t risk closing the door behind him because he had no idea what was around the corner at the bottom of the steps. If he accidentally triggered something and then the door was locked behind him he would be thoroughly ‘up shit creek without a paddle’ as James had once said.

Phantom was extremely careful as he went one step at a time. He couldn’t risk triggering a mechanical trap and setting off a poison smoke bomb or falling through the floor. He was almost at the bottom when he noticed something strange. The fourth step from the bottom was ever so slightly off kilter. He slowly skipped it and finished the last few as well. He was met by another locked door and he couldn’t help but swear internally: ‘Damn he is thorough.’ He turned around and peered under the fourth step. What he saw caused his eyes to go wide. There was the tiniest of balls of blasting jelly between the step itself and the frame it was resting on. Next to that was half a keg of the stuff just waiting to explode. ‘Holy Halya, I almost met her.’ He swore internally. He let out a calming breath and then turned to his next obstacle. He bent down and peered through the keyhole to try and see what was inside without having to break in.

The room was cast in total darkness but the darkvision potions he had actually purchased, because trying to steal from an alchemist was a good way to be used in their next potion, did their job. His vision easily sliced through the pitch darkness and what he saw both sickened and surprised him. Duncan’s basement was not a holding cell for more slaves like he had once thought, nor was it another growth chamber for his ‘magic mushrooms’, no, it was proof of the real darkness of the man known as Duncan Ebbenson.

The square room that looked to be about twenty feet across in each direction was covered in old dried blood. It looked as though someone had once done a very bad job at cleaning up after a person had spontaneously exploded all over the room and then given up half way. Luckily there weren’t any body parts and the room looked like it hadn’t been used in a while but it most definitely had been used. Right when he was about to leave he noticed something else. In the back corner of the room there was a very nondescript oaken door. He couldn’t even see any enchantments on it. What he did notice though was a small scrap of wood that had been leaned against the bottom of the door.

‘There is definitely something important in there.’ He thought with a sigh. ‘Damn it. I am going to get caught at this rate.’ He looked up the steps to the first floor that was still shrouded in total darkness. He had followed Duncan home and waited a full two and a half hours before he made his move. At best he still had six hours of safety. At worst Duncan was already up and about. The man seemed to sleep at random times for random intervals. Now that Phantom had seen Duncan’s basement he wondered if the reason the man hardly slept was because he was haunted by what he had done. Either that or he was getting into his own supply, though Phantom hadn’t seen any evidence to the latter. He shook his head to clear it and turned back to the door in front of him.

Ten minutes later he was almost through the door when he heard a sound from what he assumed to be the second floor. ‘Shit.’ He swore in total silence and flew up the steps. His every movement was nearly silent as he took the steps two at a time. For a brief moment the only sound he could hear was the wind in his ears until he stopped at the top. He strained his hearing and soon heard a creak almost right above him. He hardly breathed as his mind raced. He mentally went through the building’s floor plan until he realized what was over his head. It was a toilet on the second floor. Something only rich people could afford, just like basements, as it required real plumbing. Most houses had a toilet that was more or less just a hole that opened up to the sewer system. It may have sounded like the best way to sneak into a house but it wasn’t worth it. No house worth breaking into had a direct opening to the sewers when sealed pipes that were flushed with conjured water were much nicer on the nose and much more sanitary.

He let out a nearly silent sigh as he waited for the person above him to finish their business and make their way back towards the bedroom. There was only one problem: They stopped at the top of the steps. The person seemed to debate for a moment before they started to slowly make their way down them. Phantom made a split second decision and moved out into the kitchen before he quickly and quietly latched the door behind him. With movements that threatened to cause his sleeves to snap he snatched up the magical earplugs and ducked behind the table.

His heart was pounding in his ears as the person walked into the room less than a heartbeat after he had hidden himself. A glowstone lantern cast the room in an off-white that created more shadows than it dispelled. The person moved over to a cabinet and withdrew a glass cup before they set it on the countertop. Under the chairs, Phantom could see Duncan’s bare feet and legs from just above his knees down. He watched as Duncan walked a few steps over to another cabinet and then heard as he poured himself a glass of, most likely, water. Duncan took a few deep gulps of his drink before he refilled it. Duncan put the pitcher back in the cabinet and then turned to head back upstairs. He stopped and seemed to look back over his shoulder.

Phantom knew the moment Duncan noticed. ‘Of course he would notice! Those were his damn wards!’ He mentally swore. Duncan took a few hurried steps towards his basement door. Phantom just barely managed to get around the other side of the table before he rounded the corner. Duncan had all but dropped his glass on the table as he passed and Phantom felt a few years of his life fall away in fright.

Duncan frantically ran his hands over the door and lock. “No no no no, fuck.” The older man swore and tried the door. It opened easily. “Damn it all!” He swore and raced down the stairs to make sure the other door hadn’t been broken through.

Phantom took that as his sign to escape while it was still an option. He glided out of the room and up the stairs to the second floor and then up the stairs to the roof access. He quickly slinked out and then made a running leap across the gap between Duncan’s roof and his neighbor’s. He raced across the roof and then vaulted its low wall before he used the wall of the next building to slow his fall. He still hit the stone ground of the alleyway hard but not hard enough to do any damage. He landed in a roll and then quickly got to his feet. He was breathing heavily. “Lady Luck, thank you for blessing me this night.” He prayed quietly and then continued on his way. He stuck to the shadows and alleyways until he had made it to one of the deserted buildings he had been using as a safehouse of sorts. He quickly checked to make sure no one was watching and then he ran at the wall of the building. He took three steps up the wall before he reached out and grabbed onto the windowsill on the second floor. He easily pulled himself inside and then all but collapsed onto his bedroll.

Phantom removed his mask and set it next to him. Lenny looked up at the decrepit ceiling over his head. He started to noiselessly chuckle but it soon turned into a subdued but rolling laughter at the insanity of it all. At how close he had come to getting caught. At the fact that he hadn’t, even though he had broken in while the man was still home. At the unimaginable rush and thrill of it all. The implications of what he had seen could wait until he had gotten some sleep and could discuss it with Isaac. Now though? Now he basked in what he had just accomplished. There was just something so much more thrilling when breaking into a high security building for a job rather than to fill his starving belly like he had all those times before.