A Thief and a Gentleman by Arden Powell

Author:Arden Powell [Powell, Arden]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-07-26T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

IN WHICH CRIMINAL PURSUITS DO NOT GO ACCORDING TO PLAN

Kitty and Sebastian stole up to the National Gallery at two in the morning, slinking around the perimeter like a couple of foxes until they reached a little service exit around the back. The night was still and quiet, the air crisp and the sky indigo-black behind rolling cloud cover. Every so often the moon pierced the clouds to turn their path silvery, but they were confident in the darkness and needed no assistance.

Inside, there were two guards per floor, making their rounds with no sense of urgency, and none outside. The main entrances and exits were locked for the night, but the service exit was open, allowing the guards to step outside for periodic smoke breaks. Kitty and Sebastian had mapped out the whole building, and knew precisely how to get from the service door to their target. The Cheapside Hoard waited for them at the other end of their mental map, glimmering in the moonlight and beckoning for them to hurry.

It was Sebastian's job to disarm the exhibit’s security, divert the guards’ attention, and keep them distracted until Kitty had made the lift and got away clean. There was really nothing to the plan at all, and as long as they were both focused and competent, very little could go wrong. It was a step up from robbing old Felton’s pawnshop, but only just. Sebastian could have done it in his sleep.

They crept through the gallery, soft-shoed steps mouse-like against the tiled floors, hugging close to the walls and staying in the shadows. They both wore their enchanted makeup, but only as a last resort. If the guards caught sight of them, there would be no disguising the fact that they were intruders of ill intent. The best they could hope for was that their faces would be unmemorable, and any descriptions offered up to Scotland Yard after the fact would be contradictory and incomprehensible.

Which wasn’t to say that their makeup and inherent stealth were their only lines of defence. Sebastian cloaked them both in a blanket of living shadows. The glamour wasn’t impenetrable, and it was strongest when they stuck to the real darkness, but it should buy them a few precious seconds to escape if the guards came upon them.

Sebastian was feeling for magic as he went along, but the National Gallery as a whole was not enchanted with security measures. That would take far too much energy to maintain. Instead, only the jewellery exhibit itself was protected, with each glass case shimmering with a guarded aura. He and Kitty could safely approach the displays, but as soon as they attempted to touch the glass, all hell would break loose. They wouldn’t be physically harmed—using that kind of dangerous magic carried too many liabilities, and the museum didn’t want to inadvertently harm a clumsy guard rather than a potential thief—but the magic would be very bright and terribly loud, calling every guard in the vicinity to come down on them like a pack of hounds at the hunt.

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