He doesn't stop until he can no longer hear their voices, giving himself a moment to catch his breath, he looks up to see where he is, and doesn't like what he sees. Right in front of him is an old mansion, showing him that he's in the completely wrong part of town. Stone gargoyles on the roof and balconies stare down at him sending chills down his spine; vines cover the gate surrounding the yard. Behind the fence, large dogs wandering the yard bark and growl at the sound of his heavy breathing. But what really gave him the creeps was the feeling that someone or something was calling him from inside the house, as soon as he senses this he takes off running. Behind him, he hears a door open and a harsh women's voice calls out, "Who's out there?" but he doesn't stop to answer.
Instead, he just keeps running until he reaches the safe house where him and a group of other street thieves hide out, "Hay, look who made it back." one of the boy's call out. "Yeah, I'm back. Now where's the food?" he asks eagerly wiping the sweat from his brow and pushing back his hair. "Hay, you snooze you lose, buddy. It's all gone." "What?!" "Sorry, man." "I got to have the fun of playing decoy, and running from the guards. Plus the fact that it was my idea to begin with AND YOU ALL CAN'T SAVE ME A BITE!" "Hay Crow, quiet down someone will hear you. Here." Throwing him a piece of bread, "I was just kidding you didn't have to take it so hard." the other boy says.
Munching down on the bread Crow doesn't reply. "Did you really have to run across town to get rid of them, you're usually slicker then that?" Empting out his mouth with a huge swallow Crow answers, "They seemed more in the mood for chas'en today. They almost caught me once or twice before I gave them the slip. So they're ether be'en bribed or they're getting pissed that they can't catch us." 'Or someone else is getting pissed that they can't catch us." his friend answers with a grin. "In any case." Crow shoots back, "I wouldn't try raiding that same cart for a while. We should probably just stick with Lift'in for a bit. Doesn't attract as much attention." "You worry too much." His friend laughs. "And you don't worry enough Dar." He says back. "Come on, if that vender remembers what any of us look like, I'll be surprised." "And that's a surprise that could land you in the Bundocks, or did you not think of that?" Looking sheepish, Dar replies, "No, I didn't." "That's be'en cocky, and it'll get you in trouble one of these days." Crow retorts at this admission. "Look Mama, you just worry about the young'ens, and let the grownups take care of themselves." Dar says, putting on what he envisions to be a mature expression.
"Have it your way then." Crow says walking over to his cot, which in reality is just a piece of cloth nailed in between two rafters on the wall, and laying his head down on his pillow, which is just a spare shirt rolled up in a ball. "Hay, Crow." A small timid voice says to him. Looking down, he stares into a pair of baby blue eyes; Dusty the youngest boy in the group, making his age about 5, is holding up a glass of water, "Thought you might want some." "Yeah, I do, thanks Dust." Crow says taking the glass and ruffling the boys bleach blond hair. Some of the older kids used to say that he had to have Overworld blood because of how pale he was. Most of them didn't notice anymore. Taking small sips of the water he starts to nod off, taking a final gulp, he finishes it before falling asleep.
* * *
That night he had a strange nightmare. He was tumbling through the dark, running from something. All around him he hears a women's voice calling him, "Come to me. Come to me." and on he ran trying to escape from the voice. Then in front of him an eye appears, "No get away from me!" he yells. Then a black wall pops up out of nowhere, encircling him, hiding him from the eye, but he finds he can't breath. He clutches at his throat, than runs toward the wall and starts banging on it, but the wall doesn't come down. Kneeling on the floor he is about to pass out, then he wakes up in his cot and just as promptly falls out of it, making a nice CRASH as he hits the floor.
"What's going on?" Dar says, being woken up by the sound of the fall. "Huh, nothing, nothing just a nightmare." Crow says panting, before he realizes he said the wrong thing. "YOU had a nightmare? Oh, this is rich." Dar says laughing. "Lay off Dar." Crow says fiercely, still on edge from the dream. "Okay, okay, don't need to be testy." Dar says surprised. His friend usually ignored his taunts. "I'll let it go this time." "Thank you so much for your generosity." Crow says sarcastically. Climbing back into his cot, he doesn't see his friend's worried frown, and settles down into an uneasy sleep.
Meanwhile, back at the mansion, sitting in a soft leather bound chair, a women holds her hands over her face, covering her right eye. "That child repelled me. How could he, his natural talent must be immense. I have to find him. I need his power. I must find him." Standing up her hand trembles, "but not tonight. His power surprised me. I wasn't prepared for it. I'll have to take time to rest." She scowls at this realization, but listens to her own words and leaves off the search for another day.
* * *
A few weeks later, Crow wakes up a little before dawn after another one of his nightmares. "That's the third one this week mate." An older boy with light brown hair and bright green eyes says looking up at him. "Thanks Wolf it's nice to know someone's keeping count." Crow says sarcastically. "No problem mate." obviously not catching the sarcasm. Rolling his eyes he gets up and walks over to the sink. Throwing some water on his face he looks into the broken mirror, "I look like hell." He says matter-of-factly. "That you do mate. Was this one really bad?" Wolf asks. "Not as bad as some of the others, but pretty bad." he answers. "Figure out yet what's causing it." "I wish I knew. It's like someone's looking for me, but everything about the person scares me." "What's so scary?" Wolf asks. "I don't know it's just a felling." "Well, if I were you I'd go with that feeling.' Wolf says sincerely. "What scares me the most is the fact that each time I have the dream, it seems like the person is getting closer?" Crow says sounding a little nervous.
The stirring of the others causes their conversation to come to a halt. Wolf was the only person Crow felt comfortable taking to about the dreams. He could have talked to Dar, but he would have just laughed about it, and Wolf didn't say anything about them to the others. Wolf had always been the big brother of the group, somebody they could go to if they had a problem. Too big now to be Lift'en, he mostly stayed at the safe house and trained the little ones before letting them go out and try it on their own. The number of them getting caught had lessened since he started doing this. "Come get some breakfast before the young'ens wake up and eat it all," he says, handing him a bowl. "Thanks." He says taking the bowl. Sitting on his cot to eat, he listens to the morning chatter. "So Eaglen what's the outside going to be like today?" one asks of a dirty blond boy with big gray eyes. "Looking through the one window he says "Gon'a be foggy this morn'en, but it'll only last a little while, but some clouds should be coming in over the port, and over the rich people." he concludes. Everyone groaned, knowing he would be right, after all he always was. "You all heard Eaglen, forget breakfast if you ain't got it yet. We need to get out there early while we have some extra cover." Dar says gulping down his own broth and standing up and headed toward one of the doors.
The other boys follow his lead except for the one's that would be staying; whether because they were too young, injured, or simply not trained yet. Exiting out other doorways, only one or two going out through the main entrance, some through flaps going into tunnels, and others climbing the rafters on the sides of the walls and going out through the roof. They never all left through the front door in case someone saw and started asking questions, and they always worked in groups, so that if someone got caught the other could tell the group.
Crow, gulped down his breakfast, stands up and follows Dar out the back way. "So where do you reckon we'll get the most lift's?" Dar asks. "Prob'ly get more at the station today. With this fog," which was pretty thick, "a good lift ain't certain. Makes it hard for them to see, but makes it hard for us too." "Well. Let's go." And off they walk.
* * *
Later, sneaking behind the package station, they lift up a loose board and slip inside. Quietly rummaging through the numerous boxes and crates waiting to be picked up. They never bothered with anything too large, and they never took anything that could be identified, and sometimes, having a good laugh at the discovery of some unusual object's. If they couldn't use what they found they resealed the box and left it where it was found, so no one knew it had been disturbed. When they found something useful, they'd take it and reseal the box so the person coming to get it, wouldn't notice it missing until later.
As they where rummaging Crow got a weird feeling, a feeling just like the one he got in his dreams. Finding Dar "We've got to go." He says urgently. "What? Why? We haven't looked through half the stuff here yet." Dar says looking around. "Yeah, I know. But please just trust me we have to go." "Alright but you better have a good reason." Dar says half heartedly, seeing the worry in his friend's eyes. "Yeah, yeah, come on, let's go." And they run to the back and quickly slip out from between the boards. Sinking out from behind it they see a black carriage, being drawn by two black horses. They start walking casually as if they know exactly where they're going. Then they hear the door of the carriage open and a women's voice speaks up, "Catch that boy." Looking behind them the women is looking right at them and a large man is lumbering toward them. "Run!" Crow yells and they both bookit. Trying to get away from the man chasing them. After squeezing through some holes and going down some back allies, they eventually lose him.
Stopping to catch their breath. "What was that about?' Dar asks. "That's the person I've been sensing in my dreams." Crow pauses and thinks for a moment. "C'mon, we need to get back. I have to talk to Wolf." "What does Wolf have to do with this?" "Just c'mon I'll explain later, when I understand it myself." And they take off running again Crow talking all the way.
* * *
When they get back to the safe house, "So let me get this strait. For the last few weeks Crow has been haven dreams of someone trying to find him. And now back at the station, you think it's that lady that's the one looking for you." Dar runs through confused. 'Yeah, that sounds about right." Crow says. 'Okay, I'll buy that.' Dar says in a more cheerful tone. "So how do we get rid of her?' and they both look over at Wolf. "What are you two looking at me for, 'bout the only thing I can tell you is that you have two chooses. One you can keep running," he says pointing at Crow, "or you can find out who she is and go have a little chat with her." "That's your advice. Geeze, that sounds like something I would have said.' Dar exclaims. "Well in this case you would be right mate. Those are really the only two chooses he's got." Silence covers them for a few minutes. "Well then, I guess tonight I get to say hi to are mystery lady." Crow says standing, his two friends looking at him worried. 'So long as your sure mate." Wolf says to him. "Like you said; ain't got much choose do I." Silence again.
* * *
That night as he slept; the voice came again. "Come to me. Come to me." It repeated again. He saw the eye searching for him. But instead of running he called out to it "Who are you?" The eye swirled, and looked right at him. "Ah, there you are." a women's voice says from the shadows, and then the eye disappeared. And out of the shadows the women from the station walks out. "So you decided to stop running," she says "Good."
"What do you want?' he asks bluntly. 'Direct aren't you? All right I will answer with equal bluntness. I want you." She says smiling. 'What?' "You have incredible talent. I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yourself yet. I would like you to come into my service. Willingly is preferable." "Talent for what?" he asks not picking up on the not so subtle threat. "To be a magic user of course. Don't tell me you didn't have to slightest idea. How do you think you were able to hide from me for so long; a fully trained sorceress?" She sneers; slightly embarrassed at the length of time it took to get him to unseal his mind. "I don't know didn't really think about it I guess." He answers truthfully. "Thought so." She says easily hiding the lie; she had actually thought she was dealing with, at least a partially trained child, not a completely oblivious one.
"Now you know where to find me I expect to see you there tomorrow morning." 'And what if I don't?' he challenges. "Don't try to refuse me boy! Stronger then you have fallen at my hands, and don't think you'll be able to hide from me again. Don't you realize this place isn't just a dream? It's a reflection of your very mind. I can peek into its crevasses, and dig up your most hidden thoughts. You made a big mistake by calling to me tonight, now there is no escaping me. And don't think I'll come after just you. Your friends will be the first to pay. Yes," she smiles at the look on his face, "even now as we talk, I can see them in your mind. They mean everything in the world to you, and I will not hesitate to use them against you." she swears. "Now. I will see you tomorrow." And he nods his head in reluctant acceptance. "Very good.' Smiling she starts to drift away. "Wait, I don't know how to find you." "Of course you do, it was a cloudy night, that night you ran passed my mansion and let me sense your presence." Thinking he remembers that night, the night he ran from the guards and ran into that mansion. "Very good." And she disappears. That morning when he wakes up, he finds him-self the only one awake. Slipping out of bed, he tiptoes to the door, and sneaks out.
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