Sly

         Sly gaped at the building towering before him then fumbled for the piece of paper in his pocket. Pulling it out he reread the address by the pale light of the moon:
                                                 
Vault 208,
666, Hidden St.

         He was certain he was standing on Hidden Street in front of 666. But how was he supposed to find Vault 208 in that place? He gaped at it again.
          The bank’s pointed towers faded into the clouds making the building look secretive. An iron gate towered above him.  A fence sprouted from this gate, encircling the bank with metal spears raised to ward off any intruders. He surveyed the bank again seeking the edges and located them way out there, faced by the thick, lush, forest that concealed this street. There was no visible entrance or exit on the building, just smooth, non-climbable stone.
         Sly slipped behind one of the bushes that dotted the lawn outside the fence. He tugged a magical scope from his tattered black pants and looked through it curiously. He spotted glowing forms marching purposefully around the bank.
         “I knew it,” he breathed, “Invisible guards.” He removed the scope and the shimmering figures disappeared.
         Invisible guards were watchmen hired to guard the most worthy valuables. They were trained to kill without mercy, to protect without doubt and to blend with the world around them. Not even a slither like Sly could steal past them. And a slither was born to steal. A slither’s scales never got a shade lighter than black and there was no white in their eyes just deep black orbs, allowing them to completely melt into a shadow. Slithers were slightly taller than a four-year-old human, but much thinner making it easy for them to flit through small places. Slithers are so hard to detect, there may be one watching you now, reading this story.
         However, Sly is not watching you now for he is standing in front of 666, Hidden Street, staring at the bank he was supposed to slink into and swipe the contents of Vault 208. He urgently needed to complete this. It had been requested by Blight the Pegasus, an infamous thief. With the swish of his tail Blight could have you killed, so if you wanted to live, you didn't mess with this devious creature. He could bribe, blackmail, or torture anyone to do his bidding. Lucky I was bribed, Sly thought with a shiver.
         There must be an entrance, he concluded, trying to convince himself to keep going because returning empty-handed would be suicide. Where though? He circled the bank but uncovered no trace of any door. Where? Feeling slightly desperate, he used the scope to moniter the guards, but they gave no hint as to how to aquire access to this baffling place. He was not master of stealth for nothing though, so soon his cunning mind pounced upon a likely possibility. Perhaps he couldn’t see the roof of the bank because there was no roof. Sly lifted the scope to his eye again.
         “I knew it,” he hissed, “Flying invisible guards.” He was right. The ghostly figures surrounded the bank, hanging creepily in the night air. He slipped the eyepiece back into his pocket.
         Far from feeling defeated, Sly reeled around and sprinted into the darkness, his mind set on what he had to do. He suddenly stopped about halfway across the lawn and whipped around. Gazing determinedly at the fading point of the bank, he sprouted two scaly wings and with a hard flap evaporated into the black sky. There was too much distance between them for the guards to sense him so he quickly made it to the top undisturbed. After scrambling for the scope, Sly located the guards then thrust his decoy towards them, watching hopefully as the silver sphere zipped away on vibrating wings to distract them. All of them curiously approached the decoy, leaving the large door on the roof exposed and vunerable. He smirked, thinking that maybe this wasn't going to be as difficult as he had imagined. He plunged straight down, whooshing silently behind a guard and directed his dive for the black emptiness on top of the bank.
            It was sinisterly dark, even for the eyes of a slither who could three times as well as a cat in the night. This darkness bore down on him, so solid and dense it felt like it had become a physical weight. Sly gasped for the air that came easily, each time believing it wouldn't be there, instead he would breathe in a block of suffocateing gloom. He calmed his wheezing lungs and ragged heart, as logical reality chased the illusion away. Sly had never felt darkness like this before, it almsot felt... enchanted. Shaking his head and clenching his teeth, he yanked his concentration back to the mission at hand, avoiding the conclusion that wizard's were involved in the protection of this bank. Its just my imagination, he told himself, it can't be a wizard's spell charming the shadows.
            He sensed spikes jutting from the walls and slowly, anxiety causing him to be rigid, he weaved through them.
         Suddenly a careless move caused a spike to rake his arm. He resisted the urge to let out a cry of pain, not wanting the guards to detect him and instead clutched his arm. He grinded his teeth as he waited for the stinging to fade. Sly felt a single drop of blood trickle down his arm and fling itself off his elbow. He listened ... and listened. Then a faint drop echoed off the walls. It was a long way down, but what would he find at the bottom?
         The further he descended into the gloom, the uneasier he became. What was lurking in this darkness? His heart thudded loudly and blood rushed to his ears as he began to panic. He took an uneven breath to try to calm himself. He was not about to scamper away like he was afraid of the dark. Sly was the dark, he embraced it, it was part of being who he was. Even if the darkness was hexed.
He suddenly halted as the putrid stench of death wafted up to him. He heard a sickening crunch of bones that made his heart thunder and his stomach flutter. Filled with pure dread of what he was about to witness, he hesitantly turned to face what exactly was lurking down here.
         He groaned silently. He could see by his feeble echolocation that it was a four-ton dragon. Sly flinched as its lethal claws glinted and his eyes widened as smoke spiraled and coiled from its nostrils. He suppressed a gasp as the dragon’s powerful tail whipped so closely past him that he felt the air it had stirred brush against his face. Sly cautiously backed up with his eyes fixed on the creature and his adrenaline pumping incessantly. The golden dragon continued to devour its dinner, seemingly unaware of Sly’s presence.
Fear drove him back until he sensed a gap in the wall where a spike should have been. Relief flooded through him, soothing his wild heart. Sly darted towards it and gently slipped inside. It was so narrow he had to dissolve his wings back into his skin and tuck in his limbs before he could twist his way through the tangled maze. The colossal building provided plenty of space for dead ends and trick rooms. Sometimes, he swore he was traveling in a circle, visiting the same room several times. The map Sly had been creating in his head now resembled a mass of squiggly lines drawn by a bunch of overexcited two-year-olds. It was frustrating and his patience was quickly seeping away as hopelessness came creeping upon him from the darkness. Finally, an endless time later, he rounded a sharp corner and suddenly found the floor had been yanked beneath him and he was plummeting straight down. Terror coursed through him as he whipped out his wings to catch himself. While he steadied his flight, Sly’s eyes wandered.
Torches of blue fire were perched on the walls, flicking eerie shadows around the cavern. Rows and rows of vaults lined the wall, some tarnished and others polished. There was copper, silver, gold, and even ones he was sure were solid diamond. He grinned unfocusedly as he stumbled across ruby, emerald, and sapphire. It was a mind-blowing effect, having the blue fire glitter off all these vaults. Like a display of muted fireworks, calmly dazzling him with vibrant radiance. He just wanted to roam forever through the intoxicating atmosphere of colors.
Without warning, Sly stopped and gasped, quickly thrown from his dazed world. A diamond vault right in front of him had five combination locks, two card slots, six codes to enter, and a silver plate that clearly read: Vault 208. He had almost passed it, almost lost sight of the mission. How had he been distracted so easily? Just by some stupid gleaming vaults. He shook his head as he tried to clear it of fuzzy thoughts. Wizard’s spell, he thought suddenly, alarm jolting him completely away from his haze. It was a wizard’s spell that had clutched him as he soared through the chamber. It must be designed to make you wander forever, until you starve or the guards capture you. He had almost been swept away by it, drowned in the stunning lights. He could evade it no longer, there was something dangerously important in this vault if it was protected by a wizards charm. Obviously there must be amazing wonders sealed within each vault. He hoped desperately that this was the last protection in the building, he couldn't escape too many more captivating curses.
  Blight had given him two cards, which whipped from his pocket and eagerly slid through the slots on Vault 208. There was a soft click as part if the vault unbolted. Sly was born knowing how to crack a combination lock so he expertly flicked those off. Then, using slither instincts and his keen sight, Sly located the keys with fingerprints clinging to them and used that information to crack the codes. When he entered the last code the keypad beeped enthusiastically, as if thrilled someone had decided to open it. All of this was done in the blink of an eye. And ever so slowly the vault creaked open a slit... Sly hastily swung open the door and reached in impatiently to withdraw a... box. A small, silver box.
Sly tried to muffle his disappointment and anger. But instead of gently closing the door, he slammed it as a moment of frustration slipped out. He flinched as the earsplitting bang rebounded off the glimmering walls. He then carefully replaced all the locks and reset the codes hoping no one would come investigate the reckless noise he'd made. He carried the box, which felt like it had nothing in it, as he flapped toward the slim tunnel that lead out. He managed to get the box through, with some difficulty.
Feeling deflated, Sly managed to avoid the dragon, which had stopped gnawing on its meal and was darting down at the other end of the building. The spikes seemed to slide out of his way, probably because Sly was more flexible; displeasure making him less tense.  He had never been so disappointed in a steal. Usually Sly unveiled chests of gold and treasure, suitcases of money, or precious valuables. Never had he come across a box so light, so small, it could hardly carry anything worthwhile. He apathetically threw another decoy and ascended out without even glancing up. This careless mistake hurt him more than that spike had.
“What’s this?” said a crackling voice. Sly blinked in surprise and hurriedly shoved the scope to his eye.
His decoy pointlessly zoomed through the air and the invisible guards ignored it. Sly took a moment to absorb the guards. They had no wings attached to their bright, glowing bodies, yet they managed to hover in the air. They were formless blobs, looking remarkably like the cheap sheets kids throw on in imitation of a ghost. Except the guards had no eyes, which made them look strongly repulsive. With all guards turned toward him his mind worked furiously, digesting their appearance and prodding around his brain for an excuse.
“What this is, is me making a withdrawal.” Sly replied icily, a hopeful idea forming in his mind.
“A withdrawal that isn’t yours,” growled a guard floating forward. Sly had never been so close to one and it made him shudder, with all the nonexistent eyes glaring at him. “Besides,” continued the guard, “Clients don’t go that way. Thieves go that way.”
“I know,” snapped Sly, “I was specifically asked to retrieve this. Top secret. You never saw me, understand?” The guards' imaginary eyes narrowed as they hovered in uncertainty.
“Suspicious.” murmured one reaching a formless arm out for the box. Sly knew there was no chance if they flipped open the box. He’d have to explain a lot more than it was safe, lying over his lies, proof of his claims nowhere to be found. So Sly rocketed away and evaporated into the air once more. The guards never found him smiling in triumph, whisking through the night air in freedom, clutching his price with hands made for stealth.
The next day a theft from Vault 208 was reported. King Neptune’s crown was discovered missing; a priceless item, extremely important to the Kingdom of Atlantis. With its power, one could control oceans of creatures and claim innumerable amounts of treasure. The outraged king sent a search party to retrieve this valuable possession, at all costs. In completely unrelated news, Blight the Pegasus mysteriously disappeared and Sly the slither has recently purchased a mansion. Not that any of these things have a connection.