Mercurial, at Best

The van hurtled through the sea of trees as the midday sun cast an eerie green glow from above. Felix, out of breath and exasperated looked over at one of her partners, Jim. He still had a look of incredulity. Jim smiled sheepishly at her and they both turn to face Dandy, the organizer of the heist.

“So I’m guessing your parts went as planned?” He asked them, almost skeptically.

Felix recounted the events that unfolded. She told both of them how after leaving the van this morning at 9:45 they met with the target’s guardians. Dressed as circus clowns, Jim and Felix had performed for the party, a raucous thirty-two children. Jim made balloon animals and Felix did acrobatics. They both did magic.

Felix explained the treasure sought by her employer was stolen during the performance. There was an alarm, so they had to quickly escape. Jim and Felix ran back to the van through the woods.

Dandy smiles and looks at Felix.

“So what was worth so much that you hired a bunch of retired clowns to help steal?”

Smiling she pulls out a small vial filled with a black ichor.

“A child’s Shadow for the Faerie Queen.”