A/N: I'm new to posting my writing, and I decided to start by posting a backlog of older pieces with minimal editing. Hopefully you'll see the quality increase with newer writing! Feedback welcome.
~Lacey
***
Lukian Moonseeker flicked to the next page of the book he was reading. It was honestly the sort of book that was a slog to get through, even for somebody as well read as him. The book was called Beyond Arithmancy, and it contained instructions on how to keep track of money while running a small business.
Said instructions were so boring that Lukian was having a hard time staying awake. The only thing that kept him going was the fact that it was so important. He had to know this stuff, he'd managed to score a big investment in his potential business just a few days ago, and he wanted to run it right.
Of course
, he mused as he glanced out the window to a star filled sky,
The fact that I'm having trouble staying awake might also have something to do with the fact that it's well past midnight.
He'd just began to lay his head on the surface of the pages, (just to rest his eyes, of course), when the chirp of one of his burglar alarms startled him alert.
They'd been overly sensitive lately, so he presumed it was probably nothing, but he got up to check regardless. The investment was still being kept in his vault, and he didn't know what he'd do if he had to go to Ms. Silverspark and explain it had been stolen less than a week after she gave it to him.
He couldn't risk it.
As he left his library and followed the sound of the alarm, he twisted his rings around his fingers nervously. An old habit, and an embarrassingly obvious tell.
When he turned a corner and discovered the cause of the alarm, he forced his hands to be still.
It wasn't a false alarm.
A woman lay on the ground, tied up by the purple ribbons of magical energy his security system wrapped around intruders. She was holding a lockbox Lukian recognized, but it wasn't one containing the investment he was so worried about. It was the utilitarian iron box he kept particularly rare ingredients inside in his alchemy lab.
He narrowed his eyes and stalked forward to get a better look at the would-be thief.
She had long blonde hair that didn't look particularly practical for breaking and entering. Neither did the tight pants and bright red sleeveless shirt struggling to contain her breasts, for that matter. Lukian didn't have much experience in determining such things, but even he could tell she was either wearing a full face of makeup or a slightly off glamour. Her eyes were wide, and her red lips parted in what seemed to be fear.
Lukian tore his gaze away from her lips.
The only concession she made to practicality seemed to be her flat leather boots.
The thief squirmed under his gaze, and the wizard didn't bother to suppress a smirk.
"Well, I'm not really sure what you expected," he drawled, "Stealing from the inner sanctum of a grand--"
The woman in front of him giggled, and he stopped gloating, bewildered. Why wouldn't she be taking this seriously?
Her eyes widened, and she smiled up at him, eyes vaguely... empty.
"Gosh, I'm sorry for interrupting! It's just, y'know. 'Inner sanctum'." The woman's arms pulled against the ribbons as though she'd tried to gesture, forgetting her current state. "It's kind of a silly thing to say! You wizards and your big words."
She didn't seem particularly smart, but the insult still stung. Lukian started twisting a ring again, but forced himself still.
"I'm not silly."
The woman shook her head vigorously, curls bouncing around her face.
"Nooo, of course not! You're a big cool smart wizard, wizards can't be silly!"
Lukian didn't know how to respond to that, so he focused back on the gloating.
"Intruding on a grand wizard's... tower... and expecting to get out unscathed seems like the
sillier
move to me." He wasn't sure why he was so stuck on that word, but he was a very serious person. It wouldn't do for someone to get the wrong idea. He took a breath and centered himself. "And now, because of that decision,
you
are at my mercy." Although he hadn't intended for his tone to be so flirtatious as he said it, he certainly wasn't opposed to the way a flush rose on the slutty thief's cheeks at that. Her squirming also redoubled, and it didn't look like she was attempting to escape.
"Oh
no!
What are you going to
do
to me, Lukian?"