Prologue

Black and white was all Mia could see as she stealthily walked the floors of the cold, dark, empty mansion. The owners were said to have been out for the night, and she was there looking for something special. The floors, the walls, as well as the furniture, were all adorned in black and white in some way, it felt like being in a three-dimensional blur.

On a pitch-black table sat a black-and-white tea set rimmed with gold paint. It was beautiful and decorative. The owners had eccentric, yet elegant taste. Mia leaned against the wall trying to blend in like a shadow in her black jumpsuit, when she heard the sound of footsteps in the distance. Her heart beat faster. No one appeared. She was positive she had heard something. She waited several more seconds, but upon still hearing nothing, Mia slithered her way slowly down the hallway. Her feet were quiet as her eyes scanned the checkered walls for an opening of some type. There was something there, she knew it, but it just wouldn’t reveal itself.

This would have been a perfect moment to raise her arm and use her watch phone as a scanner, but Morris would not be on the other end to help her. Sadness consumed her, but the emotion had to be put aside for now. She had to prove herself. No one could help her. Mia resolved to look at things another way. She stared at the wall again, and this time noticed that the checkered pattern was not equally spaced. In fact, some squares were thinner or narrower than others.

Mia cocked her head to the side, narrowing her eyes into focus. She saw an image inside of the wall. If Mia wasn’t focusing so intently she most certainly would have missed it. The image was a fish, and exactly in the center, buried inside a black square, was an oddly shaped cross. It was obviously a key hole, but a key hole for what to fit into? Mia touched the key hole. As she did she heard a loud noise coming from the other side of the wall. Then it happened. The walls began to creak as if being moved forward. Mia looked quickly around her but knew she wouldn’t have enough time to run back up the hall or hide inside some dark space. Then it happened so quickly she couldn’t stop her intake of breath.

Hands from above seemed to drop down out of the ceiling and grabbed her, then swung her upward in one swift motion. She was pinned against the ceiling by these hands, which consisted of two pairs. One set held her feet and one set surrounded her chest. A face, warm and slick, pressed against hers as she was flipped to face her savior. She could see nothing, except the black ceiling. They all blended in so well with their surroundings that Mia wasn’t sure exactly who had a hold of her. All she could hear was a soft, “Shhhhhhh!” in her ear as she was pressed tightly into the soft fabric of the person’s shirt, her face lying against a strong shoulder, the light smell of musk in the air.

Someone was indeed in the house. There was no mistake. The wall creaked, and then opened up, bringing a light with it that filled the hallway. Mia could see past the hand holding her head, her eyes on a shadow in the light. It was a woman. The clicking of her high-heels on the floor confirmed it. She exhaled loudly as she walked below towards another room which contained wall-to-wall books and a beautiful antique wooden desk. The chair appeared thick and heavy from the ceiling. The woman didn’t stop once, her mind focused elsewhere as she entered the room. She closed the door slightly behind her. The light of that room shined brightly through the six-inch crack as the woman moved things around on her desk.

Before the wall closed a second person, a slim shadowed figure, slipped through. Within seconds that same form slipped just as stealthily down the hall. The wall creaked close, cutting off the inner light. The second body was snatched from the ground by two darkened bodies and held tight to the ceiling like she was. Mia breathed softly, though she felt her heart beating in her ears like a drum. It was racing so fast and loudly she could barely hear the person holding her, whispering for her to remain calm as they waited for the woman in the other room to settle.

After another five agonizing minutes, the grip around her chest and legs seemed to loosen. She was soon swung downward with such smoothness and ease that she felt like an acrobat in a circus. They did the same with the other shadowy form. Those other three—the shadowy form and the two who had held it—led the way while the two people who were with her ushered her down the hallway away from the woman in the lighted room to a window farther down on the right side. Before Mia could say a word, she was pressed closer to the now open window where the trio had exited. Within seconds Mia was shoved unceremoniously through as well.

Before she could scream, hands reached out and grabbed a hold of her, passing her from one person to another down a twenty-foot-tall human ladder until she landed safely on the soft grass outside of the mansion. When she looked up, Mia could see the two that had been with her in the house following behind in the same manner. There had to have been at least eight people behind her camouflaged in black. When the pyramid of people began to jump off of one another, all landing safely on the ground, one person grabbed Mia by the hand as they all maneuvered soundlessly away from the mansion and into the surrounding forest.

Once under the cover of the trees the group ran at least a good half mile before they stopped near a dark back road where a running van waited for them. The loudness of everyone’s breathing and the sweat from everyone’s over exerted bodies filled the air for several seconds before they moved towards the van. Someone opened the door and they all piled in, leaving Mia to take the front seat. When the door closed, Mia turned to the driver, a man with wild white hair and sapphire-blue eyes filled with excitement, sat behind the wheel staring back at her. Percival Peacock.

One of the individuals threw a huge, brilliant, diamond-studded necklace with a large ruby in the center at the man. The man laughed most confidantly. Mia knew the figure had retrieved something from inside of that wall. She just didn’t know what it was.

“I knew you could pull it off. Very impressive, indeed, Riley,” said Percival. He focused his attention to Mia. “Mia, I would like you to meet our new friends,” he said with a wide grin. Half the group revealed themselves in the light of the van, their youthful features staring at Mia skeptically.

“So,” Mia began, her breathing beginning to calm. “You’re the circus for hire I’ve been hearing so much about.”