It was nearing one in the morning when the warning came over the radio. The thieves were outside. The others stilled. Kat and I both took a potion to help delay the toll casting took on us. I also swallowed the powder from one of the packets Connie had given me and gave one to Kat. She swallowed it too, making a face. Dry, it didn’t go down easily. Three masked men entered the backroom. One paused and looked right at us. I knew he couldn’t see us. It was impossible to see through the spell I used, even for an empath. He turned and stuck his head out the door, "Get in here," his deep voice called urgently, beckoning the woman forward. She scurried into the room, pulling her mask back down over her face. "What's going on?" "This place reeks of magic," he replied gravely. Her face grew serious as she considered their options. "Do you want me to counter it?" He shook his head. "No, but we need to stay close and be cautious." With determined steps, he led the way to the showroom. I quickly ended my spell, not wanting to draw any more attention. Together, we followed them silently, our senses heightened for any sudden movements or threats. "Freeze!" Thompson's commanding voice boomed through the space as he drew his gun. The man whipped around, a surge of magic emanating from his outstretched hand towards the chief. Without hesitation, Kat pulled him out of harm's way. In a split second, we both summoned our armor in preparation for a fight. The air crackled with tension as we braced ourselves for the next move. This new mage swore in a language I didn’t know. He shot a blast of magic at me. I summoned my shield. The magic bounced off. We ducked behind a counter. Mitch, Troy, and Robert dove back into the backroom. “Can we be armed?” I asked Thompson. “Try not to kill anyone.” Kat smirked. “As if we needed weapons for that.” “Shut up,” I hissed and summoned my bow. Kat had a set of knives. “Knock it off, both of you,” Roy insisted. “Send your shield to the guys in back,” Kat told me. "These two are unprotected," I growled, nodding towards Roy and the chief. Kat's eyes rolled with annoyance as she snapped, "Trust me for once." My shield scraped across the floor as I positioned it in front of the backroom door. A mage launched a lightning bolt at it, narrowly missing. "Is that thing conductive?" Roy asked, eyeing my shield warily. "It is, but not as well as most metals. They'll still feel it if they get hit," I replied, bracing myself for the inevitable attack. Roy signaled to Mitch, their past partnership evident in their unspoken communication. Kat cast a protective spell around us just as shards of glass from a shattered display case ricocheted off the shield. "How are we supposed to stop them with this?" Roy demanded, frustration etched into his features. "It's one way," Kat reassured him, her confidence unwavering despite our dire situation. Another volley of bullets shattered the glass and I could feel my shield weakening under the constant barrage. "Will this hold up against a bullet?" Thompson questioned, pointing to the source of the broken glass. "It will," Kat affirmed, "for now at least." I glanced over at Thompson for permission to use offensive spells. He nodded grimly, adding, "But try weapons first." Taking a deep breath, I peered over the counter and was immediately met with a hail of bullets. Instinctively ducking down, I knew Kat's shield wouldn't withstand much more. "There are two behind displays and two behind the other counter," I reported back, strategizing our next move. Making my way to the end of the counter, I drew my trusty bow and quickly calculated the trajectory needed to take out one of our assailants. Kat was already on top of it, launching a knife towards the same target. But both our weapons were deflected by a shield similar to the one Kat had cast. I sent my arrow back to its storage Later I’d summon it again alongside any others I shot and sent back. While it didn't provide unlimited ammunition, it certainly helped. In a flash, Kat's knife was back in her hand and ready for another attempt. "Hold back on the magic," I hissed. I could see beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she worked to maintain our shield. The thieves were relentless and I could feel my energy draining with each fireball and lightning bolt they hurled at us. My companion nodded, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she countered their attacks with precise spells of her own. As another fireball exploded against our shield, I couldn't help but wonder if we were going to make it out alive. These mages were not holding back and seemed to be testing our defenses, waiting for a moment of weakness. Hiding behind my shield, Mitch leaned out of the backroom and shot at the thieves. One shot a lightning bolt at him. He ducked behind the shield. The electricity didn’t affect him. He shot again a few times. This time, the mage responded with a fireball. Mitch ducked again. I frowned. He should have also felt the heat. "Are you using an illusion?" I asked Kat, hoping there was some explanation for their lack of heat resistance. "No," she replied through gritted teeth. Thompson shook his head slightly. The one with the gunshot at our shield a few times. Roy returned fire. One of the mages shot a lightning bolt at him. He didn’t even flinch. I was impressed with his trust in Kat. It became a battle of endurance, each side trying to outlast the other's shield. As elves, we had the advantage of being stronger mages, but the humans were not hindered by the iron in this building. When Kat's shield finally fell, I knew it was up to me to take down the remaining mage before they could recast their defense. But how? My mind raced as I tried to come up with a plan. "Do you know any ice or fire spells?" I asked Kat frantically. "Yes, both," she replied, confusion evident in her voice. "Perfect," I said with a determined grin. "We're going to combine our powers and bring down that shield. You cast ice. I’ll do fire." “If we hit it with both at once, it should overload it.” “It will?” Kat asked. “It has before. We found that out by accident. And we used it a few times since.” “Okay, you do fire. I’ll do ice,” Kat agreed. Roy gestured to Mitch. They would join us in taking out the mage. I readied the spell. “On three,” I said. “One, two three.” With renewed determination, we launched a coordinated attack on the enemy mage's shield. It was a risky move, but it paid off when we saw it crack under our combined strength. Roy, Thompson, and the three in the back room all shot at the male mage. I shot at the woman. Amid the chaos and gunfire, Troy took a bullet to the leg and went down. The male mage fell next to him. Amid the confusion, I managed to take out one of the thieves before losing sight of the woman. But Thompson's swift shot caught another thief off guard. As we regrouped, Roy signaled frantically to Mitch. "Troy's hit! Robert's helping him escape!" he shouted over the commotion. But our enemies were relentless in their pursuit. Kat cursed in elvish, her voice laced with fear. "Can't you speak like a proper lady?" Roy chided, trying to lighten the tension. "You don't even know what I said," Kat retorted. "Not exactly, but it definitely wasn't ladylike." Despite everything, I couldn't help but let out a small laugh at their banter. But then Kat's panicked words snapped me back to reality. "They're heading for the chute," she warned. "Chute?" Roy repeated, confused. I scanned the room and spotted a small door - the chute. My heart sank as I remembered its purpose: a disposal system for garbage that could burn and fuel the furnace below. It had been abandoned long ago due to its environmental impact, but here could be used by our enemies to escape. My mind raced as I tried to come up with a plan. How could we stop them from escaping through the chute while also maintaining our shield? "The shield won't hold much longer," Kat warned me as she struggled to maintain its strength. I beckoned for everyone to huddle closer - a smaller shield would require less energy. And then it hit me - shielding just one side would also lessen the strain on our resources. The knife ricocheted off the wall, missing their heads by mere inches. They both flinched at the loud clang, their hearts pounding in fear. "They have no shields behind them!" I exclaimed, quickly recalling my own knife to its storage unit for safekeeping. "But how are we supposed to get back there?" Roy asked, his voice laced with desperation. I racked my brain for a solution as Thompson suggested using a smoke grenade. "Do you want us to choke on it too?" I snapped, reminding him that their shields couldn't block out vapors. "Wait," Roy interrupted, "copper interferes with their magic, right? Rose gold has copper in it. What if we throw some of our jewelry back there?" My head shook in frustration. "There's not enough copper in what we have to make a difference." But then Roy had another idea, suggesting they use pennies instead. I could see the glimmer of hope in his eyes and wanted so desperately for it to work. But even with our combined collections, it still wasn't enough. "Pennies are mostly zinc. Other coins have more copper, but it’s still not enough to matter much," I explained. Thompson then turned to me and asked if I had anything useful in storage. My heart sank as I realized all I had was silver and mithril - useless against these mages. All hope seemed lost until Kat suddenly remembered she had stolen a copper shield from a human soldier long ago. She conjured it up and threw it behind the mage's shield towards the chute where it landed with a loud thud. “What the hell is stopping them from just throwing it away?” Roy hissed, his eyes darting between the thieves and the artifact on the floor. One of them reached out to grab it, but jolted back with a sharp cry. “That's what! It's cursed. Anyone who touches it gets shocked...and badly,” the woman explained with a grimace. “You mean it shocks you too?” I asked, understanding now why she had summoned it to the ground. She nodded, her jaw clenched in pain. “It won't stop them from casting spells, but it'll keep them away from the chute for a while.” Suddenly, Robert burst into the room with my shield in hand, firing shots at the thieves. He signaled to Roy, who relayed to us that we needed to create a diversion. I unleashed more fiery blasts, knowing I would pay for this later when the effects of the potion wore off. Kat joined in with lightning bolts, while Thompson and Roy fired their guns as well. But I couldn't help but wonder if our attacks were even doing anything - the mage seemed unfazed and was probably ready to recast her shield. Then, out of nowhere, Mitch appeared from the chute door, shouting "Freeze!" Everyone froze in place, including me. I soon realized that our continuous barrage of spells was meant to cover up the sound of Mitch climbing up the chute. The thief with the gun turned it towards Mitch in a tense standoff. What now? “Sean, can you throw me over there?” Kat suddenly asked me. I furrowed my brows in confusion. “Yeah...but why?” She summoned her bow and I immediately caught on to her plan. She also summoned a shield and handed it to Thompson. “Cover us,” she commanded before dropping her spell shield and rushing over to the other side where the thieves were still trying to hold onto their shield. I interlaced my hands to give her a boost and she flew over the barrier, landing gracefully with her bow aimed at the thieves who were caught off guard by her sudden appearance. Finally, they dropped their gun and surrendered, allowing Thompson to quickly cuff them before any further damage could be done. “Nice jump,” Mitch said. He drew us away from the thieves. Neither of us should be involved with the arrests. “I’m impressed you climbed that,” Kat returned the compliment. Mitch shrugged. “We had a similar chute growing up. I scaled it many times.” “How come you weren’t electrocuted when the lightning hit the shield?” Mitch grabbed the shield and showed me the back. They’d insulated it with a rubber floor mat. Kat laughed. “Why didn’t you think of that?” “I don’t see yours is insulated,” I pointed out. Dizziness washed over me. The potion wouldn’t last much longer. I sent my weapons and armor away. “We need to go,” Kat said. She opened a passage to my house Underhill. It took concentration to make it through and to my bed. I didn’t see if Kat made it before convulsions overtook me and I blacked out.