Chapter 1

"Fae, are you almost done yet?"

Fae continued ignoring her companion, bending over the paper she was working on. "Almost Sibyl. You know what happens when I rush."

Sibyl shook her head, sending her long blonde hair flying around her head and out of her face as she turned from her lookout point at the window. As Fae finished the last eyelash, Sibyl watched carefully, anxiously toying with her long sleeved black jacket.

"Alright, that's it."

The second the words left Fae's mouth, the painting was in Sibyl's hands. As she inspected it, Fae sighed, stretching back from her perch. She had spent almost 8 hours in that one spot, carefully painting while Sibyl stalked moodily around. Fae pulled down her black t-shirt and played with a hole in her well worn dark blue jeans, taking off her pair of glasses.

Sibyl put the painting back on the table, and Fae scooted closer. Sibyl pointed to a spot on the eye. "It's perfect except for this spot. If you look carefully, you can see the paper."

Fae pulled on her glasses, and immediately Sibyl grabbed them off her face. "Fae, you don't you're your mom's sewing glasses for a simple thing like this."

Fae nodded, bending over the painting again. She could see the spot now, and Fae pulled over the blown up picture again. With an expert flick, she finished the painting and blew on it. Sybil waved hurriedly at it. "Leave it under the lamp while we get breakfast. The czar can wait."

Fae nodded, setting down her perfect rendition of Valetin Serov's portrait of Czar Nikolai Aleksandrovich. "Alright then." She said, wiping her hands on a paper towel before finger brushing her long dirty blonde hair.

Sybil patted Fae's shoulder as they walked out the door. "Fae, it has to be one of your best yet."

Fae smiled, knowing all TOO well how much her and Sibyl's lives depended on how perfect she made each painting.

Fae and Sibyl were art thieves, two of the worst terrors in the world of art, the fearsome duo called the Tenshi Twins, along with being smugglers who took anything that wasn't bolted down. Sibyl was the mastermind, a previous con artist who had been raised on the streets of her home in Radishchev and moved to Moscow to expand her horizons. Fae, on the other hand, had been born on an island, but raised in a rich, upper crust community in Denmark. Much to her mother's dismay, Fae had discovered she wanted to be an artist and spent nearly a year traveling across Europe, studying many different art styles, learning along the way she could not only paint, but make a perfect copy of anything she saw.

But this time they were in Russia to smuggle vodka out of the country. Sibyl had already met up with the suppliers, leaving Fae to forge fake licenses so they could carry the vodka out of Russia. She had been looking up licenses on the internet when she had found it.

It was a tour of famous Russian artworks in a house 500 miles out of Moscow, and it had pictures of all the art online. The second Sibyl saw it, both her and Fae agreed on taking the tour. Sibyl chose the pieces of art, and while Fae painted them, Sibyl had found the ultimate jackpot.

It was a small, round ornate box with colorful gems and gold details running around it. It was right on the borderline where Fae put her foot down, saying that it would fall short of a miracle if she created it perfectly.

But Sibyl pushed the job onto Fae as she always did, and Fae crossed her arms, but done the job willingly. There's a lot to be said about plastic gems from any second rate store as Fae found out. It took quite a bit of grease and sweat to get the box to look perfect, but it was one of the first sculptures Fae had tried to recreate.

Fae stood up in the dark room, her eyes fixed on the box that had caused her so many sleepless nights. She blinked, her eyes trying to fix themselves together. She yawned and stretched. "How long do we have til the tour?"

Sibyl glanced at her watch. "Well, I'd say its enough time for you to sleep, but then I'd lie. Twenty minutes."

"Neuken!"

"Exactly. And you smell like shit."

"Well, so would you if you worked on a box and 3 oil paintings for a week!" Fae said, walking towards the bathroom.

"Didn't you use the scentless turpentine I bought?" Sibyl said, inspecting a slightly opened bottle.

"A little bit." Fae's voice came from behind the closed bathroom door. "But it didn't work as well as I wanted it to. So I tried the regular stuff."

Sibyl looked at the second open bottle, noting that it too was barely used. "Well, that really didn't change much. Turpentine is turpentine, and you won't get the same exact look unless you use vodka like all the other oil painting Russian artists."

"Exactly."

Sibyl paused, staring at the bathroom door in their small hotel room. "What did you do Fae?"

"I went out and bought some vodka and painted with it. Why? Is that such a big deal?"

Sibyl whirled around and looked at Fae's table. "FAE!!!"

Fae appeared in the doorway, a toothbrush in her mouth. "Wha?"

"You used the 200 year old vodka that we're supposed to bring back to Alfred." Sibyl said, shaking the half-empty bottle of vodka. "I'd ask why, but you can't read Kryllic."

"Exactly." Fae spat the toothpaste out in the sink, then turned back to Sibyl. "Don't worry. We have ten more bottles, and I used one of my other bottles for the rest."

Sibyl went over to the trash bin while Fae shut the door and started to run the water for a shower.

Fae stripped off her odd-smelling clothes and stepped into the shower, just in time to hear Sibyl yell, "THIS ONES THE 300 YEAR OLD STUFF!!!!"

Fae chuckled as she started scrubbing her hair frantically, fighting off sleep. It was days like this that she really debated about her occupation, the constant lies and danger. But then, she would have had no better luck in any other job.

She thought about how she had viewed the world before she had run away from her mother, how her mother had painted it like there was no war, no terror, no horrors that lied outside of Fae's home.

Oh, how her mother had lied.

Since Fae had been born in 2015, tensions had been building between almost every country, over oil, money, trade, all the normal things. Since Fae and Sibyl's antics as art thieves, practically every country was at arms trying to get their most priceless pieces back, with every possible police force in the world watching for any suspicious moves that other countries made and the 'Tenshi Twins'.

Fae rested her hand on one of the cool walls of shower as it slowly heated up. At times, she felt oddly responsible for the upcoming war, which everyone knew would eventually become World War III, but no one actually acted like they knew this.

Fae smacked her hand on the wall, and, feeling the last of the soap wash itself from her hair, smacked the knob to the shower and turned it off. She towel-dried her long hair and her body, faintly hearing Sibyl still ranting about the 300 year-old vodka.

Fae sighed, wrapping the towel around her. "Sibyl, I'm sorry about the vodka…"

"It's not that. You shouldn't have finished one and a half bottles on just THREE paintings." Sibyl said, taking a swig of the now worthless bottle of vodka.

Fae pulled on her clothes, a black wife beater and a pair of dark wash jeans, while Sibyl ranted, and grabbed the bottle and took a swig. She winced at the taste as Sibyl took the bottle back. "For once, I wish we could try smuggling whiskey or something."

Sibyl chuckled. "You would be drunk constantly. At least when I drink vodka, I can stop. You have no intention of stopping the second you start."

"True." Fae grabbed the bottle back and took a swig. "Anyway, how else do you think I stayed awake for three days straight? Cat naps?"

"I hope that 300 year old vodka tasted good."

"It tasted like shit."

Sibyl glared. "Then you shouldn't have drunk it."

"Couldn't help it."

"Bitch."

"Whore."

"Slut." Sibyl glanced at her watch and swore. "Fuck, we need to be downstairs NOW."

"Asshole."

"We are going to continue this later Fae, but I still get to say, mother fucker."

"Ewwww! I will never speak to you after THAT comment." Fae pulled a face, and Sibyl chuckled at her antics.

"Yes you will Joanna."

"Too true Sirenia." Fae said, smiling at Sibyl as they left the room, putting the 'Do Not Disturb' sign up and passing by a couple maids.

Fae chuckled and said in French, "Of all the people I pity the most, it's the people who have to clean after others."

"Didn't you do that for about 6 months before you turned 16?" Sibyl responded in French, carefully watching the maids out of the corner of her eye.

"Yes. And I pity whoever has to live like that."

Sibyl laughed and led the way to the lobby, where she waved to the man behind the counter, who smiled cheerily and said in Russian, "Your bus is about to leave, ladies. I told them to wait a little longer."

"Merci." Sibyl said in perfect French, inclining her head before she pushed through the doors, and Fae gave him a little finger wiggle, which he returned.

The tour guide was in a right state, her face a bright red as she tapped her foot, shooting Fae and Sibyl dirty looks as they neared the bus.

"Sirenia and Joanna Harnon?" The woman said in French, although it was somewhat hard for Fae to understand it since she had a Russian accent.

Sibyl nodded. "Yep, that would be us." She said in perfect French, and the lady hmphed.

"Well, we're already late, so get in."

There were twelve people in the bus, counting Sibyl and Fae. They sat towards the back, making sure that they could see everyone at all times. Fae took the outside seat next to the glass, stretching. "Night Sibyl…" she said in a low voice.

Sibyl laughed, pulling a book from her bag. "Sweet dreams. I'll wake you when we get there." She said as she started the book, and Fae nodded, closing her eyes and falling asleep instantly, a dream full of paintings, blood and metal pipes waited for her.