Flash Fiction February 2026 Day Twenty Six: The Space Between (Abigail)

 Flash Fiction February 2026 Prompt: Between (a character discovers a secret door in an otherwise ordinary place) 

This is fascinating! Who knew you could engineer stone to move in such a way that pressing a button causes it to pull back and reveal a secret passage? I certainly didn’t, and especially not in such a seemingly ordinary place like a cemetery. Though, I guess, having secret doors in a place like this would make sense, but only for fancy old crypts to hide treasures. A button that when pushed moves a whole sarcophagus out of the way to reveal a staircase down to a secret hideout though, that is very unexpected. I find it interesting that this odd engineering marvel leads to the Ragged Flagon and the Thieves Guild's living quarters in the Ratway rather than some spooky Dark Brotherhood sanctuary. The Thieves Guild does occasionally have to kill people, but only in dire situations, or sometimes it happens by accident. Contract killings go to the Dark Brotherhood. Some of our clients however employ both organizations. We walk the line between life and death in a way. Walking down the cold stone steps kept hidden by day under the mausoleum into the darkness of the tunnel system I find myself very cognizant of that fact. While killing is not part of the job description, a thief still encounters excesses of death, life, and everywhere in between, it’s those realms of being that have the most worth stealing. The dead don’t need their gold, those marked among the living spend their time living in excess. Those between the two sometimes simply have things that are wanted by certain people. To find out why requires reading between the lines, and having friends in high places.