When Rain Rises

Chapter 1

"I trust in the reports, and I know of your interests in them." The dark voice was that of a shrouded man who sat hunched in his wooden chair. His features were obscured in the darkness, the tiny candle on the table in front of him revealing only his outline. This meeting was never meant to happen. It wasn't to exist. Years upon years of careful planning were going to be discarded as a result of this single meeting. "If there was even a shred of uncertainty, I would hold my tongue."

               "If those reports are true," the feminine voice from the robed outline of a woman sitting across the table began, "They change everything. This needs to be resolved immediately. We cannot begin our operation until it is so, and I don't need to remind you that we are already more than pressed for time. Your life is on the line."

               The man gulped hard. He had already known that, but he had no choice other than to disclose the contents of the report. The cost of withholding such critical information would be severe. He knew some of the torturers they had at their disposal; they had told him stories of men and women attempting to slit their own throats just to avoid their anguished fate. He wanted no part of that.

               "I understand, madam. What would you have me do?"

               "Nothing. Your work here is finished. I will be handling this dire matter personally."

The man breathed a sigh of relief. He wanted no part in this, but it was just his luck that he, of all people, would be the one thrown into this precarious situation. "As you wish, madam." He was waiting for his cue to leave, but the seconds rolled by without a word. He was looking for some sort of tell from her, but couldn't even see the shadows of her face in the dim lighting. Another second of silence from her was all it took. The realization was as dreadful as it was terrifying. "Wait...please, I told no one!""

               His heart stopped. His knife was tucked into his sleeve. As a spy you could never be too cautious. But he had made the fatal mistake of misjudging his value to her. He hadn't thought he would need to be on guard, but now he knew he could never draw it in time. HIs body, refusing to surrender life so easily, moved on its own accord. His left hand quickly slipped into the sleeve of his right, and he felt the hilt of the knife as his fingers wrapped themselves around it and pulled it into his grasp.

               A brief glimmer of hope entered his mind. Then, the inevitable scuffling sound emerged from behind him. He felt the movement against the back of his neck. His eyes darted to his side as he began to stand up and pull the blade from his sleeve. He tensed himself in preparation to fight his adversary. Just as his head began to turn, his eyes caught the sight of a small, serrated blade  sweeping through the air towards his throat.

*Several weeks earlier*

"And that's another terrible story down," Rain concluded to himself, shaking his head and slapping the book closed. "Epic saga, my ass. Superhuman paladins? Bloodthirsty demons? A quest to save the world? How cliché can you get? I knew I should have stolen the Tales of Beasts from that merchant instead. Damnit!"

Rain stood up from abomination he called his desk and pushed the well-worn wooden chair flush against it. It was nothing more than three wooden planks held together by being riddled with dozens of nails. Stories and textbooks that he read in what little spare time he had were strewn over it. Rain liked to read, but utterly hated school. There was something about being lectured for hours on end that just wasn't his forte. It was fortunate, in retrospect, that he never really had time to go to school when he was younger anyway, as most of his time had been spent supporting his small family.