Prologue
The man in the black hood was on edge, his eyes flitting from one passing person to another nervously and eyelids blinking rapidly in the rain. He was waiting for someone, though he didn’t even know who he was waiting for. But his gut told him it’d be dangerous company.
“Malthe Partnen?” The man looked up to another hooded figure on his left and he nodded
high-strung.
“Y-yea?”
The other person went to sit on the wooden bench at the side of the dirty road.
“Come sit, Malthe. We have things to discuss.” The voice was obviously female
and had a deep and honeyed tone. She wore a black coat of some fine fabric and
the buttons on the front were made of silver. When she moved, there was some
strange pattern to be seen, embroidered on the surface. This was not someone
raised in the slums of the city. This was someone from higher up who didn’t
belong on a filthy cobble stone street. Malthe swallowed painfully while
sitting down as far as possible from the woman on the bench.
“Are you nervous, Malthe?” She
sounded amused.
Malthe’s eyes widened indignantly. “N-no! O’course not! I just want te know why
ye o’ all people felt tha need te talk to me.” His voice turned irritable.
The woman laughed
softly. It was a laugh that turned up all the hairs on the back of Malthe’s
neck.
“Please, Malthe,” Every time she said
his name there was a mocking edge in her tone. “Why wouldn’t we want to talk to
you? You are our best chance, our last hope to get certain… objects of
importance. We have heard many tales about you. Tales on how you always manage
to remain unseen and that is exactly what we need.”
Malthe listened, shivering, having cold and being too warm at the same time.
Yes, he was good at disappearing without a trace, but it was exactly that part that made him uncomfortable. How had they found him? And more importantly, what did they want him to steal?
“W-what if I dun wanna do tha job? I value my life! There’s a’ways trouble, gettin’ involved with ye people!” He damned his voice for sounding so weak and unsure, but there was something about the woman’s presence that made him feel very, very small. Like a mouse cornered by a cat. The woman chuckled dangerously.
“Now, now. We won’t hurt you. You only need to do one job, get what we want and you will be free to go.” Malthe could see her dark red lips part in a smile. But it didn’t comfort him at all. The smile was the cat knowing she had the mouse all for herself. He knew he had no choice in this matter. The higher-ups wanted him to do a job so he had to. It was that or to get killed now already.
He sighed deeply and the woman’s smirk grew wider. She had won.
“Waddya want me te do?”
