We spent a few more minutes catching the wooden fish. We left the prizes in most of them and put them back in the pond so the children would have a chance. I was getting better, but I still missed every couple of tries. Kol seemed to do it effortlessly and never missed a single fish. I tried to imitate what he was doing, but it was much harder than he made it seem. After awhile he even grew bored of catching his own fish and went after mine.

"Hey, that's not fair!" I griped as he swiped yet another fish that I was trying to snag.

Kol carelessly lifted the fish from the water and it swung slightly on his line. His lips were curled up into an impish grin and his black eyes sparkled. I was almost used to those strange black eyes by now. "All's fair in fish and fin, Ebb. Hasn't anyone ever told you that?"

"I seem to remember that line going a bit differently." With a roll of my eyes I selected another fish. There was less in the pond now. It seemed that Barnaby had stopped putting them back in the water. "It looks like we're almost done for the day."

The few children that were left around the pond were catching the last of the fish. Two floated by and while Kol hooked one I was able to get the other. Barnaby was taking the fish back from the children and putting them in a large canvas sack. Kol and I returned the fish we caught last as the children ran up the bank of the river and back to the road. I had not noticed how dark it had gotten.

"You two had better get going. Rain is coming. I can feel it in my elbows and my elbows never lie. You two hurry along now." The old man instructed. I glanced uncertainly at Kol, not sure if elbows provided the best report on the weather. Kol simply nodded at Barnaby and assured him that he would get indoors as soon as possible.

"Come on, we had better hurry and get back to the square. Barnaby's elbows never lie. We don't want to get caught in the middle of a storm." Kol said as he glanced around and then up at the sky. "The sky over the south of the city is already black."

He was right. Behind where we stood by the pond I could see angry black clouds quickly eating up the darkening sky. The first drops of rain fell before we even made it the short way to the bridge. A crack of thunder boomed over head and bolts of lightning raced along the clouds then the rain really started. It was so sudden that I stopped in my tracks and so heavy that I lost sight of Kol who was only a few feet away from me. I had never seen rain so violent. It took seconds for me to become soaked through and not much longer for me to start shivering in the wind driven rain. I squinted and looked for Kol where I had last seen him. He was there, closer now and approaching me to wrap his hand around my own. In this downpour it would be easy to get separated and I knew I could not find my way anywhere in this rain.

"We need to get back to the square!" I tried to shout over the deluge. Kol leaned his head towards me and I shouted again, this time near his ear so he was sure to hear.

Kol shook his head. He put his mouth close to my ear and spoke loud enough for me to hear. "It's too far. We need to get out of this rain now. I know a place. It isn't far from here."

I allowed Kol to lead me by the hand through streets I could barely see. Our feet splashed through puddles that were already inches deep. I hoped that Kol knew enough of the city to manage the roads in such a downpour. Surely, this heavy of rain couldn't last long and would let up some soon - at least enough to see through. More thunder crashed over head followed quickly by streaks of lightning that cast an eerie sort of glow through the heavy rain.

The rain thinned out just enough to see farther ahead where a black iron fence rose up threateningly around a large manor. Rain continued to pelt us as Kol led me quickly towards the fence. "We aren't going there are we? We can't that's someone's home." I still had to shout to be heard, but I could be heard without being right next to Kol's ear.

The large black gate bore the figure of a roaring lion's head made out of the twisting metal. The gate was bolted shut which didn't stop Kol from opening it and slipping through the bars. I stopped outside the gate. The threatening lion was meant to keep people out and I was not going to trespass on someone else's property, especially when the house itself looked so imposing. The manor was large and made of dark gray stone with a black shingled roof. Large twisted trees that were blowing wildly in the wind grew up around the yard adding to the house's sinister look.

"No, we can't go in there!" I said firmly.

"You need to get out of the rain, Ebb. You are already shivering out of your skin. I swear everything will be fine. Come on." Kol ordered and left little room for argument when a tug brought me onto the other side of the gate with him. The gate clanged shut behind me. I frowned at Kol's back as he pulled me towards the back of the house. This is what I get for wanting adventures and solving mysteries. Still, I wanted to get out of this place before Kol got us both arrested.

I pulled at his soaked shirt when he stopped underneath a balcony and looked up. "Please, let's just go. This is someone's house. What if they are home and they see us? I'm fine really."

Kol's black eyes looked directly into mine as his hand reached up to my chin to feel the chattering of my teeth. "We are too far away from anywhere else. No one is home, besides it's a big enough house they won't notice anyway. We both need to get out of the rain."

"How do you know no one is home?" I asked. I did not like his logic. Kol did not answer, but turned and gripped the climbing vines that grew up the side of the building next to the balcony. I clutched my arms over my chest and hunched my back against the rain, unsure of what to do. I couldn't follow him into a strange manor and I couldn't make it all the way back to the Gilded Leopard in this rain.

"Ebb, come on!" Kol shouted from where he now stood on the balcony.

I shook my head and backed away. There was an ear shattering bang and that threw me to the ground. All too near to where I stood a bolt of lightning struck one of the twisted trees. The trunk of the tree light up with the electricity and sparks flew outward. My scream was lost in the sound. I barely heard Kol scream my name from the balcony for the ringing in my ears. Without a thought I followed Kol up onto the balcony. My skin was tingling from the electricity in the air a one hand gripped the slick marble of the railing. Kol grabbed my wrist and helped me the rest of the way over.

"Are you hurt?" Kol demanded as he tightly gripped my shoulders.

"Why is it that I always get into dangerous situations around you?" I shouted. My heart was hammering and adrenaline was pounding through my limbs, but other than that I was fine.

Kol's lips lifted into a half smirk. "I don't think I can take credit for the weather, Ebb. Now come on, inside!"

With some difficulty Kol managed to pull the glass door open against the wind and we stepped into the room. It was someone's bedroom. A massive dark blue canopy bed stood on a raised platform on one side of the room near a huge white marble fireplace. Matching blue sofas sat a couple of yards in front of us around a table with a candelabra sat on it. Lavish tapestries in deep blues and blacks hung on the walls. There were three closed doors in between the tapestries: two on the far wall and one to the left. The floor was made of wood laid out in complex patterns under thick blue rugs. Whoever lived in this place must have been very wealthy to have such lavish things.

Kol walked further into the room. I just stood near the large window in awe of the room. "We should go." I whispered.

Kol had his hand on one of the door handles when he turned back to look at me. "Relax, Ebb. We're fine now and out of the storm."

I was about to argue his definition of 'fine' when I saw something move from the other side of the bed. Two lean black dogs with short tails and pointed ears had stalked out from where they were hidden on the other side of the bed. One wore a red collar while the other had blue. A sudden flash of lightning lit the room and the two dogs. They did not look friendly as they approached where I stood. Wide eyed, I watched as the one in the red collar had its lips pulled back in the beginnings of a growl. They both had their heads lowered and looked ready to pounce. I wish I hadn't followed Kol into this house.

This story has kind of taken a turn and is not going according to plan. It's taking on a life of its own now and the original plan is more of loose guidelines for now. I find it very exciting.

And here's a fun fact for you: the storm they are in now is the one from the beach at Etvor Cliffs. That's right I spent about fifteen minutes figuring out the speed of storms and how fast they could travel. According to the dimensions of the map I made and my research, it would take about three days - just in time for this little development.