Julian could see on the table, in front of Spencer was a wristband, silver with a green jewel in its center. The jewel shined two different lights onto the wall like a colored projector, just as it would if Julian were to use his own wristband. He looked at his wrist. The jewel was glowing green; meaning one of the council members had tried to contact him. Julian winced. How could Spencer have an identical wristband? There was no chance he had one like this by accident. That sort of object was special to the Dunarian Council. Dublin had made them himself so the council could easily keep in contact with each other. The bands were made of magic with the ability to see who they were talking to, either in the jewel face itself or through the light of its projection. One could also simply choose to speak without any sort of visual. It was the perfect way for the Dunarians to communicate secretly with one another over long distances, yet there was Spencer, chatting away on his own. But to whom?
Julian needed to get closer if he was going to hear what was being said. He moved from behind the bookshelf to a table several feet ahead. As Julian shuffled over loose papers, Spencer’s head jerked up and his eyes narrowed, searching the shadows.
“What is it?” the voice said from one of the lights. Julian kept his head down, praying Spencer wouldn’t see him. He had no fear of Spencer, but being caught in the castle would force Julian to do something he wasn’t sure he wanted to do. Kill.
“It was nothing,” Spencer said turning around to the floating faces. “Rats, probably. This place is filthy. What of the Silas Ainsley situation?”
Silas Ainsley?
A deep, gruff voice answered the question. “He escaped me. Osric killed the boy before we could capture him.”
Julian finally managed to look up and was horrified at what he saw. Floating in the green light was the vilest face he had ever known. It was the face of the one who had been responsible for his father’s death; the one who led the company to attack the king of Marenon. Spencer was conversing with Maroke. Rage began trembling through Julian’s veins as he stared at the floating head. This confirmed everything. Spencer was behind his father’s murder!
“That means he’s somewhere in your part of the country,” Spencer said nodding to the other image. The image was blocked from Julian’s view by Spencer’s head, but the voice sounded too familiar. Who else could he be talking to?
“There’s no way to know if he survived the gauntlet,” the voice said.
“If he is who the Erellens say he is, he survived it,” Spencer said. “If he isn’t who they claim, then this whole operation is pointless anyway.”
“Not completely,” Maroke said, impatiently. “The boy is just a backup plan. When we get the medallions we won’t need the boy.”
“Yes about that,” the other voice said. “Garland Ainsley is overseeing operations, waiting to see if Kaden will bring Silas back. He will soon get suspicious and will begin searching for the boy.”
Who was the other person Spencer was talking to? Was Kaden dead?
When Spencer shifted his weight, Julian could see the face of the other floating voice and he almost wished he hadn’t. Ward Holden! A wave of anger hit Julian like a tsunami. Why was he conversing with these two? The interim leader of the Dunarian Council was supposed to be totally against the Stühocs and here he was, giving out key information to the enemy about The Reckoning!
“I assume your men are ready for Julian?” Holden asked.
“I have extra guards at every possible entrance,” Spencer said.
Not every possible entrance, Julian thought.
“He will not get anywhere close to the medallion tonight,” Spencer continued. “I made sure to have my key on me when he paid a visit earlier today. The key was missing by the end of our meeting, just as planned. He will be dead by morning.”
“Very good,” Holden said. “His defiance would be getting in the way of our work if he were still involved. The king still knows nothing?”
“It’s no secret the king and his brother have ill-will toward each other, but he would not condone a killing such as this,” Spencer answered. “You know how he reacted when we told him of his father. He knows nothing of Julian’s arrival.”
The two heads nodded their approval. Julian wanted to chop off Spencer’s head where he stood,