pretend to be on his side. Julian would have to watch his back until he could figure out the next best move.
He reached the top of the staircase, feeling confident that his location had not been discovered. Slowly, he tiptoed to the corner of the hallway and could see the king’s chamber doors shut tight with two guards in front, standing at attention. These guards never left their post. Their duty was to the king, and the king alone. Julian hoped they wouldn’t be too much of a bother. The hallway was long and led straight to the chamber doors. Another hallway ran parallel to Julian’s current position, but there was no way he could flank the guards from the side. If any person were in that hallway, the soldiers would know it. He crouched low, just out of sight and considered carefully what to do next. He did not want to kill these men and he did not want to be seen, but being seen would be unavoidable.
He stood upright and silently pulled his sword from his back. The attack would have to be swift and smooth. It would only work if they never saw him coming. He muttered a few words under his breath giving life to his sword when a burst of blue light shot from his blade, directly into the guard’s eyes. Instantly they covered their eyes, blinded by the brightness. Julian held his magic firm and intense as they cried out. Both of them tried to look up, but it was useless. They could see nothing, not even a silhouette. When Julian reached his foes he swung the hilt of his sword around, knocking the first guard in the back of the head, quickly swinging his fists back, he whacked the other guard on the side of the head. Both of them lay motionless. All they would remember was a bright light, then darkness, and a massive headache. He hoped that no one had heard the guard’s brief cries. He would have to be quick.
Julian pulled out the master key and quietly slipped it into the door and it turned with ease. He took one last look around. No movement. No sound. He glided through the doorway and shut it behind him without a noise. There was nothing stopping him now, but he had to hurry. Once Spencer and the guards realized that Julian was nowhere to be found, their first thoughts would be to make sure the king was safe. The unconscious guards in front of the door would certainly raise alarm.
Julian turned to face the royal room he had remembered so well as his father’s own bed chambers. A sudden sadness and longing for his father permeated his heart, but was quickly replaced by anger at how the kingdom had started crumbling under his brother’s tyrannical rule. Morgan had been too foolish for too long. He had allowed his kingdom to become a rotten mess.
He stared at the four-poster bed across the room where his brother slept silently behind silk curtains. To Julian’s left was a large window-paned door, where the king could step onto an expansive balcony and survey his kingdom from a safe distance. It was large enough to hold more than a hundred people comfortably, yet it only ever held the king and special company. The door was open wide and the wind softly blew the curtains inward. He glanced at the table next to his brother’s bed and saw what he had been looking for. In its glorious, shining majesty, sat the purple-jeweled medallion.
Julian crept to the table. Several rings scattered about, the medallion hung as he predicted, but there was something else that capture Julian’s attention. Next to the majestic jewelry was a sealed envelope. Julian’s curiosity reeled. It bore the king’s seal meaning Morgan had written what was on that paper with his own hand. He shook his head. This was not a time to be curious. He needed to grab the medallion and get out. Julian clutched the chain, from which hung a round, gold metal pendant inlaid with a purple jewel. The purple shined from its center and ancient Erellen symbols danced along its surface, indecipherable. He clung tight to the object and placed it deep in his cloak pocket.
“Were you just going to take the medallion or were you planning to kill me as well?” The startled Julian turned sharply as he heard the menacing voice behind him.
He knew it well. The voice that