Stolen Heart - By Bennett, Sawyer Page 0,48

it fascinating that she could orchestrate the theft of such a well-protected and powerful magical object. The real question? What was her intent for The Scepter?

Walking into the city, Annika and Kieran kept a sharp eye on their surroundings. They would need to absorb every bit of information to make further plans. The streets were cobblestone and lined with vendors hawking their wares from small colorful tents. Most of the buildings were constructed of stone and mortar with wooden roofs. Large, exposed windows were built into the walls to let in as much air as possible in the dry heat. Luckily, the clothing of Balvraine was smartly constructed to deal with the elements.

Annika was wearing a light weight, cream linen dress that reached just below her knees. It was sleeveless and lightly belted at her waist. She wore leather sandals that laced up around her ankles. Kieran sported cream linen pants and a wrap around, linen tunic vest that was belted at his waist. Some men chose to wear a skirt like sarong, also of linen, but Kieran felt the pants were better suited in case he needed to fight. Most men wore sandals as well, but Kieran chose brown work boots, again, in case he needed to fight.

“Let’s walk to the palace so we can check out the points of entry as well as the types of visitors they let in,” Kieran suggested.

“Sounds good.”

They could see the top of the palace rising above the rest of the buildings. It looked to be built entirely of a pink veined marble with white columns. It had domed roofs and large open windows. It was quite pretty but surprisingly small for a royal home. It would make it hard to go unnoticed in such tight quarters.

Turning down a side street that looked to lead them to the palace gates, Kieran and Annika came out into a beautiful park. A huge lake sparkled blue in the sun, surrounded by palm and date trees. People were fishing in long, flat boats on the calm water and more vendors had tents set up to sell food and drink. Outdoor tables and seats dotted the area.

Kieran and Annika decided to sit down for a while and observe the palace gates. They purchased a few meat pies for their dinner and found a vendor selling a dark brown ale. Choosing a table closest to the gates, they settled in and watched.

There were two gates within their view. One appeared to be an entrance gate. Over the course of an hour, they watched as many visitors were turned away from the entrance gate by two guards standing post. However, some produced papers that gained them entry. The exit gate was not guarded and people exited at regular intervals. Most appeared to be palace workers as they all wore a uniform of brown pants with matching tunics.

Sipping slowly on his ale, Kieran pointed out the entrance gate. “You’re going to need to assume the identity of someone that has proper paperwork to get in.”

Annika nodded. “And once in, I can check out the entire palace and figure out our next move.”

“I suggest we mark someone coming out of the gate that appears to be a palace worker.”

“Agreed.” Annika swallowed the last of her ale and watched the gates.

Before long, they saw two young men leaving the gates together, dressed in the same brown uniforms. They were talking jovially with each other and once outside the palace gates, they waved goodbye and went their separate ways.

In unspoken agreement, Annika and Kieran stood up and followed the man that walked right by them. They didn’t have far to go and after a few blocks, he turned down a side street lined with small, one-story houses. They hung back and watched him enter the small yard bordering the front of one such house.

The door opened and a young female stood there with a smile on her face. Then a young boy, about five years old ran out the door and down the steps yelling “Daddy”. The man went down to his knees and scooped the boy up in a big hug.

“Seems like a nice family man. It’s going to be a shame to have to kill him in the morning so you can assume his identity,” Kieran said.

Annika whipped her head toward Kieran, a look of horror on her face. Before she could denounce that plan, Kieran just chuckled at her and said, “Gotcha.”

She responded with a sharp punch to his upper