“Brother!” Morgan cried out. “You must forgive me.” Tears flowed from the helpless king. His eyes darted toward the ground, knowing that only the slightest loss of grip would end his life.
“Please,” Morgan said, “pull me up!”
Julian held firm, but made no effort to pull his brother to safety. “Why should I?”
Morgan let out a wheeze. “I want to read the letter to you! It will change all that I have done wrong!”
“You can’t change what you’ve done!” Julian said. He felt his grip loosening.
“I swear to you,” Morgan gasped, “things will be different!”
Julian’s hold on his brother began to slip. “Yes, Morgan.” A single teardrop fell down Julian’s cheek as he looked deeply into Morgan’s eyes. “Things will be different.”
He saw the terror in Morgan’s eyes, as Julian’s weakening grip finally released.
It took only a soundless few seconds for Morgan to reach his crushing death five levels below the balcony. Julian stood too stunned to move. He watched as his brother’s body yielded to death. For a moment, Julian felt nothing. Had he just killed his own brother? Had he just killed the king? Spencer would know it was Julian. He knew he had to move because the guards would be there at any minute. He looked back to the floor of the balcony and saw the shattered whiskey bottle then peered once again over the ledge at his brother’s twisted body. For now the official story would be that the king fell from his lofty balcony in a drunken stupor. Few would discover the truth and those that did, would be people he couldn’t trust. Moment by moment Julian’s life was in more danger.
He ran back into the bedroom and saw the envelope and wondered if it really was for him. He walked over to it and snatched it from the table, staring numbly at the king’s red seal on the back, as it reflected the moonlight. Morgan had killed their father and all he could offer was a written apology. For a moment he considered ripping the letter to shreds, but then thought better of it. The less evidence he left of his being there, the better. He slipped the envelope inside his cloak next to the medallion, then made his way to the chamber doors and pressed his ear firmly to it.
Somewhere along the dark corridors, Julian could hear Spencer’s growling voice, barking out orders to find the intruder. The guards had to think Spencer was insane. There was no intruder anymore. Without detection, Julian flew down the stairs, finally slipping back into the room he had been in when he saw Spencer conversing with Holden and Maroke, and then into the corridors below. Spencer would begin to think that he had gone senseless or that Holden was playing him. He might even think that up until they found the king’s body and no medallion. Then it would be confirmed that Julian had been there. It would be in Holden’s hands then. But Julian had no intention of handing the medallion over to the traitor. He would pretend that there was no way he could get to it and that his mission had been a failure. Holden wouldn’t know what to do. There would be no way he could touch Julian within Dunarian walls. Holden would play it safe as he always had, unaware that Julian knew his secret.
The Humans of Marenon had lost a king that night and Julian had lost a brother. Julian did not know how the people of Marenon would respond to this; he barely understood his own feelings. In one sense, Julian felt emptiness and pain. In another sense he felt that the world was better for it, and so was he.
Chapter Seventeen
The night wind blew at Julian’s long hair, whipping it like a horse at full speed. The tears that had stung his eyes did not stay on his cheeks for long as Eden soared through the brisk, pre-dawn air at full speed. Morgan is dead. It was all Julian could think. I killed my brother. Julian couldn’t comprehend all of the implications that went with the death of his brother. There would be a new, probably corrupt, power to rise as the Humans’ leader. Holden would suspect what happened and would try to find a way to bring Julian down. And Julian was now alone.
The mother he never knew was still gone. His father had been gone for several years. And now, his brother was dead. There had never been much comfort in knowing that his brother was alive and well, but it had meant that Julian was not completely alone. He had always hoped that his brother would see the error of his ways and come to the side of light. But tonight had shown Julian that the side of light was grayer than he would have previously thought. Why was Ward Holden working against the Dunarians? What angle was Spencer playing, and why were the Stühocs working with Humans? What could they be planning? Spencer had told Maroke to be readying his troops, but for what? Who were they going to attack, the Erellens? Even Maroke would not be so brave, or stupid. There was no way that they had that sort of power. Unless they did possess the power and the Dunarians just didn’t know it, then all of Marenon was in a lot of trouble.
Julian clutched the medallion in his cloak as more hot tears rolled down his cheeks. Next to the medallion he felt the sealed envelope. What was Morgan thinking? How could any written apology erase the evil he had done? Julian couldn’t bring himself to read it, but neither could he destroy it. He knew that if he simply threw it out now, he would regret his decision, but the thought of reading the tyrant’s point of view on the death of his father, and the way that he brought the kingdom to ruin was sickening. Even in his last words his brother had tried to defend himself. The coward.
As Julian began to think of what lay ahead of him in the coming days, he considered what he had to do. He wondered if Alric Thirsk’s team would be able to handle the mission ahead of them. If everything went as planned, then they would have the medallion within twenty-four hours. He wiped his face, tired. He had been up the entire night and was running on fumes now. When the incident happened with his brother, Julian knew he had to get out of the Human capitol. The city would be going mad, and news of the king’s death would spread quickly across Marenon. Those in the inner circles would know what happened to the king. However, most would think that in a drunken daze, Morgan tumbled over the balcony to his death, which, in a way, was sort of true. Julian shook his head. Marenon will be ripping at the seams in the coming days, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
There would be no time for sleep in the coming night either. Julian would go to Jekyll Rock to give his report and be on his way to just outside of Timugo to meet with Alric and pick up the next medallion. Julian wondered how many days his own instructor had seen like this. Kaden. Kaden! What would be done about Kaden? He was trapped and caged like an animal in Mudavé with no chance of escape. His heart grieved for his friend and mentor, but what could be done? The only person that Julian knew he could trust on the Dunarian Council was Nalani. He didn’t know who else might have been keeping company with Holden. There was no way he could take a chance with anyone else. Perhaps he and Nalani would figure out a way to get Kaden back, but he knew now was not the time to focus on his imprisoned mentor. The future of the Dunarians was at stake and trying to rescue Kaden could not be his focus yet.
As the sun peeked just over the horizon, Julian flashed his green-jeweled wristband to the guard sitting at his post five miles north of Jekyll Rock. He quickly wiped his face and temporarily shook off any sort of emotional weight he might have been carrying. After soaring past, he touched the jewel again and thought about Nalani’s face and within moments the wristband was signaling her that someone needed to talk. There was no response at first, but after a few moments her face appeared in the jewel of the band. He had woken her, but she didn’t seem to mind.
She expressed her happiness to see him and he instructed her to meet him at the top of the east tower. Within a few minutes he flew past the closer towers and over the cityscape. The early morning sun gleamed bright onto the tower as he headed toward it. Eden dropped low and dove straight in, finally slowing her speed to a stop when she reached her comfortable stall at the end of the loft. As Julian dismounted, he saw a robed figure in the corner who he thought was Nalani at first glance, but the form emerged into the light exposing the figure’s face. Ward Holden had been wait
ing for him.
“Julian,” Holden said. “I trust the mission was successful?”
“Why are you here?” Julian asked, instinctively turning to close the medallion off from the traitor.
“I figured you would be coming in early and I wanted to meet you as soon as possible.”
“Is that so?” Julian was not prepared to face Holden so quickly. He knew he had to play dumb. There was no way Holden could have discovered that Julian witnessed the group conversation within the castle walls. For all Holden knew, Julian was as loyal to him as he had ever been. It took everything within him not to lash out and call Holden what he really was. Playing ignorant was all that gave Julian the upper hand.
“What of the medallion?” Holden asked.
Julian shook his head. “It was a suicide mission. I was able to steal the key off of Spencer early in the day, but when I finally got into the castle there were guards everywhere. I was nearly caught several times.”
A curious look came across Holden’s face. He stared at Julian seemingly not knowing what to say. “So, the medallion?”
“I couldn’t even get close to my brother’s chamber,” Julian answered.
Holden stood there now fixed on some inanimate object on the ground. Julian could tell he was trying to choose his words carefully.
“If we’re going to get the medallion from Morgan, we’re going to have to find another way. Sneaking into the castle was just too dangerous. It was almost as if they were expecting me.” Julian shrugged. “Spencer probably guessed correctly that I had stolen his key.”
Holden nodded. “We’ll figure something else out. It’s a shame you didn’t get it, though.”
Julian nodded. “I know. Alric Thirsk and his crew will surely pull through for us. When I get back from meeting with them we’ll sit down and decide what to do next.”
“And that’s tonight?”
Julian nodded. “I’m going to attempt to sleep some before I leave.”
As he spoke, the entrance to the tower opened. Thankfully, Julian thought. It was Nalani, dressed in a warm, green cloak. She had not been awake for long. Julian walked to her and hugged her tightly. Holden stood, gripped in thought.
“How did it go?” she asked.
Julian held her close, hating the fact that their leader was standing there plotting some sort of way to get rid of Julian since his first attempt had failed.
“Not good,” Julian whispered. “I’ll tell you more later.” Julian took one more look back and saw Holden still staring at the ground, deep in thought. For now, Julian had the upper hand, but Holden would soon connect the dots, if he hadn’t already done so, and Julian would need to be ready. As Julian and Nalani walked through the door, Holden called out to him.
“Julian!”
He stuck his head through the archway. “Yes?”
“What entrance did you use to get into the castle?”
Julian’s heart dropped into his stomach. Holden was testing him. If Julian told Holden of the underground passage, he may assume that the conversation was overheard. But Julian did not know whether the other locations were under close surveillance. There was no way to know, so he decided to keep it as vague as possible.
“Through one of the south entrances,” Julian said. “Why do you ask?”
“Which south entrance?” Holden probed.
Julian shrugged. “I don’t really know how to tell you that. There are several. What do you want me to say, the one next to the painting of the knight? I don’t know, Holden.” Julian knew he was talking too much for his own good and so he stopped abruptly.
Holden raised an eyebrow. “Just curious,” he said. “Go, get some rest. You’ll need your strength for the night to come.”
Julian hoped there was no double meaning to Holden’s words. With a nod, he walked down the stairs and out of the tower with Nalani, clutching the medallion inside his cloak the entire way to his room.
When they reached the room, Julian walked to the basin and splashed fresh water on his face. Nalani patiently sat on the edge of the bed watching him as he calmed himself. She could tell something was wrong.
Julian grabbed both sides of the basin and looked into the mirror. His tired eyes were sunken in dark circles. Stubble covered his face. He knew he looked rough. “I’m sorry I woke you,” he said not turning from the mirror. “I just felt I needed to see you.”
“I would be up soon anyway,” she said, smiling.
Julian wondered several times on the flight whether he should tell Nalani that Holden had betrayed the Dunarians. He wasn’t sure whether her knowing such information would put her in more danger. He had decided that when it came down to it, the best thing would be to tell her, for her to be on her guard.
He turned and faced her. “Holden’s in league with the Stühocs.”
Nalani stood abruptly, a look of horror etched across her face. “What? How could that be?”
“I saw Holden in a meeting with Spencer and the Stühoc Maroke. They are all working together to get access to the medallions.” He told her what was said in the meeting and how Maroke was told to begin preparing the troops for some sort of battle. He also told her of Kaden’s capture and that Silas’ fate was unknown.
“But if Spencer had the medallion then why would Holden send you on the pointless mission?” she asked.
“To get me killed,” he answered. “I have a feeling that Holden is targeting anyone who isn’t loyal to him, one by one. It’s no secret that Holden and I have never really gotten along. I would be the first to try and take him down. He knows I wouldn’t follow him down the road he’s taking.”
“What about the others?”
“I don’t know,” Julian said. “That’s why it’s important that we keep this between us. We don’t know who is secretly with Holden, so we have to pretend like I saw nothing.”
Nalani sat back down on the bed with a stare of disbelief stuck to her face. “How could he do this?”
“That’s not all,” Julian continued. “Morgan is dead.”
Nalani’s eyes shot to Julian, wide with disbelief.
“It was an accident,” Julian lied. “We fought and he charged me and fell off the balcony.”
He told her that Morgan had been drunk and that hopefully it would be the prevailing notion that Morgan died in an accident.
He failed to mention, with purpose, the letter that Morgan had left with him. He knew Nalani would expect him to read it then and there and Julian wasn’t sure if he wanted to read it at all.
He showed Nalani the medallion and he knew she understood the weight of what was happening. She had been in this as long as he had.
“Something big is coming, isn’t it?”
Julian nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
“What about Garland Ainsley?”
Julian’s eyebrows furrowed. He hadn’t even thought of the old newcomer, much less of how he might play into the situation. “I really don’t know,” Julian admitted. “He is either really convenient or completely inconvenient for Holden’s plans. I guess we’ll soon see which.”
They talked for a while about what might lay ahead and they both agreed that they had to keep on their toes and look over their shoulder every now and then. Nalani rested her arms around Julian’s waist and laid her head on his shoulder blade. He closed his eyes, feeling her warm breath on his back. He remembered Nalani’s words from the other day when she told him that she would give him an answer about his marriage proposal. As much as he wanted the answer, now was not the time to ask her again. They were all in danger and Julian did not want his mind plagued by Holden’s betrayal when he brought up the subject again. His thoughts eventually drifted back to what needed to be done next.
Garland’s involvement carried no meaning unless Silas Ainsley was to be found soon. Julian never cared much for Erellen lore, but if the Meshulan that the Erellens prophesied of was truly there, then Silas would be of some definite interest. Heroic tales and exaggerations surrounded
the stories of Silas and Garland Ainsley. No person was truly sure of what happened in those last few hours before Garland and the tiny baby he held during a battle disappeared.
Julian couldn’t imagine. It was said that Garland, or Barton Teague as he was known at the time, had rescued a baby that had been hunted by the Stühocs. It was rumored that the baby was the only Human to be born in Marenon. The father had been Garland’s son Will, but the mother was an Erellen. Such a union between Erellen and Human had been prophesied more than a thousand years before. The boy had been fought over because the prophecy had stated that such a union would bring about the Meshulan, which was the Erellen word for deliverer. The only problem was that it never stated whom he would deliver. It was assumed by many that if the prophecy was legitimate then the Meshulan would deliver those he was more loyal to. Therefore, all races and people wanted the boy for themselves. Those who raised the boy could lay claim to his loyalties in the hope that he would recue them from the oppression of the Stühocs that had plagued Marenon for so long. The group with the Meshulan would be the one with the power. As the various groups debated their right to this Human, battles and skirmishes raged throughout the land.
Then one day, in the midst of battle, Garland and the baby disappeared. They went back to Earth, though no one understood how. Now the man who had disappeared seventeen years before was staying somewhere in the same castle he had left behind.
Julian felt foolish about how he had treated the founding father of the Dunarians, but he still held firm to the position that no person should come in and try to take over The Reckoning, even if Garland did start it. He knew at some point Garland would become more involved and would be given more power. There was no denying that this would happen. Julian simply hoped that time would not come soon, so that he could finish his own part of the job without interference. But maybe it didn’t matter so much since Holden’s corruption had already hindered his position. Now Julian didn’t know whether he could even trust Garland. As far as Julian knew, there was no possibility that Garland could have been behind this plot with Holden after all these years. Garland had been the main player against the Stühocs. It was the reason for the start of the Dunarians in the first place. However, he did seem to come out of nowhere. Just when the Dunarians were beginning to act, there was Garland Ainsley, ready to serve. Either way, Julian trusted only himself and Nalani. There was no time to trust anyone else.
The Marenon Chronicles Collection Page 17