Zayd began the long walk back to his room, when Kamil came upon him and said, "I finished checking your room."
"Already?" Zayd replied. "All right, then. Where will you be now?"
"I'll guard the hallway outside your chamber for the time being. But I'm going down to the kitchen first. I'm getting a little hungry at the moment."
Zayd smiled. "Take your time."
Kamil bowed and went the other direction. Zayd walked to his chamber. Maybe Kamil wasn't so bad after all. He was getting worked up over nothing. Torin was absolutely right.
Zayd entered his room and shut the door behind him. He slipped out of his clothes into his nightclothes, stretching all the way. The bed would feel good tonight.
Zayd spied a picture on the floor. He reached down and picked it up, noticing that it was a family picture of him, his late wife Dora, and his son Zhorin. The picture must have gotten shifted around when Kamil was searching. Zayd put it back on the dresser and walked over to his bed.
A glint caught his eye as he passed the window. He had no idea what made him do it, but out of sheer instinct he hit the floor.
And not a moment too soon. A crossbow bolt fired through the window, across the room, and embedded itself in the opposite wall. It was lucky, but it had gone through the space occupied by Zayd's head not a moment before.
"Torin!" bellowed Zayd. "Kamil!" But he growled in disgust. Torin was no longer sticking close to be his security, and Kamil was in the kitchen. There was no way he would hear, so Zayd was at the mercy of this unknown assassin.
As it turns out, Kamil was a lot better than Zayd expected. The man came soaring into the room, his sword bared. "Where?" he demanded, and Zayd summed up what had transpired.
Kamil looked out the window, but there was no one there. Within five minutes, Zayd's entire Guard was summoned, Torin leading them in the search. The whole palace was in upheaval. There had been another attempt on an Imperial Lord's life.
05-Aug-2008 07:15:44
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