The night was cold.

Zaran Stalk shivered in his thin gray clothes as he glared up at the wall he had to scale. Lady Winter had not been gone long and her chilled wake was enough to harden the moisture clinging to the wall’s stones, making his climb that much more precarious.

Zaran felt a slight thump on his shoulder. Reaching out, he grabbed the rope and pulled hard on it to check its strength. Satisfied that it was secure, Zaran began his climb.

Slipping only twice, Zaran climbed over the wall top and onto the castle battlements. To Zaran’s annoyance, it was even colder up here. He stood and coiled the rope around his waist.

“I was expecting someone bigger.”

Zaran growled at the comment and turned to his associate. “This is not a job for the empty-headed,” he hissed. The man was unruffled and Zaran was hard-pressed not to kill him.

The man across from him was well-built and of average height, standing with the easy confidence of someone comfortably in power. Zaran fought back a sneer, what a fool.

“The king is in the northern tower, three levels up.” The man said, handing Zaran a piece of paper. “He has two guards at the door of the study scheduled to be relieved in twenty minutes. Wait for them to change before doing anything.”

“Don’t tell me how to do my job,” Zaran snapped.

The man looked amused.

“You fire Elementals are always so grumpy,” the man said. “I trust you won’t foul this up Zaran of Xion, the Cluster doesn’t take well to this sort of under-handed warfare.”

The man grinned and left, lifting his hand in farewell as he descended the battlement stairs.

“Exactly,” Zaran hissed. Then he was running.

The paper in his hands was a map of the palace. His associate had been kind enough to mark out a specific path through the servants passageways for him to take. There were even helpful little notes written everywhere about the specific times certain people would be certain places. This man’s determination to kill his king was impressive. Too bad betrayal didn’t often bode well for the betrayer.

Zaran made it through the tunnels quickly with not a single incident. His associate would make a good spy if he weren’t so set on being a national traitor. Zaran grinned at the thought as he arrived at the little door that lead to the king’s study. According to the pompous big-head, King Micah Liora, ruler of Sironin and all lightning Elementals in and outside of the Astrian Cluster’s borders, would be on the other side, happily oblivious to his impending doom.