The Bewitched Soul 29 The Shadow Guard

"No need to hide," he spoke as he sensed someone's presence.

"Over there, behind the portrait." he continued flipping the pages carefully and slowly without looking that the portrait.

"Milord, my apologies. I was searching for Julius." a shadow slowly came out of the portrait.

"How can I see your shadow form?" Alexander was a little confused as Julius had earlier said that no one can see the shadow guards until they change themselves into their original visible form.

"I'm wondering the same, Milord." the shadow spoke as it bowed its head.

It was a ma.s.s of black smoke which could camouflage with its surrounding.

"Show your true self," Alexander ordered.

"As you wish,"

The black ma.s.s slowly started to swirl, Alexander watched it carefully with no sign of surprise. As the black ma.s.s of air vanished, a man appeared in traditional robes.

He was handsome from the depth of his eyes to the gentle expressions on his face.

"Greetings to the great King, Lord Alexander." he bowed placing his fist on this left chest.

"I'm Gruzus, the shadow guard. It's my honor to meet you, Lord Alexander." he maintained a stern expression on his face.

"Pleasure," Alexander spoke.

"Does the Dragon King, Lord Lucifer know that you're here?" he continued.

"Yes, he was the one who asked me to come here. The day I was caught by Julius, I was asked to serve the Vampire King in exchange for my punishment." Gruzus continued speaking.

"Julius saved me from the death penalty. Our shadow guard army is supposed to be a secret from the outside world. It was for my carelessness I was caught coming out of the wall without seeing Julius was just behind it. The Dragon King spared my life when Julius a.s.sured that this secret wouldn't be disclosed. He made a vow." Gruzus was grateful for what happened.

"Strange," Alexander spoke as he closed the book and kept it on the table.

"So, why are you here?" he continued.

"I am here to serve my new master," Gruzus bowed.

Alexander knew what was coming. It had something to do with his father and Lord Lucifer. Not digging deep into this,

"I hope you do your work with honesty and dedication," he smiled.

"My honor," Gruzus smiled back at Alexander.

"Lord Alex--" before he could ask something, he heard someone knocking the door.

"Come in, Julius," Alexander said calmly.

Julius entered the room, bowed before speaking

"Good morning, Master. I've found out--" he stopped in between when he saw Gruzus standing behind Alexander.

"You? And how --" before he could complete, Alexander interrupted.

"He was there right behind the portrait. I thought you'd bring him to me." Alexander smiled as he spoke.

"How did you see him?" Julius was shocked.

"I didn't see him. I sensed his presence in this room." Alexander spoke as if it was something usual for him.

"But, that's not possible," Julius spoke as suddenly something struck his mind.

He gave Alexander a deep stare. Now he knows why Alexander could sense the shadow guard.

"It's okay, nothing stays hidden from our great king." Julius smiled sarcastically.

Alexander glared at Julius.

"Okay, so this is our plan for today." Julius tried to escape Alexander's glare.

The three of them discussed the plan. Julius used an old map of the palace and started marking circles over certain regions.

"I met a little boy named Mathew. I came to know a little about David." Julius sounded serious.

"No is allowed to meet him because he did bad. This is what Mathew told me." he continued.

"The strange thing is there are no guards near the gate. His house is quite big as compared to others. And it looks pretty clean as well. I wonder what kind of punishment it is. He was once the Army head before Eliana replaced him. Eliana is the new army head of the witch army and Mathew's mother is a trainee warlock under her guidance."

"And where does Eliana live?" Alexander asked.

"I don't know," Julius spoke looking at the old map.

There was a sudden pin drop silence. Julius felt chills run down his spine. He looked up only to find Alexander glaring daggers at him.

"He was a little kid. And I forgot to ask him about this," Julius's voice was low while he spoke.

Gruzus couldn't help but laugh.

"I'll find out where she lives," he took the responsibility of finding Eliana.

"Thank you, Gruzus. I hope you don't disappoint me," Alexander spoke which sounded more like a taunt.

"I have a meeting with Lord Gerard after lunch. We will visit a few places as well after the meeting gets over," Alexander was hopeful and looking forward to the meeting and the visit.

Today was the most important day. If the plan will be a success, then it would be easier for Alexander to find the lost key to his vault full of secrets.