The Lost Princess

Disclaimer: This book is a crime and fantasy book, written by my bro and I, using the characters of Rick Riordan's Kane chronicles. So obviously, we don't own them ... OH and criticism is taken with much pleasure. Please share your thoughts.

Prologue

Julian walked slowly over the stone steps, squinting in the dim light, careful not to trigger any booby traps. The hieroglyphs that masked the tomb's walls had warned graphically the consequences of any carelessness. The sand crunched under his boots as he shifted his weight cautiously stepping over a booby trap line he had almost missed. If he had noticed it only half a second later… he tried hard not to think about it. He inched closer to the stone pedestal sitting the centre of the tomb, sitting on top of it, the lamp shone temptingly under the flash of Julian's torch. He grinned greedily as the reflected rays from the lamp hit his eyes. Aladdin's lamp, an artefact that was once thought to just be myth, was just about to be his. So much power was held inside the seemingly dull lamp and he stood now five feet away from achieving what even Indiana Jones could only dream of. Victory seemed so close he could taste it, just one little detail more and the lamp would be his.

To acquire this valuable artefact would require nothing less than genius, steady hands, unwavering concentration and a whole lot of guts. And what Julian lacked in skill he made up in guts, although some would call it "extreme cockiness". Separating the pedestal and the lamp from Julian was a five foot chasm reaching down to who knew where. Some legends say the pit had no end and those who fell would be trapped for eternity. Julian gulped as he poked his head over looking down into what might be his doom. He backed up about eight feet, swiped away the beads of sweat that rolled down his forehead as he tried to focus. He eyed the small ledge that ringed the lower part of the pedestal, just big enough for the ends of his toes to grip on; whatever he did he would have to reach the ledge in a single leap. Not an easy task, mind you. He tossed his coat carefully to one side, fell to his knees reaching his hands forward, positioning himself to sprint. His heart beat uncontrollably and for a second he was afraid it would jump out of his mouth.

In one fluid motion he shot forward in a blazing sprint focusing his eyes on the ledge. "Click" Julian looked down fast enough to see his worst nightmare. He had triggered a booby trap. He lost his focus thinking of all painful consequences. When he regained his focus he was just about two steps away from the ledge. And with too much momentum to stop he lunged forward. But his loss of focus paid off; he wasn't prepared.

His arms whipped forward as he plunged across the pit desperately reaching for the ledge that seemed almost impossible to even touch. Every second seemed like an hour. Time around him slurred as his life flashed before his eyes. 'This is it' he thought, 'good-bye cruel world". But then a sliver of hope stopped his heart …it looked like he was just going to make it. His arms and hands were stretched to the limit. All that mattered now was if he could make it… no, When he made it, was to get a grip on the ledge and pull himself up. Inches from contact his body awkwardly paused in the air .Time stopped. He looked around suspiciously. He didn't remember seeing this painted on the walls. A beeping vibrated through the tomb walls gradually getting louder and faster. It got so louder that he couldn't even hear himself scream. He felt a faint jerk in his body backward toward the pit. His heart jumped into his throat and he felt himself being dragged downward. He tried to reach for the ledge but the sound was so loud and disorientating he couldn't think. He was now jerked violently down into the pit and he felt the darkness enveloping him he felt his soul being ripped apart from his body. He was now completely encased in pure darkness, he couldn't breathe and he felt a sudden pain like he slammed onto his back. The beeping, the darkness, the suffocation and pain he couldn't help but scream.

Light filtered in Julian's eyes. He found himself encased in a cloth. Mummified? No. Julian was awake. He felt a small weight across his chest. He yanked the blanket away from his face and rubbed his eyes. He had fallen over the end of his bed and was wrapped all around in his bed sheets. Kufufu, the House's mascot monkey who occasionally crashed Julian's room, was sitting on top of Julian's chest wide-eyed and worried. Probably wondering why Julian was screaming. Kufufu picked up his Julian's head and inspected him closely, satisfied that he was okay he dropped Julian's head back down and handed him Julian's blaring phone with a sigh and staggered of to his bed on the couch.

Julian smiled at Kufufu's concern and squinted at his phone. "4:20 am" one day soon, he was actually going to sleep a full eight hours. He looked at missed calls and sighed. The A flashing entry read, "The demon Boss", he hit redial already dreading the coming day. "Yes Sadie." He fumed.

The Prologue is one of those prologues where it has nothing to do with the main story, so don't go crazy over his dream. Again, please share your opinions. Chapter 1 is coming right up. P.S this book's main characters are Julian and Jazz. TEEHEE!