Pulse

The two servants burst through the large doors, breathing heavily.

"Well?" King Nikolai began, rising from this golden throne. "Did you find him?"

They both began talking at once; their words jumbled together like music played by a trumpet as well as a bagpipe.

The king flushed and raised his hands to quiet them. Both of the servants fell silent. He nodded to the redhead on the left. "Saul, was he in the classroom?"

"No, Sire," Saul replied quickly.

"The dining hall?"

"No, Sire."

"The furnace room?"

"No, Sire."

King Nikolai turned to the other servant, a dark-skinned man, and inquired, "Juan Lee, was he in the ballroom?"

"No, Sire."

"The laundry room?"

"No, Sire."

"The washroom?" the king asked desperately.

Juan Lee stiffened. "Sire, all of the facilities are open and unoccupied."

King Nikolai heaved a sigh and sat back down. "Did you men have any luck what-so-ever in finding the fugitive?"

Saul and Juan Lee looked at one another nervously.

Nikolai sat up straight in his throne. "What is it?"

"Well... your Highness," Saul stated, taking a small step forward. "While I was searching upstairs, I just happened to notice that Kelvin wasn't in his room, as you had ordered of him--"

"Yes, yes, go on," the king urged, waving his hand.

"So, I searched his room. Although he was nowhere to be found, I discovered this." He pulled out a large, golden book from behind his back and held it up for the king to see.

King Nikolai stared at the cover, baffled. "...Where did you say you found this again?"

"In Kelvin's bedroom, upon his desk, Sire."

The king slumped back in his over-sized chair, scanning the room. "Impossible... Kelvin wouldn't..." he murmured. "...Then again..." He continued mumbling, his words incomprehensible to anyone besides himself. He looked over the exquisite paintings and golden decorations along the walls of the throne room, seeking some sort of answer within the cold, blank faces staring back at him. He gazed at the four granite pillars placed in each of the four corners of the room with little interest, until his eyes settled upon the one to his right.

A strange power emanated from it; a dull pulse slowly hammered its way into his very core. It was a strange sensation, like that of an old man taking his very last breath. The horror and tranquility merged together into one mesmerizing feeling that stirred inside of him. All the oxygen was forced out of his lungs with a barely-audible--hsssssssssss--as it escaped his parched lips, his eyes still glued to the seemingly-simple pillar.

Saul and Juan Lee glanced at one another, unsure of how to react to their king's strange behavior. Saul nodded in the direction of King Nikolai, urging Juan Lee to be the first to speak. The dark man swallowed hard, then stepped forward. "Err, excuse me, Your Highness, but if you would allow me to retur--" He was quickly cut off by a loud--SNAP! Saul stared at his comrade in terror as he crumpled to the floor, his neck turning red from the clean blood pressing itself against it. The man's brown eyes gazed up lifelessly at the pillar, as if pleading for mercy.

At this, King Nikolai snapped his head back to his servant in surprise. Neither him nor Saul uttered a word as they both turned to look at the granite pillar.

The king shivered. "Well, this is most definitely worth looking into. Would--" He cut himself off and stared at Saul, puzzled. He inspected the servant curiously. He appeared to be made of stone, his cold, green eyes also looking back at the strange pulse coming from the granite.

King Nikolai widened his eyes, surely frightened by the spooky events, but found that he could not tare his gaze away from the pillar. For a second, he thought he saw two eyes staring back at him from behind the structure, one an icy-blue color, the other of gold.

Before he could even think, his vision went black and he heard a nerve-wracking--CRUNCH--as he lost all consciousness.

r/r/e: It took a while, but I'm trying my best to continue this story. This chapter was pretty short. Sorry. Maybe the next one will be better and, hopefully, I'll be patient enough to make it longer. :) Thanks for reading!