Fires of Prophecy: The Morcyth Saga Book Two (30 page)

Even though it’s not getting dark yet, they
decide to stop for the night here. Pulling to the northeast of
town, they find a suitable spot for a camp and proceed to arrange
the wagons and picket the horses for the night.

Delia says to James, “I’m going to take Scar
and Potbelly with me to deliver a couple packages. Roland too.”

“Alright,” he says, “just be careful.”

“I will,” she assures him.

Once the others are aboard the wagon, she
turns it and begins rolling on into town. In the course of her
deliveries, she comes across a temple to Coryntia, The Hooded Lady.
If you light a candle in one of her temples after a loved one’s
passing, it’s said that she will help them to find their way to the
afterlife and not be stranded or lost along the way.

She pulls up to it and tells them, “I’ll
just be a moment.” Getting down from the wagon, she goes inside the
temple and approaches a table with many candles. Sitting in the
middle of the candles is a single silver bowl. Placing a coin into
the bowl, she takes a candle and carries it over to where a statue
of a veiled woman stands. A couple candles are already lit there at
her feet and she lights hers from one of the ones already burning,
before placing it alongside them. Kneeling down, she says a prayer
for Cassie, that she will find her way.

After several moments, she gets up and turns
as she walks back toward the exit. Once outside, she climbs back
aboard the wagon and then continues on with her deliveries.

Jiron has been moping around the camp ever
since Delia left, hurt that Tinok ran out on him. Tersa comes over
to James and asks, “What should we do?”

“About what?”

“About Jiron,” she says as she gestures
toward him. “I don’t like seeing him like this.”

“Not much we can do other than just be here
for him,” he replies. “He’ll work it out on his own, all we can do
is to simply allow him the time to do it.”

“I suppose,” she says, not entirely happy.
“But I feel so helpless.”

“I know,” he assures her.

Yorn comes over and joins the conversation,
“When the others return, we’re going to take him to get drunk.”

“Why?” she asks.

“To help him forget about things for
awhile,” he replies. To James he asks, “You want to come?”

“No, I’m not into that sort of thing,” he
tells him.

“Your loss,” he says as he wanders back to
the others.

From the wagon where Ezra and Arkie are,
they can hear poor little Arkie crying. “He misses her,” Tersa
says. “She always played with him after we stopped.”

“We all do,” he admits, “she was
special.”

A little while later, when Yorn sees Delia
approaching, he grabs Jiron and the pit fighters all head into
town. They pause momentarily at the wagon and soon Scar and
Potbelly join the group as it continues on its way.

When Delia gets to the camp, she asks James,
“Where are they going?”

“To get drunk,” he explains, “at least
that’s what Yorn said.”

“Hope they don’t get into any trouble,” she
states as she watches them go.

The first place they find is an old tavern
with questionable clientele. Walking in, they see the mangiest
group of derelicts this side of the gutter. “Perfect!” announces
Scar as they sit at a large table off to one side.

A woman with a small beard and a patch over
one eye comes up to them and says something that none can
understand. Despite the language barrier, they finally make her
understand that they want drinks. She brings them over several
bottles of a foul smelling concoction that makes their eyes bug out
and slightly burns as it goes down.

“Like mother’s milk,” Potbelly squeaks out
after downing a large swallow.

“I hope they’re not trying to poison us,”
Scar says as the liquid burns its way down to his stomach.

They sit there and drink for awhile, trading
tales both true and improbable when a group of tough looking men
walk into the tavern. They see them sitting at the table and walk
over toward them. When they reach the table, one of them says
something belligerently to them, which of course no one
understands. Their failure to respond only makes him all the
madder.

“What do you suppose is wrong?” Shorty
asks.

A man sitting at a table next to theirs
says, “You’re sitting at their table and they want you out.”

Jiron looks at the spokesman for the group
and he says, “No, you find your own table. This one’s ours.”

Even though he couldn’t understand the
words, he understood the meaning behind them. The man suddenly
reaches out and grabs Jiron by the shirt as he starts hauling him
out of his chair.

Jiron stands up while at the same time
swinging his fist with all his strength and connects with the man’s
jaw, sending him stumbling backward several feet into his
fellows.

Then pandemonium erupts as one of the man’s
friends takes a swing at Jiron and both sides join the fray.

“For Tinok!” Scar yells as he trades blows
with a large individual, finally sending him to the floor with two
quick blows to the stomach and then one to the face, breaking his
nose. Turning, he sees Shorty being tossed through the air where he
hits the wall with a thud.

The other tavern’s patrons quickly make for
the sides of the room or out the door to avoid becoming embroiled
in the fighting. Some join in, those who always enjoy a good fight
no matter the reason.

The fighting remains fairly even until the
town watch shows up. When Potbelly sees them enter he yells, “The
town watch!” They all turn to see a dozen uniformed men entering
wielding clubs, which they use to start felling brawlers.

Trading a few more blows, they turn and race
to the other side of the tavern where they dive through the windows
or run out the door into a side alley, to avoid being taken in. A
quick survey shows them all there and then they race down the
alley.

“Man that was a good fight!” exclaims Yorn,
wiping blood away from his nose.

“Just what I needed,” Jiron adds,
smiling.

Stig says, “I think one of my teeth are
loose,” as he wiggles one.

Walking down a little further, they find
another tavern where they’re able to resume their drinking once
more. An hour passes and they’re beginning to get fairly drunk,
having a grand time. A girl comes over to them and asks, “So, are
you boys new in town?”

“Yeah,” Stig replies as she makes herself
comfortable on his lap, “just passing through.” He places his arms
around her as she leans against his chest.

“I’ve got some friends who would like some
company tonight,” she says sultrily and she runs her fingers
through Stig’s hairy chest. “If you feel up to it of course.”

“How many friends do you have?” Potbelly
asks.

“Oh, more than enough to satisfy you, I’m
sure,” she assures him.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Scar says,
grabbing the bottle and then getting up from the table.

She gets up off Stig’s lap and leads them
out of the tavern.

James paces by the fire,
Where are
they!
Everyone else has already fallen asleep and it’s well
past midnight.
Probably passed out in the street somewhere.
Having to know, he takes the mirror out of his shaving kit and
concentrates on Jiron as he gazes into it.

Slowly, Jiron’s image begins to appear and
at first it looks like he has in fact passed out somewhere.
Broadening the image, he realizes they’re not passed out, but tied
up and lying on a dirt floor. He can see the others lying next to
him, some are struggling trying to loosen their bonds.

Damn! What did they get themselves into
now?
Unable to see much more, he puts the mirror away and goes
over to wake up Roland.

He gently places a hand on Roland’s arm and
gently shakes him.

“What?” Roland says groggily as he wakes
up.

“We got trouble,” James whispers to him,
trying not to awaken Ezra who’s lying next to him.

Sitting up abruptly, he looks around the
camp but doesn’t see anything. “What trouble?” he asks.

“Not here, in town,” he explains. “The guys
are in trouble and we need to go get them.”

Roland gets up, gently disengaging himself
from Ezra and then goes over to the remnants of the fire with
James.

“What happened to them?” he asks.

“I’m not sure,” he says and then explains to
Roland what he saw in the mirror. “But we better do something.”

“I agree,” Roland says once he understands
their predicament.

James goes over and wakes up Delia,
explaining the situation to her so she won’t worry if she were to
wake and find them gone. Then he and Roland head into town to try
and locate them. James makes sure that he has the belt with his
slugs around his waist just in case.

“How are we going to find them?” Roland asks
as they enter the town.

He moves over to a side alley and then
glances around to make sure no one is watching. “Watch,” he tells
him as he lets the magic flow and a shimmering, transparent bubble
forms in the air before them. In the dark of the alley it’s almost
impossible to see unless you know what to look for. “I’ve been
working on this the last couple of days,” he says. “Thought it
might come in handy in finding Miko when we finally catch up with
him.”

“Amazing,” Roland says as he reaches out his
hand to touch it.

“Don’t,” says James as he lays his hand on
Roland’s arm. “It would most likely disappear if you do.”

Taking his hand back, he says, “Sorry.”

The bubble begins to float away as it leads
them in Jiron’s direction. Several times it floats past people on
the streets, but in the dark, they fail to notice it. Whenever
James loses sight of it, he has it flash a very dim light until he
once again spots it and is able to follow.

It takes them through the city, all the way
to the other side, where it comes to rest near the door to an old
house with a single light emanating from an upstairs window. The
bubble starts to dimly flash in the dark.

“They’re in there,” he tells Roland as he
cancels the spell.

“Now what?” he asks.

As James approaches the door, he says, “We
knock and ask for them back.”

“What if they don’t admit they’re here?” he
asks nervously.

“Then I’m afraid I’ll have to insist,” he
says as he knocks loudly upon the door. When there’s no answer, he
pounds a little harder.

From the other side they hear footsteps
approach and the door opens a crack. A little old lady sticks her
head out, “Yes?”

“Good evening ma’am,” James says, somewhat
surprised to see such a harmless woman here. “I’m sorry to disturb
you in the middle of the night, but I have reason to believe that
some friends of mine are here.”

“There’s no one here but me,” she says.

From a window upstairs, Roland sees a shadow
move across it. “Someone’s upstairs,” he whispers to James.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you if I can
come in to see for myself,” he tells her.

“I’m not letting you into my home!” she says
sternly as she starts to close the door.

James kicks out with his foot, causing the
door to swing open and accidentally knocks the little old lady to
the floor where she begins calling for help.

Coming in quickly, they shut the door and
James says, “Gag her and tie her up so she’ll be quiet.”

Roland stuffs her mouth with a rag lying on
a nearby table and then proceeds to tie her hands behind her back.
“Sorry ma’am,” he tells her, feeling bad about doing this to an old
woman.

Hearing a creak, James turns to see a
younger woman standing on the stairs to the second floor. She has a
crossbow armed and aimed directly at him. “Release my mother,” she
commands.

James concentrates on the crossbow and the
wire snaps, rendering it useless. “Come here,” he says to her,
motioning for her to come down into the room.

“How did you do that?” she asks, fear in her
eyes.

“A little trick I picked up,” he tells her.
“Now, come here!” he says sternly.

When she hesitates, he says, “We have your
mother, don’t make this difficult. I only want my friends
back.”

As she comes into the room, fear in her
eyes, she asks, “What are you going to do with us?”

“That depends on how helpful you are,” he
tells her. Seeing that Roland has the mother secured, he indicates
the daughter and says, “Sit her down by her mother.”

Nodding his head, Roland comes over to where
she’s standing and takes hold of her arm and brings her over,
sitting her down on the floor near her mother.

“Now, where are my friends?” James asks
her.

Defeated, she says, “Downstairs in the
basement.” She indicates a door under the stairs she had been
standing on earlier.

He crosses the room and opens the door. He’s
greeted by the smell of alcohol coming from below. Glancing over to
Roland he says, “Keep an eye on them.” When he sees Roland’s nod,
his glowing orb appears in his hand and he descends the stairs.

Upon reaching the bottom, he finds them
lying there in the middle of the basement floor, tied up and
helpless. “Well, well, what have we here?” he asks as he makes his
way over to them.

“Glad to see you,” Jiron says.

Scar asks, “Man, how did you find us?”

James takes out his knife and cuts through
the rope as he frees Jiron. “Take care of the others, I’ll be
upstairs,” he tells him and moves to return up the stairs.

Over on a side table are their weapons,
Jiron goes over and retrieves his knives before beginning to cut
through Scar’s bonds.

When he leaves the stairwell and rejoins
Roland with the ladies he asks, “Now, just what were you going to
do with them?”

“Sell their weapons and them to slavers,”
she admits.