Tides of Faith: Travail of The Dark Mage Book Two (46 page)

A half-eaten dried apple and a strip
of jerky saved from dinner rested in her pocket. She hoped her
Little Brother would be around, the one with a dark patch in the
shape of a crescent moon around the outer edge of its left eye.
Seeing that Scar’s attention was focused away from where she lay,
Jira slowly crawled from her bedroll and tip-toed to the opposite
side of camp, then disappeared into the dark.

“Jiron!”

Tinok’s voice rang out in the early
predawn light. Seeing his friend gaze his way, Tinok waved him
over.

A bank of clouds tinged red by the as
yet un-risen sun drifted lazily their way, foreshadowing inclement
weather. Tinok had the early morning watch and was some hundred
feet from camp. Jiron hurried over.

Before he reached his side, the knife
fighter saw the grisly sight. Blood was everywhere along with
mangled and shredded pieces of flesh and bone.

“What happened?”

Tinok shook his head. Bending low, he
used a stick to flip over one of the larger chunks. Dark fur
covered the other side. “Looks like some kind of animal was
slaughtered.” He let the chunk go and turned back toward Jiron.
“Blood’s still fresh. Couldn’t have happened too long
ago.”

Jiron flashed him a questioning look
and Tinok nodded. “Last night while we slept.”

Others from the camp began to
gather.

“Any idea what kind of creature this
was?” Kip asked.

Tinok used his stick to move the head
in order to get a better look at it. “I’d say some kind of dog.
There are definite canine features and teeth.”

James took in the sheer size of the
remains. “Never seen one this big.”

“Neither have we,” agreed
Scar.

“But we get the next one.”

Everyone turned to
Potbelly.

The Pit Master shrugged. “Would make a
good show in the Pits.”

James rolled his eyes and sighed. “So,
no one heard anything?”

Everyone shook their head.

“How is that possible?” asked Shorty.
“This close to our camp we had to have heard something.”

“Magic?” asked Jiron.

“Not that I noticed.” James turned to
his apprentices and they shook their heads.

Jiron started to ask Azhan a question
but then stopped. He looked around the group. “Where’s
Jira?”

“Jira!” he shouted.

Instantly his knife was in his hand as
he raced back to camp.

“Jira!”

Movement in the camp drew his
attention. His pace slowed when he saw her rise from her
bedroll.

“Father?” she asked
sleepily.

He sheathed his knife. “We’re getting
ready to head out.”

“Yes, Father.”

“…
might have wandered this
far,” James was saying as he returned to the grisly
scene.

“Wandered?” Jiron asked.

“From
The Waste
.”

“Could be,” agreed Father Vickor.
“Lots of open, uninhabited land between here and there. Unlikely to
encounter anyone.”

“But that still does not explain how
it was killed so close to our camp and no one heard a
thing.”

Miko nodded. “At least no one was
hurt.”

James stared at the beast’s remains
for a moment longer. “From this point on, we double the
guard.”

“Agreed.”

He glanced to Jiron. “Set up a
schedule. Make sure my, uh, apprentices are paired with either me
or Miko.”

“Will do.”

“Now,” James said as he glanced to the
brightening horizon, “let’s get out of here before more wander this
way.”

The sun broke above the horizon as the
group set out. With the memory of the grisly scene still fresh in
their minds, they scanned the horizon nearly continuously. Most
gazed with worry and trepidation, two, however, did so with
anticipation.

“Pit three might be large enough for
it,” Potbelly was saying.

“I don’t know,” argued Scar. “From the
size of the remains I’d say we would need something
larger.”

“Well, we have been thinking about
expanding,” replied Potbelly. “Might have enough saved to buy out
the neighboring block.”

Scar laughed.

“What?” his fellow Pit Master
asked.

“It wasn’t so long ago we barely had
two coppers to rub together. Now we’re talking about buying an
entire city block.”

“Going to need additional barracks;
not to mention a larger building for the healers,” Potbelly added.
“The temples get a bit pricey.”

“I heard that,” Miko
hollered.

As his priests gained experience, more
and more showed an aptitude for healing. He lent them to the Pit
Masters for a fee. While less expensive than other temples would
be, his fees were still eating into their profits.

James grinned at his friend as the two
Pit Masters continued their speculation on the size of arena they
would need to construct and the hundred other sundry details
showcasing a creature that size created.

“I hope they are not expecting us to
catch it for them.”

Miko shook his head, then nodded to
the two pack mules behind the pair. “Supposedly, they brought all
kinds of magic items to aid in acquiring strange and lethal
beasts.”

“One born every minute….”

“What?” Miko asked,
confused.

“Just something a famous man said
where I came from; P. T. Barnum I think it was.” When his friend
continued looking confused, James said, “Means I think they got
cheated.”

“Ah,” he replied, then chuckled.
“Probably.”

The hills around which they planned to
skirt came into view several hours later. Riders, far off on the
horizon, most likely a patrol rode from the southeast at a hurried
pace. James brought his group to a halt.

“Azhan,” he said, calling his
apprentice to join him. “That the patrol you were
mentioning?”

The young mage gazed intently at the
riders for several moments before nodding. “Yes, Master. That would
be Captain Edi and his men.” Spying three robed riders he added,
“Three mages ride with them.”

“Know who they are?” Scar
asked.

“Akim, Hassan, and Farhad rode with
him last I heard,” he replied. “Cannot make them out clearly,
Master, so I do not know for sure if they still do.”

“Are they any good?”

“Akim has skill equal to mine. Hassan
and Farhad are not so powerful.”

“Well, we shall give them a wide
berth,” James said. “I do not wish for any more
apprentices.”

Jiron tried to hide his grin but
failed miserably.

“Wonder where they are going so
quickly?” asked Tinok.

“Don’t care,” James replied. “Just as
long as they aren’t coming this way.”

When it looked as if the riders
planned to ignore their presence, James got them moving once again.
Taking it at a slower pace, he had Scar and Potbelly take point as
they left the road and angled more to the east.

“Azhan, how far is their base from
here?”

“Not far, Master. There is a cave
within the hills with several buildings they use for storage and
barracks.”

The riders continued flanking the
hills until reaching the road where they proceeded to turn and
follow it south. Once the last rider passed from sight behind the
closest hill, James had them quicken their pace.

Ten minutes later, a massive explosion
erupted from the general direction of where the riders had gone. A
second and third explosion followed closely on the heels of the
first.

“Battle,” Hikai announced.

“I would think so,” agreed
Jiron.

Further concussions and flares of fire
rose above the hills. James’ skin prickled from the magic use.
“Think Lord Cytok is launching an offensive?”

“Likely,” Azhan agreed. “Battle is
very common in this area.”

“Scar, get us out of here before it
comes this way.”

The Pit Master nodded and they
quickened their pace.

For ten minutes the battle continued
to rage. At fifteen, the prickling of James’ skin began to grow at
an alarming rate. It felt as if magic was being used nearby, and it
was powerful. His apprentices were rubbing their arms as
well.

“Heads up,” he hollered. “Feels like
the battle may be drifting this way.”

Scar kicked his horse into a gallop
and they raced off nearly due east to put as much distance behind
them as possible.

Azhan felt the increased prickling of
his skin even though the sounds of battle drew further and further
away. Remembering what he saw back at Tapu just prior to the blast,
he turned his gaze upward.

Scattered clouds against a backdrop of
blue made for a beautiful scene. To the east a larger bank of dark
clouds promised rain or worse in the not too distant future. Yet it
wasn’t the spectacles of nature that captured his attention; rather
it was the large expanse of shimmering directly over their heads.
It took a moment but soon realized it moved quickly toward the
sounds of battle.

“Master…?”

James turned to his apprentice. Seeing
him staring at the sky, he turned his gaze upward. Others did as
well.

Kip was the first to notice. “What is
that?”

James shook his head when he finally
made it out. “I don’t know. Never saw it before.” Then he turned a
questioning look to Azhan.

His apprentice met his gaze and
shrugged. “I do not know what it is either, Master.” He paused a
moment before adding, “I have, however, seen it before.”

“Where? When?”

“Tapu. The night of the
blast.”

At that point the eastward edge
reached the scene of battle. Two explosions sounded back to back,
then a moment of silence.

James felt the prickling on his skin
increase to a nearly painful degree…

Wham!

The sky lit up with the most massive
explosion yet; a whole hillside exploded outward amidst balls of
fire. A second later, the concussive wave struck. Not nearly a
tenth of the degree generated at Tapu, but enough for them to feel
it and to startle the horses.

After that, the sounds of battle died
away as did the shimmering field.

James turned to Jiron and shook his
head. “They must have a powerful mage indeed to do that.” He
glanced to his apprentice and saw Azhan’s look of skepticism. “You
don’t think so?”

“I do not know, Master.”

Azhan glanced to Hikai who shared his
doubts, then turned back to James. “There are only a handful of
mages left who could command such power.”

“One must have been there,” Scar said.
“Perhaps Lord Cytok decided to end the stalemate in this region and
sent in his powerful mage.”

“Maybe,” Azhan shrugged, though his
tone said he didn’t believe it.

James stared off in that
direction.

“What do you think?”

He turned to Jiron and then glanced
uneasily to the sky now devoid of shimmering. “I don’t know.” The
prickling had completely subsided as well.

“Want to check it out?”

“Take a bit to return,” Scar
speculated indicating he felt it was a waste of time.

“Not to mention such a display will
assuredly attract notice.”

Turning to Miko, James nodded. “True.”
Then a moment later, he pointed to the sky. “And you have no idea
what that was?”

The high priest shook his head.
“Unfortunately, Morcyth does not tell me everything.”

To Azhan, James said, “Are there any
towns or villages nearby?”

“A few, Master. One less than an hour
from Captain Edi’s camp.”

James sighed resignedly. “We dare not
risk it.” Turning to Scar he said, “Let’s continue with as much
speed as possible.”

“You got it.”

Heading out with Potbelly at his side,
the Pit Master kicked the sides of his horse and raced toward
Cyzt.

A day and a half later, most of the
later half being graced with rain, the outlying buildings of Cyzt
came into view. Scar, Potbelly, Azhan and Father Keller went into
town to buy supplies while the others circumvented Cyzt and
continued on for another two miles to the south. Azhan was there to
mediate with the locals while Father Keller was there to watch
Azhan despite Miko’s assurances that he posed no threat.

“He wants to be a powerful mage more
than anything,” he told James. “And it is unlikely he would take
any action to jeopardize being The Dark Mage’s
apprentice.”

“I’m not going to bet my family’s
lives on it.”