Tides of Faith: Travail of The Dark Mage Book Two (83 page)

Five minutes later, the rowboat had
been raised and then lowered over the side just enough that it
rested even with the ship’s railing.

“
Okay, boys,” he said to
his apprentices, “Unleash the heavens.”

Lightning slammed into the forward
section of the shield surrounding the enemy ship. Waves leapt up to
break over her bow.

“
Let’s go.”

James hopped into the rowboat along
with Jiron, Tinok, Scar, Potbelly and Father Vickor.

“
Lower away,” ordered
Captain Anyn.

As they lowered them to the water,
James said to Miko, “Give me a couple minutes then have them
stop.”

“
I shall. Good
luck.”

Once the boat settled upon the water,
they removed the lines and drifted away from Captain Anyn’s
ship.

“
You sure you can do this?”
Shorty asked nervously.

“
I believe so,” James
replied.

After allowing them to fall behind a
ways, James closed his eyes, calmed his mind, then gathered magic
to him. A shield sprung up around the rowboat, then quicker than he
had anticipated, they sank beneath the waves.

“This is a most unsettling
experience.”

Father Vickor ran his fingers along
the inner side of the shield, beyond which swam a fish.

Twenty feet below the surface, James
concentrated on keeping the bubble spell active. The others sat and
looked in awe at the dark, enveloping water.

“My spells are unable to penetrate the
priest’s defensive magic,” James said. “Getting behind them is the
only way. Keep an eye out for the ship to pass
overhead.”

His plan was to sink beneath the
surface, allow the enemy ship to pass, then come at them from the
back. Hopefully, they would remain undetected throughout this
rather unorthodox journey.

At first, he wanted nothing more than
to destroy the ship and rejoin his family. Miko, on the other hand,
once he learned of what James intended to do, had argued for a
mission aimed more at intelligence gathering than
destruction.

“We need to know more about them,” he
had argued. “Who are they? Where do they come from? And more
importantly, what do they plan to do?”

Potbelly nodded. “And are they going
to be satisfied with just the island and maybe some coastal cities?
Or are more soldiers on the way for a deeper push into the Empire?
We need to find out what is going on.”

The argument that made his mind up was
“Are their attacks limited to this area? Or are other ships heading
for points west where we sent the others to safety? Maybe even to
Cardri itself?”

James agreed, they had to know whether
or not Meliana and Kenny were leaving one war zone for another. The
best way to do that was the capture and interrogation of one of
their priests.

Now, they sat in a rowboat encased in
a shield twenty feet below the surface. He had moved them out of
the enemy ship’s path so as not to encounter its protective shield.
Such an encounter while unlikely to dispel James’ protective shield
which would prove disastrous, would at the very least alert the
priest on board that something was afoot.

Not long after they had submerged, a
shadow passed across the light filtering down from
above.

“There it goes,” Shorty
said.

James immediately turned their boat in
pursuit. Keeping it under the waves, he gradually brought them
closer to the surface as they gained on the ship.

Back on Captain Anyn’s ship, his two
apprentices kept watch on a glowing orb.

“This plan is crazy,” Father Keller
said, and not for the first time.

Miko gave him a grin. “He has had
crazier. We must trust in him.”

“What happens if he loses his
concentration? Has he ever done this before?”

Thinking back to the ride on the door
across the desert, Miko replied, “In a way.”

“The Dark Mage can do anything,” Azhan
said.

“I would not say that,” Miko argued.
“He is a man, as any other. He merely has abilities greater than
most.”

Azhan did not look
convinced.

“It’s gone,” Hikai
announced.

The orb had vanished. Which meant that
James’ link to the orb had been severed by the insertion of the
enemy’s shield between him and the orb. That mean he was now behind
the enemy flagship.

“Then let us begin.”

A bowl of water rested in Miko’s hand.
Instantly, an aerial view of the enemy ship came into
focus.

“Now.”

Magic flowed from the two apprentices
and lightning slammed unrelentingly into the bow of the enemy ship.
Its shield held.

Water rose in massive waves as Azhan
bent the seas to his will. They hit the bow with incredible force,
breaking upon the shield as if it were a rock protruding from a
riverbed.

The enemy’s ship pitched with the
rough seas but otherwise remained unaffected. As an attack it
failed utterly, but as a distraction while James did his
thing…

Thunderous concussions hit them as
they breached the water. Twenty feet behind the rudder, James sped
up their progress. Spray fountained into the air as they cut
through the waves.

“Keep watch,” Jiron said. “If we are
discovered before gaining the ship things could get
dicey.”

Azhan’s handling of the water caused
massive swells to roll and crest all around them. It took every bit
of concentration he could muster to keep them moving forward and on
a somewhat even keel. Had they been at the sea’s mercy, they would
have overturned in seconds.

The rear of the ship remained devoid
of sailors; all eyes were focused upon the fleeing ship before
them. Thus far, it appeared their plan was working.

Minute by minute they gained upon the
flagship. James angled slightly to the starboard so as to avoid the
rudder. He came alongside. Once they were within inches of the side
of the ship, he took a deep breath, worked to maintain their
position while extending his senses to the side of the ship. A
moment later, his assassin spell caused a section of the ship next
to them, roughly four feet in diameter, to break free and fall
away.

Jiron and Tinok quickly scrambled
inside. Scar and Potbelly followed. Next came Father Vickor who
paused at the opening to extend a helping hand to James.

James cautiously made his way to the
opening while continuing to maintain the rowboat’s position. He
took hold of Father Vickor’s hand and once he had a foot within the
opening, shredded the rowboat with a series of assassin spells
before letting it go. Chopped into many pieces, it sank beneath the
surface leaving very little evidence upon the surface that they had
been there.

Holding his hand out the opening, he
gave a thumb’s up.

Miko looked up from the image in the
bowl. “They are in.”

Azhan and Hikai ceased their
attacks.

“Should I keep the clouds handy?”
Hikai asked.

Miko shook his head. “I do not think
they will again be needed.”

“Very well.”

The dark clouds above began to
dissipate.

Two bodies lay in a pool of blood in
the bottom of the cargo hold. It was packed full with barrels,
boxes and sacks brimming with food and weapons. Tinok wiped his
blades clean on one of the deceased men’s shirts before returning
them to their sheaths.

“It’s clear they mean to stay awhile,”
Jiron commented as James joined them.

“They have enough stores here to last
months I would think,” Scar added.

James gestured to the two dead
sailors. “Anyone else?”

Jiron shook his head. “No. We
surprised these two and quickly took them out before they could
raise the alarm.”

“I think they were shocked to suddenly
see a hole open in their ship,” added Tinok, then he pointed to
where a ladder climbed to the deck above. “And when we entered they
made a run for it.” He glanced back to James. “They didn’t make
it.”

Already the concussions of his
apprentices’ diversionary attacks had faded away. Miko had been
watching. Now it was up to them.

James nodded. “Very good.”

From his pocket he pulled forth two of
the magic-filled crystals removed from the enemy’s magical weapon.
“Here,” he said, “each of you hold out your hand.”

“What for?” asked Potbelly, his
reticence clearly visible.

Jiron held out his hand and James
tapped the back of it with each of the crystals. The knifer then
hurried to the ladder and climbed up to take a look.

James turned to Potbelly. “I’m having
them recognize you so the spells I embed will ignore
you.”

“Oh,” the Pit Master replied and then
extended his hand.

Each in turn extended their hands to
be tapped by the crystals. Once both crystals had recognized
everyone, James embedded the final spells.

Scar had a bag opened and was sniffing
a piece of jerked beef. After a quick taste, he put several more in
his pocket.

“Shame to waste all this
food.”

Potbelly stood next to a score of
small wine casks stacked neatly against the outer hull. He sighed
longingly. “Tell me about it.”

James just rolled his eyes and moved
to join Jiron at the ladder. The others followed. Potbelly had a
cask under one arm and two mugs in hand. He handed one to
Scar.

At the top of the ladder, Jiron had
the hatch cover lifted just enough to allow him to peer out to what
lay beyond.

“Looks like crew quarters,” he
said.

A row of hammocks hung across the open
space in tiers of three.

“Anyone?” James asked.

Jiron glanced down to him. “Doesn’t
look like it.” Peering back through the opening, he raised it
scrambled through.

Shorty came next, knife in hand ready
to throw. As the others made their way up, he and Jiron moved to
the only exit from the room; an opening leading to a passageway
running the length of the ship. Doors stood closed along its
length. Near the middle, a beam of sunlight shone down upon the
wooden floor. Another broke the darkness at the far end.

“It looks like there are two ways up
to the main deck,” Jiron told James as they joined him. “One in the
middle and another at the far end.”

“The far end would take you close to
the priest,” Scar advised.

Just then from down the hall between
the midsection access to the upper deck and where they stood, a
door opened and a man stepped out. Dressed in ragged sailor attire,
he had to have been an ordinary crewman.

He at first turned to head away from
them toward the light at the far end, but something caused him to
pause, and turn back toward where James and the others stood. His
eyes widened as he saw them standing at the end of the passageway.
Any sounding of an alarm he had been about to utter remained
stillborn as one of Shorty’s knives sank to the hilt in the upper
part of his chest.

Jiron bolted forward and finished him
off before the man had the chance to sink to the floor.

“We better make this fast,” he
said.

James nodded.

Jiron moved to the where a steep set
of steps rose to the main deck, down which came the sound of men
droning in a sing-song style.

“What are they doing?” Shorty
asked.

“Praying.”

They turned to Father Vickor. “They
are praying. I can feel it.”

“Why?” Potbelly asked.

The priest shrugged. “That I cannot
tell you.”

To Scar, Jiron said, “You and Potbelly
take Shorty down to the other end and wait for our
signal.”

“
Right.” To Potbelly, Scar
said, “Try to be quiet.”

“Me?” he replied in mock irritation.
“You’re the one that moves like a pregnant
rhino-lizard.”

His friend just grinned as they headed
down the passageway.

James followed Jiron as he sneaked up
the steps and to the opening at the top. Father Vickor brought up
the rear. At the top, Jiron signaled for the others to wait as he
peered at what lay beyond. After a brief reconnoiter, he came back
down a step.

“Everyone on the ship, other than the
two priests and the captain look to be in prayer.”

“Let me see,” James said.

Moving to the top, he peered out on
scores of kneeling men. Heads bowed and hands held aloft, they
chanted a repeating mantra. The two priests stood by the three
magical weapons at the bow. Their priestly glow surrounded them and
the weapons.

James closed his eyes and with the
barest amount of magic, sent his senses out to see what was going
on. To do so with such a miniscule amount of power took far greater
concentration than was usually required, but he dared not risk
detection.