Trail of the Gods: The Morcyth Saga Book Four (8 page)

“Leaving so soon?” he asks.

“Afraid so,” she tells him. “The merchant we
dropped the shipment off to in Wurt has commissioned another one to
Bearn. And of course it needs to be there yesterday so we haven’t
any time to dally.”

“I understand,” he says sympathetically.
“The customer comes first.”

“At least now that I’m trying to make a name
for myself,” she says.

“Thanks for sending Shorty with the letter
and the crystals,” he says.

“You’re welcome,” she replies. “I knew you
were looking for them and there was no need for you to wait because
of some impatient merchant.”

“I appreciate that,” he says. “I know you’ve
got things to do, so come on in once everything gets settled.”

“I will,” she tells him.

He hears Jiron and Tersa catching up on
things with Stig and the others as he walks back to the house. When
he enters the kitchen, Ezra looks to him with a slightly strained
expression. “Don’t worry,” he says, “they’re not coming to
dinner.”

“We might have enough,” she says as the
tension begins to leave her.

Shaking his head, he tells her, “Delia knows
you haven’t planned for them and doesn’t want to drop in at the
last minute with so many mouths. She said they’ll fix their own but
will be looking forward to some of your cooking before they pull
out in the morning.”

Relief now evident on her face, she nods and
says, “They’ll not be disappointed.”

Next to her, Roland pats her on the hand and
says, “I’m sure they won’t be.”

James sits back down and finishes his meal.
Jiron and Tersa never make it back in by the time he’s done and
Ezra is ready to clear the table. He tells her to go ahead, that
they’ll not likely be back to finish.

He goes out to the front room and sits in
his favorite chair by the window as he watches them finish getting
the horses and wagons set for the night. Roland comes in and builds
a fire in the fireplace in anticipation of the cool of evening.
Even though it gets hot here in the day, after the sun goes down,
it tends to get a little bit of a chill in the air.

Outside, he can hear Jiron telling them
about the attack last night. Delia has her guards rotate watch
around the wagons in case of a similar event tonight. When all is
settled in, they break out their rations and have a quick meal
while the sun makes its final descent to the horizon. By the time
they’re done eating, it’s dipped below and the stars have begun to
appear.

Delia, Jiron and Tersa come over to the
house when they’re done eating, he notices Jiron is carrying a
small box. “Sitting by yourself again?” Delia asks him as she
enters through the door.

“It’s peaceful,” he tells her with a grin.
Nodding his head to Jiron, he asks, “What’s in the box?”

She reaches for the box and Jiron hands it
to her. “On the road I got to thinking about your shaving kit and
the knife you used to use,” she says to him. She opens the box and
pulls out a knife, similar to the one he had used. “I was thinking
that if you could do that with others, maybe we could sell
them.”

“Who would want them?” he asks.

“Any barber out there,” she explains. “Also,
those with sheep that need shearing may want them as well.” She
looks to him expectantly.

“It’s not a matter of if I can,” he tells
her. “But if I will.”

“What do you mean?” she asks. “I know you’ve
been wondering how to raise money for this place, having so many to
care for isn’t going to be cheap. And the money you already have
won’t last forever.”

He starts to responds when Jiron jumps in.
“You’re worried about people finding out, right?” he asks.

“Exactly,” he says. “If I started doing
this, there’s no end to the number of people that would flock here.
Each wanting me to make them something that they ‘desperately’ had
to have.”

“I understand your concern,” Delia says. “I
don’t plan on telling anyone where I got them. Your secret is safe
with me.”

He sits there considering it while they wait
expectantly. “If I do this, you must swear to never tell anyone
where you got them,” he insists.

“I swear it!” she says.

“How many do you have?” he asks.

“Ten,” she replies.

Nodding, he holds his hand out for the box.
“Understand that the magic that will enable them to work will come
from the wielder. They have to be aware of that fact or they may
get seriously hurt if they do it for a long period of time. If too
much is drawn from them, they could become weakened, even die
though I doubt if that is much of a possibility.”

“I understand,” she says, handing it to
him.

One by one, he takes the knives out of the
box and casts the spell on them that will allow them to cut hair
but nothing else. When the spell has been set in the knife, he lays
it on the side table next to his chair.

By the sixth knife, he’s beginning to feel
the effects of doing so much magic. At the eighth he can barely
focus enough to be able to cast it properly. When he finishes the
eighth knife, he sags back in his chair “Eight’s going to have be
it for now,” he says. “I can’t do anymore.”

She comes over and removes the final two he
hasn’t enchanted yet from the box and sets in the eight that he has
imbued with magic. “I’m sure this will do fine.” She looks at him
and says, “You look like you could use some rest.”

“Yeah,” he says, “I do need to rest. I don’t
think you understand just what that takes out of me.” He gets to
his feet and begins to wobble. Jiron is right there and gives him a
shoulder to lean on as he helps him to his room.

When they get there, James plops down on his
bed and before Jiron leaves, says, “Tell her to get another batch
of crystals. The same amount as before and that should be all I
will require for a while.”

“Alright,” he says as he moves to the
bedroom door. “You get some rest and we’ll see you in the morning.”
Before he gets the door closed, James is already asleep.

The next morning when he wakes up, Delia and
her caravan have already left. When he goes to the kitchen, he
finds the remnants of the meal Ezra had sent them off with. He
grabs a plate and begins helping himself to the leftovers.

Tersa comes in and sees him there and says,
“She wanted to say goodbye, but didn’t know how long you’d be
asleep. We offered to wake you up but she said it would be better
for you to get your sleep.”

“It’s alright,” he replies. “Where’s
Ezra?”

“She and Roland took the wagon to collect
the chickens from the neighbors,” she explains as she begins
cleaning up. “I promised her to get this place ready for lunch and
to feed everyone if she doesn’t get back in time.”

“Where is everyone?” he asks.

“Most are out collecting scraps of wood from
where they’re building the house and are planning on throwing
together a hut of sorts out by the road. I think Jiron went into
town for some reason or other.”

“Thanks,” he says. Sitting down with his
plate, he eats while she continues cleaning the kitchen.

“Do you like being here?” he asks.

She pauses in her work and turns to look at
him. “Yes, I do actually,” she replies. “I miss the City something
awful, but here it’s nice and peaceful.” Giving him a slight grin,
she adds, “Most of the time.”

“I’m glad,” he says sincerely. “I’ll
endeavor to preserve the tranquility as much as I can.”

He finishes his breakfast and then takes his
plate over to where she’s doing the dishes. “Thanks,” she says as
she takes it from him.

“If anyone needs me, I’ll be out at the
workshop,” he tells her as he heads for the back door.

“That’s where they look first anyway,” she
replies just before the door closes behind him.

Grinning at her words, he heads out to the
workshop. Just before he gets there, three men step out from around
the side. It’s the same three men that were turned away when he was
returning from town yesterday.

Oh, bother!
He stops as they approach
him and steels himself for the inevitable demands he knows they’re
going to make.
Am I going to have to build a high fence or hire
more guards?

Two of the men stop five feet from him while
the third approaches. “Excuse me, are you James?” the man asks.
“The wizard?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” he replies. “Now just how
did you get on my property?”

One of the two men brings something up to
his mouth and blows.

James suddenly feels a prick on his neck and
pulls out a small needle dart. He brings it up to look at and can
see a drop of his blood upon it. At first confused, then realizing
he’s being attacked, he calls the magic to defend himself. But his
mind is beginning to cloud and he’s unable to focus enough. His
equilibrium begins to falter as he tumbles to the ground.

The man closest to him says to the others,
“Pick him up. We’ve got to get out of here fast.”

Just then the back door to the house opens
up and Tersa steps out. “James, I just remembered…” she says before
seeing the men standing there. She takes it all in, the sight of
James lying on the ground and the three men standing next to him.
An ear piercing scream escapes her as she darts back into the
house. More screams echo as she races through the house and out the
front screaming for her brother.

From the end of the lane where Jiron had
paused a moment to talk to the guys working on the hut before
heading on into town, he hears her scream. “Tersa!” he cries as he
turns his horse back toward the house, kicking it into a gallop.
The others drop their tools and race after.

The largest man picks up James and slings
him over his shoulder. Turning away from the house, they begin
running toward the forest. Tersa’s screams continuing behind them
as she runs through the front door.

Seeing Jiron racing back down the lane, she
points to the back and says, “Three men!”

He nods and races around the house. “James!”
Jiron cries out as he rounds the house at a full gallop, his horse
quickly closing the gap. Seeing them carrying him away toward the
forest, he yells, “They’ve got James!”

Without even slowing, he rides straight for
them and crashes his horse into them before jumping clear. Two of
the men fall to the ground, the one carrying James continues on
toward the forest. Not taking the time to dispose of the two his
horse had knocked to the ground, he races after the one carrying
James.

The man glances over his shoulder and sees
the gap between them narrowing quickly. He abruptly comes to a halt
and drops James to the ground as he turns to engage Jiron. Seeing
his other two partners already on the way, he worries more about
defense, keeping him busy until help arrives.

Jiron closes with him, both knives at the
ready. A quick glance at James shows him to still be alive, if
unconscious.

He strikes out with his left knife which the
man blocks with ease and then comes back in with his right which
scores along the man’s side. Pressing the attack with vigor, he
lays into him with a barrage of blinding attacks honed through
hundreds of battles in the fight pits back in the City of
Light.

The man quickly realizes he’s not going to
win this fight and starts backing up, putting as much distance
between himself and Jiron. Looking over Jiron’s shoulder, he
realizes his partners are just about there.

Knowing what the man is doing, Jiron
continues pressing him, not allowing him the opportunity. Closing
again with him quickly, Jiron launches into a series of attacks and
then suddenly kicks out with his foot, shattering the man’s
kneecap.

With a cry of pain, he falls to the ground
at Jiron’s feet.

Looking back, he sees the men are almost
upon James and he rushes back toward them. All of a sudden, he
feels a sharp, poking sensation on his arm and he sees a small
needle dart embedded in his skin. Pulling it out, he throws it on
the ground as he continues moving to defend James.

His mind begins to grow cloudy and the world
starts to spin. Before he realizes it, he’s on the ground, not
three feet from where James lies. Unable to move, he watches as the
men approach, one’s leading his horse.

In a world that’s spinning and warping, he
watches as they quickly load James up on a horse.
His horse!
He hears one say, “Take care of Corim, we’ll not be able to take
him with us.”

“You can’t kill me!” the wounded man cries
from the ground.

“Sorry,” the first man says. “But we can’t
let you live to tell them where to find us.”

“No!” the man cries as his partner runs his
sword through his chest. Quickly wiping his blade on the man’s
clothes, he comes to Jiron and asks, “What about him?”

“He doesn’t matter,” the first man says from
the back of the horse. “Come on and mount up, we’ve not much
time.”

“We’ll not get far with the three of us on
horseback,” the second man says as he swings up behind the
first.

“Just need to get to our horses, then we’ll
be fine,” he says.

As they start riding fast for the forest,
Jiron hears more footsteps as Illan and the others approach.
“Jorry, see about Jiron,” cries Illan. “Fifer, Yern! Go back and
get our horses ready, fast!”

“Yes, sir!” replies Fifer as they race back
to the barn.

“Uther, I want you to follow them as best
you can,” he says. “Return here should they get away.”

Uther nods and then races after them.

“Damn!” he exclaims as the men are already
out of sight in the forest.

Coming over to where Jorry is examining
Jiron, he asks, “How is he?”

“Conscious, I think he’s been drugged,”
Jorry replies. “His eyes aren’t focusing and he’s not responding to
anything I say. At least he’s still breathing.”