Fires of Prophecy: The Morcyth Saga Book Two (3 page)

Jiron nods his head and replies, “Food’s no
problem, we have some stashed here as it is.”

“We’re all going to need packs to carry it
with us,” he says. “Can you get one for each of you?”

“Should be able to,” he replies. “I’ll go
out now and get ‘em.”

Yawning, James says, “I’ve got to rest if
we’re going to do this tonight. I’m still not over the effects of
the magic I used during the battle.” He settles down on the ground
and uses his backpack for a pillow.

The others go to the far side of the room
and confer among themselves quietly, allowing him some quiet so he
can fall asleep. Not long after James falls asleep, Jiron and Tinok
leave through the passage to attempt to acquire four travel packs.
Delia and Cassie remain behind.

A gentle shake awakens James and he opens
his eyes to discover Delia kneeling beside him, shaking his
shoulder. “James,” she’s saying, “wake up.”

“What?” he asks, sitting up abruptly.

“It’s night outside,” she says, “and they
haven’t returned yet.”

Coming awake quickly, he stands up and looks
around, Jiron and Tinok are nowhere in the room. “How long have
they been gone?” he asks worriedly.

“Several hours,” Cassie replies from where
she stands behind Delia. “He said they would be back before it got
dark. I’m worried.”

Concerned himself, James says, “Let me take
a look outside and see if I can tell what’s going on.”

“Be careful,” Cassie warns.

“I will,” he assures her. “I’ll just stick
my head out and see what the situation is like outside.”

The girls accompany him over to the passage
and watch as he makes his way through the rubble to the
stairway.

The passage is fairly choked with debris, he
can’t believe they managed to drag him through here unconscious
after the battle. At the stairs, he has to step carefully so as not
to dislodge any of the rocks and stones, the entire area seems very
unstable.

Nearing the top, he begins to see the
starlight being filtered through the bushes that have overgrown the
entrance. He reaches the top of the stairs and slowly and
cautiously, peers through the bushes to see what’s going on
outside.

He looks around and discovers that the
bushes are located within a corner of a city park, that’s wedged in
among several buildings. It’s not much more than a small grassy
area with trees, where the people could take their ease from the
worries of the day.

With only the stars above for light, James
can’t make out much more than vague shadows, but it doesn’t look as
if there’s anyone around. He remains there scanning the area for
several minutes before returning back down to the room.

“Didn’t see them out there,” he tells the
girls as he leaves the passage.

“What are we going to do?” Cassie asks, fear
in her eyes.

“I’m sure they’re okay,” Delia states with
conviction. “They know the area and Jiron is good at evading people
when he wants too. Besides, they may have had to take a longer
route to get back, or hole up and wait until they can once again
move without being seen.”

“I hope so,” Cassie replies.

“I doubt if we could make it out of here
without him,” says James. “We’re going to have to wait until either
he comes or we’re sure that he isn’t. So let’s just settle down and
get comfortable, it could be a while.”

The girls go back to their usual place, with
James accompanying them. They break out some of their supplies and
have a little snack while they are waiting for the boys to
return.

“So,” begins James, “are you two their
girlfriends?”

Delia laughs and Cassie blushes slightly. “I
grew up with Jiron,” Delia explains. “We are very good friends.
When he realized the Empire’s soldiers were within the walls, he
came and found me. Cassie just happened to be there with me, and I
wouldn’t go unless she could come too. You see, she’s my best
friend. He tried to locate his sister, but there were just too many
soldiers on the streets. So we headed here as quickly as we could,
occasionally having to hide and wait until the enemy passed by.
When we got here, Tinok had already arrived and we’ve been here
together ever since.”

“Do you think Jiron can actually lead us out
of here?” James asks.

“If anyone can get us out,” she says
confidently, “he can. That boy knows every street and hideaway in
the whole city.”

“Let’s just hope they make it back,” he says
wishfully.

“They will,” Delia says, “you can count on
it.”

They sit and talk for a while until James
begins to hear noises coming from the passage. All three look with
both hope and trepidation to the entrance of the passage and hold
their breath. Then, Jiron and Tinok step out into the room,
carrying four backpacks filled with stuff.

“Told you,” Delia says to James. Then to
Jiron she asks, “What took you so long? You had us scared to death
you weren’t going to make it back!” She stares him down with hands
on hip as he walks over to them.

“Sorry about that,” Jiron apologizes, as he
hands her a backpack.

“Yeah,” Tinok says, “we had to lay low for a
while. They brought in extra soldiers and are still in the process
of searching houses.” He hands his extra pack to Cassie.

“Seems they know there’s a mage here
somewhere, and they want him bad,” Jiron comments as he looks
toward James. “We overheard some talk between soldiers about
it.”

“Is this going to hamper our efforts to get
out of here?” he asks.

“Shouldn’t think so,” Jiron explains. “I
don’t think they’ve blocked the way I was planning for us to
take.”

“And what way is that?” James asks.

“Can’t really explain it,” he says. “But
trust me, the way should still be open.”

When Cassie puts on her backpack, she says,
“Just what is in here that makes it so heavy?”

“Some dried beef, water bottle, and other
essentials,” he explains. “There are also some extra clothes, just
in case.”

Once everyone has their backpack on, Jiron
leads the way through the passage, with James right behind. Tinok
is taking up rear guard with the girls in between.

They all wait at the bottom of the stairs
while Jiron goes to make sure it’s safe. “It’s clear,” he whispers
back down after scanning the park, “come on up.”

James begins to climb the stairs with the
girls close behind. He reaches the top and joins Jiron outside
while they wait for everyone to exit.

“Now where?” James asks once everyone has
joined them up top.

“Just follow me and stay close,” Jiron says.
He has them hug the wall while they make their way toward the
street at the end of the park. As they approach, marching feet can
be heard coming toward them from further down the street.

“Now what?” James quietly asks.

Speaking to all of them, he whispers, “Stay
silent and close to the wall, they should march right past us
without even noticing we’re here.”

Standing still and quiet, they press
themselves against the wall and wait. Soon the first soldiers
appear from the left and continue marching down the street, past
the park. Jiron’s plan is working, not one soldier even bother’s to
look within the darkened park.

Aaachew!

They all look to Cassie in disbelief as a
very loud sneeze escapes her.

Immediately the closest soldiers stop and
turn at the sound. They see them there, partially illuminated by
the few torches a couple of the soldiers hold. Both sides just
stand and stare at one another for a brief second. Then James
yells, “To the tunnel! Move!”

As if that is the catalyst everyone needed,
all hell breaks loose. They turn and race back toward the stairs as
the soldiers give chase.

As everyone reaches the stairs, James turns
and lets loose the power, attempting to slow the soldiers’
advance.

Crumph!

The ground explodes upward, tossing soldiers
in the air and pelting them with dirt and other debris. Several
soldiers had been in advance of the area that exploded and were now
almost upon him.

In a panic, James pushes out with the power,
literally tossing the onrushing soldiers backward, where they
collide with their comrades.

“The mage!” he can hear coming from the
street as more soldiers rush toward the park, starlight reflecting
off their swords.

“James! Come on!” he hears behind him.
Turning, he sees that everyone has already made it inside the
tunnel and Jiron is there motioning for him to follow.

James runs over and enters, flying down the
stairs. “What are we to do now?” he asks Jiron.

“We’re trapped,” Jiron explains. “There’s no
way out!”

When James enters the room, Cassie is there
in tears. She looks to James and cries, “I’m sorry!”

“It’s okay,” he assures her, though in his
own mind he’s not nearly as forgiving.

Tinok is standing at the passage entrance,
listening for pursuit. He turns and says, “They’re coming.”
Suddenly two knives flash into his hands as he stands ready. Jiron
takes up position next to him and two knives appear like magic in
his hands as well, flashing in the reflected candle light.

He looks to Tinok and says, “You ready?”

“Yeah,” Tinok replies with an evil grin.
“Let’s get it on!”

They stand there to either side of the
doorway, James and the girls stand a little ways back from
them.

Suddenly an enemy soldier comes into the
room, sword out, and Tinok closes with him. The soldier sees him
and strikes with his sword. Tinok easily deflects the blade with
one knife while following through with a thrust with the other,
piercing the man’s chest and puncturing his heart. The soldier
slides lifelessly off his blade to the floor as another soldier
comes through the doorway, into the room.

Jiron takes this one and almost as fast as
Tinok, dispatches him.

“You’re getting slow, Jiron,” Tinok says as
he closes with the next one to come in. Knives flash and another
body sinks to the floor.

The next soldier to come through is carrying
a shield along with a sword and closes with Jiron. Jiron deflects
the thrust of the sword with one knife as the shield comes and
crashes into his chest, pushing him back further into the room. The
soldier advances on him when all of a sudden one of his legs goes
out and he crashes to the floor. Tinok had hamstrung him from
behind as the soldier was closing in on Jiron. Jiron presses the
soldier as he lies there on the ground, blocking a cut from the
sword and avoiding the shield. He gets inside the man’s defenses
and slits his throat. He looks up to see Tinok battling another
one.

“Don’t need any help,” Jiron says to Tinok
with a grin.

“Sorry,” Tinok replies, “I’ll try not to
save your life next time.” His knives flash and another soldier
falls to the floor.

Suddenly there’s a pause as no more soldiers
come through the opening. Tinok turns to James and says, “Alright
Mr. Mage, you got any ideas?”

James suddenly realizes that he had been
watching the fighting, awestruck at the relative ease in which
they’ve been taking out the soldiers and not thinking about the
situation at all. Red faced, he begins pondering the situation
instead of wool gathering.

Another soldier enters, a veritable giant of
a man. Standing easily a head taller than either Jiron or Tinok,
covered in armor from head to toe, with a long shield on his left
arm, he enters the room and immediately engages Jiron.

The man’s sword is enormous and Jiron is
unable to get inside his defense. The blows from his sword pack
enormous power and when Jiron blocks a slash aimed at his
midsection, his knife is knocked out of his hand, leaving it
tingling.

Tinok is unable to go to his aid as he is
fighting with another soldier, this one of a more regular size but
carrying a shield. The soldier begins pushing Tinok back as another
soldier enters the room.

James makes his mind up and releases the
power. The ground begins to shake and from the passage leading from
the room, they can hear a roar as the ceiling of the passage
crashes down on those still within it. A cloud of dust fills the
room as Tinok and Jiron battle the three soldiers that had made it
in before the collapse.

The bull of a man is pressing Jiron, who now
only has one knife and is reluctant to close with him. He’s trying
to stay just out of reach and stall for time, hoping that Tinok can
finish with his two and come to his aid.

James scans the room but the only stones he
can find to use are the ones near the collapsed passageway, and he
is unable to reach them due to the fighting.

He tries to think of some sort of a spell he
can use when he sees Jiron fall to the ground and the man raise his
sword to finish him off. Cassie screams.

Seeing his chance, he releases the power and
the man is picked up and thrown against the wall. Bones can be
heard breaking as he connects with it. He slides to the ground, the
tapestry that had once hung on the wall, falls with him, covering
him as if it’s his death shroud.

James looks to Tinok as one of his attackers
falls to the ground, the man’s tunic under his left arm, now red as
his life’s blood flows from him. Tinok easily parries a series of
attacks from the remaining soldier, before slicing him across the
forearm, causing him to drop his sword. He twists and with his
other knife, comes in and thrusts between the ribs, piercing his
heart.

As the last attacker falls, Tinok turns and
looks at Jiron, “You okay?”

“Yeah,” he replies, “my arm’s a bit numb but
it’s beginning to get its feeling back. You?”

Shrugging, he says, “Got a couple cuts, but
nothing major.” He turns to James and says, “Now what? With the
passage blocked we got nowhere to go.”