Fires of Prophecy: The Morcyth Saga Book Two (8 page)

“Should we even be on this road?” Cassie
asks, nervously.

“There’s no one on it,” James explains, “at
least not right now. If we were to go further east, then we run the
risk of meeting troops going north. If someone comes, then there’s
always the mountain.”

She looks over to the mountain but doesn’t
look too happy at the prospect of going there.

Early afternoon, they pull off the road to
have some lunch and to rest the horses. They find an area to the
west, behind some of the rolling hills, which will keep them out of
the view of anyone who may be traveling upon the road.

“How are we going to get to Korazan?” Delia
asks.

“What do you mean?” Jiron asks.

“I mean, how will we get there without being
seen?” she clarifies. “Once we cross the border, we’re going to
stand out as northerners, we don’t even know the customs.”

Jiron and James look at each other and James
says, “Well, I hadn’t actually thought that far yet.”

“Did you think we would just ride in, find
them, and then be allowed to ride away free and clear?” she asks
incredulously.

“I’m sure we’ll figure a way,” Jiron assures
her.

She looks at them and says, “You’re both
going to get us all killed if you don’t do a little planning
ahead.”

“How?” asks James. “It’s true we don’t know
the customs, but there’s no way to learn before we get there
anyway. We may stand out now, but once there, we can acquire
clothing that will enable us to blend in.”

“Besides,” Jiron adds, “are they really
going to be expecting a group, such as ourselves, to be up to
mischief? I’m sure we can wing a plausible reason should one be
needed.”

“Then you better think fast,” she tells
him.

“Why?” Jiron asks.

She points behind him to the six riders
wearing Empire uniforms who are approaching their camp from the
foothills, three have crossbows loaded and aimed at them. One who
looks to be the officer in charge of the group comes toward them,
flanked by the remaining two.

They all stand as he approaches. “Well, what
do we have here?” he asks with a smile, coming to a stop a few feet
away.

Cassie clings to Delia while James steps
forward to speak, “Just some friends out having some fun is
all.”

“I see,” he says, a small smile playing
across his lips. “And what kind of ‘fun’ would bring you to this
area?”

“We we’re camping up in the mountains and
had come down to get some more supplies,” he explains. “We ran
out.”

“Ah, yes,” the leader says. “And what town
were you heading to for the supplies?”

“We don’t actually know where any are,” he
admits. “You see we’re from Lornigan over in Cardri…”

“But,” Jiron jumps in, “we figured if we
were to follow this road, it would eventually lead us to one.”

The officer nods his head and signals the
crossbowmen to lower their weapons. “Then you’re in luck,” he says,
“we were just on our way to a town just south of here. You’re more
than welcome to accompany us and purchase your supplies there.”

“That would be great,” James says. “Just
give us a moment and we’ll be ready.”

The officer nods his head and takes his men
a short distance away, where he speaks to one of them in a language
that none of their group understands. After a few short words, the
man turns his horse and races off to the south.

The officer sees James looking at the
departing rider and says, “He’s just gone ahead to keep a lookout
for rogues.” Giving James a disarming, charming smile he continues,
“You can’t be too careful.”

James comes over to his horse and gets ready
to mount, when Jiron places his hand on his arm and whispers, “Are
you crazy?”

James gives him a look of desperation and
replies in a hushed whisper, “We’ve got no choice. We’d never be
able to stop the crossbowmen before they fire, someone could get
killed. Let’s just bide our time, and see what opportunities
develop.” He mounts his horse and continues, “We can’t risk having
the girls hurt.”

Not happy about it, Jiron mounts his horse
as the officer and his men approach again. “Ready, are we?” he
asks.

“Yes, we are,” James replies. “We appreciate
the escort, though it’s not really necessary.”

Smiling a charming smile, he says, “Not a
problem, really. As I said, we were already heading in that
direction.”

The remaining man without a crossbow heads
out first, leading the way. The officer rides next to James while
his three crossbowmen take up position at the rear behind the
girls.

James is very uncomfortable with the
‘helpfulness’ of the soldiers. Having three crossbowmen behind the
girls doesn’t leave much opportunity to get out of the situation.
Trying to appear nonchalant, he asks the officer, who’s riding next
to him, “So what are you doing out in these parts?”

“Just on a routine patrol,” he replies,
“making sure no one makes mischief, that sort of thing.”

“What town are we going to?” James asks.

“The locals call it Mountainside,” he
explains. “Not a very original name if you ask me.”

“No,” comments James, “I suppose not.”

They ride for a short time before the town
comes into view. “Ah,” he says to James, indicating the town up
ahead, “there it is.”

Sitting at the base of the mountain is a
rather small town, even though it’s at a junction of roads. A
little over two dozen buildings are apparently all there is to it.
As they approach, James begins to realize there are no people out
amidst the buildings, just more of the Empire’s soldiers. As they
pass a few houses, he can see faces peering out from windows. Faces
full of fear and worry.

Suddenly very nervous, James glances back at
his companions and can see his fears mirrored in their faces. But
with the three crossbowmen behind, he dares do nothing yet.

They are led to a large, two story building
on the edge of town, where several soldiers are standing around
outside. One says something to the officer, who answers back in the
same language. James sees them smile and one even laughs a
little.

The officer stops his horse in front of the
building and says, “You can get what you need inside, I am sure.”
He gets down, handing the reins to a soldier who’s standing there
and starts toward the door, where he pauses. Glancing back at them,
he asks, “Coming?”

James gets down and the rest of them follow
suit. Then the officer goes in through the front door, leaving it
open behind him. They glance to each other, fear in their eyes, but
not knowing what else to do. The three crossbowmen are still
sitting astride their horses, looking casual but with the crossbows
pointed in their general direction. Not exactly threatening with
them, but they could definitely aim and fire in very little
time.

With James in the lead, they walk up to and
then pass through the front door. They enter a large room where the
officer is already seated behind a desk across the room. “Do come
in,” he says to them as they hesitate in the doorway.

“There’re no supplies here!” James says
accusingly as they enter the room. Tinok, who’s bringing up the
rear, is nudged in the back with something sharp. Looking behind
him, he sees one of the crossbowmen right behind him, the crossbow
close to his back. The other two crossbowmen have dismounted and
are following them inside.

The officer smiles at them and says, “Of
course not, I’m surprised you even believed me.” He gestures to
four other crossbowmen on the second floor balcony overlooking the
room. “Please, don’t try anything,” he says to James and the
others, “it would be, unpleasant.”

“What are you going to do?” Jiron asks.

A couple soldiers enter from a side door and
begin taking their things from them, including James’ backpack. “My
orders are simple; detain anyone passing through the area.”

They search them and take their weapons,
including the knives of Jiron and Tinok.

“What happened to the people who use to live
here?” Delia inquires.

“Alas, they objected to us being here so had
to be dealt with,” he explains.

“Dealt with?” she asks, afraid of the
answer.

“Yes my dear, dealt with,” he says to her.
“Now they stay in their homes and don’t bother us any more.”

When they’re done with removing everything
from them but the clothes on their back, they place all of it on
the desk. The officer says a few words to one of them in their
language and then turns to their prisoners. “Now, just follow this
soldier here and he’ll take you to your cell.”

“Why are we being locked up?” Tinok asks
angrily.

“Would you rather we just kill you now?” he
asks.

James can hear Cassie gasp and quickly says,
“No, that won’t be necessary.”

“Good,” he says, giving them a smile, “then
please follow along peacefully and you won’t be hurt.”

A soldier leads them through a back door
into a hallway lined with solid looking wooden doors, each
containing a small barred window. The soldier opens the cell doors
and has them enter, one per cell. He puts three of them on one side
and three on the other. Once they’re in and the doors are secured,
the soldier takes up position in a chair at the end of the
hallway.

James hears Cassie sobbing, but fortunately
everyone has the good sense to keep quiet while the guard is there
and can overhear everything they say.

“Don’t worry Cassie,” Tinok’s voice can be
heard saying. “I’m sure they’ll let us go once they realize we’re
no threat to them.”

James can hear someone enter the hallway
from the outer room and the footsteps pause before his cell. He can
see the officer looking in through the window in his door and then
hears him say something to the soldier with him. A key turns in the
lock and the door swings open, the officer walking in. Framed in
the doorway is a soldier with a crossbow who has it aimed at James
to prevent any mischief.

Once he’s in the room, the officer holds up
the amulet James bought from a merchant a while back, the same one
that ol’ One Eye had questioned him about earlier in the warehouse
back in the City of Light. “Where did you get this?” he asks.

“I bought it at a merchant’s stand a couple
weeks ago,” he replies. “Why?”

“Hmmm…” he says as he considers what James
had said. “Be that as it may, this changes things.”

“How?”

The man looks to James but doesn’t answer.
He leaves the room and James can hear him mumble to himself as he
leaves, “Yes, this definitely changes things…”

The soldier with the crossbow closes his
cell door and James is left alone to ponder what he just heard.
Why does having that amulet change things? That amulet must mean
something special, even ol’ One Eye was extra curious about it.
Unable to come up with any idea that makes sense, he just sits on
the floor with his back against the wall and thinks of his
options.

The hallway door opens and then closes as
the officer leaves the cell area. Jiron whispers, “James, the guard
left with him. What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know,” he replies. “It’s not too
long until dark, we better wait until then. Can you pick the
lock?”

“No, they took my lock picks when they
searched me. You?” he asks.

“Probably,” James responds. “Let me think
about it.”

“I’m scared!” they hear Cassie cry pitifully
from her cell at the end of the hallway.

“We all are,” Delia tells her. “Just be
patient, I’m sure we’ll be able to get out of this.”

“I hope so,” she says, as she once again
starts to cry softly.

“This was a stupid idea!” Tinok’s voice
rings out. “We should’ve taken ‘em out when we first met them. Now
there’s a whole lot more to deal with.”

“We couldn’t risk the girls,” Jiron
says.

“Think they’re any safer now?” he asks
angrily.

“Shut up!” Delia whispers sternly. “This
isn’t doing us any good!”

Everyone quiets down after that. James looks
out the little window that overlooks the back alley, but all he can
see is the rear of the building across from him.

Just then they hear the hallway door open
again and the chair creaks as the guard retakes his position again
at the end of the hallway.

They sit there for another hour in silence,
each occupied with their own thoughts. James sits by the window and
listens to the goings on outside, but aside from the sounds of the
occasional horse going by the front of the building, or
conversations in the Empire’s language, he fails to hear anything
useful. He contemplates several means where magic could facilitate
their escape and plans several contingencies.

Outside, the sun begins to go down and the
light slowly starts to fade. Suddenly, the door at the end of the
hallway opens and two soldiers come in and begin talking to the
guard. They exchange words for several minutes, then James can hear
them chuckling. The two men begin to make their way down to the end
of the hallway and stop outside of Cassie’s door.

He hears a click and then a squeal of rusty
hinges as they open her cell door. He hears them saying something
to her in their language, and then suddenly a cry from Cassie.

“What’s happening?” Jiron asks.

Tinok, who’s in the cell across from her,
says, “They’re going to rape her!”

“Jiron, Tinok, go help her,” James says as
he releases the magic. Everyone hears an audible click as their
doors unlock.

Without any thought but to help her, Jiron
and Tinok burst out of their cells and rush into hers. James comes
out and turns to the shocked guard at the end of the hallway.
Loosing the power, James slams the man against the wall, knocking
him out.

He rushes down to Cassie’s cell and finds
the two soldiers dead on the ground, with Delia helping Cassie to
her feet. Jiron and Tinok are standing over the dead men, with the
dead men’s knives in their hand, dripping blood.