Shades of the Past: The Morcyth Saga Book Six (25 page)

“We’re leaving!” Illan hollers, loud enough
to be heard by everyone. “Mount up!”

It takes but a moment for everyone to get in
the saddle and when all are ready, Illan leads them with all speed
southward.

He was sure he was a dead man when his hair
had been pulled back and saw the glint of the knife out of the
corner of his eye. Somehow the knife failed to penetrate his throat
and missed the jugular. Still bleeding from the cut encircling his
throat, the soldier feigns death as Black Hawk and his men ride
away.

When the sound of their horses begins to fade
away in the distance, he rises to a sitting position and glances
around at his comrades. None but he remains alive. Tearing a strip
of cloth from the shirt of a dead friend lying nearby, he binds it
around his neck to stem the flow of blood from the thankfully
shallow cut.

The caravan he was escorting had been on the
way to resupply those fighting the Kirkens. They will now be sorely
pressed to remain effective without the much needed supplies.
Getting to his feet, he stumbles among the bodies in a futile
search for another survivor but only manages to reaffirm what he
already knew to be true, he alone survived.

Just after he finishes checking the bodies of
his comrades, the sound of approaching horses alert him that others
are approaching. At first afraid that more of Black Hawk’s men were
nearing, he lies down and pretends to be another of the dead. But
when the riders draw closer he sees they are from the Empire.
Returning to his feet he waves them down.

“What happened here?” the commander in charge
of the riders asks. Among those riding behind him, the soldier
notices several riders who had been among those guarding the
caravan.

“They slew everyone,” he explains. “Somehow,
the man who cut me did a poor job.” He lowers the cloth to show the
commander his wound.

“How many were there?” the commander asks
after taking in the scene.

“Hundreds,” replies the soldier. “But
commander!”

The tone in the soldier’s voice causes the
commander to turn his attention once more upon him. “Yes?”

“They are planning to take Al-Zynn!”

“Tell me everything,” he commands.

Leaving the scene of carnage behind them,
they head fairly due south as fast as the horses can carry them.
Illan glances over to James where he’s checking his mirror and
asks, “What are they doing?”

Glancing up from the mirror, he says, “They
just reached the dead soldiers. The one we left alive is talking to
the commander.”

“Think they’ll take the bait?” Jiron
asks.

“We were pretty convincing,” Ceadric
says.

“Thought you had actually cut his throat for
a moment,” James tells him.

“So did I,” he admits. “Then I saw him move
his hand up to his throat and apply pressure to stop the blood flow
while attempting to appear like he was dead.”

James returns his gaze to the mirror then
says, “Looks like they did.” He glances to Illan and adds, “Riders
are moving at breakneck speed in all directions. The majority are
heading south, just to the east of us.”

“Makes sense,” Illan says with a nod. “That’s
the general direction of Al-Zynn.”

“We’ll have everyone after us in no time,”
comments Ceadric.

“That’s what we wanted,” states James. He
hated to kill those soldiers in that fashion but as Illan explained
to him, there was no one to spare to escort them back. No sense
letting go soldiers who will only try to kill them later on.

“With any luck all their forces will converge
on Al-Zynn,” Illan says.

“Would make things easier, that’s for sure,”
Jiron says.

While they ride, James periodically checks
his mirror for any hostiles ahead which they may have to deal with.
The area to the south is clear for the moment. Moving the image
back to the force behind them, he finds several enemy scouts
keeping an eye on them. Scrolling even further to the north, he
sees the force that had been heading toward Al-Zynn now turned to
follow them. The scouts must have reported their position and the
army moved to follow.

“They’ve turned to follow us,” he says, “and
are keeping their distance.”

“I would too if I were in their position,”
Illan states. “They don’t have the numbers to take us on. We don’t
have much to worry about unless they are joined by another
force.”

“Should we attack them?” asks Jiron.

Shaking his head, Illan says, “No. They’re
cavalry and would just run away.”

“Then what should we do?” he asks.

“Just as we are,” replies Illan. “Let them
follow and think we are oblivious to the fact they are there.”
Shrugging, he adds, “Nothing else to do I’m afraid.”

None like the fact of enemy soldiers
following them, but as Illan said, what can they do about it? James
keeps a watch on the pursuing force the rest of the day, worried
they may try something. But his worries are for naught as the enemy
force continues to maintain a discreet distance.

The sun droops to the horizon with the coming
of night and James announces that other than the force following
them, there are no others close enough to pose a threat. Illan
calls a halt and they set up camp.

They keep a wary eye on the force behind them
and through the mirror see that they too have set up camp. Once the
tents are up and the fires built, James calls a meeting of the
leaders to fill them in on just what they are planning to do.

Once they’ve gathered together, he says,
“We’ve done well so far.” Glancing around the group, he can see
their grins and nods of agreement. “Tomorrow we set a moderate pace
somewhat directly toward Al-Zynn, continuing to act in the manner
we have thus far, destroying caravans, attacking small forces
should the opportunity present itself. Though since riders were
dispatched by the force behind us and are now to the south of us,
possible encounters we can win are going to disappear as word of
our approach spreads.”

“But if we don’t set a fast pace aren’t we
likely to face even more forces at Al-Zynn?” asks Brother
Willim.

James turns to him with a grin and says,
“We’re not going to Al-Zynn. We simply want them to believe that we
are so they will move all their forces to its defense.”

He returns James’ gaze with a confused one of
his own. “Then where are we going?” he asks.

“Korazan,” James replies. “From the
intelligence gathered by Lord Pytherian’s agents, there’s a large
stockpile of supplies and weapons there.”

“Not to mention hundreds if not thousands of
possible recruits in the fight with the Empire,” states Miko from
where he sits by the tent flap. When Brother Willim appears to not
understand he says, “The slaves.”

His head nods as understanding dawns on
him.

“We have never intended to face the brunt of
their forces,” explains James. “We are simply here to create
unrest, do some damage so they will pull their forces from Madoc in
an attempt to get rid of us.”

“But there will be very few slaves who know
how to fight,” Brother Willim says.

Miko nods his head and says, “True. But you
don’t need much skill to wield a crossbow, the preferred weapon of
slavers. You have a couple hundred bolts flying toward a mass of
soldiers and no matter how inept the crossbowmen are, it’s bound to
be devastating.”

“Korazan is a big city,” Illan says, drawing
every eye to him. “We aren’t necessarily planning on taking it,
just the slaver compound on the outskirts. If the opportunity
presents itself, we may do more but that will be determined when we
get there.”

Delia glances from Jiron and James. “You both
have been planning this since we were last there haven’t you?” she
asks.

“Slavery is abhorrent,” James replies. “And
yes, when I first thought to enter the Empire to draw their forces
back to the Empire, I wanted to make a stop there to free what
slaves I could.”

“They deserve no mercy!” blurts out Miko who
lived as a slave for a time. The horrors he witnessed during his
slavery still haunt him at times.

“How can one who bears the Star say that?”
questions Brother Willim. “We priests are here to serve men, not
kill them.”

Miko turns his attention to him and says, “Be
that as it may, no slaver should ever be allowed to live and
propagate their trade.” He glares at Brother Willim a moment then
continues. “Besides, I’m not a priest in the strictest sense of the
word and I have no compunction whatsoever about the death of a
slaver.” Ever since he first came to possess the Star, his
vocabulary has changed slightly. Words he never before used have
begun to creep in.

Brother Willim gazes into his eyes a moment
and then shakes his head sadly.

“I concur,” adds Jiron. His sister Tersa had
been a slave for a time and to him that deserves some payback.

“Where do we go after Korazan?” Delia
asks.

James glances to Illan and then says, “Illan
will take the slaves and his Raiders back to Madoc. The rest of us
will proceed a little further into the Empire. With any luck we’ll
draw all the magical types after us, leaving only the ordinary
soldiery for Illan to contend with.”

“Where are we going?” she asks.

“I’ll tell you that once we split with
Illan,” he says. “Too many things may happen between here and there
and I wouldn’t want one of us to be captured and interrogated.”
When he sees the worry in her eyes, he adds, “Don’t worry, that
isn’t likely to happen.”

“I hope not,” she says, worried.

“The force behind us seems content merely to
follow along behind us,” Illan states. Then to Ceadric he says, “Be
sure to post extra sentries through the night. We don’t want to be
taken by surprise.”

“Already done,” he replies.

“Good,” says Illan.

The meeting breaks up and they each file out
of James’ tent to see about the respective men under their command.
Delia hangs back, remaining inside after everyone else has
left.

“Shouldn’t you go and see about your people?”
James asks her.

“In a moment I will,” she replies. Standing
there by the tent flap she can’t help but notice how much James has
changed from the man whom she and the others first met after the
fall of the City of Light. He’s so much more sure and confident of
himself and his abilities.

“Are you sure going to Korazan is the
smartest thing to do?” she asks.

“What?” he asks in reply.

“I mean, could this be simply a way to get
back at the slavers for the part they played in the death of your
friend Dave?”

Sitting down on the edge of his cot, he sighs
and looks up at her. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. Yes, I want
retribution. Yes, I blame them at least in part for what happened
to Dave.”

Dave, his friend from back home who managed
to follow him through to this world. Ravaged and tormented, soul
twisted until he became the willing accomplice in the Empire’s
attempt to steal the Star of Morcyth when James discovered it, only
to be consumed when he laid hands upon it. Anger still smolders
within him at those responsible.

“But there’s more to it than just that,” he
continues after a brief pause. “The economy of the Empire is based
on the slave trade. Striking a blow at a major slave marketplace
such as Korazan can only weaken it. There may be no immediate
results, but the long term effect could hurt them in some way.”

“I see,” she tells him, still not entirely
believing his rationale. “Well, see you in the morning.”

“You too Delia,” he says as she lifts the
tent flap and leaves.

Devin pokes his head in once she’s left and
asks, “Anything else sir?”

“No, Devin,” he replies. “I’ll be fine. See
you in the morning.”

Nodding, Devin backs out and closes the
flap.

Getting ready to sleep, James thinks about
what Delia had said. Their whole society is based on the slave
trade and if it were to be in jeopardy, they would have to do
something or face economic ruin. With any luck, they’ll recognize
that.

Lying down, he goes over in his mind the plan
for the days ahead and fervently hopes it will be enough to not
only draw their forces out of Madoc but also to enable them to
return to Madoc once it’s done. Eventually though, sleep wins out
and he passes into unconsciousness.

“
Which one, which one?” he mumbles to
himself as he glances around the midway. A single ticket is
clutched in his hand and he wants to make sure he doesn’t waste it.
Seeing a roller coaster off to one side, he makes his mind up and
heads toward it.

As he makes his way through the various
stalls and rides where the carnies are shouting out their various
pitches to entice him to visit whatever they are in charge of, he
has the feeling that he’s been here before.

“
Probably resembles one I’ve been to back
home,” he reasons.

The coaster is currently moving upon the
rails, traveling with incredible speed as it twists and turns first
up one way then down the other. The thrill of it surges through him
as he hurries to be the first in line.

Upon reaching the front of the line, he
realizes he’s the only one who will be riding on the next turn.
Thinking this odd, he turns and glances back over the midway and
realizes that except for himself, the only others there at the
carnival are the carnies. Not thinking anymore about it, he stands
there and waits for the coaster to finish its run.

It makes a final loop and then begins to
head in to the loading dock. Before it has a chance to come to a
stop, he catches a glimpse of golden hair out of the corner of his
eye. Turning his head he finds a golden haired girl making her way
past the roller coaster.