Shades of the Past: The Morcyth Saga Book Six (37 page)

Dong…Dong…Dong…

The tolling of the bell announces it’s time
for the Assembly of Masters to gather in the Great Hall.
Kerith-Ayxt sits at the table in the secret room going over for the
last time the spells needed to bind Aekion to his will. A day’s
rest has restored much of his strength, he will need it for what is
to come.

When the bell tolls for the last time he
closes the book and comes to his feet. As he leaves the secret room
he says the word of power and the wall once again seals shut. He
dons his ceremonial robe and then leaves his room.

Aezyl, Mage of the Third Circle, awaits him
outside and walks with him as he takes the stairs down to the
bottom. “Everything is ready milord,” he says.

“Excellent Aezyl,” he replies. In the
courtyard outside the Tower of the Magi, all those not included
within the Assembly of Masters have gathered, even the novices who
have yet to achieve the rank of the First Circle.

As he exits the tower the assembled mages
part for him, creating a way to the Great Hall. A hushed murmur
runs through them as he makes his way through their ranks, for
though they may not know exactly what will happen, they know it’s
something monumental.

Upon reaching the Great Hall he begins to
climb the fourteen steps to the ornate double doors at the top.
Upon reaching the tenth step, two Mages of the Second Circle who
are standing before the doors open them for the Lord High Magus.
Once he and Aezyl pass through the doors, the Seconds close them
with a resounding thud.

All the mages gathered within the Great Hall
are dressed in ceremonial robes similar to his. Light from hundreds
of candles illuminates the Great Hall. In the center of the rotunda
lies the Great Seal of Power, upon which a pentagram glows darkly
with power.

Moving to his place at the apex of the
pentagram, Kerith-Ayxt readies himself. Coming to a stop, he faces
the assembled mages and says, “Let us begin.”

Before they set out for the mine, James takes
out his map of targets within the Empire that Lord Pytherian had
supplied him with. Laying it out upon the table he indicates a town
to the southwest. “Here is our next target. This town is used as a
supply depot for the army,” he explains. “Food, goods and weapons
are brought here from all over before being sent to the armies at
the front. If we can take out the storehouses and goods, it could
take them some time before supplies can be sent to the front.”

“Those will definitely be guarded,” Jared
states.

“I realize that,” he says. “We’ll deal with
that when we get there.” He then moves his finger along the road
leaving that town to the west. “From there we high tail it west and
cross the river here at Inziala.” He stops his finger over the
river town. “Once across the river we work our way north until we
rejoin Illan and the others.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Jiron says. Jared
gives him an odd look and he only grins in reply.

“Now, let’s go down to the stable and get
going,” he says. “Bring everything. I seriously doubt if we will be
coming back here.”

“You got that right,” agrees Jiron.

Leaving their room, they make it down to the
stables. Outside is quite dark, the sun has been down for several
hours now. Despite their attempt at being quiet, the stableboy
wakes up and comes to help them in getting their horses ready for
travel. When all is ready, James flips the boy another copper
before they mount.

They leave the inn’s courtyard and make their
way through town to the road leading up to the mine. The streets
are dark with only the moon overhead lighting their way. Once on
the road leading to the mine, they waste no time in hurrying
along.

A cool wind blowing off the mountain feels
good after the heat of the day. The sound of their horses’ hooves
reverberates in the quiet as they proceed further up the
mountain.

It doesn’t seem all that long before the wall
enclosing the mine complex appears before them. Torches are spaced
at twenty foot intervals along the top of the wall and several
guards are visible in the light.

“That’s dumb,” comments Jiron.

“What?” James asks.

“With those torches up there they won’t be
able to see much of what’s on the outside,” he explains. “Will ruin
their night vision.”

“I doubt if their greatest concern is what’s
on the outside,” James replies.

Jiron nods in agreement.

They pull off the road a ways and leave Jared
with the horses while Jiron and James work their way closer to the
wall. In the darkness they are able to come fairly close without
fear of the guards seeing them.

“I think this will be close enough,” James
says as he comes to a stop. The place he stops is a dozen or so
yards from the wall and twice that from the gate. He settles down
on the ground and Jiron comes to stand next to him.

At his belt is the pouch containing power
crystals, similar to the ones he used when the enemy tried to
locate him. He takes a few deep breaths to settle his nerves and
then glances up to Jiron standing next to him. “Get me out of here
if things go bad,” he says.

Jiron grins. He knows what he means by bad.
“Don’t worry, I will,” he assures him. It wouldn’t be the first
time he’s had to carry an unconscious James to safety after he
expended himself doing magic. Fortunately though, those times are
becoming fewer and fewer.

Closing his eyes, James brings forth the
magic and sends his senses into the mine. The mine is on a single
level that extends deep within the mountain. A moment’s hesitation
comes when he finds slaves still within the mine, but not nearly
the number that would be there during the day.

Jiron hears him sigh and asks, “What’s
wrong?”

“There are still slaves within the mine,” he
tells him.

“A lot?” he asks.

“No, just about a dozen or so,” he
replies.

“That going to be a problem?” he asks, afraid
of the answer.

James shakes his head and then returns to
what he came for. He takes his time in examining the stone
encompassing the mine. What he’s looking for are points where he
can take advantage of unstable sections of rocks to collapse the
mine.

As he searches, his mind keeps returning to
the slaves still within the mine. It doesn’t look as if they are
doing anything, might be sleeping. From what Miko had told him of
his time as a mine slave, these slaves may be undergoing punishment
for one thing or another and that’s why they are still in
there.

Then an idea comes to him. Searching for just
the right spot, he begins weakening support beams and widening
cracks in an area further into the mine than where the slaves are.
If he creates a cave-in, they may just run out.

After a few minutes, he can feel the rock
above the tunnel shift and begin to rumble. Then suddenly, rock
begins falling as the ceiling caves in. Moving his senses to the
slaves, he’s relived to discover they are now further toward the
entrance.

When Jiron initially had returned and
described the box canyon, he thought about bringing the side of the
mountain down to block the mine. But then when he came and saw the
complex in his mirror, he realized that if he did it would bury the
entire place and kill everyone. Sometimes he wishes he was a bit
less concerned with the welfare of others, sure would make life
easier. But he is, so now he’s trying to bring it down from the
inside.

They begin to hear noise coming from the
other side of the wall as the cave-in is reported. He realizes he
has to work fast before more slaves and workers are sent in to
clear it. Again sending his senses deep within the mountain, he
works on reducing the strength of the stone.

Crews begin rushing into the mountain to
begin clearing the cave-in as more tremors shake the mountain.
James begins to sense sections of the mine beginning to collapse as
the mountain gives out with a groan. The men who had so recently
entered the mine to shore it up are now running back out.

Then what he had tried to avoid happens. A
massive rumble courses through the earth as the side of the
mountain gives way. With a roar like a thousand giants going into
battle, rocks and trees begin to slide down the side.

Recognizing the sound from the last time
James had brought the mountain down on the trail back from Saragon,
he grabs him by the shoulder and jerks him to his feet. “Come on!”
he yells. Propelling him before him, he gets him moving quickly
back to where Jared waits with the horses.

“What’s going on?” Jared yells when he sees
them running toward him.

“Avalanche!” James hollers over the roar. “We
got to get out of here.”

Mounting quickly, they turn their horses
toward the road leading down the mountain and ride like their lives
depend on it.

From behind them, a belch of dust envelopes
them and blinds them to the road. Coughing from the dust clouding
the air, they continue racing blind down the road. A sudden flare
of light and James’ orb appears overhead to help them keep to the
road.

When the roar of the mountain falling behind
them finally grinds to a halt, they slow only slightly to prevent
an accidental misstep by their horses. “Go!” James yells when Jared
begins slowing down even further. “We’ve got to get out of here,
they know where I am and will be coming.”

Jared nods and then picks up speed again. The
dust cloud diminishes the further away from the mine they go.

Lights appear out of the darkness ahead as
citizens of Ki come to investigate what happened. Hundreds of
people are hurrying up the road, those on horseback leaving those
on foot behind in their haste to reach the mine. James cancels his
orb and plunges them back into darkness.

“Don’t stop for anything,” Jiron yells to the
others as the riders come near. The lead rider slows down at their
approach and starts speaking to them as they fly by. The man yells
something but then is left behind. Moving to the edge of the road,
Jiron takes the lead as they race past worried and fearful
townsfolk.

As James rides past, he can’t help but see
the worry and fear on the faces of many women. He knows they aren’t
likely to find their men alive when they get there. Sadness comes
over him a moment then he swallows it down and tries to concentrate
solely on keeping his horse behind Jiron and not on what he just
did to these people. Riding fast in the night, they soon leave Ki
behind as they race westward.

Sweat streaming down his face, Kerith-Ayxt
faces Aekion where he’s bound within the pentagram. Twice the
height of a man, Aekion towers over the High Mage. Wreathed in
flame, the heat coming from him is almost to the point of being
unbearable. He can feel Aekion working against the spells holding
him.

Tendrils of power come to him from the other
mages within the Great Hall. Several have already fainted away from
the exertion despite the power being taken from the slaves. They
started with a hundred and twenty two slaves, now only forty four
remain with a couple dropping every minute. And the spells that are
to bind Aekion to hunt for the mage have yet to be completed.

Aekion’s form shifts as he stands within the
pentagram. First the shape of a man aflame, then that of a wildfire
and then something even more bizarre. But Aekion always returns to
the humanoid form.

Kerith-Ayxt wrestles to place spell after
spell upon the creature before him. Another mage sags to the floor,
and then another.
This is taking more than I thought.
The
errant thought comes to him, disrupting his concentration for a
split second before he banishes it. Concentrating on the task at
hand, he steadily works to bind the creature.

When all but the final spell has been laid
upon the creature, the power coming to him begins to diminish.
Casting a glance toward where the slaves are being held, he finds
there are no longer any left to supply power. Panic begins to ensue
as he realizes he’s not going to have the power to finish what he
began.

Out of desperation, he yells to the mage who
had been draining the slaves, “The Novices!”

Nodding understanding, the mage rushes from
the Great Hall and shortly afterwards, the flow of power is
restored.

Returning to the flaming creature before him,
The High Magus completes the task at hand and lays the final spell
of binding upon the creature. When at last it is complete, the glow
of the pentagram fades and Aekion stands free before him. If any of
the spells he laid this night was not done with perfection, the
creature will kill him.

What would you have of me, master?

“A mage walks the Empire,” he tells it.
Between them a shimmering image begins to form and then solidifies
into an exact replication of the rogue mage. “Find this man and
kill him.”

Yes master.

The flames wreathing his body suddenly flare
to twice their brilliance and then Aekion is gone. Thus begins the
hunt.

After leaving Ki behind them, they ride for
several hours after taking the southwest road out of town. Wanting
to put as much distance behind them as they can, they push their
horses almost to the point of exhaustion before they decide to pull
off the road and make camp.

Throughout the ride, James was expecting
whoever tried to find him magically several days ago to attempt it
again. What he did at the mines had to have been a beacon telling
anyone where he is. Why they haven’t yet makes him wonder. No
matter the reason, he’s glad he didn’t have to fend off another of
their probing attacks.

Jiron tells him to sleep through the rest of
the night while he and Jared take turns at watch which suits him
just fine. Twice during the night, riders could be heard moving in
the direction of Ki. Neither time did the riders notice their camp
set back off the road.