Shades of the Past: The Morcyth Saga Book Six (51 page)

“Possibly,” he replies, “though I’m not sure
how to go about it. Foreign languages were never my forte.”

Picking up speed, they once again race to
catch the force ahead of them. It isn’t long before the road begins
turning to a more southerly direction. All of a sudden, Jiron stops
in the middle of the road.

“What’s the matter?” asks James coming to a
stop as well.

Jiron is studying the ground intently. “I
think they left the road already,” he explains. The telltale signs
of their passing which have been evident since Bindles are no
longer present.

“I think you’re right,” concurs James.
Turning back to the north, they watch the road closely as they
travel for the spot where the force turned off. A mile back, just
after the road turned to the south, they find where the force moved
eastward into the desert. Turning to follow, they break into a
gallop.

An hour into the desert, they see the dust
rising from the marching feet of thousands of soldiers. They slow
when they come within visual range of the soldiers. At least seven
thousand strong, they look to mainly consist of foot soldiers. Only
a fraction are cavalry, maybe less than five hundred.

“Do you sense a mage?” Jiron asks.

Shaking his head, he says, “No. I haven’t
felt any other doing magic since before Kern.” Pulling out his
mirror, he brings his horse to a halt.

“Do you think that’s wise?” asks Jiron. “If
there is a mage with them it could get dicey.”

“I realize that,” he states. Glancing at his
friend he adds, “But we need to know the situation. Where are Illan
and the others? Are there any other forces converging with this
one?”

“Alright, I understand,” concedes Jiron.

Summoning the magic, James has the mirror
show an overhead view of the army ahead of them. He scrutinizes the
leading edge of the force and finds no sign of a mage among them.
Holding the image, he waits for a moment to see if the tingling of
magic comes to him. When it fails to materialize, he scrolls the
image further east.

Ten miles further ahead of the army lies a
river running north and south. Just to the east of the river lies a
major road running alongside of it. The road is packed with people.
Whole families riding in wagons, pulling wagons, or even carrying
their belongings on their backs are in an exodus to the north.

“Illan’s to the south,” he concludes. When
Jiron comes closer he shows him the image of the fleeing
people.

“That means this force is moving to work
ahead of him and cut him off from Madoc,” Jiron reasons.

“Looks that way,” agrees James. He scrolls
along the road to the south and it isn’t far before they find
what’s left of a bridge. The center span is gone. James smiles when
he sees more evidence that the seeds he planted within caravans
have worked. He scrolls as far as he can and still the road is
packed with people. Before he reaches the point where the draw of
magic is too great, he discovers another bridge destroyed.

Scrolling back north, he continues to scan
the road and finds a bridge that is still standing. “That’s where
this force is going,” he says as he shows Jiron the image in the
mirror. “All the other bridges south are destroyed and this is the
only way for them to get across.”

“So if that bridge wasn’t there they would
have to move even further north in order to cross,” reasons Jiron.
Glancing to James with a grin he says, “That would delay their
encounter with Illan.”

Nodding, James says, “We need to work our way
around this force quickly. Their advance units may already be
closing on it.” Turning back to the mirror, he scans the area
between here and the bridge and discovers a score of riders making
for the bridge. He then scrolls across the bridge and to the
east.

“Oh, man” he says as a force of over two
thousand foot soldiers appears coming from the north. “Another
force is on the way from the north. Looks as if they plan to meet
the ones ahead of us at the bridge.”

“Then launch an attack at Illan and the
others,” concludes Jiron.

Putting the mirror away, James says, “We
can’t let that happen.”

Kicking their horses in the sides, they break
into an all out gallop as they angle to the north. Staying just out
of visual range, they work their way around the northern flank of
the enemy.

Ta-too! Ta-too!

Off to their right an enemy scout spots them
and alerts the rest of the army. No longer worrying about avoiding
detection, they aim their horses directly toward where they believe
the bridge to be.

Another horn sounds ahead and the force of
twenty riders James had spied in his mirror earlier appear. The
riders are coming straight for them with the undeniable intention
of attacking.

Crumph! Crumph! Crumph!

The ground erupts under the leading edge of
the riders. Horses and men are thrown into the air as the charge
falters. When the dust clears, only six riders are continuing the
attack.

James slows his horse while removing a slug
from his belt. Glancing southward to the other force, he sees their
horsemen coming fast. Turning back to the six ahead of him, he
looses the magic as he throws the slug. Moving at the speed of a
bullet, it strikes the lead rider and knocks him from his horse.
Removing another slug, he again drops a rider to the ground.

Crumph!

Letting loose the magic once more, three of
the remaining horsemen are thrown into the air. The last man still
astride his horse manages to keep his steed from faltering. With
sword in hand the rider rides directly at them.

Jiron moves to intercept before the rider has
a chance to engage James. With knives out, he closes with the
rider. The enemy horseman strikes out at Jiron as he passes him on
the left. Jiron blocks the blow with the knife in his right hand as
he strikes out at the rear of the rider’s horse with the left.
Opening a deep gash along its hind quarters, the horse rears up in
pain.

The rider manages to remain in the saddle as
he works to steady his mount. Jiron quickly moves in and closes
with the rider. Lashing out with a knife, he almost connects with
the man’s side before his sword blocks the attack.

Again, Jiron lashes out at the horse and
scores another deep wound, this time in its flank. The blow severs
several muscles and the horse cries out again in pain as it
collapses. Vaulting from his horse, Jiron hits the ground and moves
to finish the rider who has one leg caught under his horse.

Working to extricate himself from the fallen
horse, the soldier tries to defend himself when Jiron closes for
the attack. His sword easily blocks one knife but the other finds
an opening and sinks into his side, puncturing a lung. Moving away
from the trapped, dying man, Jiron catches a flash out of the
corner of his eye. Turning to look, he realizes the flash was
another of James’ slugs on its way to take out a horseless rider
that had survived the earlier explosions.

“Come on!” shouts James. He indicates the
riders closing rapidly behind them.

Moving to his horse, Jiron leaps into the
saddle and they again race for the bridge. Still several miles
away, their horses are quickly becoming fatigued. The hard pace of
the last two days has definitely taken its toll.

Staying low in the saddle, they keep the pace
quick. The riders behind them gradually close the gap, their
fresher horses able to maintain a quicker speed. When the riders
have closed the distance to within fifty yards, they begin to see
people moving across the horizon.
It’s the road to
the bridge!

“Not much further now,” Jiron shouts. In
minutes they’ve reached the road and race alongside, the refugees
fleeing the approach of Black Hawk line the road so thickly, James
and Jiron are unable to use it. When the people who are on the edge
of the road see them coming fast, they quickly get out of the
way.

Behind them, the riders continue to close the
gap, now only thirty yards away. Fortunately they are as hampered
by the ebb and flow of the refugees as James and Jiron are so are
unable to gain any faster.

Then all of a sudden the river appears ahead
of them. James looks with horror at the jam packed bridge crossing
over the river full of women, children and the elderly.

Jiron sees it too and yells, “You have no
choice!” When he sees James hesitating, he shouts, “Do it!”

No!
Focusing on the ground
to either side of the bridge, he lets the magic flow…

Crumph! Crumph!

…the earth erupts in two massive explosions.
The refugees scream in fear as they flee. Tweaking the dust from
the eruptions, he forms it into a humanoid figure twice the size of
a man and has it begin to stalk toward the bridge. That’s enough
for even the bravest of those still upon the bridge. At the sight
of the twelve foot tall creature walking toward them, they turn
tail and race for the other side.

By the time James and Jiron reach the bridge,
the area is in total chaos. The creature has reached the edge of
the bridge and is beginning to walk across. James aims for the
bridge and races right through the dust formed creature. As he
exits through the creature and begins to cross the bridge, he
cancels the spell. Hooves thundering, they race across to the other
side. A gathering of people has formed a little ways from the
beginning of the bridge and he has to slow in order not to run them
down. With Jiron right behind, he clears the bridge and turns to
the right.

Behind them, the enemy riders have already
gained the bridge and are crossing fast.

Crumph! Crumph! Crumph!

Three explosions rip through the center span
of the bridge. The people cry out in fear as horses, riders and
stone erupt into the air. James slows as he gazes back. With a
crack, the center span of the bridge collapses into the river
below. On the far side of the river, the enemy riders who had yet
to begin crossing over come to a quick halt. None made it to the
other side.

“James!” Jiron cries out when he sees several
of the riders on the other side of the river remove crossbows from
behind their saddles. Turning their fatigued horses from the river,
they break into a gallop and head for the open desert. The people
on the road part quickly to avoid being run over. Soon, they are
out of crossbow range and the river is disappearing quickly behind
them.

Since leaving Korazan behind, Illan has led
the Black Hawk Raiders along the road north. With a wagon train
stretching out over a half mile, not to mention the freed slaves
that he’s brought with him, they have moved at a crawl.

From the weapon stores of the slavers and the
dead bodies of the enemy soldiers, they were able to equip most of
the freed men with armor and weapons. Those who had never wielded a
weapon before were given crossbows and formed into squads. The
women, children, and the few elderly stayed within the center of
the column as it marched northward toward Madoc.

Among the freed slaves, jubilation reigns.
When before all they had to look forward to was a life of misery
and servitude, now they are free with the hopes of remaining that
way. Surely if anyone can bring them forth out of the Empire alive
and well, Black Hawk can.

The rest accompanying him have a more
realistic appreciation of the situation. They know there are still
forces that yet lie between them and Madoc. None believe they’ll
simply be allowed to walk to safety. It’s simply a matter of time
before sufficient forces gather to strike.

Scouts are out in every direction and so far
haven’t reported sighting any other sizeable force. When a patrol
or caravan comes within striking distance, Ceadric takes several
hundred Raiders and takes them out. Whenever the enemy is
destroyed, they strip the dead of their armor and weapons. They
then take them back and arm what freed slaves that are still
without.

During their trek northward, the towns they
encounter are quickly taken. Soldiers are killed, slaves are freed
and given the opportunity to join them, and the shops are raided
for much needed supplies. A force this large goes through food
quickly. Illan gave the order that civilians are not to be accosted
under any circumstances. Any who give them problems were to be
brought to him for judgment.

So far the process has worked fairly well.
The first town they raided after Korazan, a couple of the new,
younger raiders took advantage of a young woman. When brought
before Illan, the young men pleaded their innocence but too many
had witnessed them taking her into the building. Illan pronounced
them guilty and left their bodies hanging from the eaves of the
building where the woman was attacked as an example to the rest.
Since them, there have been no reports of any molestation of
civilians by any of his men.

Another item the scouts were on a lookout for
were bridges. The sack of crystals containing the explosive ones
James had left him is now all but empty. Only two crystals remain.
Whenever a bridge was sighted, he sent Ceadric with the sack of
crystals to take out the bridge. He and his men would ride up to
the bridge where he would toss a crystal onto the center span. Ten
seconds later the crystal would explode leaving a large hole in the
center. A few were made more sturdily and required two of the
crystals to destroy it.

Earlier this morning while they were on the
move, scouts reported the fortress of Al-Ziron was but two days
ahead of them. A force of over a thousand men was estimated to be
garrisoned there. Unwilling to tackle a fortified fortress, he
makes the decision to leave the road and head cross country to the
northeast. With any luck he and his men will be too large for them
to attack, and those soldiers will remain where they are, allowing
them to pass by.