Shades of the Past: The Morcyth Saga Book Six (53 page)

Before falling asleep, he glances over to see
Jiron by the window staring out into the night. Closing his eyes,
he relaxes and let’s sleep claim him.

“
Wake up!”

Fighting the fog of sleep, James opens his
eyes. It’s still dark outside and Jiron is shaking his
shoulder.

“We got company,” he whispers in his ear when
James stirs.

Coming awake quickly James abruptly sits up.
The sound of many horses fast approaching comes to him. All
vestiges of sleep leave him as he gets to his feet. He follows
Jiron to the window overlooking the direction from which the riders
are approaching. Pulling a slug from his belt, he gazes out the
window but only sees blackness.

“Who are they?” he asks.

“Don’t know,” replies Jiron.

As the riders draw closer, they emerge from
the dark as indistinct shadows in the false dawn of morning. The
shadows are heading in the general direction of the abandoned
farmhouse and will pass by close. James holds his breath as they
near.

“Think we’ll get there in time?” they hear
one rider ask.

“If we don’t, there’ll be hell to pay,”
another replies.

They speak northern! Must be members of the
Alliance come to the aid of Black Hawk. James moves to the door and
rushes outside. “Friends!” he yells as he exits the farmhouse.

“James, no!” hollers Jiron in a hushed
voice.

The riders, over a hundred strong, come to an
abrupt stop at the sound of his greeting. They then turn back to
the farmhouse.

“We don’t know they’re friends,” Jiron says
as he comes to stand beside him.

“Who are you?” asks one of the riders. His
voice is rather gruff and when he stops before James the smell
coming from him is almost overpowering. He smells like a man who’s
never seen the inside of a bathtub in his life.

James begins to realize his mistake. The men
are wearing a hodgepodge of uniforms, all are extremely dirty. One
man who stops next to the one who asked the question has a necklace
slung around his neck that looks like it has fingers and ears
attached to it rather than beads.

“Uh,” he says then stops.

“We’re travelers,” Jiron pipes up. His right
hand rests on the hilt of a knife.

“Travelers eh?” the man with the necklace
asks. Several of the others laugh.

“We don’t have time for this,” the first man
says. “Kill them.”

“Eyes!” he yells to Jiron a fraction of a
second before a massive starburst explodes just above James’ head.
The suddenness of the explosion startles the men and momentarily
blinds them.

Jiron wastes no time. Jumping for the leader,
he strikes with a knife and pulls him from his horse. When the
leader hits the ground the man with the necklace is struck with a
slug, sending him flying off his horse.

Swinging into the leader’s saddle, Jiron
takes the reins and lays about him with his knives. The men, still
half blinded by the flash of light are unable to fend off his
attacks. “Come on man,” he yells to James.

Grabbing the empty saddle that once held the
man with the necklace, he pulls himself up. Another man cries out
as Jiron deals him a lethal blow. Reaching down to grab the reins,
he feels the blade of a sword pass where his head had just been.
Lashing out with magic, he sends a wave of force toward his
attacker which knocks him backward off his horse.

Once he has the reins, he kicks his horse in
the sides and bolts through the ring of half blind attackers. Jiron
plunges his knife in the throat of one last attacker before he
follows. Knocking men and horses aside, they race away from the
farmhouse.

Crumph! Crumph! Crumph!

Three explosions rip through the group of
horsemen.

Flying across the ground in the predawn
light, they quickly leave the scene of the attack behind. Heading
southwest, they make for Illan’s last known position.

“Don’t ever do that again!” criticizes Jiron.
“Just because someone speaks your language does not make them an
ally.”

“Sorry,” replies James.

As the light gradually brightens, they’re
able to tell the men from the farmhouse haven’t followed after.
Slowing their horses to a canter, James removes his mirror from his
belt pouch and scans behind them. The men, only about two dozen
now, are still at the farmhouse.

With pursuit not an immediate threat, he
scrolls the image to the west and south to find Illan. When he
finally locates him, his breath catches in his throat as he sees
them lined up for battle.

Soldiers of the Empire, both foot and horse
are arrayed in an arc to the north. “They must have continued
through the night in order to reach them so fast,” he says.

Jiron moves closer to look at the image. “At
least they haven’t attacked yet,” he says hopefully.

James shifts the image south of Illan’s
position to locate the party of approaching mages. It doesn’t take
him long to find them, now less than an hour away from Illan and
the others.

“We’re out of time!” cries Jiron as he kicks
his horse up to a full gallop. He may kill it, but he plans to
reach his sister before the attack commences. James puts his mirror
back in his pouch and follows along behind.

Literally flying over the ground, the only
thing on Jiron’s mind is his sister.

Shortly after leaving Baerustin, Kerith-Ayxt
received word of the destruction wrought at the School. His mind at
first was unable to come to grips with what the mage who brought
him word was actually telling him. When the mage finished relating
the tale, all the other mages who were traveling with the High Lord
Magus stood in stunned silence.

Loss of the library?
Unthinkable!

Twice he had the mage restate the message
until the facts finally sank in. Many of the mages with him thought
he would erupt in a fit of rage, but all he felt was unimaginable
loss. The library had held the works of some of history’s greatest
minds. Leaps in the workings of magic that propelled generations
onward to greater understanding are now lost.

Despite the edict given by Lord Cytok, he
sent all but a score of his mages back to the school with a most
insurmountable task. To write down their knowledge before it too
becomes lost. Even with that, it may take centuries before the
School is once again able to train the caliber of mages they have
now.

Finally, anger begins to set in. He’s not
sure how, but this has to be the work of that rogue mage who has
caused the Empire such troubles the last year. Even from beneath
the sands at Baerustin, still he is able to accomplish such
destruction.

His anger requires an outlet, someone upon
whom he can vent the anger and sorrow that seeks to consume him.
The mage may lie dead beneath Baerustin, but he can seek vengeance
on those who traveled with him. Black Hawk and those who ride with
him shall know the wrath of the High Lord Magus.

Maintaining a harsh pace, he finally comes to
within a day of Black Hawk’s forces. His rage, which once was a
white hot sun demanding action, has now calmed into a calculating
anger. One doesn’t become the High Lord Magus by allowing one’s
emotions to get the better of them.

To the north he locates by magical means a
force of soldiers heading to the river in an attempt to cut off
Black Hawk’s retreat from the Empire. Keeping a steady pace, he
maintains the gap between his mages and the Death Hawk. He plans to
keep this pace until he can hit him at the same time as the other
attacking force.

When the bridge blew and the army was forced
to proceed further north to find a bridge to cross the river, his
rage almost got the better of him once more. But logic won out and
he continued as he had been and simply kept pace with Black
Hawk.

Finally, once the army made it across to the
eastern shore, he knew it was time. Quickening his pace, he moved
to close the gap for the attack.

Their horses on the verge of collapsing,
James and Jiron see the cloud of dust that hangs over the
battlefield. Too late to join their comrades before the onslaught,
they arrive shortly after it’s begun.

From the ranks of the defenders, a flight of
crossbow bolts is launched through the air and lands with
devastating effect among the Empire’s charging cavalry. They see
Illan marshalling his forces and repulsing the initial attack of
the enemy. The recently freed crossbowmen send another volley
toward the Empire’s cavalry and more riders fall.

The bulk of Black Hawk’s Raiders face off
against the foot and cavalry to the north. On their southern flank,
the Hand of Asran work to counter the magical attacks from mages.
James’ skin crawls from the amount of magic being used down there.
When before he sensed magic it was a mere tingling or prickling,
this time it’s like bugs crawling over and under his skin. A light
flares brilliantly followed by the roar of an explosion a moment
later.

“The Hand is holding its own,” observes
Jiron. The flash of a startling white light tells them Miko is
there with them.

Illan’s force is completely surrounded except
on the side where the mages are hammering away at the Hand. James
removes a piece of rope and secures himself to the saddle. Scanning
the battlefield quickly, he finds what he’s looking for then turns
to Jiron and says, “Follow me.” Kicking his already tired horse, he
races across the desert.

Rather than riding toward the mages like
Jiron thought he was going to do, James angles toward the rear of
the enemy soldier’s line. They’re almost upon them before the enemy
even realizes it. Shields spring to life as James encases them both
in protective barriers.

Crumph! Crumph! Crumph!

Explosions rip through the ranks of enemy
soldiers, clearing a path for the charging steeds.

Crumph! Crumph! Crumph!

Dozens of men and horses are thrown into the
air as the ground erupts beneath them.
Crumph!
Again and again, James unleashes the power of magic to clear a path
to the beleaguered men in the center.

“James!” Scar calls out after the first
explosion.

“It’s Jiron!” cries Stig as his mace pulps
the soldier’s face that he’s locked in combat with. Using his
shield, he pushes another man aside as he strikes out at yet a
third, crushing the man’s shoulder with a thunderous blow.

Crumph! Crumph!

Suddenly, Jiron’s horse collapses and he’s
thrown free. The shield surrounding him winks out as he lands
amidst enemy soldiers. He comes to his feet quickly with knives at
the ready and begins laying into them with amazing speed. As packed
in as the enemy soldiers are, their own numbers hamper their
ability to use their swords. Knives flash and men fall before
they’re able to defend themselves.

Oblivious to Jiron’s predicament, James
continues on toward their line.
Crumph!
All of a
sudden, the way is clear to the defenders within the ring of
attackers. Kicking his horse, he races for the opening. Jorry and
Uther are there and stand aside as he jumps over the ring of dead
before them.

“James!” they cry as he lands among them.

“To Jiron!” they cry once James is past and
the fighters from The Ranch wade into the enemy in an attempt to
come to his aid.

Off to his right he sees Delia and the other
slingers loosing slugs as fast as they can. Next to them, Hedry and
his archers target the enemy crossbowmen that stand further back.
Many within the defender’s circle lie dead with bolts protruding
from their bodies.

“Glad you could make it,” Illan shouts as he
comes toward him. All of a sudden there’s solid bang as a crossbow
bolt strikes Illan’s helm. Leaving a dent, it gets deflected away.
Several other fresh dents show upon his helm as well.

“Didn’t want to miss the fun,” he says.
Glancing back, he sees Scar and Potbelly reaching Jiron’s side.
Scar’s double swords take the enemy out as Potbelly rushes through
the opening. Using his knife to deflect a sword’s thrust, he
follows through with his sword and drives it to the hilt in the
soldier’s chest. Side by side with Jiron, they begin to fall back
to their line.

Jerking his thumb to where the Hand is
battling the mages, Illan says, “They really need you.”

“On the way.” Untying himself from the
saddle, he dismounts quickly and works his way through the
defenders to where the Hand and Miko are battling the mages. One of
the brothers lies unmoving on the ground, Brother Willim and the
other three face the mages with green glows surrounding them.

As fast as green shoots begin to leave the
earth, a mage burns them with fire. Bugs appear and are quickly
destroyed. Another brother cries out as his chest cracks open.
Falling to the ground he soon lies still.

James runs forward, his shield shimmering
around him. Summoning the magic, he lashes out…

Crumph! Crumph! Crumph!

…but has little effect other than throwing
dirt in the air to create a smokescreen to obscure their vision.
The mages themselves remain untouched.

He comes to a stop between Brother Willim and
Miko. With Star raised high and shining brilliantly, Miko turns to
him. “Knew you would come,” he says.

“We can’t hold them much longer,” says
Brother Willim as he throws another seed in the air. Moving forward
rapidly, it grows into a ball of tangled vines and lands near the
leading edge of mages. The vines move rapidly upon the ground and
entangle the feet of two of them. Yanking them to the ground, the
vines begin to squeeze and tighten, constricting like a giant
snake.

Then another mage comes to their rescue and
the vines literally explode off of the two trapped men.