The Mists of Sorrow: The Morcyth Saga Book Seven (18 page)

Ke-Pow!

…it ignites the oxygen in a massive
fireball.

The blast hits the larger barrier with such
force that he’s unable to maintain it. Letting it go, he puts
everything he has into maintaining the protective one around
them.

The grayness that covered their barrier is
burnt away as fire completely consumes it. Even the ground beneath
their barrier turns red as the heat from the blast melts it into a
smoldering slag. James’ back is scorched, his hair begins to smoke
as the heat from the blast enters through the barrier.

“James!” exclaims Jiron. The heat burning
and scorching his flesh brings intense agony, then soothing comfort
comes as the green glow surrounding Brother Willim moves to
envelope him. Easing his pain and soothing his burns, Brother
Willim works to protect them both against the heat of the fire. For
James, Brother Willim is unable to offer much help, it takes all he
can do just to protect him and Jiron.

The ground starts to settle down and the
heat subsides as the fire begins to diminish. James continues to
lay there in agony, trying with his last ounce of strength to hold
onto the barrier. When at last he can no longer hold onto it, he
releases his hold on the magic and passes out.

“My lord!” exclaims Shorty when the fire
ignites the oxygen. Even as far away as they had managed to reach
the heat could be felt, then the concussion wave hits and almost
bowls them over. Rising into the air, a gigantic cloud of fire
reaches to the sky.

“Nothing could have survived that,” breathes
Scar.

When it’s observed that the flames are
subsiding, Miko turns his horse back and says, “Let’s get back
there. They may need us.” Kicking his horse in the sides, he leaps
into a gallop as he flies back to the scene of the explosion. The
others are soon racing to follow. Zyrn and the villagers follow at
a slower pace as they are on foot.

The area where the shimmering gray area had
been still shimmers under the summer sun. “The explosion didn’t do
anything,” remarks Stig.

“They may be out there in need of help,”
Aleya says. “We have to go to them.”

At the edge of the shimmering field, Miko
comes to a halt. Heat still radiates toward him from the blast, in
some areas the shimmering has made way for red, glowing areas that
give off tremendous heat. To their right and left, it looks as if
the blast radius had begun a few inches past where the gray area
had been. Somehow James had managed to encompass it completely.

“We don’t dare enter until we know if it’s
safe,” Miko says. He wants to use the Star to locate James and the
others, but the memory of how the grayness reacted when James used
his magic causes him to refrain.

“Then what should we do?” Shorty asks.

While they sit there in indecision, Zyrn and
the rest of the villagers run to join them. Zyrn comes to stand at
the edge of the shimmering area and looks out upon it. Something is
different but he can’t quite put his finger on it. Then he
concentrates on the fringe to see if it’s still advancing. After a
full minute he fails to see any sign that it is.

He looks around the ground near him until he
finds a medium sized stone. Picking it up, he turns to face the
shimmering area. Cocking his arm back, he throws it. The rock arcs
through the air and lands fifteen feet past the edge of the
shimmering area.

Crack!

When the stone hits the shimmering area, the
area shatters as the stone passes right through it. Cracks spider
along its surface away from the impact point for several feet. That
was as far from what he expected than anything he could have
imagined.

Shorty bends over and hesitantly touches the
edge of the grayness then pulls back his fingers quickly. When
nothing happens, he touches it again. Running his fingers along its
surface he says, “It’s glass.”

“What?” asks Potbelly, surprised at what
Shorty said.

“It’s glass I tell you,” asserts Shorty.
Standing up, he steps out upon the shimmering area and the surface
cracks under the pressure.

“He did it!” cries Potbelly.

“We must go to them!” exclaims Aleya and
makes to ride forward.

“Whoa there,” Stig says, grabbing her reins
near the horse’s head and stopping her.

“But they may need us,” she says, about
ready to ride over him if he doesn’t get out her way.

“Our boots will afford us protection against
the glass,” he tells her. “But the horses’ hooves will get
shredded.” When she glares at him, he adds, “We must walk.”

Realizing he’s not trying to stop her, only
protecting her horse, she nods her head and dismounts. Taking her
bow she makes to head into the shimmering area.

Stig quickly instructs Reilin to explain
that they intend to go in search of their companions to Zyrn, and
to wait here to keep an eye on their horses. Then he hurries after
Scar, Shorty and Potbelly as they move to follow Aleya into the
field of glass.

They are forced to step slowly as they make
their way onto the glass surface. Each step shatters the sheet of
glass covering the ground. “You could make a fortune off of this,”
comments Shorty. “Delia would love this.”

“Yeah,” agrees Stig. “Come out here and
carefully cut out sections and sell them, it would definitely bring
a tidy sum.

Crack! Pop!

Ahead of them the glass shatters and they
can see bands of heat radiating out of the newly formed
opening.

Crack! Pop! Crack! Pop!

More openings form as the heat trapped
beneath the sheet of glass finds an outlet. “This could get bad,”
says Miko. Already, they feel the heat rising every time their feet
break through the glass.

Crack! Pop! Crack! Pop!

Most of the heat eruptions are coming from
further into the glass covered area, the area closest to the center
of the blast.

“Jiron!” hollers Aleya. They pause for a
moment, but the only sound they hear is that of heat breaking
through the glass. Turning to Miko she asks, “Can you tell if they
are alive?”

Shaking his head, he replies, “No, I’m
sorry. However, I may be able to tell where they are.” Taking out
the Star, he concentrates on the whereabouts of James, Jiron and
Brother Willim.

The others wait there for a moment before a
light flares from the Star and points a little to the left of the
direction they were originally traveling. “I believe they lie in
that direction,” he says.

“Thank you,” she says and he nods in
reply.

As they continue to progress toward the
location of their comrades, their feet grow hotter by the minute.
“Make for the areas where the heat broke the glass,” suggests
Shorty. When the others look questioningly at him, he explains. “If
the heat has had a chance to escape, it may also have had a chance
to cool.”

“Good thinking,” Stig says. He taps Aleya on
the shoulder and says, “Let me lead here.”

About ready to argue the point, she finally
relents and nods her head.

Moving past her, Stig studies the area
before them and plans a route that will take advantage of the
sections of broken glass. Deciding on his route, he begins to move.
A thought comes to him about the broken areas of glass. It could be
that those areas are actually hotter than the rest and that’s why
the glass broke over them. If so, they aren’t going to have any
better time of it.

“Looks like that guy Zyrn and his buddies
have figured out that the glass could be valuable,” Shorty says
from the rear. Glancing back, the others see Zyrn and two others
holding a large piece of glass up while the rest inspect it.

“They should give James a percentage,”
states Scar.

“That’s right,” agrees Potbelly. “If it
weren’t for him, this glass wouldn’t even be here!”

“Not to mention they would still have a
deadly problem on their hands,” offers Stig. As he reaches the
first of the shattered areas where the heat escaped, he steps
carefully. Finding it not any hotter than the areas of glass that
have remained intact, he continues on.

At one point Scar leans on Potbelly as he
inspects the bottom of his boot. Sections of the sole have melted
away, though not so far as to expose the foot within. “If this
keeps up,” he says quietly to Potbelly, “we’ll be walking
barefoot.”

“Let’s hope they aren’t too much further
then,” replies Potbelly.

With a knowing nod, Scar resumes to follow
behind Aleya.

Crack! Pop!

Two feet away from Shorty, heat blasts its
way through the glass. The steam that ensued from the new opening
shoots upward until the pressure has been released. “I don’t think
this was such a good idea,” he says loud enough to be heard by
all.

No one replies as they continue on. A solid
hour has elapsed already since they entered the glass covered area
and the eruptions from escaping heat have all but subsided.
Occasionally one can still be heard, but they are now few and far
between.

At the head of the party, Stig comes to a
stop. Shielding his eyes to see through the glare of the sun being
reflected off the glass, he stares far ahead of them. “I think I
see them,” he says pointing almost directly ahead of them.

Aleya comes to stand beside him and scans
the area he indicates. Like a bubble, a shiny dome rises out of the
glass. “Think they’re still inside?” she asks.

From beside her, Miko says, “They have to
be.”

“Then why don’t they come out?” Stig
asks.

“They may think the grayness is still active
and it would be dangerous,” supposes Scar.

Nodding, Stig says, “That would make
sense.”

Now with them in sight, Stig moves at a
quicker pace until a section of glass slips along the ground under
his foot, causing him to stumble. If it weren’t for the quick
reflexes of Aleya grabbing his arm and steadying him, he would have
fallen. With the ground covered in broken glass from his passing, a
fall could likely have been disastrous.

“Thanks,” he says to her after regaining his
balance.

“Be more careful next time,” she says.

Once again stepping carefully, he leads the
way toward the dome.

Once the fires had subsided, it was much
easier for Brother Willim’s magic to effectively protect all three
of them from the heat. Still horribly hot within the barrier, at
least they are no longer at risk of burning.

He moves over to where James is lying
unconscious and turns him over onto his stomach. When he sees the
extent of the burns he says to Jiron, “Help me get his shirt off. I
need to take care of this.” Moving to help Brother Willim, Jiron
soon has the shirt off.

Jiron holds James steady as Brother Willim
removes a jar from within his robe. “This will ease the pain should
he awaken,” he tells him. Dipping two fingers into the jar, he
removes a large glob of salve and begins rubbing it over the
burns.

“Miko is going to need to take a look at
this,” Jiron states as he watches Brother William apply the
ointment.

“Yes,” he agrees. “With the Star he can do a
much better job of it.”

“Do you think it’s safe?” Jiron asks. “I
mean, do you think he killed the grayness?”

“Possibly,” he replies. “I can no longer
feel what he called the pulses of electricity which were evident
earlier.”

Once Brother Willim finishes with James’
back, he begins on the other parts of his skin that had been in
contact with the bottom of the barrier. Back of his arms, legs and
even his head all bear burns. The hair where he was burned at the
back of his head is all but gone, a small red bald spot is visible
where the hair once had been.

When the slave within the jar runs out,
Brother Willim replaces it back in the pocket within his robe. He
and Jiron put James’ shirt back on him before they lay him down.
Brother Willim then settles next to James and says, “He’s
sleeping.”

Jiron gets up and inspects the barrier. “His
barrier is down,” Brother Willim tells him. “It went down shortly
after he lapsed into unconsciousness.”

Moving his finger toward the dome that
surrounds them he hesitates an inch away from touching it. “Then
what is this?” he asks.

“I’m not sure,” Brother Willim replies.
“This might sound funny but I think it’s glass.”

“Glass?” asks Jiron incredulously. Placing
his finger upon it, he rubs its surface. “It does feel like
glass.”

“Not sure if it is though,” Brother Willim
tells him. When he sees Jiron remove his knife to poke at it, he
says, “I wouldn’t do that.”

Turning back toward Brother Willim, Jiron
asks, “Why?”

“We still don’t know if it’s safe outside of
here,” he replies. “Though I can’t sense it, I think it would be
wise to wait until he wakes up.”

Taking a breath, Jiron says, “The air is
getting pretty stale in here.”

“I know,” replies Brother Willim. “But we
should wait.”

Trusting to the brother’s judgment, he
returns his knife to its scabbard and comes to sit next to him. He
then takes out his water bottle and upends it for a long drink
while he waits for James to awaken, which from past experiences
could be some time.

Crack! Pop!

From outside the dome the sound of heat
escaping by breaking through the glass covering the ground comes to
them. Not knowing what it is they can only sit and wonder.

Over time the sound of the heat escaping
gradually becomes less frequent. Then another sound comes to them,
this one sounds like someone walking through eggshells. “Jiron!”
Aleya’s voice comes to him from outside the barrier. Then, movement
can be seen through the opaque glass that is the dome.

“James!” Miko’s voice hollers as one of the
shadows presses its face against the side.

“We’re here!” shouts Jiron.

“He’s alive!” exclaims Aleya in glee.

“Are all three of you alright?” Miko
asks.