The Mists of Sorrow: The Morcyth Saga Book Seven (21 page)

The opening of the door awakens him. Sitting
up in bed he sees a shadow standing in the hall outside his door. A
floorboard creaks as Jiron makes his way from his bed toward the
door, the glint of reflected moonlight from outside says he has a
knife in hand.

“James,” whispers Miko urgently.

His orb suddenly springs to life and they
see Miko there at the door, Brother Willim’s face peers over his
shoulder. From where Jiron stands halfway to the door, James hears
him mumble under his breath as he replaces his knife back in its
sheath. Sitting up on his bed, James waves them inside.

“What’s up?” he asks.

“Trouble,” says Miko. “There’s been a death
here in the inn.” He glances from James to Jiron then back again.
“It wasn’t a normal one.”

“Normal?” questions Jiron. “What do you mean
by that?”

“I think someone’s been murdered,” he
explains.

“When?” James asks.

“A few minutes ago,” he explains. “Remember
how I told you that ever since what happened in the City of Light
I’ve been able to feel when people near me pass on?” When James
nods he continues. “Thankfully there haven’t been many, it still
unnerves me when it happens. But this time, it felt…wrong.”

“Like the one back at Al-Ziron?” he
asks.

Miko nods affirmatively. “Yes,” he replies.
“Just as wrong.”

James can see the worry behind his friend’s
eyes. He turns to Jiron and says, “Go get the others.”

“Right,” he replies then moves to the door
and passes through into the hallway. Shortly, the sound of a door
opening and closing can be heard.

“Could you tell where it happened?” James
asks.

“I’m pretty sure it was above us on the
third floor,” he states. They grow quiet as each listens for any
noise that may indicate someone is moving around above them. Just
as Scar and Potbelly arrive looking quite tired, they hear the
creak of a floorboard in the room directly above James’.

“They must still be there,” concludes James
as Jiron and the rest finally join them. He quickly fills them in
on what Miko believes happened.

“Maybe we shouldn’t get involved,” Stig
says. “Could lead to complications.” He looks to James for his
reaction.

“We have to,” James says. “There could be
more people up there in danger.”

“Alright then,” Jiron says. To Scar,
Potbelly and Shorty he says, “Whoever it is, is above us. You three
go outside and keep a lookout for anyone leaving or acting
suspiciously.”

As they leave to do as requested, he turns
to Stig and Reilin. “You two stay at the stairs here on the second
floor in case they get by us,” he says. “We’re going up.”

“Right,” replies Stig with a nod.

Jiron turns to where Aleya stands and says,
“You stay here. It’ll be safer.”

Giving him an annoyed look she shakes her
head and says, “I don’t think so.”

Rolling his eyes, Jiron pulls a knife before
moving to the door and passing into the hallway. Moving silently,
he makes his way to the stairs and begins climbing up. James, Miko,
and Brother Willim follow close behind. Turning back to James he
indicates the orb and says, “Get rid of the light.”

With a thought James cancels the orb and
they are once again plunged into darkness. A floorboard creaks
revealing Jiron is already moving up the stairs. Following, James
keeps a hand in contact with the wall to guide himself until he
reaches the stairwell. The blackness is gradually making way for
indistinct shadows as his night vision returns. Moving quickly, he
takes the steps up to the third level. When he makes the top, he
sees the shadow that is Jiron standing outside the closed door of
the room that lies directly above theirs. Stepping quietly, he
comes to Jiron’s side.

“Someone’s in there moving around,” he says.
Then they hear another floorboard creak inside the room. He glances
to James and nods to the door. When he receives a nod in reply, he
steps backward and kicks the door hard with his foot.

Waaaaaaaaaa!

A baby’s cry rips through the night as the
slamming of the door against the wall frightens it. Its mother
turns in fear toward the door and clutches her baby tight to her
bosom. The person they had been hearing moving around was a woman
trying to get her child back to sleep. She screams as a man bolts
up out of the bed that’s sitting against the far wall. He looks in
alarm at Jiron standing framed in the doorway, the light of the
candle on the table glinting off the knife in his hand. Drawing a
sword, the man moves to stand between his wife and child, and the
intruders.

“Not this one,” Jiron says. Then to the
couple he says, “Sorry.”

“Reilin get up here now!” cries out
James.

Backing out of the room, Jiron moves to the
next door and hits it hard with his shoulder, bursting it open. The
smell that hits him tells him he’s got the right room this time.
“This is it!” he cries out as he enters.

Then Reilin appears at the top of the
stairs. James turns to him and says, “We barged in and frightened
these people.” Indicating the man ready to defend his family, he
says. “Give them our apologies and explain the situation to
them.”

“Alright,” he says, then moves to the
doorway and begins explaining things to the couple.

Doors along the hallway crack open as the
other guests look out to see what’s going on. When they see them in
the hallway, they quickly shut their doors and throw the bolt.

“Miko,” says Jiron from the other room, “you
better get in here.”

Leaving Reilin to deal with the family, they
hurry over to the open doorway. Within they see Jiron moving over
toward the open window, beneath which lies a woman bleeding to
death. On the bed against the far wall is the murdered man whose
passing Miko must have sensed. Bound and gagged, he lies face down
on the bed with a knife still sticking out his back. On the floor
next to the bed is an open chest. Whatever had been contained
within is gone.

The light from the Star fills the room as
Miko enters and rushes toward the woman. Soon, the glow surrounds
him and then moves to envelope the woman. Aleya comes to his side
to help in whatever way she can.

Snaking out the window is a rope that’s
anchored to the bed. Sticking his head out the window he looks down
to see Shorty staring back up at him. “Did you see whoever it was
that came down here?” he shouts.

“No!” he hollers back up.

“Look around, he can’t have gone far,” he
says. “Take Scar and Potbelly and search the area.”

Nodding, Shorty races away to get the other
two.

A commotion is developing in the hallway.
The raised voice of a man grows louder as he approaches. Jiron
casts one look around outside and then returns his head back into
the room. Just then, Reilin appears at the doorway with a rather
irate innkeeper.

“He demands to know what is going on here,”
Reilin explains.

“Tell him a man’s been robbed, his woman
stabbed, and all their money is gone,” he says.

Reilin turns back to the innkeeper who by
this time has seen the dead body bound on the bed and the glow
surrounding Miko as he works to save the life of the woman. Several
exchanges later, Reilin turns back to those in the room and says,
“He says there was a small girl too.”

“What?” asks Jiron and James at the same
time.

“They had a girl of about two or three with
them is what he said,” clarifies Reilin.

Glancing around the room, they see where a
pallet had been laid out in the corner for a small child. “She may
be hiding,” says James. “Search the room.” He moves to the bed
where the dead man lays while the others search the rest of the
room. Bending over, he pulls up the covers that are draped over the
side and looks beneath. Nothing. Standing back up, he looks around
and the others shake their heads. She’s not here!

“Could he have taken her with him down the
rope?” James asks Jiron.

“Possibly,” he says. “If she was drugged or
knocked out.” After a moment he adds, “She would bring a large sum
on the slave blocks.”

“She would wouldn’t she?” states James.

The room suddenly dims as the glow
surrounding Miko and the woman winks out. James looks hopefully at
him and receives a reassuring nod. “She’ll live,” he tells him.
“May not wake up for a while though.”

“Take her to our room,” James says. Then he
catches sight of Stig out in the hallway with the crowd that has
gathered. “Stig!” he hollers. When he sees Stig looking his way he
says, “You and Brother Willim help Miko with taking the woman and
her things to our room.” Then to Brother Willim he says, “It’s bad
enough to have lost your man, worse yet to wake and see him
dead.”

Brother Willim nods. “You intend to go after
the child?” he asks.

“I can’t let her be made a slave,” he
replies. The thought of that sends a shiver down his spine.

“Good,” he says. “Miko and I will watch over
the woman until your return.”

“Keep Stig and Reilin with you just in
case,” James tells him.

“Very well,” he says.

James glances to Jiron. “You ready?” he
asks.

Jiron nods, “Let’s go find her.”

As they make to leave the room, they are
blocked by the innkeeper and half a dozen other men, some with
swords drawn. The innkeeper says something in a demanding way. He
looks to Reilin who says, “He says you are not going anywhere until
he knows what went on here.”

“Didn’t you explain it to him?” he asks.

Nodding, Reilin says, “Yes. But I don’t
think he entirely believes me.”

“Tell him this,” states James. “The girl is
missing. I intend to go after her before something bad
happens.”

Turning to the innkeeper, Reilin translates.
When the innkeeper replies, he says, “He thinks you took her and
that you just want to get away.”

Sighing over the fools in the world, James
turns to the innkeeper and with Reilin translating says, “We came
in here to save them. We were too late for the man but managed to
save the woman. Right now their child is being taken away to a life
I don’t even want to imagine.” He glares a moment while Reilin
finishes translating then continues. “Some of our comrades will
remain here until our return to look after the woman. Two of them
are priests. If it makes you feel any better, you can consider them
as hostages until our return. But time is running out and we are
going!”

When Reilin finishes the translation, the
innkeeper glances at James, then to Miko who is carrying the
unconscious woman. Nodding his head, he steps aside to allow James
and Jiron to pass. As James steps forward with Jiron right behind,
the others in the hallway move aside for them too.

Hitting the stairs at a run, they return to
their rooms and take only a moment for them to put their boots on.
Then they are back at the stairs and hit the common room at a run.
Once out the front door, James pauses a moment and removes the
cloth from his pouch and begins seeking the girl. He’s not sure
that it will work, what with him never having seen her and all, but
the cloth rises and becomes rigid as it points off to the
right.

“This way,” he says. As they move to follow
the direction indicated by the cloth, Shorty appears and reports no
one is in the vicinity. About that time Scar and Potbelly come
running around the corner of the inn to report the same.

“Stay close,” he says as he moves away from
the inn, the others fall in behind.

Walking briskly, they pass by the rest of
the buildings surrounding the inn and are soon out in the desert.
The half moon above gives them sufficient light with which to see
their immediate surroundings.

It isn’t long before they can hear the
crying of a small child ahead of them. “That’s her,” says Scar.

“Jiron, go take a look,” suggests James.

Nodding in the dark, he moves toward the
sound of the child’s crying. While James and the others wait for
him, they hear a man yelling in anger and then the sound of someone
being slapped hard. It must have been the child that was slapped
for her cries increase tenfold.

“I can’t wait for Jiron,” says Shorty and
moves to follow. James, Scar and Potbelly trail along behind.

From out of the distance ahead of them, a
structure rises from the desert. From one window the light of a
single candle shines dimly out. The sound of crying is coming from
that direction. Suddenly, a form passes in front of the window and
they see Jiron moving to look in.

Off to one side of the structure, which as
it turns out is a farmhouse, a dozen horses stand in the dark.
Beside them sits a covered wagon. From the back of the farmhouse,
the sound of a goat can be heard as it calls out.

The sound of them moving to join Jiron
causes him to turn from the window. “They have the child in the
other room,” he whispers to them. “I saw two boys tied up in there
with her.”

“Okay,” James says. He then squats on the
ground under the window and signals for the others to do the same.
“Jiron and I will go in and deal with their captors,” he says.
Turning to Scar and Potbelly he adds, “You two get into the room
with the children and protect them with your lives.”

“No problem,” Scar says. Potbelly nods.

“Shorty, you stay out here and keep anyone
from leaving,” he replies. He then looks from one to the others and
adds, “I don’t care if any of these child stealers survives or
not.”

“That’ll make things simpler,” Shorty says
as he draws one of his throwing knives.

To Scar and Potbelly he says, “We’ll give
you a minute to maneuver around to the window of the room in which
the children are being held. Don’t take too long getting in.”

“We won’t,” assures Scar.

As they leave to move around into position
outside the children’s room, James and Jiron move to the front
door. When he thinks Scar and Potbelly has had ample time to get
set, a shield flashes into being around him and he glances to
Jiron. Receiving an affirmative nod, he moves to the door and tries
the handle. Surprised to find it unlocked, he readies a slug, opens
the door and walks in.