The Mists of Sorrow: The Morcyth Saga Book Seven (22 page)

Ten heads turn to see him enter through the
door. Immediate pandemonium erupts as the men leap to their feet
and draw swords. His slug flies to the nearest man and blasts its
way through his chest.

Jiron flies around him, knives in hand as he
moves to engage. A quick strike takes one through the side,
dropping the man to the floor. His other knife flashes lightning
quick and leaves a thin line spurting blood from where it severed
the jugular of another.

From the back of the house, a crash can be
heard as Scar and Potbelly gain the room with the children. Slugs
fly and knives strike as the men in the front room fall quickly.
When all but three men have been taken out, Scar appears in the
doorway leading to the room with the children, bloody sword in
hand. He gives James a nod saying all is well with the children.
Seeing Jiron still facing off with three men, he exits the room and
draws his second sword.

The three remaining men, after having seen
their companions taken out so fast, lose heart for the battle.
Throwing down their swords, they surrender. Jiron looks to James
who nods that he should take their surrender. Wiping the blood off
his knives on the shirt of a dead man, he then replaces them in
their sheathes.

“Tie them up,” James says and then moves to
the front door. “Shorty!” he hollers as he sticks his head out. No
longer needed, he cancels his shield.

“Yeah?” comes the reply from the dark.

“It’s over,” he hollers. As Shorty
approaches, James asks, “Did any make it outside?”

“Two were out with the horses,” he says.
Then he points to two forms lying on the ground a little distance
from the door. “They came running when you entered through the
door.”

James nods then notices Scar beginning to go
through the pockets of the dead men for anything of value. Leaving
him to his work, he crosses the room and passes through the door
leading into the room with the children.

Potbelly is there, already having untied
them. Two bodies lie on the floor of the men who had been here when
Scar and Potbelly made their appearance. Potbelly has bits and
pieces of glass and wood in his hair, testament that he had been
the one to smash through the window first. Most likely jumped
through.

Turning to the children, he sees their eyes
wide with fear. He gives them a big smile in an attempt to put them
at ease but fails miserable. “Are you okay?” he asks them
slowly.

None understand what he’s saying, they
simply stare at him with fear. To Potbelly he says, “Stay here with
them. Try to make them understand that we mean them no harm.”

“I’ll try,” he replies, though he’s dubious
about his ability to do that when they don’t even speak his
language.

“At least keep them in here until we’re
ready to leave,” says James before he turns and makes his way back
out to the front room.

“What should we do with them?” Shorty asks
about their three prisoners when he returns.

“We’ll take them back to stand justice,”
James tells him.

Jiron is at a table over in the corner,
several dead bodies lie on the floor before it. “Hey look at what I
found!” he exclaims. Turning around to the others with a grin, he
holds up a bulging sack. Jingling it, they hear the unmistakable
jingling of coins.

“Must be the stuff they stole from the
people at the inn,” suggests James.

“Probably,” agrees Scar.

Jiron takes it over to the large dining
table and upends the sack, spilling out coins, gems and other
valuables onto its surface. He picks up several gems and tucks them
into his pocket. When he sees James giving him a disapproving look
he says, “For our trouble.”

“No,” says James. “Put them back with the
others.”

Jiron frowns but does as bidden.

“That is going to go to the lady that was
recently widowed,” James says with conviction. “Small enough
consolation for losing a husband.”

“Perhaps,” pipes up Scar. “Unless he was a
real piece of filth like my old man was.” Taking the items gleaned
from the dead men, he adds them to the pile on the table.

“Whatever the case may be, it’s time we took
the girl back to her mother.” James has Potbelly and Shorty begin
getting the prisoners tied across the backs of horses in
preparation for the trip back. Grabbing one off the floor, they
take him outside to the waiting horses.

He then goes over to Jiron where he about
has all the coins and such put back in the sack. Glancing at the
table, his eyes briefly examine the coins and jewels still awaiting
their turn to be returned to the sack. Several gold coins and
others of a lesser value, half a dozen jewels of varying sizes and
colors, and two necklaces.

Just about to turn away and cross over to
the room where Potbelly has the children, he pauses and turns back
toward the items on the table. When Jiron reaches to pick up
another handful, he holds out his hand. “Hang on a minute,” he
says. Something, a whisper of memory comes to him.

Then realization strikes. Reaching out, he
picks up one of the necklaces. It bears a heart shaped gold
medallion with two small diamonds in the middle. The heart with two
small diamonds is what drew him to the necklace, in his dreams they
had been two lights.

Each time in his dream when he had entered
the Tunnel of Love, there on the wall just inside was a large heart
with two lights blazing forth. In each subsequent dream, one of the
lights had continued to grow dim until at the last, it was all but
out. The two stones, Cassie and Tinok. The one growing dim had to
represent Tinok and the situation he is in.

Jiron halts putting the items back in the
sack as James stands there motionless with the necklace in his
hand. “You okay?” he asks.

Snapping out of it, James’ eyes meet
Jiron’s. “This is the necklace Tinok gave Cassie,” he says in a
hushed whisper. “The one he took with him when he left us after her
death.”

“Can’t be,” he says then takes a closer
look. Though only having a good look at it a couple times over a
year ago, he comes to realize that James is correct, this is indeed
that necklace.

Eyes narrowing, he pulls a knife and moves
to the remaining two captives. Pointing to the necklace he shouts,
“Where did you get that necklace?” Holding the knife close to the
face of one of the captives, he yells, “Where!” The man’s eyes
stare at the knife before him, ready for the blow he’s sure is to
come.

“He can’t understand you,” James tells him.
“We’re going to have to wait until we get back to the inn so Reilin
can interrogate them.”

Jiron stands there with knife still before
the man for several more seconds before turning away. As he does,
he sees Potbelly in the doorway to the bedroom and then glances
over to the front door where Scar and Shorty stare at him too.

Pointing to the necklace James is holding he
says, “They have Cassie’s necklace!”

Scar actually gasps. Shorty asks, “The one
Tinok took with him when he left?”

Nodding, Jiron replies, “The very one.”

“But how did they get it?” Potbelly
asks.

“I don’t know,” Jiron says. Then turning to
the men on the floor, he adds, “But I’m going to find out.” To Scar
he says, “Bring that other man back in here.” Then with a glance
back to James he adds, “I’m not about ready to hand them over to
the authorities for justice until I have a chance to ask them some
questions.”

James meets his gaze and nods. Turning to
Scar he says, “Go ahead and bring him back in.”

Once the man is brought back inside, James
says, “Potbelly and I will take the children back while you three
remain here with them.” When he receives Jiron’s nod, he continues.
“Then I’ll return with the others and we’ll see if we can learn
anything.”

“Good,” states Jiron. He holds his hand out
obviously wishing to have the necklace.

“Oh,” James says as he turns to Jiron and
sees his hand out. “I should take the necklace with me. It may have
been that they stole it from the family at the inn. If so, then the
woman may know where it came from.”

Nodding, Jiron lowers his hand. “I want it
when you return,” he says.

“Don’t worry,” replies James, “You will have
it.” Turning to Potbelly he says. “It’s time to bring the children
out.” Crossing over to the doorway, James follows Potbelly in. The
three children have managed to relax a little bit, maybe they
realized that he and the others are not there to hurt them. After
all, they did kill the ‘bad men’.

The older boy says something to them in the
Empire’s tongue but they fail to understand. In as soothing a voice
as he can manage, James says, “It’ll be okay. We’re taking you
home.” The tone, if not the words, further relaxes them. When he
motions for them to follow him from the room, they hop off the bed
to follow.

He leads them through the front room where
Jiron, Scar, and Shorty are working to remove the men killed in the
fighting. They shy away from the three men sitting bound against
the wall and hurry to follow him outside.

Potbelly helps the girl onto one horse while
James assists the younger boy to mount another. The older boy is
able to make it into the saddle of a third horse on his own. Once
they are settled and not in any immediate danger of falling off, he
swings up behind the younger boy just as Potbelly mounts behind the
girl.

Giving the kids an encouraging grin, he
leads the way with the older boy in the middle and Potbelly
bringing up the rear. The return trip to the inn takes less time
than the trip out and soon its lights appear in the dark.

Several people are milling around outside
the inn as they draw close. One takes notice of their approach and
runs inside. As they come to a stop, Stig emerges through the door
with Brother Willim. “You did it!” exclaims Stig.

Brother Willim comes and reaches up to help
the girl down from the horse. She gives a glance back to Potbelly
who nods that it’s alright, then allows Brother Willim to help her
down.

From out of the inn another couple emerges
and immediately takes possession of the two boys. The calls and
cries of the boys tell James they must be their parents. He can see
the tracks of tears down the woman’s face from where she’s been
crying over the loss of her boys.

Once the father helps the younger child down
from where he sits before James, he extends his hand in gratitude.
Words rush out from the man as James takes his hand. The older boy
has dismounted and wrapped his arms around his mother in a hug
that’s likely going to last awhile.

“He’s saying thank you,” Reilin’s voice
comes from where he just exited the inn.

“I figured as much,” replies James. “Tell
him that I am glad I was able to bring his boys back to him.” When
Reilin translates, the boys’ father again shakes his hand
vigorously as the mother gathers the children to her. He then takes
his family and they move off to where a wagon sits next to the inn.
Climbing aboard, the father takes the reins and with a last wave
and salutation to James and the others, he gets the team of horses
moving.

As James dismounts, Reilin comes to him and
says, “The boys disappeared two days ago. When word spread that
another child was taken and that someone had gone to get her back,
they came in hopes you would return with their boys.”

“I’m glad it worked out well,” replies
James. “How’s the woman?”

“She’s better,” he says. “The loss of her
husband was a brutal blow and she went into hysterics when told of
what happened to her daughter.” Glancing over to where Brother
Willim is just entering the inn with the girl he adds, “But now
that her daughter’s back, I think things will be okay.”

“Where is everyone else?” asks Stig.

James quickly fills them in on what happed
at the farmhouse and of finding Cassie’s necklace. When he’s
through, he tells Stig, “Get our horses ready. We’re going out to
the farmhouse once I ask the mother about this.” He holds up the
necklace to show them.

“She may not be in much condition to answer
questions,” explains Reilin.

“We’ll see,” he says. “Make sure our things
are out of the rooms too.”

“I’ll take care of it,” he assures him and
moves off to get it done.

Reilin follows James as he heads toward the
front door of the inn. The people he passes pat him on the shoulder
as well as other forms of congratulations on bringing back the
children.

Inside, he finds Miko and Brother Willim
sitting at a table with the woman they found upstairs. Next to the
woman sits Aleya with a smile on her face as she watches the mother
and daughter. The girl is wrapped tightly in her mother’s arms and
they are crying together, both for happiness at being reunited and
sadness at the loss of the father. The innkeeper meets him just
within the foyer. Reilin translates.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I was mistaken about
you.”

James gives him a reassuring nod. “Don’t
worry about it, I understand,” he assures the innkeeper. “By the
way, we’ll be leaving just as soon as I talk with the mother.”

A pained look comes to his face. “If I’ve
given you offense…” he begins.

James waves off the coming apology and says,
“It is nothing you have done or didn’t do. Something else has
arisen that we must see to right away.”

Somewhat relieved at that, the innkeeper
says, “If you need anything, just let me know.”

“I shall do that,” James assures him.
Leaving the innkeeper behind, he moves across the common room and
makes for the woman and her daughter.

At his approach, the girl says something to
her mother. The mother glances up to him with tears in her eye.
“Thank you,” she says in his language.

“You speak my language?” he asks amazed.