The Mists of Sorrow: The Morcyth Saga Book Seven (35 page)

Jiron nods. “Yes.”

“Good. If you break your oath to me, no
power on this world will protect you from my wrath,” he warns.
“I’ll find you no matter where you go.”

“Your threats are unwarranted,” Jiron
assures him. “I do not break my oath.”

“Good enough then,” Azku states. Standing
up, he says, “Now that I’ve answered your questions, would you be
kind enough to take your leave?”

Coming to his feet, Jiron offers his hand.
Hesitantly, Azku shakes it. “I thank you,” he says.

Azku nods and steps aside so he and Stig can
leave. Moving past him, Jiron and Stig walk through the door and
into the hallway then down to the door. Azku does not accompany
them.

“That went better than I thought it would,”
Jiron states. Opening the door he glances back down to the room and
sees Azku still standing there, his eyes upon them. Then he passes
through to the street outside.

Stig follows him out. “What if he lied to
us?” he asks.

“Then I’ll come back and kill him,” Jiron
replies matter-of-factly.

Outside, they check to make sure the street
is quiet. Then Jiron has Stig go around back to get Scar and
Potbelly and meet him across the street with the others. As Stig
moves to do as requested, Jiron hurries across the street.

Before he completely crosses the street,
James leaves the shadows. “Everything go alright?” he asks.

Jiron nods his head. “Yes. I found out what
I wanted to know.”

“Good,” states James.

They wait there a few moments before Stig
arrives with Scar and Potbelly. While they wait, James fills him in
on seeing Orrin from Cardri leave Azku’s house and informs him that
he sent Shorty to follow.

“There’s an Eye in the city too,” Jiron says
and gives him the gist of what Azku told him.

“That may complicate things,” he says.

“Not if we leave town as soon as possible,”
states Jiron.

When Stig and the other two are seen
crossing the street, Jiron suddenly notices that they are one
person short. “Where’s Aleya?” he asks.

“What?” replies James. “She’s right…” he
trials off when he realizes she is not among them. “Aleya?” he
calls out in a hushed voice.

When no answer is forthcoming, Jiron hollers
very loudly
“Aleya!”
Again, no reply. “Fan out and find
her,” he says and moves toward the area where she had stalked off
just before he and Stig went to talk to Azku. Worried and fearful,
Jiron’s pace quickens. About to call her name again, his eyes catch
sight of something on the ground. Stopping fast, his heart skips a
beat when he sees her bow and quiver of arrows lying on the ground.
Two of the arrows have spilled out of the quiver and lie next to it
on the ground.

“Oh no,” he says as he reaches down to pick
them up. “Aleya!” he hollers again. Turning to the others he says
in a voice filled with anguish, “He’s got her.”

“Who?” asks Miko.

“The Eye!” he exclaims.

“We have to find her!” Jiron exclaims as he
turns to James.

“Maybe she took off on her own,” Potbelly
suggests. “She was pretty mad.”

“Are you insane?” asks Jiron as he rounds on
him. “All alone in a hostile city where she doesn’t speak the
language? I don’t think so.”

James pulls forth his cloth, not for the
first time he wishes for something better with which to work with,
and says “Okay, let’s find her.” Sending out the magic, they watch
the cloth rise and point the way.

Moving out quickly, they walk as fast as
they can without drawing unwanted attention. It doesn’t take them
long to figure out where the cloth is indicating. On the south side
of town sits one of the largest buildings in Morac.

Easily five stories tall and built like a
fortress, the place is massive. No windows on the first two floors,
only a very sturdy wooden door in front for an entrance. Two
heavily armed men stand watch outside the door and several windows
hold men with crossbows. Everyone is looking outward and scanning
the area.

“Think they’re expecting someone?” asks
Scar.

“Yes,” replies Jiron. “Us. Wait here,” he
tells them. Then he stays in the shadows as he makes a circuit
around the building to see about another way in. He finds what
could be another door, there’s a large square wooden section in the
rear stone wall. It could be a door but there’s no handle or
anything else that might be used to open it from the outside. Men
are stationed at windows on the other sides as well, making it
impossible for anyone to sneak up to the building without being
seen.

Returning to the others, he tells them what
he’s discovered. “If we storm the place,” Stig says after he’s
done, “they will probably kill her.”

Jiron nods, pain in his eyes. “Then how are
we to get in there?”

James gazes at the building and shakes his
head. “I don’t know,” he admits.

“Maybe this Orrin fellow you saw leaving
Azku’s house might know?” suggests Potbelly. “From what you’ve told
us, it sounds like they have their fingers in many different
pots.”

“Could be there’s no love lost between the
Order of the Scarlet Sword and the Eyes of the Empire,” adds Scar.
“Might be worth a shot to go see what he can do.”

“If we do, it’s got to be quick,” states
Jiron. “No telling what they could be doing to her in there.”

“Very well,” James says. Then to Scar and
Potbelly he says, “You two stay here and keep an eye on the place.
See if you can figure out a way we can breach its defenses.”

“You got it,” affirms Scar.

“Shorty was to meet us back at the inn once
he found out where Orrin is staying,” James says to the others. “Be
best if we try there first.”

“Okay, but let’s hurry,” urges Jiron.

Leaving Scar and Potbelly there to keep an
eye on Aleya’s captors, the rest hurry back through the streets to
the inn. When the inn finally comes into sight, they find soldiers
of the Empire in and around the place. They come to a quick halt
and Jiron has them duck into the shadows of a nearby alley. Then
just as they reach the mouth of the alley, a squad of six guards
exits the inn with Shorty in their midst. Hands tied behind his
back and blood running down the side of his face, it’s easy to see
he didn’t go quietly.

The leader of the squad hollers something
back into the inn and is answered by someone inside. As the squad
leaves the inn, the leader of the squad directs several other
soldiers to move into position around the building, blending into
the shadows. Once the men are positioned such that they can see the
inn yet remain out of sight, the leader has the squad move out.
They turn down the street and begin moving in the direction of the
building where Aleya is being held.

“If we had been any later we would have
fallen into their trap,” Miko says.

Jiron nods and watches as the squad comes
closer.

They remain quiet and still in the shadows
as the squad passes by. “We can’t let them reach that building,”
James says once the soldiers have moved further down the street
from their hiding place.

“Ambush?” questions Stig.

“You better believe it,” replies Jiron.
“I’ll take Stig and get ahead of them. James, you and the rest
follow close behind.”

“Okay,” James replies.

Jiron and Stig move into the alley and run
to the other end where it opens onto the next street over. It runs
parallel to the one the guards are taking and will allow them to
get ahead of the squad without being seen. James takes the lead and
enters the street behind the departing squad with Miko, Brother
Willim, and Reilin right behind. A slug from his slug belt rests in
his hand.

“Are you going to kill these men?” asks
Brother Willim.

James glances to him and nods. “Afraid so.
Our friends are in mortal danger, we don’t have time to play it
safe.”

Brother Willim sighs and nods understanding.
The death of any man is hard on the Priests of Asran.

James maintains a discreet distance and they
follow the guards for a couple blocks. Then they notice that the
street ahead of the squad is darker than it was when they passed
through earlier. The streetlights are out. James grins and thinks,
Smart thinking Jiron.

The squad appears not to be bothered by the
fact that the street lights are no longer lit and continue to walk
forward. Just before they enter the darkened area, James sends the
magic forth and breaks the rope binding Shorty’s hands behind his
back. Shorty’s pace falters a moment by the unexpected freedom and
almost doesn’t recover in time to prevent his captors from
realizing he’s no longer bound.

James can see him nod his head three times
to let them know he’ll be ready. “Any time now,” he says under his
breath and hears Miko say, “Yeah.”

Then ahead of the marching guards, a shadowy
figure detaches itself from the greater darkness and approaches
them. The guards, oblivious to the oncoming threat, continue to
march.

“Now!” he hears Jiron holler and the shadow
leaps toward the lead guard.

Throwing his slug, James takes out one of
the rear guards as the one Jiron engages falls lifelessly to the
ground.

Stig rushes in from the side and the battle
is joined. Shorty tackles the guard to his left and wrestles him to
the ground. Kneeing him in the stomach, Shorty struggles for
possession of the man’s sword.

Another slug flies and takes out the
remaining rear guard. Jiron has both knives out and is trading
blows with one while Stig stuns the one he’s facing with a powerful
blow of his mace to the side of the man’s head. Stig then follows
through with another bone crushing blow to the head. Brains and
bone shatter under the impact. Maces are brutal weapons in the hand
of an expert.

Jiron dodges to the left to avoid a thrust
by his opponent, then dodges back and sinks his knife in the man’s
side. Lashing out with the pommel of his other knife, he knocks the
man backward and to the ground. Jiron glances around and sees
Shorty getting up from the ground with the guard’s bloody sword in
hand. The guard lies on the ground unmoving, his life blood
beginning to pool on the ground next to him.

James and the others come running and Reilin
says, “Quick, get the bodies in the alley.” Glancing around, it
doesn’t look as if anyone has taken notice of the fight. The street
remains quiet.

Working quickly, they get the dead guards
off the street and into the alley without anyone taking notice.
“When morning comes, it won’t take very long before the bodies are
found,” Stig says.

“We won’t be here by then,” Jiron tells
him.

“You okay?” James asks Shorty.

“Yeah,” he replies. “They jumped me when I
returned. I took one of them out before they could take me.”

Jiron comes to him and asks, “Did you find
where Orrin is staying?”

Shorty nods. “Yes, he’s staying at an inn
not too far from here. Now, could someone tell me what’s going
on?”

“We’ll explain on the way,” Jiron says.
“Show us where he’s staying.”

As Shorty heads out, the others fill him in
on the events so far.

Moving quickly toward the inn where Orrin is
staying, they are forced to alter course twice to avoid patrols
moving along the streets. The increased patrols have to be in
response to them being in town.

“There it is,” Shorty says when the inn
comes into view.

“Which room is his?” asks James.

“Third floor,” he replies. “Second room on
the right.”

“Jiron, come with me,” James says. “The rest
of you stay here.” With Jiron beside him, they hurry across the
street and enter the inn. The common room still has a few night
owls at the tables. The bard, if there had been one, has long since
gone.

They move toward the stairs located at the
rear of the room at a normal pace. When they reach the foot of the
stairs, they quicken their pace, taking them two at a time until
they reach the third floor. James then walks down to the second
door on the right and knocks.

When the door opens up, Orrin looks out with
the question he was about to ask still upon his lips. His eyes
widen when he sees who it is standing at his door.

“Remember me?” James asks.

“Oh yes,” he replies. Then a smile comes
across his face, “You’ve given the Empire no end of trouble since
last we met.”

“Can we come in?” James asks.

Opening the door wider, Orrin gestures for
them to enter.

“Thank you,” James says as he and Jiron
enter the room. After they’re in, Orrin closes the door and walks
over to the only table in the room.

“Please,” he says indicating the chairs
around the table, “have a seat.” As they sit he adds, “Sorry I
can’t offer you any refreshments.”

“That’s alright,” James assures him. “We’ll
survive.”

“Did you follow me here?” he asks.

“Why would you say that?” Jiron asks.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” Orrin asks.

“This is my friend Jiron,” James says.

“Oh yes, the knife fighting Shynti,” nods
Orrin.

“You seem to know an awful lot about us,”
Jiron says, a frown coming to his face. He doesn’t like the fact
that an absolute stranger would know such things.

“Yes I do,” he replies without expanding
further. “As to your earlier question, I attended a brief meeting
by an associate at his residence. At the meeting, I learned of your
presence in the city and how you used a ruse to get him to meet
with you. He wasn’t too happy about that.”

“I realize that,” James tells him. “We
followed him to his house.”

“Obviously,” Orrin says. “You’re here aren’t
you?” He glances from Jiron then to James before asking, “So why
are you here?”

James gives him a rundown of what’s going on
with Aleya, that she’s being held captive, and where. He also
relates how Shorty had been taken at the inn where they were
staying. “What we came here for is to see if you could help us in
any way to get inside that building,” James concludes. Sitting back
in his chair he gazes hopefully at Orrin.