The Mists of Sorrow: The Morcyth Saga Book Seven (41 page)

He hits the ground and rolls twice before
coming back to his feet. Now, six of the men are between him and
the stables. The other six are fanned out in the courtyard moving
to surround him. Two of the six by the stables are moving to engage
him. He strikes out at one, causing the man to jump back to avoid
being struck and parries the thrust of the other. Then out of the
corner of his eye he sees over twenty soldiers enter the courtyard
from the entrance on the far side.

Deciding there are too many with which to
deal with effectively, he back steps quickly toward the alley
entrance that he originally entered the courtyard by. A sword
strikes out at him and he deflects it to the side just as the other
man attacks him with an overhand hack. Twisting, he manages to
avoid the blow.

Stig appears in the stable’s door with
Shorty right behind him. Jiron sees them there set to enter the
fray. “No!” he shouts at the top of his lungs. There’re too many
for them to fight their way through.

His cry, which had been directed at Stig and
Shorty, causes the men before him to hesitate. Making use of the
momentary lull, he turns and runs into the alley.

Stig and Shorty, realizing that there’s
nothing they can do, duck back inside the stable. The men and the
soldiers race past the stable door and pursue Jiron into the
alley.

“Come on man!” Stig hollers as he runs over
to one of the horses. Mounting, he waits a second for Shorty to do
the same. Then just as they are about to leave the stable…

Crumph! Crumph! Crumph!

…and they know that James has joined the
fray.

James and the others leave the building they
spent the night in and are making their way down the alley toward
where Jiron said the inn was located. Then the clash of weapons
comes to them and they hear Jiron yell “No!”

“They’re in trouble!” Aleya shouts and they
rush forward. They don’t get more than two steps before Jiron races
into the alley at a dead run. A second later a swarm of screaming
men emerges behind him.

“Go!” he yells as he sprints toward
them.

Now that sneaking out of the city is no
longer an option, James lets the magic go…

Crumph! Crumph! Crumph!

…and the ground erupts under the charging
men, throwing them into the air.

Then from neighboring streets, the sounds of
horns blare forth as they tell the world where he is. Then from
both ends of the alley, the soldiers which had arrived earlier that
morning begin pouring in. “Back inside!” James yells and turns
around.

Before he can get moving, Jiron races past
him and bolts into the building they had just exited. “Move!” James
yells as he and the others run for the doorway.

Miko is the last to pass through and slams
the door shut. Throwing the bar, he puts his shoulder against the
door as the soldiers on the other side begin beating against
it.

“It’s clear on this side,” Jiron says from
the window. “They’ve all rushed to the sound of the horns.”

“What happened to Stig and Shorty?” James
asks.

“They were still in the stable when all hell
broke loose,” he says. “I think they’re still alive.” Then he nods
to the building across the street where the soldier’s horses are
being kept. “Shall we?”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“It’s not going to hold for long,” Miko
yells.

James nods to Jiron, “Let’s go.” Then to
Miko he yells, “Hold it as long as you can.”

Reilin moves to add his strength to Miko’s
and places his shoulder against the door. “Just hurry!” he yells to
him.

Bang!

“You stay here and when we have the horses
ready, you all come at once,” James tells Brother Willim.

Nodding, he says, “Good luck.”

Aleya comes forward and says, “I’m coming
too.”

Jiron pauses as if he’s going to object then
nods. “Okay,” he says. Throwing open the door, he runs across the
street to the doorway through which the horses are kept. James and
Aleya follow.

When the people on the street see them
emerge from the building, they begin to holler, scream and flee.
Three soldiers appear from out of nowhere and James takes one out
with a slug and prepares to launch another. “You two get the
horses,” he tells them, “I’ll hold them off.” Letting the second
slug fly, he pulls another from his belt. Jiron and Aleya rush in
through the door as he sends the third slug flying.

A shimmer appears around him as his shield
springs to life. Standing there in the street, the shimmering
shield surrounding him, he scans both directions.

Ping!

A crossbow bolt ricochets off the barrier.
Turning in the directions the bolt originated from, he sees men
beginning to boil out of an alley further down. Not able to make it
through the door Miko and Reilin are holding shut, some have
decided to make an end run and try to take them from behind.

Ping!

Another bolt strikes the barrier as more
crossbowmen join the fray.

Crumph! Crumph! Crumph!

Explosions rip the street as the leading
edge of the charging men is thrown into the air. Now from the other
direction, more soldiers enter the street. Turning to them he again
lets loose with the power.

Crumph! Crumph!

Men are thrown in the air as the ground
beneath their feet explodes outwards. Moving to the doorway Jiron
and Aleya passed through, he yells, “Hurry up in there!” Glancing
inside, he sees two dead soldiers who must have been inside when
Jiron entered. The wounds on their body are indicative of those
made by a knife.

“Just a few more!” Aleya hollers back as she
throws another saddle onto a horse.

Returning his attention to the street and
the soldiers approaching from both directions, he moves away from
the building and makes his way to the middle of the road. Both
forces of men have now slowed to a crawl as they’ve come to realize
they face a mage. Going through some of their minds is the
possibility this may be the very same mage they’ve heard tales
about.

Then suddenly from out of the doorway
wherein Miko and Reilin are holding the door shut, Brother Willim
and the others emerge at a run. “The door gave way!” he shouts to
James.

Nodding, James indicates the doorway wherein
Aleya and Jiron work to saddle the horses. “In there,” he says.

The two forces that had been advancing
slowly, suddenly break into an all out run toward him, possibly in
response to Brother Willim and the others fleeing across the
street. Bolts fly toward them. A green glow manifests around
Brother Willim as he uses his staff in a blurring defense and
knocks the bolts aside.

With a thought, James creates two spheres of
power, similar to that which he used in the Eye’s Court. Throwing
one to the right and one to the left, he hollers, “Leech by a
hundred.” As soon as the last word leaves his lips, the two spheres
flash and soldiers drop. When he realizes the leeching radius isn’t
wide enough to completely block off the street, he says, “Radius by
four.”

Now men are falling all over and the two
spheres are glowing a dangerous crimson. Running for the doorway
where the others went, he dives through just as one sphere reaches
critical mass and explodes. A second later, the other one goes.

Two massive fireballs erupt into the sky.
Those buildings closest in proximity are rocked on their
foundations, two actually collapse. James is knocked to the floor
by the concussion wave.

The building James and the others are in
rocks from the force of the blast. One wall shivers and cracks.
They fear it’s going to give way and bring the entire building down
on top of their heads but it only settles several inches before
coming to a rest once more.

“James!” Jiron hollers.

Looking through the dust in the air, he sees
Jiron in the saddle. Next to him is a horse saddled and ready.
Getting up off the floor, he races for the horse and practically
leaps into the saddle. “This way,” Jiron says and leads him further
into the building which as it turns out is a very large stable.
They pass many stalls containing additional horses as they head to
the large opening at the other end.

Moving quickly, they soon rejoin the others.
Four more dead soldiers lay across the ground near the exit.
Reilin, Scar and Potbelly are wiping their blades on the clothes of
the dead men. When they see Jiron and James coming, they quickly
mount.

“Let’s get out of here,” Jiron says and
bolts down the street toward the nearest gate.

“What happened to Stig and Shorty?” asks
Potbelly.

“I don’t know,” replies Jiron. “They were
alive when we got separated.”

“They’re smart and resourceful,” adds Scar.
“They’ll make it.” Racing away from the scene of destruction behind
them, they make their way through the streets.

Just then, the gates of the city appear
before them. Jiron brings them to a halt when they discover the
gates are closed and are guarded by over a score of men. “Should we
try another one?” he asks.

Shaking his head, James says, “Another won’t
be any better. I’m sure they have them all covered.” Moving
forward, James says, “The rest of you wait here.” The shimmering of
his shield suddenly surrounds him and his horse as he approaches
the men guarding the gate.

On the way, he opens his palm and creates
another of his spheres. Then, he stops there in the middle of the
road for a moment and stares at the sphere in his hand. Realizing
that such blatant misuse of power is becoming all too easy for him,
he closes his hand. There has to be another way. Death and more
death, is that all there is?

Then as hard as he can, throws it far from
him. “Cancel!” he says with finality and the sphere winks out. Then
he glances to the men arrayed before him and resumes his
advance.

Before he comes close, the officer in charge
of the gate calls out what sounds like a command. Paying it no
heed, James continues onward. As he draws closer, bolts begin to
pepper the outside of his shield from the squad of a half dozen
crossbowmen positioned to the rear of the soldiers.

James continues to press forward until he
comes to within a dozen yards of the leading edge of soldiers. By
this time, the order had been given for the crossbowmen to cease
their hail of bolts seeing as how they were unable to penetrate the
shield.

“Does anyone understand me?” James asks.

A soldier bearing an insignia which must
mark him as the leader of these men replies, “I can.”

“I want you to open the gates and allow us
to pass through unmolested,” he tells him.

“I cannot allow you to leave,” the officer
replies.

James can see the expression of fear in the
man’s eyes. The officer had to have seen the earlier explosions and
understands what might be the consequences of barring his way. “I’m
trying to save the lives of you and your men,” he says. “I’m
heartily sick of causing the death of others.”

“If I should step aside and allow you to
leave,” the officer states, “our lives would be forfeit in any
event.”

James sighs and shakes his head sadly. “So
be it then,” he says. Turning around, he returns back to where the
others are waiting. Once he returns, he moves next to Brother
Willim and whispers something in his ear. When he’s done speaking,
he looks for Brother Willim’s response.

Nodding, Brother Willim says, “It can be
done.”

“Then please do so,” he replies.

The green glow that always accompanies the
priest whenever he calls forth his god’s power now springs to life
around him. Raising his hands, he calls for aid.

It takes but a moment before a commotion
develops near the gate. The lines of soldiers that had stood so
uniformly are now deteriorating into chaos as ants boil out of the
ground. Not the red fire ants as before, but still annoying and
painful as they crawl inside the men’s armor and begin biting.

“Thank you Brother Willim,” says James. To
the rest he says, “Give me a minute before following.” Moving
forward to the gates again, he gets his horse up to a fast trot. At
the edge of the carpet of ants, he sees the ants move aside as if
allowing him to pass. Glancing back, he sees the glow still
surrounding Brother Willim as he works to control the swarm of
ants.

Still encased in his barrier, he nudges his
horse forward. With every step his horse takes, the ants move aside
and away. Not having to worry about the ants climbing his horse’s
legs, he winds his way through the men writhing on the ground, some
almost completely coated in ants, on his way to the gate.

He passes by the officer with whom he spoke
to earlier. Lying on the ground, the man’s hands work to try and
remove the ants. But for every ten he brushes off, a hundred take
their place. For a moment their eyes lock. “I told you I don’t like
to kill,” he tells him.

Continuing his forward motion, he reaches
the gate. He comes close enough so that he can place his hand upon
its surface. Summoning the magic, he sends it out in one massive
surge that blasts the gates open.

The thunder of hooves comes to him as the
others race for the gates. He moves back to the officer and says,
“I could have killed you and your men, but didn’t. Remember that.”
The officer looks to him but doesn’t make any sort of response.

“Come on man,” Jiron says to him as he
reaches the swarm. Using the same path as had James, he and the
others race through and leave the city.

James kicks his horse into motion and
follows after. Outside the gates, they take the southeast road, the
one that leads to the city of Cyst. The city where Azku said the
man could be found from whom he bought Cassie’s necklace.

Pushing their horses into a gallop, they
don’t make it far from the city before they see a dozen riders
exiting through the broken gates in pursuit. “Hey!” exclaims Scar.
“Two of them are Stig and Shorty!” Coming to a quick stop, they
turn to find that Stig and Shorty are not part of the other force
of riders, rather they are being chased by them.