The Mists of Sorrow: The Morcyth Saga Book Seven (59 page)

The blow to the head leaves Korgan dazed.
Staggering backward, his legs give out and he falls to the
ground.

Dropping his staff to the ground, Brother
Willim returns his attention to Perrilin. The glow surrounding him
suddenly intensifies as he works to stop the flow of blood. The
death cry of the last guard Jiron is fighting fails to interrupt
his concentration. In short order, the blood stops flowing as his
magic heals the severed artery and the skin begins to heal
over.

“Is he okay?” asks James as he comes to
stand beside him.

Nodding, Brother Willim tells him, “Yes.”
The glow surrounding him has disappeared and he turns his attention
to James. “We have to hurry and get out of here. Miko is upstairs
holding off the guards.”

“What?” exclaims James. Then he puts a hand
on Brother Willim’s shoulder as he loses his equilibrium for a
moment.

“Are you okay?” Brother Willim asks.

“They drugged us,” he explains.

“What are we going to do with him?” Jiron
asks as he comes to stand over Korgan. Coming back to his senses,
the man tries to get up but Jiron kicks him in the face to keep him
on the floor.

Brother Willim turns his attention to James
and moves his hand to James’ eye. “Let me take a look,” he
says.

Standing still while Brother Willim examines
him, James says to Jiron, “I’ve got some questions for him. Leave
him here with me, Brother Willim and Aleya. The rest of you get up
there and help Miko.”

“Can you handle him?” Jiron asks James.

“He won’t go anywhere,” Aleya says.

Jiron turns to her and sees her standing
there with arrow to string and aimed directly at Korgan. “Alright
then.” Then to the pit fighters and Reilin he says, “Let’s go.”

“Just a second,” Brother Willim says to them
as he reaches into his cloak. Removing a small pouch, he reaches in
and hands each of those who was drugged two small leaves.

“What’s this?” Scar asks as he takes
his.

“They will alleviate the effects of the drug
in you body,” he says.

Scar puts them in his mouth and starts to
chew. “Yuck,” he says and almost spits them back out.

“Don’t,” cautions Brother Willim. “You must
swallow them. They will work fairly fast once in your system to
counteract the drug.”

“Thanks,” he says with a bitter look on his
face. Then he and the others move to the table with their
belongings and retrieve their weapons and other equipment.

“Come on,” urges Jiron once the others have
their things in place. Then leading the others out, he races back
into the corridor and hopes they will be in time to help Miko.

“Here,” says Brother Willim as he hands
James three of the tiny leaves.

“Why do I get three?” he asks, taking
them.

“The third will help to restore your magical
ability,” he says. “Just two will make you okay, three should
remove all traces of the drug.”

Putting them in his mouth, James can see why
Scar reacted the way he had. They taste awful. He then glances over
to where Korgan sits on the ground. Blood still oozes from where
the arrow protrudes from his shoulder. “Remember me?” James asks
him. “It’s been awhile.”

“Yeah, it has,” he agrees. “Should have
killed you when I had the chance.”

“True,” nods James.

“I won’t make the same mistake a second
time,” Korgan vows.

“If there is one,” states James. Walking
over to the table with their belongings, he removes his pouches and
begins securing them once more to the belt around his waist.

“What are you going to do now?” Korgan asks.
“There’s no way you’ll be allowed to leave here.”

“We’ll see,” comments James. Once the
pouches are properly secured, he glances back to see Brother Willim
helping Perrilin from the chair. A bit groggy and weak in the
knees, he at least can stand on his own. Satisfied that he’s not
going to die on them, he turns his attention back to Korgan.

“I’ve got a couple questions for you,” he
tells him.

Korgan laughs. “What makes you think I’ll
tell you anything?”

Ignoring his statement, he reaches into one
of his pouches and pulls out the medallion bearing the sign of the
warrior priest. He holds it up before him and asks, “What makes
this so special?”

Other than looking to see what he holds in
his hand, Korgan fails to react in any other way.

James stares into Korgan’s eyes as he says,
“I know it has something to do with the way Dmon-Li’s temples are
interconnected.” When he sees his eyes widen ever so slightly at
that, he knows that Korgan understands what he’s talking about.

“I’d like to know how?” he asks.

“How what?” Korgan replies.

Indicating the medallion, he says, “How this
figures into it.”

Korgan grins. “Is that what you wish to
know?” he asks.

James nods. “Yes it is,” he affirms.

He breaks into a laughter which is cut short
by the pain in his shoulder. Finally ending in a coughing fit, he
brings it under control. “Sorry,” he tells him. “No matter how much
you torture me, there’s nothing I can tell you about that.”

James turns and looks questioningly to
Brother Willim who has been watching. When he receives a nod
telling him that Korgan is most likely telling the truth, he turns
back to Korgan. “Then why were you so interested in it that time
you had us in the City of Light?” he asks.

“No harm in telling you that,” he says.
“It’s common knowledge that anyone other than a priest of Dmon-Li
who is caught in possession of an item bearing their mark, is to be
held and handed over to them as soon as possible.”

James nods. That would make sense seeing as
to the nature of the medallion and how it activates their
transportation daises.

“We need to get going,” Brother Willim says.
“They may need our help up there.”

“You’re right,” he says. “Go ahead and start
helping Perrilin up. Aleya and I will finish down here.”

Glancing to where Korgan sits on the floor,
Brother Willim asks, “You’re not going to kill him are you?”

“No,” replies James. “I promise you when we
leave this room, he will still be alive.”

Brother Willim nods. Then with one of
Perrilin’s arms across his shoulders for support, they leave the
room and begin working their way down the corridor.

The room remains quiet for several seconds
after Brother Willim and Perrilin leave. Then Aleya breaks the
silence by asking, “You aren’t really going to leave him alive are
you?”

Nodding, he says, “I gave my word.” When he
sees her about to protest, he repeats, “I gave my word.”

“Then shouldn’t we get out of here?” she
asks.

“You know I’ll kill you the instant we meet
again,” Korgan warns him. “The fact that you spared my life will do
little to persuade me not to.”

James nods. “I know.” Then to Aleya he asks,
“Do you still have the keys?”

Nodding, she gestures to where they hang on
her belt.

“Good. Let’s go.” Moving out, he exits the
room. Aleya follows him into the corridor, never taking her eyes
off of Korgan until she’s out of the room.

“I think it’s a bad idea leaving him alive,”
she tells him.

James remains silent as he walks down the
corridor. At one point he holds out his hand and his orb appears on
his palm. Canceling it, he nods to himself, very glad the leaves
worked and that his magic is again at his command.

They pass through the interrogation room
with the four torches and then move quickly down the corridor with
the cell doors lining both sides.

When they reach the room with the lone guard
that Aleya had killed with her arrow, James holds out his hand and
says, “Let me have the keys.”

Giving them to him she says, “Here you
go.”

Looking at the other exits he asks, “Which
one?”

Pointing to the one that she and Jiron had
entered, she says, “There.”

They cross the room and pass through the
door to the corridor on the other side. James then closes the door
behind him and uses the keys to lock it. Then he closes his eyes
and concentrates for a full minute. When Aleya starts to say
something, he holds up his hand and stops her.

As soon as his eyes pop open again, she
asks, “What did you do?”

“Just a little something so Korgan won’t be
alone,” he says.

Sitting on the floor, shoulder throbbing
with pain, Korgan listens as their footsteps disappear in the
distance. Once they disappear altogether, he works his way to his
feet as best he can.

“Stupid of him to leave me alive,” he says
to himself. Moving to the doorway they had passed through, he
leaves the room as well and makes his way down the corridor. Upon
reaching the interrogation room with the four burning torches in
wall sconces, he immediately moves into the corridor with the cell
doors lining both sides.

He can hear the door at the other end shut
and the turning of the lock. None too worried about being locked
down here, he knows that someone will be coming soon to check on
things.

When he’s reached about halfway to the door,
he comes to a stop when a noise disturbs the quiet. A clanking
noise. Trying to figure out what it is, he’s soon to realize that
it is the locks of all the cell doors unlocking by themselves. Then
all of a sudden two of the cell doors between him and the door at
the end swing open. The prisoners held within leave their cells and
enter the corridor. One of them turns in his direction and sees him
there. “Korgan!” the man exclaims in glee.

Seeing the prisoner moving toward him,
Korgan begins to return back down the corridor. A glance behind him
shows the prisoner has quickened his pace and is closing the
distance rapidly. He breaks into a run as he races back to the room
with the four burning torches. Every step sends pain radiating out
from where the arrow is embedded in his shoulder. His hand that’s
broken throbs very badly as well. Upon reaching the room, he enters
and quickly throws his good shoulder against the door and slams it
shut.

Bam!

The prisoner hits the door on the other
side. “Korgan!” the man yells, “I’m going to kill you!”

Bam!

Again the man throws his weight into the
door and manages to push it open an inch before Korgan gets it
closed again. His arm extending from the shoulder with the arrow in
it is numb and hangs limp at his side. Gritting his teeth he puts
his other hand, the broken one, on the bolt in the door.

Bam!

The prisoner hits the door and knocks it
open once more. Shoving hard, Korgan throws all his weight against
the door and gets it closed. Then with an excruciating cry of pain,
he pushes the bolt closed with his broken hand. The bones grind
together as his muscles and tendons push and pull in his effort to
lock the door. When at last the bolt sinks into its place, he gasps
from the pain and sinks down to the floor.

Then a noise draws his attention to the
other passages leading from the room as more prisoners begin moving
into the room. Seeing him there, the prisoners grab various
interrogation instruments and move toward him. His cries echo
throughout the dungeon for a short time until finally becoming
still.

When James and Aleya reach the bottom of the
spiral staircase, the sound of fighting can be heard coming down
from above. Taking the steps quickly, they reach the corridor at
the top. Emerging into the corridor, James looks toward the
fighting and sees Brother Willim and Perrilin still several yards
within the corridor.

“James!” Brother Willim calls to him. Waving
him forward, he says, “They’re holding their own for now.”

“Anyone hurt?” he asks coming to a stop next
to the pair.

Shaking his head, Brother Willim says, “Not
so bad as to be life threatening. I think a couple of them have
sustained injuries.”

“How are you doing?” he asks Perrilin.

“Better,” he croaks. His hand rubs the spot
where Korgan’s knife had cut him. “I don’t think the knife touched
my vocal cords.”

James can understand why that would be a
concern for him, being a bard and all. His voice is his life. Just
then Aleya rushes past with bow in hand and moves to the end of the
corridor. She puts arrow to string and they hear the thrum of the
string as she lets it fly.

“You better get out there,” Perrilin tells
him. “We need to be gone before more reinforcements arrive.”

Nodding, James says, “Good idea.” Turning
toward the fighting, he leaves them behind and rushes to the
meeting room. Even before he arrives, he can see the dead bodies of
Empire soldiers that litter the room. Tables are either lying on
their edge or shattered. All in all the entire room is like a scene
right out of a horror movie.

As he reaches the end of the corridor where
it opens onto the meeting room, Aleya lets loose with another arrow
and immediately reaches for a third. Placing it to the bowstring,
she glances to James and says, “It’s almost over.”

She takes aim again as he enters the room.
Three enemy soldiers are still standing. Jiron, Scar and Stig are
faced off with them. Over to their left he sees Potbelly working to
dislodge his sword that had been caught between the ribs of a
fallen foe. Reilin stands near Miko as he bends over Shorty, the
glow from the Star enveloping both of them. Coming over to them, he
looks questioningly at Reilin.

“He took a slice along the side,” Reilin
tells him. “Miko didn’t think it was all that serious.”

He nods. Then his attention is drawn back to
where the battle still rages as the man facing Jiron cries out. He
looks back just as Jiron yanks his knife out from the man’s armpit
and shoves him away. Scar’s two swords dance in a weaving pattern
before one of them suddenly darts forward and takes his opponent
through the chest. His opponent stumbles into the soldier facing
Stig and disrupts the man’s defense allowing Stig’s mace to connect
with the side of his helm.