The Mists of Sorrow: The Morcyth Saga Book Seven (62 page)

Moving into the room, James takes the boy to
one of the two beds and lays him down. Beside him, the glow from
the Star appears as Miko begins healing the boy. James backs away
and gives him some room when Jiron comes, grabs his shoulder and
turns him around. He can see Jiron is not very happy about
this.

“What do you think we’re going to do with
that boy?” he asks. “You know where we’re going.” He gazes into
James’s eyes for a second then says, “Unless you are planning on
letting him go and become a slave again.”

Shaking his head, James states, “No, he’ll
not be a slave again.”

“So are we taking him with us?” Jiron asks.
“He can’t be more than eight or nine at the most, maybe younger.
He’ll slow us down.”

“Jiron,” Aleya says as she enters the room
behind him, “he’s coming with us whether you like it or not.”

Tuning on her, he says, “We are going into
battle. There’s no way that child belongs there.”

“I know,” Aleya states. “But what choice do
we have. I will not turn my back on him now that he’s our
responsibility.”

Jiron gazes to her and then back to James.
“This is madness!”

“Could be,” agrees James.

Just then the light from the Star winks out
and Miko gets up from where he was kneeling next to the boy. He
looks to them then says, “He’s fine now, just needs some
sleep.”

“Good,” James says. Then to Aleya he says,
“It might be best if you were to be the one to stay in here with
him. He might not react badly with a woman.”

She grins at him. “Of course,” he replies.
Leaving her brother there, she crosses over to the other bed and
throws her pack onto it. Then she sits on the bed next to the boy.
“We’ll be fine. You might want to get him some regular clothes
though. These slave rags have to go.”

“We’ll get some for him,” James says then
turns his attention to Jiron. “When you’re out, pick up some
clothes for the lad.”

“Fine!” he says. Not entirely happy about
the whole thing, he grabs Reilin and tells him that they have
shopping to do. With Reilin in tow he stalks out of the room and
they can hear his feet upon the floorboards of the hallway all the
way to the stairs.

A second later Scar and the others join them
from stabling the horses. “What’s wrong with Jiron?” he asks.

“Yeah,” adds Potbelly. “He almost walked
right into us on the stairs.”

Once out onto the streets, Jiron begins
calming down.

“What’s wrong?” asks Reilin.

“He is always doing something like that,” he
replies. Bringing his voice down to a whisper he adds, “Knowing we
are about to infiltrate the temple, here he is saddling us with
some kid.”

“I can see your point,” agrees Reilin.

“It’s not that I don’t feel for the boy,
it’s just that so much is riding on what we’re about to do.” Jiron
then walks along in silence until they come across a clothier. He
waits outside while Reilin goes within and purchases clothing the
boy is going to require.

When Reilin leaves the clothier’s shop, he
has several packages in his arms.

“How much do you think he’s going to need?”
Jiron asks, surprised that he bought so much. “You must have enough
there for several kids.”

Shrugging, Reilin gives him a grin. “I
didn’t know the kid’s size so bought several sets just in case,” he
explains. “It’s James’ money anyway.”

“Great.” Taking a couple of the packages
from him, Jiron then turns and heads back to the inn.

A block down from the inn, they see a large
group of people gathering in the middle of the road. Several guards
are there in the center of the group trying to get the crowd to
move back.

“I better see what’s going on,” Jiron tells
him. Handing the packages back to Reilin he says, “Take these to
James and let him know I’ll be along shortly.”

“Okay,” he says with arms now full of
packages.

Jiron moves forward while Reilin angles to
the side to avoid the crowd ahead of them. At the crowd’s edge,
Jiron is unable to see what it is everyone is staring at. From the
mood of the crowd, it isn’t good. He begins working his way through
to the center by gently nudging and elbowing people aside.

When he at last reaches the middle, he sees
a dead man lying on the ground. One of the guards is examining the
body and when he gets up, Jiron realizes he recognizes the man. He
was the one who had been strapping the boy. Blood soaks the front
of the man’s clothes from where his throat had been slit from ear
to ear. Having seen enough, he starts working his way back out of
the crowd. Once free of the crowd, he hurries back to the inn.

At the room he finds the boy awake and
eating some of their food. His eyes are wide as he gazes from face
to face. Snuggled in next to Aleya who is softly stroking his hair,
the boy shoves what’s left of a piece of cheese into his mouth. The
packages Reilin brought are sitting on Aleya’s bed as yet
unopened.

“How is he?” he asks as he enters the
room.

“Fine for the most part,” Aleya says softly.
“His name’s Aku.”

“So what was going on outside?” James asks.
“Reilin said there was a crowd in the street?”

“There was,” he replies. “You know that man
who was beating Aku?” When Jiron indicates he does, he adds, “He’s
been murdered. Looks like someone slit his throat.”

“Good,” states James. “He deserved it.”

“More than you would know,” Reilin tells
him. “From what little I’ve managed to get out of him, he has been
abused for quite some time. Any little infraction and he would get
a beating. He even said there was another boy when he first arrived
at his master’s house that had died by his master’s hand.”

“And no one did anything,” James says in
disgust.

“Slaves are property, like a chair,” Reilin
explains. “No one thinks twice about what a person does to their
slave. Except maybe if it was a public nuisance or indecent, then
they would. But it wouldn’t be because of what they did to the
slave, rather how the situation affected those nearby.”

“I hate this place,” states James with great
feeling. “I usually don’t like saying hate, but in this case I feel
it’s justified.”

“Just calm down,” Jiron says. “We still have
to get in that temple and we need you focused.”

James nods. “I know,” he says then sighs.
“Can’t let it get to me.” He glances over to the boy and sees him
take a proffered piece of dried meat and begin chewing on it. At
least he was able to help one small child.

“Supper is just beginning down below,” Scar
says. “Maybe we should adjourn down there and leave Aleya alone
with the boy?”

“Might be a good idea,” agrees James. Then
to Reilin he says, “Tell Aku to stay here in the room with Aleya.
That we’ll take him with us when we leave.”

Once Reilin informs the boy, he grins, nods
and replies. “He’ll stay,” Reilin translates for them. “In fact
he’s rather happy about the whole situation.”

“I would be too if I were in his place,”
comments Shorty.

“Come on,” Potbelly urges. “I’m hungry.”

“You’re always hungry,” Scar says as the
pair leaves the room “Remember the time when you…”

James grins to Jiron as Scar’s voice moves
down the hallway. He motions to the rest of them and they follow
Scar and Potbelly down to the common room.

Jiron is the last to leave. “You going to be
okay in here?” he asks.

“We’ll be fine,” she says. “Go have
fun.”

“I will,” he tells her. Then he closes the
door and hurries to catch the others.

They only spend an hour down below before
Jiron announces that he’s heading back up to check in on Aleya.
Leaving her alone with the boy in the room has been worrying him.
Ever since the incident at the Eye’s Court, he hasn’t wanted to let
her out his sight for any length of time. He doesn’t know what he
would do if something were to happen to her.

James decides to call it a night too and
accompanies him upstairs. The others remain in the common room for
a little while longer.

Back in the room they find Aleya and the boy
asleep on the bed. The way she’s holding him protectively gives
Jiron a warm feeling inside. He stands there with James a moment
just staring at them before she cracks an eye open and waves him
inside.

“I’ll take her room,” James says. “You two
can stay here with Aku.”

“Thanks,” Jiron says appreciatively as he
enters the room.

James closes the door and grins. They’re not
even married yet and already it looks like they may have an
addition to the family. The thought of Jiron as a father figure to
the boy makes him chuckle. He reaches the room that was supposed to
be hers and opens the door.

“Excuse me,” a voice says behind him,
practically making him jump in startlement.

Turning around, he sees a young man wearing
slave cloth. He’s standing not more than three feet away. “You
speak my language?” James asks him.

Nodding, the slave says, “Oh yes. My master
has many dealings with your people and found it useful for me and
others to be able to understand what they are talking about when
he’s not around.”

James could definitely see the benefit in
that. “What can I do for you?” he asks.

The slave moves closer and says quietly with
head bowed in respect, “I wish to know how the boy fares?”

“You mean Aku?” James asks.

“Yes sir,” he replies.

“Why?” James looks more closely at the young
man before him. Couldn’t be more than seventeen or eighteen, he
wonders what interest a small boy could hold for him.

“He’s my brother,” the slave admits.

James glances down the hallway and sees
another slave at the head of the stairs watching them. He opens his
door and says, “Why don’t we talk inside.”

Nodding, the slave moves to follow him into
the room. “Is he okay?” he asks.

Once the door closes, James lights the
candle on the table with magic. Either the slave didn’t notice or
he chose not to comment on it. Sitting down, he indicates for the
young man to take the seat across from him. Almost without pause,
the young man moves and takes the seat.

“He’s fine,” James tells him. He can almost
see the young man visibly relax. “He was hurt pretty bad but we got
him cleaned up.”

The slave lifts his face to meet his eyes,
something he’s rarely seen a slave do to a free person. “What are
you going to do with him, if I may ask?” he asks.

“We had planned on taking him with us,”
James explains. “I didn’t want to save him only to have him become
a slave again. Also, one of us has taken a liking to him.”

“I’m glad,” the young man says.

James leans back in his chair and stares at
him a moment. “I don’t know if you heard but his last owner, the
one that practically beat him to death, was murdered.”

The young man doesn’t even flinch at the
news.

“I take it you know something about it
then?” James asks. When he fails to respond, James says, “He
deserved what he got if you ask me.” Still unresponsive, he asks,
“You killed him didn’t you?”

“Yes!” exclaims the young man. “He was a
swine who treated poor Aku terribly.”

“Good for you,” James tells him. At that the
young man lifts his head and gives him a slight grin. “Now, what do
you intend to do? Are you here to get your brother back?”

Shaking his head, he says, “Hardly. Leaving
with you would be the best thing that could happen to him. You and
your friends seem a decent enough sort.” He then meets James’ gaze
again and says, “If there’s anyway that I can be of service to you,
don’t hesitate to ask. For all that you’ve done and hopefully will
do for Aku.”

James considers his offer. He sits there for
a minute or two before saying, “Perhaps there is a way you can be
of help.”

“Anything,” he says.

“Can you help us get into the temple here in
Zixtyn?” he asks.

The young man blinks twice but otherwise
doesn’t react. Then he says, “You aren’t serious are you?”

“Completely,” replies James.

”Why?” he asks.

“That’s our business,” he says. “Can you?”
James can see thoughts racing through his mind as he thinks about
it.

“I may know someone who might be able to
help,” he finally says. “I won’t know if he will until later
tomorrow morning though.”

“Will he keep this secret?” James asks.

“Oh yes,” he replies. “This man holds no
love for the temple or those who work for their god.” Glancing to
James again he asks, “Are you planning mischief?”

James nods. “In a way,” he says. “I won’t
say more than that.”

“If that’s your goal, I’m sure he’ll do what
he can to aid you in your endeavor,” the young man tells him. He
suddenly gets to his feet. “I have to go. I’ll come back sometime
late tomorrow morning with word.”

James comes to his feet as well. “Would you
like to see Aku before you go?” he asks. Gesturing to the room down
the hall he says, “He’s asleep.”

Shaking his head, the young man says, “It
would be best if I didn’t. You see he doesn’t know of me. I’ve been
keeping an eye on him all his life but haven’t had contact with
him.”

“Why?” he asks.

The slave grins and says, “Like you say,
‘It’s my business’.”

“As you wish,” concedes James.

The young man goes to the door and leaves
without another word. James stares at the door and wonders if he
did the right thing in trusting that information to a complete
stranger. Only after the young man left does he realize that he
doesn’t know for sure if the young man told the truth when he said
he was Aku’s brother. Praying that he did the right thing, he turns
in for the night.

The following morning when they all but
Aleya and Aku gather in James’ room, he tells them of the visitor
he had the night before. Their response was less than
favorable.