Fires of Prophecy_ Book Two of the Morcyth Saga - Brian Pratt [36]
“What happened to you last night?” Jiron asks James.
“Hmmm? What do you mean?” he asks in a voice barely above a whisper.
“Don’t you remember anything from last night?” Jiron asks him.
“Last thing I remember is lying on the ground back at camp,” he explains. “Then nothing until I woke up here, hearing you calling my name. Why?”
“You woke up in the middle of the night and all hell broke loose,” he tells him. “You were fighting something, Cassie thinks you were just being delusional because of the fever. You were throwing magic around, creating havoc as if you were under attack.”
James just stares in disbelief as Jiron recounts what happened and the destruction they saw as they came to search for him.
“At first we thought we were under attack,” he continues, “but then realized it was the fever doing it to you. Then you suddenly ran off into the forest and for a while we heard you blowing things up. It lasted well over an hour before you finally stopped. Couldn’t come for you until morning, didn’t want to risk getting lost and separated.”
“Sorry,” James says apologetically.
“No one got hurt,” Delia says, “and it seems that it was good for you, the fever’s gone.”
They sit there and wait for the return of Cassie and Tinok. Just when Jiron is about ready to leave to find them, they show up carrying a stretcher they made with two long tree limbs and a couple of blankets.
They set it down near James and then Tinok and Jiron help him onto it. With Jiron in the front and Tinok taking the rear, they begin to carry him through the forest and back to camp. As they enter the areas of destruction, James is reminded of a similar instance back near Trendle. He just shakes his head in regret at all the uselessly destroyed trees.
When they pass by the petrified tree, Tinok asks, “How did you do that?”
“What?” he asks, lifting his head a little to see what he’s talking about.
“That tree there,” he replies, indicating it with a nod of his head.
“What’s wrong with it?” he asks again, confused.
“It’s as hard as stone,” he explains.
“Let me see,” he says and they carry him close enough so he’s able to touch it. When he feels the tree, he tells them, “Petrified, I would guess.”
“Petrified?” Cassie asks.
“Petrification is when minerals in the ground are absorbed by a living organism and over time turns as hard as rock,” he explains.
“How did you do that?” Tinok asks.
“I don’t know,” he admits. “But I plan on thinking about it, now that I know it can be done.”
They resume carrying him until they get back to the camp, where they lay him down and start a fire to warm him. Cassie replaces his bandage with a fresh one containing more of her poultice.
Once they have the fire going and James has eaten his fill, he says, “We better get going, we’ve still got to get to Korazan before the slavers do.”
“Are you well enough?” Jiron asks.
“No, but we have little choice,” he replies. “I can rest well enough in the wagon.”
“Alright,” Jiron says, “let’s get ready to go.” He and Tinok begin the process of securing the traces on the draft horses. When they’re set, they help James up onto the wagon, again next to Delia. Tinok and Cassie take up the second wagon and Jiron rides point. The five remaining horses are tied in line in the rear.
“Let’s go,” Jiron says, as he begins to ride down the road with the wagons following behind.
This time, Delia and Tinok are much more able to properly control the wagons, and are able to make better time. They follow the road for the rest of the day, at times having to stop while everyone except James, gets down and helps push one when it gets stuck in the mud.
Just a brief stop for lunch and then they resume their journey. James drifts in and out of sleep throughout the day and by the time they make camp that night, he’s regained enough of his strength to be able to come down from the wagon by himself.
They get the horses unhitched and picketed before making camp. Tinok gets a roaring fire going to help keep them warm through the night and then they eat the last of the rations that