Fires of Prophecy_ Book Two of the Morcyth Saga - Brian Pratt [42]
Suddenly, the ground cracks open and water geysers out of the ground, shooting twenty feet in the air before falling back down into the depression. The area rapidly fills with water as it continues surging out of the ground.
Jiron reaches James’ side and claps him on the shoulder as he says, “You did it!”
The others come to his side, congratulating him. They watch as the water fills the depression to capacity and begins creating a small pond, thirty feet in diameter. Then the water starts spilling over the side and is quickly absorbed by the ground.
Tinok kneels down by the water and cups his hands, tasting it. He looks over to the others and shouts, “It’s good, and cool!”
They all come over and drink their fill from the pool of cool water. The horses smell the water and begin straining against their tethers in an attempt to reach it.
Jiron runs over and releases them, allowing them to come and drink their fill. Everyone fills their water bottles before returning to the wagons.
“We were lucky there was no one around,” James says as he lies there near the campfire, relaxing.
“Why?” Cassie asks.
“Don’t want anyone to know I can do magic,” he explains. “They may still be on the lookout for the rogue mage that caused the destruction back at the City. I really don’t want them to begin putting two and two together.”
“What does two and two have to do with anything?” asks Tinok.
“Sorry, that’s just an expression from where I come from,” he replies. “It just means they might connect me with the things I did at the City. If they knew I was a mage, that is.”
“Oh,” he says.
“Maybe the next town we come to, we should buy several water barrels to carry with us,” Jiron suggests.
“That may be a good idea,” agrees James. “We should have plenty of money left in the chest.”
“What is the next town?” Cassie asks.
“Haven’t a clue.” James admits. “I’ve never been here before.”
“How do you know that we’re even going in the right direction, then?” Jiron asks.
“I figure Korazan should be further south,” he replies. “A major slave market would hardly be on the edge of the Empire. They would want it accessible to a large number of their people, so it stands to reason that it would be further into the Empire. Thus, south.”
As they relax around the campfire, James absentmindedly reaches for his backpack, but then remembers that they left it back in Mountainside when they broke out of jail. Thinking of the things that are now lost to him, he gets sad and then mad. This place is just going from bad to worse, he thinks to himself. Now I’ve gone and lost my backpack.
“Oh my god!” he suddenly exclaims, sitting up abruptly.
“What?” Jiron asks.
“My backpack!”
“What about it?” Tinok inquires as he joins the conversation.
“It’s back at the jail.”
“So?” says Tinok. “We all lost some things when we left there. We were in a little bit of a hurry.”
“You don’t understand,” exclaims James “I had some papers in there, notes I had been keeping about magic and other important stuff.”
When he sees that he’s not getting through to them, he says, “My notes will make them realize that a mage was there. If they assume I’m the same mage as was at the City of Light, then they will know we’re heading south.”
“And the only reason we would be heading south,” continues Delia, “would be to rescue someone from the slavers that had been taken when the City fell.”
“That’s one reason,” James agrees. “And if they come to that conclusion, they’ll be waiting for us there.”
“What do we do?” Cassie asks.
James looks to Jiron and says, “Someone needs to go and retrieve it. Or at least destroy it and the papers it carries.”
He flashes James a dark look, “You mean go all the way back there, on the chance that no one has yet looked inside and seen them?” He shakes his head, “I don’t know.”
“You’re the only one who can do it,” James urges.
He sits and thinks for a few minutes, everyone else remains quiet, waiting for his response. “Alright, I’ll do it,” he finally says. Getting up, he goes over to his horse