Fires of Prophecy_ Book Two of the Morcyth Saga - Brian Pratt [43]
“Shouldn’t you wait till morning,” Cassie asks.
Shaking his head, he says, “No, I better get started now. The sooner I get there, the less likely someone will have read the papers.”
James comes over and gives him some coins. He looks at them and James tells him, “For traveling expenses.”
He takes the coins, putting them in a pocket. Once he has the horse ready for travel, he mounts and says, “Where shall I meet up with you?”
“Well continue down the road and stop at the next main town,” James explains. “We’ll stay there for a day, and if you don’t show up we’ll continue on to Korazan.”
“Alright,” he says. “I’ll meet you there.”
“Be careful,” Delia and Cassie say at the same time.
“I will,” he assures them. “See you in a couple days.” He then heads his horse back down the road to the north and kicks it into a gallop as he races for Mountainside.
“Hope he’ll make it back,” Cassie says, worry in her voice.
“He will,” Tinok says with confidence. He looks into the night where Jiron had disappeared and says again, “He will!”
Chapter Eight
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Jiron leaves them quickly behind as he races through the cool of the night. As frustrated as he is at James for having to go back and retrieve his stupid backpack, he finds it refreshing to ride in the cool of the night, on his own.
Making very good time, it’s not long before the lights of Arakan appear in the road ahead of him. Remembering the soldiers stationed there, he swings wide to avoid being spotted. As he rounds the town, he spies one of the townsfolk standing outside one of the outermost buildings, his form silhouetted by the light coming through an open doorway. The man must’ve heard the sound of his horse, for he turns in his direction and peers intently, but is unable to see him in the darkness. Sensing no threat, the man returns to what he was doing. Jiron finishes bypassing the town and then returns to the road, soon leaving Arakan far behind.
Continuing to race north, another hour finds him at the quiet village of Bindles. Only a few lights can be seen amongst the buildings, the rest are dark as the inhabitants are asleep in their beds for the night.
He swings wide around the town and reaches the juncture of roads on the far side, where he follows the road eastward. The mountains now loom large on his left as he races down the road. He begins to detect the faint odor of burnt wood, testament to the forest fire they escaped from some time earlier.
Once he’s several miles east of Bindles, he gets down from his horse and walks for a while, giving his horse a break. Ten minutes later, he’s back in the saddle and riding hard.
As he continues north, the odor of smoke becomes stronger and stronger. After another two hours, he begins to see a glow coming from far ahead, where the fire is still raging upon the mountain. As he rides, the glow becomes more and more pronounced, until he’s finally able to see the flames themselves as they arc into the sky.
Off to the east, the sky begins to lighten with the coming of dawn, enabling him to see an incredibly large cloud of smoke extending for miles in every direction.
Down the road ahead, a town comes into view amidst the smoke. The fire is within a mile of the outskirts and at first looks to be deserted. As he comes closer to the town, he sees that it isn’t as deserted as it had first appeared. A few people are seen passing from building to building and they all have cloths tied about their faces to protect them from the smoke.
Realizing an opportunity when he sees it, Jiron pulls up to one of the houses at the outskirts of town. He ties his horse to a tree out back before going up to the backdoor. Finding it locked, he moves to a window and looks inside, the place looks deserted. Going back to the door, he looks around quickly to make sure no one is near and then kicks it open. Entering quickly, he shuts the door behind him.
The house is quiet, the people most likely having fled the approaching fire long ago. He quickly finds a cloth and