Fires of Prophecy_ Book Two of the Morcyth Saga - Brian Pratt [44]
He passes several people moving along the streets as he makes his way through town, but no one gives him a second thought. Up near the fire, he sees dozens of people trying to halt the advancing flames with axes and shovels, doing their best to save their homes but it doesn’t look as if they’re being too successful. Just as a group has a space cleared in the hopes of preventing it from spreading, a tree engulfed with flame falls across the cleared area, starting new fires past the fire break. People rush to beat them out before they have a chance to spread but are having limited success.
None of the firefighters on the mountain look to be soldiers, though from this distance and with all the smoke it’s hard to be sure. As he continues toward the jail, he doesn’t come across any soldiers here in town either. Guess we got them all up on the mountain.
Out of the smoke ahead of him, the jail suddenly comes into view. Cautiously, he slows down as he takes a good survey of the surrounding area for any soldiers. Not finding any, he makes his way toward the jail all the while continuously scanning for anyone approaching. But with all the smoke in the area, they would have to be really close before they would even know he was there.
Upon reaching the jail, he secures his horse to the rail outside and goes up to a window to look in. A quick look reveals the jail to be empty, a lucky break. Off to one side of the main room a table had been overturned, most likely during their jail break. Spilled on the floor beside it is James’ backpack along with their knives and other belongings.
Surprised and pleased to see all their stuff still there and apparently untouched, he glances around to make sure he’s unobserved and then enters the jail. Hurrying over to where his knives lie on the floor, he picks them up first and belts them on, feeling good now that he has them again. Stuffing Tinok’s knives into the backpack, he then slings the backpack over a shoulder and proceeds back to the front door. The sound of approaching horses stops him before he opens the door.
Moving to a window, he looks out and discovers twenty enemy soldiers approaching on horseback. He watches them for a few seconds, and when he realizes they’re on their way to the jail, he runs to the cells in the back and slips through the hole in the wall James had made during their escape. By the time he’s reached the alley behind the jail, the sound of them talking can be heard from where they’ve stopped out front. What they are saying is unknown as Jiron doesn’t speak the Empire’s language.
He slips around the back to the side alley and moves to the end where he can peer around to observe the riders out front. The majority of the soldiers are still upon their horses, one lone horse stands without a rider. Jiron’s horse sits in the middle of the group and it doesn’t appear as if anyone is paying it any attention. Shortly, a soldier’s voice can be heard calling out to the others from within the jail.
The one whose attire marks him to be an officer barks out orders and half of the remaining men dismount, as does he. The others remaining on their horses turn and proceed to move quickly in different directions through the town, as if they’re looking for something. Then he hears another soldier’s voice from inside shout excitedly as he finds the hole in the cell.
Jiron looks longingly at his horse sitting there amidst the others for a moment and then begins to hurry back to the alley running behind jail. When he reaches it, he turns to follow it away from the jail. Just as he reaches the end of the alley, he pauses a moment and glances back toward the jail. A soldier sticks his head out of the hole in the wall, looking first one way then the other.
He quickly slips around the corner to avoid being seen by the soldier. Not hearing any outcry from him, he breathes a sigh of relief at not having been spotted. He continues down