Fires of Prophecy_ Book Two of the Morcyth Saga - Brian Pratt [65]
She leads him away from the others and then takes the sling from him. She also takes one of the slugs and puts it into the sling’s pouch. “What you want to do is hold it by the two loops on the ends like this,” she says as she demonstrates the proper technique. “Then you slowly wind it up and release one end of the sling when it reaches the proper position that will enable the slug to fly where you want it. Watch.”
She quickly winds up the sling and then lets go of one end while still holding onto the other. The sling opens up and the slug flies through the air, hitting a small tree ten yards away. Turning back to him, she says, “Easy.”
Giving him the sling, she watches as he gets ready to place a slug in it. She adjusts the way he’s holding it and then gestures for him to insert a slug. “Now, wind it up and when it feels right, let only one end loose so the slug will fly free, got it?” she asks.
“I think so,” he says. Winding up, he gets the sling whirling fast and then lets go. He hears a chuckle coming from behind him as the sling leaves his hands and goes flying out into the desert, the slug still remaining within its pouch. Turning around, he sees Tinok standing there, shaking his head and grinning.
“Don’t mind him,” she tells James. “Just retrieve your sling and let’s try it again.”
Once he’s returned with it, he stands the way Delia instructs him to maintain his balance and remain centered, then gets it whirling quickly. This time when he lets go, he manages to retain one end of the sling, but he hears more laughter as the slug hits one of the wagons behind him.
“Watch it!” Jiron says from where the slug almost nailed him.
“Sorry!” James hollers over to him.
“Better,” says Delia.
“How is that better?” he exclaims. “I almost killed Jiron.”
“You didn’t lose the sling this time,” she explains. “Now, do it again and concentrate less on retaining the sling and more on the target.”
Placing another slug within the sling, he gives her a look and receives one of encouragement back. Behind him, he hears Tinok loudly say in amusement, “Be alert, he’s trying again.”
Trying to concentrate on the small tree that she hit earlier, he begins to twirl and then releases. To his satisfaction, the slug goes in somewhat the desired direction, though still hitting the ground ten feet away from the tree.
“Not bad,” she says encouragingly. “A little more practice and you’ll have it down. Just don’t expect to be perfect too soon, it takes time to learn.”
Taking another slug and placing it within the sling, he whirls it and lets it loose while at the same time adding a touch of magic to it. The slug flies unerringly to the tree where it strikes it dead center, punching a hole right through.
Delia looks at him and says, “That’s cheating.”
James shrugs and gives her a grin, and then he puts it away as they prepare to get underway.
At one point they come across where an old building had once stood, its wooden frame now lying broken and vacant. At a suggestion from Tinok, they stop and jury-rig a canopy for the water wagon from the building’s wooden remains. They find four boards that they manage to secure to the wagons frame and then tie a blanket atop it. Not exactly stylish but it helps. The two lads just smile and shake their heads at it all, they’re just fine riding in the sun on their wagons.
The rest of the day passes fairly uneventfully, just endless miles of dry hills with only the occasional traveler coming from the south. By the end of the day, they’ve already emptied one of the barrels of water and have begun to drain a second. They have had to stop every other hour to give each horse some to drink.
With the sun settling close to the horizon, they pull off the road to make camp. Once the horses are taken care of, they settle down around the campfire and have dinner while they swap tales and songs. Before the end of it, the two lads come over and join the fun. One of them, Hakim, even sang a song while his bother, Hakir, told a story that only Roland could understand. He did his best to translate and