Fires of Prophecy_ Book Two of the Morcyth Saga - Brian Pratt [66]
As the fire begin to burn low, everyone starts turning in. James can’t seem to fall asleep, worry about Miko keeping him awake. So he just lies back and stares at the stars, still amazed at just how much clearer they are here than back home. Must be ‘cause there’s no smog here, he figures. Whatever the reason, they seem to work like counting sheep for before he even realizes it, he’s asleep.
He wakes in the middle of the night, noise from where the horses are picketed having disturbed him. The fire has long since burned out and the only light is that from the stars above. He sits up and looks around but doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary, everyone else is still asleep. Even Hakim and Hakir are snoring peacefully under their wagons.
Then one of the horses snorts again and he can hear several others begin to pace around. Suspecting trouble, he quietly crawls over to Jiron and wakes him with a gentle shake. “Trouble,” he whispers to him as he comes fully awake.
He sees him nod his head in the starlight as he sits up, looking around. “The horses are skittish for some reason,” James whispers to him. “Go check it out and I’ll wake Tinok.”
Again, Jiron nods his head as he gets up, silent as a cat and begins making his way over to the horses.
Just as James reaches Tinok’s side, he sits up, a knife in his hand as he strikes out. Stopping the blade just inches from James’ nose, he asks, “What the hell are you doing?”
“Quiet!” James whispers intently. “Something’s going on.”
Suddenly very alert, Tinok looks around.
“The horses,” James whispers to him, “something’s got them…”
Suddenly, a cry splits the night, coming from where Jiron had gone to check on the horses. Without even thinking, James casts a spell and his glowing orb appears over the camp, brightly illuminating the area. There they can see Jiron in battle with two men, armed with swords and others approaching out of the desert.
Everyone else comes awake, Cassie screams and James says to the rest, “Stay together!” as he and Tinok race over to where Jiron is being hard pressed by the bandits.
As he runs, James takes out one of his iron slugs and casts it at an oncoming bandit, taking him through the stomach. As the slug exits through his back, gore flies as he falls over dead.
As they reach Jiron, Tinok kicks out and knocks one of his opponents down and then begins to battle another, knives flashing in a blinding arc of speed.
Having Tinok distracting one of his attackers, Jiron is able to be more on the offense with deadly results as another of the attackers falls to the ground.
Two men appear out of the night, coming straight for James. One of them is the man who had offered them his services outside the merchant’s guild. “It appears you did need our services after all,” he says with a grin full of malice.
“Not necessarily,” James says as the power surges out of him. A wave of force throws them backward and he takes one out quickly with a slug. The other man, the one who approached them outside the merchant’s guild, gains his feet quickly and comes at James with sword in hand.
Just before the man closes with James, Jiron comes running and imposes himself between the man and James. The man strikes out with his sword and Jiron deflects it with one knife while following through with the other. Dancing backward, the man pauses a moment as he takes in the situation. He’s the only one left standing.
Turning, he begins to race away when a slug flies from the other side of camp and strikes him between the shoulder blades. A snap can be heard as the man’s spine is shattered. He falls to the ground and lies still, whimpering with pain, paralyzed.
“Good shot!” Tinok says to Delia who is putting away her sling.
Jiron moves to the man lying on the ground and can see the pain in his eyes. Bending over, he takes his knife and ends the man’s misery. Turning to James he asks, “Who were these guys?”
Pointing to the dead man at Jiron’s feet he says, “That one offered me the service of his band for guard duty, but I turned him down. Guess he