Shades of the Past_ Book Six of the Morcyth Saga - Brian S. Pratt [14]
Continuing to pass from one ride to the next, he suddenly catches out of the corner of his eyes a flash of blonde hair moving in the aisle on the other side of the rides. Turning to look closer, he sees a girl roughly in her teens moving along going the opposite way.
“Hey!” he hollers to her but she fails to respond. Moving quickly, he passes between two rides and enters the aisle in which he saw her. Looking down the direction she went, he sees her getting into a boat.
“Wait!” he calls to her. Why he needs to reach her isn’t clear, just that he must. Breaking into a run, he hurries toward the ride she’s about to enter. It’s the Tunnel of Love.
A large single story building sits atop a stream. Several boats are lined up behind her and a carnie is just finishing securing her in and then throws the lever. Her boat begins to float with the current and moves to enter the opening.
James starts to get into the next boat but the carnie stops him, “Ticket please.” Reaching into his pocket he discovers the ticket is gone. “I’ve got to follow her!” he cries.
“You can’t get on without a ticket,” the carnie states.
Not knowing what else to do, he stands there and watches as she disappears into the Tunnel of Love.
“Sir?” a voice says, bringing him back to consciousness.
Opening his eyes, he glances over to the tent flap and sees Devin there. “What?” he asks.
“Illan says we need to be on the road soon,” he replies.
“Alright,” James tells him and then lies back as the tent flap closes again. Trying to catch the fleeting remnants of the dream, he begins to be unable to recall the details. Sighing, he gets up and starts getting dressed. The one thing about the dream he recalls is that the girl was in some way familiar. Why, he’s not sure.
By the time he’s dressed and leaves his tent, the memory or the dream has faded completely and all he’s left with is a feeling of having lost something.
Chapter Three
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In less than an hour they’re up and on their way. The sun rising over the Sea creates a truly dazzling display as the waves upon its surface sparkle in the early morning light. Leaving the city of Pyrtlin behind, they take the east road along the northern shore of the Sea.
Not long after Pyrtlin disappears behind them, they come to a crossroads where they can either continue along the shore to the east or take the road to the north. They continue along to the east.
“We should arrive at Shore Town sometime before the evening meal,” Illan explains to James. “There we’ll need to take the northeast road out of town.”
“Wouldn’t it be quicker to stay next to the Sea?” questions Jiron.
Shaking his head, Illan says, “There’s a mountain range on the eastern shore of the Sea which we will have to ride around.” To the east they see the peaks of the mountains silhouetted against the sky in the distance.
“How long will it take us to reach Lythylla?” James asks.
“A week or so,” he answers.
The rest of the day passes fairly quickly and just as Illan predicted, they reach Shore Town shortly before the evening meal. They find an out of the way inn where they stop to have a bite to eat. Having been on the road for many days and eating their own cooking makes them all long for a real meal.
The mood here in Shore Town isn’t nearly as harried and anxious like what they found back in Pyrtlin. Probably due to the fact that before they’re going to be attacked by the Empire, other cities will have to fall first. Everywhere there are signs of preparations being readied in the event the Empire makes it this far.
From where they sit having their meal in the inn, they watch a group of boys who are put through drills, similar in nature to those Illan had the recruits doing back at The Ranch. When James asks a local at a nearby table about the drills, he