Shades of the Past_ Book Six of the Morcyth Saga - Brian S. Pratt [84]
Evil, malignant evil, radiates from the creature as it reaches its hand out toward him. His heart freezes in his chest and a scream is ripped from his throat as the creature’s hand draws near.
AHHHHHH!!
He starts awake and bolts upright on his cot. His breath comes in rasps as the fear continues to course its way through him.
His tent flap opens and Jiron rushes through with a knife in either hand. “What happened?” he shouts as he looks around for an attacker.
“She needs my help!” he cries as he begins to calm down. His breath continues to be labored as the fear starts to dissipate.
“Who?” he asks as others crowd the entrance to his tent to see what the commotion is about. “Who needs your help?”
“I…” he starts to say but the memory of the dream is already beginning to fade. “I… don’t know.” Like sand slipping through your fingers, the dream which had been so clear earlier is now all but gone. All that’s left are small fragments: golden hair, fear, and a sense that something needs to be done and done soon. But just what eludes him.
“I can’t remember,” he tells them as he puts his face in his hands. Breathing steadily, he brings his nerves under control.
Putting his knives away, Jiron turns to the others congregating at the tent flap and says, “He’s alright. It was just a dream.”
From outside the tent James can hear the sound of the others muttering as they head back to their tents. He takes his head from his hands and sees Jiron, Delia and Miko there just within his tent. “I appreciate your concern,” he tells them, “but I’m alright.”
“You gave us quite a fright,” Delia says, worry still in her eyes.
“Was it a vision?” Jiron asks.
“I don’t know,” he replies. “I can’t recall.”
“Dreams of that intensity usually are,” Miko says in a tone sounding very sure of what he’s saying. “Try to hang onto the memory next time, it could be important.”
“I’ll do that,” he says. To Jiron he asks, “How far away is dawn?”
“Still a couple more hours away,” he replies. “You should try to get a little more rest if you can.”
Laying his head back on his cot, he glances over to them and says, “I doubt if I’ll be able to right away.”
“Get what you can,” Delia tells him and then gestures for everyone to leave the tent.
“I’ll try,” he assures her as they file out through the tent flap. The last thing he sees before the tent flap closes is Devin’s face gazing in at him with concern, then the flap closes.
Lying on his cot, he tries to recall the dream but is unable. After awhile, he yawns and actually returns to sleep for a little bit before the call comes for the camp to awake.
Chapter Fourteen
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Despite repeated questioning by the various members of their group, he’s still unable to recall anything but a vague feeling of unease about the dream of the night before. Finally he just quits trying.
It doesn’t take them long to pack everything and be on their way shortly after sunrise. James continues checking his mirror frequently for any forces which may be heading in their direction. The force behind them that had trailed them throughout the day before continues to keep a discreet distance behind them. From what the mirror shows, their number has swelled dramatically through the night. Their plan must be to crush Black Hawk between their force and those waiting for them at Al-Zynn.
James scrolls the mirror as far south as he can and finds units moving in the general direction of Al-Zynn. It appears all is going as planned, the Empire believes they intend to sack Al-Zynn and are moving every available unit there.
They keep a moderate pace, neither rushing nor being too slow. As best they can, they try to maintain a course that will take them a little west of Al-Zynn rather than directly toward it. If the Empire realizes they are not entirely on a straight heading, with any luck they will simply write if off as they don’t know the exact way.
By late afternoon, James has