The Mists of Sorrow_ Book Seven of the Morcyth Saga - Brian S. Pratt [148]
“Do you know him?” Jiron asks.
“Oh yes,” he says with a nod. “He is the Guildmaster of the slavers in this area. A very powerful person whom it isn’t wise to cross.”
“Can you think of a way for us to talk to him?” James asks.
“It isn’t as simple as you are making it out,” he says. “No one simply goes up and talks to Buka. Very few around here have even seen him.”
“We heard he is presently within the slaver compound here in Cyst,” states Jiron.
“That well may be true,” nods Perrilin. “From what I’ve heard, he doesn’t leave here often.”
“Can you be of any help?” asks Jiron. “If what James was told in the dream is true, then Tinok has less than two weeks to live.”
Shaking his head, he says, “I don’t have any connections within the slaver guild I’m afraid.”
“Do you know what he looks like?” James asks.
“Yes,” he replies. “But I don’t know how that is going to be of any help.”
Jiron looks to James. “Is it?” he asks.
“Maybe,” he replies. Removing his mirror from its pouch, he says, “I’ve never done it quite this way before.”
“Done what?” Perrilin asks suspiciously, his gaze upon the mirror.
“Try to find someone,” he explains as he sets the mirror on the table between them.
“With magic?” he asks.
“How else?” James says.
“Is it going to hurt?” Perrilin asks.
Shaking his head, James replies, “No. What I want you to do is to visualize Buka in your mind, close your eyes if you need to.”
Perrilin nods his head and closes his eyes. When he has Buka’s image clearly depicted, he asks, “Okay, now what?”
“Nothing,” replies James. “Just keep the image in your mind as clear as you can until I tell you to stop.”
“Alright,” he says, eyes still closed.
James then turns his attention to the mirror on the table and concentrates. The magic begins to build as he formulates what he wishes it to do. And that is, to find the person Perrilin is concentrating on.
“Is this going to work?” Reilin asks Jiron.
“Shhh!” Jiron says irritably. “Don’t disturb him.”
James lets the magic flow and it almost seems as if a thread of it attaches itself to Perrilin’s forehead. Of course it doesn’t actually do that, it just feels that way. Then all of a sudden, the image in the mirror coalesces and they see a large man gone to fat sitting on a bed in a room with two naked young women.
“Is that him?” James asks.
Perrilin opens his eyes and nods. “Yeah, that’s him,” he says.
“I can see why he doesn’t get out much,” Reilin states. Jiron nods his head in agreement.
“You can stop thinking about him now,” James tells Perrilin, “I’ve got him.”
“Now what?” he asks as he gazes at the people in the mirror.
James begins scrolling the image in small increments and then moves the image upward until the room disappears and an aerial view of the slaver compound comes into view.
Jiron pays extra close attention to the image, committing to memory the exact location of the room in which Buka is in. Finally he says, “I’ve got it.”
“You sure?” James asks.
“Oh yeah,” he replies. “I can find that room now.”
Canceling the image, he replaces the mirror back in his pouch.
Reilin gets a sly grin on his face and says, “From the looks of things, I’d say he’ll be in there for awhile.”
“Looks that way,” agrees James.
Perrilin glances from Jiron to James then back again. “You aren’t thinking about going in there are you?” he asks.
“Can you think of a better way to find out what we want to know?” responds Jiron. Then he turns to James and says, “Shall we?”
“Yes,” he replies as he stands up. To Perrilin he says, “I appreciate your help in this.”
Perrilin rises and looks to them for a moment. Then says, “You’re welcome. Just be careful.”
“We will,” James assures him. “Now, can you lead us out?”
He nods and moves around the table to the door. Opening it, he steps into the hallway and leads them back the way they came. A young man is now within the room with the woman and two children.