The Mists of Sorrow_ Book Seven of the Morcyth Saga - Brian S. Pratt [91]
James can see the warring desires within Jiron. Finally he comes to see the logic in what Shorty said and nods his head.
They wait there a half hour before the door they are keeping an eye on opens. Two figures leave the building and begin walking down the street. “Is that them?” James asks.
Both are cloaked with hoods over their heads. One is rather bulky and the other is slightly shorter and looks thinner. “It could be,” Jiron says. Taking a step from the alley, he says, “Only one way to find out.” Moving quickly, he crosses the street to confront them.
Before he has a chance to close half the distance, the larger of the two quickly glances in his direction. Seeing him approaching, the cloaked figure grabs the shoulder of the smaller and together begin running down the street.
“I guess that clinches it,” Shorty says as he runs to help Jiron catch them. James and Reilin hurry to keep up.
The larger of the two begins slowing down while the smaller starts to pull ahead. Finally, the larger one shouts something to the other and comes to an abrupt halt. Pulling a large club from out of her cloak, the large woman from the tavern turns to face Jiron. So unexpected and quick was the maneuver, that Jiron fails to see the club in time and is forced to dive to the side in order to avoid the blow.
Hitting the street, he comes up with knives at the ready. “Get the other one!” he hollers to the others as they speed by. Turning to face the large woman, he draws his knives.
“Don’t kill her!” James insists as he flies past with the other two in pursuit of the second cloaked figure.
Jiron makes no reply as he and the large woman stand there, each sizing up the other. “I don’t want to kill you,” Jiron says in a mild tone.
“I know,” the woman tells him in heavily accented northern. “But you are going to hurt my sister.”
Surprised, Jiron exclaims, “You understand me?”
“Yes,” she replies.
“All I want is information,” he tells her.
She looks at him like he’s lying. “You are a killer,” she says. “You come and kill and destroy.” Stepping forward, she swings the club at Jiron’s head.
Ready for the blow this time, he easily sidesteps the descending club. Moving in close, he strikes her on the side of the head with the pommel of one of his knives and then jumps back to avoid another blow. But another blow fails to materialize.
The woman staggers backward from the blow to her head, the club falls from her hand and she slams backward onto the street. Jiron cautiously moves forward and finds her eyes closed. Worried that he might have killed her, he’s relieved when he sees her chest rise and fall as she draws in a breath. He’s glad she is alive, he didn’t really want to hurt her.
Getting to his feet, he turns and races after the others. The street ahead of him is deserted and quiet, he hopes he’ll be able to find them.
Leaving Jiron behind to deal with the club wielding woman, Shorty races after the other fleeing figure. Suddenly, the hood of the cloak falls back and reveals a much younger and prettier woman than the one facing off against Jiron. When she passes through light spilling from a window, Shorty is shocked to see just how lovely she is. This can’t be that woman’s sister!
She ducks down a side alley and Shorty follows. He casts a quick glance back to see James and Reilin not too far behind before he enters after her. The woman ahead of him shouts something into the dark as she runs and then all of a sudden several forms detach themselves from the shadows. He sees the moonlight glint off the weapon in one of their hands.
Before he’s even conscious of the decision to draw one of his throwing knives, one is in his hand. The four forms ahead of him move to block his way and call out to him. Even though he can’t understand what they are saying, he knows they want him to stop. But if he lets that woman get away, they may never find her again.
Letting fly his knife, he draws another quickly as the first one strikes home and sends one of the forms to the