The Star of Morcyth_ Book Five of the Morcyth Saga - Brian S. Pratt [83]
“Where is she?” James suddenly asks. Looking around, Serenna is no where in sight. “Damn! We’ve got to find her!”
Raising his voice, Illan hollers, “Fan out! Locate the woman.”
As James and Illan head toward the shattered remains of the globe, the rest move out and hunt for Serenna. Coming to the shards, James bends down to examine them. No presence of magic or a malignant presence remains. He reaches out and picks up a two inch long piece. Holding it close it appears just a simple glass shard. Tossing it back with the others, he gets back to his feet.
“What happened here do you suppose?” Illan asks him.
“I don’t know?” he replies. “Maybe she tapped into a force which got the better of her? Who knows?”
Jiron comes running back in and says, “There’s no sign of her.”
“Continue the search,” Illan tells him. “Fan out through the city if you have to but we must find her.”
Jiron nods his head then returns to the hunt. Illan turns to James and asks, “Can you find her with magic?”
“Too tired to attempt it now,” he says. “Let’s go back to the inn.”
As they make their way back toward the entrance, they pass by the pile of bodies lying on the floor and he catches a glimpse of the innkeeper’s dead face where he’s wedged in among the others. Sadness overcomes him as he realizes he’s going to have to tell the innkeeper’s son that his father is dead.
Outside the tent, they see a group of townsfolk at the edge of town looking toward the pavilion. “What should we tell them?” Illan asks.
“As little as we can,” he replies. “In the morning let’s get out of here as fast as possible. I would leave now but I’m just too tired.”
“Understandable,” he says. “Fifer!” Illan hollers when he sees him poking through the ramshackle houses which have sprung up around the pavilion.
He looks up to see Illan waving him over. Making his way to him, he asks, “Yes?”
“Tell the others to keep searching,” he says. “We’re going back to the inn. If you can’t find her soon, head on back as well.”
“I’ll tell them,” Fifer assures him as he heads off to find the others.
James looks to the townsfolk as he and Illan draw closer, each have the look of fear and uncertainty on their faces. When he reaches them, he says, “Serenna and her followers will no longer be bothering you.”
Seeing the blood on his clothes which Illan acquired during the battle, one lady asks, “Did you kill them all?”
Shaking his head, Illan replies, “No. No more than we had to.” Gesturing back to the pavilion, he adds, “Many are coming out of the hold she had on them and are going to need your assistance.”
Suddenly one of the men cries out, “Hera!” and rushes toward the pavilion. A woman is emerging from the tent and he runs to her, wrapping his arms around her. The others begin seeing others whom they know emerge or are already wandering around on the outside and go to them.
“Let’s go,” James says.
He and Illan work their way through the town until they see the inn appear down the road ahead of them. Entering through the front door, they make their way up the stairs to their rooms.
The door to where Dave and the innkeeper’s son had remained is ajar. Illan places his hand on James’ shoulder and draws his sword. Motioning for James to remain where he is, he moves closer to the door. Placing his hand upon it, he slowly pushes it open and gasps when he sees what’s inside.
The innkeeper’s son, or rather what’s left of him, lies on the floor. At his gasp, James comes forward and takes in the scene. Glancing around, he says, “Dave’s gone.”
The room is a shambles, the table is overturned and only one chair remains. The shutters for the window are broken and James moves to the window to find the other chair lying broken on the ground below. “Dave!” he cries.
“Damn!” curses Illan. “Where could he have gone?”
“I don’t know,” replies James as he turns from the window. “If they broke in here to get them, he might