The Unsuspecting Mage - Brian S. Pratt [74]
James watches the departing riders until they pass out of sight. He then looks to the road and makes sure there are no travelers approaching from either direction. Grabbing an apple, he walks over to the edge of the river.
“You don’t think you’re going to hit him, do you?” Miko asks incredulously.
Smiling, James says, “Just watch.” He cocks his arm back and throws the apple while casting a variation of his stone spell.
Miko is amazed to see the apple arc through the air and actually pick up speed. Even though the man tries to move out of the way, the apple alters its course and nails him in the side of the head. With bits of apple flying in all directions, Miko is stunned to watch the man tumble from his horse. A thud is heard as the rider hits the ground.
James waits for several seconds to see if the man is going to get up or not. When he remains unmoving on the ground, he turns to head for the boat. “Let’s hurry,” he says, motioning for Miko to get back into the boat.
“Hurry where?” asks Miko as he comes over and climbs in. Careful not to step upon the apples lying across the bottom, he takes his seat.
Pointing to the opposite shore, James replies, “Over there.” He then grabs the side of the boat and pushes it out into the river, jumping in once the bottom is free of the sandy shore. Taking the oars, he rows hard and attempts to reach the shore not too far down from where the unconscious man lies.
When the boat grounds onto the opposite shore, he says to Miko, “See if he’s alive and if so, tie him up. Also, make sure the horse doesn’t get away, we’ll need it.”
“What are you going to do?” asks Miko.
“I’m going to hide our trail,” he replies and begins unloading their boat.
Miko goes over to the man and discovers that he’s not dead, just unconscious. Finding rope on the horse, he binds the man at the ankles and wrists. By the time he’s finished, James has unloaded their things from the boat and is standing motionless at the water’s edge. About to ask a question, he stops when he realizes James is staring at the boat and in the process of casting a spell. Taking the reins of the horse, Miko walks quietly over to see what he’s doing.
As he approaches he’s startled when the boat suddenly rocks on the beach. Then, even more shocking, the boat begins moving off the shore and into the water on its own. Being quiet so as not to break James’ concentration, he continues watching in wonder as the boat floats across the river toward the opposite shore. Inexplicably moving against the current, it finally beaches itself on the other side and continues moving up the beach until it’s far enough away from the water that the river won’t pull it back in. When the boat comes to a stop, James stops the spell and abruptly sits down.
“You okay?” Miko asks as he comes closer to his new found friend.
James looks up sees the concern on his face. Smiling to reassure the boy, he says, “Magic isn’t easy you know, it takes a lot out of you. I’ll be fine, just need to rest a bit.” Nodding over to the man, he asks, “How’s our friend over there doing?”
“You knocked him out with that apple and he’ll probably have a big bruise on his temple for a while, but I think he’ll make it.” Taking a water bottle off the horse, he hands it over to James, “Thirsty?”
“Yeah,” James says, taking the bottle and having a long drink. When he’s drunk his fill, he hands it back. “Fill it up again, we need to get going.”
Miko takes the bottle over to the river and refills it. Finished, he returns and gestures to their captive. “What shall we do with him?” he asks. “Kill him?”
“Good heavens no,” James exclaims. “I don’t kill people unless my life depends on it. We’ll have to take him with us for a ways then let him go.”
“Why do we have to take him with us?” he asks as he secures the bottle to the saddle.
“We can’t leave him here to tell his friends we’re on this side of the river,” explains James. “When they return and find the boat still on the other side, I’m hoping they will believe that we are still on that side, perhaps trying to escape cross