Trail of the Gods_ The Morcyth Saga Book Four - Brian S. Pratt [125]
Walking over to the edge of the cliff, she looks down at the dust cloud below. It’s beginning to clear away and she can see the enormous pile of rubble at the bottom. It may be her imagination but it looks like there are still survivors down there trying to dig out their companions. The exact number is obscured by the enormous dust cloud filling the valley below.
Stepping back from the cliff, she sees James lying on the ground. The sight of him sends fear through her, she doesn’t know why. Earlier during their trip together, he’d been an amiable and likable fellow. But after what she had just seen him do, the mere sight of him terrifies her. She comes nearer to him and nudges him with her foot almost as if she needs to believe he’s real. A groan escapes him when she nudges him, causing her to jump backward a foot in fright.
From the trail she hears the sound of Jiron returning with a horse. She doesn’t know what to do, being in company with such people. One tears down a cliff and the other scales a sheer drop of a thousand feet and then takes out the entire force at the top.
Jiron secures the horse with the other two and then notices how she’s standing as if she’s about to flee. “Relax,” he tells her with a smile. “Help me gather some wood so we can have a fire.”
When she still doesn’t move, he comes over to her and says soothingly, “Truly, we won’t harm you. And while you are with us, we will not allow others to harm you either. Though we do seem to attract the attention of the worst sort of people.”
He leaves her to her thoughts as he begins combing the area for firewood. After depositing his second load near James, he sees her take her bow from off her shoulder and says to him, “I’ll get something for dinner.”
“That’s a good idea,” he replies as he returns to the area by the few trees up there for another load. The clouds above had begun to clear ever since the cliff fell. Soon, blue can be seen and off to the west, the sun is beginning to descend close to the horizon.
The area around them is sparsely dotted with trees, mainly just rock and the occasional bush. Off to the west, the ridge they’re on slopes down until it finally dwindles into hills. Nestled in the hills lies a large fortress. Must be Kern that she mentioned earlier. And beyond it lies Cardri!
Chapter Twenty Two
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Jiron has the fire going by the time Aleya returns with but a single rabbit. “I think all the noise must have scared off everything else,” she explains.
Taking the rabbit from her, he says, “I’m sure this will do nicely.”
She glances over to James where he lies by the fire. Wrapped in a couple blankets to keep the chill away, he looks down right peaceful lying there. “How is he?”
“He’ll live,” replies Jiron as he begins getting the rabbit ready for the fire. “This actually happens quite often when he does what he calls, ‘over the top’ magic. He’ll sleep through the night and most likely wake up in the morning.”
Taking a seat next to him, she sits quietly while he skins and guts the rabbit. When he at last has it on a stick and roasting over the fire, she says, “After what I saw earlier, I can understand why they want you so bad.”
He gives her a grin. “That’s not the half of it,” he says to her, but doesn’t elaborate further.
“Do you think it’s wise for us to stay here?” she asks. When he glances at her she continues, “I mean, the archers that were up here must’ve come from somewhere. I understand there’s a large force of the Empire’s soldiers down by the fortress, they’ve been there ever since the invasion of Madoc.”
“If an army is on its way here,” he explains, “we would meet it all the sooner if we went down the mountain.” Gesturing over to James, he adds, “If we give him a chance to rest and regain some of his strength, then we stand a better chance of