Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li - Brian Pratt [96]
A thick cloud of dust rises and a second later he sees the mage stumbling from the rubble, coughing and holding his broken left arm tight to his chest. Letting the magic flow, he strikes out with an energy wave which strikes the mage with great force. He’s propelled back into the wreckage and James can hear more boards break as the mage smashes into them.
Moving toward the collapsed building, James hunts for the mage. A prickling sensation can be felt as the mage begins a spell. James doesn’t wait for it to be completed, he lashes out with waves of force, pummeling the mage.
The prickling wavers and then stops. He creates the orb of light and moves into the rubble. He finds the mage, lying unconscious as blood oozes from her nose and mouth. A woman? Unable to outright kill her, he leaves her where she lies as he makes his way out of the rubble and back onto the street. He cancels his orb so as not to be a beacon in the night for his enemies.
Back on the street which is now empty, he moves further into town to find the others.
Jiron, meanwhile, turns a corner and is knocked down by a running, terrified woman. The woman falls on top of him and begins screaming. She claws at him, leaving red lines along his left forearm before she gets back up to her feet and runs away down the street. He gets back up quickly and looks down the way the woman had come, he can hear the clashing of swords. “Miko!” he cries out as he runs toward the sound.
As Jiron moves toward the sound of battle, a townsman rushes from a nearby doorway and hacks at him with his sword. Easily blocking the attack, Jiron kicks out with his foot and hears a snap as the man’s knee breaks.
The man falls to the ground, and Jiron moves around him, leaving him there in his agony. James must be rubbing off on me he thinks as he leaves the man alive behind him.
Suddenly, the sound of fighting stops and from around the corner steps Miko. Covered in blood and carrying a gore covered sword he walks toward Jiron.
“Miko!” Jiron calls out but it doesn’t seem as if he’s hearing him. Running forward, he stops in front of him and places a hand on his shoulder. “Miko, are you alright?” he asks as he shakes him slightly, looking intently in his eyes.
Miko suddenly starts, as if seeing Jiron for the first time and replies, “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Thank god!” Jiron says. “Let’s go find James and get out of here.”
Nodding, Miko looks at the sword in his hand, almost seems surprised it’s there. Tossing away the sword he follows Jiron as they hunt for James.
As they run back down the street, they see him coming toward them. “You guys okay?” he asks as he comes close and sees Miko there, covered in blood.
“We’re fine,” replies Jiron. Miko nods as well.
“Then let’s get out of here,” he says. He quickly surveys the area and sees an inn. Moving quickly, he leads them around back to the stables there. Entering the stables, they find a terrified stable boy who runs to his room and hides. While they are saddling three horses, they catch him peering out at them. Whenever he sees he is being observed, the boy ducks back inside the room.
When the horses are saddled, they mount and ride out of the stables. No one is there to challenge them. As they race out onto the street and make their way to the north side of town, they see people staring out of windows and from behind doorways.
If there are any guards or soldiers remaining, they’ve decided it more prudent to be absent than to stand in their way. They make it to the north road and quickly leave the town behind them.
After they leave, the townsfolk start to come out of their homes. They begin to take stock of the damage wrought by the intruders. The most ghastly sight of all is the area where the boy had walked out. A dozen soldiers lay dead as well as several of the townsfolk who tried to help, their bodies literally hacked apart. Some wonder what