Tides of Faith: Travail of The Dark Mage Book Two (52 page)

“She is a rare spirit,” Brother Willim
said. “Very few mortals ever see one, least of all befriend
one.”

“Befriend…?”

Jiron turned back to his daughter,
then cast James an accusing look.

“Hey,” James said, “It’s not my
fault.”

Miko stepped in between them. “I do
not think it is anyone’s fault, other than Jira’s herself.” He
stared meaningfully at Jiron until the knifer’s eyes relaxed ever
so slightly. “After all that the three of you have been through
recently, it is no wonder she would seek to interact with your
saviors.

“If it had not been for them, you
three would be dead right now. Frankly, I would have been surprised
if she had held little curiosity about the Little Brothers.” He
turned to Brother Willim. “Am I correct in assuming from what you
have said that she has actually befriended one of the little
creatures?”

Brother Willim nodded. “Yes. I’ve
known for some time that a burgeoning bond was developing between
them, and had planned on speaking to her about it when next we
met.”

“How did you know?”

The priest turned to Jiron. “The
priests of Asran are the few mortals with whom they have contact. I
have an affinity with them and as such, hear things they feel
strongly about.”

Jiron appeared to be
mellowing.

“You should be proud to have a
daughter such as Jira.”

Jira looked up at her
father.

He gazed into her eyes and saw them
twinkle. The crook of her mouth edged upward in a half-smile. “I am
proud of her.”

She leapt into his arms and gave him a
big hug which he returned wholeheartedly.

“I was so worried about you,” he
said.

“I was too, but knew you would find
me. You will always find me.”

“He’d move the entire world to get to
you.”

She glanced back at her
Uncle.

“Move?” asked Scar. “Say rather lay
waste.”

Potbelly chuckled. “I would hate to be
the one standing in his way.”

“I told her that she needs
to find a safer environment in which to interact with the earth
spirits. Doing so on the fringe of the
Waste…”
he paused a moment before
adding, “would be inadvisable.”

“Agreed,” Jiron said. He set Jira down
and gave her a stern gaze. “Right?”

She nodded. “Yes, Father. I promise
not to again seek the Little Brothers until we are in a safe
place.”

“And I will let you know when that
will be.”

She nodded again. “Yes,
Father.”

“Okay, then.”

“We should get back to camp,” James
announced. Then to Brother Willim, “Would you care to share our
campfire this evening?”

“I would be delighted.”

Glancing back at the beast, he asked,
“Find many like that around here?”

“Unfortunately, yes. They
have been coming out of the
Waste
in ever increasing numbers. This particular one
shoots poisonous barbs from its tail.” Seeing Jiron’s sudden
concern, he added, “They are not deadly, she is in no danger.
Rather they paralyze those they strike. This way their victims
remain conscious, yet nonresponsive.”

“You seem to know a lot
about the
Waste
,
Brother,” James said.

“Yes. I have been here for some time.
Shortly after the war ended, we received word that the land here
was killing travelers and that beasts of nightmare were emerging. I
and others were sent to assess the situation and see if reparation
would be feasible.”

“Is the rest of the Hand
here?”

He glanced to James and shook his
head. “I am no longer one of the Hand; another leads. No, I am here
to do what can be done to restore the health of this
land.”

“It’s going to take a very
long time before the
Waste
will be safe for travelers again.”

“This is true,” Brother Willim agreed,
then laid a hand on James’ shoulder. “Do not feel guilt about the
part you played in this. Far better a sickness that can be cured,
than a disease that would have inevitably led to death. If the god
Dmon-Li had crossed over, there would have been nothing left to
save.”

James nodded and sighed. “I
know.”

“Are you planning on
entering the
Waste
?”

“What makes you ask that?”

Brother Willim smiled. “Why else would
you be where you are? And there is a power lying dormant at the
heart of the sickness.”

James turned to him and Brother Willim
arched an eyebrow questioningly.

“The Star of Morcyth,” James admitted.
“I utilized its power to close the gate and as a result, produced
an explosion that not only destroyed the gate but nearly all of
Dmon-Li’s temples. I believe the explosion left this area
contaminated with high levels of radiation. That is what is killing
people; and most likely mutating the wildlife into beasts like the
one that took Jira.”

“And you are planning to brave that,
uh, radiation to retrieve it?”

“That’s the plan,” James
explained.

“I know you are a powerful
mage,” Brother Willim said, “but I doubt even your prowess will
stay the hand of death should you venture much deeper into
the
Waste
.”

“I have two suits of specialized
clothing that will protect us from the radiation. They are lined
with lead, and lead blocks radiation.”

“How do you know this?”

“Where I come from, we have issues
with radiation and have learned to deal with it. Even had a little
gadget that would tell us where radiation was at its deadliest
levels, but it was destroyed not too long ago.”

“That is too bad,” Brother Willim
said. “Such a, uh, gadget would have proven beneficial.”

“How long would it take to reach the
Star from here?”

The priest of Asran contemplated the
question for several moments then said, “At least a solid day by
horse, two …possibly three if on foot.”

“We’ll be walking.”

“The first half day shouldn’t be much
of a problem. It wouldn’t be until then that you reach where
animals begin to die.”

“Any idea how to know when that
is?”

Scar chuckled. “That’s easy. Look for
the dead animals.”

James glanced to Brother Willim who
nodded.

“He is correct. Once you reach the
first dead animal, it would be best to don your special
clothing.”

“Or before that,” advised Miko. “Some
animals may get poisoned by the radiation then wander farther into
the deadly area before succumbing to it.”

“The Reverend Father has a point,”
Father Keller added.

James sighed then nodded. “Best not to
take chances.”

Once back at the camp they checked in
on Eddra and found her sleeping.

“She hasn’t stirred,” Shorty said.
“Mumbled some, but Azhan could not make out what she
said.”

“That is correct, Master,” his
apprentice said.

“Master?”

James rolled his eyes and turned to
Brother Willim. “Seems I have picked up a couple apprentices.” He
then introduced Azhan and Hikai.

“Interesting.”

“Tell me about it,” James said with
less than a full measure of enthusiasm.

“Are they going with you
into the
Waste
?”

Shaking his head, James replied, “No.
Just me and Miko.”

“Who is she?” Brother Willim asked as
he gazed at Eddra.

“Well, her village was going to stone
her for being an evil witch who had brought horrors and disasters
upon them. We stopped them.”

Brother Willim nodded.
“Understandable.”

“And, we believe she may have some
insight as to the odd shimmering disturbance we witnessed in the
sky a few days back. Have you seen it?”

“Large expanse of what appears to be
heat radiating from the ground yet it is among the
clouds?”

“Sounds about right.”

“Twice it has passed over,” Brother
Willim said.

“Did anything happen when it
did?”

“Not that I noticed.”

“We believe it may in some way affect
the workings of magic,” James explained. “Or maybe even be magical
in nature.”

“I do not know.

Jiron came forward. “Have the earth
spirits mentioned it?”

Brother Willim shook his head. “No.
Their interests lie in other directions and rarely coincide with
what we mortals would consider important.” He gazed into the
carriage where Eddra slept. “You think she might know something
about it?”

“We hope so.”

“It’s a curious thing to be sure,”
Brother Willim said.

James gazed at Eddra a
moment longer, watched her chest rise and fall and hear the
softness of her breath going in and out. “But we will need to worry
about that another day. For in the morning, Miko and I are forging
on into the
Waste
.”

He then went to the pack horse and got
the radiation suits. They were packed in plastic and easily
removed.

Kip picked up the helmet and eyed it
critically.

“Put it down,” Father Keller
commanded. “It is not for you.”

“Just looking at it, Father,” he
replied, but put it down.

“
They are not very
comfortable,” Miko said.

“They aren’t meant to be,” James
replied. “Just supposed to keep us alive.”

“Two days in these?” Miko
groaned.

In that groan, James heard the boy who
the High Priest used to be.

“Not just two,” Potbelly said. “If
it’s two days in, it’s two days out.”

Miko prayed for Morcyth to give him
strength.

“You shouldn’t have to wear these all
the time,” Brother Willim said.

“Yes we do,” James replied. “If we get
out of these and the radiation levels are high, we don’t stand a
chance.”

“I understand that,” he said. “But as
I said earlier, my fellow Brothers and I have been here for years
working to heal this land.” He reached into his shirt and pulled
forth a leafy vine bearing a white flower with three yellow stalks
growing from the center.

“Our first night here, we prayed to
Asran for guidance. In the morning, we woke to find these vines
growing throughout our campsite.”

“Pretty,” Shorty said. “But I don’t
see how that helps?”

“Vines do not grow and flower
overnight,” Brother Willim explained. “Not unless a god wills it.
Asran sent these to aid us in our mission.” He held up the
flowering vine. “Where these grow, the land becomes healthy
again.”

“They absorb the radiation?” James
asked

The priest of Asran nodded. “Or feeds
on it. We are not exactly sure. What we do know for certain is that
wherever you find these, the land will be safe. And in those places
you could take off your suits for a time without fear of
dying.”

James eyed them skeptically. “Are you
sure?”

“Absolutely. Once the
radiation is gone, the vines wither and die.” He handed the vine to
James. “It has been four years since the vines first came to us. I
and the others have worked to spread them throughout the fringe.
Wind and animals have carried them toward the heart of the
sickness. The Little Brothers tell of large swaths growing deep
within the
Waste
.
Based on what they have told us on the areas already healed by the
vines and the rate of their propagation, we estimate the
Waste
should become
livable again in little more than ten years. Or at the very least a
place where men can pass without fear of dying.”

“Incredible. Those of my world would
give anything to have these vines.”

“Now, I would suggest taking the suits
off in areas where the vines have already died,” Brother Willim
warned. “Where they remain green and in bloom indicates the
presence of the radiation upon which they are currently
feeding.”

Nodding, James said, “That would make
sense.” He turned to Miko. “Could wait ten years…”

“No,” the high priest
replied, “Morcyth has indicated now
is
the time to retrieve the
Star.”

“Best to get it done since we are
here,” James agreed. He looked at the thick, rubbery mask. “This is
going to be a long two, I mean four days.”

“We’ll have a hot bath waiting for
you.”

James chuckled and turned to Jiron.
“You better.”

“When you leave here in the
morning,” Brother Willim explained, “keep vigilant. Though ones
like what took Jira are most common, there have been stories of
creatures even more fearsome than what took Jira that wander
the
Waste
.”