Tides of Faith: Travail of The Dark Mage Book Two (71 page)

The wind whipped their hair furiously
as they sped across the desert. James fest decidedly homesick as he
used to love laying his head against the side of the car as the
wind blew through the open window. If he closed his eyes, he could
almost imagine himself back home on the way to the pizza parlor
across town. But he dared not allow his concentration to wane. For
that to happen at such a speed would prove problematic.

An hour went by, then two and the
miles flew by. During the third hour, a small oasis with several
trees and bushes came into view ahead. He altered
course.

It was deserted and he brought the
door to a halt just outside of it. The pool around which the
foliage grew was clear and pure. James hopped off the door and
knelt at its edge. The water proved somewhat cool and oh so
wonderful.

“We should take a break,” Miko
suggested. After drinking his fill, he topped off his water bottle
and sat against one of the trees. “You don’t want to
tire.”

“My thoughts exactly,” agreed
James.

Picking a swath of grass near Miko,
James stretched out. He thought about how much he had enjoyed the
ride, and how Kenny would love it. His thoughts drifted to Meliana
and their life together and how he couldn’t wait to see them.
Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep and Miko was shaking his
shoulder to wake him.

“We should get going,” Miko said as
James came awake.

“Hmm, what?” he asked
sleepily.

“We need to get to Zixtyn and find the
others.”

James nodded and rubbed the sleep from
his eyes. “How long was I out?”

“About an hour. You feel asleep pretty
fast.”

“Holding a spell for hours does take
its toll.”

Miko eyed him. “Do you feel up to
continuing?”

“Yes.”

A stretch and drink at the pool later,
they climbed back onto the door and James soon had them careening
toward Zixtyn.

The road came into view not long
before nightfall. James brought the door to a halt as soon as they
saw it.

“Looks deserted,” Miko said as he
gazed at the road.

James opened his pack and removed his
mirror. “I’m going to find out in which direction Zixtyn
lies.”

“I’ll watch the sky.”

Sitting cross-legged on the ground,
James held the mirror before him. As before the image changed from
his reflection to an aerial view of the countryside.

“Any shimmering?”

“Not yet,” Miko replied.

He moved the image southwesterly along
the road. Not far down lay an inn with two outlying buildings.
Knowing that couldn’t be Zixtyn, he continued his search. Two
minutes later, he spied a town sprawling around a
crossroads.

“I think I found it,” he
said.

“Can you be certain it is
Zixtyn?”

James shook his head. “No, but it has
to be.”

Miko looked over his shoulder at the
image. “How far?”

“Possibly another hour by flying
door.”

“A bed would be most welcome
tonight.”

“And a bath.”

Miko laughed. “I would expect nothing
less.”

Returning his mirror to his pack, he
grasped hold of the door, let flow the magic and they were on their
way.

He angled so as to keep the road out
of sight. For now that it was near nightfall and the light would be
fading, the last thing he wanted was for someone seeing them all
aglow zooming through the night.

It turned out to be over an hour until
the lights of the town came into view. James brought them as close
as he dared before bringing the door to earth and disembarking. He
shouldered his pack and they headed for the road before it entered
the town.

Traffic was light this time of the
evening and they gained the road without attracting too much
attention. They did draw glances for they were obviously two
foreigners and piqued peoples’ curiosity.

The first of the outlying buildings
stood three stories and had a sign out front depicting a bed and
knife. It looked well-kept and maintained. James’ stomach growled
most noticeably when he caught a whiff of the mouth-watering aroma
wafting from within.

“I don’t think we have to look any
further.”

Miko pointed to the third story rooms
overlooking the road. “If we get one of those we can keep an eye on
when they arrive.”

“If they aren’t already
here.”

“I do not think so,” Miko argued.
“Remember, they have Eddra and cannot travel fast; and we did get
here rather quickly the last little bit. I think we covered two
days of walking.”

James nodded. “Room, food and bath and
not necessarily in that order. Then we’ll make
inquiries.”

The common room proved to
be just as well-maintained as the exterior. It was full yet not
overly boisterous. Off to the side a bard was setting up to play.
James watched him for a moment hoping it was
Perrilin; but it wasn’t.

A large woman in a fine dress came up
to them and gave them a smile. “Good evening, sirs,” she said in
the northern tongue. “Would you be interested in a
room?”

“That,” James agreed, “and a meal and
a bath if those could be sent up to us?”

She beamed. “We have a nice room with
two beds here on the ground floor that would be perfect for
you.”

James shook his head. “If you have one
available, we would prefer one on the third floor overlooking the
road.”

“Certainly we do. It is three silvers
a night…,” she began.

“Three?” James interrupted
her.

“Ours is the finest inn in Zixtyn,”
she explained. “Meals and baths are another silver
each.”

“That’s fine.”

“Excellent.”

Crossing over to the front counter she
passed behind and produced a key. “You’ll find it at the top of the
stairs, three down on the right.”

James took the key. “And the
baths?”

“I’ll send someone up in a few minutes
to see to your needs.”

“That will be fine,” James replied.
“Thank you.” He handed her the coins and they headed
upstairs.

At the third floor, they crossed to
the third door on the right, used the key and entered. Two beds, a
dresser with wash basin; a table with two chairs filled the small
room. James immediately went and sat on the one furthest from the
door. He sank into downy softness.

“We are definitely getting our money’s
worth here.”

“Must be why they are so
crowded.”

“Treat your customers right, and they
will always come back. Often with a friend.”

He kicked off his boots and laid back.
Miko went to the window and opened the shutter.

“Quite the view,” he said.

James glanced his way but just
couldn’t bring himself to leave the bed just yet. It was a far cry
better than the ground of the night before.

Not long after, a knock at the door
announced the arrival of the serving girl. She took their order for
lots of everything as they were starved, and said she would arrange
for the boys to bring up two tubs after they had eaten.

“Sounds good,” James said then flipped
her a copper.

She caught it and after a very brief
inspection, tucked it away in her bodice.

“Thank you, good sirs. Is there
anything else I can help you with?”

“Actually, yes. If your inn can
launder clothes before the morning?”

“That we can.” She quickly scanned the
room and saw their lack of baggage. “Would you be needing a change
of clothes by chance while yours are being cleaned?”

“Robes or full length tunics would be
nice,” James said. “We don’t plan to leave the room.”

“Very good. Then if there isn’t
anything else…,” she trailed off then continued when James shook
his head no, “I will return shortly with your meal.”

“Appreciate it.”

Once she left, James laid back down on
the bed. Miko kept at the window and watched the world grow dark.
Off in the distance the appearance of lights spoke of farmhouses.
Down on the street below, the last few stragglers made it into
town, none of who were the ones for whom they waited.

“Peaceful,” mused Miko.

“Hmmm?” James asked
sleepily.

Miko turned from the window toward his
friend. “I said it was very peaceful.” But James had already fallen
asleep. He returned to looking out on the darkening world and let
his mind drifted back over recent events until the serving girl
arrived with two others bringing their dinner.

He almost hated doing it, but he woke
James.

Dinner comprised of two full loaves of
bread, a platter of chicken sufficient for four men, and a second
one with an assortment of freshly steamed vegetables. Along with
the food the girls brought a pitcher of ale and two mugs. Miko gave
them the coins for the meal and they left with promises to return
in a bit to collect the dirty dishes and have the tubs brought
in.

Miko finished off a third of a loaf
and four pieces of chicken before asking, “Do you have any new
thoughts on what that shimmering field was?”

Mouth full of vegetables, James shook
his head. “I’ve no idea. It just seems strange that it reacts to my
magic and not yours.”

“And yet pays no attention when I
shield your magic with mine.”

“I know,” James replied. Spearing
another portion of chicken, he pulled the crisped skin off and
chewed on it. “It’s a mystery alright.”

“Have you noticed that it
always seems to first appear from the heart of the
Waste
?”

“Yes, I have. I suppose it is possible
that it is in some way a product of the creature we recovered the
Star from.” Swallowing the skin, he bit off a goodly portion of
chicken. “But somehow that doesn’t feel right. I mean, if the
creature was responsible for the shimmering field, it would
assuredly have done more to us than what it did.”

“That makes sense,” Miko agreed. “But
if not the creature, then what?”

James shrugged. “Darned if
I know. At least we’ve figured out a way to work around it should
it appear. And it seems as if the farther from the
Waste
, the longer it
takes for it to appear.”

“Because it forms there.”

“You could be right,” James agreed and
turned thoughtful. “Has to be a reason why it does.”

“I am sure you will figure it
out.”

James didn’t share his
optimism.

They finished the meal trying to come
up with a plausible reason for the shimmering field with little
luck. Soon the serving girl returned with six young men in tow each
trio bearing a bathing tub. She gathered the dirty dishes and all
the food they didn’t want to keep for a snack later and
left.

Not long afterward, a parade of
serving girls and young men brought scalding buckets of water and
poured them into the tub. It took a few trips but soon they had
them filled. On the last trip, their serving girl returned with
towels, two robes and a tray bearing bathing paraphernalia such as
soap, brushes, etc.

“You should find these robes quite
comfortable,” she said as she laid them on their beds. “We shall
return in an hour to collect the tubs and will take your clothes
for washing at that time.”

“Are you sure they will be done by
dawn? We have business in town and can’t very well transact it in
these,” James said, holding up a robe.

She gave him a reassuring smile. “Our
laundress will have your clothes washed and dried in a couple
hours. I assure you, they will be ready.”

James nodded. “In that case, just
bring them up with breakfast.”

“As you wish.” Turning to go, she
paused and glanced by coyly. “Anything else I can assist you
with?”

Knowing full well what she had in
mind, and knowing also that Meliana would not take kindly to such a
dalliance, he declined.

Shrugging, she said, “If you change
your mind…”

“We’ll be sure to let you
know.”

Flashing a smile, she opened the door
and left. When it shut behind her, James quickly shucked his
clothes and gingerly eased his way into the tub. For some reason,
he had a strong visual image of a rascally rabbit doing the same
from the old Saturday morning cartoons.

“This is heaven.”

He took a handful of soap and
commenced the task of removing days of accumulated sweat and dirt.
“Remember that first bath when we first met?”

Miko laughed and nodded. “You almost
had to throw me in.”

“And now you love them.”

“I make my priests bathe at least
twice a week,” he said. “Some are quite reluctant at first.” He
turned thoughtful then chuckled. “I actually did have to have
Father Vickor tossed in his first time.” He laughed. “You never
heard such cursing and vows of retaliation.”