Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li: The Morcyth Saga Book Three (63 page)

“We were set upon as we were about to enter
the pass,” Illan explains.

The officer gazes around at the hundreds of
dead scattered about and the holes where the explosions had
occurred. Then he turns his attention to Illan and his group. “You
all there are?” he asks incredulously.

“Yes,” he replies.

“How did you manage to kill all these and
only lose three?” he asks.

“Actually, we only lost one,” he tells him.
Indicating James and Miko, he adds, “The other two are just
unconscious.”

“I see,” the officer says. He holds out his
hand and says, “Name’s Captain Herril.”

Taking the hand, Illan says, “Illan.”

“Now, how did you do it?” he asks.

“Can’t really explain it,” he says. Changing
the subject, he asks, “How did you come to be here?”

“Yesterday, the Empire’s forces launched a
major offensive against our line,” he says. “This group here was
seen to pass by while we were engaged with the others. Once
reinforcements arrived and the line stabilized again, I was sent to
track them down.”

“Fortunate,” Illan comments.

“Yes, it seems so,” Captain Herril says.
“You wouldn’t know anything about why they’re here would you?”

“I’m sure I don’t know,” Illan says,
straight faced.

“Uh-huh,” he says, not sounding
convinced.

One of his men rides up and salutes, “A
couple are still alive.”

“Take them for questioning,” he tells the
man.

Saluting, the rider returns and with others,
begins rounding up the survivors.

“Where do you plan to go from here?” the
captain asks.

“Through the pass into Cardri,” Illan
says.

“And then?” he asks again.

“Who knows for sure?” replies Illan.

Illan notices that someone, probably Jiron,
had covered up Abula-Mazki’s body to avoid any questions there. “We
should be going,” he tells the captain. To Uther he says, “Go round
up our horses, we’ll bury Keril first and then head into the
pass.”

Jorry and Uther move away as they begin to
round up their horses that had been scattered during the
battle.

“I’d still like to know how you did this,”
the captain demands, not going to be balked further in this.

Illan turns to where Jiron is sitting by
James and hollers, “Get the letter.”

Nodding, Jiron searches through James’
pouch, finally pulling out the letter. Getting up, he brings it
over and hands it to Illan who then hands it to the captain.

The captain opens it and begins reading the
words written upon it. His eyes widen when he realizes whose
signature is at the bottom. Finished, he returns the letter to
Illan. “Okay then,” he says. “I’ll not press you further.”

“Lieutenant!” he shouts to one of his
men.

A rider comes over and says, “Yes sir.”

“Get the men and the prisoners ready to
ride,” he tells him.

Saluting, the lieutenant says, “Yes sir.”
Then he turns back to the rest of the men and begins shouting
orders.

Once his men are ready to ride, the captain
mounts and says, “Good luck to you.”

“You too, captain,” Illan says.

Turning his horse south, the captain rides
out with his men falling in behind. A string of horses in the
middle of his men hold ten wounded clan riders.

As they ride away, Illan moves to where
Hinney is still cradling Keril’s head in his lap. Even before he
reaches them, he knows Keril is dead. “We have one more service to
perform for Keril,” he says to him gently.

Looking up with tears running down his face,
Hinney says, “He was a good friend.”

“Yes he was,” agrees Illan. “But it’s time
we let him go.”

Nodding, Hinney comes to his feet and then
picks up his friend. Over to the side, Jorry and Uther have already
dug a grave for him. When Hinney gets closer, they gently remove
Keril from his arms and place him within.

They fill in the grave and everyone gathers
around as each tells of some experience they’d had with Keril.

When they’re done, they secure James and
Miko to their horses. Mounting, Illan gets them moving toward the
pass, and Cardri.

The first thing he becomes aware of is the
fact that he’s lying in a bed. Odd, he doesn’t remember there being
a bed by the Pass. He cracks his eyes open then closes them quickly
when the light strikes his eyes like red hot daggers. Moaning, he
brings his arm up and lays it over his face to block out the
painful light.

“He’s awake,” he hears a voice say.

“Get Jiron,” another voice says and he hears
a door open and close.

“James,” a soft, female voice says
soothingly. He feels someone sitting on the bed next to him. Then a
hand is placed on his chest as the voice speaks again, “James?”

He parts his lips to say something but is
unable to speak.

“Here,” the voice says again, “try to drink
some of this.”

Opening his mouth, he feels a cup being
placed to his lips. Then, cool water slowly enters his mouth,
soothing the parchedness. And when he swallows, the liquid eases
the tightness of his throat. After the cup is pulled away, he’s
able to croak out, “Where am I?”

“You are in Trendle, James,” the voice says
and then he recognizes that it’s Mary who’s tending him. “You have
been here several days. We were worried about you.”

“Miko?” he asks.

“Your friend is doing well,” she replies.
“He is in Devin’s room and still very weak. We will let him know
you’re awake.”

He nods his head. The door opens and then
feels another person sit on the bed. Then he hears Jiron’s voice
say, “Man, am I glad you’re back.”

“Me, too,” James croaks. “Water,” he says
reaching out weakly. The cup is returned to his lips as he takes
another small sip.

“Not too much at one time, now,” she
advises.

When he’s done drinking, he asks, “Are Tersa
and the others here?”

“Yes, they made it,” Jiron says happily.

“They’re staying at Hern’s old place right
now,” Mary tells him. “When they showed up and explained things to
us, they were allowed to move in while they waited for you.”

“Thank you,” he says. Cracking his eyes
open, he can see Mary and Jiron sitting on the bed. The light hurts
his eyes, but they seem to be getting used to it, either that, or
the water has somehow helped.

“You’re welcome,” Mary says. The door cracks
open again and he hears a small voice ask, “Is he okay mama?”

“Cyanna,” her mother says, “he’s fine.”

James can hear her say something to another
by the door when her mother says, “Girls, now leave him be. He
needs his rest.”

“Yes, mama,” Cyanna says and then the door
closes once more.

“We better go,” Mary says to Jiron. “He
still needs a great deal of rest.”

“Alright,” he replies. Getting off the bed,
he looks to his friend “You get some rest James. If I’m not here
when the next time you wake, I’ll be over with Tersa.”

Then Mary gives him one more sip before
rising. “Get some sleep,” she advises. “It’s the best thing for you
right now.”

As they leave the room, he closes his eyes
and before drifting off to sleep one more time, remembers the
message that Abula-Mazki had sent:
The Fire walks with the
Star.
They know, and they’ll be coming for it.

James’ adventures continues in:

Trail
of the Gods

Check out the epically adventurous worlds of
fantasy author

Brian S. Pratt

Four comrades set out to recover the
segments of a key which they believe will unlock the King's Horde,
rumored to hold great wealth. Written in the style of an RPG game,
with spells, scrolls, potions, Guilds, and dungeon exploration
fraught with traps and other dangers.

For those who enjoy dungeon exploration

without all the buildup or wrapup.

Fans of his previous works, especially
The Broken Key
, will discover
Underground
to be full
of excitement and surprises. First in a series of books written for
the pure fun of adventuring,
Underground
takes the reader
along as four strangers overcome obstacles such as ingenious traps,
perilous encounters, and mysteries to boggle the mind.

In many stories you hear how
‘The Chosen
One’
appeared to save the day. Every wonder what would happen
if the one doing the choosing bungled the job?

In
Ring of the Or’tux
, that’s exactly
what happens. Hunter was on his way to a Three Stooges’ marathon
when in mid-step, he went from the lobby of a movie theater to a
charred tangle of stone and timber that once had been a place of
worship. From there it only gets worse for the hapless
Chosen
One
. First, an attempt to flee those he initially encounters
(who by the way are the ones he was sent there to save), lands him
into the merciless clutches of an invading army (those whom he was
supposed to defeat).

Jaikus and Reneeke are ordinary lads whose
dream in life is to become a member of The Adventurer's Guild. But
to become a member, one must be able to lay claim to an Adventure,
and not just any adventure. To qualify, an Adventure must entail
the following:

1-Have some element of risk to life and
limb

2-Successfully concluded. If the point of
the Adventure was to recover a stolen silver candelabra, then you
better have that candelabra in hand when all is said and done.

3-A reward must be given. For what good is
an Adventure if you don't get paid for your troubles?

Jaikus and Reneeke soon realize that becoming
members in the renowned Guild is harder than they thought. For
Adventures posted as Unresolved at the Guild, are usually the ones
with the most risk.

However, when they hear of a party of
experienced Guild members that are about to set out and are in need
of Springers, they quickly volunteer only to discover to their
dismay that a Springer's job is to "Spring the trap."

If they survive, membership in the Guild is
assured.