The Star of Morcyth: The Morcyth Saga Book Five (25 page)

Fifer glances to James and asks, “What was
all that about?”

“Are we going to hear her speak?” Miko
asks.

James glances at the departing trio and says
quietly, “Not here. Let’s get our horses settled in first and we’ll
talk where we won’t be overheard.”

They all turn somber at that. Not exactly
what they were expecting to hear. Fifer glances to Illan who nods
his head gravely.

Taking the horses around back, they find
only one other horse in the stable. Visitors here must be few, with
all that’s going on it isn’t too surprising. No stableman is around
so they choose a set of stalls together and get their horses
settled in. Then they take their packs with them and return to the
inn where they head upstairs to their rooms.

James has them all come into his room and
they close the door. He gives the others a rundown of what he and
Illan were told by the innkeeper. When he’s done, Qyrll asks, “Do
you plan to go and listen to the lady’s words?”

He sits back a moment and considers the
question. “Maybe,” he finally says.

“What?” asks Jiron. “You can’t be
serious.”

James looks to him and says, “I am.
Something is going on here and it’s possible I could be the cause.
Also, consider this. If she finds out where The Ranch is, she could
send all her crazies there to ‘destroy the demon’ which would mean
a bloodbath. No, I need to stop this now. She and her followers
could become a veritable plague upon the land.”

“So what do you propose to do?” Illan
asks.

“Later on, I’m going to go and see what’s
going on,” he says. “After I get a little rest and some food.”

“We’re going with you,” Jiron says, several
of the others nod their heads in agreement.

“It wouldn’t be wise for you to go in there
alone,” Illan agrees.

James considers it for a moment and then
says, “Very well.” To Miko he says, “Go downstairs and see if we
can get our meal up here.” He hands him some coins to cover it.

“Alright,” replies Miko, taking the coins.
“I’ll be right back.” Leaving the room, they hear his footsteps
going down the hallway to the stairs.

“What are you planning to do there?” Fifer
asks.

“I don’t know, really,” he admits. “People
don’t go mad such as we’ve seen in so short a time unless something
is causing it.”

“Magic?” suggests Fifer.

Shrugging, James replies, “Maybe. Who
knows?”

“Have you felt anything since coming here?”
Jiron asks.

“No, but the pavilion isn’t exactly close
either,” he replies, shaking his head. He sits in contemplation for
several minutes until Miko returns saying their food will be up
shortly.

“What did I miss?” he asks.

“Not much,” replies Jiron. He goes to the
window and looks out onto the courtyard below. Nothing is stirring
out there. The only thing which disturbs the night is the light
coming from the pavilion area.

It isn’t long before there’s a knock on the
door and the innkeeper’s son arrives with their food and plates
enough for all of them. James gives him a few coppers for a tip
before he returns downstairs. Roasted chicken, bread and ale, not
much variety but there’s a lot of it.

Each of them fills a plate with a portion of
the chicken and then finds a place to settle down to eat. James and
Illan take the small table and the only two chairs in the room
while everyone else makes do with either the bed or floor. Jiron
just stands.

Illan glances across the table to James and
after swallowing, says, “You know, if you go over there, there’ll
probably be trouble.”

James sighs before replying. “I realize
that. But how much more trouble will there be if I do nothing? She
and her followers are a cancer which must be stopped before it has
a chance to spread further.”

He takes a few more bites before replying,
“Already we’ve seen one of her people heading south. Who knows why
he left and what he plans to do?”

“Finding more people to come hear her?”
offers Fifer.

“Probably,” agrees James. “If nothing else
will just stir up mischief.”

Crash!

The sound of pots clattering on the floor
can be heard coming from below.

“
You can’t take him!”

Everyone comes alert when they hear the
innkeeper cry out. Illan motions for Fifer to see what’s going on.
Qyrll goes with him.

“What happened?” Miko asks.

“Think they came back?” Jiron asks as he
moves toward the door Fifer and Qyrll left open when they left.

“It would seem so,” Illan says.

They begin moving out into the hallway,
Illan turns to Dave and says, “Stay here and lock the door.”

Dave gives him a dark look but remains
within the room.

From the stairs they hear footsteps running
up them. In a moment they see Fifer and the innkeeper’s son reach
the top.

“They’ve taken my father!” cries the boy,
tears running down his face. A long cut is welling blood on his
forearm. Jiron returns to the room and rips a section of sheet off
and ties it around the wound to stop the flow of blood.

As Jiron ministers to him, the boy
continues, “They came to take me but my father fought them and they
took him instead.”

“Qyrll’s following them,” Fifer says.

“Damn!” curses James. “He might become like
them.” Turning to Illan he says, “We have to move fast.”

“Agreed,” he says. To the innkeeper’s son,
Illan indicates their room and says, “Stay in here. We’ll find your
father.”

“Please hurry!” the boy says.

As the boy enters their room with Dave,
James tells his friend, “You stay here and look after the boy.”

“Why do I always have to stay behind?” he
asks, voice full of hurt.

“There could be fighting,” he tells his
friend. “Just promise me to stay here?”

Nodding, Dave says, “Alright. But you come
back!”

“I will,” he assures his friend. Closing the
door he begins heading for the stairs. Jiron moves ahead of him and
takes them two at a time. He then makes it to the door leading out
to the main street first.

The door is standing open, the street on the
other side deserted. After a nod from James, he leaves the inn and
begins making his way toward the lights of the pavilion.

Hurrying along quickly, they move through
streets strangely quiet. Usually there are people out and about
even at this hour, the sun hasn’t been down all that long.

They come to a junction of streets and from
out of the cross street to the right, a band of a dozen of her
followers suddenly appear.

Jiron draws his dagger but James lays a hand
on his arm and says quietly, “Not yet.”

They’re immediately noticed by the followers
who move to intercept.

James steps to the fore and asks, “We heard
about the lady and her message, would you know where we could find
her?”

The band stops and one points to the lights
of the pavilion before saying, “There you will find the lady.” His
eyes are slightly wild and foam flecks the side of his mouth.

“Thank you,” replies James as he gives the
band a nod and gestures to the others to continue toward the
pavilion.

Miko glances backward repeatedly until her
followers are out of sight behind. He keeps one hand on the pommel
of his sword, just in case.

Jiron again takes the lead as they continue
to make their way toward the lights. Twice more they’re intercepted
by roving bands of her followers and each time he handles the
situation just as James had. Once her followers are told they mean
to go to the lady, they leave them alone.

“How far ahead do you think the innkeeper
is?” asks Fifer.

“Can’t be too far,” Jiron states, “we’ve
kept a good pace.”

They finally reach the ramshackle area of
lean-tos and hovels where her followers seem to live. The stench
from this area is wretched, refuse having been deposited wherever
convenient. This is the most deplorable state of sanitation James
has yet to experience.

When they pass the last building, they see
the pavilion before them. A tingling sensation begins as they draw
closer to it and James says to the others, “Magic.”

Jiron nods as he resumes making his way to
the pavilion. Her followers are more numerous here. Many eye them,
but none try to hinder them in any way. After all, they’re going to
go see the lady. If they were to turn around, that might be an
altogether different situation.

As they draw closer, the people begin to
change subtly with more vacant eyes and emaciated appearances. It
almost looks like they’ve done without food for quite some time.
One group of individuals look as if they’re sleeping near one of
the campfires but when they come near find they’re actually
dead.

“What’s going on here?” asks Illan.

James glances to him and replies, “I don’t
know. Whatever it is has to be stopped.”

Nodding, Illan says, “I agree.”

When they’re only a dozen yards from the
entrance to the great tent in the center of the pavilion area, a
large figure detaches itself from a group of onlookers at the
opening and comes toward them.

“Qyrll,” Fifer says with relief. “I was
worried about you.”

Giving him a smile, Qyrll replies, “No need
to worry.” To Illan he gestures to the tent opening and says, “They
took him in there.”

“What’s going on in there?” James asks. The
prickling sensation has continuously increased as his proximity
with the tent decreases.

“Bad things,” he says.

Murmuring can be heard coming from within.
James darts a quick glance inside and sees the entire floor space
of the tent covered with people. An aisle of sorts extends from the
tent opening all the way to a central platform erected in the
center. Standing at the base of the platform is the innkeeper and
several followers. Two of them hold his arms and James can see him
struggling to get away. Standing on the platform is Serenna, the
fortune teller whom he had been so nice to on his last visit.

“The lady awaits.”

Startled, James turns to see several dozen
of the faithful gathered around him and his party.

“She grows impatient,” another says, though
James isn’t sure just which one of them said it.

Turning to the others, he says, “Watch each
other and if any start acting weird, or if you feel yourself
slipping away, tell me at once.” After he receives a nod from each,
he turns to the opening. Taking a deep breath to calm his shaky
nerves, he enters.

As he enters, the prickling sensation
intensifies. The smell of unwashed bodies mingles with that of
feces making the resulting odor nigh on unbearable.

James looks at the surrounding mass of
people and takes notice of motionless forms lying here and there
about the floor. More of her followers who have died.

Bringing his attention to bear upon the
platform, he sees a dark globe sitting next to her on a pedestal
looking to have been made of marble. A dark stone three feet high,
it allows the globe to sit perfectly for her to rest her hand upon
it.

“Listen to my words,” she says and the crowd
grows hushed. Laying her hand upon the globe, James feels a sudden
spike in the tingling sensation. The globe must be the source of
her power and control over these people.

“It’s the globe,” he says to the others with
him.

Nodding, Jiron replies, “Can you destroy
it?”

“Need to be closer,” James tells him as they
continue toward the platform.

“Protect James,” he hears Illan say to the
others. They then form a circle around him as he continues
forward.

“The demon walks among you,” her words float
upon the air from the platform. His mind suddenly begins to cloud
as the magic from the globe makes its way into his thoughts.

At the foot of the dais, the innkeeper
becomes docile as his struggles against his captors cease. Her eyes
are directly upon him.

James calls forth the magic and pushes it
from his mind, erecting a barrier which causes the magic from the
globe to flow around him. It’s the same principle as the concealing
spell he developed for hiding the Fire. Suddenly, he realizes the
others with him have stopped. He almost runs into Jiron who was
ahead of him.

“Jiron!” James says, as he shakes him by the
shoulders.

Jiron turns his head and looks at him but
his eyes don’t appear to really focus on him.

James summons a burst of power and erects
shields around the others’ minds as well. Snapping out of their
lethargy, they look around confused for just a moment before
realizing what had almost happened.

“Thanks,” Jiron says.

James nods and takes the fore as he moves
further toward the platform. Looking to Serenna, he sees her eyes
locked on him. She’s aware of his presence.

Pointing to him, she cries out, “The demon
has come!”

As one, the followers turn their attention
to him. A growl can be heard coming from them as the throng closest
to the stage closes off the aisle, preventing him from continuing
further.

“Thou hast come to thy doom!” Serenna cries
out. Magic crackles in the air and the prickling sensation suddenly
spikes. “Kill him!” she screams to her followers.

“Ready!” cries out Illan as he draws his
sword. The others follow a split second behind.

James looks at the people coming toward him,
townsfolk and farmers, simple folk. When they reach the men
protecting him, they begin to fall as swords strike out. Limbs fall
to the ground, heads are separated from shoulders and still they
come. Trusting to Illan and the rest, he turns his attention to the
platform.

Serenna stands there, eyes blazing hate as
she watches her followers being cut down like stalks of grain to
the scythe.