The Star of Morcyth: The Morcyth Saga Book Five (5 page)

With hate in his eyes, he gets up off the
frightened Dave. The knife in his hand remains out and
threatening.

“Dave, get back to our room,” James tells
him.

Scrambling to his feet fast, Dave moves
quickly to James’ room and they hear the door shut.

Every eye is upon him. “He simply went into
the wrong room is all,” he tells them. “I’ve known him a very long
time and I assure you, he isn’t like that.”

Jiron comes close to him and says, “Just
keep him away from my sister. I held back because he was your
friend, I won’t a second time.” After meeting his eyes for a second
in defiance, he turns and moves into Tersa’s room and then shuts
the door.

“Everyone back to bed,” Illan announces to
the rest. “Nothing more to see.” As the others begin moving back to
bed, he comes over to James and asks quietly, “Was it a
mistake?”

“It has to be,” James says defensively.
“Dave isn’t like that.”

“A mistake it may have been, but whatever
trust he had with everyone in this house is now gone,” he says. “If
another ‘mistake’ occurs, I believe Jiron will make good his
threat.”

“So do I,” he says. “I better go see how
Dave is doing.” Turning around, he makes his way back to his
room.

Inside, he finds Dave sitting on the bed
facing the door. “You have to believe me James, it was an
accident.”

“I do,” he replies shutting the door behind
him. “But no one else here does. You’ll need to step carefully for
awhile and rebuild their trust.”

“Why don’t we just leave here, the two of
us?” Dave asks.

“I can’t,” he says. “I’ve been through too
many things with these people to suddenly turn my back on them.
They’re all good, solid friends, you’ve just gotten off to a bad
start. But once they get to know you better, they’ll come to see
what kind of man you are.”

“Thanks for saving me back there,” he says
with a slight smile.

“You’re welcome,” James replies. “Just don’t
make that mistake again.”

“Rest assured, I won’t,” states Dave.

“Now let’s go back to sleep.”

Lying back on the bed, he listens to Dave as
he slowly succumbs to sleep. He’s worried about his friend. This
was not a very auspicious beginning and the others are not going to
be too trusting of him for awhile. The worries churning in his mind
at last quiet down and he’s able to fall asleep.

The following morning at breakfast, those
still there when he and Dave come to the kitchen give Dave cold
stares and hardly talk at all. Most excuse themselves as soon as he
and Dave sit down.

Ezra fills their plates and Dave’s is
decidedly lacking in the better portions of the food. He may have
missed that little nuance, but James certainly picked up on it.
After last night, it’s only what he expected. He’s actually
surprised that Ezra didn’t demand he go out and eat with the
recruits. Probably would’ve if he hadn’t been friend to the master
of the house.

The morning goes pretty much the same.
Wherever Dave goes, the others either pointedly ignore him or
slight him in some small way. James feels bad for his friend, but
knows only time will heal this rift between his friend and the
others.

A little before noon, two notes are blown by
the sentry down at the road and every one rushes out to see what’s
going on. James and Illan are standing outside the front door as a
rider comes toward the house.

“He’s wearing the King’s colors,” Illan
says. “Which means he’s on official business.”

“What in the world would bring him here?”
asks Jiron.

“I don’t know,” Illan replies.

The man is wearing the coat of arms of the
King of Cardri. James recognizes it from his time in Cardri earlier
when he met with the Archive Custodian, Ellinwyrd. The appearance
of the herald can only be bad news.

As the herald reins up before them, he
dismounts, turns to them and says, “I bear a message from King
Colbern, King of Cardri for the mage known as James. Would one of
you be he?”

Stepping forward, James says, “I am.”

Removing a rolled scroll bearing the wax
seal of Cardri, he extends it to him. “I am to await your
response.”

Taking the scroll, he cracks the seal and
reads it:

To the Mage known as James:

You are forthwith summoned to appear before
the Royal Court with all due speed.

His Royal Majesty,

King Colbern Cardri

He shows the letter to Illan and then asks
the herald, “Why am I to appear before the Royal Court?”

“That was not told to me sir,” the herald
replies. “I am simply to await your reply and then return to the
King.”

“Give us a moment,” he says. The herald nods
his head.

Indicating they should go back into the
house, James moves inside and the others follow. “What do you make
of it?” he asks.

Handing the letter back to him, Illan
replies, “I don’t know. Maybe your reputation has at last reached
the King and he wants to see you for himself.”

“Maybe. But what should I tell him?” he
asks, gesturing to the herald waiting outside.

“You have to go,” he tells him. “You cannot
ignore the summons of the King, no matter what. Not if you wish to
reside in his kingdom.”

“He’s right,” adds Roland. “A local noble
here and there is one thing to antagonize. But it wouldn’t be wise
to put the king of the land against you, as surely would happen
should you ignore his summons.”

“So I have to go all the way to Cardri?” he
asks.

“Yes, you have no choice,” Illan states.

“There’s always a choice,” he says as he
returns back to where the herald is waiting.

The herald sees him coming and says, “And
what is your reply?”

“You may inform his majesty that I will
leave first thing in the morning for Cardri,” he tells him.

“Very well,” he says. “I shall so inform his
majesty.” Mounting his horse, he turns it around and rides down the
lane back to the road.

James watches as he reaches the end and
turns onto the main road. Glancing at Jiron, he says, “Not only do
I have the bother of people coming here to gawk at me, but now I
have to travel for days for the King to.”

“This may prove beneficial to you,” he
replies.

“In what way?” James inquires.

“Ellinwyrd, the Royal Archivist in Cardri
you mentioned before, may be able to help you with what you
discovered in Saragon,” he explains.

Nodding, he says, “You may be right.” To
Illan he says, “I’d like you and Fifer to accompany me to Cardri.
I’ll also bring along Miko, Jiron and Dave.”

At the mention of Dave, Jiron gets a dark
look. The thought of traveling with him brings back the anger from
the night before.

Seeing his reaction, James turns to him and
asks quietly so only he may hear, “Would you rather me leave him
here?”

Realizing that would be even worse he shakes
his head. “No,” he says, “best to bring him along.”

“You know, he really isn’t a bad person,”
James assures him. “I’m sure last night was just as he said, he
simply went into the wrong room. He probably got confused being in
a strange house in the dark.”

“Maybe,” Jiron says, though the tone of his
voice tells he doesn’t believe that. His eyes dart to the door and
he sees Dave standing there. Turning around, he stalks away from
the house.

James can hear Illan mumble under his
breath, “This is going to be a fun trip.” Shaking his head, he
knows that if they just give Dave a chance, they’ll come to find
out he’s not nearly as bad as they think. They’ve just gotten off
on the wrong foot.

He returns to the house and takes Dave out
through the kitchen where he picks up a couple of towels. Leading
them through the back door, he leads him out to his bathing
pool.

“What are we doing?” Dave asks as they
approach the water.

“Taking a bath, why?” asks James.

“Out here?” he asks.

“Sure,” replies James. “Not much privacy
around here.” When he sees Dave hesitating, he adds, “Everyone
knows to avoid this area when someone’s here. Don’t worry, no one
will disturb us.”

“Okay,” agrees Dave hesitantly. As he gets
undressed, James can again see the patchwork of scars and
mutilations across his body. No part of him seems to have escaped
the wrath of whoever owned him.

As they settle into the water, James is
greeted by the coldness. Taking baths here certainly cannot
continue much longer. He glances over to the construction site of
his new house. The outside is practically complete and the inside
is coming along nicely as well. Soon he’ll be able to have a hot
bath.

During the time they spend in the pool, they
talk about inconsequential things. James learns a little more about
Dave’s time in the Empire, but nothing of any real relevance. He in
turn, tells of some of his exploits.

By the time lunch is ready, he’s ready to
get out. Drying themselves off with the towels, they get dressed
again and head back to the house.

The rest of the afternoon is taken up with
preparations for their trip to Cardri. James is annoyed at having
to make the trip, but at the same time is looking forward to seeing
Ellinwyrd again. Maybe as Jiron suggested, he could help in
figuring out the enigmatic riddle he came across in Saragon.

The riddle continues playing through his
mind,

When the Fire shines Bright

And the Star walks the Land.

Time for the Lost

Will soon be at Hand.

Time for the Lost.
What could that
mean? Suddenly, a memory comes to him, something he hasn’t thought
about for quite some time. It was during the time when Igor had
taken him to Disneyland in that dream, vision, whatever it was. He
had bent over and picked up a wallet. But it was what he said about
it that stops him in his tracks:

“
Sad when something gets lost,” he tells
James. “When you lose something, you always hope an honest person
will find it and work to get it back to you. All too often though,
you never see it again. Such is life.”

Could there be a connection? Something to
do with Igor is lost? Or with Morcyth?
His mind churns over the
idea. Other visitations by Igor have had ulterior meanings, why not
that one. He always thought that particular one had to do with
Disneyland being a focal point. But maybe it was to do with
returning something that was lost.

A shiver runs down his spine as he suddenly
comes to the realization of what this could all be pertaining to.
The Star of Morcyth!
Of course! That makes perfect sense.
Taking out the medallion bearing the symbol of the Star, he holds
it up and looks upon it.
Could that be why I’m here? To find the
lost Star of Morcyth?
Then that could mean the second and
third stanzas of the riddle could be directions to lead him to
it.

He hears Ezra call them for dinner and he
practically skips on his way to the dinner table. Excited, he takes
his seat and the meal commences.

“What’s got you all happy?” asks Miko from
where he’s filling his plate with boiled tubers.

“Oh, nothing,” he says. But the grin on his
face belies his statement. He would like nothing more than to talk
about it, but too many here don’t know the whole story and it
wouldn’t be wise to mention it in front of them.

“Sean said the new house will be ready in a
couple weeks,” Roland says. “Maybe when you come back, you’ll be
able to move in.”

“That would be nice,” states James.

“If he’s done in time, we’ll be sure to get
your stuff transferred over,” Roland assures him.

“Thank you,” replies James.

Dave sits quietly to the right of James as
he eats his dinner. The attitudes of the others have begun to
mellow, some beginning to realize that he could have actually
stumbled into the wrong room as he says. That James vouches for him
gives credence to his story as well.

None come right out and really talk to him,
and James is worried for his friend. He wants him to become a part
of his life here and over time, he’s sure he will.

The evening’s gathering goes by quickly and
they soon head to their respective beds. When he and Dave are lying
in the dark, Dave asks, “Where is this Cardri?”

“It’s several days away, out on the coast,”
he tells him. “The king has a large castle, just like the ones I’ve
always wanted to see. Was able to see it up close a month or so
ago.” Turning to his friend, he says, “I’m sure you’ll like
it.”

“I’m sure I will,” he says. “Thanks for
being a friend, James.”

“Always,” he assures him.

“No matter what?” he asks, hope in his
voice.

“No matter what. Now get some sleep,” James
says as he turns over to go to sleep.

The following morning, those heading to
Cardri with James rose early and met in the kitchen. Illan is
leaving Yern in charge of the recruits’ training in his absence.
The last time he left Miko in charge, he won’t be making that
mistake again. He’s no good at maintaining discipline or getting
them to do what they’re supposed to. When Illan had returned from
The Merchant’s Pass, the schedule of training he left with him had
barely been done. Yern on the other hand, is a whole lot more apt
to get done what needs to be done.

Everyone turns out to see them off, even
those whose duty is to patrol through the outlying trees. James
mounts his horse and turns to face Roland. “Seems I’m off again,”
he says with a grin.

“That’s why Ezra and I are here,” he
replies. “To look after things.”

“Everyone’s ready,” Illan announces.

James glances back at those mounted behind
him. Miko and Jiron ride next to him and Dave is just behind. He
looks sullen at having to be in that position, but makes no fuss.
“Let’s go,” he says as he gets his horse moving.