The Star of Morcyth: The Morcyth Saga Book Five (56 page)

Splash!

He hits the water and the iciness of it
takes his breath away. Working to stay afloat, he starts treading
water as the current takes him. Moving ever closer to the center of
the maelstrom he tries to calm his breathing and just as he feels
the current begin to pull him under, takes a deep breath.

Sucked underneath the water by the current,
he’s suddenly in total blackness. Thrown this way and that, he
feels as if he’s being dropped down a vertical shaft. Then all of a
sudden, the current releases him and he’s freefalling. Air
surrounds him and he releases the pent up air within and quickly
takes another two deep breaths before slamming into more water.

Again he’s caught in a whirlpool and sucked
underneath. This time he’s pulled down and then the flow of water
begins turning more horizontal as it picks up speed. He scrapes
against the side of the tunnel and feels some of his skin ripped
off. Nothing major but enough to cause him pain.

Then when he thinks he can no longer hold
his breath, the current quickly reduces speed and he realizes he’s
no longer in the tunnel but in the lake. Kicking upward, he swims
for the surface.

Breaking through, he gasps for air. Teeth
chattering from the cold of the water, he tries to calm them but is
unable to. The water has sapped all the warmth from him. He’s in
serious danger of hypothermia and scans for the shore.

“Over here!” he hears someone yell. When he
looks, he sees the others in the moonlight, standing on the shore
waving him down. Swimming quickly, he makes his way toward them.
Reaching the shore next to them, he climbs out onto the beach.

They’re all freezing and his teeth aren’t
the only ones chattering. They’ve got to get a fire going and soon.
“G…gather s…some wood,” he stutters.

“Already done,” Uther says as he indicates a
pile nearby.

Without any warning, James releases the
magic and the wood catches fire, roaring to life. Uther staggers
backward in shock but then moves closer to bask in the warm
glow.

“James!” he hears Miko’s panicked cry from
the water.

“Over here!” he hollers back.

Miko and then finally Qyrll begin swimming
toward the shore and the welcoming fire. Jorry moves to the water
to help but neither needs any assistance. Jiron had survived well
and his leg didn’t suffer any further trauma, much to James’
relief.

“Where are the ruins?” he asks.

They all glance around and Qyrll points off
to their left and says, “It’s over there around the lake.”

“We can’t stay here long,” James tells the
others. “We have to go after the Star. It can’t be allowed to reach
the Empire.” He looks around at them, wet and freezing. They’re
going to need to wait at least until their clothes dry before they
attempt the trek around the lake.

Jorry and Uther throw more wood on the fire,
building the blaze so they’ll dry all the faster. The warmth is
luxurious after the bitter chill of the water, it couldn’t have
been much above freezing.

They stay there by the fire for a little
over half an hour before the consensus is that they’re sufficiently
warm and dry. After tearing apart the fire, they head around the
lake to where the ruins lie, and hopefully their horses still
remain there. They have extra clothes and blankets there, if the
Empire didn’t take them.

Surprisingly when they reach the ruins, they
find their horses exactly where they left them. When James’ gaze
falls upon the horse Dave had used, a red hot anger burns within
him. Not at Dave, but at the Empire who had taken his life long
friend away from him.

As they mount and are about to head out,
James turns to the miner and says, “Here’s where we part ways. You
don’t want to be with us when we catch them.”

“Are you sure you know the way out?” he
asks.

James glances around at the others and sees
both Jiron and Qyrll nod, indicating they do. “I think so. I
appreciate all the help you’ve been.”

Smiling, the miner replies, “I actually had
the time of my life, been too long by myself. Hate to see you all
go as a matter of fact.”

James brings his horse close to the miner’s
and holds out his hand. When the miner takes it, he says, “We each
have a secret to keep. I think you know what I mean?”

The miner nods, “I’ll not say anything.”

“Good,” says James, releasing his hand.
“Neither will we.” Turning back to the others he raises his voice
and asks, “Will we?”

“No,” replies Uther, the others indicating
in one form or another they concur.

“Good luck,” the miner says.

“You too,” James tells him. To the others he
says, “Let’s ride!” Kicking his horse in the side, he quickly gets
into a gallop. Somewhere ahead is the Empire force, Dave and the
Star.

They leave the ruins behind as they race
along the shore of the lake. The sky is beginning to lighten with
the coming of dawn and they’re able to maintain a quick pace. The
mood is electric as each knows they’re riding to battle.

“We should be little more than half a day
behind them,” Jiron says from where he’s riding behind James. His
broken leg is tied above the knee to the strap securing the saddle
onto the horse to prevent it from flopping around. Also, should
conflict erupt, he’ll be able to maintain his balance while using
his knives on those around him.

“I hope we can catch them before they get to
Ironhold,” replies James. His anger hasn’t subsided any, if
anything it’s increased. The betrayal of his friend, the loss of
the Star, all culminating to create a rage biting at the bit to be
released.

By the time the sun crests the peaks to the
east, they’ve reached the far shore of the lake and move to follow
the small river flowing out of it to the south. At this point Qyrll
takes the lead, he’s assured them that he remembers the point in
which they leave the river to cut through the hills.

Even though they are setting a quicker pace
than what they did when they came, it still takes them until almost
noon to reach the cutoff point. When they do, Qyrll turns his horse
and leads the way up into the mountains.

Eating in the saddle to save time, they only
rest when the horses require it. They aren’t able to make good time
here as the way becomes narrower and the footing less secure. At
least they’re comforted in the knowledge their prey won’t be able
to do much better.

Two hours away from the river, Qyrll comes
to a halt. He sits there a moment with his head cocked to the side
as if listening for something. Further ahead, the trail enters a
narrow area of boulders and fallen trees. They will have to ride
single file to make it through.

“What’s wrong?” James asks as he draws
near.

“It’s quiet,” Qyrll replies.

James listens for a moment and then says,
“It’s not completely quiet.” Birds can be heard in the trees as
well as the far off cry of a predator.

Qyrll turns in the saddle and says quietly,
“They’re waiting for us.”

Scanning ahead, James tries to see anyone in
the area before him but there’s nobody. “I don’t see anything.”

“Nevertheless, they’re there,” Qyrll assures
him. He turns back to look at the bottleneck the trail winds
through. “It’s the perfect place to lay an ambush.”

“Do they know we’re here?” asks Fifer.

“I would think so,” replies Qyrll.

“Then they know we know they’re there,”
states James.

Shrugging, he says, “Maybe. I’m sure by
stopping here and discussing this, we’ve put them on guard.”

“What should we do?” Uther asks. “If we go
forward their crossbowmen will cut us down before we get very
far.”

“And the longer we wait,” adds Jorry, “the
further the one with the Star will pull ahead of us.”

James looks at Qyrll for a moment and then
asks, “You’re sure beyond a shadow of a doubt? Because if you’re
wrong, I’m going to alert them that we’re following.”

“They’re there,” he says. “I stake my honor
on it.” For a Parvati to say that there can be no argument. Their
honor is the single most important thing they hold dear, especially
Qyrll whose honor has so recently been restored to him.

“Very well,” says James. “Let’s move back a
ways first and then we’ll see what we can do.”

They turn around and head back down the
trail until the bottleneck is no longer visible. Miko is left to
keep an eye out in case the soldiers hidden there make a move
toward them.

“Find a pool of water,” James says as they
all dismount, except for Jiron who’s still tied to his saddle.

After a short hunt, a pool is located and
James comes over to kneel beside it. Letting the magic flow, he
concentrates on the bottleneck ahead of them and an image begins to
form.

They see the trees and boulders which form
the bottleneck and sure enough, spaced in and behind the trees are
soldiers of the Empire. A dozen crossbowmen and another two dozen
men at arms, as well as one civilian are lying in wait. Further
behind them they find the soldier’s horses tied in a group.

“That group the Shynti and I saw had
fourteen soldiers and two civilians,” Qyrll says. “This could be
half the force which was sent here.”

“And the other half is with whoever has the
Star,” finishes James. Whoever has it will need to get through
Madoc’s lines to reach the Empire so would definitely need the
others.

“Nice of them to split their forces for us,”
Uther says in satisfaction. “Will make this all the easier.”

Canceling the spell, James gets to his feet.
From atop his horse, Jiron asks, “What’s the plan?” He thinks for a
moment before turning to the others and says, “Okay, here’s what we
do…”

James steps out on foot by himself and
approaches the bottleneck. The shimmer of his shield is barely
discernable in the light of day. Once he’s covered a hundred feet,
the others begin to follow on horseback. Jiron is in the rear
leading James’ horse.

Maintaining a quick, steady pace James
closes the distance to where the trail narrows. As he gets closer,
he detects movement among the trees and boulders where the soldiers
lay in wait.

Suddenly, a command is given and a dozen
bolts fly toward him. Steeling his nerves, he watches as the bolts
come straight for him and continues his advance. One by one the
bolts strike the shield and are deflected to the side.

Crumph! Crumph! Crumph!

Three massive explosions erupt amidst the
soldiers lying in wait, screams of men are heard as they’re tossed
into the air. Behind him, James hears the others give out with a
yell and charge forward.

Jiron comes forward as well and stops when
he draws close to James, staying near in case a soldier gets
through.

Qyrll is the first to enter the area of
destruction and is peppered by falling debris, fortunately none of
any size. Both swords out, he vaults from the back of his horse and
engages the enemy. Slightly dazed from the concussions of the three
explosions, the soldiers put up little resistance at first. But
then others from the rear come forward and the battle is joined.
Miko and Fifer are the next to arrive with Jorry and Uther right
behind.

Facing off against a soldier in a dark
uniform, Miko parries a thrust then returns with a slice. The
soldier’s movements are quick but Miko is able to deflect the
attack. Battle rages all around as each faces off with one or more
opponents.

Fifer faces two and is having a hard time in
breaching their defenses. Both are master swordsmen and just when
he thinks he’s over matched, a stone flies from behind and takes
one through the chest. Hole opening up in his armor from where
James’ stone hit, the soldier stumbles backward and falls to the
ground. Now having just the one, Fifer is able to hold his own.

Jorry and Uther are back to back holding off
two each. One of Uther’s suffers from a leg injury sustained during
the explosions which makes his attacks less precise. “Need any
help?” Jorry asks from behind.

“You worry about yourself,” Uther says as he
feints to the one without injuries and then strikes out toward the
other. Striking him across the throat, the man stumbles backward,
holding the wound in a vain attempt to prevent his blood from
escaping. Finally overcome with loss of blood, he collapses to the
ground.

“Ha-ha!” Uther boasts. “One down.” Behind
the man he’s battling, he sees a crossbowman emerge from around one
of the trees and begins cocking back his crossbow. Once it’s locked
into place he turns toward Uther and brings the crossbow to
bear.

Uther is distracted by what he’s seeing
developing behind his opponent and allows his opponent to maneuver
through his defenses, sinking his sword into his side. Crying out
and abruptly twisting to the side he moves out of the crossbowman’s
line of fire just as the bolt is released. The bolt flies and
barely misses him as he twists. Going over Jorry’s shoulder, the
bolt strikes one of his opponents right between the eyes and sinks
three inches into his skull.

Uther’s injury is bad and he’s unable to
adequately defend himself from the soldier’s attacks.

Hack! Hack! Slash!

The soldier beats against his defenses, each
time Uther is afraid that he won’t be fast enough to bring his
sword back for the next attack. The pain in his side flares as he
moves first one way and then the other to counter what his opponent
is doing. Finally, he brings his sword up to ward off a severe blow
and it’s knocked out of his hand. Seeing his death coming, he
braces himself for the impact.

A shadow suddenly appears and the soldier is
bowled over as Miko tackles him to the ground. “Get back to James!”
he cries to Uther as he rolls to his feet. Sword at the ready, he
prepares for the assault.