Trail of the Gods: The Morcyth Saga Book Four (9 page)

“Take him back to the house,” Illan says.
“Tell Tersa that I want to know when he regains the ability to
talk.”

“Yes sir,” he says as he picks him up and
starts carrying him back to the house.

“What about James?” cries Miko, staring at
the forest where the men disappeared.

“We’ll find him lad,” Illan assures him.
Going over to the dead man, he kneels down and begins going through
his pockets.

“I know him,” Miko says.

Standing up abruptly, Illan turns to him and
asks, “What?”

“I know him,” he says again, looking Illan
in the eyes. “He’s from Bearn.”

“Bearn?” asks Illan incredulously. “What in
god’s name would someone from Bearn be doing here? And what
possible interest could they have in James?”

“Lord Colerain,” Miko explains. “He’s had it
in for James ever since we were seen on his property.” When Illan
looks askance at him at that, he adds, “We were there by accident,
but ever since he’s been trying to capture him.”

“Better tell me the whole thing,” he
says.

Miko begins from when they got chased into
the sewers and by the time he’s done with the narration, Uther
returns.

Seeing him approach, Illan asks, “Well?”

“They lost me in the forest, but I cut over
to the road and caught up with them again just as they were riding
down the road toward town,” he reports. “They all have horses now,
they must’ve had them stashed out by the road before making the
attempt on James.”

“Go help Fifer and Yern with the horses,” he
tells him. “If they’re on their way to Bearn, then we’re going to
follow.”

“Yes sir,” he says and then starts running
to the barn.

“You’re sure about this Colerain, then?” he
asks Miko as they hurry back to the house.

“Couldn’t be anyone else,” he replies. “Not
if Corim there is involved. He and his buddies are known for this
sort of thing.”

“At least we have an idea where he’s being
taken,” he says. Coming in through the back door, he finds them out
in the front room where Jiron is lying on the couch. “Well?” he
asks as he enters from the kitchen.

“I think it may be wearing off,” Jorry tells
him. “Though I can’t be sure.”

“Jiron,” Illan says as he kneels on the
floor by him. “We think they may be taking him to Bearn.”

His eyes move back and forth slightly as his
mouth tries to form the words.

“I know, I know,” he says to him. “We’re
leaving now to get him back. I’m going to leave Yern here since
he’s wounded and you two are going to have to look after things
while we’re gone.” Giving him a meaningful look, he adds, “If you
know what I mean?”

A brief nod from Jiron shows he understands.
“When Roland gets back, let him know what’s going on and see if you
can get Ceryn to hang out around here until we return.”

Getting up, he glances at the worried look
on Tersa’s face and says, “He’ll be fine, just drugged. I think
it’s the same drug they used on James. It’s something you use on a
mage to inhibit his ability to use magic.”

“Okay,” she says. “What should I do?”

“Nothing you can do for the moment,” he
tells her. “Just have to wait until the effects wear off.”

“I understand,” she says as she gazes down
at her brother lying there. A slight tear rolls down her face.

He puts a hand on her shoulder and says in a
reassuring voice, “He’ll be fine.”

From the front door, Uther says, “The horses
are ready.”

Turning his attention to Uther, he replies,
“Tell Yern to come in here then go and get enough supplies to last
for several days.”

“I’ll help you,” offers Tersa as she moves
to the kitchen.

Uther goes outside and soon Yern comes
in.

“I want you to stay here with Jiron to look
after the place,” he tells him. “After the attack the other night,
now this, we can’t afford to leave this place undefended.”

“I understand,” he says.

Indicating Jiron, he adds, “When he finally
gets up, try to keep him from following.”

“I’ll do my best,” he says.

Miko returns from where he’d gone to get his
sword. Seeing him buckling it on, Illan says, “Go on out and wait
with the others. Tell ‘em we’ll be leaving in five minutes.”

Nodding, he walks out the front door.

Turning back to Yern, he says, “One of you
should stay out by the road to turn people away, the other needs to
walk a perimeter around the property. Keep an eye out for any more
intruders.”

“Will do,” Yern assures him.

Uther comes out of the kitchen with several
pouches stuffed with food. “Go distribute them among the horses,”
Illan tells him then he moves to James’ room where he opens the
money chest and fills his pouch with many golds, silvers, and
coppers.

He moves back out through the front room,
pausing only a moment to give just a cursory goodbye before he
walks out the front door. Everyone is already in the saddle,
waiting for him. As he mounts, he sees Tersa and Yern coming out of
the front door. “We’ll get him back,” he says then kicks his horse
into a gallop as they race down the lane in pursuit.

“Miko,” he hollers back to him as they reach
the road, “I want you next to me. Before we get to Bearn, I want to
know everything there is to know about it.”

Miko closes the gap and rides abreast of
Illan as he commences telling him about Bearn.

By the time they’ve caught up with Delia’s
caravan, Illan has practically exhausted Miko’s knowledge of Bearn.
He thought he’d known Bearn, but with the pointed questions that
Illan had been asking him, he realized just how little he knew of
the city he grew up in.

Stig’s bringing up the rear of the caravan
and when he sees them coming up the road, waves. The greeting he
was about to give dies on his lips when he sees the grimness of
their faces. Dropping the greeting, he asks, “What’s wrong?”

“Follow me,” Illan says as he comes up to
where Delia’s driving the lead wagon.

“Delia!” he calls out as his horse reaches
her side.

Surprised at seeing him, she quickly brings
her wagon to a halt as the others with her gather around. “What
brings you out here?” she asks.

“Trouble,” he replies and then proceeds to
explain what happened.

“Damn!” curses Scar. “They rode by us not a
half hour ago. One had been slumped over the saddle, but we never
even imagined that it could’ve been James.”

“Got a favor to ask you,” Illan says to
her.

“What?” she asks.

“I want to take Shorty and Scar with us,” he
says. “Jorry and Uther will ride into Bearn with your caravan.”

“But you’ll need us!” exclaims Uther.

“I understand how you feel,” he tells them.
“But from talking with Miko, it seems the most likely spot for them
to take him would be to Lord Colerain’s estate. And Miko says the
best way would be in through the sewer entrance that he and James
used earlier.”

“But…” Jorry starts to object.

“It’s a very narrow passage, in which James
had almost become stuck when he went through it,” he says. “I don’t
think either you or Uther will be able to squeeze through.”

“You won’t be able to either,” Uther
states.

“I know, but Scar and Shorty should be able
to,” he tells him. “That’s why I need them. You can come in with
Delia, a day or so behind us. If we’re done fast, we’ll pick you up
on our way back.”

“Shorty! Scar!” Delia calls out to them.
“You’re going with them.” To Illan he says, “Don’t get them
killed.”

“Do my best,” he says. “Miko here says
there’s an inn there called the Flying Swan. If we haven’t met up
on the road before you get to Bearn, meet us there.”

“The Flying Swan,” she says. “We’ll be
there, could take us two days, though.”

“Understood,” he says. Looking back, he sees
Uther and Jorry now with the caravan, their faces hanging low with
sullen expressions. Shorty and Stig are now behind him, happy to be
doing other things than riding along with a dull caravan.

“Let’s go,” he tells his men. Nudging the
sides of his horse, he gets him moving quickly down the road to
Bearn. A short distance later the road forks and they follow the
one that continues along the Kelewan River toward Bearn.

They continue riding hard the rest of the
day and when it gets close to sundown, they see a small town ahead
on the road. It’s just one of the many clusters of buildings
they’ve passed through, usually consisting of not much more than an
inn or a store for the occasional traveler.

This one boasts of not only an inn, but a
horse trader. A corral with a dozen horses sits near a large
building with a sign of a large bird in flight. “We’ll stop here
for a bite to eat and rest the horses,” Illan announces.

Miko understands the necessity of stopping,
but he’s anxious to find James. “Don’t worry lad,” Illan tells him
when he sees the worried look on his face. “I don’t plan to be here
long.”

“I hope not,” Miko replies.

Inside they find a dining room and take a
long table, large enough to accommodate them all. After they order
and are waiting for their food, Miko is gazing out the window at
the horses in the corral and suddenly cries out, “That’s Jiron’s
horse!”

“What?” exclaims Illan. “Where?”

Pointing out the window, he says, “Out there
in the corral.”

“You sure?” he asks.

“Absolutely,” he states with conviction.

To Shorty he says, “You stay here and wait
for the food.” Standing up, he adds, “The rest of you come with
me.”

On the way out, he asks the serving girl who
he could see about the horses in the corral outside. She tells him
her father, Terrol, should be out there in the adjacent stable. He
thanks her and they all leave the inn and head over to the
stable.

They find a man currying a horse in the
first stall. He looks up when they approach and asks, “Can I help
you?”

“Are you Terrol, the horse trader?” asks
Illan.

Nodding his head, he says, “Yes, as well as
the innkeeper.”

“We’d like to know where you got that
horse?” he asks, pointing to where Jiron’s stands in the corral
outside.

“Why?” he asks, realizing something’s not
quite right.

“It belonged to a friend of ours and I was
wondering how you came to be in possession of it?” he asks.

“Not more than an hour ago,” he explains,
“these men came riding up and wanted to exchange their horses for
three of mine. I could tell they’d been riding hard from the
haggard look of their mounts. We haggled a moment and they gave me
a good price for mine, then they were off. Why?”

“Did one look sick?” asks Miko.

“As a matter of fact,” he replies, “one
didn’t look all that good. The other two had to help him off his
horse and onto the other. Is there some kind of problem?”

Illan pauses a moment and then says, “No,
just curious is all.”

With relief evident upon his face, Terrol
says, “That’s good.”

Illan turns around and they head back to the
inn. Once seated back around the table, he says, “They have fresh
horses, we’ll never catch them now.”

“Why don’t we get fresh ones too?” asks
Miko.

“Don’t have enough money,” explains Illan.
“Plus, he doesn’t have enough fresh ones for all of us, at least
none I would want.”

“So what are we to do?” he asks.

“Follow as best we can,” he says. “We should
only be a few hours behind them by the time we get there.” When the
food finally comes, he says, “Eat fast, I want to be on the road in
ten minutes. We’re riding straight through with only brief
stops.”

The meal of roast fowl and tubers is filling
and they’re soon back on the road. Night finds them still hours
away from Bearn. They ask the occasional traveler heading north
about the riders ahead. Some remember seeing them, while others do
not. From what the ones who’ve seen them say, they’re steadily
falling behind. Where they’ve had to have more frequent rest breaks
for their tired horses the others can continue on with their fresh
ones.

When the lights of Bearn begin to appear in
the distance, they all breathe a sigh of relief. Tired, though not
nearly as bad as their horses, they find an inn outside the
walls.

“I thought we were going to be staying at
the Flying Swan?” asks Miko.

Illan glances at him as he dismounts from
his horse, “I’ve been thinking the last hour that if we’re still
here by tomorrow night, we’ve got serious problems. We need to get
James and leave town fast.”

Miko looks at the inn and it brings to mind
another inn that James had adamantly refused to stay at because it
was filthy. There’re few windows and the one fellow who comes
stumbling out from the front door stank to high heaven.

“You sure about this place?” he asks
Illan.

“I’m not planning on sleeping here, if
that’s what’s worrying you,” he says to him. Lowering his voice, he
continues as the others move closer to hear, “I just want a place
where the horses can rest and be outside the gates. When we get
James, there’s a possibility we’ll have the guards after us and I
don’t want the horses inside the walls if they should shut the
gates.”

Shorty nods his head and says, “Good
idea.”

“Now, you all just wait here and I’ll be
back in a moment,” he tells them before walking to the door.

They stand there by the horses as he enters
through the front door. “Think we’ll get him out?” Fifer asks.

“If we have surprise on our side, then it’s
a good possibility,” Scar says. Then to Miko he asks, “You’ll be
able to find the entrance to Lord Colerain’s estate?”

“I think so,” he says. “I remember exactly
where we entered the sewers the last time. If we start there, I
should have no problem.”

“Good,” grunts Scar.

Just then, the front door opens and Illan
comes out. “Let’s take the horses around back to the stables,” he
announces. “I arranged for two days, which should give us ample
time to get James.”