The star of Morcyth ms-5 Read online

  Once they have a light meal, James announces that he and Jiron are going to take the two horses and follow them.

  “But what about the rest of us?” Dave asks.

  “You will have to follow as best you can on foot,” he explains.

  “But…” he begins to protest then falls silent, giving in to the inevitable.

  “Fifer,” he says, “I want you to be in charge until our return.”

  “You got it,” he says.

  Coming close to him and whispering so only he can hear he says, “Don’t let anyone kill Dave.”

  Smiling, he gives him a nod.

  He and Jiron mount the horses and then he turns to the others. “With any luck, we’ll be back soon. If by the time you’ve reached the next town and we haven’t returned, find an inn and stay there until we do.”

  “But we haven’t any coins,” Fifer says. “They took all I have.” Glancing to the others, he gets answering nods saying their coins are gone as well.

  Moving to the horses, James rummages through the packs still attached there. Not finding anything of value, he goes to the two corpses. He finds two sacks of coins, one on each. One of the sacks is burned badly from when the older man had been torched by James’ spell so he transfers the coins from it to the other.

  “Hopefully this should be enough,” he says as he hands it over to Fifer.

  “But what about you?” he asks as he takes the offered pouch.

  “We’ll get by I’m sure,” he replies. Then with a nod to Jiron they return to the horses and mount.

  “Good luck,” Miko says as they turn to follow the road up the mountain.

  “You too,” he replies. As he kicks his horse to move, he can hear Dave mumble, “I knew it was a bad idea to let them come with us.” Ignoring the remark, he breaks into a gallop and has soon left the others behind.

  They don’t get far before they find the wagon sitting abandoned in the middle of the road. “What happened?” Jiron asks.

  “Perhaps they heard or saw what happened back at the camp and decided to beat a hasty retreat,” suggests James.

  “I was hoping they would still be on the slow moving wagon,” says Jiron.

  “Me too,” he replies. A cursory look shows very little to have been left behind when the wagon was abandoned. They get moving again and quickly leave the wagon behind. The tracks of all their stolen horses leave a clear trail for them to follow. As long as the sun stays out they should have no trouble in following them.

  After riding in silence for awhile, Jiron asks, “Do you suppose the bandits we were warned about might still be in the area?”

  James chuckles at that and says, “Jiron, the people who told us about the bandits, were the bandits.”

  “Oh yeah, right,” he says a little embarrassed.

  “But in the mood I am right now, no bandit better hope to cross our path,” he says in all seriousness.

  Jiron gives him a nod and they continue to ride on throughout the rest of the afternoon. Whether they are catching them or not is hard to tell as neither of them are experienced trackers. One thing’s for sure though, Kerrin and Gayle have a good head start with lots of fresh horses to change off with to better maintain their speed.

  When night finally comes James decides to stop and rest. They’re both still feeling the effects of the drug used on them and are in need of some rest. Building a fire and eating what little food they find on the horses, they make camp and take turns standing watch throughout the night.

  The following morning they’re up early and on the road before the sun crests the mountaintops. Riding hard, they continue to follow the road as it meanders through the mountains until finally reaching the summit. It’s not a sharp summit but a gradual one and they’re unable to look very far down the other side.

  An hour after cresting the summit they come across what appears to be the camp Kerrin and Gayle used the previous night. A fire pit and mounds of fresh horse manure show that they were there. Off to the left of the road lies a lake which is the source of the river they’ve been following.

  “May not be very much further behind them,” Jiron says.

  “We have been riding hard,” agrees James. “Let’s take a moment and find out.”

  Dismounting, he goes over to a free standing pool of water near the side of the road. Kneeling down, he concentrates on Kerrin and an image appears of him and Gayle riding fast trailing a line of horses behind them. The image shows them to still be in the mountains, the road they’re on winding among the hills and trees.

  Expanding the image, it’s hard for him to determine just where or how far away they are. “At least they’re still on the run and haven’t met up with anyone,” announces Jiron.

  “That’s fortunate,” adds James as he cancels the spell. Getting to his feet, he mounts and they continue down the mountain. The wind here in the upper elevation bites with cold as it whips at them. They huddle more into their jackets as they race down the road.

  James is feeling fortunate there hasn’t been any snow falling yet here in the higher elevations. Though the clouds above have thinned somewhat, they still exhibit the inherent threat of more rain or snow. As cold as the air feels he wouldn’t be surprised to see snow begin to fall. Of course the temperature is worsened by their speed, the wind chill making it feel worse than it probably is.

  As they continue speeding down the mountain they come to a rocky area where the trees start to thin. This section of the pass looks to have been obliterated by a mammoth rockslide some time in the recent past. A way through has been cleared to enable traffic to continue across, large boulders dot the area. The slide couldn’t have happened recently as bushes and small trees have begun to grow among the rubble.

  James’ horse becomes skittish as they enter the boulder strewn section of the pass. “Easy boy,” he says, patting its neck in an attempt to calm it down.

  “What’s wrong?” Jiron asks.

  “I don’t know,” he replies. “Something’s got my horse spooked.”

  Jiron signals to come to a halt as he scans the area. His horse has begun to exhibit nervousness too.

  “Think there’s a problem?” James asks.

  “Maybe,” he replies as he continues scanning the boulders. “I don’t see anything out of the ordinary.” After searching for another minute he adds, “Would be a good place for an ambush though.”

  “I was thinking that too,” says James. Up ahead of them the road winds its way through large piles of boulders which could very easily hide raiders of one kind or another.

  “Kerrin and Gayle made it through,” Jiron finally says, “and I don’t see anything.” He glances to James and continues, “Let’s take it slow and keep our eyes open.”

  Nodding, James nudges his horse to move at a slow walk. Keeping his eyes open, he reaches to his slug belt and removes one, keeping it ready just in case.

  Their horses continue to show signs of skittishness and at one point Jiron’s stops and refuses to go further. He kicks it a couple times in the sides and finally gets it moving. Glancing to James he sees the worry he feels mirrored in his face. Pulling a knife, he signals for James to wait while he proceeds ahead.

  Nodding, James waits.

  Taking it slow, he works his way slowly forward, eyes scanning the road and rocks ahead for any indication of what has the horses so spooked. He moves twenty feet from James when a black shadow lurches toward him from out of the cover of the rocks ahead and to the right.

  Easily half the size of a horse and running like a dog, it charges with a growl. Jiron’s horse rears up and he vaults off the back, landing unbalanced on the ground. Falling to the ground, he rolls and quickly regains his feet. The creature sinks its teeth into the horse’s chest, literally ripping a large section out. With a scream the horse collapses in a heap.

  James’ horse neighs in fear and turns, bolting back down the way they had come. It comes to an abrupt stop when another of the creatures enters the roadway and
blocks its path. Eyes rolling white, the horse cries out again and bolts suddenly to the side, causing James to lose his balance and falls off the horse to the ground.

  “James!” Jiron cries out. “What the hell are these?” The creature which had killed his horse stands there with a strip of the horse’s hide dangling from the corner of its mouth as it stares at him. It looks like a giant wolf or some kind of dog. Long sharp teeth fill its mouth and a malevolent intelligence stares from out of its eyes.

  Moving slowly and never taking his eyes from the creature, he backs up to where James is getting himself off the ground. In the pits he never had the opportunity to fight animals. Though confident in his prowess as a fighter, the size and ferocity of this creature gives him more doubts about the outcome than he’s had in quite some time. A growl behind him causes him to glance back and see the other creature on the road and James making his way toward him quickly.

  A sudden shimmering forms around them as James creates the barrier. As if that was a signal the creatures charge right at them and slam into the barrier. Knocked back for a moment they begin circling.

  “Do something,” Jiron says as they continue moving around the perimeter of the barrier.

  James takes the slug in his hand and launches it at one of them. It strikes the creature directly in the middle of the chest and seems to pass right through without causing any damage. “Damn!” he says in shock as the slug hits the ground behind the creature. It didn’t look as if the slug had any affect upon it at all, the creature didn’t even slow its pace.

  “They’re not entirely real!” he says to Jiron.

  “What?” he asks.

  “The slug went right through them,” he explains.

  “How is that possible?” he asks.

  “I don’t know,” James replies. “But I doubt if your knives will have any effect either.”

  The two creatures continue to pace around the edge of the barrier, their eyes never leaving those within. One comes to a stop and turns to face directly at the barrier. Raising one of its forepaws, the creature touches the barrier.

  Aaaah!

  James cries out from the sudden increase in magic being pulled from him to maintain the barrier. Despite the enormity of magic rapidly being taken, he watches in shocked amazement as the creature’s paw slowly inches its way through the barrier and touches the ground on the inside. The rest of the creature slowly begins to follow.

  Jiron moves to the part of the creature on the inside of the barrier and strikes it with a knife. When the blade comes into contact with the creature, it sends a burning sensation through to his hand. Crying out in pain, he releases the knife and looks to find an angry red burn now upon his hand. The knife which had struck the creature lies on the ground and is glowing red.

  He glances back to James who stares with eyes wide in surprise. “Get back here,” he tells him.

  Jiron nods and returns to his side. “What are you going to do?” The creature’s snout has now begun to inch its way through.

  James doesn’t reply, his mind is working too hard on the problem. He comes to notice the area where the creatures have been pacing along the outside of the barrier has been scorched from their passing. Add to that the reaction when Jiron struck it with his knife and he comes to a disturbing conclusion.

  Creatures of fire? Hell hounds maybe? Where did they come from? Sensing the hand of Dmon-Li in this, he tries to come up with an effective attack. Already the creature has managed to get its head in and is starting to move its other foreleg through. It won’t be much longer before it’ll be completely inside.

  Jiron puts his other knife in his belt. He knows it will be useless and there’s nothing he can do here. It all rests on James now.

  How do you fight a fire creature? Cold? Water? Ice? Glancing above them to the clouds, an idea forms and he staggers slightly as he begins to implement it. Jiron puts an arm around him as he settles to the ground.

  The clouds above become denser as they race together from all directions. James is beginning to sweat, the strain from maintaining both the shield and summoning the storm is rapidly draining his strength.

  By the time the creature has its other leg and all of its head within the barrier, drops begin to fall from the sky. When they strike the creatures, hissing can be heard as they quickly evaporate.

  The rain begins to fall in increasing intensity, but that’s not what he’s wanting. He hunts through the clouds above until he locates what he wants and pulls it closer. The strain of doing so brings black spots to his eyes and he’s not sure how much longer he’s going to last. Hopefully long enough.

  The temperature begins to drop as he brings the system he wants closer and the rain changes to hail. Where the rain didn’t seem to bother the creatures, the hail does. As it strikes them, it almost appears to be causing them pain. Also the creature making its way through the barrier halts its progress. The pull of magic needed to maintain the barrier eases off slightly.

  Watching the other creature on the outside, Jiron notices that where the hail is striking, dark patches are beginning to appear. “I think it’s working,” he says encouragingly. There was also a note of hope in his voice too.

  James has his eyes closed and can tell that though this may be working to slow and bother them, he’ll have to do more in order to vanquish them. Besides, he’ll not be able to keep this up for long. The clouds above are fighting him as the winds in the upper reaches work to pull the storms away.

  Maintaining the hail storm, he sends out an additional tendril of magic toward what’s already fallen on the ground around them. Ice pellets begin moving along the ground toward the creatures and begin attaching themselves. He also attempts to change the barrier, similar to how he did it another time long ago. Back then he changed it to fire to burn off an acidic ooze, this time he’s changing it to extreme cold.

  As it begins to change, the temperature within the barrier drops dramatically and the creature caught in the middle of it begins to exhibit panic. It tries to get out but James continues to reduce the temperature of the barrier and it cries out from the pain being inflicted.

  The other creature on the outside starts growling and snapping at the barrier but when it comes into contact with it, an audible sizzle sounds. The hailstorm still falls outside, the hail beginning to accumulate around them. The odor of sulfur begins to permeate the air as the creatures are struck by the falling hail.

  James and Jiron begin shivering from the temperature within the barrier, it has to be below freezing now, way below freezing. The creature caught in the barrier starts thrashing about from side to side in a panicked attempt to free itself but is unable to extricate itself from the barrier. Finally, with a nightmarish cry, the half within the barrier comes away and falls to the ground. Erupting in a cloud of noxious black smoke, it disappears, leaving a charred area on the ground.

  With the destruction of the one caught in the barrier, the strain on James diminishes dramatically and he’s able to concentrate on the other one. It’s visibly weakened from the ice coating it, steam rising in clouds from where it sticks to its side.

  Releasing the clouds above he turns his attention fully on the ice lying upon the ground outside the barrier. He has to use his senses for the barrier now has a layer of ice upon it and nothing on the other side can be seen from within. His mind is beginning to lose its battle with consciousness, he knows it’s simply a matter of seconds before he’s gone. Using his powers in one last surge, he gathers the hail on the ground outside and creates his last spell before passing out.

  Jiron is there by his friend when he feels him slump into unconsciousness. Making sure he’s okay, he gets to his feet and goes to the barrier to listen. As he draws near, the ice shrouded barrier shatters as the second creature smashes through.

  Covered in ice, acrid steam rising from it in a cloud, the creature bursts through with a growl. Knocked backward by the creature, Jiron hits the ground but rolls quickly back to his feet. The crea
ture swings its head from side to side as it contemplates James and Jiron. Making its choice, it emits a growl which sends shivers of fear through him and launches itself at Jiron.

  Moving quickly, he races to a nearby boulder and jumps upward, landing upon it. Not taking the time to look backward, he then takes two steps and jumps again, this time grabbing a tree limb and swinging up just as the creature leaps to grab him. He can feel the heat from the creature as it passes just below him.

  Coming to rest on top of the limb, he watches as the creature paces along the ground below. It seems as if the creature is trying to figure out the best way to get him down. Not in immediate danger of dying, he glances back and sees James lying there amid the melting remains of the ice which had coated the exterior of the barrier.

  His eyes widen is amazement when he notices two objects lying not three feet from the shattered edge of the barrier. He rubs his eyes to make sure they’re not playing tricks on him. Sure enough, lying there in the ice are two knives entirely made of ice. How they came to be there he doesn’t know, probably James when he knew he was about to pass out.

  With the creature pacing beneath him, he can’t just hop down and rush over there. He takes in his surroundings and notices where the ground drops away just to the right side of the tree. Moving from limb to limb, he makes his way over and sees that the drop-off goes down about twenty feet or so. Making up his mind as to his course of action, he makes his way back to the far side of the tree, the creature pacing beneath him the whole time.

  Getting into position, he takes a deep calming breath as he takes hold of the branch he’s standing upon. He watches the creature in its pacing and waits until it’s in a good position for what he plans, then he swings down like a gymnast and sails through the air toward where the drop-off lies.

  The creature immediately surges in pursuit as he hits the ground running. Praying this works, he takes several steps and jumps to grab a limb overhanging the edge of the drop-off. Swinging up onto the branch, he just escapes being caught by the creature as it jumps after him and sails over the edge of the drop-off.