Footsteps coming down the stairs herald another visitor on the way. When the man exits the stairwell and begins walking across the floor, he can tell the man comes from the Empire. He’s spent enough time down there to readily recognize one of them, even if the man is wearing local clothes.
“Awake I see,” the man says as he draws close.
James stays seated on his bench and does nothing more than look at him.
“You should eat,” the man tells him. “You have a long trip ahead of you and we must ensure you have the strength to survive it.”
“Where?” he asks, breaking his silence.
“To someone who greatly desires to talk with you,” the man says.
“Torture and interrogate you mean,” replies James. “I hardly think it’s going to be a social call.”
Breaking into a grin, the man says, “I see you haven’t lost your sense of humor.”
“Do I know you?” James asks.
“I don’t think so,” the man says. “Our paths haven’t crossed until now.”
“Who are you?” he asks.
“Just a loyal servant of the Empire,” he replies.
“I see,” says James as he leans his head back against the wall behind him.
Gesturing to the food, the man asks, “Are you worried about what may be in your food? Is that why you don’t eat?” He waits for a response and when none is forthcoming, he adds, “You needn’t be worried, there is nothing contained within other than food. No drugs or anything like that.”
James simply stares at him, not believing him in the least.
“We should be leaving in a couple hours,” the man says. “The negotiations have been concluded most favorably for all parties. Trade between the Empire and Cardri shall continue.”
“Good for you,” says James. After a few moments of silence while the man simply stares at him, he asks, “So why are you down here?”
“Just wanted to see you for myself,” he explains. “From all that I’ve heard, I thought you would be more impressive.”
James starts laughing.
Turning to leave, the man says, “I shall return when we are ready to leave.”
“I can hardly wait,” James says, sobering up quickly. He watches as the man walks to the stairs and then ascends to the upper level. Absentmindedly, he rubs the object in his pocket and waits.
Shortly after he arrived at the Dancing Squirrel, Miko set himself in the common room drinking ale. He wanted to be quickly available should the need arise. He worries about James, imagining the worst possible things happening to him and would like nothing better than to storm the castle and rescue him. But like Illan said, that would be foolhardy.
When it draws close to the time when he said he would meet them back at their rendezvous, he gets up from the table and makes his way outside to the street. He doesn’t get far before he sees the older boy running up the street toward him.
Upon seeing him, he hollers, “Miko!” and races straight for him. Looking distraught, he comes to a stop in front of him and says, “They’ve got them!”
“Got who?” he asks.
“Gwynne and little Daria,” he replies. When he sees Miko not understanding, he clarifies, “One of the older girls and the little one who took such a liking to you.”
Alarmed, he asks, “Who? Who has them?”
“The Empire’s men,” he explains. “They were down there keeping an eye on their camp while the rest of us met with you earlier. When me and Jerrick went down to join them in watching, they weren’t there.” Fear evident in his voice, he looks pleadingly to Miko.
“Calm down,” he says as he tries to keep his own emotions under control. “How do you know they have them?”
Taking a deep breath, he calms himself and then says, “Just after we got there and began looking for them, the camp started to break up. I think they’re getting ready to leave. A coach was sitting in front of one of their tents and I saw children hurriedly being put inside.” He pauses for just a second before exclaiming, “I saw Gwynne and Daria being put inside with the others. It looked like they were crying.”
Red hot anger begins burning inside him. The thought of those sweet girls going through what he had is more than he can bear. “Try to find out where they’re going and then return fast,” he says as he turns around to return to the inn and inform Illan what’s happening.
“Right!” the boy says. As the boy turns to leave one of the girls comes running down the street. “Miko!” she exclaims.
Turning to see the girl coming, he stops and waits a second for her to reach him. The older boy joins them as well. “They have a boat at the docks!” she tells him. “We saw some of them leave the castle area and followed them to the docks where they began boarding.”
The older boy says, “I bet that’s where they’re taking Gwynne and Daria!”
“Gwynne and Daria?” the girl asks.
To the boy, Miko says, “Send one to keep an eye on the camp to make sure they’re not going somewhere else. Round up everyone else and meet us at the docks.”
“Right!” the boy says as he takes the girl by the hand and they go racing down the street.
Bolting for the inn, he races through the door and takes the steps two at a time. Upon reaching the room, he opens the door and says, “They’re leaving!”
“What?” exclaims Illan as he comes to his feet.
“They have a boat at the docks and they’re leaving now!” he replies. “Their camp is being taken down and that’s not all. They’ve taken two of my kids. They’re going to make slaves out of them!”
“Damn!” curses Illan. “If they get away from the docks, we’ll never catch them.” To Fifer he says, “Go down to the docks and try to locate this ship.”
“Right,” he says as he runs out the door.
To the others he says, “If they try to move James to the ship, that will be our best chance to rescue him.” Moving toward the door, he says, “Let’s go.” Opening the door, he passes through to the hallway, the others following right behind. He glances behind him, glad to see Dave is among them and not being obstinate.
The Parvati is in the middle of their group, the hooded cloak hiding his features. Fortunately it’s autumn so relatively cool. If it was the middle of summer, he would attract attention like that.
Each walled section of the city has its own set of docks. It’s unlikely the Empire’s vessel would be docked outside in the poorer section. That dock is mainly used by simple merchants and fishing boats. The dock for the interior section by the castle is for the royalty and nobility of Cardri and the city. It’s possible the ship could be there but most likely it’s docked at the dock for the central section of the city where most of the merchants and travelers dock their ships.
It’s to this section Illan leads them. Trying not to hurry and draw unwanted attention to themselves, they forge their way through the crowds upon the streets until they’re able to see the masts of the docked ships ahead.
“Miko!” a young girl hollers and he turns to see her wave at him.
“One of yours?” Illan asks.
Nodding, Miko disengages from the group and moves to see what she wants.
With a worried expression, she hurries to meet him halfway. “Thank goodness you’re here!” she exclaims.
“Why?” he asks. “What happened?” Illan and the others have come up behind him to hear what she has to say.
When she sees them approach, she looks to Miko who nods assuringly, “They’re my friends and are going to help me rescue Gwynne and Daria.”
“Paul told me to wait here and tell you the ship is called the Black Topaz,” she says. “It’s tied down at the docks, he didn’t say which one it was, just the name.”
“That should be enough,” he assures her. “You wait here, there might be trouble and I don’t want you to get hurt.”
With fear in her eyes, she nods her head.
Miko turns back to the others and asks, “You heard?
”
Illan nods. “Let’s hope Fifer has already located the ship.” Continuing down the street to the docks, they leave the frightened girl behind. The street doesn’t go much further before they’re able to see the harbor open up before them.
The docks are in a mass of confusion as ships are loaded and unloaded either by porters carrying the goods off down the gangplank or by use of one of the several cranes located throughout the dock area. One ship, a smaller two masted deep sailing ship is currently having a coach lifted aboard.
Miko’s blood goes cold when he sees the sailors on board that vessel are from the Empire. “I think we’ve found it,” he says and begins moving toward it.
A hand on his shoulder stops him and Illan says, “Patience. They’re not leaving yet.” He indicates several more coaches and six other wagons which have yet to be unloaded. “Let’s move closer and see what we can do.”
As they make their way closer, Fifer disengages from the crowd and approaches. “That’s it,” he says as he nods toward the ship. “From what I can gather, most of the Ambassador’s group has already boarded. The Ambassador has yet to make his appearance.”
“Any sign of James?” Illan asks.
“Not yet,” Fifer replies.
“Illan!” Miko exclaims quietly.
Turning to see what he’s excited about, he looks to the window of the carriage being lifted on board by a crane and sees a small face peering out. “The kids?” he asks.
Miko nods. “That’s the little one, Daria,” he tells him. He stands there and watches as the coach is swung over and then lowered onto the deck. Sailors then push it over to the cargo hold where several sailors congregate near the coach’s door. Over their heads, he sees the door to the coach swing open but the men there block any view of the children as they’re being led into the hold.
“We have to do something!” he says. “We should tell someone.”
“And what would anyone do?” Illan asks. “That’s a diplomatic vessel and for the authorities to search it would be tantamount to a declaration of war in these shaky times. They’ll not risk that on our word alone.”
Miko glares at him, his rage wanting to be released. Pushing it back down, he lets it simmer against the time when it can be. And woe to the person who feels its wrath.
A group of kids makes their way toward them out of the crowd. As they draw near Miko can see that Paul, the leader of the group of kids, is very distraught. “They just took them on board!” he states angrily.
“I know,” Miko tells him.
“What are we to do?” Paul asks him.
One of the older girls comes toward him tears streaming down her face and says, “Daria’s my sister. We can’t let them have her.”
Laying his hand upon her shoulder, he wipes away an errant tear before it can travel very far and says, “Don’t you worry. We’ll not let them be taken.”
Then from the direction of the castle area, a murmur begins working its way through the crowd and they see a group of important looking people making their way along the docks. The leader of the group is obviously from the Empire, and by his dress he must be the Ambassador.
“There he is!” breathes Fifer as they see James walking within the group of guards behind the Ambassador. His hands and feet are manacled and the short chain between his ankle restraints forces him to move in a shuffle.
“Now?” asks Miko, ready to extract his vengeance.
“No,” Illan says. “Let’s move a little bit closer.” As they move through the throng of people on the dock, he contemplates this foolhardy venture. They haven’t made any plans for escape should they even manage to get him free. How are they even going to get out of town? Events are simply moving along too rapidly.
By the time the Ambassador’s procession reaches the gangplank to the ship, they’ve managed to work their way down to the edge of the crowd. James lifts his head and sees them there. He can see in their eyes that they plan to do something foolish. Looking directly at Miko, he shakes his head. He does the same thing with Jiron.
“Is he telling us not to do anything?” Miko whispers to Illan.
“I think so,” he replies. “He knows if we do anything here, it’ll come to ruin. Too many people and guards.”
“Then what are we to do?” Jiron asks.
From behind them, a voice says, “I’d suggest keeping your hand’s away from your weapons.”
Turning around, they see Lord Colerain standing there, a smirk upon his face. Flanking him are four crossbowmen as well as a dozen armed men. “Now, we don’t want to make a scene here,” he tells them. “So if you’ll follow along quietly, no one will get hurt.”
The crowd around them begins backing away when they see what’s transpiring between the two groups. The Ambassador’s group, having already past their location doesn’t take notice of what’s going on.
Miko reaches for his sword when Illan grabs him and says, “No! He’ll kill us all.” Staring into the eyes of Lord Colerain, Miko’s anger and rage almost gets the better of him again. “Not now,” Illan insists.
Releasing his sword, Miko continues glaring at him.
Lord Colerain gives him a victorious grin and turns as he leads them away from the docks.
Miko glances over his shoulder to where Paul and the other kids are mingled in with the crowd. Paul stares in disbelief as they’re being led away. Then Miko sees him say something to another boy who begins running through the crowd toward one of the streets leading away from the docks.
Just before he’s led from the dock area completely, he casts one more look toward the ship and sees James as he’s led aboard.
Chapter Twelve
_________________________
“You’re not going to get away with this!” Illan tells him as they leave the dock area.
“And who is going to stop me?” he asks. “You? You’re wanted for murdering a visiting diplomat. We even have witnesses.”
“James’ retribution will be hard indeed when he learns of your involvement,” threatens Miko.
“I think I have little to fear from him,” he says. “It’s unlikely we’ll ever see him again.”
Miko’s anger turns to worry for his friend. If he is drugged and incapable of using his magic, just what can he do? In a fight he’s pretty useless, he can’t use a sword or anything. And then his mind turns to Gwynne and Daria, those sweet girls now in the hands of merciless men who only want to make a profit off them. He feels they’ll be safe until they’re auctioned off, girls who are untouched tend to go for more. But how long do they have until they stand upon the auction block?
Glancing back, he can see Paul and the rest of his group following along behind, keeping a discreet distance.
They proceed in silence as they’re lead through the streets. He’s pretty sure they’re being taken to the castle area though not entirely. Up ahead the street opens into a wide plaza with a large central fountain where several streets converge. Along the edges are many merchants selling a variety of goods to the people passing through.
“Thief!”
A cry from across the plaza draws their attention. “Guards! Thief!” a fat merchant selling loaves of bread hollers as a boy races away through the crowd with one of the merchant’s loaves tucked under his arm.
Members of the city guard in the area give immediate chase. The boy races through the crowd, dodging nimbly as he makes his way to one of the streets which merges onto the plaza.
“Stop!” one of the guards hollers to the boy but the lad ignores the command and reaches the street. Soon, both he and the guards are out of sight.
At first, Miko had thought this some ploy of Paul and the others, but when he didn’t recognize the one who stole the bread, he dismisses the idea. As their group crosses the plaza and come near the beautiful fountain of three women who are pouring water out of earthen jugs, he sees the boy who Paul had sent running back at the docks when they were being led away by Lord Colerain. He’s standing
on the edge of the fountain.
Suddenly, he raises his hand and the crowd around them surges as dozens of boys, ranging from older teens to a couple who couldn’t be more than eight or nine, jump the guards surrounding Miko and the others.
As the guards are thrown to the ground, a melee erupts and soon the whole area is one big mass of fighting. Regular citizens scream as they race away from the combatants. Paul appears out of the maelstrom of fighting, struggling people. “Come on!” he cries as he takes Miko’s arm.
Leading him away, Illan and the others follow right behind as they make a break for the far side of the plaza.
“Get them!” “Smash their face!” Cries ring out throughout the plaza as the boys pummel Lord Colerain and his guards. Miko glances back and sees a guard run one boy through with his sword just as two more boys tackle him from behind. A knife flashes in one of the boy’s hand and the guard soon lies still upon the ground.
“We don’t have much time!” urges Paul as they enter the street and leave the plaza behind. Soon, horns can be heard as the city guard makes its presence known. They begin flooding into the plaza from all directions.
“Who were those guys?” Jiron asks him.
“Friends,” Paul replies. Taking them through back alleys, he leads them on a circuitous path back to the harbor. When they get there, they see the Empire’s ship already away from the docks and heading out to sea.
“Damn!” Illan cries. “We’re too late.”
Miko turns to him and asks, “What can we do now?”
Illan stands there in indecision.
When no answer is forthcoming, Jiron says, “We have to do something!”
“Jiron?” a voice off in the crowd asks.
He turns to find Meliana standing there in disbelief. “I didn’t think I was going to find any of you,” she says. Breaking into a smile, she says, “Father said it was unlikely, but I thought…”
The Star of Morcyth: The Morcyth Saga Book Five Page 14
