The others are waiting for him to make a decision but it’s one which can only go one way. “Since no one witnessed the act, I can’t bring myself to believe it could happen,” he finally says. “Where I come from we believe in the credo ‘Innocent until proven guilty’. As no one saw the crime, I cannot simply assume his guilt.”
“Then you believe me?” asks Dave. His lower lip trembles as he awaits James’ answer.
“Yes Dave,” he says, “I believe you.”
“Well I don’t,” Jiron says as he moves toward Dave.
“Jiron!” cries James but he pays no attention.
Before anyone can react, Jiron strikes out with a first and connects with Dave’s jaw, sending him flying backward. He stumbles into Fifer who pushes him forward only to be greeted by another roundhouse which lifts him off the ground a foot.
Oof!
His breath is knocked out of him as his back slams to the ground.
“Jiron stop it!” cries James and rushes to protect his friend but Jorry and Uther grab his arms, preventing him from interfering.
Walking toward Dave lying on the ground, Jiron says, “This has needed doing for far too long.” Dave tries to scramble backward out of his reach but Jiron reaches him and kicks him hard in the side.
Crying out, Dave rolls over and continues rolling to avoid the next kick which barely misses him.
“You’ll kill him!” James yells but Jiron doesn’t even flinch.
Dave suddenly rolls right to the side of the outcropping and runs out of space as he rolls against the rock. “You’re out of room,” Jiron says as he nears.
“No!” cries out James as Jiron pulls back his foot to kick him in the head. Suddenly, a wave of force ripples through the air toward Jiron and throws him through the air where he strikes the outcropping. Falling to the ground, he gets to his feet quickly and turns a face full of rage toward James.
“Let me go!” he yells to Jorry and Uther who promptly let go. He rushes over to his friend lying on the ground, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth where he bit his lip when Jiron struck him.
“Dave!” he cries out and Dave looks up at him just before passing out. Making sure he’s okay first, he then turns to the others. Jiron is getting up off the ground and James says, “No one will hurt him. Do you understand?”
Jiron glares at him.
“You are my friend,” he says to him. Then to the others he adds, “You all are but this witch hunt will end here,” he says. “Dave will not be mistreated in any way. If you have proof, lay it before me otherwise I don’t want to hear it.”
He stares at each in turn and one by one they give him a nod. When he at last comes to Jiron he waits but no nod is forthcoming. “Jiron, you are to leave him alone,” he insists.
Jiron simply stares back at him in defiance. He never thought to be on the receiving end of James’ magic and he’s not sure how to take it. After another moment, he nods his head almost imperceptibly.
“You okay?” he asks Jiron.
Giving him another slight nod he turns away and walks out of the lighted area into the night. Qyrll and Fifer go with him.
He watches him stalk away, saddened by the fact he used his power on him. Jiron has always been a trusted companion and with any luck this won’t come between them. Returning his attention to his friend Dave, he kneels down next to him.
Laying a hand upon his chest, he gives him a little shake and says softly, “Dave.” When he receives no reaction, he shakes him more vigorously, “Dave, wake up!”
Eyes flying open, they look around quickly but then finally focus on James’ face there before him.
“How are ya doing?” he asks, concern for his friend in his voice.
“Where’s Jiron?” he asks in reply.
Nodding off to the side, he says, “Over there somewhere. He won’t bother you again.”
Sitting up, Dave looks around at the others staring at him, distrust and a little bit of anger is all he sees. “I’m sorry for everything James,” he finally says.
“It’s alright Dave,” assures James. “I understand.” Getting up, he holds out a hand.
Taking it, he makes it to his feet. His jaw is sore from where Jiron connected with it but otherwise still serviceable.
James glances around and that’s when he notices the outcropping where Jiron hit is cracked. He didn’t think Jiron hit all that hard but a one inch crack runs down the side. Intrigued for some reason, he moves toward it and realizes the crack is much too straight and even to be the result of the impact.
Uther comes up behind him and says, “Maybe we should resume the search in the morning when there’s more light and everyone has had a chance to calm down.”
Not paying him any attention, James reaches out to the crack and inserts his fingers within it. Pulling slightly, the crack widens and then the piece of outcropping suddenly comes loose and falls to the ground with a crash.
“Would you look at that,” Jorry says from where he and Uther are standing behind James. Everyone moves closer to look, even Jiron comes out of the dark to see what’s going on.
On the face of the outcropping where the other piece detached is engraved the Star of Morcyth. “James,” Miko breathes in anticipation, “use your medallion.”
Taking it out, he removes it from around his neck and sets it in the diagram. When nothing happens, he tries to turn it and a good portion of the rock surrounding the Star rotates a quarter turn before stopping.
From further up the outcropping, a grinding noise can be heard as a section of the rock face rises. Jiron rushes over and peers inside. He glances to where James and the others are watching, “Stairs and they go down.”
“That’s it!” exclaims James. Removing the Star from the diagram in the outcropping, he places it around his neck again and hurries over to where Jiron stands next to the opening. The glowing orbs illuminating the clearing suddenly wink out and a single one springs to life on the palm of his hand. “Let’s go,” he says as he moves through the opening and begins to take the stairs down.
Jiron and Dave both move to be the next to follow, but after a warning glare from Jiron, Dave backs down and is the third through. Even the miner goes with them, intrigued by all the unusual happenings. Of course most likely he didn’t want to remain out there all by himself.
Finally, Jorry and Uther bring up the rear and the clearing is once more dark and quiet.
Chapter Thirty One
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The first thing James notices after entering the opening is a slight breeze coming from within. It brings the smell of earth and mustiness with it. Twenty steps bring him to a small narrow way carved out of the rock. Barely wide enough to allow one man to walk without scraping his shoulders, it extends further into the mountain.
“Be careful,” Jiron says to him.
“Hadn’t planned on not being careful,” he replies.
He follows the narrow passageway and eventually comes to a natural cavern that’s barely large enough for them all to fit. One section of the wall on their right has been smoothed and seven recesses have been carved into the surface.
Six of the recesses sit in two rows, one atop the other. The first and third in each row are of uniform size and each center recess is a third of the size of the others. It goes: large, small, large. The seventh recess is a foot away from the others along the wall and contains many small iron cubes.
Miko moves to the cubes and picks one up. Rust has begun to eat away at it but the cube hasn’t deteriorated very much. Holding it up for James to see he says, “Wonder what these are for?”
“I don’t know,” James replies. Glancing around he realizes the only way for them to leave is the way they came. The breeze he’s been feeling is coming through a small narrow fissure in the wall on the opposite side from where the recesses lie.
“Another secret door?” Jiron asks. He remembers all the other times when it looked like there was no way to proceed and each ti
me James had managed to discover a secret door.
“I would think so,” he says. “Everybody stand back and give me room.” He begins examining the walls with his fingers, checking every nook and cranny. When he gets to the fissure where the breeze is blowing through he brings his orb close to try to look through to the other side but is unable to see anything. Spending extra time there, he fails to find anything and then moves on.
“Going to use your magic?” Jiron asks.
Shrugging he says, “If I have too. But let’s see if it can be figured out without that. Might attract unwanted visitors, though they may already know we’re here anyway.”
“At the foot of the king, bathe in his cup, pull his beard to make him sit up,” Fifer says from where he’s standing watching James do his thing. “That makes sense now. At the base of Kiliticus, you got on the water and saw a bearded figure made by the shadows cast by the setting sun. At the spot where the shadow’s beard lay, we pulled down a piece of the outcropping and with your medallion, a piece rose up.”
He glances over to where James had paused in his search to listen to him. “Maybe the next set of lines will aid us here.”
Seven to Nine,
Six to Four.
Spit in the wind,
And open the door.
“That’s the last of the prophecy,” he says.
“Okay then,” says Fifer. “There’s a breeze coming through here so that could be the wind. But what does seven to nine and six to four have to do with anything?”
“How about these?” suggests Miko. Everyone turns and sees him there with one of the iron cubes in his hand. “These have to be here for a reason.”
“Could the numbers mentioned in the prophecy correlate to the two rows of holes in the wall?” Qyrll asks.
Coming to where Miko stands before the iron cubes, James does a quick count and finds there probably could be enough to put the specified numbers in each of the four major recesses. “Let’s see,” he says as he and Miko begin taking the cubes from their resting place and putting them in the recesses.
On the top row they put seven cubes in the left one and nine in the right. The second row gets six in the first one and four in the last. “There’s still some left over,” Miko says as he points to the four cubes left.
“That’s probably to throw off whoever makes it this far,” suggests James. “Without the prophecy they would be trying to use them all and it wouldn’t work.”
Nodding, he replies, “Makes sense.”
They all hold their breath for a moment, expecting something to happen, but the room remains quiescent. “Nothing’s happening,” Uther says.
“Maybe you should spit into the wind,” the miner suggests. When James turns to look at him he shrugs and says, “It is part of the prophecy.”
“Very well,” he says. To the others he says, “Stand back.” As the others move to get out of the way, he turns to face the breeze and lets fly a big wad of spittle. Just then a gust suddenly blows through the opening and causes the spittle to fly back toward him and hits him in the face.
“Hahahaha,” Miko breaks into uncontrollable laughter as James begins wiping his face clean with his arm.
“Well that didn’t accomplish anything,” he says, giving Miko an irritated look. No wall opened or anything.
Jiron moves to where the breeze is coming through and takes hold of the fissure and tries to pull and then push it open. “Maybe it wasn’t so much that you had to do it but rather to indicate where the door is.” Try as he might he can’t budge it.
“We’re missing something,” he says as he comes over and joins Jiron in attempting to open the door, if door it be.
From where Qyrll is standing, he hears him mumble, “Seven to nine, six to four.” Suddenly, the Parvati lets out with a laugh.
“What’s so funny?” asks Fifer.
“We’re thinking about this wrong,” he says. “It’s not seven to nine, it’s seven, two, nine. The four remaining blocks are supposed to go into the middle areas.”
“Worth a try,” says James. He moves over to where the four remaining cubes lay and picks them up. He puts two in the top center recess first, then the last two into the bottom. As soon as the last cube is placed within, each recess sinks down a quarter of an inch and a click can be heard coming from the wall with the fissure.
Turning back around to face the fissure, Jiron takes hold and pulls hard. On hinges groaning from centuries of accumulated rust, the fissure swings opens and reveals another narrow passage.
“Yes!” exclaims James in jubilation and he moves to enter. As he passes Qyrll he says, “Smart thinking.”
The Parvati simply nods in acknowledgement as James passes.
“So the Star is down here?” Dave asks, looking into the dark opening.
“I would think so,” replies James. “All the sections of the prophecy have been utilized, but you never know.” Taking the lead, James moves into the passage, the orb lighting the way.
The passage leads further into the mountain for another hundred feet or so before opening onto another underground cavern. This one here is reminiscent of the ones they found when working their way beneath the Merchant’s Pass. Stalactites and stalagmites, as well as the continuous dripping of water creates an eerie atmosphere. The shadows cast by the orb as James moves through gives an otherworldly feel to the place.
“Just like the Shasta Caverns,” whispers Dave.
James grins at the memory of when Dave’s family had taken him on their trip north that one year and they stopped at the Caverns. “It is a little,” he agrees.
A flow of water runs along the bottom of the cavern. It enters from a hole in the wall on one side and continues to follow the length of the cavern. Though not very deep, James can see how this little stream could have carved out this cavern over the course of a millennium.
The antagonism between Dave and Jiron seems to have been subdued with the discovery of this secret area. They are more interested in what it may hold than the enmity they hold for each other.
They follow the stream through the cavern. The cavern not being very wide, the orb is able to illuminate both sides as they make their way through. So far there has been no other way to go but forward.
After another couple hundred feet of following the stream, the floor of the cavern becomes less smooth and more broken. The sound of the water increases as it flows over the uneven surface.
As they continue through the cavern, the streambed begins sinking further into the floor of the cavern from where the water has eroded the stone away. Finally, they reach the other side of the cavern. A large jagged opening, encompassing part of the cavern wall and floor allows the water to flow from the room. The sound of the water falling over a precipice can be heard coming from somewhere on the other side.
Back a ways from the opening where the water is escaping, a section of the wall has been smoothed. An arched door sits within it. No handle or any other discernable means with which to open the door can be seen.
Next to it is what looks to be a stone scabbard and sticking out of the top is a shiny handle. James comes over to it with the others right behind. He reaches out for the handle and hesitates. Glancing back to the others, he sees Jiron nod his head. Turning back to the handle, he grips it and pulls it out.
It’s a foot long knife, the edge is incredibly sharp. Just as he turns back to show Jiron, he feels the tingle of magic and above the door, glowing letters begin to appear.
‘With the Knife of Maricel you must take the life,
Of the one that fire aged through strife.’
“What does that mean?” Dave asks in puzzlement. He glances to James and sees a look of horror on his face. “What?”
James knows full well what it means. Miko is the one the Fire aged through strife. When Miko had the Fire, every time he went into battle the Fire aged him until at last his youth was gone. He looks to Miko and can see he’s come to the same conclusion. If they are to conti
nue, Miko must die!
James sits against the wall with the Knife of Maricel resting on the ground beside him. He’s been sitting here almost a half hour now as he tries to come up with another meaning to the words glowing above the door than Miko’s death. This can’t be right! Morcyth is a god of good, it’s inconceivable that a human sacrifice would be asked by a god such as he.
Miko and Jiron, as well as everyone else but Dave, congregate over by the outflow of the stream. They talk in hushed tones, occasionally casting quick glances over to where James sits in contemplation. Dave sits near him but remains quiet.
A memory comes to James, one from long ago when he first met Serenna back in Willimet, before becoming the leader of a cult. “I see a long road but you are not alone, another walks with you,” she said to him. “He will be the key, a lock must be opened.”
Is this the lock which must be opened? It has to be. But taking Miko’s life? Even if it means not fulfilling why he’s been brought to this world, it’s something he’s unwilling to do. Coming to his decision, he takes the knife in his hand and stands up.
The others come near when they take notice of him coming to his feet. Miko comes forward and with a haunted look in his eyes says, “James if you must do this…” His voice cracks and he’s unable to finish.
Giving him a smile, James lays his hand upon his shoulder. “I will not kill you Miko,” he assures his friend. “Even if it means my quest ends here and forever remains unfulfilled.”
“But…” Miko says, tears coming to his eyes.
“If Morcyth is such a god as requires the death of a good man, then I want no part of him,” James says then turns toward the door. Walking forward, he takes the Knife of Maricel and places it back into the scabbard.
Suddenly, the tingling sensation he’s felt since the words first appeared above the door spikes. Backing quickly away from the door, he watches as lines form around the perimeter of the door. Then in a flash, the door vanishes and the way is open.
The Star of Morcyth: The Morcyth Saga Book Five Page 40
