The fighting increased as the enemy gained more ground within the City. People fled in every direction. None seemed to know where to go. James and Miko raced through the streets, staying clear of the fighting.
Fires within the city cast an eerie glow to the night. The enemy had gained a foothold upon several sections of the walls; crossbowmen rained bolts down upon the defenders.
“This is going to be over soon,” he told Miko as they paused for a moment, trying to decide the best direction to go.
“How did they get inside so fast?” Miko asked. “Everyone said that it would take weeks to breach these walls, maybe longer.”
“Remember the rider who came up while we were waiting to board the boats?” James reminded. “He said they were poisoned and I have a good idea who was behind it.”
“Who?”
“Ol’ One Eye. When we were looking through the window to the warehouse he was giving a vial and sacks of coins to someone. My guess is that the vial contained poison that was used on the guards at the gate.”
“Very good,” said a voice behind them.
Turning, they saw ol’ One Eye standing there with a dozen enemy soldiers, three of whom had crossbows aimed straight at them.
“Greetings again, gentlemen,” he said. “Move wrong and you’ll have a bolt through you.”
“How did you find us?” Miko asked.
While his men tied their hands behind their backs, he said, “Fairly easy actually. I saw you in line at the docks waiting to board one of those damn boats. I set a man to watch in case you left. When the panic started, it was easy enough to follow and catch you.”
“Why bother with us?” James asked.
“I have my reasons,” he replied and then set off with them in tow toward where the fighting was fiercest. Heading for the east gate, they had to duck down alleys whenever soldiers of Cardri raced past.
It was easy for James to use magic to break the bindings that held their hands. When Miko felt his bonds part, he almost let the rope slip to the ground, but fast thinking kept him holding on to it to prolong the illusion that they were still bound.
Miko glanced at James who winked at him and then continued to follow their captors. A group of defenders emerged at a run from a side street ahead with no effort in trying to maintain formation. It was a complete rout; enemy soldiers emerged behind them and gave chase.
One Eye had them duck into another alley, letting them pass. James glanced further into the alley and found that it opened on another street farther down. He indicated for Miko to look back to the main road. When Miko looked he saw a small glowing ball rolling toward their hiding place. He closed his eyes and remembered the last time at the inn back in Bearn.
“What the hell is that?” one of their captors asked.
“Shoot it,” One Eye said.
One of the crossbowmen fired a bolt and when the bolt connected with it, the ball exploded in a brilliant flash of light.
James and Miko, having kept their eyes closed, only partially lost their night vision. They shoved out against the men surrounding them, causing them to trip and fall over themselves in their blinded state. James grabbed Miko’s shoulder and directed him to the other end of the alley.
Behind them arose cries of “I’m Blind!”, “Can’t see!” and One Eye yelling, “Don’t let them escape!”
They raced from the alley and turned down the street, making for the western side of the City. With the enemy pouring through the eastern gate, to the west was their only hope of escape. Dodging around a corner to avoid an approaching group of enemy soldiers, they suddenly found themselves in a market square where a dozen small children had sought refuge. From the other side of the square, a dozen of the enemy appeared.
James pulled Miko against the side of the building and into the shadows. He watched the soldiers enter the square and quickly took note of the children. Then to his horror, they attacked.
Without thinking, James reacted and the ground under the charging soldiers erupted, throwing bodies in every direction. More soldiers entered the square behind the others. Coming out of the shadows, he yelled to the children, “Come on! This way!”
The children saw him and the older boys got the younger children moving toward him. “Let’s go! Move it!” he yelled as the soldiers entered the square, circumventing the hole he had blasted in the street.
The soldiers saw the children and raced to catch them, their swords drawn. James reached down, picked up several rocks and began to fell soldiers, using magic to give the stones speed and accuracy. One after another the soldiers went down, but still they came, their numbers steadily increasing.
The children finally reached James and with Miko in the lead, they fled down the side street. At the next crossroad, Miko hesitated, asking, “Which way?”
One of the older boys said, “This way!” pointing to the right, down a street with several tall buildings bordering it.
Miko looked to James who nodded and they headed in that direction, running as fast as the littlest could go.
James realized that the soldiers would catch them if he didn’t slow them down, so he yelled to Miko, “Find someplace to hide, I’ll find you.” He stopped and turned to face the oncoming soldiers as Miko led the children away.
A bolt flew past his left ear, shaking him up, but he steeled himself and concentrated on the buildings that bordered the street. When he released the power, the buildings exploded outward from both sides, crashing into the soldiers as they passed between them. The rubble blocked the street so James, with head throbbing from that last spell, turned and tried to catch up with his friend.
He glanced at the outer walls of the City as he ran and saw the enemy now had complete control. The fighting throughout the City diminished as the defenders realized it was a hopeless cause and they began to surrender.
James raced down the street when a squad of enemy soldiers emerged from a side street, blocking his path. They saw him and one yelled, “Stop! Stay right where you are!”
Not heeding the command, James ducked in through a doorway and found himself in a laundry. Racing past the empty tubs he located the back door and came out in a very small alley, wedged between two tall buildings.
He ran down the alley as the soldiers entered the laundry behind him in pursuit. Light illuminated the alley from an open doorway up ahead and the sound of men’s laughter came from the other side. He ran toward it and raced inside.
There in the middle of the floor were two enemy soldiers holding a girl down on the floor while a third tore off the remainder of her clothes.
Anger blossomed like a red hot sun inside him and he released a surge of power which picked up the men, and slammed them into the wall. Their bodies hit with such force, they smashed through the thin wall and fell lifeless onto the street on the other side amidst the rubble.
The girl looked up and saw James coming toward her. Screaming in terror, she got to her feet and ran out into the night.
James bolted through the hole in the wall just as the pursuing soldiers entered behind him. “There he is!” one shouted.
He made his way around the dead men lying amidst the rubble and flew down the street, enemy soldiers in hot pursuit.
James was winded, with only the fear of dying keeping his feet moving at all. His breath came in gasps and a pain grew in his side. He saw the soldiers gain on him. Fear of being caught gave him a burst of adrenalin but it was short-lived.
Ahead, the road came to another intersection where a squad of the Empire’s soldiers marched through. From behind, a pursuing soldier yelled, “Stop him!” to those in the intersection. One of the crossing soldiers saw James approach. He yelled to his commander and the squad turned into the alley, blocking his only escape.
James came to a halt, trapped. Panting for breath, he paused for just a moment to regain some of his strength.
The soldiers, seeing James stop, slowed their advance. “Come on,” one of his pursuers said, all cocky. “T
here’s no use running. You’ve got nowhere to go.”
James directed the magic, causing the ground under his pursuers to explode outward, throwing bodies into the air.
From the group coming from the intersection, he heard, “He’s a mage!” Two crossbowmen from the group let fly bolts at him as the remaining soldiers rushed forward.
With a wave of his hand, he created a barrier that deflected the arrows harmlessly to the side. Concentrating hard, he cast a spell. The effort brought black spots to his eyes and his pulse pounded from the power being used.
Magic flowed into the rubble littering the alley from when the ground erupted. Pieces were drawn together and in no time, a stone creature was formed. A body of stone, given life by magic, shuffled toward the soldiers who struck ineffectively at it with their weapons. It swung its arms and when it hit, bones shattered.
It positioned itself between the soldiers and James, repulsing every attempt the soldiers made to get past. Realizing that they’d be unable to get to James, they retreated to the intersection where they disappeared around the corner. The creature followed as far as the alley’s entrance before it came to a stop.
James’ head was pounding. This last spell had taken everything he had, and then some. His strength and energy were all but depleted. He leaned against the building and sagged to the ground, on the verge of passing out. Spots filled his vision as consciousness waned. The last thing he saw before slipping away was a young man who dropped to the ground and then walked toward him.
Epilog
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The Unsuspecting Mage: The Morcyth Saga Book One Page 26
