Tides of Faith: Travail of The Dark Mage Book Two (60 page)

“Sleep will fix what ails her, if
anything can.”

“I hope so,” Jira said. She went to
Eddra’s side and with a damp cloth, dabbed at her
forehead.

“Keep an eye on her, okay?”

Jira nodded. “I will.”

Father Vickor indicated for Jiron to
accompany him outside.

“I did not want to say anything in
front of Jira,” he said quietly, “but I fear she may not
survive.”

“Are you certain?”

“No, and so there is some room for
hope. Healing is an art, one which I have unfortunately not
practiced enough. Back at the temple there are others more adept
than I.”

“Do what you can.”

“As Morcyth wills.”

James woke to find Miko staring off
toward the Star.

“Still there?”

Miko turned at his voice, a grave
expression on his face.

“What is it?”

“I am not sure.” Returning to gaze off
toward the Star, he said, “Something does not feel
right.”

“Is it still singing to
you?”

“Oh yes. That has not changed. It is
only…”

James came to stand next to him. “Only
what?”

“I do not know,” he sighed. “Have you
ever entered a room and caught just the barest whiff of an
unfamiliar odor? There for a moment then never to
return?”

“Sometimes,” James replied, unsure
exactly what he was talking about. “Is it concerning the Star, or
where we are?”

“The Star, I think.”

“Maybe it is just impatient to be
reunited with you.”

Miko chuckled. “Your words are truer
than you know.”

“Just don’t start calling it ‘my
precious’ or anything like that.”

“But it is precious.”

James laid a hand on his arm. “Now, I
was just kidding. But seriously, don’t.”

Miko eyed him quizzically for a
moment, then nodded. “As you wish.”

“Thank you.”

Their patch of vines was nearly
surrounded by the stalky creatures. James enlisted Miko’s aid in
gathering stones with which he could dispatch them. He’d rather use
stones than his “assassin” spell; that spell made him feel…unclean
for some reason.

After every third or fourth creature
was slain, James would watch the sky for any sign of the
shimmering. He began to believe that his theory on it responding
only to prolonged magic usage was correct for it never
materialized. With intermittent rests to avoid attracting the
shimmering field, it took nearly an hour until the last creature on
the edge of the vines was taken out; dozens more still roamed in
all directions.

Once the way was clear, they left the
patch and Miko led the way to the Star.

“Be there by noon,” he
said.

“Let’s hope so,” James replied.
“Sooner we get it the sooner we will be able to leave this place
behind.”

Less than a half hour away from the
vine patch, James’ attention was drawn to a stalky creature off to
their right. What it was about that particular one that had caught
his eye he hadn’t at first figured out. But then realization set
in. Where all others were moving either away from the center of the
Waste, or laterally to it, this one was moving directly for it, and
not in the familiar loping gait used by the others. This one moved
quickly.

Two stones flew in quick succession
and took out a couple stalkers heading their way. Then a third, and
still James kept casting glances toward the fast-moving creature.
It was far enough away so as not to pose a threat.

“It has something.”

Miko’s words brought to clarity what
had bothered him. The two tentacle-like appendages, similar to
those with which the other creature had carried Jira, held
something close to its underbelly; something about the size of a
child.

James turned to Miko but the high
priest was already in motion. Racing after, James readied a stone
for when he drew close enough. At this distance, even with magical
assistance, he dared not risk hitting what it carried.

Miko’s sword leapt from its scabbard
as he ran. He was nearly upon the creature when he came to a sudden
stop; he held up his hand.

“It is not a child,” he
said.

What the creature held was covered in
fur and a tail poked out from between where the tentacle-like arms
encircled it.

“Dog?” James asked.

“Most likely, or some other
predator.”

Despite the fact that they were within
twenty feet of the stalker, a distance that before had always drawn
the creature’s attention, this one paid them no heed, merely
continued on its way. A stone took it in the side and blasted out
the other, causing the creature to collapse.

Miko approached.

“Careful,” James advised. “It may be
radioactive.”

The high priest nodded. Using his
sword, he severed one of the tentacles and worked to unravel it
from around the animal.

“Dog,” Miko announced when enough of
the canine had been revealed. Its chest rose and fell. “Alive, too.
But unconscious.”

“Must have used its poisoned darts on
it.”

Most likely.”

“Carrying it back to its den
perhaps?”

Miko glanced to him and shrugged.
“Maybe.” Then he glanced about the area. More of the stalkers were
en route toward them. “We should continue on.”

“Yeah, and quickly.” Picking up three
stones from the ground, he used one on a stalker that had gotten
too close and another on a stalker along their intended path. The
third he held ready.

Setting out, Miko kept a brisk pace
while James followed along behind.

Less than an hour passed
before they saw another stalker with a victim hugged to its
underbelly. It too was heading into the
Waste
. This one carried a woman.
After they reached the creature and James took it out, they saw
that she no longer lived. Her skin was a deep red, dried blood
caked about her eyes and patches of her hair were
missing.

“It must have been carrying her for
some time.”

“Why do you say that?” Miko
asked.

“Radiation poisoning,” James replied.
“Would have taken a couple days for her to succumb to it….” He
paused a moment then said, “Unless they normally radiate a lethal
amount.”

Miko glanced to him.

“A high dose can kill you quickly. Or
so I understand.”

Morcyth’s glow surrounded Miko then
flowed to the woman. He nodded his head. “Yes, I see the damage. It
is identical to what we found in the birds.”

“I thought so.”

Two more stones and the area was once
more clear.

James pointed off to the east.
“There’s another.”

This time, the victim carried by the
stalker was clearly not human; the legs were too long, a colt
perhaps.

“You know what this reminds me
of?”

Miko turned to his friend.
“What?”

“Ants.”

“Ants?”

“Yep,” James replied with a nod. He
pointed westward at yet another victim-laden stalker. “Ants go out
empty but come back full.”

“But going back where?”

“That’s the question. Either way, we
need to get the Star and soon,” James said. “We’ll worry about the
whys and wherefores concerning these creatures later.”

“Brother Willim would be most
interested to learn of this.”

“Good idea. When we get to Zixtyn,
we’ll see if we can find the priest he mentioned and fill him
in.”

The rest of the morning
passed as the earlier potion had; stones felling stalkers and
encountering more of those carrying victims into the
Waste
. Only one other
carried a human, a boy this time. He too was deceased by extreme
radiation poisoning. James felt nauseated.

When they came up behind one carrying
an animal, James turned to Miko and asked, “Can you point toward
where the Star lays?” He groaned when Miko’s arm rose and moved to
align with the path of the stalker.

“I was afraid of that.”

“It is moving toward the Star?” Miko
asked, surprised.

“So it would seem.”

“Why?”

“We’ll discover that when we get
there,” he said aloud. Internally, his mind came up with all sorts
of explanations, all of which tended toward the dark and
macabre.

As noon approached, the number of
creatures leaving the Waste gradually diminished while those
returning with victims increased. Then the ground grew uneven as
dark stones of varying shapes and sizes rose from the
ground.

Coming to a large one that towered
over both, Miko paused and reached out his hand. Just before he
touched the stone, he quickly pulled it back.

“Something wrong?”

“Do not touch the stone.” Morcyth’s
glow enveloped his hand then extended to the stone, passing over
and through it. “Evil.”

James walked to the other side. “No
wonder.”

The glow faded. “What do you mean?”
Seeing James wave him over, he walked around the stone to join his
friend.

James pointed to a series of
engravings set into the hard surface. Though broken and severely
damaged, the three dots and lines of the Warrior Priest symbol were
clearly visible. “It must be part of Ith-Zirul, thrown here when it
blew.”

“Then we are close.”

“I would say so,” James replied. “If
this is here, then we must be close to ground zero.” When Miko
glanced at him and arched an eyebrow, he added, “It means we are
near the point where the explosion took place; within a mile or two
at least.”

Miko closed his eyes. “Yes. I can feel
the Star. We are very close.”

“Then let us not tarry.”

He could sense the Star very clearly
now, knew almost to the foot how far ahead of them it lay. James
was very close as to his estimation; slightly more than two miles.
He quickened his pace.

Jutting stones, remnants of Dmon-Li’s
high temple scarred the countryside. Most were hardly more than
small chunks while a few sections of walls, floors or maybe
ceilings laid skewed at an angle, towering over them. At one point
their path led them through an arched doorway set into a section of
a wall rising fifty feet high. The odd part was, the doorway was
upside down. Once through, they continued on.

Nearly halfway there, Miko felt James’
hand on his arm.

“Look there,” James said, pointing off
to their right.

A victim-bearing stalker,
one that they had been keeping an eye on since before entering the
rubble area, had come to a stop. The tentacle-like arms released
the small hog it carried; the dead hog tumbled to the ground. The
stalker then turned about and began heading back out of the
Waste
.

“What is it…,” Miko began then stopped
when the ground beneath the hog began to rise.

Dozens of very fine tendrils burst
through the ground. They moved first one way and then the other.
Those that encountered the hog proceeded to twine around it. Soon
the hog was nearly entirely cocooned by the tendrils.

“Have you ever seen anything like that
before in your life?”

Miko shook his head. “Never even heard
about it.”

Puffs of dirt plumed in the air from
the ground directly surrounding the now-entwined hog. Small at
first, they grew to great geysers full of dust and clods of
dirt.

James gasped when a sheath,
and that’s all he could think to call it, a sheath of flesh,
skin,
something
extended from the ground as if following the tendrils. It
continued rising from the ground to completely envelope the hog.
Once the hog was fully contained, it sank back into the
ground.

“Damn,” James cursed. “What was
that?”

“I do not know,” Miko whispered. “But
it would seem the stalked creatures are feeding it.”

James looked at him
incredulously.

“We watched the stalker drop the hog,
turn and leave. Then whatever that thing was took it,” he shrugged.
“I do not know how else to describe it.”

“Curious.”

“Indeed.”

Off in the distance a ways, another
stalker approached carrying a burden. Just as the previous one had
done, it deposited its cargo, turned about and left. A few seconds
later, that thing emerged from the ground to take it.

James looked to the ground beneath
their feet, then glanced to Miko.

“We better be careful,” he
said.

Miko nodded. “I think we should hurry
and get the Star. With that in hand, I will be able to handle
anything that should arise.”

“Then let’s go.”

They hadn’t gone twenty feet when Miko
abruptly stopped. He pointed to the ground some thirty feet ahead.
“Look.”