Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li: The Morcyth Saga Book Three (54 page)

Two of the enemy break through the lines of
defenders and come straight toward him. Jorry and Uther move to
meet this threat and quickly take them out.

The contest of wills between James and the
Empire’s mage continues, as each tries to get the better of the
other. Suddenly, the resistance eases up and James is able to
finish his spell.

Crumph!

The area in front of the bridge explodes
upward, enemy troops are flung into the air. Suddenly, the
prickling starts again and before James has a chance to recover, a
bolt of force strikes him in the chest and knocks him backward off
the wagon.

Hitting the ground hard, he has the wind
knocked out of him. Coming to his knees, he tries to get his breath
back as Jiron comes to his side.

As Jiron helps him to his feet, he sees Miko
running toward the fighting at the gate, sword in hand. “Miko!” he
tries to yell at him, but he can’t get the volume needed to be
heard. He watches as Miko begins to wade into the attackers, his
sword moving so fast that the eye can hardly keep track of it.

“We’ve got to help him!” James cries out to
Jiron.

“He’s too far away,” he replies. “We’d never
be able to get to him!”

James watches a moment as Miko, in the state
he’s in, inadvertently kills a defender that had been coming to his
aid.

The dust clears from where the explosion had
occurred and they see that the bridge and the mage are still
standing. More troops are pouring across the bridge and working
their way through the hole he’d just created to continue the attack
on the defenders.

The attackers fall like grain to the scythe
as Miko strides into them, totally oblivious to the many minor cuts
he’s receiving. The line of soldiers that were pushing the
defenders further into the city, buckles as Miko cuts a swath
through them.

James tears his eyes away from Miko and back
to the mage. The prickling sensation spikes again and another bolt
of force flies toward him. Ready for it this time, he’s able to
deflect its trajectory and it passes by harmlessly.

He throws two stones in quick succession but
they bounce harmlessly off the invisible barrier. Though the mage
was untouched by the missiles, he does have the minor satisfaction
of seeing them striking soldiers next to him.

The attacker’s push into the city is at a
standstill with Miko there. No one can stop him and the defenders
are rallying around him. More archers are arriving from their
positions on other parts of the wall and their arrows are having a
devastating effect.

Lord Pytherian can be seen there amidst the
line of defenders as he encourages them on to propel the invaders
back. His sword is almost as deadly as Miko’s to anyone who comes
close.

James sends his senses out to the barrier
around the mage, trying to understand it and find a weak point that
can be exploited. Suddenly, he finds it and realizes he should’ve
thought of it before.

He redirects his senses, searching for what
he needs. When he finds it, he lets loose an enormous surge of
power. The one place the mage’s barrier does not cover is the soles
of his feet.

Suddenly, an old root from a bygone tree
breaks through the ground under his feet. The force of it hitting
the mage’s foot sends him reeling, the unexpectedness of it breaks
his concentration. When the prickling sensation stops completely,
he knows the barrier is down.

He cocks back his arm and with another great
surge of power, sends a slug speeding toward the staggering mage.
The mage tries to erect another barrier but is too late. Striking
his upper chest, the slug blasts through and he topples backward
into the river.

A cry rises from the defenders when they see
him fall, and Lord Pytherian shouts above the din, “Now! Beat them
back!” With unbridled ferocity, the defenders wade into the
attackers.

James, fatigued and staggering a little,
looks over the battling fighters. Miko stands near the gate,
momentarily still as the attackers keep their distance. They’ve
learned that to come near him is to die. His sword periodically
moves in a blur as it strikes a bolt out of the air as it flies
toward him.

“Come on!” James cries to the others. “Now’s
our chance to get him out of there!”

Running toward the fighting, James steers
around pockets of fighting as he tries to get close to Miko.

Jorry, Uther and the others form a ring
around him, taking out any attacker who gets close. Jiron, with
knife in one hand, runs next to James. “Will he leave the battle?”
he asks.

“I hope so,” replies James. “If he gets out
of the gate, we’ll never get him back!”

“James!” he hears Lord Pytherian shout. He
looks back and sees him pointing out of the gate. Turning his
attention to the gate, he sees a large group of Parvatis coming
across the bridge. If they get in it might turn the tide against
the defenders.

“Jiron!” he exclaims. “Stop them!”

“How?” he replies. “I’ve only got one
arm!”

“You’re the Shynti, remember?” he
explains.

Jiron suddenly understands what he’s talking
about. Reaching into his tunic, he pulls out the necklace with the
three stones. “Right!” he says. To Jorry and Uther, he says, “You
guys come with me, the rest of you stay with James.”

Jiron makes for the gates with Jorry and
Uther who deal with any attacker foolish enough to come close.

James hurries over to Miko where two
attackers have engaged him. James is startled when he realizes he’s
grown another couple inches and has developed muscle mass on his
arms and chest.
Battling is causing this!

Miko cuts the head off one and comes back
with a slice that takes off the swordarm of the other. Before he
has time to realize what’s happened to him, Miko strikes out twice
more, taking off a leg and putting his sword through the man’s
chest.

As the man hits the ground, he hears James
and the others coming up behind him. He turns quickly and holds his
sword at the ready.

“Miko!” James hollers to him, looking him
eye to eye. It might be just his imagination, but it almost looks
as if there’s a red flicker within his pupils.

Enemy soldiers attack James’ group while
they’re standing there staring at each other but Illan and the rest
move to engage them, keeping them back while he deals with
Miko.

“Miko!” he cries one more time. Miko’s eyes
blink and his sword lowers a fraction. “It’s James! Time to
go!”

His sword drops lower as he says in a barely
audible whisper, “James?”

Nodding his head, he says more softly,
“That’s right, it’s me.”

A confused look comes over his face as he
gazes at the dead stacked around him. When his gaze finally comes
back to James, a tear begins to well in his eye and a frightened
look comes over him.

Dropping the sword, he moves to James who
puts his arm around his shoulder and leads him away from the
battle. Illan and the others fall back with him until they’re once
more behind the lines.

James suddenly remembers Jiron and looks to
the gate. He sees him standing there in front of the Parvatis
holding the necklace out to them. Jorry and Uther are watching his
back as their leader pauses and examines the necklace. James can
see him nodding his head.

“Milord!” he hears someone holler from the
gatehouse. “It’s fixed!”

“Understood!” Lord Pytherian shouts in
reply. “Fight ‘em back boys! Let’s get this gate closed.”

While Jiron and the Parvatis are standing
before the gate talking, they’re blocking the way for the enemy
soldiers behind them who are trying to get through to continue the
attack. As the last of the attackers fall within the city and the
defenders begin to close the gates, Jiron says something to Jorry
and Uther who move back within the city. Jiron goes with the
Parvatis away from the gates, back toward the bridge.

The gates finally shut with a bang and the
locks again fall into place. But Jiron is still on the other
side!

“Stay here!” he tells Miko. When he gets a
nod in reply, he runs over to Lord Pytherian.

“Milord!” he cries out to him.

Turning to see who it is, Lord Pytherian
gives him a smile and says, “We did it! With you and your friend
there, we got it closed!”

“But Jiron is on the other side!” he cries
out.

The smile disappears from his face and a
concerned look replaces it. “I know,” he says. “I don’t know how he
did it, but stopping them most likely saved us all.”

“We’ve got to get him back,” demands
James.

Shaking his head, Lord Pytherian replies,
“The only way is to open the gate and we can’t do that while that
army is camped out there.” He turns to an aide and says, “We got a
man out there with the Parvatis, make sure the archers on the walls
don’t hit him.”

“Yes, milord,” the man says before running
toward the stairs leading up to the walls.

Turning his attention back to James, he
says, “That’s all we can do now.”

From the wall over the gate, a man cries
out, “Milord! They’re pulling back!”

“Where?” he hollers up to them.

“Back to where they were before,” the man
replies.

“Let me know if anything changes,” he
orders.

The man salutes him and goes back to
watching the enemy.

James gestures for Fifer to come over. “You
saw Jiron with the Parvatis?” he asks.

“Yeah,” Fifer replies.

Pointing to the wall over the gate he says,
“See if you can get up there and find out where he’s being taken.”
Turning to Lord Pytherian, he says, “With your leave milord?”

When he nods, giving his permission, Fifer
runs to the access stairs to the wall.

“We still have a little problem with this
Councilman Rillian,” mentions James.

“I realize that,” Lord Pytherian says. “But
it’s doubtful anything will be brought against you and your friends
now. The soldiers here saw you take out the mage and Miko there
almost turned the tide by himself. He’s quite good isn’t he?”

“Uh, yeah,” replies James, “he is.”

“So I think you’re safe from any accusations
he might make about you being agents of the Empire,” he assures
him. “I seriously doubt if anyone here would give credence to
it.”

“But what are you going to do about him?”
James asks.

“That’s for the Council to decide,” he says,
“and I’m not on the Council. I figure it’ll be taken care of
quietly.”

James nods, understanding. “But what about
Jiron?” he asks.

“I hate to say it, but there’s nothing we
can do for him now,” he replies. “We’re not going to take the fight
to them for one man. Do you understand?”

“Yeah,” James says, though not very happy
about it. “I understand.”

“Good. Now I’ve got to see about the men and
wounded, so you’ll have to excuse me,” he says.

“Yes milord,” he replies.

As Lord Pytherian begins calling for
casualty reports and status, James goes back over to where Miko and
the others are waiting. When he sees Jorry and Uther there he asks
them, “What happened?”

“I thought we were dead for sure when I saw
where he was heading,” Jorry replies.

“Yeah,” Uther adds. “But when he showed them
that necklace, they stopped right in their tracks.”

“We heard those behind them shouting and
screaming for them to move,” Jorry says. “But they just ignored
them.”

“What did they say to him?” James asks
them.

“There was too much noise so we couldn’t
hear what was being said,” explains Uther. “But before he left with
them he said to tell you that he’d be okay and that he’ll be
back.”

Nodding, James begins to relax somewhat.
“He’s their Shynti, that’s a rare honor among them,” he says. “I
doubt if they’d let anything happen to him while he’s with
them.”

James glances up to the walls and sees Fifer
begin to come back down. When he joins them he says, “He went with
them back to their camp.”

“Is he okay?” James asks.

“Looked like it,” replies Fifer. “The other
soldiers out there were upset with them but they just ignored their
cries of outrage and went back to their tent area.”

“The Parvati have some peculiar laws and
customs,” James tells them. “Let’s find someplace to rest.” Turning
to Yern, he says, “Would you mind staying here and keep an eye out
for him?”

“No problem,” Yern says, nodding. “But
how’ll I find you if he should somehow return?”

“Once we’re settled in, we’ll let you know
where we’ll be,” he tells him.

“Okay,” he says then moves to the wall
access.

To the others he says, “Now let’s find an
inn.”

They find an inn with enough room for all of
them, though it’s pretty pricy. Fifer and Keril, the youngest
member of Miller’s band, went to relieve Yern on the walls. James
and Miko have their own room while the rest are crammed into two
others.

Once within their room, Miko lies down on
one of the beds while James sits facing him on the other. “I’m so
tired,” Miko says as he glances over to James.

“Understandable,” replies James. “You’re
going through a lot.”

“What’s happening to me?” he asks, voice
revealing a trace of fear.

Lowering his voice, he says, “It’s the Fire.
That gem you’re carrying.”

“What?” he asks. “How?”

“I’m not really sure,” James answers. “But
every time you’re in a battle, it appears that the Fire is taking
over. When the Fire has control, you are unbeatable on the
battlefield.”

Miko’s eyes widen in wonder as he continues,
“Today, your sword was moving so fast I had a hard time keeping
track of it.”

“Unbelievable,” Miko breathes.

Nodding, James says, “I wouldn’t have
believed it either if I hadn’t seen it myself. There’s something
else going on too.”