Dark Shores of Salvation, page 9
part #3 of Travails of the Dark Mage Series
Scar eyed him in the shadows, unsure if he was playing with him or not. If so, the old Tinok may be re-emerging from the dark depths of his love-lost soul. It had been far too long since he’d shown any sign of the playful young scamp Scar had known years ago. Hoping that to be the case, he grinned and nodded. “Let’s go find our young mage.”
Chapter Eight
Potbelly maintained a watchful eye from his position across the street. The two guards kept near the gate, only moving to and fro in an attempt to remain alert. Several passersby walked down the street, none of whom gave the gate or Potbelly hiding in the shadows a second glance.
A small burst of light by the gate drew his attention and he had all but drawn his knife when he realized it had been but the striking of flint to light a pipe. Its glow could be seen whenever the one holding it drew a breath. Slipping the knife back into its sheath, he sighed and leaned against the side of the building.
Time passed slowly and still nothing happened. A pair of the Watch appeared down the street, pausing before each building to peer through the store front windows for signs of thieves. One walked on one side while his partner kept an eye on the other.
Potbelly ducked into an alley when the man came close to his position. Moving deeper into the shadows, he waited for him to pass then returned to the street. A quick check showed the two men continued in their patrol along the store fronts.
He did notice one fact as the two Watchmen passed in front of the manor house. The two men at the gate moved out of sight just long enough for the watch to pass before coming back into view. They kept a close eye on the two Watchmen continuing down the street.
“Interesting,” Potbelly murmured.
“Yes, isn’t it?”
Nearly jumping out of his skin at the voice right behind him, he turned to find a grinning Shorty. James, Jiron, Miko and Father Vickor approached up the alleyway behind him.
“You’ve got to stop doing that,” Potbelly whispered.
A chuckle was all he received in reply.
James took in the fact that Potbelly stood alone. He then gazed at the manor and frowned. “I take it Scar took it upon himself to rescue Hikai?”
“Something like that.”
A few moments longer spent gazing at the manor revealed little.
“What’s the situation?”
“They went looking for a way in shortly after we arrived,” Potbelly explained. “Two men watch the gate; shadows pass before the window on the third floor.”
“Are we certain Hikai is even in there?” Jiron asked.
“He is.”
They turned to Miko.
“I can feel his presence.” He looked at James and shrugged. “Do not ask me how I know, I just do.”
“Being a High Priest has its advantages,” Father Vickor said.
“And its drawbacks,” Miko added.
His priest grinned. “Still…”
“Is he okay?” James asked.
Miko thought a moment then nodded. “I do not sense any harm having been done him.”
“Good.”
James turned to Jiron. “How do we retrieve my apprentice?”
Just then, Potbelly groaned.
“What?” he began then saw Potbelly looking toward the lit, third-story windows. Following his gaze, he saw multiple people struggling. Then what could only be Scar’s silhouette raised a sword. When it fell, another of the silhouettes dropped out of sight.
“Damn him!”
Leaving the shadows, James stepped quickly toward the gate. The two men turned at his approach, still oblivious to the happenings within. As he drew near, one asked through the gate’s iron bars, “Can I help you?”
“Yes,” he replied, nearing the gate. “You can stand back.”
“What?” the man asked, confused.
Without bothering to reply, explain, or wait for them to comply, James summoned a short burst of magic and sent it toward the gate. The gate blasted open, the entire left side coming free of the wall and clattering across the inner courtyard taking one of the men with it. The other had been knocked backward by the force of the blast and laid unmoving on the ground some ten feet away.
Miko and Father Vickor hurried to see to the fallen men. Finding them only unconscious and bruised, they hurried to catch James who had already reached the door to the manor.
From inside, the commotion had grown louder and it sounded as if a battle raged. As with the gate, James sent a wave of power to break it in.
The implosion of the door revealed a slaughterhouse. Seven men laid dead, blood was everywhere and Tinok stood toe-to-toe with two men; one bearing a sword, the other a cudgel.
Jiron drew his knives and rushed forward to aid his friend.
A thrown knife from Shorty took out the one with the sword. Two quick passes of Tinok’s knives dropped the second before Jiron could engage.
“Are you okay?”
Tinok turned to his friend and nodded.
James carefully stepped over the dead and dying to reach Tinok.
“Where’s Scar?” Potbelly’s voice rang out.
“Here.”
They turned toward the doorway leading deeper within the manor to find Scar with Hikai’s arm draped over his shoulder. The young mage looked drunk; he could barely put one foot in front of the other. Without Scar there to support him, he would have hit the floor.
“Drugged?” James asked.
Scar nodded. “Other than that he’s fine.” Then from a pocket he pulled out one of the enemy’s mage-tracking crystal doves. “They must have discovered him with this.”
Miko and Father Vickor moved from one fallen man to another. One they began to heal but soon the glow of Morcyth winked out as it had been too late; the damage too severe.
James took the dove. He held it in his left hand with the dove’s head pointing directly away from him. Then on his right, he formed an orb. The golden ribbon running the length of the dove brightened as the dove swiveled on his palm until its head pointed toward the glowing orb.
“So, you take my apprentice to fix a game of knucklebones and end up having him captured and many people dead.”
“We needed coins and that was a sure-fire way of getting them.” Then Scar turned to Potbelly. “At least it was until you two disappeared.”
“Hey, don’t get mad at me,” Potbelly replied. “I was watching the game same as the rest and when I noticed Hikai missing, found him being led from the tavern. There wasn’t time to warn you or I may have lost them.”
Jiron glanced around at the dead. “Going to be trouble about this.”
“Probably,” James said. “Shorty, watch the gate.”
“Right,” the knifer said then hurried from the room.
Holding up the dove, James asked, “Is the priest dead?”
Scar shook his head. “Thought you might want to talk to him so we got him tied and drugged upstairs.”
Miko immediately left the room, found the stairwell and headed up to the priest.
“Go with him,” James told Jiron. “We can’t stay long. There still might be others in the city.”
“Shall we take the priest back to the temple?”
James nodded. “Yes. This might be our chance to discover what is going on.”
As Jiron hurried to catch Miko, James turned to Scar and Hikai. His apprentice’s face was drawn and eyes half-lidded. He opened one and found it bloodshot. Nodding, he let the eyelid droop back into place.
“Sit him on the sofa,” James told the Pit Master. “We’re going to search this house for information. You two take the first and second floors. Five minutes only, then we’re out of here. Take whatever documents you can find.”
“You got it,” Scar said. With Potbelly’s help, he laid Hikai on the sofa then they hurried to search.
James left them to it as he went up to the third floor; Jiron accompanied him. They found Miko and Father Vickor standing before where the enemy priest sat trussed to a chair. By the way his eyes drooped, it was clear the man was severely drugged. A slight acrid odor tinged the air indicating traces remained of the drugged smoke of Scar’s smoke bomb.
Miko turned at their approach.
“He will be unable to speak for some time,” he explained. He turned the priest’s head to reveal several puncture wounds in his neck. “Scar drugged him pretty well.”
James nodded. “We’ll take him with us.”
Jiron laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Do you think that wise? Taking him to the temple I mean?”
“Why would it not be wise?” Miko questioned.
Casting his gaze to Jiron, James caught a slight nod directed at Miko followed by a meaningful look.
“He should be taken elsewhere to be questioned.”
Not sure exactly what Jiron was getting at, James said, “I don’t understand.”
Sighing, Jiron gazed toward the two priests. “Should we take him to the temple, and once the interrogation is over, then what?” Turning to James, he added, “We let him go to announce to all his friends that The Dark Mage is in Abu Dar? Or do we keep him a prisoner indefinitely, all the while running the risk of him regaining his power and causing difficulty?”
Miko’s demeanor darkened. “He is a priest,” he stated. “I cannot, will not condone his execution.”
“I understand,” Jiron replied. “That is why a few of us should take him elsewhere to be interrogated. We can do what must be done.”
“Absolutely not!” Miko stepped before Jiron. “He is under my protection. Harm him at your peril.”
Jiron pointed to their captive. “But he is the enemy!”
“Not Morcyth’s! And it is to His will that I must bend.”
The two stood toe-to-toe, neither willing to back down.
Just then, Shorty appeared at the stair landing. “We need to go. People are beginning to notice the gates down.” When James turned to him, he added, “The Watch will return before too much longer.”
James nodded. To Jiron he said, “We take him with us.” A pause, then, “To the temple.”
Giving a disgusted sigh, the knifer mumbled under his breath. As he headed to the stairs, he said to James in a quiet aside, “You’re going to regret this.”
“Most likely,” he agreed.
Father Vickor took charge of the priest and slung the man over his shoulder. The priest grunted when he was put into place and other than some feeble, drug-affected movements, gave little trouble.
Scar and Potbelly appeared. Each carried a sack filled with papers and several valuables they had happened upon. They took in the drugged priest and the firm set of Jiron’s jaw.
Shorty rushed through the room to return to his position at the gate.
“Let’s go,” Jiron told them.
“Help Hikai,” James said.
The Pit Masters nodded and with Hikai between them, followed them outside.
“There’s going to be much curiosity about what transpired here,” Scar said.
Outside, they found Shorty dragging the last body of the unconscious guards to where the first had already been hidden behind a bush. Several people stood before the buildings across the street. Their gazes were definitely directed toward them.
Jiron hurried over to Shorty. Nodding to the bodies, he asked, “Anyone notice?”
Placing the guard atop his fellow, the knifer turned to him and shrugged. “I don’t know. Either way…,” he paused and gestured toward the growing crowd across the street, “they’re going to know we’re involved after we leave.”
“Damn!” He glanced to the two guards then back to James. His friend stood by the manor house’s door as he looked to the crowd forming on the street. In a hushed tone, Jiron nodded to the two guards then said to Shorty, “Take care of them.”
Shorty pulled a knife and nodded.
Jiron hurried to James.
“There’s a crowd in the street.”
“Yeah, I see that.”
“They will send the Watch straight to the temple if they get a good look at us”
Nodding, James turned to his friend. “We need a distraction.”
“Or go out the back,” Potbelly advised.
“Is there a gate?”
“Yes,” Shorty replied as he joined the others. “Back on the far wall. It’s thicker than the front and locked.”
“Okay.” To Scar he said, “Let Shorty take Hikai. I want you two to create a diversion to cover our departure.”
Grinning, Scar said, “You got it.”
People had already approached the gate and were peering through to the interior.
James summoned magic and a powerful gust of wind slammed into the courtyard between them and the onlookers. Dirt and debris exploded outward and soon they were obscured by a hazy cloud.
“Now, let’s get out of here.”
As they followed Shorty to the back gate, Scar and Potbelly raced into the cloud of dust to see about creating a diversion.
“There may be other agents in Abu Dar,” Jiron said to Tinok as the pair brought up the rear. The others were some distance ahead by the time they rounded the corner of the manor.
“No way to know if we got them all,” Tinok agreed.
The two friends glanced to each other.
“See if there is anyone paying more attention to what happened here than the rest of the townsfolk”
Tinok nodded. Breaking off he raced to the wall, leapt for the top and quickly scrambled over.
Jiron quickened his pace to catch up with the others.
“Where did he go?” James asked.
“To take a look around.”
James nodded. “Very well.”
The area surrounding the back gate was cloaked in shadows. It wasn’t apparent at first, but when they drew near, found the gate ajar.
James turned to Shorty. “I thought you said this was locked?”
“It was.”
Jiron went to the gate and peered to the other side. Opening it slowly, he motioned for the others to wait as he passed through. A moment later, the gate opened fully as he returned.
“No one out there…” he began then his eyes focused on the darkness behind them. “Damn fools.”
Flickering through the manor’s ground floor windows was an unmistakable glow.
“They set the manor on fire,” Father Vickor stated.
The manor’s back door burst open and a cloud of smoke belched forth. Scar and Potbelly emerged at a run.
“I told you to create a distraction, not burn down the city,” James admonished.
“All we could come up with,” Scar replied.
“It’ll work,” Jiron said.
James cast one more disapproving gaze upon the pair before saying, “Let’s go.”
With Hikai leaning heavily upon Shorty, and the enemy priest slumped over Father Vickor’s shoulder, they hurried through the gate.
A general hue and cry erupted as those living nearby and passing on the streets became aware of the growing conflagration.
“Keep to the alleys,” James told the Pit Masters who led them through the streets. “We don’t want to be seen leaving.”
Without a response, they ducked into a side alley and crossed through to the next street over. There it was much quieter as the threat of the fire had yet to be noticed.
Street by street, alley by alley, they made their way toward the temple. James’ mind was awhirl with the events of the evening, especially the implications of the opened back gate. Someone had departed the manor. Someone was loose in the city who at the very least knew Hikai was a mage. At worst, knew the Dark Mage was there as well. He hoped they had not yet connected Hikai with the temple.
They kept silent throughout their trek through the darkened streets. It was impossible to completely avoid other people. The few they encountered cast them surreptitious looks but otherwise ignored them.
Once at the temple, they brought Hikai and the captured priest into the manor. Hikai was taken to his room to recuperate with Azhan there to watch him. The priest was taken to the cellar. A cot was brought upon which they laid him.
James turned to Miko. “How long do you figure until he comes around?”
Summoning the power of Morcyth, Miko turned his attention upon their drugged captive. For a few moments the glow enveloped the priest. When it vanished, Miko turned back to James.
“Several hours I would imagine.”
“In that case,” Scar interjected, “We have time for another food run.”
James turned disapproving eyes upon him.
“Now, don’t get your back up,” Scar began. “It ain’t like we are stealing from the good people of Abu Dar. In short order,” he gestured to their captive, “his friends are going to arrive and take the town. We’re making sure they have as little supplies as possible.”
“How patriotic of you.”
Scar flashed Father Vickor an annoyed glance until he saw the priest’s grin. “Indeed,” he replied.
“Take Kip with you,” Miko said. And with that, he announced his blessings for their venture.
James knew when to cut his losses. “Just be done before sunrise.”
“Oh,” Potbelly said, “you can count on that.”
Scar nodded and slapped his friend on the back. “Let’s go. Come on, Shorty.”
Once the nocturnal procurers departed, James pulled Miko aside.
“I believe there are more agents still loose in Abu Dar.”
“I agree,” Miko said.
Pulling the crystal dove from out of his pocket, James said, “We need to find out if there are any more of these in the city.” He held it out.
Miko took the magic-tracker. He understood what James was asking him to do, and it had nothing to do with his priestly powers. “I shall see what can be discovered.”
Twice during the night, Kip rolled into the temple courtyard with wagon overflowing with ill-gotten food. On his last trip, Tinok returned riding the wagon beside him. The knifer hopped down when Jiron approached.
