Tides of Faith: Travail of The Dark Mage Book Two

by Brian S. Pratt

  The fate of James and Miko worried him nearly as much as it did Jira. If they can make it to the Star, he felt confident that all would work out fine. Speaking with Brother Willim after they had departed for the Star definitely hadn’t allayed his fears. Especially how the deeper they penetrated the Waste, the more numerous the creatures became.

  By James’ side was where he belonged. It didn’t feel right in not being there. They had been through so much together. He was just a tad bit irritated that only two suits had been brought from Earth. Of course, at the time, he had assumed that the second one was going to be for him. Otherwise he would have pushed for a third.

  He listened to Scar’s retelling of that harrowing flight that ended in the Illuminator’s Guild’s storage room. A grin came to him. James never did anything in small measure.

  Pushing on, he meant to see them in Zixtyn on the night of the third day.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The longer the shadows grew, the more fatigued they became.

  “It’s persistent.”

  Miko glanced back to where the creature continued its pursuit. “Yes it is.”

  Still over eighty feet away, it had gradually closed the distance. In the last half hour the gap had shrunk much faster.

  James’ boots felt like there was a gallon of water in each; a pool of sweat produced through a product of physical exertion and lack of ventilating/ drying air.

  “I don’t think I can last much longer,” he wheezed.

  “It may be safe to once again use a slug.”

  Painful memory of his previous attempt with the orb had kept him from attempting any sort of magic. The unexpected side effects should the shimmering field appear had up to this point stayed his hand. Now, however, with legs aching and feeling as if they were about to give way, he had no choice.

  “It is quick after all,” Miko said.

  “True.”

  Coming to stop, he spun about and readied a slug. Breathe in… breathe out. First to relax his mind and body, then cast the spell. When he felt ready, he arched his arm back.

  “Watch for the shimmering field.”

  “I shall.”

  Swallowing, James threw the slug. A split-second of magic and it took the slug unerringly toward the creature; slammed into its side and dropped it. He turned to Miko who shook his head.

  “Not a shimmer.”

  “I don’t understand what’s going on.”

  “Me either,” Miko said.

  James scanned the sky from horizon to horizon. “Nothing out of the ordinary?”

  “Not a thing,” Miko replied. “Whatever happened last time was not repeated here.”

  “Let’s not worry about it now,” he said. “We still have to make it to the vines before we can rest.”

  With the sun nearing the horizon, they needed to find it fast. Despite his shakiness and fatigue, they kept a brisk pace in as direct a southwesterly direction as possible. A few times they altered course to avoid drawing the attention of the creatures inhabiting the Waste. Ones similar to what took Jira were by far the most common; their antennaed heads were easily recognizable even from far off.

  A half hour saw them to the large patch lacking the safe, dead center that James had seen earlier.

  “We wouldn’t have made it.”

  “Nope,” James agreed. “I am about dead on my feet now as it is.”

  Roughly fifty feet by thirty, the inner area did show signs of wilting though it was still a far cry from what they would consider safe. Moving to the center, they sat and rested.

  “Can’t rest for long,” James said. He glanced to the low-hanging sun. “As it is, we’ll be hard pressed to make it to that patch where we can take off the suits and sleep before dark.”

  “Should we even try?”

  “I don’t think we have a choice. We’re going to need to eat and drink, not to mention answering the calls of nature. Thank goodness for Brother Willim and his flowering vines. Without them, I don’t know if we would have made it.”

  “Not with the shimmering in the sky that reacts poorly to magic.”

  James nodded. “Been thinking about that.”

  “Oh? In what respect?”

  “You and I have talked before about there being subtle differences in the magic that we do. Yours being the priestly kind where mine is not.”

  “Could there be a correlation?”

  “Possibly.”

  Miko contemplated that for a moment. “I still do not see why the shimmering would react differently for me than for you. Magic is magic.”

  “You would think so,” agreed James. “Next time I see Igor I’ll ask him.”

  “If you do.”

  James nodded. “There is that. Haven’t seen him since the end of the war.” And to be honest, he hoped he never would.

  They remained within the vines just long enough to quiet the shaking in James’ knees and recover a modicum of energy. Then they were off.

  As they traveled, James gathered a handful of slug-sized stones. Before the sun hit the horizon he had used two. Neither times had the shimmering appeared. He began to believe it only appeared during prolonged uses of magic. Should the opportunity present itself, he’d test that theory.

  Shadows deepened once the sun’s last rays no longer shone upon the land.

  Another quick spell and yet another creature met its end.

  James quickened his pace.

  “It shouldn’t be far.”

  The unmistakable outline of flowering vines appeared off to their right. “Think that’s it?”

  Peering through the dusky dim, James shrugged. “Hard to tell how big it is.” Two creatures wandered in the vicinity of the patch. “Might be.” He scanned the rest of the landscape and found it to be the only patch in sight.

  They headed that way and first one creature then the other noticed them. Stones easily took them out.

  Light continued to decline as stars played peek-a-boo behind intermittent cloud cover. They soon realized this was not the patch wherein they could spend the night. It was even smaller than the one they had rested in a short time before, having less than a thirty feet diameter.

  “Use your mirror.”

  “I don’t know…” The last time hadn’t worked out very well.

  “Do it quickly,” Miko said. “It should not take long since we are close. All we need to know is which direction to go.”

  “Right.”

  “Keep an eye out.”

  “Always.”

  Rather than use his mirror which in the deepening gloom would prove less than effective, he took out his knife and laid it on the ground. In his mind’s eye he pictured the patch seen earlier in the mirror and when it was fixed in his mind, summoned magic to have the knife point the way.

  Seconds ticked by while the magic sought the patch. His skin began to prickle.

  “Hurry.”

  Ignoring Miko, he concentrated on finding the patch.

  “Almost here.”

  Pouring more magic into it, he felt the searching tendrils as he thought of them quiver and then fuse together to point in one direction. The knife moved. He rubbed his forearm in a futile attempt to quell the prickling.

  “Three…”

  The blade stopped.

  “Two…”

  He canceled the magic just as Miko said, “One.”

  The knife pointed south-southeast.

  Above them the shimmering coursed across the sky for several more heartbeats before fading away like before.

  “I would advise against using magic for a little bit.”

  “Yeah,” James agreed. “I don’t plan on tempting fate a second time.”

  The sky looked normal though he knew it held a hidden trap should he try to use magic. How long would the effect last? Did it dissipate over time like a foul odor or vanish like a thought?

  Picking up the knife, he headed off in the direction it had indicated.

  Jiron kept an eye on his daughter w
hile they readied their camp for the night. His gaze wandered her way repeatedly and whenever she happened to return it, gave her silent warnings not to repeat her nocturnal offerings to the earth spirits.

  Currently she sat with Kip hunched over a Bones and Daggers game.

  “Going to have your hands full with that one.”

  Tinok sounded slightly amused, which wasn’t something that happened very often. His moods tended toward the somber.

  “Don’t all fathers?”

  “Perhaps.”

  Sitting next to his friend, Tinok handed him a plate with tonight’s offering of tubers, dried beef and dried apples.

  “But most fathers don’t have daughters who are already deadly with knives at five and like to play with earth spirits.”

  Jiron gnawed a strip of beef and nodded.

  “Except for the earth spirit thing, she’s just like her father.”

  “And that’s what worries me. Do I want her to be like this when she grows up?”

  “What? You mean, in on the greatest adventures of our age? Rubbing elbows with people who before,” he gestured toward James, “he showed up wouldn’t have given us the time of day? Yep, I would hate for her to have such a terrible life.”

  “This is no life for a lady.”

  “Lady?” Tinok shook his head. “Look who her parents are. Can you see her content in a knitting circle? With a father who grew up in the Pits and mother who can hit a hawk’s eye while in flight? Not to mention being weaned on tales of adventure, magic, and honor? No, her destiny is not to sit at home with a babe at the teat waiting for her man to return.” He paused a moment. “The gods have other plans for her.”

  “No! They shall not have her.”

  Tinok laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “She may not be given a choice. Fate is never what we wish it…” He trailed off and grew reflective.

  “I know.”

  Losing the love of his life so soon after finding it had been a cruel joke of the gods, one from which his friend had yet to fully recover. He feared Tinok never would.

  A little elated cry from Jira and a groan from Kip said she had won another game. Jiron caught a wave from her and he waved back.

  “But she is so little.”

  Tinok chuckled. “That she is…today. But tomorrow? That’s another tale.” He patted his friend on the shoulder again and stood. “Going to see if Scar has anything else but this dried boot leather to eat.”

  “Good luck on that.”

  As Tinok walked away, his gaze returned to Jira. She and Kip had begun another game. Was Tinok right? Did the gods have plans for her? If so they better be good ones or they’ll have him to answer to.

  Intermittent starlight breaking through cloud cover proved seriously insufficient in aiding their efforts to find the safe patch of vines in which to camp. Dusk faded into full-blown night and they had yet to find it.

  “We could pass right by it and not know.”

  James nodded. He sniffed the air through his mask and while he thought he detected the aroma of the flowering vines, it didn’t tell where or how far. Nor did it even mean it was the correct one. For all they knew if they followed that aroma, it may lead them to a patch little more than ten feet square which would do them little good.

  “I dare not use my orb.”

  “It has been some time since you last used magic, and we have traveled a ways; might be okay.”

  “True.”

  “I shall assume the risk for light,” Miko said. “As you said, it does not seem to react to me. You can use your knife again to ascertain the patch’s direction. Being closer and already having done it once should enable you to do it quicker this time.”

  “You have a point.”

  Looking to the sky did little to ease his worry. After all, it wasn’t as if the shimmering could be seen until the process of manipulating magic commenced.

  “Okay,” James said. “Let’s do it.” Going down on one knee, he said, “Give me a second.”

  “Tell me when.”

  He first set the knife down and pointed it in the general direction which he felt lay the patch of vines. Then he set the image firmly in his mind. “Now.”

  Morcyth’s glow pushed the darkness back and James let the magic flow.

  In no time he felt the magic find the field of vines. The knife shifted slightly. “Got it.”

  Darkness once again ruled the world as both let the magic go. Worried glances cast first to the sky then along the horizon failed to detect an approaching shimmering field.

  “Quick, it appears, works well.”

  “How far is it?”

  James shrugged. “Could be less than a mile or as much as two.”

  “We are close then.”

  “Closer than we were. It was good we did this for we were heading slightly too far eastward. I believe we would have walked right past it.”

  About to reply, Miko heard something moving out in the darkness. “Quiet,” he whispered. Taking hold of James, he maneuvered his friend until they faced where the noise came from. “Something is out there.”

  “What?”

  Then a large shadow detached itself from the greater darkness and rushed straight for them.

  “That!”

  Sword in hand, Miko put himself between James and the beast. He struck out and landed a blow square upon the beast’s head. It roared and paused in its attack.

  A rock found its way into James’ hand. Taking a step to the side, he launched it toward their attacker with a quick burst of magic. It hit just behind the shoulder blades.

  Screaming a god-awful roar, the creature stumbled to the ground. Miko rushed forward and delivered a killing blow.

  Off to their right they heard another approaching.

  James launched a second stone. First came the sound of shattering bones and tearing flesh, then the scream. Not having seen his target, his missile had failed to deliver a fatal strike. The screaming and thrashing continued.

  “This is going to attract more.”

  “The field is that way,” James said, pointing in the darkness.

  Moving out, they raced across the landscape.

  Not twenty feet into their run, James was certain they passed another of the creatures in the dark on its way toward the one that could still be heard screaming and thrashing.

  The aroma of the field grew as they put more distance behind them. At one point the cacophony of the injured creature died off. Their eyes acclimated to the darkness after their night vision was ruined by Morcyth’s glow. Deeper shadows grew more distinguishable in the dark. Two such shadows lurched out of the darkness directly in their path.

  James was the first to see them and he grabbed Miko, pulling him so as to pass around them. They had nearly made it passed when one cried out and altered course toward them.

  “Damn.” Cursing, James put it into high gear.

  Alerted by the one, the second creature followed the first in pursuit.

  “The field better be close,” Miko said. He had his sword out in the event the creatures gained upon them. However, glancing back over one’s shoulder at night in full radioactive gear was at best unwieldy. But at night? Running at full speed? It was fairly pointless.

  A hundred feet at full speed sapped James’ endurance nearly to its limit. Already fatigued, his legs burned and lungs could not seem to get enough air. The warm humid air in the helmet was not conducive to heavy exertion. Slipping two slugs from his belt, he came to a stop and spun around.

  He had to dodge out of the way as the first creature nearly ran him over. Throwing on the fly, he saw the creature thrust to the side by the force of the slug. It toppled and hit the ground hard.

  Just behind it, the second creature turned toward where James had hit the ground and rushed forward.

  Miko darted in and sliced it along its side.

  Animalistic screams pierced the night. The beast turned to face this new threat just as a slug slammed into its backside.

/>   Spine shattered, it fell to the ground screaming in pain.

  A swipe of his blade across the creature’s throat reduced its cries to a quiet gurgle.

  “Come on.” Miko reached his hand down for James and helped him to his feet. “More will be coming.”

  James lurched to his feet, nodded, and they headed off again.

  They kept their pace moderate to avoid complete exhaustion. Just then the clouds parted a little bit more than they had and the world grew a touch brighter. Ahead and to the right, starlight glittered off white flowers.

  “There it is.”

  Other shadows were on the move toward them; two to their right, another on their left and one directly ahead of them. A slug took out the one in their path and all out flight kept the two on the right from reaching them.

  Miko slashed at the one coming in from the left.

  Screaming as the blade severed two of its head-stalks, it slowed enough for them to get passed and put distance between them.

  Enraged, maddened, and just plain out for blood, the wounded creature screamed as it raced after at full speed.

  Even more blossoms could be seen in the expansive field ahead. Thirty feet to safety and James felt a renewed burst of energy.

  “We’re going to make it,” he chugged.

  Behind them the wounded creature gained. The gap closed fast between it and its prey.

  Vines crunched under their feet as they raced into their protective field.

  The creature rushed in after them.

  “It’s not stopping!” James cried.

  Miko spun about and lashed out with his sword.

  James readied a slug.

  Charging for Miko, the creature screamed as a painful thrust pierced its hide. It screamed again when its prey danced out of the way and it could not reach it. Turning to charge, pain exploded as a slug shattered its hindquarters. Falling, it screamed and thrashed until a blade silenced it for good.

  “Any more come in?”

  The other two remained outside the vines and a third and fourth could barely be seen as they arrived to join the others.

  “Doesn’t look like it,” James replied.

  They moved deeper into the patch until they found the safe area of dead vines.