The Mists of Sorrow: The Morcyth Saga Book Seven (75 page)

“Look!” James says to Meliana with barely
restrained laughter. She turns her head and sees a table filled
with tarts. Next to it stands one of Miko’s new priests that he’s
gathered to Morcyth. “He’s making sure the High Priest, who since
he performed the marriage is traditionally bound to be the last to
leave the temple, will have some when he gets out.” Unable to
restrain himself any longer, he allows the laughter to roll
forth.

The afternoon and evening is filled with
merriment, eating and socializing. When the sun at last begins it’s
descent to the horizon, James and Meliana quietly slip out from the
party. Not too far away is a fine inn, one of the first to be
rebuilt after the Empire left. There they will spend the night
before leaving for The Ranch in the morning.

Heading there arm in arm with his bride, he
says, “Never has a man been happier than I am right now.”

She squeezes his arm and says, “I’m glad.”
She then lays her head on his shoulder as he puts his arm around
her.

“I just wish my grandparents could have been
here to see this,” he says a bit wistfully.

“I know,” replies Meliana. Shortly after
they were engaged, he had filled her in on everything.

When they reach the inn and are ascending
the stairs to their suite on the third floor, they hear the inn’s
door open and footsteps running toward them. “Damn!” he says and
begins hurrying his beloved along.

“What’s wrong?” she asks.

“Come on!” he yells and grabs her hand as he
races up the stairs. When they reach the third floor landing, they
hear the person on the stairs below, rounding the second floor
landing on their way up to the third.

Running down the hallway, he fumbles in his
pocket for the key. Beside him, Meliana begins to grow fearful.
Arriving at the door, he mumbles “Come on!” to himself as he
quickly tries to find the key. Just as he plucks it from his
pocket, Jiron appears on the third floor landing.

“James!” he yells.

James thrusts the key into the lock and
opens the door. Practically throwing Meliana inside, he closes the
door just as Jiron hits it from the outside.

“Open that door!” Jiron yells.

Placing his back against the door, James
keeps it closed. “No!” he yells. “Go away.”

“But it’s custom!” Jiron yells through the
door.

“Not for me it isn’t,” replies James. Then
he throws the bolt and for good measure, seals the door with magic.
He turns to see Meliana’s face alight with amusement. “What?” he
asks.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“James! You’ve got to let me do this!” Jiron
yells.

Ignoring Jiron’s attempts to gain entry, he
comes to his bride. “What’s so funny?” he asks again.

“Miko told me about what happened at Rylin’s
wedding,” she says. Then she giggles at his expense. “Go away
Jiron,” she yells through the door, “I think that particular
tradition ends here tonight.”

Jiron bangs one more time on the door before
a very undignified giggle causes him to turn his attention to the
stairwell. There he finds the High Priest of Morcyth with a tart in
one hand, berry juice dotting his right cheek and giggling.
Grinning himself, he moves down the hallway to Miko. Then together
they head downstairs and leave the newlyweds to each other.

Enjoy James’ next adventure in:

Light
in the Barren Lands

Now available!

Check out the epically adventurous worlds of
fantasy author

Four comrades set out to recover the segments
of a key which they believe will unlock the King's Horde, rumored
to hold great wealth. Written in the style of an RPG game, with
spells, scrolls, potions, Guilds, and dungeon exploration fraught
with traps and other dangers.

For those who enjoy dungeon exploration

without all the buildup or wrapup.

Fans of his previous works, especially
The
Broken Key
, will discover
Underground
to be full of
excitement and surprises. First in a series of books written for
the pure fun of adventuring,
Underground
takes the reader
along as four strangers overcome obstacles such as ingenious traps,
perilous encounters, and mysteries to boggle the mind.

In many stories you hear how
‘The Chosen
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appeared to save the day. Every wonder what would happen
if the one doing the choosing bungled the job?

In
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when in mid-step, he went from the lobby of a movie theater to a
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worship. From there it only gets worse for the hapless
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Jaikus and Reneeke are ordinary lads whose
dream in life is to become a member of The Adventurer's Guild. But
to become a member, one must be able to lay claim to an Adventure,
and not just any adventure. To qualify, an Adventure must entail
the following:

1-Have some element of risk to life and
limb

2-Successfully concluded. If the point of
the Adventure was to recover a stolen silver candelabra, then you
better have that candelabra in hand when all is said and done.

3-A reward must be given. For what good is
an Adventure if you don't get paid for your troubles?

Jaikus and Reneeke soon realize that becoming
members in the renowned Guild is harder than they thought. For
Adventures posted as Unresolved at the Guild, are usually the ones
with the most risk.

However, when they hear of a party of
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of Springers, they quickly volunteer only to discover to their
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If they survive, membership in the Guild is
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