Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li: The Morcyth Saga Book Three (48 page)

Nodding, Miller begins pacing the floor.

A little over an hour later, the door opens
up and Shyn is shoved into the room from behind. One eye is swelled
shut and blood is oozing from his nose and mouth.

“Where’d you find him?” asks Miller to his
men as they follow Shyn into the room.

Uther, a tall brown haired man replies, “He
was on his way back into the castle area. He’d almost made it to
the gate before Jorry got a hold of him.”

Going over to where Shyn lies on the floor,
Miller says, “Get up!” When he doesn’t comply, Miller kicks him
hard in the side, “I said get up! NOW!”

Coughing from being kicked, Shyn gets on his
hands and knees and uses a chair to help himself rise off the
floor. Unable to stand, he collapses into the chair.

“What’d you guys do to him?” Miller asks as
he looks to his men.

“He didn’t want to come with us at first,”
Uther replies. “We had to convince him.”

“You damned near killed him,” accuses
Miller.

Uther just shrugs.

Miko comes over and grabs Shyn by the shirt,
“Make him tell what he did to James.”

Miller grabs his arm and has him let go of
Shyn’s shirt, “We will lad.” Turning his attention back to Shyn, he
says, “Well? Where are Fifer and James?”

Shyn raises his head and stares into
Miller’s eyes defiantly, remaining silent.

Miller cocks his arm back and strikes him on
the chin with his fist. Shyn’s head snaps back and when it comes
forward again, fresh blood begins to dribble from the side of his
mouth, as he spits a tooth out onto the floor.

Signaling to Jorry, Miller has him draw his
knife and come over. “Now, I’ll ask you again. Where are they?”

When he again fails to answer, he nods to
Jorry who, with the help of another of Miller’s men, grabs Shyn’s
left hand and places the edge of his knife alongside his pinky.

Fear is evident in Shyn’s eyes as he stares
at the knife ready to sever his finger. His eyes flick to Miller as
Miller again asks, “Where?”

Giving him a moment to reply, Miller says to
Jorry, “On three, slice it off.”

Jorry nods his head as he readies
himself.

Miller looks into the fearful eyes of Shyn
as he says, “One.”

Sweat begins to bead on his face as he
glances first into Miller’s eyes and then at the knife threatening
his finger.

“We’ve got all night,” Miller tells him, no
hint of mercy in his voice. “There’re nineteen more fingers and
toes after this one, then other parts of the body.”

A few more tense seconds go by before he
says, “Two.”

The sweat is beginning to drip off the end
of Shyn’s nose. His breathing becomes more labored as he stares at
the knife at his finger. Then his eyes look to Miller, he sees him
to begin to say three when he cries out, “Okay!”

Miller motions to Jorry and the other guy to
let go of his hand and back away. “Now, where are they?”

“They are in the castle area,” he
replies.”

“Where in the castle area?” Miller asks.

“In Councilman Rillian’s building,” he says.
“I think they’re still on the second floor.”

“What interest would Councilman Rillian have
in them?” asks Miller.

“Who’s this Rillian?” Jiron asks.

Miller glances at him as he replies, “He’s
one of the members on the Patriarchal Council, very influential and
powerful.” Turning back to Shyn, he says, “I asked you a
question!”

“If I tell you they’ll kill me!” Shyn
exclaims, looking to Miller for sympathy.

He’d sooner get blood from a stone than
sympathy from him. “I’ll kill you now if you don’t!” he yells.

“Will you let me go if I tell you?” Shyn
asks.

“If you can convince me you’re not feeding
me a pack of lies, then yes, I’ll let you go,” he assures him. He
suddenly draws his dagger and puts it to his throat and says, “But
if you don’t, then you’ll be feeding the buzzards in the
morning.”

Nodding, Shyn says, “Okay.”

“Now,” begins Miller as he replaces his
dagger in his belt, “what part does Councilman Rillian play in all
this?”

He glances from Miller to the others in the
room as he says, “He’s been bought by an agent of the Empire.”

“Was it a man with one eye?” Miko bursts
out.

Shyn nods, “Yeah, I think his name is Kirgin
or Karrigan…”

“Korgan?” asks Miko.

“Yeah, that’s it,” he says.

“Who’s this Korgan?” Miller asks Miko.

“He’s been hounding us for awhile,” he
explains. “Ever since James ran afoul of him back in Cardri. We
also believe he was instrumental in opening the gates during the
siege at the City of Light.”

“Is that why he’s here?” Miller asks as he
turns his attention back to Shyn.

“I couldn’t tell you that,” he says. “I
don’t know that much about him. I just saw him prior to taking
James and Fifer there.”

“What part did you play in all this?” asks
Miller.

“Back before the fall of the City of Light,
I had been an agent for the Empire,” he explains. “I would pass on
information I had heard to another agent who would then get the
information out of the city. When the city fell, I fled with the
other refugees until I stumbled upon your band and joined it.”

“Traitor!” One of the men behind him says.
“You caused the death of thousands of innocent people.”

“There are no innocent people,” he replies.
“Just allies and enemies.”

Miller signals for his men to remain quiet
and hold their anger. Then he says to Shyn, “Go on.”

“After we arrived here in Lythylla, I saw
another agent and met with him,” he continues. Looking to Miller,
he adds, “That’s when I left you guys to help the organization
here. With Councilman Rillian’s help, it was easy to put you here
so you wouldn’t discover what I may be doing.”

“But you still haven’t said anything about
James and Fifer!” Miko cries out.

“I’m getting to that,” he assures him. He
points to a flagon of ale sitting on a nearby table and asks, “Can
I have that?”

Miller hands it to him and after a long
drink, he continues. “The return of Lord Pytherian was an
unexpected blow to the Empire. The alliance which had stood against
the Empire was beginning to fracture and fall apart. It was easy
enough for Councilman Rillian to make the rifts wider by casting
doubts upon first one faction then the other.”

“In fact, when I gave my report about his
rescue and the role James had played, that was when they came up
with the idea for imposters to attempt to assassinate him. Almost
worked, too.”

“When it was reported that another ‘James’
had showed up at the gates, it was fairly easy to track you down. I
made sure you were the ones who contacted me first, I just made
myself available. Then it was simple to lead James into the trap
that captured him.”

“What did you do to him?” asks Miko.

“Oh, he’s alive, to be sure,” he assures
him. “They were most explicit in that regard. We set out some food
laced with a drug to inhibit his magical abilities and told him to
help himself while he waited for Lord Pytherian.”

“Now what?” Jiron asks as he comes closer to
him. “What are they planning to do to him?”

Shrugging, he says, “I was never involved
with that. My job was simply to get him there and make sure he
didn’t suspect anything.”

“Is there anything else you’re not telling
us?” Miller asks.

“No, I swear it!” he exclaims. “Can I go
now?”

“What?” Miller says with a laugh. “I don’t
think so. We’ll just hold you here until we’re sure you haven’t
just fed us a bunch of cow dung.”

Miller turns to his men and says, “You guys
stake out the gates leading out of the castle. There’re three of
them so two to a gate. If you see James or Fifer leave, or anyone
else leaving in an odd manner, one of you comes back here to me and
the other follows them. Understand?”

His men nod and as they leave one of them
hits Shyn across the back of the head causing him to cry out.

Jiron looks to Miller and says, “You staying
here?”

“Someone’s got to watch this piece of
trash,” he replies. “You?”

“I’m going to get into the castle area and
find James,” he explains. “Miko, you stay here too.” Seeing him
start to argue, he holds up his hand and says, “I may need to go
where you can’t follow. Stay here and I’ll find him, okay?”

“Okay,” he says.

Jiron goes over to Shyn and asks, “Where is
the building he’s being held in?”

“There’s a courtyard in front of the gates
to the castle itself,” he tells him. “It’s the building on the east
side.”

“Which room?” he asks.

“It’s on the second floor,” he says. “Follow
the corridor down from the top of the stairs and you’ll find a pair
of double doors on the right. Last I knew, he was in there.”

“If he’s not, you’re dead,” Miller says to
him. To Jiron he adds, “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” he says as he heads to the door.
After opening the door, he glances to a worried Miko and says,
“Don’t worry, I’ll get him out.”

“When you see him, tell him One Eye is in
the city,” Miko tells him, “he’ll understand.”

Jiron nods his head as he leaves the
room.

Leaving the inn behind, Jiron moves quickly
and silently through the dark streets. The castle rises up before
him to the south, its spires standing tall behind the wall
enclosing the castle area. If Shyn is to be believed, James is
being held in a building on the far side of the castle itself.

He makes his way around to the nearest gate
which lies on the north side. The gate is large enough for two
wagons to pass through side by side and still have enough room for
foot traffic. The area is well illuminated and there are two guards
on duty.

The buildings of the outer area end a
hundred feet from the wall. It looks like that continues the entire
way around, most likely to give the defenders a clear killing area
should the enemy make it this far within the city.

Crouched in an alley a little way down from
the gate, he tries to determine the best way to enter. Suddenly, a
hand touches his shoulder from behind. He turns around fast, knife
in his hand and just before he strikes, recognizes Jorry and Uther.
“Man, you scared me!” he exclaims quietly.

He hears a chuckle come from Jorry as Uther
says, “Sorry.”

Indicating the guards at the gate, he says,
“Just the two of them?”

“Yeah,” replies Uther. He glances at Jiron
and asks, “You gonna try to get in?”

“I hope to and see if I can’t find James and
Fifer,” he tells them.

Jorry spits on the ground and then curses,
“Damn that Shyn!”

“Yeah,” agrees Uther. “I can’t believe
Miller’ll let him go.”

“He’s not loose yet,” Jorry says.

“True.”

He glances from Jorry to Uther and says, “Do
you think you guys could draw them off for a minute?”

“And how do you suppose we’re to do that?”
asks Jorry.

“Well, it depends on how convincing you guys
can be and just how bored they are…”

Jiron waits in an alley on the east side of
the gate. Suddenly, the crash of swords can be heard striking each
other as Jorry and Uther come into the light on the west side of
the gate. From where he’s standing, it looks as if they’re trying
to kill each other as they shout obscenities and
recriminations.

“Stop that!” one of the guards cries out as
he moves over toward them. The other guard moves out a little from
the gate as well to better see what’s going on.

Back and forth, Jorry and Uther move as
their swords dance and sparks fly. As the guard approaches, they
begin to slowly move westward away from the gate and closer to the
wall. The guard near the gate moves several more feet further from
the entrance, his attention firmly fixed upon the combatants. The
guard’s back is toward where Jiron is hiding.

Jiron looks to make sure no one will see him
and then moves quickly to the wall where he begins to make his way
toward the gate. Oblivious to what Jiron is doing behind him, the
second guard at the gate is watching the fighting intently. His
partner is moving toward the combatants as he continues yelling for
them to stop.

As Jiron slips through the gate, just feet
behind the second guard, the other one reaches Uther and Jorry.
Jiron hears the clashing of the weapons stop as he splits them up
and tries to find out the reason they’re fighting. Whatever they
tell him is lost as he passes through to the castle area.

Inside the walls, he finds the area well lit
with oil filled street lamps spaced in fifteen feet intervals along
the streets. Many people are still about, walking along as they go
from building to building about their business.

To his left stands a large group of soldiers
laughing and talking amongst themselves, effectively blocking the
quickest way to where James is being held. Cursing his luck, he
follows the wall as it curves westward to the right, which will
take him on the other side of the castle courtyard from where the
building he’s searching for lies.

Keeping to the dark shadows along the wall,
he follows it as it curves around the castle area. Having to stop
and remain motionless several times while someone passes nearby, it
takes almost ten minutes to make it to where he’s able to see the
courtyard on the south side of the castle. A quick glance shows him
no one is in the immediate vicinity so he makes a quick dash across
the street to the buildings bordering the castle courtyard.

Despite having oil lamps spaced about, there
are still shadows he’s able to take advantage of as he makes his
way closer to the courtyard. He pauses a moment when he reaches the
edge of the courtyard in order to appraise the situation. To his
left lies the castle, imposing and majestic. Directly across the
courtyard in front of him lies the building supposedly holding
James.