Trapped within the City of Light when it fell to the Empire, James' young friend and companion Miko was captured and is being taken as a slave into the Empire. The last thing James said to Miko before they were seperated was: "I'll find you." Now James, with the aid of newfound allies, travels into the Empire to do just that. Posing as a caravan merchant from Cardri, he journeys from city to city in his search to rescue his friend. From the City of Light, to the slave markets of Korazan, even unto the Empire's capital itself, James continues the hunt for Miko, unwilling to leave him to his fate. In this secnd book of the epic fantasy series, The Morcyth Saga, Brian S. Pratt continues to give us the heart pounding action that his readers so much enjoyed in the first. For more information on Fires of Prophecy, or any of the other books written by Brian S. Pratt, go to the author's official website at: www.briansprattbooks.com.
Aaachew!
They all look to Cassie in disbelief as a very loud sneeze escapes
her.
Immediately, the soldiers turn at the sound and see them there,
partially illuminated by their torchlight. Both sides just stand and stare
at one another for a brief second, then James yells, "To the tunnel!
Move!"
As if that is the catalyst everyone needed, all hell breaks loose. They
turn and race back towards the stairs as the soldiers give chase.
As everyone reaches the stairs, James turns and lets loose the power,
attempting to slow the soldiers' advance.
Crumph!
The ground explodes upwards, tossing soldiers in the air and pelting
the area with dirt and other debris. Several soldiers had been in advanced
of the area that exploded and were now almost upon him.
In a panic, James pushes out with the power, literally tossing the
onrushing soldiers backwards, where they collide with their comrades.
"The mage!" he can hear coming from the street as more soldiers rush
towards the park, starlight reflecting off their swords.
"James! Come on!" he hears behind him. Turning, he sees that everyone
has already made it inside the tunnel and Jiron is there motioning for him
to come on.
James runs over and enters, climbing down the stairs. "What are we to
do now?" he asks Jiron.
"We're trapped," Jiron says, "there's no way out!"
When James enters the room, Cassie is there in tears. She looks to
James and cries, "I'm sorry!"
"It's okay," he assures her, though in his own mind he's not nearly
so forgiving.
Tinok is standing at the passage entrance, listening for pursuit. He
turns and says, "They're coming." Suddenly two knives appear in his hands
as he turns and waits, ready to sell himself dearly. Jiron takes up
position next to him and two knives appear like magic in his hands as well,
flashing in the reflected candle light.
He looks to Tinok and says, "You ready?"
"Yeah," Tinok replies with an evil grin, "let's get it on!"
They stand there to either side of the doorway, James and the girls,
a little ways back from them.
Suddenly, an enemy soldier comes into the room, sword out and Tinok
closes with him. The soldier sees him and strikes with his sword. Tinok
easily deflects the blade with one knife while following through with a
thrust with the other, piercing the man's chest and puncturing his heart.
The soldier slides lifelessly off his blade to the floor as another soldier
comes through the doorway, into the room.
Jiron takes this one and almost as fast as Tinok, dispatches him.
"You're getting slow, Jiron," Tinok says as he closes with the next
one to come in. Knives flash and another body sinks to the floor.
The next soldier to come through is carrying a shield along with a
sword and closes with Jiron. Jiron deflects the thrust of the sword with
one knife as the shield comes and crashes into his chest, pushing him back
further into the room. The soldier advances on him when all of a sudden one
of his legs goes out and he crashes to the floor. Tinok had hamstrung him
from behind as the soldier was closing in on Jiron. Jiron presses the
soldier as he lies there on the ground, blocking a cut from the sword and
avoiding the shield. He gets inside the man's defenses and slits his
throat. He looks up to see Tinok battling another one.
"Don't need any help," Jiron says to Tinok who just shrugs and smiles
back.
"Sorry," Tinok replies as another soldier passes into the room, "I'll
try not to save your life next time." His knives flash and the soldier
falls to the floor.
Suddenly, there's a pause as no more soldiers come through the
opening. Tinok turns to James and says, "Alright Mr. Mage, you got any
ideas?"
James suddenly realizes that he'd been caught up with watching the
fighting, awestruck at the relative ease in which they've been taking out
the soldiers and not thinking about the situation at all. Red faced, he
begins pondering the situation instead of wool gathering.
