One of the older children says, “This way!” pointing to the right, down a street with several tall buildings bordering it.
Miko looks to James who nods and they head in that direction, running as fast as the littlest can go.
James realizes that the soldiers will catch them if he doesn’t slow them down, so he yells to Miko, “Find someplace to hide, I’ll find you.” He stops and turns to face the oncoming soldiers as Miko leads the children away.
A bolt flies past his left ear, shaking him up, but he steels himself and concentrates on the buildings bordering the street. When he releases the power, the buildings explode outward from both sides of the street, smashing into the soldiers as they enter between them. The rubble effectively blocks the street so James, whose head has begun to throb with that last spell, turns and tries to catch up with his friend.
He glances at the outer walls of the City as he runs and sees the enemy now has complete control of it. The fighting throughout the City is beginning to diminish as the defenders realize it’s a hopeless cause and begin to surrender.
James races down the street when a squad of enemy soldiers emerges from a side street, blocking his path. They see him skidding to a stop and one of them yells, “Stop! Stay right where you are!”
Not heeding the command James ducks in through a doorway and finds himself in a laundry. Racing past the empty tubs he locates the back door and comes out in very small alley, which is wedged in between two tall buildings.
He heads to the right, running down the alley as the soldiers enter the laundry behind him in pursuit. Light illuminates the alley from an open doorway up ahead and the sound of men’s laughter can be heard coming from the other side. He runs toward it and races inside.
There in the middle of the floor are two enemy soldiers holding a girl down on the floor while a third tears off the remainder of her clothes.
Anger blossoms like a red hot sun inside him and he releases a surge of power which picks up the men, slamming them into the wall. Their bodies hit with such force, they smash through the thin wall and fall lifeless onto the street on the other side amidst the rubble.
The girl looks up and sees James coming toward her. Screaming in terror, she gets to her feet and runs out the door and into the night.
James bolts through the hole in the wall just as the pursuing soldiers enter the doorway behind him. “There he is!” one of the men shouts.
He makes his way around the dead men lying amidst the rubble and flies down the street, enemy soldiers in hot pursuit.
James is getting winded, only the fear of dying keeps his feet moving at all. His breath is coming in gasps and a pain has begun to grow in his side. He glances behind him and sees the soldiers are gaining on him. Fear of being caught gives him a burst of adrenalin but it is short lived.
Ahead, the road comes to another intersection where another squad of the Empire’s soldiers are crossing from the left to the right. From behind he hears a pursuing soldier yell, “Stop him!” to the soldiers crossing the intersection. One of the crossing soldiers pauses and glances down the ally and sees James approaching. He yells to his commander and the squad turns into the alley, blocking his only escape.
James comes to a halt, trapped. Panting for breath, he pauses for just a moment to regain some of his strength.
The soldiers, seeing James stop, slow their advance. “Come on,” one of his pursuers says to him, all cocky. “There’s no use running. You’ve got nowhere to go.”
James concentrates and directs the magic, causing the ground under his pursuers to explode outward, throwing bodies every which way.
From the group coming from the intersection, he hears, “He’s a mage!” Two crossbowmen from the group let fly bolts at him as the remaining soldiers rush forward.
With a wave of his hand, he creates a barrier that deflects the arrows harmlessly to the side. Concentrating hard, he casts a spell, the effort of which brings black spots to his eyes and his pulse pounding from the amount of power being used.
Magic flows into the rubble littering the alley from when the ground erupted. Pieces are drawn together and in no time, a stone creature is formed. Body of stone given life by magic it shuffles toward the soldiers who strike ineffectively at it with their weapons. It swings its arms and when it hits, bones shatter.
It positions itself between the soldiers and James, repulsing every attempt the soldiers make to get past. Realizing that they’ll be unable to get to James, they retreat back to the intersection where they disappear around the corner. The creature follows as far as the alley’s entrance before coming to a stop.
James’ head is pounding, this last spell had taken everything he had, and then some. His strength and energy are all but depleted. He leans against the building behind him and sags to the ground, on the verge of passing out. Spots fill his vision as consciousness wanes. The last thing he sees before slipping away is a young man dropping to the ground near him and then start walking toward him.
Epilog
James awakens in a small dark room with only a single candle for light. The room looks like an old storage room with many boxes lining the walls. A single old tapestry hangs upon the far wall, obviously having seen better days. He’s lying on a blanket on the floor with another one covering him, his backpack sits beside him. He looks around and sees four people, two who aren’t much more than kids. Two are young men still in their teens, the oldest being around seventeen the other being slightly younger. The other two are girls, one couldn’t be more than sixteen while the other has an older feel to her.
As he sits up, they glance in his direction, gathering closer to one another as they watch to see what he’s going to do. “How did I get here?” he asks.
The younger of the girl timidly replies, “Jiron found you and brought you here.”
“You a mage?” the younger boy asks him.
He looks at each of them in turn and says, “Sort of, I suppose.”
“Cool,” he exclaims.
The older teen steps a little closer and says, “I was watching you when you fought those soldiers. That stone creature was something else.”
Remembering, James smiles and says, “Yeah, that was Rocky.”
“Rocky?” asks the older girl.
“That was what my friend always called him,” James explains. “Never thought to actually see him in action though.”
“When Jiron moved you,” the younger teen says, “Rocky fell apart into a pile of stones and dirt.”
Nodding, James sits there and thinks for a second then says, “Just where am I and who are you?”
“This is our hideout,” the older teen says. “We stay here from time to time.” Pointing to himself he says, “I’m Jiron and this here is Tinok,” indicating the younger teen. Then pointing to the older girl, he says, “That’s Delia and the other is Cassie.”
“My name is James and I thank you for getting me out of there,” he tells them. “Exactly what is happening out there?” he asks.
“The Empire’s forces have completely taken over the City,” explains Jiron. “Most of the younger people are being rounded up and taken south to be sold as slaves. Anyone caught on the streets runs the risk of being killed or captured. Some of the older ones are being left alone, but anyone they think could cause them problems is being dealt with, one way or another.”
“How long have I been here?” he asks.
“We brought you here yesterday and you’ve been asleep ever since,” explains Delia, the older girl. “It’s now night again, so a little over a day.”
Miko! James thinks to himself. What happened to him? As he sits there in the cellar alone with the four kids, sadness comes over him as the possible fates of Miko run through his mind. Reaching into his backpack, he pulls out
