“What are we going to do?” asks Miko nervously as he once again glances toward the rider.
“Not much we can do. Fortunately we are in open territory so if any more show up we will have warning. Besides, we don’t even know if he has any interest in us at all. It could be just a coincidence that he is pacing us.”
“You don’t really believe that do you?” asks Miko.
“No,” replies James, “but it is a possibility. Until we know for sure, we will continue toward Willimet and deal with it should something happen.”
Another ten minutes go by when Miko notices another rider has joined with the one to the north. “James, there’s another one now.”
Looking north, he nods. “Yeah, looks like it.”
“You seem pretty calm,” Miko observes.
Turning to look at Miko, James says, “Will the situation improve if I get nervous and all freaked out?”
“No,” replies Miko.
“Okay then,” James says. “I may appear calm but I am quite concerned about what may be developing.”
“Like what?” asks Miko.
“Like an ambush,” he says. “This could be another attempt by Lord Colerain to capture or kill us. But who knows, it may simply be bandits or highwaymen seeing two lone riders and thinking to score some quick booty.”
Nervous, Miko begins scanning the horizon in all direction. “James! Behind us!” Miko exclaims excitedly when he glances to the road behind them.
James turns and sees three more riders approaching at a gallop. Looking toward the ones to the north, he sees them begin turning their way as they too break into a gallop. “Let’s go,” he says. Kicking the sides of his horse he’s quickly racing across the road at a fast gallop, Miko doing the same a split second after.
They race down the road trying to outdistance their pursuers when from out of the distance ahead, three more riders appear racing toward them from the east. South being the only direction currently free of riders trying to intercept them, he turns his horse in that direction and they leave the road, racing through the tall grass. James hopes fervently that neither horse puts a hoof in a gopher hole or something, which would prove disastrous.
As if on cue, two more riders appear in the distance to the south before they have gone more than twenty feet from the road. Realizing they are surrounded and unlikely to escape the trap, he scans the area for somewhere to make their stand. Seeing a small hill to the southwest an idea comes to mind and he turns his horse, racing for it. Upon reaching the hill he dismounts quickly, giving Miko his horse’s reins. “Get those hoods we got at Lufer’s and cover their heads, fast,” he tells him. “Whatever you do, don’t let go of their reins.”
“What are you going to do?” Miko asks as he begins pulling the hoods out of the packs.
“You’ll see. No time to explain, just stay close to me.” James looks around at the approaching horsemen. Their approach has slowed now that James and Miko have stopped atop the little hill. Those closer to the pair slow in order to allow those further away to be able to join with the closer ones in completely encircling the hill. Three of them have crossbows and are in the process of winding back the crossarm.
Scared, Miko watches as the men continue to tighten the noose. Holding tight to the reins, he keeps the now hooded horses and mule close to the top of the hill. He looks toward James and sees that his eyes are closed in concentration. The breeze that had been blowing gently begins to slowly increase in strength. Clouds move unnaturally fast as they rush toward them from every direction.
The approaching men continue tightening the circle. One of the crossbowmen looses a bolt but the wind blows it wide. They advance without seeming to care, or perhaps fail to notice what is going on in the sky above them. The gathering clouds begin smoothing out until the cloud cover looks like one big, dark blanket extending in all directions. Then all at once the wind suddenly stops and the world becomes ominously quiet.
The sudden cessation of wind causes the men to slow their advance as they begin to understand that something strange is happening. Suddenly, the clouds above them begin to swirl and Miko looks in frightened awe as a section of the swirling clouds descends toward them, the center of which is open and clear. It rapidly slams all the way to the ground, enveloping the men approaching the hill.
The wind whips around the hill in a frightening mass of flying debris and deafening sound. Standing amidst the relative calm upon the hilltop, Miko holds tight to the horses, trying to keep them from becoming frightened amidst the noise going on around them.
From within the tempest surrounding them he could hear the cries of men and horses being ravaged by the savage wind. Suddenly, one of the riders is flung from the storm and slams into the ground a few feet from him. Miko looks closely at the man and sees that his body is broken and lifeless. Truly awed by what James has done, he stands there holding tightly to the reins and watches as the storm continues to swirl around the hill. Looking straight up, he sees what appears to be a tunnel going all the way through the storm to the blue sky at the other end.
Not long after that, the storm begins to slowly dissipate as the swirling mass surrounding the hill thins and then fades away. The clouds above start breaking apart until they resume their normal course through the sky. Amazed, Miko looks at the grassland surrounding the hill and can see just how wide the storm had been. It started at the base of the hill, and he can see how the grass had been ripped and torn by the force of the winds in a swath several hundred feet wide all the way around. Scattered throughout the area were horses and men, all lifeless and broken.
When the winds finally recede completely, James’ knees buckle and he collapses to the ground. Miko rushes over, relieved to find that he is only unconscious, not dead. Unable to rouse him, he gently lays James out comfortably and gets a blanket to use as a pillow for his head. Once he has taken care of James, he goes over and removes the hoods from the horses and pack mule, letting them loose to graze.
Sitting down next to James, he waits for him to regain consciousness, all the while keeping an eye on the horizon for any sign of other unwelcome visitors.
It isn’t until just before sunset that James begins to stir. Cracking an eye open, he discovers Miko has already started a fire and made camp with the horses picketed nearby. A groan escapes him drawing the attention of Miko who comes to his side bearing a water bottle. With Miko’s help, James sits up slightly to take the bottle and drinks deeply before handing the bottle back to him.
“Thanks,” he says shakily, lying back down.
“You’re welcome,” Miko replies. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Maybe,” he replies. “I feel totally exhausted and have a splitting headache.”
“Your storm seems to have taken out all the riders who were chasing us.”
“Good,” he replies. Groaning, he raises his hand to his head as he tries to soothe the pounding behind his forehead.
“Just what did you do?” Miko asks. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“It’s called a tornado,” he explains. “They are quite common where I come from.”
“How did you do it?” Miko wonders.
“It’s rather hard to explain,” James tells him. “Luckily I remembered a show I saw about tornadoes.”
“Show?” he asks. “What’s that?”
Wondering how to explain television, he just says, “It’s something from where I come from where you can learn things.”
“Oh, okay,” Miko says, not really understanding.
“Have you searched them yet?” asked James.
“Who?” asks Miko. “The dead riders?” He looks out at the scene surrounding the hill with undisguised revulsion at the thought of going near the dead men.
“Maybe there will be a letter or something on them that may tell us who sent them and why,” explains James, the final words all but unintelligible.
“No, I haven’t,” Miko answers before realizing that he’s already fallen asleep. Knowing how important this is to James, he gets up and goes through the grisly task of searching all the dead bodies, both men and horses for anything that may tell them what they need to know. He returns a half hour later with an armload of saddlebags, pouches and one of the crossbows along with a brace of bolts. He sets the saddlebags and pouches on the ground near James which causes him to awaken once more.
Now rested enough that he won’t immediately succumb to sleep, he props himself up on one elbow and gives
