image suddenly changes and they see the roof. “She’s on the fourth floor,” he tells the others.
“Where on the fourth floor?” Jiron asks.
Taking out his cloth, he casts his finding spell and the cloth moves to point down and to the left. Moving in the direction indicated, he walks that way until the cloth bends and points straight down. “She’s directly below,” he says as he puts the cloth away.
Jiron gets her position in relation to the trapdoor set in his mind and nods. “Alright,” he says, “let’s go get her.” Moving quickly to the trapdoor, he nods for Stig to open it.
Chapter Twenty Two
When Stig throws open the trapdoor, a strong odor wafts out. Rather unpleasant but bearable, he asks, “What is that?”
Brother Willim comes forward and smells it. “I think it comes from the berac plant,” he says. Glancing to James he adds, “The leaves when burned produce a smoke that will prevent a mage from using his powers.”
“Orrin did say this Eye knew how to deal with mages,” Jiron states. “Guess he doesn’t want you in there.”
“What are you going to do?” asks Shorty.
“It’s too late,” he says, “I’ve already inhaled it.” Even now he can feel his mind growing numb. Holding out his hand, he creates a small sphere the size of a marble before his magic fails altogether. Similar in nature to the one that he made in a similar situation back in Cardri, only this one will be slightly more versatile. It won’t be limited to just three commands, he’s worked on expanding its capabilities ever since the incident on the boat. Now, it should prove much more effective.
“Don’t worry about me,” he says to Jiron. “Aleya has to be our first concern.”
Nodding, Jiron moves to the opening and starts climbing down the ladder. The hallway is dark with just a small amount of light with which to see. Once off the ladder, he moves quickly in search of the stairs down and finds them at the other end of the hallway. Scar and Potbelly have already made it down and are now beside him. The others are still making their way down from the roof.
“Go on!” Stig hollers as he makes it down the ladder from the roof. “We’ll catch up.”
Jiron nods then turns back to the stairs. With Scar and Potbelly right behind, he descends the stairway slowly. Light from the fourth floor illuminates the stairwell, and voices can be heard in conversation. He motions for Scar and Potbelly to wait as he continues down to where the stairs reach the fourth floor. There’s a small landing from which the fourth floor hallway extends further into the building before the stairs continue their way down to the third floor.
Keeping his shoulder against the edge of the stairwell, he takes the steps slowly until he’s on the second step from the bottom. He listens to the two men talking, one breaks out in laughter at something the other has said.
According to where James’ cloth indicated Aleya to be, she should be in a room near the end of this hallway. He turns his head back to where the others are waiting, already Stig and James have joined Scar and Potbelly on the stairs. Behind them, he can see Miko coming to join them. Gesturing for them to come down and join him, he holds up two finger indicating that there are two men in the hallway. He then moves his hand across his throat. Scar nods understanding.
With knife in hand, he turns back to the hallway and suddenly charges around the corner. Behind him, the others race after.
When he turns the corner, he sees two guards standing in the middle of the hallway ten feet down. Running into them he knifes one while kneeing the other in the stomach. Scar and Potbelly soon join him and the guards lie dead on the floor.
“Stay right where you are,” a voice comes to them from further down the hallway.
Jiron looks to find a black man standing before four guards who have crossbows aimed at them. “Pretty clever to make it this far,” the black man says. He shouts something in the Empire’s language and footfalls can be heard as many men begin to climb the stairs from below. The doors on the side of the hallway open up and more soldiers appear with swords bared.
“Discard you weapons,” he says. “This is over.” A smug smile comes over him as he sees victory at hand.
For a moment the world becomes silent as the two sides stare at one another. Then, the silence is pieced by the sound of something rolling along the floor of the hallway. The black man looks down as a small round spherical object the size of a marble rolls past Jiron’s feet on its way toward him.
“What’s this?” he asks as the round object approaches.
From where he stands in the hallway, James watches the object roll nearer to the black man. When it comes to within a foot of him, he says, “Leech times a hundred!”
The round object flashes, then the black man and the four crossbowmen drop to the floor as the object sucks them dry.
Jiron lashes out with his knife at the man in the doorway nearest him and sinks it to the hilt in the man’s chest. At the rear, Stig kicks out at the man on the top of the stairs and sends him and all but one of the others tumbling back down the stairs to the third floor. Drawing his mace, he engages the remaining man on the stairs.
Then pandemonium erupts as the soldiers in the side rooms move to attack. Scar and Potbelly stand side by side as they stem the tide coming from one of the rooms, Reilin faces off with another and Miko has drawn his sword as he protects Brother Willim and James.
Brother Willim throws something in the air and it bursts into a massive cloud of gnats which engulfs three men. Each breath they take draws hundreds of the creatures into their mouths, throat and lungs. Fits of coughing leave them unable to either attack or defend themselves.
”Get me to my sphere,” James says to Miko.
“You got it,” he says. Moving next to Jiron, Miko lays into the soldiers with deadly speed few on this world can match. Behind him he hears James say, “Cancel,” and the sphere becomes quiet once again. The men at the end of the hallway lay still, what life they had having been absorbed by the sphere.
“Jiron!” Aleya’s voice cries out from behind the door where she’s being held.
Sending the remaining soldier before him to the floor, Jiron moves down the hallway toward her voice. “Which one are you in?” he hollers.
“Right here!” she says, her voice coming through the door next to him.
Coming to a halt, he tries the door and finds it locked. Using his knife, he works on the lock and hears a click as the lock’s tumblers shift. Opening the door, he almost falls backward from the impact of Aleya’s embrace.
James moves past the couple and reaches his sphere. He has to move the black Eye’s arm in order to pick it up. “Black Eye,” he mumbles to himself. In other circumstances he would be able to appreciate the humor in that more. The sphere is glowing a dark crimson with stored power, it almost feels like it’s vibrating. “Now to get out of here,” he says.
Stig and Shorty are holding the top of the stairs, the sound of the fighting coming to them. Brother Willim exits from one of the rooms and says, “Those in the streets have been alerted.”
“Great,” James says. The fumes from the drug have really messed with his abilities. He tries to summon the magic but it will not come. “How many are down there?” he asks.
“Several score,” he replies. “Most I would think are here in the building…”
“And on the way up the stairs,” finishes James with a nod. “Very well then. Shield.” With that, a shimmering barrier springs up around him and he begins walking to the top of the stairs. Bodies of those who had been stationed in the adjoining rooms litter the hallway. The fighting is now isolated to the stairwell where Jiron has taken Shorty’s place next to Stig. Together, they make a deadly wall that none can breach.
When he comes to stand behind Jiron and Stig, he grasps the sphere in his hand and holds it out past Jiron and Stig. “Incinerate!” he says. A burst of flame explodes outwards, engulfing those unfortunate enough to be standing on the stairs. As the men begin to burn and cry out in pain, he tosses the sphere down the stairs. After
