Shades of the Past: The Morcyth Saga Book Six Read Online Free

building.
    As he draws near, the men outside become
aware of his approach. The man holding the crossbow turns it to
bear upon him. “Is Orlander within?” he asks once he’s stopped
before them.
    “Who wants to know?” one man asks. The hilts
of two longswords jut out from behind his shoulders and he looks
like one who can definitely take care of himself in a fight.
    “One who wishes to put to rest a situation
between us,” James explains.
    “What’s your name?” two swords asks.
    “James,” he replies. “I burnt his tavern down
last fall.”
    At that two of the men gasp and two swords
nods to another who enters through the door behind him. “Didn’t
expect you to make yourself so available,” he says.
    James remains silent as they wait for
Orlander’s appearance. They don’t have long to wait before the door
opens and Orlander walks out with a crossbow in hand. Half a dozen
others follow him through the door.
    “At last!” he says with a gleam in his eye.
He raises the crossbow and before James has a chance to say
anything, fires. The bolt flies toward him and strikes the all but
invisible shield surrounding him. Ricocheting off the shield, it
flies toward one of the thugs standing nearby, narrowly missing the
man’s face.
    “What sort of trickery is going on here?”
Orlander demands when the bolt fails to find its mark.
    “No trickery,” explains James. “I simply wish
to talk to you.”
    “Take him boys,” Orlander commands and his
men pull their swords and attack.
    James simply stands there as they run into
the barrier surrounding him. After a few moments of fruitless
attack, he asks, “Can we talk now or do you wish to continue?”
    Orlander motions for his men to back off as
he looks at James with a calculating look. “You a mage?” he
asks.
    “Among other things, yes,” replies James.
    “Why don’t you just kill me?” Orlander asks
after assimilating what he just said.
    “It’s not my way,” he explains. “I wish to
stop further bloodshed on both sides. I came here to see if I can
change your mind about seeking my death. During our last encounter
things sort of got out of hand and I am here to set things
right.”
    “Out of hand?” Orlander says incredulously.
“You stole from me, killed a score of my friends and burnt down my
tavern. I’d hardly call that ‘out of hand’.”
    James reaches into his shirt and removes a
small sack. Holding it before him, he says, “I have here enough
gems to repay you for the stolen items and the destruction of your
tavern.” He opens the sack and pulls out an uncut ruby half the
size of an egg and shows it to him.
    Orlander’s eyes grow large at the sight of
the gem. He licks his lips and says, “Just what do you
propose?”
    “I give you this sack of gems and you swear
to never again seek my destruction,” he explains. “Nor will you
allow another to seek my destruction should you hear of it.”
    “What if I refuse?” he asks.
    James places the gem back in the sack and
says, “Then you don’t get the gems and we are at war.”
    “You seem pretty confident in yourself,”
Orlander states. He glances around at the men standing with
him.
    James simply stares at him.
    He stands there a moment contemplating the
proposal. His eyes flick from James, to the bag and back again.
“Very well,” he agrees. “We have a deal.”
    “You swear to never again seek my death?”
James asks.
    “Yes, I swear it,” Orlander replies.
    The shimmer of the shield disappears and he
hands over the gems.
    Orlander reaches out for the sack and then
suddenly grabs James’ arm. “Kill him!” he cries out.
    As soon as Orlander grabs his hand, James
drops to the ground.
    “Fire!” is heard coming from the shadows on
the opposite side of the street. A knife flies from the dark and
strikes Orlander in the chest just as two arrows follow, each
sinking into his midsection.
    Crying out from the pain of the attack,
Orlander lets go of James’ hand and