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

staggers backward, collapsing
in the doorway. His men stand stunned at the sudden change of
events. From the shadows across the street, Illan and the other
fighters emerge, weapons at the ready.
    “Take them!” James orders from where he lies
on the ground.
    Seeing their leader lying dead across the
threshold and the armed men charging, they lose heart and break
into a retreat. Arrows and knives fly from the shadows, felling
thug after thug. Jiron catches up with one and cuts him down from
behind.
    “Enough!” Illan’s voice rings out, stopping
them from pursuing the fleeing men. To Jiron he says, “Secure the
area.”
    “Right,” Jiron replies. “Jorry, Uther you
take that way,” he orders as he points up the street. “Scar,
Potbelly down the other. The rest fan out and watch for any who may
return.” Shorty appears and begins collecting his knives from the
fallen thugs just as Aleya and Errin begin gathering what arrows
weren’t damaged during the attack.
    “Told you this was going to happen,” Illan
says to James as he offers him a hand up.
    Taking it, he replies, “I know. I had to
try.”
    ”Oh I understand, just knew it wouldn’t
work,” Illan says.
    “We got company!” Scar hollers from his
position down the street.
    A squad of the city guard is coming down the
road toward them. The last time he was here, James saw them with
Orlander during his pursuit. He’s been fairly sure since then that
they were in his pay. How they’ll react to his death is anyone’s
guess.
    As the guards approach, everyone moves a
little closer together. Jiron and Miko stand before James as
Shorty, Errin and Aleya position themselves behind him.
    The officer in charge takes in the scene as
they approach. A dozen people dead as well as Orlander’s corpse
lying in the doorway. He motions for his men to stop as he comes
forward the last couple feet. “What happened here?” he asks.
    “Came to settle a few things with Orlander,”
James replies. “Things sort of got out of hand.”
    “Looks like murder if you ask me,” the
officer says as he eyes James.
    Before James can answer, two men approach out
of the dark. “It wasn’t murder,” one says.
    “That’s right,” the other affirms. “Heard
Orlander order his men to kill him before the fighting started.
Orlander started it.”
    Around them a crowd of people has begun to
form as the locals come to see what’s happened. Some, upon seeing
Orlander’s dead body give a cheer.
    “Good riddance,” one woman says.
    “Streets will be safer without him around,”
another states.
    “So you see,” James says to the officer,
“this was in self defense.”
    The officer glances around from James to the
others with him, as well as the crowd which seems to be for James.
Turning his attention back to James he says, “Alright.” To his men
he says, “Get a crew together and let’s clean this up.”
    “Yes, sir,” one of his men says.
    James bends over and retrieves the sack of
gems and puts it into his shirt. The officer notices but says
nothing. “Will there be anything more?” he asks.
    The officer shakes his head. “No. Since you
didn’t start it and witnesses say it was self defense, you can
go.”
    “Thank you,” he says and to Illan he nods for
them to get moving. As James moves away from the building, one
woman comes up to him and gives him a hug and kiss before hurrying
away.
    “Looks like everyone is quite happy Orlander
is gone,” observes Jiron.
    “I can understand why,” agrees James. They
make their way back down the street the way they had come. Down a
couple blocks they come across the men who are still surrounded by
the shields, James cancels the spell. One of the men was leaning
against the barrier when it disappeared and falls to the ground.
Freed, they waste little time in getting as far away from James as
possible.
    Miko laughs at them as they race down the
street.
    On the other side of town, they meet up with
Delia and the slingers who