Coming over to where the man lies p.r.o.ne on the ground, he sees that his neck is bent at a crooked angle and his eyes are staring off at nothing. Nudging him with his foot to make sure he's dead, he then goes over and retrieves his knife before moving to the top of the stairs.

Aleya and James are already on their way up. He's leaning heavily upon her as they make it up one step at a time.

Flash! Boom!

Another bolt of lightning strikes the cliff face near them, knocking them to their knees. Below them the soldiers have now reached the third rest area and are pushing upward quickly.

Taking the steps two at a time, Jiron comes down and helps Aleya in aiding James the rest of the way to the top. "Come on!" he hollers over the wind. "We've got to hurry!"

Flash! Boom! Flash! Boom! Flash! Boom!

Two quick bolts strike near and he can hear an audible groan from James as he works to deflect them. Falling to their knees from the concussion of the blasts, Jiron looks to James and sees that his face is pale and drawn from the effort to keep them safe. Getting back to his feet, he picks him up and carries James the remaining few steps to the top.

"Horses!" Aleya hollers, pointing over to behind the ruined watchtower.

The crossbowmen's horses are tied in a group. "Thank G.o.d!" he exclaims as he carries James over to them. He suddenly comes to a stop as he remembers how James had stopped Abula-Mazki back at the catacombs.

Setting him down, he hollers, "James!"

Eyes opening, he's surprised at how bloodshot they are. "Remember back at the catacombs?" he asks. "Remember how you brought them down on top of Abula-Mazki?" Getting a nod from him, he continues, "Can you do the same thing here?"

A weak, "Maybe," comes from him as he again closes his eyes. "Get us as far away from the edge as you can." That last statement almost too soft to be heard over the roar of the wind.

"Go get us some horses and meet us over there," he says to Aleya as he indicates a spot far from the edge. As she nods and moves to comply, he yells, "And hurry!"

Lifting James up, he begins carrying him far from the edge of the cliff face. Aleya soon joins them with four horses. "We're away from the edge," he tells James as he lays him on the ground. A brief nod is all the response he gets.

Taking two of the horses' reins, he says to Aleya, "Hold onto them tight. No matter what happens, don't let go!"

"Why?" she asks. "What's going to happen?"

Before Jiron has a chance to reply, the ground begins to shake and the horses start neighing as their eyes roll with fear. "Hold them tight!" he cries. "We can't let them go!"

Several soldiers reach the top of the stairs and are thrown to the ground as the cliff begins shaking. A loud crack can be heard as the ground begins trembling even harder. Then suddenly, three feet from where they stand with the horses, the ground splits in two. A roar the likes neither of them have ever heard before comes from all around them as the gap grows wider, slowly at first and then more rapidly.

When the gap is over three feet wide, the side of the gap away from them suddenly drops away, the ruins of the watchtower toppling over as the ground disappears from beneath it. A tremendous roar, even louder than before a.s.saults their ears as the cliff face comes away, taking a good portion of the ridge, as well as the soldiers upon the stairs with it.

Jiron has all he can do to keep the two horses he's holding from bolting away. Aleya loses the battle with hers and the reins are ripped out of her hands by the rearing of the terrified horses. The two horses, now free, run away from the noise. One ends up going the wrong way in its fear and plummets over the cliff side while the other races down the trail leading away from the top on the other side.

When the rumbling finally stops, Jiron moves over to the new edge of the ridge and looks down to where the stairs used to be. Below them is a ma.s.sive dust cloud, obscuring everything more than several hundred feet below the top. Where the stairs had been is now just virgin, jagged rock. All those soldiers who had been upon the stairs must now be lying down at the base, buried beneath hundreds of tons of stone.

Coming away from the ledge, he sees Aleya staring at them with fear in her eyes. "What are you two?" she asks him.

"I don't think we'll have to worry about pursuit from there for awhile," he tells her as he goes back over to where James is lying. He's unconscious, but otherwise appears fine.

"You didn't answer my question," she says with an edge to her voice.

Glancing over to her, he finds an arrow knocked and aimed right for him. Getting up, he turns toward her and says, "As for me, I'm just a pit fighter out of the City of Light. I hooked up with James here shortly after it fell to the Empire and we've been together ever since."

"What about him?" she asks, indicating the comatose James with her bow.

"You can ask him when he wakes up," he tells her. "Which won't be for several hours I'm figuring. Watch him for me will you?" Completely ignoring the arrow aiming at him, he turns and begins moving down the trail to find where the horses had run off.

Lowering her bow, she asks, "Where are you going?"

"To get the horses," he replies. "If you would have held onto them tighter, I wouldn't have to. Be back in a bit."

She lowers her bow completely as she watches him move away down the trail. Replacing her arrow back into her quiver, she slings her bow across her back and looks at her red, bleeding hands. When the horses had ripped out of her grip, the reins had taken some of the skin with them.

Walking over to the edge of the cliff, she looks down at the dust cloud below. It's beginning to clear away and she can see the enormous pile of rubble at the bottom. It may be her imagination but it looks like there are still survivors down there trying to dig out their companions. The exact number is obscured by the enormous dust cloud filling the valley below.

Stepping back from the cliff, she sees James lying on the ground. The sight of him sends fear through her, she doesn't know why. Earlier during their trip together, he'd been an amiable and likable fellow. But after what she had just seen him do, the mere sight of him terrifies her. She comes nearer to him and nudges him with her foot almost as if she needs to believe he's real. A groan escapes him when she nudges him, causing her to jump backward a foot in fright.

From the trail she hears the sound of Jiron returning with a horse. She doesn't know what to do, being in company with such people. One tears down a cliff and the other scales a sheer drop of a thousand feet and then takes out the entire force at the top.

Jiron secures the horse with the other two and then notices how she's standing as if she's about to flee. "Relax," he tells her with a smile. "Help me gather some wood so we can have a fire."

When she still doesn't move, he comes over to her and says soothingly, "Truly, we won't harm you. And while you are with us, we will not allow others to harm you either. Though we do seem to attract the attention of the worst sort of people."

He leaves her to her thoughts as he begins combing the area for firewood. After depositing his second load near James, he sees her take her bow from off her shoulder and says to him, "I'll get something for dinner."

"That's a good idea," he replies as he returns to the area by the few trees up there for another load. The clouds above had begun to clear ever since the cliff fell. Soon, blue can be seen and off to the west, the sun is beginning to descend close to the horizon.

The area around them is spa.r.s.ely dotted with trees, mainly just rock and the occasional bush. Off to the west, the ridge they're on slopes down until it finally dwindles into hills. Nestled in the hills lies a large fortress. Must be Kern that she mentioned earlier. And beyond it lies Cardri! Must be Kern that she mentioned earlier. And beyond it lies Cardri!

Chapter Twenty Two.

Jiron has the fire going by the time Aleya returns with but a single rabbit. "I think all the noise must have scared off everything else," she explains.

Taking the rabbit from her, he says, "I'm sure this will do nicely."

She glances over to James where he lies by the fire. Wrapped in a couple blankets to keep the chill away, he looks down right peaceful lying there. "How is he?"

"He'll live," replies Jiron as he begins getting the rabbit ready for the fire. "This actually happens quite often when he does what he calls, 'over the top' magic. He'll sleep through the night and most likely wake up in the morning."

Taking a seat next to him, she sits quietly while he skins and guts the rabbit. When he at last has it on a stick and roasting over the fire, she says, "After what I saw earlier, I can understand why they want you so bad."

He gives her a grin. "That's not the half of it," he says to her, but doesn't elaborate further.

"Do you think it's wise for us to stay here?" she asks. When he glances at her she continues, "I mean, the archers that were up here must've come from somewhere. I understand there's a large force of the Empire's soldiers down by the fortress, they've been there ever since the invasion of Madoc."

"If an army is on its way here," he explains, "we would meet it all the sooner if we went down the mountain." Gesturing over to James, he adds, "If we give him a chance to rest and regain some of his strength, then we stand a better chance of surviving the encounter."

Nodding, she returns her gaze to the fire and watches it dance and pop as she thinks about what he just said. "What do you plan to do if you should make it back to Cardri?" she asks after a few minutes of silence.

"That all depends on James there," he tells her. "I'll be staying with him for awhile, strange things are afoot and he seems to be in the middle of it all. I don't know what the G.o.ds may have in store for him, but it should prove interesting." He takes the rabbit off the fire and inspects if briefly before returning it to the flames.

"You could come with us if you like," he suggests to her. Before she has a chance to reply, he adds, "Since the way back to your home is currently unavailable, that is."

"I may do that," she replies after unconsciously glancing to where the stairs used to be.

They sit side by side, the proximity of each other lending them comfort. The clouds have completely disappeared by the time the rabbit is ready to eat. Saving out a large portion for James when he wakes up, Jiron divvies the rest of it between him and Aleya.

After they've finished eating, he suggests taking the first watch while she gets some sleep. "I'll wake you sometime after midnight," he tells her.

"Very well," she says as she gets a blanket from one of the horses and lies down next to the fire.

Jiron moves out of the light to better preserve his night vision as he begins to slowly circle the camp. Every once in awhile he catches himself staring at her as she lies there sleeping, the light from the fire dancing across her face.

He moves through the trees further away from the camp and stares out over the valley to the west where the Fortress of Kern lies. Once James finally awakens, they're going to have to make it there somehow. If what Aleya says is correct, they'll have an army to get through somewhere between here and there.

Moving to the other side of the ridge where the stair used to be, he sees down amidst the rubble that once was the side of the ridge many lights. From their number he figures there still to be a sizeable force left. Too bad we didn't get them all! Too bad we didn't get them all! It's highly unlikely they'll be any more of a threat for awhile. The cliff's too high and vertical for the average soldier to scale and they have a long way to walk to get out of the mountains. It's highly unlikely they'll be any more of a threat for awhile. The cliff's too high and vertical for the average soldier to scale and they have a long way to walk to get out of the mountains.

The morning dawns sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Jiron wakes to find Aleya already having killed their morning breakfast and can smell it from where it's roasting on the fire.

"Good morning," she says when she notices him sitting up.

"You too," he replies. Nodding to James, he asks, "How's he doing?"

"Still sleeping," she tells him. "He hasn't awoken yet. Is that normal?"

Shrugging, he says, "I really wouldn't know. But there have been times when he didn't wake for awhile. Once he took almost two days to come out of it." Seeing her concern, he adds, "But we'll not wait that long. If he's not up by noon, I plan to wake him up. As you said last night, there could be more forces on the way."

"I was thinking about that last night," she says. "If they would've sent a rider to warn the forces by the fortress back when we first entered the mountains, then it's possible they could've gotten to them in time to send the crossbowmen up here to block off our escape route."

Nodding, he replies, "That would make sense. It did seem kind of odd that we weren't pressed very hard in the mountains. They knew where we were going, or at least had a good idea, so they didn't want us to move too quickly and reach here before their forces could get into position to greet us."

"So that would mean," she says, "whatever forces are near Kern, will be waiting for us." After a moment, adds, "If they're not already on their way."

Nodding, Jiron gets up and says to her, "I'm going to check down the trail, just in case. Keep an eye on him, okay?"

"Sure," she replies. She takes out what was left over from the rabbit last night and begins eating. She plans on saving what's cooking over the fire for James when he wakes up. As she eats, she watches Jiron disappear down the trail into the forest. She thinks about the turn her life has taken the last few days. Glancing at James, she wonders what she's gotten into and where it may lead her.

Once she's done eating, she begins hunting through the woods for sticks just the right length. If one meets her needs, she picks it up and continues in her search for more until she has a dozen.

Returning back to camp, she takes her pack, along with the sticks, and settles down on a fallen log close enough to keep James in sight. Using her knife, she carefully carves off all excess protrusions and evens the stick out. If one is too long for her needs, she trims it with her knife until it's absolutely perfect.

Two of the sticks have to be discarded after discovering flaws while she was tr.i.m.m.i.n.g them. When the remaining ten sticks are arrayed next to her, she reaches into her backpack and pulls out a neatly rolled up envelope of leather. Unrolling it, she examines the feathers she acquired days before James and Jiron arrived. She already has them separated into sets of three, each set of exact length, breadth, and width.

She takes one set from within the envelope and sets them on the log next to her before picking up the first of the ten sticks. Using her knife carefully, she cuts slits into the wood at one end and slowly and meticulously inserts the feathers into the slits. Once all three feathers are embedded securely within the wood, she sets it down and picks up the next stick, repeating the process. One after another, she continues until all ten sticks are fledged.

Before rolling the envelope back up, she checks the remaining feathers and sees she has enough for a little over a dozen more arrows. Going to have to hunt for more soon. Going to have to hunt for more soon.

Placing the rolled up envelope back in her pack, she then pulls out a leather pouch with a drawstring securing the top closed.

Opening the drawstring, she carefully upends the pouch and pours arrowheads out onto the log. She has many different types and styles, even some crossbow bolt heads which she could use in a pinch, though they wouldn't be greatly effective.

Picking up one of the sticks which has been fledged, she finds a matching head which will work and then secures it onto the end. Once she's made sure the head is secure and won't fly off when the arrow is released from her bow, she sets it down and picks up the next one.

As she works on the arrows, getting them ready for what she's sure will be a deadly run to Kern, she wishes she had acquired more of the heads when she had the chance. But how was she to even have known she was to be in such a situation as she finds herself in now.

Sighing, she just works on the arrows until she has ten lying on the ground at her feet. Putting the unused arrowheads back into the pouch, she closes the drawstring and replaces it in her pack.

She gathers the ten arrows and carries them over to her quiver where she places them with the ones already within it. Twenty two arrows are now in her quiver. She'd like more, but she made that mistake before. Grinning, she remembers a hunt with her father.

She had been so young and wanted to show him how well and how fast she could fletch an arrow. So she worked at it until her quiver had been jam packed with them. When she showed the quiver to her father, he gave her a smile and told her how good she was. Oh, she was simply aglow from his praise.

Then it happened. From out of the trees ahead of them, a wild boar had emerged and charged. She reached into her quiver for an arrow, but they were so tightly packed in there that it was hard to get one out. So she pulled hard on an arrow and suddenly, the entire contents of the quiver had come out, arrows flying in all directions.

Placing the single arrow left in her hand to her bow, she sighted on the charging boar just when an arrow from her father flew past and struck it in the neck, killing it. She can still remember the embarra.s.sment at seeing thirty five arrows scattered about from where they had all been pulled from her quiver. The amused smile her father gave her at the time had brought her great embarra.s.sment and shame. But later on, the experience became one of fondness and amus.e.m.e.nt at the little girl who had packed her quiver too tightly.

Oh how I wish you were here now, father. But that can never be, he was one of those who died when the Empire arrived that fateful day at Mountainside. Some of the men, her father included, tried to fight them off, but there were simply too many of them. If she hadn't been on one of her solitary hunts up in the mountains at the time, she most likely would have died with him. There are times when she wishes she had. But that can never be, he was one of those who died when the Empire arrived that fateful day at Mountainside. Some of the men, her father included, tried to fight them off, but there were simply too many of them. If she hadn't been on one of her solitary hunts up in the mountains at the time, she most likely would have died with him. There are times when she wishes she had.

Her mother she hardly remembers at all, having died when she was young. But from the stories her father told her, she must have been a strong woman. Had to have been to keep him in line as her father always liked to joke about.

She hears Jiron returning down the road and turns with a smile which quickly vanishes from her face. It wasn't Jiron she heard but soldiers of the Empire. Three of them are coming toward her, their longswords out and ready. One of them says something to her in their language, most likely commanding her to 'not do anything foolish'.

Screaming at the top of her lungs, "Jiron!" she quickly grabs her bow and an arrow out of her quiver. Backing up, she puts arrow to string and threatens the approaching men.

They come to a quick halt when the arrow points at them. Her quiver of arrows is now between her and them, all she has is the single arrow currently in her bow. She could easily kill one but the other two would be on her before she could do anything.

One of the men puts his sword away and holds his hands up in a non-threatening manner. His voice becomes soothingly as he begins inching his way closer to her.

Three? Is that all they sent from the forces by Kern? Can't be, but there are no others behind them. A noise behind her causes her to quickly glance backward and she sees a soldier scramble over the edge of the cliff. Can't be, but there are no others behind them. A noise behind her causes her to quickly glance backward and she sees a soldier scramble over the edge of the cliff.

They're climbing up from the valley below! What could possibly have forced them to dare such a treacherous climb?

Other men can be seen on the top of the ridge as well, moving toward where she holds the three men at bay. She glances from the three men then to the others approaching. Four others are on their way toward the standoff.

Suddenly from behind the three men, a fast moving shape comes out of the forest, and light glints off of a blade in each hand as Jiron stabs two of the men in the back, severing their spinal columns.

She lets fly her arrow and takes the lead soldier who had been advancing upon her square in the chest. The man flies backward from the force of the arrow and lands atop the other two men, dying on the ground.

"See to James!" Jiron cries as he moves to attack the others advancing upon them from the edge of the cliff.

She sees him, a man with two knives, facing off against four men with swords. Such courage! Such courage! Moving quickly, she reaches the campsite and her quiver of arrows. Taking up position next to the still unconscious James, she slings her quiver across her back and puts arrow to string. Moving quickly, she reaches the campsite and her quiver of arrows. Taking up position next to the still unconscious James, she slings her quiver across her back and puts arrow to string.

To her surprise, when she turns to aim at the men Jiron is fighting, one of his attackers is already lying still on the ground. Lining up another of his attackers, she releases her arrow and strikes him in the chest, spinning him around. Before he even falls to the ground, she has another arrow knocked and released, taking out another man.