"Then what he said was true?" Therin asks. "About you destroying and killing in the Empire?"

"We only fought those who attacked us," James explains. "We never initiated any fights, only defended ourselves."

Nodding, Therin says, "Wait here a moment." And then he turns and leaves the tent quickly.

"Wonder what that was about?" Jiron asks.

"Don't know, but we can wait at least a couple minutes more," James replies.

After only a few moments, Therin returns with two sets of cloaks bearing the design of the Grey Wolf Clan. "Here," he says, handing them the cloaks. "These should enable you to get close to where they're holding your friend. More, I dare not do."

Taking the cloaks, James says, "Thank you." He hands Jiron his as he dons his own.

Therin opens the tent flap and peers out, making sure no one is nearby. He waves them to follow as he steps away through the opening. "Follow me," he whispers. "I'll lead you over to the edge of the Grey Wolf Clan's camp. From there, you're on your own."

"I understand," James a.s.sures him.

They follow him quietly through the Windrider camp. Warriors recognize Therin and call out a greeting. He merely gives them a short reply as he hurries along toward the Grey Wolf camp.

He meanders through many tents until he comes to a clear area separating the Windrider's and the Grey Wolf Clan's camps. Stopping, he turns to them and whispers, "I must leave you here. I can't take the chance of violating the Pact, though in spirit I suppose I have already done so."

"We thank you for all you have done for us," James says as he shakes his hand.

"Just bringing the plans of the Grey Wolf Clan to ruins is thanks enough," he says as he slips away back within the camp.

They pause there within the shadows as they figure out what to do. A large tent sits within the middle of the camp and is the most likely place to find Miko. Between them and the main tent are rows of smaller tents with many warriors of the Grey Wolf Clan sitting around campfires.

James can't see any way to make it through them without coming into close contact.

"What do you plan?" asks Jiron.

"I may have an idea," he says after taking a moment to think. "Give me a moment to work it out."

Jiron nods as he keeps watch on the camp and the tent where they believe Miko is currently being held.

Suddenly there appear two almost invisible translucent bubbles floating in the air before them. "Are you crazy?" he asks James. "That warrior priest is going to know where we are!"

"Exactly," he replies. Then the bubbles begin floating away from him, each moving around the camp in the opposite direction of the other. Whispering quietly, he explains, "Right now, they're not using much magic so I doubt if he's going to take notice of them. But as they go further from us, they're going to draw more and more magic from those they pa.s.s, a small amount at a time. Soon, they should be emitting enough magic resonance for him to realize something is going on and comes out to investigate."

Jiron can see him grinning in the moonlight, "And then the fun will begin."

"I hope so," Jiron replies. "Whichever tent he comes out of, you can bet that'll be the one Miko is in."

Ten minutes pa.s.s before they see the flap to the large tent open up and they see Abula-Mazki exit and move directly toward the area where one of the bubbles should be.

When James begins to feel the p.r.i.c.kling of magic, he says, "Any second now."

ZZZZZST!.

A flash of lightning flies toward Abula-Mazki out of the night and explodes upon a shield he erected around himself.

The Grey Wolf camp erupts in a frenzy of activity as warriors cry out and grab their weapons. The warriors begin running toward the area where the lightning had originated. Soon, the area between them and the tent is relatively clear.

"Let's go," James says, allowing Jiron to take the lead. They run, blending in with the others running around as they make their way to the tent.

ZZZZZST!.

Another lightning bolt sizzles as it again strikes out at Abula-Mazki. Then suddenly a loud explosion as the bubble erupts into a fireball, blazing into the night. They can hear cries of warriors who had the misfortune to be caught within the blast.

"He'll be coming back!" Jiron whispers to James.

"Not necessarily," he says. "Remember, there were two of them."

"Right," he remembers.

They reach a tent adjacent to the one they're after and pause as they see Abula-Mazki returning to the tent. The expression on his face is one of obvious anger.

From the other side of the camp, the other bubble begins emitting invisible bursts of magic, which do nothing other than create a magical signature. James can feel the p.r.i.c.kling as each of the bursts happen. Looking at Abula-Mazki, it's apparent that he feels them too.

The warrior priest calls out commands as he and the warriors near him run over toward where the bursts are originating.

Once they are past, Jiron crosses to the back of the tent and with a quick swipe from his knife, opens a long slit in it.

He quickly steps through the opening and dives to the side when he detects a movement out of the corner of his eye. The sword of the guard which had been stationed inside the tent pa.s.ses just inches from where Jiron had entered the tent. Rolling quick, Jiron comes to his feet with both knives at the ready.

The guard calls out to those outside but the noise out there drowns out his words. Jiron moves to engage him and attempts to draw him away from the opening in the side of the tent so James can enter.

James pokes his head through and sees them battling a dozen feet away. Pa.s.sing through, he moves away from where Jiron and the guard are battling, staying near the side of the tent. Tied to the central pole of the tent, Miko sits with his hands secured behind him. Coming over, he takes his knife out and cuts his bonds.

"Thank G.o.d you're here!" Miko says as he gets up off the floor.

"Never mind that now," James tells him. "We've got to get out of here." He looks over to where Jiron and the guard are still fighting. Neither one seems able to get the advantage over the other.

Jiron is able to deflect the blows of the guard but so far has been unable to successfully counter attack. James sees his difficulty and picks up a stool and tosses it over behind the guard, causing him to trip.

Off balance, the guard falls to the ground and Jiron is able to sink a knife several inches into the man's thigh. Leaving the knife there, Jiron falls upon the man as they wrestle for the sword.

The man punches out and connects with Jiron's jaw, snapping his head back. Jiron uses his knee and catches the man in the groin causing him to gasp in pain.

Seeing them on the floor, Miko comes over and kicks the guard in the side of the head which leaves him dazed. Jiron then has little trouble in taking the sword away and with his remaining knife, slices him across the throat.

He retrieves his other knife from the man's thigh and wipes them both off on the dead man's tunic. Seeing James has already freed Miko, he moves to the opening in the side of the tent just as the night lights up with a loud explosion which can be heard as the remaining bubble detonates.

"That's it," James tells them. "They'll be back soon." He tosses a tunic he'd found in the tent over to Miko so he'd blend in better.

"Then let's not wait around for them to return," Jiron says as he opens the slit and makes his way out of the tent.

He waits a moment, scanning the area as the others exit, and then they run in the opposite way from where they heard that last explosion. Running as fast as they can, they race past tent after tent until they reach the edge of the Grey Wolf Clan's camp. Warriors are running around like ants whose anthill has just had a stick poked in it. James grins at the a.n.a.logy. I suppose it has! I suppose it has!

Finding that they are now on the outskirts of the entire Gathering, they see a wide open area between the edge of the tents and where the trees begin. Running fast, they cover the distance to the trees before anyone takes notice of them. Jiron again takes the lead as they make their way through to the northern ridge.

The camp behind them is total chaos, warriors swarm the area and several horns can be heard. Other areas of the Gathering are in an uproar as well as after the two large explosions in the Grey Wolf Clan's area.

"They're not going to let us just walk out of here," Jiron says. "We have violated the Pact and I'm sure the protection of the Windriders will be withdrawn shortly if it hasn't already."

"Then let's hurry and reach the northern pa.s.sage out of here before they begin a serious search for us," James suggests.

Angling as directly to the northern pa.s.s as they can, they break into a run toward the northern ridge. Suddenly, out of the trees ahead of them, appears a group of horses.

Jiron's knives jump to his hands and James readies a spell before they realize that it's Therin with several other Windriders. Therin has a big smile on his face as he approaches them. "I can see now why they want you so bad," he says.

He signals a rider who brings out three horses. "Take these horses and fly swift," he says.

As James mounts, he says, "Aren't you running the risk of violating the Pact?"

"Probably," he says, "but that's my concern. And don't worry about the horses leading the trail back to us. We stole these from the Grey Wolf Clan." At that, a couple of the other riders break out laughing.

When they're mounted, James says, "Thanks again."

"You are welcome," he replies. "Though you may not want to come this way ever again."

"I understand," James says as he turns his horse toward the north.

"Good luck," Therin says. "And ride fast!"

They kick their horses and ride for the northern pa.s.sage through the mountains. Jiron again takes the lead as they quickly leave Therin and the other riders behind.

"Think he'll get into trouble?" Miko asks him.

"I hope not," James replies. "But like he said, I don't think we should ever come this way again."

As they progress toward the pa.s.s, they see a large group of riders now following behind them. James can feel the p.r.i.c.kling of magic, telling him Abula-Mazki is among them. "It didn't take them long to determine where we were going," James observes.

"He probably did the same trick to find you that you used to find Miko," Jiron explains.

"You're probably right," agrees James.

"We'll never lose them as long as he's behind us," Jiron says.

"I know," replies James. "I'm working on that."

The terrain suddenly rises steeply as they near the upper reaches of the pa.s.s. Suddenly, they find themselves between two tall ridges as they enter the pa.s.s. The pa.s.s is wide enough to accommodate several horses side by side and they continue racing through to the other side. The full moon above gives them ample light to see by.

Halfway through, James brings his horse to a sudden halt and quickly dismounts. Jiron soon realizes he's not with him and glances back. When he sees him there in the pa.s.s, he stops and turns his horse around. Moving back, he asks, "What's wrong?"

James glances up to him and replies, "Just trying to slow the pursuit."

Jiron watches the pa.s.s behind them as James does his thing. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees glowing circular spots flash briefly upon the sides of the pa.s.s. They extended at least thirty feet up and after the last one flashes, he sees James slump to the ground again.

He quickly dismounts and helps James get up on his horse, tying him in place. "Haven't much time," he hears James say once he has him secured to the saddle.

Nodding, he gets mounted himself and they begin racing toward the far end of the pa.s.s. Jiron looks back, and can see riders in the moonlight as they begin entering the pa.s.s. Abula-Mazki is in the lead and riding hard to catch them.

Crumph!

When the riders are less than twenty yards from where James had worked the magic, the sides of the pa.s.s explode outwards, causing the ridges on both sides to sag into the pa.s.s. Gigantic sections of the ridge fall and crush the leading edge of the pursuing riders, Abula-Mazki among them. Cries from horses and men can be heard out of the mammoth dust cloud rolling through the pa.s.s.

Jiron pauses momentarily, waiting for the dust to clear. When it does, he sees the pa.s.s is now completely blocked by a pile of rubble, several hundred feet high. Even though he's seen the effect James' magic can have, it still amazes him. He turns back to the north and quickly makes it to the other side.

They catch up with Miko who's waiting for them at the other end of the pa.s.s. They continue down the trail as it leaves the pa.s.s and begin to descend down the other side of the mountains.

"Think that'll stop them?" Miko asks Jiron.

"If it doesn't, then that warrior priest is more powerful than anything I can imagine," he replies.

"Good," says Miko.

They slow their pace a little to save the horses and travel for several more hours before finding a spot to make camp. Miko and Jiron take turns at watch, seeing as how James is already asleep.

Worried about pursuit, they keep the horses saddled and the one who's on watch keeps extra alert during their vigil.

Chapter Twelve.

James awakens with the rising of the sun, tired and head aching slightly. He sits up and finds Jiron by the fire cooking a small animal that he killed earlier that morning.

"Good morning," he says when he notices James sitting up.

"Good morning to you too," he replies. He glances over to where Miko is still sleeping on the ground. "Did he take the first watch?"

"Yeah," Jiron affirms.

"Do you think we have time to cook breakfast?" James asks him. "I mean with all those riders after us?"

He shrugs before saying, "Hope so. I don't know if you remember, but you pretty well blocked the pa.s.s. Any pursuit will have to travel another way."

"But they will come," James tells him.

"I know, but we need to keep our strength up," counters Jiron. He pokes the roasting carca.s.s with his knife and says, "Wake up sleepy head, I think breakfast is ready."

James gets up and goes over to Miko and nudges him with his foot.

"What?" Miko exclaims, coming awake abruptly. He looks quickly around and sees James standing above him.