The Mists of Sorrow: The Morcyth Saga Book Seven (32 page)

“Not too fast,” he says. “We don’t want to
catch him before he gets there. Remember, the meeting is for an
hour from now, we still have some time.” Scar and Potbelly slow
down to a more moderate pace.

Keeping a constant eye on the mirror, he
sees Jiron reaching what must be the park. The street he’s walking
upon opens out onto a large area with trees, grass and many
walkways. Benches are spaced periodically along the walkways. Some
even now have people taking their ease upon them, primarily
couples.

When James’ group turns onto the street
leading to the park, he glances up and looks around. To Scar and
Potbelly he says, “Try to find an out of the way place where we can
hold up until he needs us.”

Another street down they come to a closed
open air eatery. The place looks like it hasn’t been open for some
time. Adjacent to it is an area deep in shadow with tables and
chairs where patrons could dine on the food they purchase. Scar
leads them to the table furthest from the street where the shadows
are the deepest.

“Best we’re going to find,” he says.

“This will do nicely,” says James. Then to
the pair he says, “Keep watch.”

Nodding, they move back to separate
locations near the street where shadows help to conceal them from
those passing by.

James takes a seat and lays the mirror upon
the table. Everyone else gathers around to see how Jiron makes
out.

After leaving the others behind in the alley
by the inn, he got to thinking about what if Azku doesn’t speak his
language. He almost turned around to take Reilin with him but then
remembered that the note the boy had delivered was written in
northern. Plus, it did say come alone. He hopes Ohan back at the
Order of the Scarlet Sword mentioned that few of them spoke the
Empire’s tongue.

He counts off the streets he passes and when
he comes to the sixth intersection, takes the street branching off
to the left. It takes him some time to traverse the length of the
street to the park, but the street finally ends and the park
unfolds before him.

If it wasn’t for the distraction of his
worry about Tinok, he might’ve been able to enjoy it more. Several
cobblestone paths wind through the trees and grass, benches are
spaced in such a way that those who decide to rest for awhile, may
do so in private. Quite an unusual sight to find here in the
desert.

Just past where the street ends is a large
open area from which the paths through the park begin. A lone
musician is setting up to play there in the open area. He puts a
bowl down on the cobblestones, takes the guitar-like instrument in
hand and soon has a lively melody coursing through the park.

Jiron ignores him and scans the park for any
sign of red lanterns. Not seeing anything immediately, he decides
to take the center path through the park. At some point it has to
intersect or come close to the branching of the river that is
supposed to flow through here. Then it will be easy enough to
follow the water until he comes across the bridge.

Stepping quickly, he enters the park. Lights
begin to flare into being as two men move from lamp pole to lamp
pole, lighting the lanterns hanging there. The sight of them
lighting the lanterns gives him the thought that perhaps the
lanterns on the bridge haven’t been lit yet. Whether they have or
not, he still feels confident that he can find them.

The path he’s on doesn’t go in a straight
line, rather it winds first this way then that in a leisurely
progression through the trees. When at last the smell of water
comes to him, he stops and tries to ascertain which direction it’s
coming from. Before he can determine which way, the sound of water
running over rocks can be heard coming from his right.

Moving off the path, he cuts through a small
copse of trees. When he exits the other side, the small branch of
the river appears before him. He looks first one way then the other
and spies a bridge spanning the water off to his left. No red
lights come from the area, but then none of the other lanterns in
the area have been lit yet.

He can see one of the lantern lighters
making his way along the cobblestone path leading to the bridge.
Light after light flares to life as the man works his way closer,
lighting each lantern in turn. When the man at last lights the
lantern hanging from the pole just before the bridge, Jiron holds
his breath. If those lanterns there on the bridge don’t burn red,
he’s going to have some words with Reilin.

The man approaches the bridge and brings his
long stick with a burning candle on the top toward the lantern.
Jiron watches from the trees as the candle enters the lantern. Then
a burst of red light appears and he sighs in relief. This is the
place.

He’s not exactly sure, but he thinks he may
have a half hour left before the time of the meeting. Scanning the
park, he finds one of the benches that’s close to the bridge.
Fortunately it’s currently not occupied. Facing the bridge as it
is, it will afford him a good view of whoever crosses it. Sitting
down, he settles in to wait.

“What’s he doing?” Stig asks.

“Waiting, of course,” explains Miko.
“There’s still some time before the hour is up.”

“Suppose no one shows?” asks Aleya. Already
she has taken her bow and quiver of arrows from out of her cloak.
The quiver is slung over her shoulder while her bow is in hand,
strung and ready just in case.

“Go back to the Cracked Ladle I guess,”
James replies with a shrug. “We’ll worry about the ‘what ifs’
should it prove necessary.” He always hated it when someone did the
‘what ifs’. It never ended and eventually he got on them about it
and made them stop.

As it looks like nothing is going to happen
right away, they relax. All that is but James who must maintain the
image in the mirror. He’s not about to take the chance that
something may happen should he but looks away for an instant.

A few couples have made their way across the
bridge during the time Jiron spent observing it, as well as half a
dozen kids. At one point while he was waiting, a man came and sat
down on the bench next to him then started talking to him. The man
was dressed well and seemed a friendly sort. Of course the fact
that he was speaking the Empire’s tongue posed a difficult
problem.

Feigning a sore throat and that he couldn’t
talk, Jiron coughed a few times and the man eventually got the
idea. Getting up, he says something that was probably close to
‘Hope you get better’ and then walked off.

As the man walked away, Jiron wondered if
that could have been the man he was supposed to meet. He doubts it,
the man didn’t seem to be other than what he appeared, someone out
for an evening stroll before bedtime.

The time comes when Jiron figures it must be
close to the appointed hour. Coming to his feet, he leaves the
bench behind and makes his way over to the bridge. Still looking
around, he doesn’t see anyone nearby. Stepping out onto the bridge,
he walks until he’s reached about mid-span then stops. Turning to
face one side, he leans his forearms on the rail and waits.

“He’s on the bridge,” James tells them. He
scrolls the image around the area to see if he can discover anyone
approaching.

Aleya comes over and looks at the image in
the mirror. “He’s awfully exposed there,” she says worriedly. “One
arrow and it’s all over.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” says
Brother Willim.

“Yes,” mumbles James, “let’s.” Scrolling the
image further, he suddenly sees half a dozen men moving down a path
that runs along the edge of the water toward the bridge. “Might
have something here,” he announces. The others move in close to
watch.

The path the six men are on comes to a
forking. Either they can continue on the path which continues
straight, or take the other path that crosses another of the
bridges over the water to the other side. The men come to a stop
for a moment. Then three of the men move to take the path over the
bridge. Once on the other side they quickly leave the path and
split up. They then begin making their way through the park toward
the bridge upon which Jiron is waiting. Two of the three remaining
men also leave the path on their side of the water and work their
way toward where Jiron waits.

Stig says, “They’re surrounding him.”

“We can’t just sit here!” exclaims Aleya.
“He needs us.”

Shaking his head, James says, “Not yet.”

“What do you mean not yet?” asks Aleya.
“They are
surrounding
him! We can’t just sit and
wait for them to kill him.”

“We aren’t even sure they mean him any harm
yet,” offers Brother Willim. “If we move prematurely, it may spoil
whatever chance Jiron has of finding out what he needs to
know.”

“But…” she begins then trails off when she
realizes the rest are willing to wait. Moving closer to James, she
watches the events unfolding in the mirror. The five men that have
moved off the path are making a circuitous route around to the far
side of the bridge. Not directly, rather moving back and forth like
they are hunting for someone.

“Could they be looking to see if he’s
brought someone else?” Reilin asks.

Nodding, James says, “That’s entirely
possible.” The man who had remained on the path remains at the spot
where the group split up, as if he’s waiting for something.
Returning the image to the men among the trees, he sees them coming
to meet on the opposite sides of the river further downstream from
the bridge. They pause there for but a moment before returning
along almost the exact same route they took the first time.

Once they’ve come back to the man on the
path, they confer for a moment then the five men move back into the
trees. Before they disappear into the shadows, James sees two of
them remove crossbows they had hidden beneath their cloaks. The
sixth man begins walking quickly toward the bridge where Jiron
waits.

Aleya gasps when she sees the crossbows but
the others tell her they have to wait.

Jiron has grown impatient. It must be past
the time already and still no one has made any attempt to contact
him. He starts to think that perhaps there is another Red Lantern
Bridge in this city and that he’s at the wrong one. Making up his
mind to wait for a count of a hundred heartbeats, then if the man
still hasn’t made an appearance, he’ll leave.

At sixty-six heartbeats, the trod of someone
upon the cobblestones is heard coming toward the bridge. Jiron
turns his eyes to the sound and can see the silhouette of a man
passing through the light from one of the lampposts. As the man
enters the last lighted area before the bridge, Jiron can make out
some of his features.

He’s definitely a man of the Empire, there
can be no doubt of that. Other than that, it’s hard to determine
anything else about him. Turning onto the bridge, the man comes
forward and stops six feet from Jiron.

“Are you the one whom I was to meet here?”
Jiron asks.

“I am,” the man replies.

Pulling forth the necklace, Jiron says, “I
am interested in knowing where you came by this.” He holds it up so
the heart with two diamonds is clearly visible.

The man’s eyes betray the anger he’s keeping
in check. “Is this why you wanted to meet with me?” he asks.

“Yes,” replies Jiron. “It’s of the utmost
importance that I know where you got it.”

“Then what you told Ohan was…” he says, his
words trialing off.

“A ruse,” finishes Jiron. “Yes, I’m sorry
about that. But I desperately need to talk to you.”

The man’s face turns red in anger. “We are
finished here,” he says and abruptly turns around to walk away.

Jiron moves forward and places his hand on
the man’s shoulder. “I need to know where you got this!” he
insists.

From out of the trees, a crossbow bolt flies
and embeds itself in the bridge’s railing not two inches from where
Jiron stands. “Let go or the next one won’t miss,” the man
says.

Jiron glances to the direction from which
the bolt was fired but the light from the lanterns at either end of
the footbridge prevents him from seeing very far into the darkness.
He releases the man’s shoulder and takes a step backward. The man
then continues his way to the end of the bridge.

“Did you see that?” asks Aleya. “They shot a
crossbow bolt at him.” She looks to James who in turn glances to
Scar.

“Go get him and bring him back here,” he
says and then returns his attention to the mirror. As the others
except Miko and Brother Willim rush to Jiron’s aid, he keeps the
bridge’s image in the mirror. Jiron stands there with his arms
slightly out from his body as he watches the man walk away. James
was sure the bolt was more of a warning than anything else.
Otherwise the two men with crossbows would have both fired.

Before the man moves out of the light at the
end of the bridge, he sees Jiron moving his arms. It takes him but
a moment to realize that he’s signaling him to follow the man with
his mirror.

“I don’t think this went well,” he says to
Miko. Scrolling the image, he follows the man as he moves down the
cobblestone path. Once he’s far enough away to be out of visual
sight of the bridge, the five other men that had accompanied him to
the park appear and leave with him.

Brother Willim and Miko sit on either side
of him as together they watch the six men move through the park.
James wants to know what happened to Jiron but doesn’t dare take
the image off the man for fear of losing him. He half expected
Jiron to launch an attack on the man but after several minutes go
by, he returns to the deserted open air eatery with the others.

“You got him?” he asks when he sees James
still watching the mirror.

James nods his head in reply, never taking
his eyes off the man. “What did you find out?” he asks.