Then from the direction of the castle area, a murmur begins working its way through the crowd and they see a group of important looking people making their way along the docks. The leader of the group is obviously from the Empire, and by his dress he must be the Ambassador.
“There he is!” breathes Fifer as they see James walking within the group of guards behind the Ambassador. His hands and feet are manacled and the short chain between his ankle restraints forces him to move in a shuffle.
“Now?” asks Miko, ready to extract his vengeance.
“No,” Illan says. “Let’s move a little bit closer.” As they move through the throng of people on the dock, he contemplates this foolhardy venture. They haven’t made any plans for escape should they even manage to get him free. How are they even going to get out of town? Events are simply moving along too rapidly.
By the time the Ambassador’s procession reaches the gangplank to the ship, they’ve managed to work their way down to the edge of the crowd. James lifts his head and sees them there. He can see in their eyes that they plan to do something foolish. Looking directly at Miko, he shakes his head. He does the same thing with Jiron.
“Is he telling us not to do anything?” Miko whispers to Illan.
“I think so,” he replies. “He knows if we do anything here, it’ll come to ruin. Too many people and guards.”
“Then what are we to do?” Jiron asks.
From behind them, a voice says, “I’d suggest keeping your hand’s away from your weapons.”
Turning around, they see Lord Colerain standing there, a smirk upon his face. Flanking him are four crossbowmen as well as a dozen armed men. “Now, we don’t want to make a scene here,” he tells them. “So if you’ll follow along quietly, no one will get hurt.”
The crowd around them begins backing away when they see what’s transpiring between the two groups. The Ambassador’s group, having already past their location doesn’t take notice of what’s going on.
Miko reaches for his sword when Illan grabs him and says, “No! He’ll kill us all.” Staring into the eyes of Lord Colerain, Miko’s anger and rage almost gets the better of him again. “Not now,” Illan insists.
Releasing his sword, Miko continues glaring at him.
Lord Colerain gives him a victorious grin and turns as he leads them away from the docks.
Miko glances over his shoulder to where Paul and the other kids are mingled in with the crowd. Paul stares in disbelief as they’re being led away. Then Miko sees him say something to another boy who begins running through the crowd toward one of the streets leading away from the docks.
Just before he’s led from the dock area completely, he casts one more look toward the ship and sees James as he’s led aboard.
Chapter Twelve
“You’re not going to get away with this!” Illan tells him as they leave the dock area.
“And who is going to stop me?” he asks. “You? You’re wanted for murdering a visiting diplomat. We even have witnesses.”
“James’ retribution will be hard indeed when he learns of your involvement,” threatens Miko.
“I think I have little to fear from him,” he says. “It’s unlikely we’ll ever see him again.”
Miko’s anger turns to worry for his friend. If he is drugged and incapable of using his magic, just what can he do? In a fight he’s pretty useless, he can’t use a sword or anything. And then his mind turns to Gwynne and Daria, those sweet girls now in the hands of merciless men who only want to make a profit off them. He feels they’ll be safe until they’re auctioned off, girls who are untouched tend to go for more. But how long do they have until they stand upon the auction block?
Glancing back, he can see Paul and the rest of his group following along behind, keeping a discreet distance.
They proceed in silence as they’re lead through the streets. He’s pretty sure they’re being taken to the castle area though not entirely. Up ahead the street opens into a wide plaza with a large central fountain where several streets converge. Along the edges are many merchants selling a variety of goods to the people passing through.
“Thief!”
A cry from across the plaza draws their attention. “Guards! Thief!” a fat merchant selling loaves of bread hollers as a boy races away through the crowd with one of the merchant’s loaves tucked under his arm.
Members of the city guard in the area give immediate chase. The boy races through the crowd, dodging nimbly as he makes his way to one of the streets which merges onto the plaza.
“Stop!” one of the guards hollers to the boy but the lad ignores the command and reaches the street. Soon, both he and the guards are out of sight.
At first, Miko had thought this some ploy of Paul and the others, but when he didn’t recognize the one who stole the bread, he dismisses the idea. As their group crosses the plaza and come near the beautiful fountain of three women who are pouring water out of earthen jugs, he sees the boy who Paul had sent running back at the docks when they were being led away by Lord Colerain. He’s standing on the edge of the fountain.
Suddenly, he raises his hand and the crowd around them surges as dozens of boys, ranging from older teens to a couple who couldn’t be more than eight or nine, jump the guards surrounding Miko and the others.
As the guards are thrown to the ground, a melee erupts and soon the whole area is one big mass of fighting. Regular citizens scream as they race away from the combatants. Paul appears out of the maelstrom of fighting, struggling people. “Come on!” he cries as he takes Miko’s arm.
Leading him away, Illan and the others follow right behind as they make a break for the far side of the plaza.
“Get them!” “Smash their face!” Cries ring out throughout the plaza as the boys pummel Lord Colerain and his guards. Miko glances back and sees a guard run one boy through with his sword just as two more boys tackle him from behind. A knife flashes in one of the boy’s hand and the guard soon lies still upon the ground.
“We don’t have much time!” urges Paul as they enter the street and leave the plaza behind. Soon, horns can be heard as the city guard makes its presence known. They begin flooding into the plaza from all directions.
“Who were those guys?” Jiron asks him.
“Friends,” Paul replies. Taking them through back alleys, he leads them on a circuitous path back to the harbor. When they get there, they see the Empire’s ship already away from the docks and heading out to sea.
“Damn!” Illan cries. “We’re too late.”
Miko turns to him and asks, “What can we do now?”
Illan stands there in indecision.
When no answer is forthcoming, Jiron says, “We have to do something!”
“Jiron?” a voice off in the crowd asks.
He turns to find Meliana standing there in disbelief. “I didn’t think I was going to find any of you,” she says. Breaking into a smile, she says, “Father said it was unlikely, but I thought…”
“Meliana!” he cries, startling her with the intensity with which he said her name. “You have a ship!”
“Well yes we do,” she replies. “It’s my father’s really. He was nice enough to allow me to…”
Miko comes forward and says, “Take us to your father.”
“Quick!” insists Jiron.
Her eyes widen as she recognizes him from when he had originally spoke to her and her father earlier. She glance to him, then to Jiron, “Miko?”
Jiron nods and takes her hand. “Yes. We don’t have time to explain. James is in trouble and we need to see your father right away.”
Gasping, she says, “Trouble?”
“Yes,” replies Jiron. “Now, where’s your father.”
Turning slightly, she points to a vessel at the dock, “He’s just finishing loading our cargo…”
Dragging her quickly, he heads in that direction. The rest of their group follows. “What’s going on?” she asks as they run toward where her father is directing the unloading of the last wagon.