Tides of Faith: Travail of The Dark Mage Book Two Read Free

been heard from for two
years. He used to stop off at the Hawk’s Nest when passing through,
but Illan says he has not been there for some time.”
    Such information wasn’t necessarily
bad, in and of itself. Perrilin has been known to disappear from
time to time during periods of undercover work deep within the
Empire. He thought about the significance of his disappearance
coinciding with the attack on his island and the destruction of the
village. It could be a coincidence. He hoped that it would
be.
    A period of quiet settled over the
pair while James digested the news.
    Miko watched as his friend slowly
closed his eyes and slipped away into slumber. “Sleep, my friend. I
shall see what can be discovered.”
    He remained in his chair until Kip and
Father Keller returned with a trio of broth-filled bowls and a
single loaf of bread, suitable fare for those recuperating. “Kip,
attend to their needs.”
    His young Novice nodded.
    “Father Keller, we have work to
do.”
    The Father fell in behind Miko as he
left the room. He remained silent until the door had closed and
they moved down the hallway toward the Inner Sanctum. “Things are
bad, aren’t they?”
    Miko glanced to the man beside him and
nodded gravely. “They very well could be,” he replied, keeping his
voice low. “His island was attacked and very nearly lost his
life.”
    Father Keller gasped. “Who could have
done such a thing?”
    “That is the problem. We do not know.
To be honest, I did not think anyone could stand toe-to-toe with
him and prevail.” Taking a left at a smaller, branching corridor,
he hurried forward. “His wife and child are missing, as is Aleya.”
Aleya being Jiron’s wife who had been in attendance on the island
at the time of the attack.
    Coming to the entrance of the Inner
Sanctum, Miko paused before a blank wall. Intoning arcane, priestly
words and passing his hand across the wall’s surface, he made an
opening appear. Once they were through to the other side, the
opening automatically sealed itself.
    This had been where he and his priests
had drawn James, Jiron and Jira from the ether on that fateful
night. To his right, a narrow archway led to a small room wherein
sat a mirrored table remarkably similar to what James had back on
the island. Perhaps the most important lesson Miko had learned
during his travels with James, had been the need for good
intelligence. Between this table, and his itinerant priests going
out to spread the word and searching for likely candidates, he had
a pretty good idea of the happenings in the world.
    Standing opposite Father Keller, Miko
called forth the power of Morcyth and the flat surface answered his
call. No longer a glassy, reflective field, it fluxed as he sought
Meliana. Figuring her to be the one he could most readily find, he
sent his senses southward. If James was correct in his assumption,
then her father would have collected them and returned with them to
his home in Corillian, a major port city on an island south of the
Empire.
    He would never tell James, but since
he drew his magic from Morcyth, he had an easier time at this.
James often complained that the farther away the target was, the
more magic had to be expended. Miko on the other hand, felt no such
additional draw. He put it down as one of the many benefits given
him for his life of dedication.
    Shortly, he felt something familiar as
the magic narrowed its focus, the familiarity being the presence of
Meliana and Kenny. They sat in an atrium upon a stone bench. She
wore black as befitted a widow, Kenny had on dark
browns.
    “They’re alive,” commented Father
Keller.
    Miko nodded. “That will make James
happy.” With a mental directive, the image changed to that of a
kitchen where half a dozen women busily worked at various cooking
functions. The image settled upon one woman wielding a knife as she
shed tubers of their skins. She too dressed in black.
Aleya.
    Returning the image to Meliana one
last time, he watched