Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li: The Morcyth Saga Book Three Read Free

shuts the door and turns back to Miko, “Relax, you do look
nice.”
    “So do you,” he replies. “Sorry I
laughed.”
    Smiling, James says, “Don’t worry about it,
I do look somewhat funny in these clothes. I just hope we’re not
the only ones to be wearing something like this.”
    “Me too,” admits Miko.
    “Shall we go?” he asks Miko.
    “May as well get this over with,” he tells
him.
    Holding the door open for him, he says,
“After you, Torchy.”
    Miko gives him an annoyed look and says,
“Would you stop calling me that?”
    “Okay, sorry,” he apologizes, not looking
the least bit sorry.
    They leave the room and head downstairs to
the banquet hall where they find the servants still putting up the
last bits of decoration. Banners and flowers are everywhere, giving
the room a festive and cheerful feel. Over to one side, a dozen
musicians are setting up on a stage where they will be performing
during the banquet. James is intrigued by the different instruments
they have. Shortly, he begins to hear the beginnings of them tuning
their instruments, somewhat reminiscent of his own short stint in
the school band. He’d played the trumpet.
    They see their hostess, decked out in a
flowing lavender dress and marshalling her servants like a general
on the eve of battle. She continually barks out orders and her
‘soldiers’ snap to obey. Noticing them there in their new clothes,
she gives them a nod of approval before returning to the business
of getting the hall ready in time.
    Miriam walks in through a door on the other
side of the hall. A flowing blue dress with intricate embroidery
about the chest and bodice, she makes a striking figure. She
motions them to follow her as she makes her way to the main
entrance. “My, don’t we look fine,” she says when they join
her.
    “You too, milady,” Miko says as he gives her
a slight bow.
    “Don’t ‘milady’ me,” she says, flashing him
a smile. “This isn’t going to start for a while, why don’t we go
outside for a bit? There’s someone that I’d like you to meet,
James.”
    “Oh?” he asks, intrigued.
    “She’s a friend of mine and I’ve been
telling her all about your exploits, the ones Jiron has been nice
enough to share with me,” she tells him.
    Tongue suddenly going dry, his stomach makes
with the butterflies as he follows her in trepidation down the
hallway to the door leading outside. Meeting new people, especially
of the female persuasion, has never been easy for him.
    When he passes through the door to the
outside, he sees a girl standing off by herself under a nearby
tree, watching them as they approach. She’s a year or two younger
than he is and very lovely. Brown hair flowing past her shoulders
and wearing a beautiful dress of blue with a stylish design
stitched about the hem.
    As they approach, Miriam whispers to him,
“She’s the daughter of one of the shippers on the island, a family
of high standing.” When they come close, she makes the
introductions. “James,” she says, “this is Meliana. Meliana, this
is James, and Miko.”
    She gives him a curtsy and says, “Nice to
meet you.”
    When he stands there tongue-tied for a
moment, Miko elbows him in the ribs which snaps him out of it.
“Uh,” he says, his voice barely audible due to the dryness of his
throat. He swallows and then says, “Pleasure to meet you too,
Meliana.”
    “Miriam has told me so much about you,” she
tells him as she takes his arm. They begin to walk leisurely around
the grounds as she continues talking, “You must be very brave.”
    “Well…” he starts but then has to clear his
throat to try to keep his voice clear. “Well, I suppose so. But at
the time I didn’t feel very brave, you just do what you have
to.”
    “Ooh,” she says as she grips his arm
tighter. “I’d love to hear about it.”
    What can he tell her that wouldn’t involve
telling her about the magic? They walk for a moment before he
begins to describe the jail break