A Surprising Ally by Peter Mooren

Author:Peter Mooren [Mooren, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Twenty-Five

The trio snuck as close to the men as they could without alerting those standing guard of their presence. Then John reached out with his magic and instantly connected with the air around him. He smiled inwardly at the familiar feeling. He loved this part.

When John was younger, he often likened it to being a great musician or artist. Sometimes, he played a catchy melody by plucking the air currents like strings on a lute. At other times, his air manipulations felt like brush strokes on a canvas as he painted a beautiful panorama. While this moment didn’t elicit either of those particular feelings, John still found it gratifying.

He didn’t pull all the air out of their lungs, but he did pull out just enough. As the five men struggled to breathe, the assassin and acolyte rushed in. One by one, they dragged each man over to a tree so they could tie him up. The acolyte stood the man up while the assassin tied him at the wrists, ankles, and around the waist. They started with the two guards and then moved to the three men sleeping. None of them even tried to fight it because all their effort was spent on their desperate battle to breathe. When all five men were securely bound, John released his magic.

The men gasped as they were finally able to breathe freely again. The assassin watched their breathing slowly return to normal while the leader glared back at him. For a moment, it looked like he was going to say something. But his expression shifted as he appeared to think better of it. Then he looked around at the other men who were tied up. The assassin could see his wordless plea for each to remain silent.

The acolyte waved at the other two to come together. After a quick whispered discussion, the assassin and the air mythic walked into the woods. Ten minutes later, they brought their three horses into camp. After securing them off to the side, they ambled over to the vacated bedrolls and laid down.

The acolyte glanced around at the five men tied to the trees and said, “We’ll talk in the morning, so I suggest getting some sleep—if you can.”

The acolyte chose the first guard shift, and the air mythic took the second, which left the final one for the assassin. When morning finally arrived after his three-hour shift, he was anxious to begin. He looked around at their captives and smiled to himself. He didn’t expect them to get much sleep, so it came as no surprise that there was a noticeable lack of it in their eyes. The assassin knew their exhaustion would only aid him in getting the information he needed.

The acolyte had awakened with the sun, but the air mythic continued to sleep soundly. The assassin’s patience was nearing an end an hour later, though. And he wasn’t sure if it was a coincidence, but John finally rolled onto his back and stretched just as the assassin started whispering to the acolyte about waking him.

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