Tranquil Fury by P.G. Thomas Read Free Book Online Page A

tasty meal, and with the bean juice watered down a bit, even Eric enjoyed it. John stuck with water, while Lauren favored her tea. When done, they all helped replace the contents into the wagon, and continued their journey. Eric, Logan, and Lauren sat in the back to keep Zack, and the unconscious Ryan occupied, while John sat up front with Mirtza.
    “We have a long trip today, but we will meet the healers before nightfall,” Mirtza advised.
    As they rode along, Lauren offered to clean some of the burns for Zack, but he declined, was more interested in what had happened. “Tell me everything that I missed.” So, in turn, Lauren, Logan, and Eric repeated what they knew, and had seen over the last day. It was a story they would become very proficient in telling. As they rode along, under the blanket, Zack continued to pick at the plastic that had melted to him, trying to figure out what was happening with his injuries.
    After several hours in silence, John spoke up, “Is it okay to talk?”
    Mirtza nodded his head, “Questions of magic I cannot answer. Not because I am forbidden, it’s just that I am a student, and there is much that I have to learn. The items only loaned to me, to help me on my trip. I know how to operate them, what not to do, and such. Should they break, fix them I cannot.”
    John nodded his head, but did not show his disappointment, “How come we haven’t seen any other people out here?”
     “We are in the Northlands. Most people live on the coast or in the Newlands, and as I understand it, the growing season is short up here, the soil thin, and winters are a horror onto themselves.”
     “When will we get to the healers?”
     “It is at least a day's ride.”
     “What are they like?”
     “In truth, I do not know. I have never met them, and as you will eventually find out, this is my first time to the Northlands. I learned about this place from my first year at school.”
    John looked hard at the soft road. It was old, with lots of ruts and depressions from puddles. After a while, he began to notice two different roads. The main one was made of soft dirt, about fifteen feet wide, and even had boards under some of the old softer spots. The new road seemed to spill over the old road, and onto the surrounding grasslands. The sides having muddy patches, dirt, or gravel exposed by overflowing traffic, but when they came to a small creek or bridge, the two roads would merge back into one. And on the other side, you could clearly see where the original road widened. John looked over at Mirtza, “This is an odd road. I have seen very few crossroads that join, but lots of tracks that meet with it. It also seems to have seen some hard use over the last year.”
    “Yes, I had noticed the same, but I am not sure of what caused it,” Mirtza responded.
    John looked over at him, “When we left the spot where you found us, you used your bracelet to make three routes. We took the middle one. The other two were false trails, weren’t they?”
    There was a surprised look on Mirtza’s face, “Yes.”
    John looked into the back of the wagon, “Eric, can you come up here for a minute?” The seat was wide, so John moved to the center, and Eric sat on the far side. John looked up at Mirtza, and asked him to explain his last statement.
    With a sigh Mirtza said, “You have a smart friend here. When we left the grasslands, I used my bracelet to create three portals. Two of those were false trails.”
    Eric was quick to act on this, but careful not to raise his voice and alarm Lauren, “Are you running from somebody? Are you a wanted man? Are we in danger from those you avoid?”
    “Slow down. Let me explain. When activated, a magic spell makes a noise, the bigger the spell, the bigger the noise. If I prick you with a pin, nobody would hear your comments. If I hit your hand with a hammer, everybody in the back of the wagon would know. If instead, I hit your hand with a big rock, anybody back at your