Free Light in the Barren Lands: Travail of The Dark Mage Book One by Brian S. Pratt

Five
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    More dockside explosions shattered the peace of the island as James and Jiron left the manor house behind. James paused by the mouth of the pathway leading to the docks to watch a pillar of black smoke rise.
    “Is there going to be anyone left?” Jiron asked, as he too gazed at the dark cloud.
    “I hope not.”
    Over the past two years, he had “mined” the major beach areas with magic powered crystals that would remain dormant until he activated the island’s defenses. Once activated, they would remain dormant until an intruder's proximity set them off.
    Boom!
    Another of the mines blew.
    “Come on,” said James as he broke into a run toward the dock. More smoke could be seen billowing above the treetops.
    Jiron drew his knives and followed.
    Boom!
    Racing down the path, he felt the use of magic further ahead, but whether it was due to the mines going off or the mage on the ship, he couldn’t be sure. The prickling sensation grew as the distance to the dock narrowed.
    A crashing sound to the right announced the appearance of Rocky. A tree toppled as the stone construct smashed it aside in its haste to reach the dock. Whump! Whump! Its every stride sent tremors rippling through the ground. Ignoring the pair as it came onto the path, Rocky turned and began moving toward the dock area with a speed impossibly fast for so massive a construct.
    James sent his senses out and found the other golems, still much too far away to make any difference. Then he cast his senses forward toward the beach just as another mine went off. Nothing living remained on the beach. Scanning farther, he could tell that the ship still held many bodies. About to release the magic and return his senses to normal, a white hot spear of pain blasted into his outreached senses.
    “Ahhh!” he cried as the spear of pain traveled back along the path of magic and slammed into his mind. Reeling from the shock, James hit the ground.
    “James!” exclaimed Jiron. Coming to his friend’s side, the one-time pit fighter found him unconscious. “Come on man!” he shouted as he gripped James’ shoulders. Giving them a sharp shake, he tried to bring him back around.
    Boom!
    Another explosion rocked the beach area. Jiron couldn’t make out what was happening there, but hoped that whatever defenses James had in place would take care of the situation. “Wake up,” he urged the unconscious man as shook him once more. Such was the urgency that James awaken, Jiron twice slapped him hard across the face in quick succession. About to land a third blow, he saw his friend’s eyelids flutter open. Though they didn’t appear to be focusing very well, it looked like he was regaining his faculties.
    “Thank the gods,” he said. Bringing James to a sitting position, he raised his friend’s head so that their gazes could meet.
    Pupils began dilating as James brought the world back into clarity. Blinking several times, Jiron’s face finally came into focus.
    “What happened to you?” Jiron asked.
    “The mage,” replied James. “Hit me with a magic blast of some kind.” Shaking his head, he tried to rid himself of the residual affects of the enemy mage’s attack.
    Boom!
    “Can you do magic?”
    James raised his hand and though the effort did little to quiet the throbbing in his head, made the orb appear upon his palm. “Yes.”
    “Good.” Coming to his feet, he helped James to stand and they began heading once more toward the beach. “I thought you had a handle on this magic business.”
    “I do,” he replied. “To a point.” Still a bit shaky, he worried that his legs would give out at any minute. “The last time I went up against another mage was back when we rescued Tinok.” He cast a sidelong glance to his friend. “And you know how that turned out.”
    Jiron nodded grimly. Five years ago, James had all but wiped the presence of Dmon-Li off the map, and in the process had left behind a massive