A Short Little Jaunt - Part 8

The following is a short story revolving around the fantasy story 'The Wall Outside'. There will be serveral parts, one each day until Oct 31st. It uses some of the characters of 'The Wall Outside', but is not part of main book. 'The Wall Outside' is currently available in digital format at http://www.amazon.com/The-Wall-Outside-Series-ebook/dp/B009FLOMLI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350814435&sr=8-1&keywords=the+wall+outside+by+james

And now, 'A Short Little Jaunt' . . . part 8

Jonna jerked the wood from the fire, and plunged the burning end toward the cursed man.  The man screamed as the fire caught.  It combusted on his tattered clothing, and then spread to his wooden leg.

“Bob, the other door!  The door he came through!”

“What?  I don’t want to go in there!”

Jerking back, Jonna wrenched his sword free from the cursed man’s burning body.  With both burning wood and sword in hand, he backed toward the door that led deeper into the inn.

The man fell back, still screaming in agony.  “You fool!  I cannot die.  I cannot die!  You have only made your death more painful!”

“Quickly!  Bob!”

“Fine, I’m coming!” Bob zipped away from the main inn’s door as he gathered toward Jonna.  “What if there’s more of ‘him’ in there?”

“We’ll take our chances.”  Jonna refused to take his eyes off the burning body; there was no telling how long the flames would slow him down.  “Tell me if the door is solid.  See if it will lock.”
The haunting wind shifted, scattered debris, and turned toward the burning man.  As it focused on the man, the flames began to snuff out.

“Bob!”

“Yes, it will lock!  But what good is--”

“Get inside!”

“It’s dark in there!”

“Bob!  You do have pixie sight, remember?”

Bob grinned.  “Oh yeah, that’s right.”  He zipped past the door into the dark.  “Not bad really.  A long hall one way, and a right turn the other.  Hmm, there are several doors on both sides, and set of stairs going up.”

Jonna turned, ducked inside, and slammed the door shut.  He looked for the way to lock the door, and spotted a wooden bar that slide across.  The wood scraped as it slid in place.  “We don’t have much time.”

~ James William Peercy

For those interested, what is 'The Wall Outside' about?

Step across the barrier and what will you find?
A place of magic just out of sight?
A pixie, a leprechaun, or even a sprite?

What starts as a vacation, turns into a mess. For Jonna, there's
more at stake than meets the eye. Through pouring rain,
misdirection, and a curious mind, Jonna crossed the barrier
between our world and magic.

Now forced to return across the barrier, Jonna battles Dark Mages, angry leprechauns, and a ruthless Minotaur, all in an effort to find his wife. To do this, he must locate the stolen Rune Blade and rescue a beautiful elvish princess.

But what can a human do when faced with a world of magic?