Hand of Fire: Book 1 of the Master of the Tane

by Thomas Rath

  Thane looked at his hands trying to hold back the tears that were welling up inside. Dor was right. He had to let go of all the weight he carried. He had to do his part because he cared.

  “Besides,” Dor continued with a poorly concealed smile, “if you trained her as well as I think you did, I’m sure she’ll be all right.”

  “What? How did you...? You mean to tell me you’ve known all this time?”

  “Of course. Why else would you be spending so much time alone together? It certainly wasn’t because you liked her.” When Thane didn’t immediately answer Dor gave him a serious look. “Was it?”

  Thane quickly wiped the smile from his face. “No! I mean, you’re the one she’s in love with, remember?”

  Dor just laughed. “How could I have forgotten?”

  Thane lifted an eyebrow.

  “You boys just about ready?” Jack asked, suddenly appearing with the horses. Taking the reigns from him, Thane tossed Jack the rest of the cheese allowing the burly old man a chance at something to eat.

  “How much further until we reach Haykon?” Dor asked, trying unsuccessfully to hide the slight quiver to his voice.

  “Don’t worry Dor,” Jack reassured. “Your visit to a human fort will be very different this time and a lot more comfortable.”

  Dor only nodded, a shiver visibly passing down his spine. Thane also felt himself having apprehensive feelings as a strange fear began groping for his heart.

  “What’s the matter with you two?” Jack mused. “Nothing’s going to.…” Jack’s voice quickly choked off as a dark foreboding sent ice through his veins. The horses reared almost pulling Thane off his feet.

  “What’s going on?” Dor shouted, his voice shaking terribly.

  Jack rushed to Thane’s side and grabbed the reins, trying to help the Chufa boy hold onto the horses. The horses’ eyes rolled back and forth with a look of sheer terror as they pawed at the ground and tried to pull away.

  “By the Mother’s own blood,” Dor yelled. “What is that?”

  Thane glanced over his shoulder and felt his breath sucked suddenly from his lungs as a large, flying mass blocked out the sun casting a menacing shadow over them.

  “Quick,” Jack shouted, “mount up!”

  Dor needed no more encouragement than that. Grabbing his horse by the mane, he bound up onto its back like he belonged there. Once Thane released its reins it took off at a full run across the bridge and down the road towards Haykon. Thane and Jack quickly followed suit scrambling onto the backs of their own horses and giving them free rein as they followed in step behind Dor.

  A terrible scream rained down from the sky sounding the call of doom as another giant shadow passed over them and sent a violent wind ripping at their backs. Thane risked a quick look up and was greeted by the underbelly of a great black, winged creature cloaked in scales and dread. A scream caught in his throat as raw terror threatened to cut off his breathing.

  Looking back him, Dor suddenly screamed, “Use your fire, Thane! Incinerate it!”

  Without thinking, Thane reached a hand into the air and pointed it at the black, winged monster as it banked quickly and then turned back towards them. Thane could see the narrow head pressing forward from the huge body on a long thick neck. Dagger like teeth gleamed in the sun as it belched out another deafening cry. Dark, serpentine eyes locked onto Thane’s as if to steal his life by will alone.

  Thane tried to steady his resolve. This was their only chance; he had to do it. He had to call fire upon the beast like he had done to the wolg in his village. It was the only way. There was no other choice. As his target drew closer, Thane readied his hand and reached down far into his center gathering as much strength as he could. It was almost upon them, this was it. With all his might, he cast it all out, focusing it through his hand and out onto the great beast now only feet away.

  Nothing happened. Thane looked at his hand incredulously just as large, dark talons closed tightly around his arms and then ripped him from his horse.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  The fog covered ground dropped quickly as Teek was lifted higher and higher into the clear, morning sky. His initial thoughts of struggle were, in no time, replaced with the horrible fear of being let go and plummeting to his death. Remembering Zel’s fate, he held on with all his strength to the talons that wrapped his body in their tight, but strangely gentle grasp. He knew, of course, such precautions were useless. If whatever held him wanted him dead he would surely share in what Zel had suffered—an eyeless mass of crumpled flesh.

  Chancing a look up, he could just make out the outstretched head of what had dragged him from the earth. Recognition was instant. He could not mistake the pure, white feathered head mixed with streaks of dark red and brown. It was the giant bird he had saved. He felt weighed down by the unfairness of life with its twists of fate and irony. It was like being cured from swamp gut disease. A dose of rugwort lily killed the disease but it also eventually killed the person taking it. He tried to feel angry about saving his captor’s life but the torturous memories of Brak and Zel were still too fresh in his mind. He had done what he knew was right in his heart, even though the outcome of his actions would, it seemed, prove his own demise.

  Wind rushed past now in gusts chilling his half naked body as temperatures dropped dramatically with the continued increase of altitude. A cold shiver rumbled through him as much from fear as from the chill. He had never felt cold in his life and he decided rather quickly that he didn’t like it. Tears washed unabated across his face with the absolute realization that he was about to die. He had tried to hold onto hope that the bird would set him down in a field and let him go as payment for saving its life, but the giant bird just kept going higher and higher.

  Thoughts of his family passed like phantoms across his mind tearing at his heart. It wasn’t the thought of dying that made him so sad, it was the thought of his mother and siblings. They would wait for months with a soul piercing hope in their hearts that would only turn to desperation and then finally to despair when he didn’t come home. His mother would then be forced to leave the little ones behind and complete an appeasing journey for him. Undoubtedly, it would be too much for them fearing that, like their brother, their mother would never return.

  “Oh, Twee,” he whispered. “Where are you?”

  Time seemed to slow to a steady crawl as they continued on through the frigid air high above the forested ground. The sun shone bright against a crystal sky giving Teek a small bit of comfort with its warming rays. He felt it strikingly ironic how such beauty could be present at the final moments of ones life. Death had always seemed such a dark and lonely thing, something to be feared and never discussed. It didn’t seem right that the world could continue in such majesty with death looming so near.

  Suddenly he noticed that the terrain below had changed into the jagged edges of a mountain range throwing the ground up towards them in the form of large peaks and gnarled earth. Snow still covered much of the rock dotted with dark smudges that Teek thought must be vegetation. The bird unexpectedly banked to the left and then maintained its angle circling. Where were they going? Why hadn’t the bird dropped him yet? They were certainly high enough.

  Teek looked down and searched the terrain below trying to guess where they might land. A great pinnacle jutted up just underneath them holding what appeared to be tree branches weaved together into a gigantic bowl. He went pale. Babies. Was he to be fodder for the birds young? He started to struggle, preferring to drop to his death than to be eaten alive, but it was no use. He was held too tightly to slip his arms out even in the slightest measure. The great bird glanced at him as if slightly irritated by the movement and then let out a piercing cry. Closing his eyes tightly, Teek prayed to the ancestors it would be quick and painless.

  Without warning, the talons that held him released their grip and he plummeted down. His prayers had been answered. But it was not the drop he had expected. In fact, it really couldn’t have b
een considered a plummet at all. Almost immediately after being let go, he struck the large nest, which was surprisingly soft. This was not the prayer he had begged for after all.

  Curling himself into a ball, he tried to protect his face and stomach as best he could as he waited to be ripped apart by a multitude of sharp beaks. When nothing happened, he chanced a quick peek and found only the twisting, weaved innards of the bird’s gargantuan nest. It was empty. The nest was empty and so was the sky. The bird was gone. The ancestors be praised! But, why would it bring me here?

  Teek wasted no time pondering the question but instead searched the nest’s perimeter hoping for a way to climb down and escape. It may not have had young in it but that did not mean he wasn’t there for a later meal. He quickly searched all sides but nothing but a straight drop of more than a hundred feet greeted him at every turn. Checking the nest, he was able to find small bits of rope and thongs of leather possibly left by other victims but nothing appeared long or strong enough to allow him to lower himself down. Another rounded pinnacle jutted up from the north side stretching above him about ten feet but that was not where he wanted to go. He was stuck. The only way down was the same way he got up. Well, I’ve got my dagger still, he thought trying to rouse his courage. When it comes back I can at least protect myself. If I’m to die, it won’t be as bird feed.

  Sitting down heavily, he leaned back and wrapped his arms around his knees in an attempt to warm his half frozen limbs. Thankfully, the nest provided some shelter from the howling wind that blew continuously over the top of the twisted heap of twigs and branches. He squinted up at the clear sky and watched for the bird’s return as feelings of hopelessness and desperation started clouding his thoughts.

  What would Twee do? So many times his old friend had told him stories of desperate and daring escapes from orcs and other foul things; stories of heroic action and lifesaving deeds. He thought through them all, but was unable to recall a tale that fit his situation. There has to be some way.

  The bird’s large, white body suddenly passed overhead casting an ominous shadow over the nest as it blocked out the sun’s warm rays. Teek jumped up and pulled his dagger preparing himself for his final battle as the giant bird swooped lower and lower. He had never really used a dagger before and was certainly never in a fight such as the one facing him now, but he brought the blade up anyway in an effort to appear a formidable foe. He slashed it around making what he thought were scary noises.

  The bird glanced at him with what Teek swore was a look of contempt and then let out a piercing cry that shook him to the core. Faltering somewhat in his resolve, he still managed to keep his feet and focus on his foe though his arm had dropped and his legs now shook uncontrollably. Then, without warning, it dropped something from its knifelike talons that plunged right towards him. Darting to the nest’s edge, Teek jerked his head back just in time to see a fish at least twice his size, land with a sickening thwack mere inches from his shaking body.

  He couldn’t help but stare incredulously at his new companion lying motionless on the sticks at his feet. It was enormous. Never in his life had he seen a fish of such grand size. Movement in his periphery drew his attention to the right just in time to see his captor perch itself gracefully upon the jutting pinnacle rising up past the nest.

  Eerily intelligent blue eyes stared at him making him feel a little uncomfortable. He felt like he was being examined. He tore his eyes away from the stare but still watched the bird cautiously. As of yet it had made no threatening moves but the horror of what had happened to his previous captors was still fresh in his mind.

  Long moments passed but still nothing happened. The bird kept watching him but that was all. It didn’t even appear to be interested in his slender body. Looking at the fish, Teek realized that his own scrawny flesh would be nothing compared to the meat that it offered. Maybe he wasn’t going to become food after all. Teek felt his courage build. He looked up at the sharp blue eyes again. Surprisingly, they didn’t really look threatening. Pointing his dagger at the fish he said with the slightest shake in his voice, “What’s this for?”

  The bird let out a soft cooing noise that sounded foreign coming from an animal its size.

  “And what is that suppose to mean?”

  As if in answer, it raised its head and moved it forward and back in a quick jerking motion all the time repeating the cooing sound.

  Teek looked down at the dead fish making sure he could still catch the movements of the bird above him. His stomach suddenly reminded him that he hadn’t eaten anything since early that morning. He grinned. “You want me to eat this, don’t you?”

  Again, the bird cooed and jerked its head as if swallowing a giant beetle.

  “I guess you wouldn’t mind if I had a little of your dinner would you?” he asked feeling a bit less shaky. “I think there’s plenty here for the both of us. After all,” Teek continued his courage growing, “you wouldn’t want to eat a person with an empty stomach. I mean, it would be like eating just the shell of the crab, right?” Teek stared up at the majestic, white bird as he slowly squatted down by the fish.

  Watching him for a moment, it just breathed out another soft cooing sound and then turned its head and started preening its feathers as if it had completely lost interest in him. Taking this as an affirmative answer, Teek quickly sliced his dagger into the fish and cut himself off a fairly large chunk. It tasted wonderful. He hadn’t realized how famished he really was. In a quick minute he devoured the chunk on his dagger and then flipped the skin over his shoulder and out of the nest. No sense in leaving a mess around here and stinking up the place. Smacking his lips, he gave the bird another quick glance to make sure it hadn’t changed its mind and then quickly cut off another piece.

  “You know, there really is no sense in eating me at all,” Teek reasoned in between bites. “I mean, look at me.” Lifting his arms he waved them around to help make his point. “I’m nothing but bones. Why eat me when you can have some of this tasty fish?”

  The bird didn’t respond, working furiously now on the underside of one of its great wings.

  Teek took another bite and pondered on his own words. Scratching his head, his eyebrows furled into a deep scowl. “Maybe you don’t like fish.” Stopping for a moment, he stared at the half eaten chunk of flesh on his dagger. “Maybe you’re just trying to fatten me up so there will be more of me to devour.” Looking back up at the bird, Teek shook the meat-covered dagger. “Is that what you’re trying to do?”

  The bird glanced at him for only a quick moment before switching to the other wing.

  “Well, it won’t work,” he shouted in indignation before tearing off another bite of fish. “I mean, you’ll starve to death before I get fat enough to even make me a tiny morsel. It’s useless, you might as well let me go and find someone a bit larger.”

  The bird stopped its preening for a moment and stared down at the Waseeni boy who abruptly stopped eating and shrank back expectantly. A tense moment passed before the giant bird lifted one of its deadly talons and commenced rubbing its beak along its nails as if to sharpen them. The color momentarily left Teek’s face as he brought another chunk of fish up to his mouth.

  Suddenly out of things to say, he finished his meal and then sat back against the nest completely satisfied with his stomach now full of fish. Never in his life could he remember feeling so filled up. Life in the Teague was rough at best. Many a night he could remember going to bed without any supper at all only to be greeted by less in the morning. At the thought of bed, a large yawn escaped from his mouth. The sun was already making a quick exit on the far horizon, taking with it the warmth of its bright rays and promising a cold, miserable night. No matter, he thought sadly looking up at the bird that now worked on its other leg. I won’t be getting any sleep tonight anyway.

  Curling up with his dagger and shivering against the night chill, Teek fought with his eyelids to keep them open and glued on the bird above as its image blurred in and ou
t of focus. Another yawn distorted his eyes with tears drawing his vision into a coagulation of dark, unfamiliar shapes. Blinking furiously, he was finally able to clear his sight only to be greeted by an empty rock tower. The bird was gone.

  * * *

  Teek woke slowly, caressed in a feeling of soft warmth and contentment. It would have been so easy to fall back to sleep but something was desperately trying to swim to the surface of his groggy mind that, no matter how hard he tried, wouldn’t be suppressed. Finally giving in to the impulse, he moved his legs in an effort to stretch and bring himself to full consciousness. As he did, something moved above him. His eyes shot open in horrified realization as his mind instantly drained of the thought clouding haze that had gathered there giving way to complete clarity of mind. THE BIRD!

  He jerked in a frenzied attempt to bring up his dagger and ward off the attack that had finally come in a moment of weakness and exhaustion. With his sudden movement, the bird quickly took to the air in a powerful flap of its enormous wings that sent a rush of ice cold air crashing down around him immediately stealing his warmth and anymore thought of attack. Clutching his arms about him in a vain attempt to control the shiver that raced through his body, Teek watched warily as the giant bird swiftly disappeared into the bright, morning sky.

  Morning? Teek quickly turned himself about drawing his bearings from the pinnacle at the north end of the nest. Sure enough, the sun was rising, not setting. I must have slept all night. But the bird, it was on top of me. His teeth chattered against the cold. I wish it still was. Obviously it wasn’t trying to kill me or I never would have woken up.

  Pushing himself against the nest’s north side in an effort to block off the wind and catch a few of the rays coming from the new sun, Teek noticed a pile of large, white feathers laying untouched by the wind in the middle of the nest. Checking the sky to assure himself his deadly friend wasn’t about to return, he scrambled over to the feathers and quickly gathered them about him. He could still feel some of the warmth left by the bird’s body heat as it absorbed into his own settling his shivers down to small rumbles.