by Thomas Rath
Turning back to Jne he was just in time to see her dispatch the last orc, the other one already lying in its gore at her feet. He was almost sad he had not been able to watch her and the grace she exhibited while wielding her weapons. It was a beautiful dance of death that both captivated and terrified at the same instant. As she turned toward him, he could see the battle rage that still clouded her vision as if her lust for blood had yet to be satiated. Glaring at him, she suddenly brought back one of her swords and let it fly. Caught off guard, he had no chance to move out of the way as the blade whistled just past his ear and landed into something solid behind him.
Too late, he brought up his swords, eyeing Jne with trepidation but she just smiled at him. It was beautiful, and deadly. Nodding her head she motioned for him to turn around. His first thought was that she meant to try again but this time with him facing away and defenseless but he quickly dismissed it. He knew that had she meant him dead she would not have missed with the first throw and her honor would never allow her to attack him from the rear; he hoped. Slowly, he did as she’d motioned and gave his back to her. There at his feet was her sword pierced through the heart of the first orc he’d attacked with his dagger.
“Guess it wasn’t quite dead,” she said and then thrust her remaining sword into the orc’s heart that had taken her dagger in the neck.
Thane put down his swords and then moved over to her side. “Thanks,” he said rather sheepishly, embarrassed he had thought her intentions other then noble. Jne merely shrugged, reaching down to remove the dagger protruding from the orc’s neck. Wiping it clean on the grass she stood and moved to retrieve her sword. Thane cleaned his own weapons and then returned them comfortably to their scabbards on his back.
“Think they’ll be missed?” he asked as Jne pulled her sword from the orc’s chest.
“Normally, I would say yes, but since they travel with so many, I cannot believe that any will notice they are missing. And even if they do,” she continued, handing Thane his dagger, “with this lot, none will much care one way or the other. Orcs think only of themselves.”
Thane nodded, taking a deep breath, trying to calm the battle rage that still raced through his blood. “Best we scout our perimeter to make sure no more groups are heading in this direction. If any were close they would have heard the fighting.”
Jne smiled at him, an all too rare wonder that always made his heart pound faster. “I would like that,” she said and then turned and raced north. Thane stood for a moment watching her quietly move away before turning to the south and east to do his own scouting. He could easily have used the wind to search the whole area but did not want to become dependant on his Tane and allow his tracking skills to dull from misuse. Plus, a silent run through the grass would help settle his heart and cool his blood.
It was an hour before dawn when he finally returned. Both had seen other groups but nothing threatened their position so they left them alone. Thane had followed one group for some time, sneaking in close enough to make out facial features before turning away and heading back toward the main group. The groups were obviously hunting parties trying to find the unwary or wild horse but from what Thane saw and what Jne told him, it didn’t appear that they had had any luck save for a half rotted horse’s carcass that one group eagerly grabbed and returned to their camp.
“We had better back away a mile or so before the sun rises and we are spotted,” Jne said, finishing her report. She too had seen other groups but nothing that caused her any alarm. They were easy to track with the amount of noise they made. They had been emboldened by their large numbers making them easier to keep track of, yet at the same time, more dangerous.
Thane nodded his agreement and they quietly gathered the horses and moved back west away from the orc mass. Thane offered to take the first watch soliciting a quick rebuttal from Jne who then, just as quickly, lowered her head and nodded in agreement. She was making progress. He watched four hours beyond sunup without any threat or change before wakening Jne for her watch. “The orcs have started moving again,” he commented to her before he rolled up in his blanket and quickly found sleep.
When he awoke, three hours later, Jne offered him some of the midday meal she had prepared and then both readied to move ahead. Thane thought it best to use the wind one last time to make sure their path was safe and also try to get a clearer look at Tam. He quickly found the orc camp from the night before but nothing was left save a large swath of crushed grass. Such a group could be tracked by a blind child, he thought. To the north he could make out the last trailing orcs as they made their way into the mountains heading for the gathering beyond. He turned his nose up at the stench they left behind. Just like trolls, their smell announces them.
Gathering more wind, he shot ahead reaching for Haykon with all speed. It wasn’t long before he could feel the pull from Tam’s Tane calling to him like a beacon in the night. Circling the town he ignored the bustle that was extreme for even such a large city as Haykon and pushed eagerly ahead to the window where he knew he would see her. Gathering the wind around him like a cushion, he slowly descended to the building below and peered through the window.
She was there. And as he’d feared, heavy cords were bound tightly around her arms and ankles, keeping her tied to the bed. Oh Tam. His heart reached out to her in agony just as his blood started to flare. Taking a strand of air he pushed it forward against the glass as if to bang it in anger and was pleased and surprised to see it suddenly bounce open. Accepting the invitation, he swirled the wind into a funnel and moved into the room for a closer look. He knew it was extremely dangerous to do so knowing that should the window shut he would lose the airflows that were keeping him aloft and alive, but he needed to get closer to her. He needed to give what comfort, if any, he could to encourage her to hold on.
Approaching the bed, he stopped suddenly as Tam rolled her head towards him and opened her eyes. He was shocked by how worn she looked but even more shocked when, with eyes wide, she spoke his name. “Thane?”
He smiled almost unable to control the thrill that shot through him to hear her speak his name. “Tam, can you hear me?”
“Oh, Thane!” she suddenly screamed, frantically pulling on the ropes with an animal fury.
He was slightly taken aback by her reaction and was about to say something more when the door to the room burst open and a robed man shot in. Thane’s anger flared and was focused with full force on the robed figure, knocking him away with a blast of wind as he tried to grapple with Tam. Regaining his balance, the man turned toward him as he readied to release another blast of wind. The man hesitated for a brief moment and just stared, giving Thane the feeling that he was looking right at him. It made him pause. Suddenly, the man shook his head and brushed past him. Thane turned to see what he was about. The window! He had no time. He should have blasted him again when he had the chance but it was too late. Gathering more currents, he shot for the opening and just barely squeezing past as the robed figure slammed the window shut.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Thane?” Tam looked at the apparition that had suddenly entered her room, interrupting her sleep. She had been dreaming about Thane so to see him in her first moments as she woke didn’t at first seem odd, but the apparition stayed and even moved closer. Was it his spirit come to take its revenge because she never came to help him? A great sense of guilt suddenly closed in on her making it hard for her to breathe. Then it spoke.
“Tam, can you hear me?”
It was too much. Seeing him was too much when she knew that he might be gone forever; that she may never be able to hold him and tell him how sorry she was for everything. The anguish was too much. “Oh, Thane!” she screamed tearing at the ropes that bound her wrists and ankles. She wanted to embrace him, she had to get off the bed and hold him, beg for his forgiveness, beg for him to live.
Bren shot into the room to try and soothe her but a sudden blast of wind knocked him over, sending him sprawling across her
knocking his head against her thrashing knee. Quickly righting himself, he turned toward the window and stopped, staring in unbelief at what appeared to be a figure standing before him wavering in and out of focus. His skull throbbed from the collision. Must have bumped it harder than I thought. Shaking his head, he pushed for the window, pressing it closed against the fierce gust that was blowing through.
Looking through the glass he was surprised to find the sky relatively clear of clouds and the sun shining brightly. None of the foliage visible from the room seemed to be moving either. He shook his head again. He had been sleeping in the chair outside Tam’s room when he first heard her screams. I must have been more tired than I thought.
Tam screamed again, thrashing against her restraints, calling out the name Thane, over and over. Bren tried to calm her but she was hysterical and would not be controlled or comforted. Finally Kat came in, having heard the screams from outside, and rushed to Bren’s side to see if she could help. “Go get Dor,” was all he said though, sending her back out in search of the one person who seemed to have any control over Tam. Kat obliged but was not too happy with the request. She hated seeing those two together. It made her sick to her stomach.
Bren at first did his best to hold Tam down but found it only caused him greater pain. So, when Dor and Kat finally rushed back into the room, they found him sitting quietly in the chair, well away from Tam’s bed, holding a hand over his left eye. Tam was still screaming Thane’s name over and over and thrashing about the bed digging the restraining ropes into her flesh and drawing blood from her wrists and ankles. Dor went to her bed and grabbed her arms.
“Tam!” he yelled. “Stop! It’s me, Dor!” She continued to thrash but her efforts slowed visibly. “Tam,” Dor continued, “slow down and tell me what is wrong.”
Kat shook her head. “Still delirious from dranlok would be my guess.”
Dor shot her a hard look, which only made her more indignant. Tam finally settled down to a mere whimper and when he turned back to her he found that she was staring at him; a blank look on her face. He reached a hand up and brushed the sweaty hair from her eyes.
“Shhh, Tam. Everything’s all right,” he said softly. “Just relax and tell me what’s wrong.”
Tam seemed to finally register his face and then broke into uncontrollable sobs. “Oh, Dor,” she whispered, the great tears pouring down her cheeks.
Dor turned to Bren and Kat, an angry look twisting his face. “How long until she is finally free of this Mother cursed drug?”
Kat stared defiantly back at him, still mad at his reaction to her first comment. Bren glanced quickly over at her and then shook his head. “We can’t be sure. None can say how long it will take her to finally overcome its effects.”
Dor clenched his fists in angry frustration. He knew he could not take this out on either of them. They were, after all, the ones who had helped her get this far in the first place. Without Bren and Kat, Tam and he both would have died.
His face softened as he dropped his head to his chest. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I know that I have no right to talk to either of you in such a manner.” Looking back at Tam who was limp now, save for the rolling sobs that coursed through her body, he felt a tear of his own gather in his eye. “I’ll watch her for a while.”
Kat opened her mouth to voice a protest but Bren cut her off. “I think that would be best. See if you can find out what set her off. Her injuries are all mental now. Talking about it may help her to overcome them.”
Kat clamped her mouth shut and glared at Dor’s back before turning without a word and stomping out of the room. Bren hesitated for only a brief moment before turning himself and leaving as well, shutting the door behind him.
Dor ached for her. He wanted to embrace her and promise her that all would be well but dared not, uncertain that she wouldn’t use the ropes that bound her to choke him instead of returning his affection. He wanted to be rid of the ropes all together, but whenever they came close to taking them off, she went into another frenzy just like this most recent episode. He wondered if she would ever really be free of the mental ailments that the healers seemed unable to correct.
Stroking her head he gently grabbed her hand and pulled it to his lips kissing it tenderly. “It’s all right, Tam,” he said softly. “You’re safe. Everything’s all right.”
She slowed her tears and looked at him, the pain he saw there almost too much for him to endure. “I saw him,” she said between sobs. “He was here, in my room. He came to me, Dor.” She started getting worked up again.
“Shhh,” he said, brushing the tears from her cheek. “Shhh, settle down. Everything’s going to be fine. Just settle down.”
“But he was here,” she insisted.
He continued to soothe her, not asking the obvious question of whom knowing it would probably just set her off again. But he also knew that to get all the anguish out would most likely be more helpful to her than harmful. “Who was here?” he finally asked.
“Thane,” she sniffled the tears welling up again. “Thane was here. He came to me as a spirit.”
Dor swallowed hard. He had not wanted to face his own demons concerning his best friend and the fact that he may finally be lost to them forever. He knew there was still hope and he held onto that with all of his strength, even though the thread of that hope seemed more torn and ragged with each passing day. Still not wanting to fully accept it, he knew that in all likelihood Thane had been ripped apart by the dragon soon after it took him. He wanted to be searching the Mogolth Mountains that very moment but knew he couldn’t leave Tam until she was well again and back home in the Ardath. But what was he to say to her? He didn’t think he could have an honest conversation with her about it. She was still too frail of mind. To voice his opinions or allow her to delve deeper into her own ideas about Thane right now would be too cruel. It would do no good to burden her mind with more to worry about and overcome. “It was just a dream,” he finally told her.
“A dream?” she asked hesitantly, her voice slightly more steady.
He smiled at her and nodded his head. “A sweet dream.”
Tam closed her eyes, obviously worn by the whole ordeal. “A sweet dream,” she repeated turning her head back to the wall.
He stayed with her long enough to make certain she was asleep and then quickly left the room in search of Bren. He found him and Kat just outside the building quietly talking but seeming to be arguing about something. They stopped their conversation when he neared.
“Is she well?” Bren asked as he approached.
Dor shrugged. “Just about as well as any other day. She doesn’t seem to be improving anymore. In fact, I would say that her mental health has deteriorated. Is there nothing more we can do? Is there no way for me to take her away from here, possibly back to our own people where she could be around familiar things?”
“That might be best,” Kat quickly volunteered but Bren immediately talked over her.
“Yes, that would be best were she able to travel,” he quipped glancing at Kat with a slicing glare. “The problem is getting her there. Should she get loose or overpower you on the road she could either kill you or run away or both. Should that occur, it is most likely that she would immediately return to the one that provided the dranlok to her. If that were to happen, there would be no way to cure her. A first addiction is curable, but a return to it after one has been cured is hopeless. She would die a terrible and agonizing death either from the dranlok itself or by the lack thereof.” Bren placed a concerned and understanding hand on Dor’s arm. “This is the safest place for her.”
Dor’s shoulders slumped slightly as he slowly nodded. There was nothing he could do.
Kat suddenly cleared her throat, which brought an angry look from Bren before he turned his attention back to Dor and then sighed as if reaching a decision. “There is something else.”
Dor didn’t like the tone in his voice. “What else?” he asked with more heat in his
voice than he intended.
Bren sighed and dropped his gaze to the ground as if unable to look Dor in the eyes. “We are not of pure blood, as you know.”
Dor’s breath caught as a sudden sense of foreboding washed over him. “I know that. What has that got to do with Tam?” He didn’t like Bren’s reaction. He had always been straightforward in the past.
“I didn’t want to say anything while we were in the room with her, but…”
He grabbed Bren’s arm. “But what? Tell me!”
“I’m sorry, Dor, but Tam should be much better by now.”
He glanced at Kat whose expression chilled him more than Bren’s words. Her face showed nothing but pity. But was the pity for him or for Tam? He turned back to Bren. “So, she’s not as far as we would like. We know that. But she hasn’t been eating much lately. It’s just a set back, right? Once she gets more food in her, her strength will return and she will improve again.”
Bren shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry, Dor. She won’t come back. We’re losing her.”
He felt like his heart had suddenly been smashed between two large stones. His voice shook as he tried desperately to control the tears that were begging to be set free. “No. It’s just a set back. She will get stronger. I’ll force the food down her. You’ll see. She’ll be out of bed in a couple of days.” He forced a smile and wiped away the stray tears that had fallen to his cheek. “She’ll get better, you’ll see.”
Bren looked at Kat who only seemed to shrink back into her robes. Of all the jobs with which a healer was faced, this was the one they both hated most. “There’s nothing more we can do,” he finally said. “Our blood is just not pure enough to fight the dranlok poisoning.”
Dor’s demeanor quickly changed to one of anger. “Then I will take her to someone whose blood is pure enough.” He moved to brush past but Bren caught his arm, pulling him to a stop.