by Thomas Rath
He tried to smile; tried to be strong, but failed. “There’s nothing to forgive,” he answered weeping now. “I love you.”
But she didn’t hear him. She’d already slipped back into slumber. Her breathing was shallow now and labored. He knew she had only hours at the most. Kissing her hand, he gently laid it by her side before rising from his chair and desperately wiping the tears from his face. Anger welled in him at the guard’s careless laughter that had woken her and possibly stolen precious moments from her life. Bursting from the room he almost bumped into Jack.
“How is she?” he asked.
“She’d be better if those two idiot guards outside would shut their traps.” Dor shook his head as he fought to control the tears that threatened to reappear. “I think it will be tonight.”
Jack placed an understanding hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Dor. You go back in with Tam. Let me take care of the guards. They’ll be washing dishes the rest of the year.”
Dor just nodded half hearing, before turning back to Tam’s room and his lonely vigil.
Jack strode to the front of the building and out the door where the two guards were still shooting off peels of laughter. Glaring at the two men, he let his anger flare at their carelessness before hissing between his teeth, “Will you two dolts quiet down out here.”
Both turned, tears running down their cheeks from how hard they’d been laughing. “Begging your pardon, sir,” one said giving a quick salute, “but we just had a Tjal-Dihn, a real honest Tjal-Dihn, come up to us and ask to see a Chufa prisoner that he intended to buy.” Both men started giggling and then broke into another laughing fit as they were unable to control themselves.
Jack’s anger flared hot and then cooled in an instant as the guard’s words finally registered in his mind. It couldn’t be. A spark of hope rose in his chest but he did all he could to strangle it away. No. He wasn’t going to let himself be disappointed again. He’d suffered enough from hoping for the impossible. It was a dead dream and he knew it. “What color were his eyes?” he suddenly found himself asking.
One of the guards straightened up a bit, trying to compose himself to answer the question. “Well, sir, I suppose they were blue. I believe it’s most Tjal that have blue eyes. Well, excepting that Tjal friend of yours. He’s got dark eyes, don’t he?”
Jack sighed. Why’d he even ask? He knew what the answer was before he even spoke.
“No,” the other guard suddenly interjected. “No, I believe they were different. It was the woman who had blue eyes. A might pretty woman she was too, exceptin’ that she was Tjal-Dihn and all. No sense looking at one of them women no matter how nice they looks, no, sir. Certain to get yourself cut that way.”
Jack stared at the man, the spark of hope quickly flaring. “What color were his eyes then?” he asked with forced control, wanting nothing more than to throttle both men.
The guard placed a hand on his chin as if that would help him remember better. “Well sir, let me think. They weren’t no dark color like your friend’s, but they weren’t blue neither like the woman. They was more…”
“Green, maybe?” Jack offered, knowing better than to help someone try and remember something. He didn’t want to put the color in the man’s mind after all, but he couldn’t stand around waiting either.
The guard suddenly snapped his fingers. “That’s it. They was green. A bright green at that.”
The other guard nodded in agreement. “That’s right. I remember thinking there was something awfully strange about him.”
Jack tried to control his excitement. He still needed to find out where this green-eyed person asking about Chufa had gone. “Good, so, where did he go?”
“Well,” the guard sniggered, “we told him to go and check the prison by the back gates.”
“And,” Jack persisted, trying to check his excitement and keep his rage at these idiots from coming to the surface. “Did he go there?”
“I don’t think so,” the other guard supplied. “The lady grabbed him and marched him away down that street over there.” He pointed to a street going away from the square on the left.
Jack was beside himself. It had to be him. It just had to be. “How long ago?”
“Five minutes at the most, sir. We did all we could to hold our laughter until they was well out of earshot, knowing that…”
But Jack didn’t hear him. He was already running across the street and pushing himself through the crowds. Jumping in the air, he tried to get a look over the people’s heads to see if he couldn’t spot two Tjal-Dihn walking ahead of him. It wouldn’t be hard to see them should they be on the street like the guard suggested. Pushing along with the crowd, he scanned from left to right asking people that passed by if they’d seen them. None had. Was he on the wrong street? He would have those guard’s heads for sure if they had told him wrong. He was getting desperate. They didn’t seem to be in the crowd and no one seemed to have seen them. His progress was slowed by the masses of people who were suddenly in the city due to the warning call that had gone out to the surrounding areas. The city was normally crowded, but now it was bursting.
Finally reaching the end of the street he came to a crossing street that went either left or right. Looking in both directions he searched the crowd on either side but saw nothing. Asking a couple of people passing by he still got the same answer and the same strange looks. “No Tjal, no. What would one of them kind be doin’ here anyways?”
He sighed, throwing his hands in the air in desperation. It had to have been him. It just had to be, but he was gone. Might as well search for an empty room at one of the inns, he thought. He’d have about the same amount of luck as finding him now.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Thane paced back and forth through their tiny room. It only took three steps in either direction to complete his circuit but he did so anyway. They had been lucky in finding a room at the first place they stopped. Of course, Jne’s presence and fierce demands that they be given one might have had something to do with it. He did vaguely remember passing a man and his wife with hurriedly packed cases pass them on the stairs as they made their way to their quarters.
It was nothing fancy or spectacular, but it had two beds and a window looking out onto the street below. It was also very narrow, allowing just enough space between the two beds for one person to walk, and was just long enough to fit the beds and allow the door to open. He didn’t care though. They wouldn’t be staying long anyway.
Jne sat on one of the beds with you feet curled up under her and watched him as he made his short circuit. “So, that was you plan?” she asked, half chiding as Thane turned by the door and made the quick jaunt back to the window. “Just walk up and demand the girl?”
Thane turned, his face reddening with both anger and embarrassment. “I’ve found in my life that often the most direct approach is usually the best. People are thrown off by others who come right at them and demand what they want. They expect you to try and deceive them or skirt around the real issue.”
Jne nodded slightly. “I guess you are right in most cases, but think of what you just did. To humans, Chufa are nothing but scary tales to make children behave. And those men were just common guards. Having a child’s tale held captive would not be common news to the everyday soldier.”
Thane stopped his pacing for a moment and stared at her. She was always right. He was not used to having to plan out life or death decisions. He was suddenly very grateful for her bullheadedness in insisting she come along. Without her, he probably would be dead outside the wall right now with twenty arrows sticking out of his rotting carcass. “So, what is your plan then?”
She gave him that devilish smile she got just before she was going to kill something. “We wait a few more hours, maybe have something to eat, and then we take out the guards and get the girl.”
Thane sighed. Her plan didn’t seem any better than his. “We just walk right up, in the open square, with hundreds of people milling abou
t, knock out the guard, search through the place and then bring Tam out?”
Jne sneered. “Who said anything about knocking them out?”
Thane was getting desperate. He had no other plan. He had no other way of getting inside to rescue Tam. For some strange reason he felt like time was pressing him, that he had to get to her quick. Where were Dor and Jack? If Jack were around he was certain they could at least get in to see her. But he had no time to try and find him. He supposed Jack might still be in the city somewhere but in a town this size and with all the people cramming in, he could spend the best part of a month trying to locate his HuMan friend.
When he didn’t answer immediately, Jne added, “You just said that the direct approach always seems to throw people off guard. This is the most direct way I can think of.”
He just kept staring at her. If they waited until very late, he supposed the crowds would be dwindled somewhat, plus the guards would be tired and not as alert. Two drunks asking directions shouldn’t surprise them, but two Tjal would. His stare quickly turned into a smile.
“What?” Jne asked, suddenly feeling like the mouse caught by the cat.
“I think your plan is perfect.”
She narrowed her eyes not trusting his sudden change of heart.
“But, with a little twist,” he added. “Come on, we need to go shopping.”
* * *
Jne glared at the woman as she flitted about tugging her here, prodding her there and making a general fuss about her beautiful hair and perfect coloring. She flashed a look at Thane that would have caused most men to lose bowel control on the spot, but he just smiled back at her. She would get him for this. He would pay dearly. It was one thing to do it to help free his friend, but Thane seemed to be enjoying himself. She wasn’t quite sure how he’d done it, but he’d convinced her that two Tjal approaching the guards was a little too direct. They would automatically be tense and guarded even when they were both weaponless. They needed to get close to them. They needed a disguise. So there they were at a local tailor fitting her for a dress and him for a suit. It was going to require almost the entire amount of coin they had left, but they wouldn’t need it once they were away from the city.
The lady of the shop was at first extremely hesitant to service two Tjal-Dihn, not even letting them through the door she’d hastily closed when they’d approached. But Thane was able to soothe her concern after explaining to her that they had been dressed for a costume ball and were then robbed of their clothing. She, of course, sympathized with their plight, “after all, who in their right mind would want to be dressed like one of those savages.” Thane had quickly grabbed Jne’s hand before she could bring it up to throttle the woman and was still a bit concerned that Jne might release her rage before they were through but, to her credit, she merely kept the scowl she’d come into the shop with and, for the time being, had showed no other hint of violence.
Thane almost laughed out loud as the woman continued complimenting Jne, obviously feeling her scowl must have come from a dislike of her looks, since the dress, of course, was beautiful, which only made Jne’s scowl deepen. Of course that, in turn, only made the seamstress compliment her all the more.
Thane wore a simple pair of brown leather pants with a white cotton shirt tucked in and then covered with a brown jacket. Carefully removing the cloth around his head, he let his hair fall down around his shoulders making certain his ears were well covered. It was nothing fancy, but that is what he was after. Just something to blend them into the crowd; make them nobodies.
Jne’s dress was dark green cotton that flared out from the hips in a bell shape that ran to the floor. The bodice was tight, black velvet with a puffed shoulder and sleeves that ended at her elbows. The neckline was deep, plunging almost indecently showing a good portion of her bosom. Thane claimed that it would only help with keeping the soldiers off guard but by the look on his face, he didn’t seem to mind all that much either.
She was simply gorgeous. Not only had the seamstress fitted her dress perfectly, but her daughter had spent a good amount of time doing Jne’s hair, curling it just right so that it framed her face beautifully. She was captivating. He supposed it was good she kept her scowl because should she smile, he wasn’t sure he would be able to keep his legs from buckling under him.
The shopkeeper finally made her twirl around for one last look before proclaiming her finished. Thane smiled and opened his mouth to compliment her but Jne cut him off. “Not a word,” she hissed at him. “Not a single word.” The seamstress eyed Thane as if he must have done something terrible to anger her so. After all, dressing such a beautiful woman up like a savage Tjal and then letting her clothes be stolen was almost unforgivable. He should be ashamed!
After leaving the shop he quickly noticed that the automatic bubble of people scurrying away from them was no longer in affect. They were just another couple that had fled to the city for protection. They were now forced, like everybody else, to fight their way through the crowds to try and reach their destination. Thane felt sweat trickle down his back as he eyed Jne and tried his best to keep people away from her. He thought for certain that at any moment she was going to break someone’s neck that dared get too close or who ogled her too lustfully. Luckily the inn was just across the street.
Jne sat stiffly on the bed not daring to move, certain that to do so would cause her dress to fall off or for her to fall out of it. Thane had agreed to bring food up to her so she wouldn’t have to be in public for more time than needed. Already she’d almost gotten her hands around the neck of a patron who’d made a comment as they entered the inn about her being too much woman for one man. Had it not been for the innkeeper, who still knew they were Tjal-Dihn, grabbing the man’s ear and forcing him out, Thane was certain the man would have found himself lying on the street in his own gore instead of just merely standing there with a surprised look.
Placing a platter full of roasted pork, steamed vegetables, and fresh baked bread next to her, Thane sat down on his bed and started eating. He was famished and any meal he didn’t have to cook for himself right then was a delicious one. Jne merely picked up the bread and took a couple of bites, her motions awkward and mechanical. Thane was careful not to look at her.
“You will not speak of this to anyone,” she hissed, her voice dripping with venom.
Thane sighed, still keeping his eyes down studying his plate. “I won’t, Jne. You are only doing this to help rescue my friend. Is it not an honorable thing to save the life of another?”
“That depends,” she answered, her voice a bit calmer.
“In this case, then,” Thane persisted. “Is it not honorable to save my friend’s life who’s only crime is having been born Chufa?”
Jne sighed. “Yes, it is honorable.”
“Then your honor is intact. There is no shame in what you do.”
Jne was silent for a moment, absorbing what he’d just said. “Why do you not look at me? Do I offend you?”
He was taken completely by surprise by her question. Jerking his head up he stared at her, his mouth struggling to form an answer that would not make her angry. His breath caught, by all that was holy, she was just so incredibly beautiful. “Of course not,” he finally managed. “I was just concentrating on my dinner.”
Jne looked like she didn’t believe him but nodded anyway. This was becoming too difficult. He enjoyed looking at her but how much looking was too much? He just wanted to get Tam and get out of there. He felt guilty about enjoying a meal while Tam was locked away, held captive. He needed to keep his mind off of it for a few more hours. He needed a clear head when they went in. He recognized the anxiety he was feeling and knew that such anxious need could only lead to problems. He had to be calm and detached or risk making a mistake. It would be good for Jne to get her mind off of what she was wearing too.
“Can I ask you a question?” he finally said after swallowing the last of his vegetables.
Jne shrugged, finally taking a b
ite of her meat. “I guess so,” she said, her mouth full of food.
He took a deep breath. “Why were you so hateful towards me before and during my testing to become Tjal?”
Jne didn’t answer immediately. Chewing her meat, she watched him closely as if measuring him before she gave a response. Then, finally, she just blurted out, “I was afraid.”
He nearly choked on the piece of bread he’d just put in his mouth. “What? Come on. You’re mocking me.”
Jne’s eyelids dropped down into narrow slits. “Do you call me liar?”
“No, no, no,” he said hurriedly. “It’s just that I wasn’t expecting you to say that. What were you afraid of?”
Jne shrugged. “You. I felt you had a chance of passing the first two tests.”
He was flabbergasted. “You did?”
“Yes.”
“But why would that make you hate me?”
She looked away, her cheeks coloring slightly. Taking a deep breath she let it out before finally answering. “I knew that I would be the one to face you with the test of steal and I didn’t want to have to kill you.”
Thane couldn’t believe what he was hearing. All this time he’d thought she’d hated him, and now, only merely tolerated him because she was Jinghar. But now she’d revealed that she was only acting because she actually…liked him? No, that’s not what she’d said. She just said that she didn’t want to kill him. Maybe it was mere pity. Although pity wasn’t an attribute he would assign to her.
He opened his mouth to ask her what she meant but was interrupted when the door suddenly burst in and two men with drawn bows filled the entrance.
“Move, and you’re dead.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Thane sat frozen, his mind a whirlwind. This couldn’t be happening to him right now. Not when he was so close. If he gave himself up they would soon find out his true identity and then he would be chained in a cell just like Tam. They could keep him until he died or just right out kill him and none of his friends would ever know. Where were Jack and Dor? He knew he couldn’t get through the door without getting himself or Jne shot. He thought of trying to block the arrows to give Jne a chance but quickly disregarded the idea; he was no good to Tam dead. He looked at Jne, suddenly worried that she might try the same thing. He had to do something fast or they were both lost. Glancing over to the window he thought he might be able to break through if he was quick enough. He may take an arrow but the diversion would give Jne enough time to dispatch the guards, although the fall to the street might very well kill him.