Hand of Fire (The Master of the Tane) (52 page)

             
Jack looked around frantically, smiling nervously at his friends while pulling Thane away from the table. “He’s had a little too much. I better get him to his room and into bed.”

             
“Sure, Jack,” Thunel waved while Quin and Sakin sank into their chairs unable to control their laughter.

             
“You didn’t tell us he was a Tjal-Dihn bard,” Sakin roared holding his stomach.

             
“Right,” Jack smiled. “I’ll see you all tomorrow. Maybe we could spar a bit to see who the bard in this group really is.”

             
“Whatever you say, Jack,” Quin smiled. “And don’t forget, these drinks are on you.”

             
“Of course,” he answered carrying Thane, who was now half asleep, into the hallway. Quin’s voice rose above the din calling for Benfer to bring his best ale.                                                            Thane woke up the next day with a pounding headache and a churning stomach. He tried to focus on his surroundings, not quite sure where he was, when an acid filled burp warned him of worse things to come. He stumbled from his bed and crawled to the basin of water, arriving just in time for his stomach to reintroduce him to what was left of last night’s stew. The horrid, sweet taste of honey remained and was enough to make him stay where he was with expectations of more.

A loud knock came at the door and then Jack peaked his head in. “By the looks of it, I don’t suppose you want any eggs for breakfast.”

              “Go away and let me die,” was all he could muster the strength to say.

             
“That’s almost what became of you last night the way you were carrying on,” Jack said, his voice somewhat stern. “What got into you to drink all of that mead, boy?”

             
Thane’s only answer was to empty his stomach of what had not come up the first time.

             
“Right,” Jack said stepping back outside the door. “I’ll get you another basin of water and then I think I’ll leave you to this yourself. It looks to me like you’ve got a pretty good handle on it.”

             
Thane lifted a weak hand and waved him off and Jack was all too happy to oblige. Clawing his way back into bed, he lay moaning for a short time before finally falling back to sleep where he remained for most of the day.

             
That night, Jack returned with a small bowl of soup, which Thane readily accepted, finally feeling much more like himself. He still felt a little bit weak but, for the most part, the worst of it was over.

“What have you done all day?” he asked between sips of soup.

              “Well,” Jack answered a disappointed look on his face, “after the news we received last night, I’ve been trying, unsuccessfully, to find out more.”

             
Thane looked up from his bowl in confusion. “What information?”

             
“Didn’t you pay attention to anything that was being said last night?”

             
Thane looked down in shame not remembering much after his first taste of mead.

             
Jack shook his head but continued. “I did some checking last night and it seems there may be some troll activity in the north.”

             
Thane looked up. “How far?”

             
“That’s what I’ve been trying to find out but no one seems to know anything.”

             
Thane suddenly stood and paced slowly to the door and back trying to work some life into his tired muscles and wondering about Tam.
Maybe that is where she is
. “We need to find out where. I must go there.”

             
“Hold on a second now, son,” Jack said turning to face him. “First of all, we don’t know yet if all of this is true. And second,
we
are not going anywhere until you tell me what is going on. Now, I was willing to come down here because I had planned to anyway. But running through the countryside after a herd of trolls, that may not even exist, for a friend you say has been taken but are not sure how you know, is going a bit far. Now, if you want to tell me what happened back on the mountain and how you know all of this then maybe we can talk about it, but until that time,” Jack paused, his voice growing softer, “until that time, I am not going anywhere with you except back into the mountains. Now, the choice is yours. I know I owe you my life Thane, but I won’t be forced into something I don’t know anything about. I don’t like surprises when it comes to my life or to the lives of those around me.” He paused only long enough to make his way past Thane and open the door. “I’ll be in my room when you’re ready to give me some answers.” He was out the door before Thane could say a word.

             
What am I to do now
?
Maybe I could go on without him
.
I’m a good tracker, how hard could it be to find a large group of trolls
?

Sitting on his bed, he tried to finish his soup.
I can’t just wait around while Tam’s life is in danger
.
I’ve got to act now
.
I can’t wait any longer
.
But what if Jack is right and it isn’t true
?
I need someone who knows the area
.
He got up again and paced the floor.
I need jack but I can’t risk telling him about what really happened on the mountain
.
I’m not really sure what happened up there
.
I’ve got to convince him somehow to come with me
.

             
Thane knocked softly on Jack’s door not wishing another surprise like the one from the day before. Jack’s muffled voice said to come in and Thane hurried through the door not liking being alone and in plain view. Jack was lying on his bed in the corner so he grabbed a chair and pulled it over near him.

“So,” Jack said staring up at the ceiling, “what have you decided?”

              Thane wrung his hands in nervous desperation. “I will tell you everything Jack. Like you said before, if we are to be friends we should not have secrets.”

             
Jack sat up quickly and threw his legs over the side of the bed. “Good,” he said as if relieved.

             
“Yes, well I think if I am to ask for your help you should know what you are getting into. It is only right. So, I will tell you what happened.” Thane paused. “There is more about the Chufa that I did not tell you.”

             
Jack leaned forward, anxious to catch every word.

             
Thane looked at him apprehensively and then continued. “There is a power held by the ArVen Tane that I did not tell you about before.” He took a deep breath. “The ArVen can send their voices on the wind.”

             
Jack looked doubtful.

             
“It’s true,” he insisted. “You saw how I called fire from the wood. The ArVen send their voices.”

Jack’s facial expression changed to one of forced acceptance and he nodded his head.

Thane continued. “I thought I heard my friend Tam,”

             
“She is ArVen?” Jack asked, trying to understand.

             
“Yes,” he said perking up. “Her voice came to me on the mountain wind and I thought she said that she was held by trolls. That would explain the smell of them. It came on the wind with her voice.”

             
Jack stared at him with thoughtful eyes as if trying to find new slivers of doubt about his story. Thane was starting to feel unsure about it himself when Jack finally asked, “How is it she can throw her voice like that?”

             
He breathed a sigh of relief. He knew he was wrong in lying to Jack but he had no choice. He had to help Tam and he needed Jack’s help. He couldn’t risk losing that by telling him the truth. It was for Tam he kept telling himself. “I do not know. It is special to her Tane just like the fire is to mine.”

             
Jack stared at him a moment longer. “All right, Thane. Who am I to doubt what you have told me. After all, I’m probably the only one in hundreds of years to even speak with a Chufa. If, when Wess gets back, the story of the trolls is confirmed, I will help you get your friend back.”

             
Thane felt a tinge of guilt at Jack’s words but there was no other way. “Thank you, Jack,” he said. “I knew I could count on you.”

             
“Let’s just hope that you are wrong about your friend.”

             
Thane watched him for a moment. Jack’s eyes seemed to drift away and become misty. “Are you all right?” he finally asked.

             
“What? Oh yes, fine. I’ve got a surprise for you.” He reached down under the bed and pulled out two swords. One was about the length of Thane’s arm and the other was twice that size. “I figured that if we were going to pass you off as a Tjal-Dihn for any length of time, then it might be a good idea for you to learn how to use one of these.”

             
Jack offered him the smaller sword which he gently took and stared at it in awe. The weight was more than he was used to in a blade. Holding it aloft, he carefully moved his hand down the length and then fingered the edge testing its sharpness. “It is magnificent!” he breathed softly.

             
“Yes, it is at that, but it is also deadly. Now, I don’t know much about fighting with two swords, like the Dihn, but I can teach you a thing or two with one which should at least keep you alive in the event you find yourself in trouble and I’m not there to get you out of it.”

             
Thane gave Jack a challenging look. “I have handled a blade before my friend. I think I can take pretty good care of myself.”

             
Jack smiled. “Not like this you haven’t.” Maneuvering his sword at a speed that would not have been expected from someone his age, he sent Thane’s sword clattering to the ground and then brought his up, before Thane could react, and pressed it against his neck.

             
“I am corrected,” Thane said softly staring at Jack with newfound respect.

             
The rest of the evening was spent learning the finer points of swordplay and how to just plain stay alive in a fight. At first Thane found the large weapon a bit clumsy compared to the smaller, lighter dagger. Soon enough, though, he began to wield it with more precision and his skills improved rapidly. Jack was amazed at how quickly he learned and in no time, Thane was able to deflect quite a bit of what Jack swung at him. They continued on into the late hours of night, Thane begging for more every time Jack suggested they get some sleep, until he finally had to force the Chufa boy from his room.

Thane felt as if he’d just closed his eyes to sleep when Jack burst through his door. “Come on you slug,” he shouted.  “Get up! Wess is back and is waiting for us.”

              Opening a sleep filled eye he wondered where Jack had so suddenly found such a delight in the early morning hours. He tried to move but his muscles protested painfully. “Oh,” he moaned, “my body feels like it has been smashed with boulders.”

             
“You’re just sore from last night,” Jack said pulling off his covers. “Come on, get up and get moving. It’ll make you feel better.”

             
With constant prompting, Thane reluctantly slipped from his warm covers and rapidly pulled on his clothes and
Dihne
trying to escape the early morning chill. “What about breakfast? I am starving.”

             
“We’ll get something later. Come on. Now is our chance to find out about the trolls.”

             
At the mention of trolls, Thane’s complaints ended and his body and mind seemed to rouse out of the fog that came with too little sleep. Finally, he chased after Jack as they exited his room and passed through to empty pub. The sun had yet to make its way over the Shadow Mountains and warm the cool spring morning. The bite of cold air slapped his face, waking him completely, as they crunched over the still frozen ground to the stables at the compound’s far back corner.

             
A group of men surrounded the entrance blocking their way and raising a clamor. A voice boomed through the uproar bringing all to a silent stillness as it barked out orders for quiet.

“Now, all questions will be answered later. After I, and those who went with me, have had something to eat and a chance to rest. For now, I expect you all to return to your duties and wait for further instructions.
Dismissed!”

             
A rumble of disappointed voices broke the silence as the men pushed past Jack and Thane on their way back into the main yard. A few, including Sakin and Quin, caught sight of them and waved smiling at Thane and doing a mock step from the dance he had done two nights before.