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

by Thomas Rath

  “What’s so funny?” she snapped.

  His eyes narrowed but he decided he had had enough arguing for one day. “Would you like some food now?” he asked trying to sound nice. “It is yours after all,” he chuckled.

  Tam was about to say no just to show him she didn’t need anything from him but decided she was tired of fighting and too famished to care. “Yes, thank you,” she said trying to smile back.

  Dor sighed after dropping some of the tubers into her outstretched hand. “Listen Tam, I’m sorry for yelling at you like I did. I mean if we’re going to be stuck here together we might as well try to be friendly.”

  Tam looked at him, realizing the effort it must have taken for him to say that. “You’re right,” she said slowly. “I’m sorry too.”

  “Good. Now that we’ve gotten that taken care of how about something to drink?”

  Tam smiled as he passed her the pouch. “Why thank you, kind sir.”

  “You’re quite welcome, dear madam.” Both of them laughed and the cold, damp cave suddenly felt a bit warmer.

  Dor threw the last of the broken arrows onto the fire and then grabbed five more from the other quiver. “I guess we won’t be needing these after all. We might as well stay warm.” Breaking them up, he threw them onto the fire as well giving them enough heat to almost dry out their blankets, as well as their clothes.

  Tam yawned. “I wonder what time of day it is?”

  Dor followed suit with a yawn of his own and then replied, “I don’t know but it must be close to dark outside. I’m starting to feel a bit sleepy.”

  “Me too.”

  “I guess that means we should get some sleep. We’ve got a busy day of sitting around tomorrow,” he laughed weakly.

  Tam tried to smile but felt more like crying. She looked up at him and noticed that his face was suddenly twisted in such a way as to make it look like he was trying to come to a decision. “What is it?” She finally asked.

  “What’s what?” he answered trying to look innocent.

  “You look as if your brain is about to explode. What is it?”

  Dor shrugged. “It’s nothing,” he said staring at the fire. “Anyway, you’d laugh.”

  “No, I wouldn’t, Dor. Come on, out with it. I promise I won’t laugh.”

  Dor kept his face down as if embarrassed to say what he had been thinking. “Well, I was just thinking, purely on survival mind you,” he added glancing up quickly.

  “Yes, what?”

  “Well, judging by the way the fire has been burning, I don’t think it will be going in the morning when we wake up.”

  “So?”

  “So, if we don’t want to freeze to death our first night, I think, uh...”

  “Yes, you think,” Tam was enjoying this too much.

  “Hold on there, I’m getting to it,” he said trying to sound angry. “Like I was saying, I...” he paused for a moment and then suddenly rushed on, “I think it would be best if we conserved our heat by sleeping next to each other.” As the last word passed his lips he quickly stared at the ground and waited for the laughter he knew was coming. When nothing happened, he looked up wondering if maybe she had fainted or something.

  But Tam’s face showed no emotion. “That’s a good idea Dor. We could use both blankets and our body heat to keep us a lot warmer than if we slept separately. I don’t see why it was so hard for you to mention it.”

  “Well,” he said, looking down again, “I didn’t want you thinking the wrong thing.”

  “What?” she asked surprised and then smiled. “Oh, come on Dor. You and me? Not even in death.”

  Dor’s face got a little bit hot but he wasn’t sure if it was in anger or embarrassment. After all, what was so bad about him? Tam should be flattered he even thought she might think wrongly. He finally decided it wasn’t worth his effort to worry about it and instead moved over under her blank adding his to the top of hers and pulled it up close to their chins.

  “This is a lot warmer,” Tam said, moving close enough so their bodies just barely touched. “Am I crowding too close?” she asked.

  “No,” Dor replied, trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing, although feeling somewhat strange about her sitting so close. “That’s fine.”

  It wasn’t too long before Tam had fallen asleep, her breathing coming softly as Dor struggled to make himself comfortable. He couldn’t quite figure out why sleep had abruptly left him. His heart was pounding like he’d been running all day and he was suddenly short of breath. Finally, he just gave up trying and sat watching the fire as it slowly started dying out.

  “I guess I’ll keep first guard,” he chuckled knowing there wasn’t anything to guard against.

  Dor woke with a start. The fire was down to a few burning embers that gave off the slightest bit of light. He waited for his eyes to adjust not sure of where he was when he felt a weight against his shoulder. Turning quickly, he found Tam with her head resting gently against him and it suddenly all came back. He sighed, wondering what it was that had awoken him and decided it must have been a nightmare. He laughed quietly realizing he was living the nightmare and the possibility of waking up from this one was pretty much nil. He looked around the cave trying to think of some way they could get out but nothing presented itself. It frustrated him because he felt like there was something scratching at his brain, like a distant memory, but he couldn’t quite focus on what it was.

  He looked down at the coals, now barely alive, and he saw how they mimicked his and Tam’s situation. Soon they would be dead, just like the fire. He watched the smoke as it made its way up towards the ceiling and then curved off deeper into the cave. Like a wispy river running its course down stream and away into parts unknown. He gasped. Suddenly his mind brought into focus what it was that he had been trying to remember. The smoke! What an idiot he had been! The smoke was moving deeper into the cave. He hadn’t even thought of exploring deeper.

  “What a fool you are DorMar,” he said out loud and was about to wake Tam but then stopped. His eyes latched onto her peaceful face as she slowly breathed in and out. She looked different somehow, almost pretty. What was he thinking? This was TamVen, the snotty little girl who always had to have her way and made his nerves curl in a bundle whenever she opened her mouth. As if on its own, his hand moved up to her face and touched her cheek.

  “What are you doing?” Tam suddenly asked as she quickly sat up and stared at him like he was some strange looking bug.

  “Uh, I thought you were asleep,” he stammered.

  “How can anyone sleep with you moving around so much?”

  “Oh, uh, sorry.”

  “What were you doing anyway?”

  “Well, uh, well, there was a, um, well...”

  “Spit it out Dor. Come on, you can do it.”

  If he hadn’t been so embarrassed about getting caught trying to touch her he probably would have been on fire by her comment but his whole being suddenly seemed weak and, at the same time, depressed that he’d missed his chance.

  “I, uh, I was brushing a bug or something off your cheek. That’s it, that’s what I was doing.” Dor beamed with pride at his quick thinking while getting himself out of a situation he wasn’t sure how he’d gotten into.

  Tam furrowed her brow still looking at him like he was the bug. “What are you talking about?”

  “What do you mean?” he asked wondering if he would have to think of something better and quick.

  “That’s why you were moving around so much? A bug?”

  Dor suddenly realized she wasn’t talking about his touching her cheek and a wave of relief washed over him bringing some clarity back to his mind. “No,” he said with a slight laugh, the excitement growing in his voice. “I think I’ve found a way out of here!”

  Tam’s face brightened while her hands, as if on their own, suddenly brushed frantically at her hair. “Really? How?”

  “Look,” Dor said pointing at the fire.

  She looke
d and then her face slowly lost its smile. “So.”

  “So? Look at the smoke.”

  Tam watched for a moment and then looked at him like he was a bug again. “It’s smoke, so what?”

  Dor sighed heavily. How could he have ever thought this mole was pretty? “The smoke is moving back and away not staying in here and smoking us to death. There is some sort of air flow pulling it back into the cave which means there must be some ventilation somewhere and a way out.” Dor felt like he was teaching a piece of wood to dance when Tam’s face finally lit up.

  “This is great!” she squealed. “You are a genius!” Suddenly reaching out she grabbed and hugged him tight.

  Normally, her actions would have embarrassed him but the pain she created in his collarbone superseded his shyness and was what put the red in his face. “Let go of me,” he barely managed as little dots burst all around his eyes.

  Tam let go, preparing to blast him for being so rude when she saw the excruciating pain playing across his face. “Oh Dor, I’m sorry,” she gushed as she released him. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes,” he squeezed between his teeth. “Thank you. I just need to rest for a moment. Apparently, all of this excitement is not healthy for me right now.” He leaned back against the cool wall trying to block out the waves of pain that crashed against his shoulder making him feel nauseated.

  Tam shot up and ran towards the cave entrance and soon returned with some snow. “Here, put this on it.”

  Dor tried to smile as he placed the snow on the brake and quickly felt relief from the pain only to be replaced with the discomfort of the freezing cold snow.

  “Maybe we should stay here for awhile to let your collar bone heal some before trying to move on,” Tam offered, trying to be helpful while still feeling terrible about what she had done.

  “That won’t help us any,” Dor answered a bit more clearly this time. “We don’t know how far we’re going to have to go before we reach the end of this cave and find our way out. Best we start now and rest when we get there.”

  “Maybe I could go ahead and look and then come back and get you when I find it.”

  “Oh, no. What if you got lost or something? Then where would we be? Right back where we started.”

  “Now you see here DorMar...” Tam started but Dor cut her off, not in the mood for another lecture.

  “I’m not saying you would get lost easier than I would or anyone else for that matter. All I am saying is that it would be best if we stuck together.”

  Tam crossed her arms still feeling angry but conceded to his logic. “All right,” she pouted. “I guess you’re right. But you are to take it easy and stop trying to do everything. Agreed?”

  He looked at her stubborn face and knew that he wasn’t about to win any arguments at the moment so in the interest of time he nodded.

  “All right then,” Tam said, pleased with herself. “I’m going to get us some more snow for water and you can gather up what’s left of the food and put it in Thane’s quiver.”

  Dor moved slowly to complete his task knowing instinctively that he had just lost a major battle of wills. More surprising though was the fact that he didn’t seem to mind too much. “It looks like I may cheat death again.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  It had been less than an hour since they had ventured deeper into the cave and things had already gone from bad to worse. Soon after they left the entrance they lost all light denying them their inherent night vision. They had nothing to tie themselves together so they wouldn’t get separated so they had to settle for just holding hands. Dor felt a bit strange at first. He never realized a hand could feel so soft. He was glad the light was gone so Tam wouldn’t see the burning he felt in his face. He was actually almost content with the whole situation until Tam suggested that she lead. At first he became angry that she would even suggest such a thing. After all, he was older and had more experience. Plus, she was just a girl. She wasn’t able to handle things like him, a Chufa man. Whether she liked it or not, he was her protector now that they were alone. It was his duty as a Chufa.

  He argued with her, of course. He couldn’t give into her that easily. But, she finally convinced him that it was the best thing to do. Since he had use of only one arm he couldn’t possibly keep a hold of her and grope around in the dark at the same time. It only made sense. Dor hated how she always seemed to get her way with him. How did she do that? That probably made him angrier than anything else—she always seemed to win. It galled him to have to admit that she was right but he finally had to agree, cursing his luck for not only having a bad arm but for also being stuck with her. No amount of hand holding in the dark was worth all of this.

  It was slow going at first. Without any light, Tam was forced to feel along one wall while pulling Dor behind her so they wouldn’t get separated. The walls of the cave were rough and cold and more than once Tam had recoiled when her hand brushed up against something wet and mushy. Luckily, the cave had stayed narrow and flat, the floor strangely smooth. With only one way to go, they had a better chance of eventually finding a way out. If they came upon any passages, or if the cave suddenly expanded out, their chances of survival would be greatly reduced. At this point, no choice in direction was the best choice.

  “If we keep this up,” Tam said softly, not wanting to disturb the silence that entombed them, “we’ll be out the other side in no time.”

  Dor grunted. “Not likely,” he said bluntly.

  “What do you mean? We’ve been following this same cave for some time now. I should think we’ve gone more than half way through the upper part of the mountain by now.”

  “Maybe,” Dor allowed though his voice sounded unconvinced. “But, in case you hadn’t noticed, we’ve been going steadily down and the cave has been changing directions on us.”

  Tam stopped, surprised by his statement. She hadn’t noticed either of those things. “How do you know that?” she finally asked, trying to keep her tone at a level that would not give away her ignorance.

  Dor sighed audibly and then muttered, “Experience.”

  “Don’t give me that,” she instantly retorted, feeling he must be putting her down. “You haven’t had any experience in a cave before. Under a rock, maybe, but don’t think you can fool me for one minute that you’ve been in a cave like this before.”

  Dor opened his mouth ready to blast her for her stupidity but then snapped it shut realizing it wasn’t going to get them anywhere. “Listen Tam,” he stated in even tones. “I hope you’re right and we do get out of here soon. Let’s just keep going.”

  Tam huffed and then lunged forward yanking Dor’s hand and eliciting a small yelp from him as she started stomping through the cave again. He could picture the angry look on her face and almost started to laugh. One of these days her head was going to explode from one of her all too prevalent tantrums and Dor hoped that he would be there to see it.

  They continued on in silence for what seemed like hours, although neither could say for sure exactly how long they had been traveling. Tam had been letting her hand glide softly against the rock wall when it suddenly slipped off into nothing. She stopped abruptly. Dor crashed into her pushing her forward a step and almost knocking them both to the ground.

  “What is it?” he demanded, trying unsuccessfully to hide the edge in his voice. “Why are we stopping?”

  “Back up.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Just back up,” Tam huffed making no effort to hide her own irritation.

  Dor took a step back thinking how he’d like to put a footprint on her rear end instead. “There. Now, will you tell me what this is all about?”

  “Well,” she said, the mocking tone thick in her voice, “I just figured that with all your experience you would have figured it out already.”

  Dor blew out a breath of air trying to keep his emotions in check. He knew enough to know that to fight back with her right now would only delay an answer to his question, which in tu
rn would delay their moving on. He wasn’t sure how long it had been that they had been walking, but the fact that nothing had changed in that amount of time was beginning to discourage him. The idea that this was just a large crack in the side of the mountain that ended in nothing but a wall was beginning to wear on his mind.

  Somewhat surprised, and a little disappointed, that Dor had not given her a rebuttal, Tam finally answered, her voice suddenly serious. “The cave opened up abruptly to the right and I lost my touch on the wall.”

  Dor’s frustrations with her instantly evaporated. “Do you have it now?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well then,” he said, some mocking slipping into his voice, “let’s go.”

  They moved forward slowly turning to the right and feeling their way around the opening.

  “Hello,” Dor suddenly shouted.

  Tam jumped but quickly recovered. “What are you doing?”

  “Checking for size.”

  “Size?”

  Dor paused for a moment trying to gain his composure. He was quickly tiring of having to explain himself every time he said something. And she thinks I have no experience. “Well?” Tam said, as if sensing his thoughts. “Are you still there?”

  “The echo created by my voice,” he said through clenched teeth, “will give us an idea of the size of the cavern we are in. If it’s large, the echo will be also. If not, then the echo will follow suit. Now, do you understand that?”

  “Yes,” Tam spat. “You don’t have to be so snotty about it.”

  Dor ignored her and shouted again. The echo he got back made him believe they were in an extremely large cavern. He let go of Tam’s hand and felt the wall next to him.

  “Hey, what are you doing?” she asked reaching for him blindly.

  “Feel the walls,” Dor replied.

  Tam caressed the cold, cavern wall not really understanding the significance. “They’re smooth, so what.”

  Dor went on excitedly. “So, someone went to an awful lot of trouble to make these walls smooth for no reason. Feel up high.”