by Thomas Rath
“But...”
“But nothing, Thane,” Jack replied gruffly, the frustration obvious in his voice. “That’s it. No more discussion. You’re stuck with me. I will repay you some day and you can’t stop me so just stop worrying about it and pray that we make it through tonight alive so I will have the chance to save you some day.”
Thane looked down at his hands unable to focus on them because of the shaking in his body. The thought of a nice warm fire pounded at his thoughts and he knew they did not have to suffer as they were. He glanced at the wood knowing all too well that it would light right up if he called forth the fire. But what would Jack think? Maybe he would run away or leave me behind. Another chill shot through his body shaking him violently. I have to do something. I can’t stand this any longer. He battled within himself. The temperature had dropped considerably and with them sitting idle as they were in soaking wet clothes, they were sure to catch their deaths if they didn’t do something soon. He knew he had the power to remedy the situation but the fear of rejection was just too great.
The war raged on for long, cold moments when Jack words suddenly reentered his thoughts. You’re stuck with me, Thane, until I can repay you. Did he really mean that? Would he really stay if he knew of his power? He looked at Jack shivering violently his face gone deathly pale. It’s either a fire or possible death. I have no choice. I have to trust in what he said. I have to believe him. Staring at his shaggy looking friend, Thane suddenly realized that he did trust him. There was something about him, the way he carried himself, that made him seem more than his appearance let on.
“Jack?” Thane said timidly. He paused for a moment trying to find strength in his need for warmth.
“Well, what is it boy? Spit it out,” Jack said barely able to speak from his chattering jaw.
“Well, I...I know a way to start...the fire.”
Jack laughed. “I told you boy, there’s no way to start that wood on fire. Look at it. It’s got more water in it than we have in our cloaks.”
Thane rubbed a hand across his nose. “I know Jack, but there is a way.”
Jack looked at him a bit more seriously and then his eyes went wide. “You mean by magic? Do you know magic, Thane?”
Thane’s eyebrows creased in confusion. “What is ‘magic’?”
“Magic,” Jack said. “You know, the power to do things others can’t. You know, spells, incantations, potions.”
Thane looked more confused than before but then Jack suddenly stopped and turned a frightened eye at him. “You can’t throw fire can you?”
His heart almost stopped beating. How could he know that? “No!” he burst out, almost too quickly. Jack stared at him with those piercing eyes that, at times, made Thane feel he was scanning his soul. “Why do you say that?”
Jack stared for a moment longer and then his face lightened. “An old story I heard about the Chufa long ago. Just another fairy tale I guess.”
Thane smiled weakly. “Yes, a fairy’s tail.”
Jack chuckled at his miss use of the words then asked through chattering teeth, “So, how is it that you can start this fire for us?”
Thane looked down at his hands gripping one another in a strange dance of fingers before slowly gaining the courage to speak. “Well, Chufa have...well…uh…powers that they are born with.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed and he leaned in a bit closer. “What sort of powers?”
“Well...like starting fires.”
Jack smiled. “That’s not any kind of power, Thane. Anyone can learn to start a fire.”
Thane took a deep breath. “Not like us.”
Jack’s smile faded away. “What are you getting at?”
“I would have told you before but I was afraid you get mad and go.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Thane. I told you that. I have a debt to settle. Now come on, what’s this all about?”
He didn’t answer, but instead reached out his hand and touched the soggy wood. He could feel his heart matching the tempo of the falling rain as he forced his courage to the front. “Shonosh,” he whispered, and then drew back his hand. The wood suddenly burst into flames drying the water out of it in a cloud of steam and a chorus of sizzles and pops.
Jack jumped back tripping on his cloak and landed in a small mud puddle. “How, in the sacred name of Seless, did you do that? That wood was like a bowl of thick stew!”
“I told you,” Thane said timidly. “We are born with certain powers.”
Jack stared at him, his eyes wide. Thane reached a hand out to him but Jack recoiled. Thane looked at his hand and then back at Jack. “Oh no,” he said hurriedly. “I cannot light living things on fire.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, only things that are dead.”
Jack sat up and moved towards the flames keeping a watchful eye on Thane. The heat felt wonderful against his icy skin. Erl woke up and, seeing the fire, moved closer to it before falling back to sleep as if unaware of his companions.
Thane sat down and shed his cloak setting it on his lap to dry. Glancing quickly at Jack he let out a sigh before speaking. “I am sorry, Jack. Please do not hate me.”
Jack stared at him. He couldn’t help but think that he looked like an innocent child lost in a world of darkness. “I don’t hate you, Thane,” he finally said trying to smile. “I was just startled that’s all. I wasn’t expecting that.”
Thane looked visibly relieved. “Can I still stay with you, Jack?”
“What? Of course, what are you talking about?”
“You mean you are not thinking I am a demon?”
“It’s, do not think, and of course I don’t.”
A large smile broke through the sullen look that had been on Thane’s face and, for a brief moment, Jack was afraid that he just might jump up and dance around the fire. But the moment soon passed and both sat in silence enjoying the warmth that had begun to find its way into their bones.
“So tell me, Thane,” Jack finally asked, “how did you do that?”
Thane happily showed Jack his TanIs, knowing he would not know that it was different than any other, and quickly ran through the Shahmear ceremony when a child received its name and Tane. He explained the gifts of all five Tane and the powers that were inherently born into each Chufa child and then explained about his ability to also cauterize wounds. Jack was fascinated by this new information about his friend and their race.
“That would explain some of the tales that are told about the Chufa. They’ve just been stretched a bit that’s all.”
Thane smiled, glad that Jack knew this information about him and seemed more fascinated than afraid.
“So let me get this straight,” Jack said, the chatter gone from his teeth. “You have to have this Quen...whatever you call it...”
“QenChe,” Thane said smiling.
“Right, QenChe. So, you have to be QenChe,” he continued motioning a hand towards Thane, “to pull fire from anything that is dead, which also includes closing up a wound?”
“Right.”
“But to do the other things like stay under water for a long time and smell the weather you have to be one of the others?”
“Right. MarGua and ArVen.”
“And you can tell who is who by those marks on your ankle?”
“Right.”
Jack rubbed his chin. “In all my days I have never heard anything of the like.”
Thane suddenly felt as warm inside as out at being able to tell Jack so much about himself and still be accepted. It felt good to not have so many secrets anymore and he wondered if one day he would be able to tell Jack everything.
“You know,” Jack said, interrupting his thoughts, “I wish you would have told me all this earlier. I guess I don’t blame you for being cautious, but I would like to think that we trust each other enough now to not have secrets like this from each other. After all, we have saved one another’s lives. That should say something.”
Thane watched the f
ire suddenly feeling a little less cheerful. Jack was right but it was still too risky to let on that there was more than what he had already revealed. Maybe someday he could tell all, but not now.
Jack lay back suggesting they try and get some sleep and then thought about what he had just said. What a dolt I have turned out to be. I give a speech on not having secrets, expecting that boy to tell me all, and I haven’t told him a bloody thing. Some things are best left unsaid though, aren’t they? Best to leave things as they are for now.
When Thane woke up, the sun was shining brightly through clear, blue skies warming the ground with its heat and sending snakes of steam slithering into the air. The fire had burned down to just a few coals that still gave off a tiny amount of warmth. Thane looked around for Erl but he was gone. Probably out hunting for his morning meal, he thought. Jack lay curled up under his damp cloak snoring loudly.
Thane stretched his aching muscles and walked stiffly about collecting more fire wood. “You’re the one who should be doing this,” he mumbled looking over at Jack. “I got the wood last night.”
Setting down his armload, he quickly restarted the fire by calling flames from the new wood. He was pleased that he no longer had to keep that a secret; having grown tired of restarting the morning fire by blowing on it. His way was so much quicker and easier.
Jack stirred briefly, grumbling softly in his sleep and then rolled over and started his cacophonous chorus all over again. Thane made a small breakfast of mashed corn and potatoes with a small onion he found and then busied himself setting up a line over the fire to dry their gear. By the time he had finished, Jack was finally up and grumbling over his own breakfast of dried meat.
“How much more to Hell’s End?” Thane asked hanging up his cloak.
“About a half day, why?”
“I thought we could stay here for some time to let things dry in sun and on fire.”
Jack smiled, an unusual thing for him this early in the day. “I think you mean over the fire. That’s a good idea. It would give the ground a chance to harden a bit as well so we’re not walking around knee deep in mud.”
Thane nodded and then grabbed Jack’s cloak and hung it on the line. Both cloaks spewed steam as if exhaling pipe smoke. Pleased with how well it was working, he gathered the rest of their wet gear and piled as much on as he could for the sun and fire to dry. They would not leave here wet, he would make certain of that. After he finished, he sat down next to Jack just as he tossed the last bite of meat into his mouth.
“You do good work my friend,” Jack said pointing to the drying clothes.
“Yeah,” Thane smiled. “Thanks for the help.”
Jack smiled back. “Certainly.”
“I was wondering,” he asked, becoming a bit more serious. “What was the story you were told about the Chufa throwing fire?”
Jack laughed. “Got your curiosity running wild, eh? Well, it’s been quite a few years since I sat at my mother’s knee and, to be honest, there’s not much to tell. Before I went to bed at night she would tell me stories of long ago. Sometimes she told me about the fairy people, like the Chufa, and how they could throw fire on a person. She used to frighten me into being a good little lad, telling me that if I wasn’t then the Chufa would come and take me away.” Jack got a far away look on his face and then started laughing. “It worked, I tell you. All she had to do is mention the word Chufa and I was as good as a piece of plum pie.”
Thane scowled thinking it terrible that his people were thought of as such horrid creatures. “I do not see what is funny about that. Telling a child that Chufa will get him, it is not true.”
“I know that now, of course,” Jack mused, “but, at the time, it sure did keep me straight. Didn’t your mother ever tell you stories about monsters or such to make you be good?”
Thane thought back to his home and his mother and he found himself suddenly fighting back tears. How was his mother now? Did she miss him? “I...uh...yes,” he choked out trying to mask his feelings. “Now that you say it, my mother told me of the HuMans and how evil they were.”
Jack suddenly stopped laughing and looked hard at Thane. “What do you mean evil?”
Thane burst into laughter, catching the humor of the moment.
“What’s so funny?”
“You Jack. It not bad to say Chufa are bad, but to say HuMans are evil and it is wrong.”
Thane kept laughing as Jack’s face got redder. Then, realizing the irony of it, he chuckled some too. “I guess you’re right. It is the same, isn’t it?” Both laughed and then shared stories they each had heard as children, allowing the other to correct the myths that had grown from multiple tellings and superstitions.
The sun was half way across the sky before they decided they had better get back on the road. Most of their clothes had become fairly dry, or at least bearable to wear, and in quick order they were packed and on their way. The trail was relatively easy to find and follow, most of the hard trekking done the night before. In fact, it wasn’t long before the incline disappeared almost completely and they were walking among rolling, grass covered hills. Everywhere the eye could see flowers were beginning to bloom in an array of brilliant color. Never had Thane seen such a beautiful sight. He let his senses run wild, allowing himself to become inebriated in the wonders of nature.
When he finally felt filled to capacity he let his mind return to the more urgent thoughts that had been forced out by the landscape’s grandeur. Thoughts like the Chufa throwing fire. Never in his life had he heard of Chufa throwing fire except for when he had actually done it himself. How could it be? He didn’t even know how he had done it and doubted he could again even if he tried. How then could others do it at will? Were there others like him before that were different? Or, maybe there had just been one. He remembered the evil one who had helped the HuMans destroy their forests and their people. He had special powers. Could he have thrown fire? He suddenly felt a dark, depression growing within. What if he was like the evil one? Was he destined to betray his people?
“Thane.”
“What?” He looked up as Jack grabbed his arm pulling him from his black thoughts.
“Have you heard anything I’ve said to you?”
“Were you speaking?”
Jack threw arms into the air and rolled his eyes. “Try to pay attention.”
“I am sorry, Jack.”
“Now,” Jack continued while pointing.
Thane followed his finger, suddenly realizing that they were on the top of a rather large hill looking down on a vast valley below. His eyes wondered the expanse almost becoming dizzy at the enormity of the open space. Never in his life would he have imagined such a thing. And, right in the middle was a massive grouping of trees. Could this be where his people once lived?
“Do you see that large, dark spot in front of the forest over there?”
Thane directed his thoughts back to what Jack was saying. Following his finger, he caught sight of what appeared to be a massive boulder. “Yes, I see it. What is it?”
“That, my friend is where we are going. That is Hell’s End Station.”
“You mean Hell’s End is just a large rock? Where are the huts for living?”
Jack laughed. “Haven’t you ever seen a fort before?”
Thane shook his head. “What is ‘fort’?”
“Oh, I guess you wouldn’t have would you. That rock, as you so cleverly called it, are walls that extend around in a square. The buildings are inside.”
Thane’s eyes widened at this new revelation about HuMan life. “You do that on purpose?”
“Of course. It’s for protection.”
“Why not use the forest for protection?”
“Because,” Jack said with a smirk, “we can’t throw fire.”
Thane snapped a look at him. “What?”
“Come on,” Jack said putting his arm around him and moving them forward once again. “I was just joking. Let’s get going or we won’t make it there b
y nightfall.”
He relaxed some falling back into a steady pace next to Jack when he suddenly realized something. “Where is Erl?”
“Oh, he’s around, but we won’t be seeing him again until we leave Hell’s End. Most people don’t find wolgs as friendly as we do.” Jack paused. “That reminds me, we better get that Dihne back on you before we get any closer. We don’t want to run into any perimeter guards with those ears of yours sticking out.”
Thane nodded and stood quietly while Jack wrapped his head in the cloth he had retrieved from his pack. He felt strange having the Tjal cloth wrapped partially over his ears, but knew it was better than the alternative. He still felt nervous about throwing himself into the middle of a large group of HuMans. Though Jack had shown him nothing but kindness, he knew that, just like with his own people, some where more opened minded than others when it came to perceived threats. Jack finished quickly and then prodded him forward joking that he could use the tail end of the cloth to cover his face if he felt it would hide him better.
The sun was taking its last bows in the western sky leaving the stage for night’s performance when they finally reached Hell’s End Station’s outer walls. Thane had watched intensely for the past couple of hours as the rock walls that surrounded the fort grew larger in the distance. Many times he had tripped on tufts of grass or small divots because he could not seem to tear his eyes away from the structure. Never in his life had he imagined such a creation. It loomed dark and foreboding as if growing right out of the ground and then reached high overhead.
It was made completely of stone except for two large doors that invaded the center of the front wall where they now stood. Small towers rose up from either side of the massive doors and again on each corner of the walls. Large fires spread light out into the darkening sky from the tops of each tower making it difficult to see who or what occupied them. Raising a hand over his brow and using his night vision, he could just make out the figures of men standing in each tower with what appeared to be small bows fixed on their position.
