by Thomas Rath
Kat looked at Bren who just shrugged and then turned back to Dor. “Don’t worry, Dor,” she soothed, placing her hand on his arm. “She will get better with time. Soon, you will never know she was any different.”
He stared at her blankly. “That doesn’t answer my question.”
She took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. Dor could tell she was stalling, trying to pick the right words to say. “She will get better, Dor. The thing about dranlok is that you can never really tell how much control it will have on a person. Some people’s addictions return years later, without the slightest warning, after being free from it all that time. Other people never show any sign of need for it ever again. It just depends on the person.”
Bren finished tucking Tam back into her bed and then came over to join the conversation. “Part of the problem lies in us.”
Dor frowned. “In you? What do you mean by that?”
Bren shot Kat a quick glance before answering. “Like we told you before, our blood is not pure like yours. We can heal with the VerSagn Tane to a point, but because we’re not pureblood VerSagn, our healings are never complete.”
“Well, can’t you heal her again and again until she’s healed completely?”
Bren smiled but his eyes showed sadness. “It doesn’t work that way. Because of the impurities in our blood, the healing will only go so far.”
“We did help her, Dor,” Kat added quickly. “Had we not been here to heal her she would have died by now from want of the dranlok. We just couldn’t heal her all the way. The rest is up to her and her willpower to overcome it.”
He nodded but still wasn’t completely assured.
“You like her, don’t you,” Kat said, her voice dropping almost to a whisper.
Dor stared at her. There was something in the way she was looking at him that suddenly made him feel uncomfortable. He shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Kat’s head dropped. “I understand. Then you will make her your wife someday?”
Dor was incredulous. “What! Her?” he laughed but it sounded a little forced. “She hates me. I just hope she gets better, that’s all. I mean she’s been through a lot. I’m just concerned for her. I just want to take her back home and get her out of my hair.”
Kat looked at the Dihne that covered his mostly bald head and smiled.
He laughed, its sound a little more natural this time. “Well, out of my way, anyway.”
Kat’s smile grew, her hand on his arm suddenly becoming a bit uncomfortable. He pulled it away slowly faking an itch but Kat’s smile remained. “You are a good friend, Master DorMar,” she said. “You will make a good husband.”
He glanced at Bren who just stared at him blankly. “Uh, thank you, Kat. I’ll certainly try to be.”
For some reason that made Kat smile even brighter making his skin feel as if it had bugs crawling all over it just beneath its surface. The door suddenly opened and Jack poked in his head. Dor sighed in relief, smiling at his friend who eyed the Healers suspiciously.
“Feeling up to a visitor?” Jack asked, ignoring the frown that Kat had turned on him.
Bren glanced at Dor, a brief look of concern flashing across his face, before turning back to Jack. “We just need to change his dressing and then you can come in.”
Both Kat and Dor looked at him quizzically. “But you just…” he started but Bren cut him off.
“It will only take a couple of minutes. You can wait outside the door and we will come and get you when we’re done.”
Dor just looked at Jack and shrugged, unsure of what Bren was talking about since they had changed his dressing when they first came in.
Jack sneered at the two Healers but acquiesced, pulling his head back and shutting the door behind him. As soon as the latch clicked Dor questioned Bren. “What was that all about? You just changed my dressing.”
Kat stood up giving Bren a concerned look. “Maybe I should look at that bump again.”
Bren pushed her hand away. “I am fine. I just wanted to talk to Dor for a moment before Jack came in.”
“What?” he asked.
“You can’t tell Jack about us.”
“Why?” he and Kat asked in unison. “He already knows about me,” he continued on his own. “What difference is it going to make if he knows about you as well? He’s not going to turn you in. He saved me from his own friends at Hell’s End Station, remember?”
Bren took a deep breath. “I know all of that and I believe what you say to be true. I just don’t think it’s the right time to reveal us to the HuMans.” He was about to argue, but Bren cut him off. “Any HuMans. Please, Dor. I would just feel better if we waited.”
He shrugged. “All right. I think you’re sounding like an old woman fretting over her grandchildren but I won’t say anything.”
Bren let out a loud sigh. “Thank you. It’s really just better this way for now.”
Dor smiled weakly. “All right. Oh, but I wouldn’t tie Tam down just yet. I know Jack, and I don’t think he would approve of that right now without asking a lot of questions you may not want to answer.”
Bren nodded his head in agreement. “Thank you, Master Dor. We will leave you two alone to talk then. Come, Kat.”
Kat looked at him sharply but got up and followed Bren to the door letting Jack in as they left. She did turn back though and smiled once more just before closing the door behind her. Dor just shook his head. What was wrong with her?
Jack pulled over the chair and sat down next to his bed, a smile playing on his face as he looked at the Chufa boy. “You are looking much better today. How are you feeling?”
Dor smiled. “Like a caged animal. When am I going to get out of this room and see the sun again?”
Jack’s smile broadened. “As a matter of fact, I have convinced them to let you out tomorrow. Of course, you will be under my care and personal protection, but I figured we could take a little turn around the city as you didn’t get to see much of it the first time you were here and even less when you came back.”
Dor looked as if he might jump out of his bed right then. Swinging his legs around and off the side, he sat up. “That would be great! I would really like to try someone else’s cooking other than yours or the mess hall cook’s.
Jack raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really? I’ll keep that in mind the next time your stomach starts growling and you want to fill it with something.”
He laughed. “Now, now. I didn’t say that I didn’t like your cooking, just that I might want to try someone else’s for a change.”
Jack snorted but smiled back. He was glad to see Dor back to normal and in good humor. Only days before he thought he was a dead man. “And how is our friend, Tam, coming along?”
Dor’s face darkened slightly. “She is getting better they say. I, for one, still can’t see the same Tam I once knew before we came over the mountains. She’s changed. I just hope she can get over this.”
Jack looked back at the young girl sleeping soundly on the bed across the small room. The Healers had cleaned her up the best they could, washing off the mud and filth and combing the knots out of her hair, but there was still something wild about her. She just didn’t seem right.
“I wouldn’t worry,” Jack said, trying to show his support. “If she’s anything like you, I’m sure she’ll get over it.”
Dor half smiled. “She’s nothing like me, really. She’s much feistier.” He sighed. “So what’s the news from your king?” he asked, changing the subject. “Is he sending his armies?” He knew right away that he’d hit a nerve. Jack’s face went dark and brooding reminding him of a thundercloud that was full to bursting and ready to explode.
“Nothing,” Jack growled, sounding very much like his wolg, Erl. “They haven’t sent word and I doubt they will. Haykon will fall.”
He tried to sound hopeful but it came out very weak. “Maybe they won’t attack.”
Jack just looked at him and shook his head. “They’ll attack. The only
question is when.”
He didn’t let it go. “Maybe, but they had the chance to attack when they passed by the first time. Why would they go to all the trouble of marching past just to turn around and come back again? It doesn’t make sense.”
“None of it does,” Jack agreed. “Trolls don’t get along with each other enough to stick together in such a group and manage an organized assault. But even more than that is seeing them with goblins. They hate goblins more than they hate each other.” He shook his head pulling at the hair on his chin. “No, there is something else involved here. Something must be driving them.”
“But what? Do you think it has anything to do with the dragon that took Thane?”
Jack shrugged. “I can’t really say, but I would be willing to bet that it’s part of the whole. With all of that together, Haykon doesn’t stand a chance.”
Dor picked at a callus on his hand. “How about the pass? It was pretty narrow as I remember it. Could you hold off an attack at the pass?”
Jack nodded. “We thought of that and have already started construction on a wall there to seal them in. It’s the best option we have but there’s no guarantee. Even if that stops them from coming through, the mountains are smaller on the southwest side where they meet the plains of Enn. They could still get through there.” Jack bit his lip. “Of course, that would take them into Tjal country where they would meet quite a resistance. It’s hard to say though. The Tjal are great fighters and on horseback they are almost unbeatable, but with the numbers we saw it’s hard to say if they wouldn’t just be swept away.”
He felt a little more hopeful. “What about an alliance then? Between you and the Tjal fighters, you should be able to hold them back, right?”
Jack shook his head. “It’s not that easy. You don’t just walk onto Tjal land and ask for help. There are complications that have to be dealt with for that sort of thing. It’s got to come from the king. He’s got to act.”
Dor didn’t understand. When there was a fight to be fought, all who were threatened got together and fought it off. It was simple. He couldn’t understand why it was so difficult here. “So why doesn’t he? Doesn’t he know what’s at stake here?”
Jack looked at him and smiled but without any feeling. “He does. He knows all too well but he refuses to take it seriously. It’s a long story.”
Dor just shook his head. “I don’t understand you people. I don’t know why I give myself headaches trying. I guess the sooner Tam and I can leave the better.”
Jack sat up. “Leave? What are you talking about?”
“Once Tam is well enough to travel I have to take her home.”
Jack was incredulous. “But you can’t just up and leave. What about the war? What about Thane?”
He put up a hand. “I’ll be coming back to find Thane. I won’t give up on finding him. I just need to get Tam back to where she belongs.”
Jack’s eyes brightened slightly but then he shook his head.
“What?”
“How many Chufa men do you think you could gather and bring back with you?”
Dor was flabbergasted. “What! You want me to bring more Chufa back here? Did you fall and bump your head? I can’t bring anyone back with me.”
Jack wouldn’t let it go. “Why not? Whether you want to believe it or not, this war is not just with my people. Where do you think they’ll go after they kill all of us? You forget, the trolls know about you. Now that they’re working together, they’ll get to your people sooner or later.”
He opened his mouth but then shut it. Jack was right. If this wasn’t stopped here and now, his people would be washed away like sand against the tide. “But how could I do that? I am not a leader of my people. They will not believe me, or Tam, when we tell them about you. Most don’t even believe you really exist. And even if I could convince them, they still wouldn’t come because of everything we’ve ever learned about you and what you did to our race.”
Jack’s face sank. “You’re right. I can’t say that I would have believed a young boy telling me that there were Chufa on the other side of the mountains no matter how convincing he was.” Jack shook his head. “But you can’t leave now. We’re going to need every hand that can hold a sword here.”
He looked over at Tam. “I have to. I’ve got to get her back and safe first.”
Jack pounded his fist down onto his leg. “Haven’t you been paying attention, boy? There is no safe place. Whether there or here it will all be the same if we don’t gather all the strength we can and face it head on. There are no safe havens.”
Dor stared at his hands. Jack was right. Eventually, if the HuMan’s fell, the trolls would return and wipe out the Chufa. The raiding parties of four or five at a time were easy enough to deal with but a force as large as the one that had gathered was too much. But what was he going to do with Tam? He had to at least give her a chance at life. It was his fault they were in this mess to begin with. Had he not abandoned Thane…. No, he was not going to go down that trail again. What was done was done. He could not change the past. All he could do was recognize his mistakes and face them. But what to do with Tam? He couldn’t take her back into the den of trolls from which he’d just plucked her. That was where he would have to look for Thane. He knew in his gut that that was where Thane had to be. If Tam stayed, where would she go? He knew that Jack would insist on going with him, and he would welcome it, but he wouldn’t risk Tam’s life again.
Then it came to him. The Healers. Tam could stay with the Healers. She could become one of them and hide with them until they found Thane. That was it. “I will think on it, Jack,” he finally said. “You are right in what you say. We must find another way.”
“Good,” Jack harrumphed. “At least that’s one problem solved. Now we only have to worry about the rest.”
He and Jack continued to talk for awhile longer but nothing seemed to be coming of it. As far as Jack was concerned, it really all came down to the king. Messengers had been sent already so there really was nothing more they could do but wait and hope for the best.
Dor was starting to get tired so Jack left, promising to return later with something delicious from the mess hall. Dor groaned but accepted the offer with a forced smile. Lying back on his pillow he closed his eyes thinking about how he was going to convince Tam, through her stubbornness, that she had to stay with the Healers. Finally, he drifted off to sleep.
He was in a large meadow that stretched out in all directions going on and on seeming without end. He was alone and wondering how he got there when suddenly it was filled with men and trolls locked in fierce battle. Watching for a moment, he also caught sight of a few Chufa battling the enemy side by side with the HuMans.
Reaching behind him, he grabbed for his swords anxious to join the fight but found they were not there. It was then he realized that all he had on was a long gown. His eyes dashed about trying to ascertain any immediate threats but no one seemed to even notice him. It was as if he were invisible. Then, the wall of bodies split apart and he caught sight of someone running towards him. He couldn’t make out the features but he knew it was Tam. She was a long way off but her unnatural speed quickly ate up the distance. She was wearing a robe similar to his and was rushing towards him waving and calling out his name. He worried that a flailing sword would take her or that a troll would spot her and catch hold of her but, like him, no one seemed to pay her any mind.
Carnage was all around them but, at the same time, they seemed to be alone. She reached for him, her arms outstretched in desperation, her face filled with fear when suddenly she was there, right in front of him, the last distance between them gone in an instant. She smiled at him, her arms reaching to embrace him. He smiled back welcoming the embrace but her face suddenly took on a demonic look and her hands shot out grabbing his throat. They crashed to the ground, her body on top of his forcing the air from his lungs. Her hands crushed his windpipe cutting off any air, as her face loomed over his, her cries wild and de
ranged.
He woke with a start finding his nightmare had become all too real. Sitting on top of him, Tam had her hands wrapped tightly around his throat and was screaming wildly in his face. “Where is it? Where did you put it, Dor? I know you have it! I swear I will rip your head from your neck if you don’t give it back!
He grabbed at her hands trying to pull them free but, to his horror, he couldn’t pry them off. She had them wrapped tightly around his throat and he could feel her fingers squeezing ever harder. If something didn’t happen quickly, her promise to kill him would be kept. He tried to push her off but her hands held tight to his neck, almost as if they were connected. Finally, in desperation, he rolled to the side heaving her off the bed and they both dropped to the floor with him landing on top. His weight had the effect he had hoped for forcing the air from her lungs as they both hit hard. Tam let out a grunt and gasped for air but her grip did not loosen. Grabbing the top of her head by her hair, he managed to pound her head against the floor. He was panicking now, his head becoming light and his strength quickly draining away.
Tam started screaming again, regaining air to her lungs, babbling on about what a foul creature he was to take it away. Dor was at an end. He could feel the darkness gathering to take him. Once more he lifted her head and pushed it as hard as he could against the hardwood floor. Feeling her grip slightly loosen he planted his fist as hard as he could into her stomach. The air rushed from her lungs and her eyes rolled slightly back into her head. He sucked in a small bit of air as her grip loosened more before ramming his fist into her gut again.
Finally, her hands dropped and he was able to roll off to the side while gasping for air. The air seemed to pop around him in tiny dots that filled his vision with their little bursts. Lying on his side still gasping and coughing, he watched Tam do the same while pity suddenly welled up inside him for what she must be suffering. She had always been a pest, and at one time he hated her more than anything, but she did not deserve this. She was holding her stomach now writhing about on the floor still sucking in as much air as she could. Then, suddenly, she stopped and rolled onto her side facing him.
