by Rinelle Grey
“Tyris, no!” Marlee scream rose above the sound of the crackling flames, but he didn’t stop. The other villagers must have realised his plan because as he came dangerously close to the flames near the central pillar that held up the roof in the chicken pen, he felt buckets of water being thrown at his feet.
He swung the axe as hard as he could, but even so it took several agonizing moments for him to cut through the thick trunk. When it only stayed upright by a splinter, he dropped the axe. He used all his strength to push the pole, hoping to shift its weight away from himself.
The pole creaked and groaned. Tyris jumped back and turned to run.
He barely managed to take a step before snow smashed into his back, throwing him to the ground. The fall knocked all the air out of his lungs, and even once the world stopped spinning, he struggled to breathe with the pressure on his chest. Luckily a pile of thatch had fallen across his face, creating a pocket of air around his mouth and nose. Dimly he heard the villagers shouting, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying through the snow.
He only hoped that the fire was out.
*****
MARLEE FELT TIME SLOW DOWN as Tyris ran into the middle of the fire with the axe. As he chopped at the central pole, her breath caught in her throat. When the roof fell and he fell forward and disappeared beneath the snow and thatch, she couldn’t stifle the unconscious scream.
She ran towards where she had last seen him, stumbling over her skirts. She dropped to her knees. Ignoring the numbness of her fingers, she clawed at the snow. Where was he? She had to get him out.
Other hands joined her. Progress was agonisingly slow. They found his arm first, and Marlee jumped when it moved. He was alive. Tears froze half way in their journey down her cheeks. She held onto his hand tightly, sending him strength and hope with all her energy. With the other hand, she continued to dig.
It took a few more terrifying minutes before the back of Tyris’s head appeared. The first thing he said was, “Is the fire out?”
Only then did Marlee look around. The roof had fallen in completely in the corner of the barn, covering the fire in a foot of snow. Embers glowed in places around the perimeter and up the walls, but they were swiftly being extinguished by buckets of water and shovels of snow. The other three sections of the barn still stood, unharmed.
“Yes, the fire is out,” she assured him.
Tyris relaxed at her words and closed his eyes, alarming her for a few minutes until she realised his back, which was rapidly being uncovered, still rose and fell. She squeezed his hand, relieved to get a squeeze in return even though he didn’t open his eyes.
A few moments later the villagers scraped the last of the snow from his legs. “Can you move?” Karla asked.
“I think so,” Tyris said as he carefully rolled over and sat up.
Marlee held her breath as Karla felt all down his body, paying particular attention to his back. “You seem to be in one piece,” she said finally. “You’d better get home and into some dry clothes. That snow is melting fast, and we don’t want you getting frostbite.”
Marlee needed no further urging. She helped Tyris to his feet, and after being sure he wasn’t going to fall, she pulled his arm around her shoulders and led him back to the house.
“Get those wet clothes off quickly,” she said, as soon as they were inside.
Marlee lit a lamp as Tyris pulled off the coat and sat down to pull off his boots then his trousers. Between the villagers throwing water at his feet, and the melting snow, moisture had soaked through the lanolised wool, making him damp and cold all over. Shivers shook him, whether from shock or cold Marlee wasn’t sure. She ran and pulled the quilt off the bed, wrapping it around him then stoked the fire and added more wood.
Kneeling down before him, she reached through the blanket to take both his hands in hers. They were icy to touch, and she rubbed them gently with her fingers. “Are you all right?”
“C-cold,” Tyris stuttered. “Pins and needles in my fingers,” he added.
“Good, they’re warming up.” She tucked his hands in under the quilt, close to his body, then bent and felt his feet. They were even colder. She pulled over a stool and sat in front of him, tucking his feet under her skirt against her thighs.
Tyris muttered a brief objection, but Marlee ignored him. She examined his face, not certain now if the redness in his cheeks and nose were caused by the cold or embarrassment. Karla wouldn’t have sent him home with just her if she didn’t think the risk of frostbite was small, would she? She reached out to touch his cheeks, concerned that they were still cold under her fingers. She cradled his face in both hands, trying to impart her own warmth to him.
The flickering firelight illuminated his face. He looked down at her, his eyes dark, and a half smile touched his lips. She returned his look just as intensely, and deep down somewhere she admitted that when the roof collapsed, a fear that he might die, that he might not be a part of her life anymore, twisted her heart.
Tyris untangled a hand from the blankets and reached out to touch her face gently. His hand still felt cold against her skin, and instinctively one of her hands left his face and pressed his hand against her warm cheek.
“You’re beautiful,” Tyris mumbled, so quietly she wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. He must be delirious, surely he wasn’t really saying that to her? His head dropped towards hers, and his thumb stroked her cheek. Warmth tingled through her body, despite the fact that his hand was still cold.
Fear replaced the warmth. Fear that he wasn’t warming up fast enough. Fear of being alone again—now, or in another eighteen months. Marlee pulled back and stood up, ignoring the confusion in Tyris’s eyes. The room was still cold, only just starting to warm from the fire, but she knew that bringing him too close to the blaze was dangerous. She didn’t think he was at any real chance of frostbite, not with Karla releasing him to her care, but she didn’t want to take any risks.
“Wait here,” she said, tucking his hand back under the quilt. As she pulled the pallet out from under the bed, she could feel his eyes on her. She brought it over next to the fire, laying a blanket on it and began to pull off her outer layer of clothing, leaving only her light cotton nightgown.
“Marlee I’m not sure…” Tyris stopped then swallowed. “What are you doing?” he asked.
Marlee blushed. Surely he didn’t think…
She rushed to correct any misconceptions. “You need to warm up,” she told him. “And the most effective way to do that is to use body heat.”
“I… um… I’m starting to feel pretty warm,” Tyris said.
Maybe she’d made a mistake. She’d thought only to warm him up, but she didn’t want him to get the wrong idea, especially after the way he had looked at her a few moments ago. “Don’t worry, I’m not taking anything more off,” she said quickly. “This is just about getting you warm.”
Still Tyris hesitated. Marlee wished she could take it all back. He was warming up. He said so. He’d be fine. He didn’t need her help. And she needed to keep her distance.
Then the expression on his face shifted subtly, and he stood up carefully, and crossed the room to lay down beside her. For some reason, his trust in her intentions put her fears to rest. She could help him, as a friend, nothing more. As she pulled the quilt tightly around both of them, she could feel that he wasn’t any warmer. She tucked his hands up against her stomach and arranged her feet around his.
Then she drew his head down to her shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. She felt him resist, his body tense and uncomfortable, and she slowly stroked his back. After a few wordless moments, he relaxed, and she relaxed as well.
The heat from the fire seeped into the quilt, and the heat from her body seeped into Tyris’s. His head felt heavy on her shoulder and his breathing deepened. Slowly, exhaustion from the night’s exertion overtook her too, and she slept.
*****
TYRIS WOKE THE NEXT MORNING with Marlee’s arms still arou
nd him and his head resting on her shoulder. He hurt in a couple of different places. Hopefully he hadn’t done any serious damage. He was, however, completely warm again, a state that had seemed unlikely last night.
And for that he had Marlee to thank. He looked at her, her face just inches from his. She hadn’t been put off, even when he had hesitated. She’d known what needed to be done and simply did it, overcoming his reluctance with her matter of fact nature.
Her face was peaceful and serene. Her hair escaped from its sensible plait she wore to bed and curled around the edges of her face. Long eyelashes rested on her cheeks, and her full lips were parted ever so slightly. He wondered what it would be like to kiss them. He’d been tempted last night, when her face had been so close to his, her hands cupping his cheeks.
Maybe she could overcome her reluctance to be involved with him. It was tempting for a moment, her body curled around his and the knowledge that he would never go home was still fresh in his mind. Perhaps he could forget all that for a moment and just be with her. He could easily come to care for her if he let himself.
But she had pulled back, and he’d respected her choice. She’d made it clear she didn’t want to risk being hurt again, and given his contraceptive implant, it was impossible for him to give her what she wanted. His stomach clenched at the thought, pain and humiliation at the restriction mingling with a genuine sadness that things between them couldn’t be.
He shouldn’t even be thinking like this. Had he forgotten Milandra so quickly? She was the reason he’d come all this way. Wasn’t she?
Why did she suddenly seem so far away and unimportant?
He tried to remember her face, but the details were fuzzy. He’d only been away a little over a month—was his memory of her really so flimsy? There was a photo of her somewhere on the Hylista, but he hadn’t thought to bring it with him. And now he couldn’t find it for another six months. Would he have totally forgotten what she looked like by then?
It didn’t matter anyway, he’d never see her again. It was too unsettling to think about, and despite a wish not to disturb Marlee, Tyris needed to move. He eased carefully away from her, but she stirred and woke. Her eyes widened when she saw him then softened. She smiled. “Good morning.”
“Good Morning,” he returned. Something of what he was thinking must have come through in his voice. She blushed a little and looked down.
Her eyes went straight to his chest, bare after the previous night’s rush to get warm, and her expression changed. “What’s this?” she asked. Her finger traced the tiny dolphin that hung around his neck.
Tyris shivered at her touch. He reached down to the smooth jade carving and used the memories it evoked to distract him from the present. “My brother, Kerit, gave it to me. He swore it bought him good luck.”
Marlee’s nose wrinkled. “How can it bring him luck?” She was so close he could feel her breath on his face when she spoke.
He swallowed and forced himself to answer her question. “Kerit’s a surfer.” He paused. She probably had no idea what that meant. “He takes his surfboard out in the ocean, and rides the waves back in.”
Marlee nodded. Did she know what he meant, or was she just agreeing? Her hand still played with the dolphin on his chest, rubbing the smooth surface as he talked, making it hard to focus on the story. “One day he was out on his own, a long way from shore, and a shark circled around him. Um, sharks are big animals that eat pretty much anything, even people.” He’d never stopped to consider how much of his knowledge was specific to Urslat before.
Marlee’s eyes widened. “What did he do?”
“Well, he couldn’t put his hands or feet in the water to paddle back, and the tide was slowly carrying him further from the shore.” The corners of his mouth turned up. “That’s when the dolphin appeared, sticking its nose out of the water and clicking at him. The shark kept its distance then, as though it was afraid. Feeling reassured, Kerit paddled back into shore. The dolphin saved his life.
“Wow.” Marlee’s eyes shone. “But what does this little creature have to do with it? Is it a dolphin?”
Tyris nodded. “It is. After the shark, he avoided going back into the water for a while, half convinced the shark was out there waiting for him. He thought he couldn’t get that lucky twice. That’s when he bought this.”
Marlee frowned. “But it’s not a real dolphin. How was it going to protect him?”
How could he explain that one? “Well, it couldn’t, of course. Not really. But it made Kerit feel better about going back out into the water.”
“Did he ever meet another shark?” Marlee asked.
“He hadn’t when I left home,” Tyris said. For a moment, fear clutched at his chest. Was Kerit still okay? Something awful could have happened to his brother, and he’d never know.
“You must miss him,” Marlee said softly.
Tyris looked down at her and nodded. “I do.”
She reached out hesitantly, her fingers brushing the air next to his cheek, then pulled back. He held his breath, not moving, afraid he’d startle her. Her hand crept forward again, and she rested her palm against his cheek, as she had last night. Tyris caught his breath. A voice in the back of his mind said they shouldn’t be doing this.
He ignored it.
Marlee bit her lip and pulled her hand back. She took a deep breath then asked. “So it worked then?”
“Huh?” His brain just would not make sense of her comment, no matter how hard he tried.
“If he didn’t see another shark, then the dolphin must have protected him,” Marlee elaborated.
“Right. Yeah, I guess it must have.” It was as good an explanation as any.
“So how did you end up with it?” Marlee asked.
He needed to finish the story. Not kiss Marlee. “Well, a couple of years after that, I was in a bad accident. Totally bad luck. Something that should never have happened. Kerit came to see me in the hospital and gave it to me. He said it had done its job, helping him get over his fear of going back into the surf, and I needed it more than he did. He was probably right. Since then, I haven’t had anything else go as horribly wrong.”
“Until you crashed here,” Marlee said soberly. “Maybe it doesn’t work anymore.”
Tyris shook his head. “That wasn’t bad luck. It was stupid carelessness on my part. I forgot to turn my shield back on. The dolphin can’t protect me from my own mistakes. But think how much worse the situation would have been if this village hadn’t been here. I doubt I would have survived even this long. Not right at the beginning of winter.”
“True,” Marlee agreed. “So that means the dolphin helped me find you?”
He smiled. He liked that idea. “I guess so.”
Was it good luck that Marlee found him? From the standpoint of him still being alive, definitely. He refused to think past that. Not when she was lying in bed beside him. He shifted a little with the aim of moving just far enough back to reduce the temptation. Pain sliced through both ankles, and he winced.
“Are you okay?” Marlee sat up and threw back the covers. “Does it hurt?” she asked.
Tyris sat up as well, edging over a little on the narrow mattress and carefully pulled back the blanket to look. The thick wool had stuck to seeping burns that he hadn’t even noticed last night.
“Don’t pull it off. You’ll bring skin with it.” Marlee jumped up and went to the bench, coming back with a clean wet cloth which she laid over the area, blanket and all. The coolness eased the pain.
Marlee let it sit for a few minutes then gently peeled back the thick wool. It came more easily now, but Tyris still bit his lip to keep from swearing.
Now that he could see them, the burns weren’t too serious, and though there were three or four patches, no one alone was very large. “I seem to have gotten off lightly,” he joked.
“Yes, you’re lucky,” Marlee answered, but her voice was tight. Was she angry with him? She didn’t look up, instead fussing over the cloth
, lifting it to check the wound, then applying it again.
“Aren’t you glad the animals are safe?” Tyris asked. “And that they’ll have food for the winter?” What had he done to make her angry?
She looked up, and he saw a flicker of fear in her eyes. “I thought you were going to die,” she accused.
Tyris blinked. She was afraid for him? Surely not. But the unshed tears in her eyes said otherwise. He reached out to cup her cheeks and gently wipe away the tears with his thumb. “I’m tougher than that,” he assured her.
“Well, I don’t need a demonstration on how tough you are.” Her eyes flashed fire. “There are enough risks out here without you adding to them with your recklessness.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t have time to think. I just knew that if the hay burned, the animals would have nothing to eat, and rescuing them from the fire would have been pointless.”
Marlee must have known that too. She smiled at him. “Well, now they will, thanks to you. Though I don’t know where they are going to live.”
“Can’t the barn be repaired?” Tyris asked. Surely it hadn’t all been for nothing?
Marlee nodded. “Of course, and it will be. But not in this weather. We don’t have the materials we need, and the snow won’t hold off long enough to repair it completely.”
“So what’ll happen?”
“I’m sure the council will come up with a solution,” Marlee said. “They’re probably discussing it now in the hall.”
“Let’s go join them then,” Tyris said, standing up.
“In a moment,” Marlee said. “We need to get these burns bandaged first, to avoid infection.”
Tyris sighed, but the threat of infection was enough to make him sit obediently again. Marlee collected some strips of clean white cloth, a bowl of water, and to Tyris’s surprise, a potato before she came and sat next to him.
