Hand of Fire (The Master of the Tane) (49 page)

             
“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 by 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.

Thane could feel beads of sweat running the length of his back and the loud sounds of drumming as his heartbeat raged noisily in his ears. He felt a sudden urge to run but was unsure if he could out distance the arrows that were sure to follow him if he tried. He struggled to remember what Jack had told him only moments before but his mind froze up as panic spread throughout his body.
Calm down Thane,
he thought.
You’re not afraid of trolls, why should HuMans be any different
.
After all
,
they’re smaller
.

Just then, a voice shattered the night sky like the blast of a horn as it called down from one of the towers. Thane leaped and almost turned and ran.

              “Who are you and what do you want?”

             
Jack grabbed his arm rather tightly in an attempt to calm him before yelling back. “Why Quin, don’t tell me your eyes have gotten so bad you don’t recognize a helpless old man?”

             
There was a long pause before the man yelled back. “Jack?”

             
“Who do you think? Were you expecting someone else?”

             
“By all that’s dead and buried, what are you doing here?”

             
“Well, why don’t you let us in so I can tell you before you let everything else out here know there’s a free meal outside the gates.”

             
“Just a minute.”

             
Thane watched as a person in one of the center towers put down his bow and disappeared behind the wall.

             
“Are you all right?” Jack hissed releasing his arm.

             
“Fine,” he replied a bit shakily.

             
“Just relax, Thane, and everything will be all right. Just remember what I told you and nothing will go wrong.”

             
Thane looked at him, desperately trying to think of what it was he had told him when one of the huge, wooden doors groaned out an objection as it was slowly forced open. Thane froze, his face suddenly bathed in torchlight, as ten heavily armed HuMans exited the fort and approached them. He unconsciously reached for the
Dihne
to make sure it was on properly but was intercepted by Jack’s hand grasping his arm and holding it to his side.

             
“Relax,” he growled just as the party of HuMans came to a stop in front of them. “Quin!” Jack burst out releasing his grip and reaching for the other man’s hand. “It has been a long time my friend.”

             
“I’ll say it has. I almost didn’t recognize you with that beard of yours. It must be two years since the last time you showed up here.”

             
“Has it been that long?” Jack said pulling on his beard. “Well, I guess it must have been. My how the time passes.”

             
“I must admit, most thought you dead. Eaten by some dung ugly troll they said. Not old Jack, I says. Not even an army of those stinking beasts could take down Jack, I tells ‘em. I knew you would come begging at our door again some day.” Quin let out a big smile revealing the many gaps where teeth should have been. By the look of his dirty face and the smell that wafted on the passing breeze, Thane judged that he didn’t spend much time in the water. Quin was the shortest in the group of men who now surrounded them, reaching only to the top of Thane’s shoulder. The other men were Jack’s size in height and build and all held a long pike in one hand and a torch in the other. He also noticed what looked to be very long daggers hanging at each of their sides. He wondered at their size and how a dagger so large could be wielded but cut off his thinking when he perceived that some of them were watching him.

He suddenly felt very self-conscious as many of their eyes fell on him before quickly darting away when he looked in their direction. He wanted to run. No matter what Jack had told him, these men looked like they were sizing him up for the cook fires. His feet itched and he wanted nothing more than to escape.

“So, who’s your friend here, Jack?” Quin suddenly asked. All eyes fell on Thane again but this time didn’t move when he looked back. This was it. He new they would see right through to who he really was and then he’d be skewered by ten long pikes.

             
“This is Thane,” Jack said patting him on the back. “No doubt you can see that he is Tjal-Dihn.”

             
There was a slight ripple through the men and Thane could almost feel the uneasiness that suddenly fell upon the crowd. He scanned the whole lot trying to determine if any could see through the farce and noticed that suddenly none of them would look directly at him. All eyes were concentrated on Jack, almost too attentively. Only Quin eyed him directly. It gave Thane the chills. What was going on here?

Quin’s look suddenly became hard. “Doesn’t sound like a Tjal name to me,” he snipped not taking his eyes off the Chufa boy. Thane suddenly felt very conscious about his ears and it was all he could do not to reach up and pull down on his head covering.

              “Of course it doesn’t,” Jack laughed. “That’s just what I call him. Do you think I have the time or patience to call him by his real name?”

             
Quin wouldn’t leave it alone. “Well then, where’s his swords?”

             
“Come now, Quin,” Jack said trying to keep his patience at being interrogated by the likes of him, “do you really think me an ignorant man? I may have allowed him into my company and my friendship, but I am not stupid. Now, enough of this talk out here in the cold. Let us go inside so I can have a proper bath and then we can talk over a mug of that watered down piss you call mead, and catch up on old times.”

             
With visible effort, Quin forced his eyes back onto Jack and again revealed his grotesque smile. “You’re right Jack. Where are my manners? Everyone back inside.”

             
Thane almost let out a sigh of relief that the attention was finally taken away from him. He didn’t like that five of the ten men fell in behind him and Jack escorting them into the fort as if they were prisoners but glancing at the confident and relaxed look and Jack’s face lent him a sliver of strength. He knew that he should just be thankful that his legs had not given out on him and that he was able to walk in at all.

He felt his heart skip as the door closed behind them and was locked tight erasing any route of escape. His previous amazement over the strange fort was now torn away and replaced with a sense of imprisonment and claustrophobia. Why would they choose to hole themselves up in such a monstrosity instead of running free in the forests and the natural protection they offered?

              What immediately greeted him was a large area void of anything but mud, save for a fairly large fire burning right in the center that was surrounded by more men. Snuggling against the looming walls were buildings constructed of wood and rock that numbered seven in all. He could only guess at what they were for or who might be found within them. His gaze followed the structures around from the left, taking it all in, when he spotted something on the far right side that made him gasp in wonder. Jack glanced at him and then followed his eyes to see what he was staring at. Some of the guards had also noticed and were now sharing strange looks.

             
“Uh, how about that bath,” Jack said quickly grabbing Thane’s arm and pulling him along. “And a place to set our gear would be nice too.”

             
“Yeah, sure,” Quin said watching Thane intently. He waved his hand and the guards dispersed, moving towards the fire or climbing up to the towers above. “There ain’t nobody royal or nothin’ visiting, like they’d ever come out here, so you can have the rooms in the pub. Benfer already knows you’re here so I’m sure he’s got someone heating water for you.”

             
Jack moved in front of Thane forcing Quin to look at him instead. “Thanks, Quin,” he said with a smile. “By the way, where’s Wess?”

             
Quin tried to look around him and back at Thane but soon gave up. “Out on patrol. Been two days gone now. It could be another two before he gets back.”

             
Jack’s expression suddenly changed to one of deep concern. “This early?” He glanced back at Thane. “Is there trouble?”

             
“Who knows?” Quin said shuffling his feet. “You know Wess. He don’t tell us a thing except where to go and when to fight. And you know these parts. Could be anything.”

             
Jack scratched his beard. Thane moved to Jack’s side and watched them intently trying to catch every word. “Have there been many raids this winter?” Jack finally asked.