Night Calls the Raven (Book 2 of The Master of the Tane) (12 page)

The only warning they had was a soft moan before Tam started convulsing and screaming. Dor watched in horror as Bren dove at her knocking her back onto her bed while laying his whole body across her tiny frame in an attempt to hold her down. Tam’s eyes popped open and she started wildly flailing her arms and legs about, kicking and punching anything she could connect with. More than once Bren took the brunt of her blows but he held on tenaciously. Kat raced to a small table next to Tam’s bed and retrieved a tiny vial of liquid that she quickly poured into a cup of water. Tam screamed strange guttural noises and grabbed Bren’s hair in an attempt to pull him off.

Bren groaned through gritted teeth. “I can’t hold her much longer.”

“It’s almost ready,” Kat replied swishing the liquid around in the cup.

Dor watched on helplessly, knowing that he would only get in their way should he try to help. By the way Tam was knocking Bren around he knew that in his weakened state he would have been a husk doll in the hands of a child should he attempt to give assistance. He was amazed by her sudden strength. Tam had always been skinny but her time with the trolls had shrunk her tiny frame to skin draped bone.

Tam let go of Bren’s hair and swung a fist, connecting with his jaw. His head snapped back almost throwing him completely off but to his credit he threw himself right back into the fray managing to get hold of both arms while gaining more control of her legs with his own. “I’ve got her down, hurry.”

Kat looked into the cup. “It’s ready.”

“You’ll have to do it,” Bren strained. “She’s much stronger this time.”

Kat reached down and grabbed a handful of Tam’s hair and then yanked on it, snapping back her head. Tam screamed a curse and then spit into Kat’s face. Kat paid her no mind though; quickly tucking Tam’s hair under a knee she placed on the bed. “Here’s your medicine,” she teased and then pinched hard on Tam’s nose until her mouth dropped open. Not giving her a chance to breathe, she poured the liquid into her throat and then forced her jaw shut. Tam sputtered and choked but amazingly most of the liquid went down before she started into another thrashing frenzy. Kat kept a strong hold onto her head but it was obvious she wasn’t going to be able to hold on for much longer. Suddenly, Tam’s head shot up, leaving a clump of hair under Kat’s knee, and Tam’s forehead connected with Bren’s knocking him completely off of her and into a heap on the floor. Tam shot to her feet screaming in triumph and turned her fury towards Kat who merely sat and calmly watched as if Tam were no more than an annoying fly buzzing about the room.

“No, wait!” Dor cried out as Tam lunged for the Healer, murder burning in her eyes. Kat didn’t move as if oblivious to what was about to happen. Then suddenly, as if someone had cracked her over the head, Tam just dropped to the floor lifeless.

Kat turned to Dor and smiled. “Not to worry, Master Dor. Widow’s Wort works very quickly.

Dor stared back in shock. “I can see that.”

Bren slowly stood up, gently touching the large bump that was forming just above his left eye, a grim look on his face. “I think it’s time we tie her down. She’s getting too strong to control and she needs to be fed.”

Kat nodded her agreement as she pushed Bren’s hand away so she could get a better look. “It’ll smart for a little while but I think you’ll live. She was much stronger this time,” Kat continued, dipping a rag into the water bucket and then offering it to Bren. “That is a good sign.”

“Yes,” Bren agreed grabbing the rag and touching it to his bump. “That is a good sign but we don’t know how much further this will go before it starts to subside. In the meantime, I don’t think I am willing to risk another fight with her.”

Dor listened to the exchange in confusion. “Gaining back her strength is one thing,” he added, somewhat flabbergasted, “but that was unreal how she threw you around!”

Bren smiled weakly. “That
was
unreal, Dor.”

“What Bren means,” Kat added moving to his bedside and sitting down next to him, “is that the
dranlok
is reaching its peak of desire in her. Her addiction gnaws at her constantly making her crave more of the drug. The longer time passes without her feeding that addiction, the stronger it gets and, in a sense, the stronger she gets to try and feed the yearnings.”

“You mean the drug was doing that to her?”

Kat smiled. “Yes. She’s been under its control for such a long time that she really has no choice but to do everything in her power to feed the cravings.”

Dor looked at his friend as Bren picked her up and laid her back on her bed. She looked almost peaceful as she slept. A complete reversal from the fierce animal she had been only moments before. His voice dropped to an almost whisper, the concern obvious in his tone. “Will she ever fully recover?”

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.