Night Calls the Raven (Book 2 of The Master of the Tane) (49 page)

Since the night Jne had insisted she stay in the room with Tam and him, he hadn’t seen much of the Tjal woman. He was a little disconcerted about her absence though he couldn’t figure out why. Most people would be glad not to have a Tjal sword master constantly following them around but Thane had to admit that he’d become accustomed to having her nearby. He liked her straightforward approach to problems. She kept him honest in everything he did, not settling for anything less than perfection. It was the Tjal way, and he found that he liked it. Plus, he needed someone to cross swords with to keep his skills honed and sharp. He’d asked Jack a couple of times, but he was always busy with Colonel Braxton and the city’s defenses. He too wanted to help but for some reason, Jack kept putting him off. His discussions with Bren, he admitted, were fascinating but it wasn’t enough. He was starting to get antsy. He needed something to do.

So, he’d spent much of his time rubbing Chtey down and had even snuck in a short ride the morning before. Security was extremely tight and no one was supposed to leave the safety of the
fort without written permission from the Colonel. Luckily, Jack had finally taken pity on him and convinced the Colonel to write him just such a note. Jack was aware of the effects a tight enclosure had on his Chufa friends.

Careful to avoid the many patrols that were constantly out scouting around the town fort, he had taken the opportunity to get a look at the wall that was really their last hope of survival against what lay in wait on the other side of the pass. He couldn’t get in close enough with Chtey to see anything useful so he’d ridden the winds to get a better look at the barrier. After inspecting it on both sides, he had to admit that he was impressed with its size and construction. Luckily the entrance into the pass was narrow to begin with being no larger than the width of two wagons riding side by side. The pass itself was made by a large crack in the sheer side of the mountain as if a giant had forced a wedge into the side of the rock and then split it open.

A large rock wall now filled the gap that Jack and Dor had used not too long before to get through the mountains and rescue Tam. He could see about a quarter of a mile to either side where the HuMans had quarried rock right out of the mountainside to fill in the gap. Set into the pass a good seventy feet, the wall itself was at least thirty feet deep and rose up the sides of the mountain at least twice that. The mountain, of course, rose thousands of feet above that, but time, ability and need had forced them to settle on the wall they now had. On top, the barrier had been set with a large protective wall and two great caldrons for burning oil that could be poured down on any that attempted to breech the barrier. He also noticed a smaller iron gate set into the rock thirty feet back from the rock barrier and another just at the opening into the mountain.

He smiled in spite of himself, his hope rising slightly that the HuMan’s defenses might be sufficient after all to hold back Zadok’s minions. At least they had a couple of back up plans should the first fail. Though he recognized that should they get through the rock, the gates would
be nothing more than something to slow their enemies down so the soldiers could retreat in a more orderly fashion. It was the best they could do given the time and circumstances. He just hoped it didn’t come to defending the walls at Haykon.

“Hi.” The voice startled him, bringing him out of his brooding thoughts and jarring him slightly with the recognition of to whom it belonged. His heart immediately increased in rhythm pounding hard in his chest and sounding in his ears. There was no escaping this time and he knew it. Turning, his breath almost caught as he drank Tam in. She was beautiful. It amazed him that he’d never really noticed it before. The past days of rest and food had worked wonders for the waif of a woman he’d been brought to the night she almost died. A warm color had returned to her face and the gauntness in her eyes was almost completely gone. She had improved remarkably fast after his blood had purified her own, wiping out the destructive force of the
dranlok
.

“Hi,” he barely managed, fighting to gain control over the quiver in his voice. Tam smiled, instantly igniting the yearning he had for her. He wanted to hold her, to stroke her hair, to feel her close.

“I guess I haven’t lost any of my skills,” she said, a playful tone skipping through her voice.

He wasn’t quite certain on how to answer. Were the feelings that were coursing through him so obvious in his face? “What do you mean?” he managed with a nervous laugh.

She chuckled. “You didn’t know I was behind you.”

He just stared at her, still unsure of what she was talking about. He opened his mouth to ask but she cut him off.

“Don’t try to deny it either,” she insisted. “You jumped when I said hello. I saw you.” Her smile broadened. “I finally snuck up on you.”

Thane was having trouble breathing—or thinking. Finally it struck him what she was saying and he let out a relieved sigh. “Oh, that’s all.”

She glared at him in mock anger. “What do you mean, that’s all?”

He threw his hands up. “No. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just thought…” he caught himself before he finished what he was about to say.

Tam stepped closer, her scent filling his nostrils. “You just thought what?”

He blinked as if stunned. “What?” was all he could squeak
out.

Tam laughed. “Don’t worry, Thane. I won’t tell anyone. It will be our secret.” She stopped, reached up and pulled on the dark hair falling down around her shoulders under the wrap that covered her head and her ears. “You know, it’s strange. For so much of my life, all I cared about was proving to you that I was good enough, that I could be your equal,” she smiled, “that I could sneak up on you without you hearing me. But now,” she paused brushing back her hair, “now it doesn’t really matter to me anymore. I don’t care about beating you, or even being able to do what you can. I’m just happy being around you.” She looked down at her hands before lifting her head and pinning him with her black eyes. “I’m just happy we’re together again.”

Thane’s knees felt weak. He couldn’t do it. He loved her. He couldn’t bear to be the one who would add another scar to her heart; especially after all she’d been through for him. But he couldn’t let her think their relationship could grow either. They could never be together. There was nothing either of them could do about it. He was cursed to spend his life alone. He had to tell her. She deserved to know, but oh how it hurt to do so.

He put down the brush, giving Chtey one last rub on his nose before opening the stall gate and coming out to face her. He looked down, taking her hand into his and then took a deep breath. “Tam, I…”

Just then a young boy came running into the stables calling out, “Master Thane, Master Thane.”

Thane peered past Tam who turned to see who was making all the commotion and both were greeted by a floppy brown haired boy no older than twelve with hazel eyes and a face full of freckles running in their direction. Thane unconsciously checked the wrap that covered his head and ears as the young boy ran up to them. “Master Thane, sir?” the boy asked dropping his hands to his knees as he tried to regain his breath.

“Yes,” Thane answered, concerned. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, sir,” the boy said between breaths. “Mr. Jack told me to find you, sir. I knew you’d probably be down here, so I ran as fast as I could.”

“What does he want?” Thane asked, frustrated and relieved at the same time to have been interrupted just when he was going to tell Tam everything.

“He wants you to come to the meeting,” the boy answered.
“At the Colonel’s headquarters. They’re going to be discussing defenses and that sort.” The boy took another deep breath. “Says he wants you there to give your input.”

“Finally,” Thane breathed. “Something to do that might make a difference.”

Tam looked at the boy and then at Thane who quickly translated for her. “I’m coming too,” she stated, her tone leaving no argument for the contrary.

Thane just looked at her and smiled.
“Of course. I would not try and deny you.” He was somewhat surprised at his answer. It wasn’t all that long ago that he would have insisted that such a meeting was for protectors only and that a girl had no business coming and getting in the way. But he had trained her and he knew her abilities were just as good as many of the Chufa men he knew. Not to mention the fact that she had just caught him completely off guard. He knew he could have claimed a clouded mind occupied with pressing thoughts, but such an excuse would not have stood against an enemy holding five feet of steel ready to plunge through his back. And, if she was going to stay with the rest of them, she needed to know what it was she was up against and what they were planning to do to defend against it.

The boy, Thane found out his name was Domis, led them back to the same building where he and Tam had been staying during their recovery, but this time they were led in deeper, past their room and the tiny office Colonel Braxton occupied. At the back wall a portcullis had been raised opening a passageway that led into another foyer just like the one they’d just left except in the center there was a large hole in the floor. The
hole itself was plated in steel and a steel latch hinged to it laid open revealing ladder rungs descending down beyond their visibility. Thane paused wanting to ask what it was but Domis was already disappearing through yet another portcullis on the opposite side of the room that ran into a short hallway before stopping at another door.

When Tam and Thane caught up, Domis was whispering to one of two guards who were stationed at the door denying entrance to any who did not belong. Thane ran a quick eye over the men determining their strengths, the weapons they had, and how effective those weapons would be in such tight quarters. Almost instantly, he determined them to be more of a guard of honor than a force capable of stopping anyone who had the mind, skills or desire to get through. The one Domis had spoken to turned and pulled the latch on the door and opened it wide. Domis motioned and Thane and Tam moved passed him into a medium sized room that was filled with a table that commanded the center and was surrounded by people of whom some Thane recognized and others he didn’t. Save for the table and the occupants sitting around it, the room
was otherwise empty. There were no windows; sconces holding burning torches circumvented the room instead, lighting it in a soft glow.

Jack, Dor, and Jne were already seated to their right while Colonel Braxton, another officer and two men Thane had never seen filled in chairs on the left. Seeing them come in, Jack motioned for Thane and Tam to sit over by him. Thane quickly maneuvered to the seat in between Jack and Jne, forcing Tam to sit on Jack’s other side next to Dor.

He smiled a greeting to Jne but she regarded him coolly before averting her attention to Colonel Braxton who seemed very aware that four people dressed as Tjal-Dihn sat at his table. The officer next to him also seemed nervously cognizant of the same fact though he tried unsuccessfully to cover it up. Of the other two men, the one sitting closest to Braxton seemed not worried in the least while the man next to him merely glared at them as if daring any of them to make the slightest threatening move. Thane sighed. If they only knew it was really Chufa in their presence how would the mood in the room change then? Would he find himself fighting for his life?

“I want to thank you all for coming,” Braxton’s voice shattered the relative quiet that had settled over the chamber as Domis exited and the guard closed the door. “Before we start, I believe that introductions are in order.” Pointing to his left, he continued. “This is Captain Dainz.” The captain was a large man in his early thirties. He wore the typical uniform sported by all the soldiers infesting Haykon. A chain mail tunic secured at his waist with a leather belt, and a steal helmet that rested on the table and marked with the insignia of the king were part of what gave him away as a soldier. His eyes were a dull gray that sighted down a large nose under which a bushy brown moustache grew. His dark hair was shoulder length and curled naturally into small ringlets at the ends. The captain nodded slightly in greeting.

“And this is,” the colonel continued pointing to his right, but was interrupted.

“I am Ranse,” the man said, eyeing them all somewhat suspiciously. Seeming satisfied with the lack of reaction, he continued. “And this is Jace.”

Jace didn’t nod but just continued to glare at the others, his threat obvious. Jne returned his stare in kind and then just smiled wickedly; raising the hair on the back of Thane’s neck. He coughed softly getting her attention and then very slightly shook his head. She glared back at him but then shrugged, turning her gaze back to her hands, which seemed all too eager to be doing something else.

Jack nodded and then very quickly pointed to Dor, Tam, Thane and Jne, calling out their names as he did so.