Night Calls the Raven (Book 2 of The Master of the Tane) (52 page)

He stared at his friend for a moment and then looked to the door that was now filled with Jace’s large frame filing Ranse through and then out.

“Don’t worry,” Jack continued, “we’ll talk.”

He had no idea what Jack was talking about but just nodded his head in consent.

*     *     *

Thane played with the potatoes on his plate moving them back and forth with his fork as if checking them to make sure they were done. Soon after their meeting with the others, Jack had ushered him into one of the corner inns for an early supper and his promised conversation. Even though Jne had left only short hours before, he found himself strangely distracted by her absence. He wondered how far she’d gotten and whether she was well or not. He’d wanted to track her way on the winds but had not been afforded an opportunity to be alone since she’d left.

He knew it was foolish to worry about a Tjal-Dihn riding in the open plains of her home, but he still felt a strange anxiety for her. He was also feeling restless since her departure. He needed something to do or he felt he would go crazy locked inside a city full of people.

He maintained his guise as a Tjal-Dihn agreeing with Ranse and the others that no one else ought to know about him, Dor, or Tam’s true identity. It was bad enough people thought him Tjal. It did have its advantages when dealing with the multitude of people and finding prime seating in a crowded inn but other than that he was tiring of the hooded eyes and hushed whispers that seemed to surround him wherever he went.

He’d hoped that he could spend the evening with Tam and Dor and talk more about what adventures they’d seen and reacquaint himself with them, but Jack insisted that their conversation was private, giving the other two a weak excuse and sending them off on an invented errand he assured them was of dire need.

Thane sighed. At least he would not have to fight with his feelings for Tam, though they seemed to have been strangely crowded out some since Jne’s departure.

Jack returned to their table nestled back in the deepest corner of the inn where they would be afforded the most privacy. With the crowds that were filling the city, the inn’s raucous noise alone would be enough to make even the closest person hard pressed to hear anything the two said to each other, Jack was still cautious. Haykon was bursting with the large influx of people who’d been pouring in daily from the surrounding countryside only adding to Thane’s desire to be out.

Jack placed a pint of ale down by his plate and a flagon filled with water next to Thane’s. He had not forgotten about Thane’s little performance at Hell’s End Station. Thane frowned. That part of his life seemed so long ago and so far removed from who he was now it almost seemed like it had happened to someone else.

Jack drew a long draught from his mug leaving a line of foam in his moustache, which he wiped off with his sleeve before fixing Thane with a steady gaze. “So let’s get to it then,” he said
drawing Thane’s attention away from the barely touched food on his plate. “Do you know what Jne said to you before she left?”

He was somewhat put off by the question. Was that why Jack was so intent on getting him alone and talking to him, because he wanted to know what she’d said? Why the secrecy? “Yes, for the most part. Tjal is not as hard to learn as common tongue. Why? Do you want me to tell you? It was kind of strange I…”

“I know what she said,” Jack interrupted. “Do you know what it means?”

He shrugged. “Well, I’m assuming that her telling me to keep my blade bloodied is her way of telling me to be careful, although I have to confess that I don’t quite understand what she was talking about when she said she’d bring back a
svaj
for me.”

Jack sighed heavily. “I thought not,” he said, rubbing a hand through his beard and then taking another long drink of ale.

Thane watched him, picking up the agitation in his behavior and suddenly feeling a rising tremor of concern forming in his gut. “What?” he asked. “What’s a
svaj
?”

Jack’s voice got suddenly very quiet. So much so, in fact, that Thane had to lean in just to hear him. “It’s sort of an earring that the Tjal men wear.”

Thane chuckled. “Is that all? Why Jack, you had me getting all tensed. She’s been hounding me ever since we left the plains about what it means to be Tjal and the customs and culture that I would need to learn and abide. I can’t say that I’m much for wearing one of those things, but if it will keep her from harassing me more, I guess I can live with it.”

Jack’s face looked a little pale as he shook his head. “You don’t understand, Thane. The
svaj
is the male portion of the Tjal wedding ceremony.”

“What!” Thane said it so loud that half the room suddenly went quiet and turned to stare at them. Some even went so far as to push their way to the door and quickly leave as if expecting blood to be shed any moment. But Thane was too shocked by Jack’s words to notice the commotion he’d created. When no steel was drawn, most took up their loud shouts and laughter again and the din returned quickly. “What do you mean,
wedding ceremony
?” he said more quietly, leaning in closer to hear Jack’s reply.

“
It’s part of Tjal culture,” Jack answered, his voice revealing a slight irritation as if this were all Thane’s fault. “The Tjal male wears the
svaj
in his right ear until he gets married. The women wear a
svan
in their left nostril. When a match is made, the woman pierces the man’s right nostril with her
svan
and the man does the same with his
svaj
into the woman’s left ear. That is the sign that they are wed.”

Thane laughed nervously. “So? That doesn’t mean anything. I told you, she’s just trying to make me into a Tjal.”

Jack raised his eyebrows. “The fact that she mentioned it, and in her own tongue, just before she left, carries more meaning than I think you are willing to admit. Just be careful, Thane. As you already know, Tjal honor is a prickly patch to crawl through.”

He swallowed hard and reached for his water, taking a long drink to wet his suddenly dry throat.

*     *     *

Leaning back against one of the inn’s many brick chimneys, Thane positioned himself for comfort and to make certain his body would not fall and drop to its death before he returned. He’d been climbing up from his bedroom window and tracking Jne’s progress across the plains
for the past two days often gliding along beside her horse. She’d made good time and it appeared that today she might finally make it back to her Tja.

All was quiet at the wall. He’d made the distance to Gullet’s pass the day before but found nothing to suggest that Zadok’s army would make their first assault there. He’d wanted to pass over the mountains to get another look at the numbers in the valley and see if they were preparing to move, but had decided it best that he stay clear of the dragon that might catch his scent and again come after him. He didn’t want to start this war any sooner than necessary, yet, at the same time, waiting for it to happen
was almost just as unbearable.

Tam had insisted on more training now that she was up and around and feeling better and both she and Dor wanted to get more practice in with a sword. He was happy to have someone to practice against but he missed the skill and intensity Jne brought to the sparing arena. Both Dor and Tam had made tremendous improvements, even in such a short span of time, but all agreed that Tam would be better used shooting her bow instead of mixed up in any hand-to-hand combat.

Luckily, their arms play was filling most of their days so Thane had not found himself in another awkward situation alone with Tam. At the moment she seemed content with spending most of her day with Dor. He was happy for his friend, of course, but it still hurt to see them together. And he still knew that day would come when he would have to turn Tam away. He sighed. So much pain in such a beautiful world and what was it all for?

Closing his eyes, he let his mind go and almost immediately felt the pull of the wind as it gathered around him begging him to ride. Releasing himself into its arms of promised flights of freedom, he answered its call.

Lifting from the confines of the roof and his body, he willed himself higher and higher wanting to shout with the ecstasy it was to float on the currents of air that rushed to his call, playing with him, urging him on faster as they reached dizzying altitudes. From such a height he could see over the mountains and down into the valley beyond where the black mass of bodies stained the tortured basin floor. It caught his breath; the sheer numbers that created such a terrible army. He watched it, grossly fascinated by its tremendous size like a great mass of living sludge swelling and heaving from one end to the other.

His breath suddenly caught in his throat as he realized that the undulating ripple that pulsed through the camp was the army on the move. Though appearing as the painful gyrations of a hulking beast he could now see that the army was moving forward; slowly at first but quickly finding its speed. He continued to watch for a moment, fascinated by the motion that was like a black tide rushing forward to inevitably break against the mountains when the realization of what it meant finally caught up to him.
It is too soon
!

CHAPTER THIRTY

Thane pushed past the guards who were still yelling at him as he shot through the door into the colonel’s office. Jace was on his feet and with his sword half out of its sheath and positioning himself in front of Ranse before the door was fully opened. Thane ignored the large man and his threatening look instead focusing his attention on Colonel Braxton who was in the process of perusing a map laid out on his desk.

“They come,” he shouted.
“The army. They march.”

Braxton’s head popped up.
“When? Where?”

“Now,” he answered. “They head for Nomad’s pass and the wall.”

Braxton looked at Ranse who was now on his feet. “So thus it began,” he said. “Now we shall see if the preparation of men is enough to turn back the evil lust of beasts. Jace,” he called as he brushed past his guard and pushed by Thane to reach the hall, “let us prepare. I would see the fighting at the wall.”

Jace just nodded and followed him out pausing only long enough to eye Thane suspiciously.

Braxton also got to his feet. “Where is the rider?”

Thane’s face showed his confusion. “What rider?

Braxton grabbed his arm, taking him into the hall where the outer guards waited, their anger obvious at his previous disregard of their authority. “The rider. The one who brought the news.”

Thane shook his head. “There is no rider. I saw it myself.”

Braxton paused. “You? But how?”

He shrugged. “It is one of my gifts. They have not yet even reached the barrier. They have only just started moving toward the pass. If we hurry, we can reach the wall before they do.”

Braxton stared at the Chufa boy for a brief moment as if weighing a question in his mind before turning to the waiting guards. “You,” he said pointing at the one on the right, “Caras, go to the Shepherd’s Head Inn and muster old man Jack. Bring him back here and tell him to bring his battle gear. Jenk,” he continued speaking to the other, “find me Lieutenant Dogun.” Both guards saluted quickly before turning for the door.