A Quick Sun Rises (4 page)

“Really?” Tam huffed.

Dor cut her off. “I am not your
Jinghar
or whatever it is Jne is to you. I will come and go as I please with or without your permission. We are friends, Thane, and you need me this time. Maybe you are forgetting what brought us all here in the first place. I’m not so sure that you won’t be shot on sight either.”

Braxton shot a questioning look at Jack, but his friend just shook his head slightly while Teek and Domis were all eyes and ears enjoying every bit of the exchange.

“I don’t plan to just walk into camp and let them shoot me, Dor,” he replied rather calmly.

“Really, then I assume you have some sort of plan?” Tam put in.

He shrugged. “Well, no, not yet, but…”

“Then you’ll need our help,” Dor interjected, cutting him off.

He shook his head and muttered something under his breath. “We still don’t know if Teek’s bird can even carry all of us.”

“Her name’s Tchee,” Teek suddenly added.

“Right,” Thane said. “Tchee.”

“Well then,” Jne interjected, “you’d better hurry and ask so we can be on our way.”

Thane threw up his hands. He couldn’t believe this. It was like he was still home and being bullied by PocMar and his friends. He looked to Jack for support, but his friend wisely stayed out of this argument. To him it wasn’t important who went on this mission as long as they brought back this arrow they had spoken of and that it really did work as they said. He had to admit that it was a little hard to take in and believe, but in desperate times like they found themselves, all options became viable.

Thane turned to Teek. “Where is your large friend, Tchee?”

Teek rolled his shoulders up to his ears. “I don’t know. She comes and goes as she pleases.”

“Then in the meantime let us cease our idleness here and help get these people to the city where they can be better cared for,” Braxton said.

“You will let me know when she returns then?” Thane asked Teek.

“Yes sir, Master Thane. I will at that and right away.”

He smiled. “Thank you, Teek, and please stop calling me Master. Just Thane will do nicely.” It bothered him when people made a fuss about him. He was not used to such positive attention and since he started receiving it he decided that he almost preferred the opposite. He didn’t want anyone thinking he was more than he was or that he felt like he was better than any other person doing all in their power to protect those in need. It was especially strange hearing such praise from someone like Teek who was, after all, close to his own age.

Their course of action decided, the group began to disperse in different directions. “You will let me know when you plan to leave,” Jack said to Thane in a tone that made it hard to decipher as to whether it was a request or a command. Thane just nodded and then turned to make his way through the crowd that, as a whole, was beginning to move east toward the distant city when he was stopped by someone grabbing his arm. It was Tam. She smiled at him and he suddenly found it difficult to breath.

“Can I walk with you a minute and talk?”

He looked for Dor but only caught sight of his back as he walked away and into the crowd. Jne was still at his side, as she always was, and the look on her face would have frozen boiling water. “I really should help with moving the camp,” he tried lamely to protest, but Tam would not be deterred. Although she was smiling, he recognized that stubborn look in her eyes that told him that short of death he was not going to change her mind.

Grabbing his arm more firmly, she just moved him away from Jne saying, “You won’t mind if I borrow him for a moment.” It was not a question and he could see the daggers shooting from Jne’s eyes. But, she did not protest and he was led away like a lamb to the slaughter—at least that was how he felt. In all actuality, it was Tam who was to be the sacrificial lamb. He just hoped he had the ability to let her down easily and that the time spent away from him and with Dor would make it easier for her. She deserved to be happy. If he could have just one wish it would be that Tam could live a life of joy and happiness even though he knew that that meant a life without him.

“I really wish you and Dor would reconsider,” he said, trying to change the subject he knew was coming before Tam got a chance to start it. “I mean, on the one hand, yes, I would rather you both went back home where it is still safe—for the moment. But, I know that that is not your intention. I appreciate your help, I really do, and all the concern…”

Tam pressed her fingers to his lips to stop his talking. “Thane, we have already gone over that and you know my mind and Dor’s as well. We will not be veered from our course and I think you know that. I have more pressing matters to speak with you, matters that affect just you and me.”

His stomach tightened. There was no getting around it now. His heart ached for her, for the pain he knew she would feel. But the time for pretending was over. He hoped that she would not hate him for it, but there was nothing he could do. No matter the love he felt for her they shared the same Tane and that eliminated their every being able to be together. It was not something they could ignore. Though he wished it otherwise, he could do nothing to change it.

“Thane, you know that I…”

“Wait,” he said holding up a hand to stop her.

“No, Thane,” she continued, shaking her head. “Please, let me get this out and then you can speak all that you want.”

He stopped and looked away to the river to the west. It was spring and all of the trees were in flower, some with white pedals, and others with red and gold. The grass was getting thick and green and was sprinkled with wildflowers that lent a clean, pleasant scent to the air. It was a beautiful morning. One cherished by those in love as they basked in the light of their affection and what appeared to be nature’s blessing on it. He looked to the sky as a cloud suddenly blocked out the sun and he couldn’t help but feel that it was all a reflection of his life and love for Tam.

“I love you,” she said, but instead of warming him they were like the steel of a knife to his heart. “I have always loved you, Thane,” She continued. “Since I can remember I have always felt that you were someone special.” She chuckled through the tears that began to form in her eyes. “I know that I had an interesting way of showing it, but I was unsure how you would treat me should you know how I really felt. Anyway, the day that I woke in Haykon and found you sitting there by my bed watching over me was, in a strange way, the best day of my life—and,” she added softly, “the worst.”

He suddenly felt confused. “Worst?”

She smiled slightly and then wiped at the tears that had begun to fall down her cheek. “Yes, worst. Best because you were there, you were with me, you cared about what happened to me but also worst because you were there and that you cared about me.”

Thane’s look turned to one of concern. “Are you well, Tam? You make no sense.”

“Just let me finish,” she huffed, more angry at herself than anything for the way she was not getting across what she so desperately needed to. “Finally, after all the years we’ve been together I recognized the same love in your eyes as I had always felt in my own heart.”

It was too much for him. “Tam, wait.”

“No,” she said, pounding a fist on his chest. “No, please,” she continued, her voice softer as she stood straighter grasping for the courage she needed to continue. “I have always loved you, Thane, but I also have always known that we could never be together.”

Her last words hit him hard. He suddenly felt nauseated as his head seemed to spin.

“When I saw that same love in your eyes at first I rejoiced in it. I really think it was what finally got me through those difficult first days and weeks in Haykon after you healed me. But then I realized that I was living a lie and that in the end it would only lead to heartache and pain.”

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. All this time he’d been avoiding her for the very same reasons. All along he was afraid to tell her the very same words thinking it was going to be too painful for her to accept and now she was telling them to him; and he was surprised by how much they hurt. He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off.

“There’s one last thing I must tell you and I hope that it will not create a void between us but since Dor and I left the Ardath and came looking for you I have felt a bond begin to develop between us. At first it was something I fought. I didn’t want it to happen but the more time we spent together the stronger it grew. And after you cured me of my addiction and Dor has been with me ever since, I think that he feels the same way. I think we love each other, Thane, Dor and me. I’ve been trying to tell you for a long time now but with everything that has been happening and, I admit, with my fear of how it might hurt you, I have not been able to speak of it to you as I wanted and as you deserve.” She reached out and grabbed his hand. “I’m so sorry, Thane. I really am. Can you ever forgive us? Can you ever give us your blessing and be happy for us?”

He looked at her long fingers that seemed to fit in his hand so perfectly. His stomach was a knot and his breath seemed to come with difficulty. It hurt. It hurt greater than anything he’d ever imagined. He felt anger suddenly building in his heart but he quickly pushed it away. He had no right to feel rage or hatred. These were his two greatest friends. He’d known all along that he could never have her. What she had just said to him was the talk he had been avoiding giving to her. And now he finally realized that his avoidance of the subject was not so much to save her from any added pain but to save him. He had convinced himself that it was all for her, but he now had to admit his cowardice; the pain was his. She did what he could not do; make the cut precisely and cleanly. He only hoped that the healing would come quickly.

Tam’s demeanor slowly changed as she let her hand slip from his and her expression became one of concern as he realized that he had not responded to her question. Using all the strength he could muster, he pressed a broad smile onto his face and, to his relief, Tam’s expression immediately softened.

“Of course you have my blessing, Tam. What kind of friend would I be not to find joy in the love of my two greatest friends?” What type of friend indeed. He was happy for them but he also knew that there was pain and jealousy mixed in with those feelings that he feared would never completely fade.

His next act, he knew, would be the most difficult to pull off. As with Dor, he hoped he could be convincing enough. “I do love you, Tam, but as a special friend, as a sister. And I am sorry that you misunderstood my feelings for you. With almost losing you to the
dranlok
we were all very concerned and I am sorry if my actions caused you to worry or be pained in the least.”

He watched her face closely and almost thought he caught the slightest disappointment but couldn’t be sure as a bright smile suddenly filled her countenance. “Oh, Thane,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him in close. “I am so relieved.”

He hugged her back not wanting to ever let go but knowing he could not linger lest she suspect his words did not match the feelings of his heart. Reluctantly pulling away, he smiled down at her, his heart breaking once more. It was almost more than he could bear. “Now that that has been cleared up,” he said, straining to keep his eyes and face free from his true feelings, “I must get back to helping move this camp to safety. Give Dor my heartfelt congratulations if I do not see him first.”

Tam smiled back at him. “I will, Thane.”

Without another word, he marched passed her back to where Jne waited for him, a murderous scowl on her face.

Tam watched him go, following his every movement, before turning her back and brushing away the tear that suddenly blurred her vision.

Chapter Three 

All eyes turned to the tent flap as Helgar entered followed by Bardolf and finally Rangor. They were the last called to the council that now met in a makeshift hall hastily raised by joining two small tents together. The quarters were cramped but afforded just enough space for those present. A quadra of guards took their places at the outside corners mostly to keep any of the refugees from listening in. Ranse felt it best that no one ‘accidentally’ overhear something that might throw the camp into greater panic.

All the participants were seated on what carpets could be acquired giving the meeting a disheveled look that, from appearances only, more resembled a meeting of the local beggars guild than one having representatives from five different races that also included two princes.

Helgar and the two other dwarfs sat where room had been made between Jack and Colonel Braxton. Ranse was standing at the back of the tent while his ever-present bodyguard, Jace, took a commanding post by the tent door. Jne, Thane, Dor, Tam and finally Teek, who sat near Jack, completed the assemblage. Now that all were present, all eyes focused on Ranse waiting for him to reveal why he had called them all there.

The prince took a deep breath as if preparing himself. Looking about the room one final time he finally spoke. “Thank you all for coming tonight. I know this is somewhat unexpected and sudden, but I felt a need for us all to be prepared for what may very well await us when we enter Calandra in the morning.”

“A city that be preparing for war I would think,” Helgar state flatly.

Ranse looked at the dwarf prince and frowned. “Yes,” he continued, “that would be as most would suspect but I am afraid that in this case it is very unlikely. As most of you know, your calls for help while under threat in Haykon went all but unanswered and, as some of you have witnessed, the only response that did come was in the person of Prissley Maggest who was sent to merely negotiate. I don’t need to remind any of you what it is we face with the enemy coming behind us, but many of you may not be aware of the enemy before us.

“For quite some time now the ease of life that has surrounded the city of Calandra has had an ill effect in poisoning many a mind into thinking that nothing can ever threaten our existence. Too many years of plenty have created a ruling class that no longer thinks much farther than what is being served at the next meal and who will be serving it to them. Prissley is a prime example of the type of people who rule over us in this dark hour.”

“My prince,” Braxton spoke, his voice tight, “I fear that you edge very near to words that might be considered treason by some.”

Jace moved forward slightly but a quick look from Ranse sent him back. “I understand your concern, Colonel. You are duty bound by your covenant to the king and I respect that loyalty. It is not my intention to start a revolt against our king, or to even suggest such a course of action. My intentions are that we prepare ourselves for what will likely occur in court tomorrow.”

“What be ye saying, lad?” Helgar harrumphed, never one for long speeches or much talk. He was a dwarf, and dwarfs acted; they didn’t sit around talking pleasantries or bantering words that veiled their true intent. Dwarfs addressed the problem and then attacked it with full strength—generally with battle axes flying. “Let’s have it out and quickly. What is it ye
are
trying to say?”

Ranse smiled slightly at Helgar’s words. As a member of the court he’d learned the art of speaking using the dual meanings of words to relay information without seeming to relay information. He had been taught the subtleties of speech and how to decipher each little nuance of a person’s meaning through not only words, but inflections, body posture and the indistinct pauses between words that could speak more clearly than the words themselves. But, like Helgar, he’d never stomached it much. He also preferred direct speech with clear intent.

“What he means to say,” Jack volunteered, “is that we need to plan for the worst. We need to have a plan that we can use if the king’s diplomacy fails.”

“Thank you, Jack,” Ranse said, “but I would change one thing that you said. Not ‘if’ the king’s diplomacy fails, but when.”

Braxton stood and Jace’s hand dropped closer to the hilt of his sword unnoticed by all save Jne. “My apologies my lord prince,” Myles said, “but this is certainly treasonous talk and I cannot be part of it. Nor do I desire to be privy to such arrangements as you would make. My honor will not allow it.”

Jack looked up at his friend, the regret obvious in his eyes. Myles returned his look and then continued as if speaking only to Jack. “I am sworn to the king, and unless one can prove that Dagan is not the king and another should rule in his place, I must retreat from these proceedings.”

There was a long moment of silence as if the very world had paused for breath. Colonel Braxton’s expression was hard as he stared at Jack as if willing him to say something but his old friend just closed his eyes and bowed his head. Braxton’s eyes looked like they meant to bore a hole through Jack’s skull but his fierce gaze only lasted briefly before changing to one of deep sadness. Turning back to Ranse, he saluted quickly and then hastily left the tent. All eyes followed him as he went and then snapped back to the prince whose face had also dropped. Jace watched his liege as if waiting for some sign of action on his part, but Ranse merely sighed and shook his head.

“Are there any others who feel as the Colonel?” he asked, his voice almost too low to hear.

“We have seen the king’s disregard for his people,” Jack suddenly spoke. “If it be treason to speak it, then so be it. All who witnessed what happened at Haykon and have ever been to the capitol city know that Calandra will fall even quicker and with a greater slaughter. We are no longer discussing the intricacies of politics or the pros and cons of one man’s rule compared to another. We are now in a situation where our very survival, and that of all of our people, is in question.”

Teek brought up a hand to his eye, wiping at what may have been a tear. Of all at the council, he knew what Jack meant, his own people having been completely destroyed by a single dragon. He still fought the nightmares brought on by that terrible day.

“And what is this plan?” Jne said, addressing Ranse.

“As Jack said, that Calandra will fall is not a question,” he started. “Though it puts on the façade of being a fortress city, it was not built for defense. And with the size of our enemy, it will fall quickly under their weight.”

“Where else then, can we go?” Dor asked. “Are there no HuMan keeps strong enough to hold against such a horde?”

“Not in the close proximity but there may be one place that might hold against our enemy’s numbers,” Ranse paused as he briefly scanned the room, “Bedler’s Keep.”

“Yes,” Jack immediately agreed, pulling at his beard. “But it is quite some distance. And what army will we have to hold it?”

“Where is this keep?” Thane asked.

Ranse turned around and grabbed a parchment that was leaning against the tent wall behind him and then spread it out on the ground for all to see. He pointed to their current position just outside of Calandra. “We are here.” Then moving his finger to the southwest he rested it on Bedler’s Keep. “And this is the keep.”

“Aye,” Rangor said, nodding his approval. “We passed it on our way here. It be a mighty place indeed.”

“But,” Bardolf added, “as friend Jack has said, what army will ye be havin’ to protect it and how will ye be supplyin’ it? There be near to no one there now.”

“We’ll have to gather as we go,” Ranse replied.

Jack sighed loudly. “With your father’s blessing and help we might be able to get the people there with an army and enough supplies to last, but we both know that he will not only refuse to help, but he will stop you from even trying. He’s proved that much already.”

“Well,” Ranse shot, his temper suddenly flashing to the surface, “if you have a grander idea then I would have it!”

Jack bowed his head and Ranse almost instantly regained his composure, silently running through the mental exercises he’d been taught since a child to enable him to mask his feelings while in front of others. It wasn’t that he was angry with Jack, or his questions. He was, like everyone in the tent, at the end of his strength. Too many would die, perhaps some or all now sitting around him, before it was all over.

“I have none,” Jack admitted. “But the question remains, how will we gather enough strength?”

“Will any of the people in Calandra come with us?” Thane asked, his own doubts arising as to whether they could actually accomplish what was proposed. It was a long distance, and there were so few of them.

Ranse stared hard at the map stretched out before him. He hesitated and then sighed heavily. “Jack is right on that account. The soldiers at Calandra, like the good colonel, will give their lives for the king. They will not join with us.”

“We possibly could sway Wess and his lot from Hell’s End Station,” Jack offered, trying to give some hope where there was none.

Ranse nodded his head. “They had reached the city before I left and were causing any number of problems.”

Jack smiled slightly. “There was purpose in sending them away in the first place. That is a group that will willingly snub a finger to the king’s loyalty.”

“Be they many?” Rangor asked.

Jack and Ranse both shook their heads. “Not so many as needed,” Ranse answered, “but it’s a start. I think we could get the garrison stationed in Aleron, here to join us as well.” he said moving his finger south of Calandra to a mark on the edge of the Underwoods forest. “They are a hardy lot accustomed to fighting the filth that attacks from the Underwoods almost on a daily basis.”

Jack nodded his agreement. “You very well might, but it is out of our direct path to Bedler’s Keep.”

Ranse absently tapped his finger on the map. “We’ll have to split up.”

“What?” Thane, Jack, and Dor all asked in unison.

“Master Ranse,” Thane continued, “we are struggling with uniting a force together as it is. Splitting it will only weaken us.”

Ranse smiled. “We won’t be splitting the army. Jace and I will go alone. You are right, Thane, we do need to keep to the little strength we have. Also, only one from the royal family can convince the soldiers there that they need to leave their posts. You just leave it to me.”

Thane looked at Jack for a brief moment. “It’s still not enough,” Jack sighed.

“What of the Tjal,” Dor shot, “and the dwarfs,” he continued, turning his gaze toward Helgar. “Will you stand with us?”

“I was beginnin’ to be feelin’ unwelcome,” Helgar huffed with a gleam in his eyes. “We dwarfs be always ready to join in a good fight when there be orcs wantin’ to be killed.”

“And what of the Tjal?” Dor asked, redirecting everyone’s focus to Jne.

Jne’s eyes narrowed dangerously as she met each gaze in defiance and open challenge. “The Tjal have been hated and reviled by you humans since the very beginning,” she spat. “Your race is without honor and you further prove that by asking us to spill our blood in your defense when you have treated us as less than dogs.”

Thane nervously glanced about the room seeking to read the reactions of those present but all kept their expressions extremely guarded. Though her words were probably true, and he could add some of his own, he also recognized that none of the races would survive unless they all worked together. He suddenly felt as if they were all pressed against the edge of a knife.

“Jne,” he said tentatively, trying to calm her and the situation. But she ignored him and continued with her tirade.

“The Tjal do not answer to the calls of humans who think themselves masters of all. I will seek my people again when we reach Bedler’s Keep and we will counsel together, but whether or not we decide to cross swords on the side of the humans is our choice. It will be because we decide it is best for the Tjal, not because the humans think to demand our presence.”

The room was silent except for the perceptible exhale of relief that seemed to come from all corners. In her own way, Jne had agreed to call for the Tjal to help. Even though she may hate the fact that their coming would directly help and benefit those who had spit upon and ridiculed her people for centuries, she had also been witness to the foe they faced and knew enough of war to recognize the futility of the situation should any one group stand alone and not offer to help.

“It is decided, then,” Ranse said breaking the silence. “We will approach the king when we reach Calandra and try to speak reason to his mind. If that should fail, then we will carry on with our current plan.”

“And what of the people in Calandra?” Jack asked. “Are they to be left as fodder?”

Ranse shook his head. “We will use the good people of Haykon to quietly spread the word. Whether or not the king decides to give in to reason and quit Calandra matters not at this point. The people will be informed and have a choice. We will need to act immediately upon arrival to gather as many as will come. Our time is short, so as soon as we can supply ourselves we need to be heading away from the city toward Bedler’s Keep.”

“Once I find Wess, which shouldn’t be very difficult,” Jack said, “I can get him to help with his men.”

“And we will be marchin’ back to Thornen Dar within a couple of days to be rousin’ the alarm there,” Helgar added.