Hand of Fire (The Master of the Tane) (58 page)

             
“You lookin’ for this?” the man hissed.

             
Teek swallowed hard not sure how he should feel as his knife suddenly appeared in the man’s hand. He was at once relieved that his dagger had not been lost while simultaneously fearful that he may not ever get it back.

             
“It’s mine now, boy,” he said in almost a whisper, a line of spittle escaping his lips and running down his chin. Thrusting the blade into the air, he raised his voice in a wild scream. “It’s mine! Ee, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee! All mine!”

             
Another voice suddenly echoed through the morning still as his other captor popped his head up from over near the fire. “Shut up, you fool! What are ya trying to do, call every cursed animal in the woods to us?”

             
The crusty man that held Teek’s knife clamped his mouth shut with a snap and then slumped his shoulders. After throwing a quick look over to his companion he turned back to Teek. “It is mine,” he said and then licked the blade before turning around and running back to the fire.

             
Teek shuttered, too frightened to even cry. He watched as the other man rose from his bed and then both started working on the fire to try and get it going again. He thought he recognized a piece of his push pole being thrown in and his heart ached at the thought. He was too young and inexperienced for this sort of thing. He just wanted to be home with his family, laughing with his brother and sisters and catching crabs for his mother.

“Where are you Twee?” he whispered, looking through the branches overhead to the blue sky above. “You said you would watch over me.”

              The men cooked their breakfast sending warm smells through the air to taunt him as he sat in pain and hunger. Would they feed him or was he to be left there to starve? It wasn’t long before he got his answer as the other man approached with a plate of already chewed on bones. The first thing he noticed was the strange patch that covered the man’s left eye. Just as filthy, his dress and manner were similar to that of the first man, excepting his greater height and larger build.

He dropped the plate at Teek’s feet. “You get what’s left,” he grunted, in the same gravelly voice that had whispered in his ear the day before. Then, he disappeared around the back of the tree that held Teek prisoner and in moments there was slack in the rope that held his wrists giving him free movement to pull his arms forward. His hands tingled painfully as circulation was suddenly reintroduced and almost immediately his wrists seemed to swell where the ropes had bit into his flesh.

Teek looked up at the man that had returned to stand over him and then grabbed a bone and forced it into his mouth trying to clean off any pieces of meat that may have been left. The man stared down at him without expression while Teek tore through the rest of the bones trying to relieve his intense hunger.

             
“Hungry, ain’t ya?” he said with a mirthless smile. Teek didn’t answer working ravenously on the bone in his mouth. The man laughed. “That sure was some bit of work you did yesterday. Enough to build up any man’s appetite I would suppose.”

             
Teek stopped his gnawing and looked up, afraid of what the man might do but he just stared back with his one good eye. Teek felt a small chill of terror from what he saw there.

             
“Ya know, boy,” he finally said, “took us a whole week o’ workin’ to git that bird caught.” Teek sat motionless as the man raised his head and looked up. “Yep,” he continued, “built us up a mighty good appetite, jis like you.” The man paused for a moment, bringing up his grimy hand to rub his equally dirty face. “It sure gets me to wonderin’. How is it that we all been so busy and doin’ so much workin’ but none of us has nothin’ to show fer it?” He paused again and then suddenly bent down, putting his face right next to Teek’s. “What do you think, boy?”

             
A shiver of fear shot through Teek’s slim body and he felt like he might begin to cry at any moment. It wasn’t right what the men were doing and he didn’t regret helping the bird, but he didn’t want to die for it either. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing would come out.

             
“Come on, boy,” the man said with a smile, “surely you must have some idear.”

             
Teek took in a large gulp of air, trying unsuccessfully to calm his nerves. “I...I...”

             
“You what, boy?” the man said lightly. “Come on now. You can talk to me. Heck, we’re all friends here now, ain’t we? Tell old Zel whacha got ta say.”

             
Teek felt a spark of hope warming in his chest that maybe these men were not going to hurt him after all. “I...I didn’t know it was your bird,” he spat out in a hurry. Then it all seemed to pile out in a heap together. “I was just going along and I heard the bird cry so I went over to see what was wrong and I found it there stuck in the tree so I thought I should help it because it seemed to be in such pain and I didn’t know you had been trying to catch it, honest.” He took in a deep breath as tears started to well up in his eyes. “Please don’t hurt me. My mother and my brother and sisters are waiting for me back in the swamps. Please, don’t kill me. They’re waiting for me to return. I’m on a special journey and I know that if you just tell me where you live that when I come back I can repay you for what you lost. Just please, please don’t hurt me.”

             
The man leaned back on his heals and smiled as a tear escaped and ran down Teek’s cheek. “Now, now, there boy, didn’t I say we was all friends here?”

             
Teek looked at the ground and nodded feeling a bit more hopeful but still afraid of what they might do.

             
“That’s right. And everyone knows that Zel don’t hurt his own friends. Now, you says you are on some type o’ journey and that you can pay us back, right?”

             
Teek looked up and nodded his head. “Oh yes, if you just let me go, I promise to bring back a prize that will more than pay for what you lost from the bird.”

             
“Is that right?” Zel said rubbing his chin and looking thoughtfully at the Waseeni boy.

Teek nodded again and then waited as the man sat quietly as if in deep thought.

“I now,” he finally said with a bright smile on his face. “Tell me what ya think o’ this idear. Now, you say you’re on some type o’ journey and that you can pay us back when you’re through, right?”

             
“Yes.”

             
“Well, how’s about you pay us now and then we can let you go on that there journey?”

             
Teek’s face darkened. “But…but how can I do that?”

             
“Gold, boy. Goods. Come now, you must have something you could give us.”

             
He thought for a moment in desperation when an idea flashed into his mind. “There is one thing,” he said softly, sorrow and regret filling his voice. “I can let you have my dagger. It’s a real dwarf blade.”

             
Zel smirked, enjoying his little game and then looked at Teek very seriously. “You’re kidding me. That blade o’ yers is from real, live dwarf folk. Well, what do ya know?”

             
“Yes,” he answered feeling that it might be enough, but then Zel’s face suddenly clouded.

             
“Wait just a minute now,” he said shaking his head. “I can’t do that.”

             
Teek’s face dropped. “What? Why not?”

             
“Well, ya see boy, that blade don’t belong to yous no more.”

             
“What?”

             
“I truly am sorry, but that blade belongs to Brak now.”

             
“Who?” Teek asked in shocked disbelief.

             
Zel pointed his thumb behind him. “You know, Brak.”

             
“But wait,” he said desperately. “That’s my blade. My mother gave it to me.”

             
“I’s sure she did,” Zel said gently. “But the fact of it is, Brak found it in the swamp and, well,” Zel’s voice suddenly lowered as he moved in a bit closer, “he’s come a bit attached to it.”

             
Teek felt a rush of desperation suddenly wash over him. What had he gotten himself into? What was he to do? The tears started gathering again.

             
“Now, wait a minute there,” Zel rasped. “Don’t be gettin’ all soggy eyed on me. I got me an idear that might jis get us all out o’ this here mess at once.”

             
Teek looked up, another tear dripping down his face.

             
“I knows these people see, who might jis be wantin’ someone o’ yer stature. Ya know, someone that likes to be workin’ in other people’s business.”

             
Teek just waited, unsure of what Zel meant.

             
“I bet they’d be willin’ to pay us what we lost and at the same time take you on a journey.” Zel slapped his knee and flashed Teek a broad smile that revealed a mouth almost as bad as Brak’s. “Now, how’s that sound?”

             
“I don’t know,” Teek said, still unsure of what Zel was saying. “Who are these people and where will we find them?” he asked timidly.

             
“Why, they be the fine people at the slave markets in Gildor,” Zel said as he reared back with laughter.

Teek felt as if he’d been punched in the stomach. His heart seized in his chest as a moment of pure panic clutched his throat at the mention of the slave markets. Twee had told him how people sold other people for money like they were mere possessions to be owned and traded. How had this happened? “But...but...” he stammered, “I thought you said...”

              Zel’s face suddenly became red with hatred as he thrust it up against Teek’s. “You should have done yer thinkin’,” he spat angrily spewing spittle all over, “before ya up and freed our bird.”

             
Teek couldn’t hold back the free flowing tears. He wanted to beg for mercy, see if they couldn’t come to some other agreement but Zel just turned around and moved back toward the fire howling with laughter the whole way.

“Oh, Mother,” Teek whispered between his sobs.
Twee, where are you?

             
Soon, he was taken from his spot by the tree and a rope was placed around his neck. For a moment he panicked, thinking they had changed their minds and had decided instead to hang him but Brak just grabbed the rope and pulled him along after him. They had broken camp and were now headed almost due east, deeper into the forest.

Teek couldn’t help the tears that fell at the thought of being sold as a slave. The horrible stories Twee had told of the slave markets in Gildor kept running through his mind no matter how hard he tried to push them away. Though falling out of favor with most, the slave markets were still kept open as punishment for those who could not pay their debts or who had committed certain, non-violent crimes. According to Twee, too often the type of person who purchased the slaves was more a criminal than those being sold and many slaves ended up dead from abuse or lack of care.

              Teek became fatigued rather quickly as he was pulled along the rough trail. He had done very little walking in his life. All transportation in the swamps was done by canoe. The longest he had ever had to walk was from one end of the hut to the other. His legs burned with pain now and he began to stumble often, inviting strong jerks on the rope. Each pull momentarily cut off his air forcing him to lunge forward in an effort to keep up and release the rope’s tension.

Clouds now covered the once clear morning sky and a terrible blanket of humidity fell heavily upon the travelers. Teek struggled to draw in breath, feeling as if he had to chew it first before it was small enough to enter his lungs. The stifling heat caused great rivers of sweat to gush from his body inviting bugs of all kinds to feast on his exposed flesh. Brak gave him another jerk turning around to sneer at him; laughing heartily at Teek’s suffering.

“Come on little dog,” he screeched throwing himself into a fit.

             
Teek was to the point of complete exhaustion and dehydration. He knew that soon he would not be able to keep himself upright, let alone continue walking. Brak suddenly stopped causing Teek to stumble into him.

“Watch it!” Brak screamed knocking him across the face with his filthy hand and then laughing as the Waseeni boy dropped to the ground. “Let me cut him,” his whinny voice keened as he kicked Teek in the ribs.

              Teek grimaced in pain and looked up to find Zel’s face right above his own. “How ya doin’, boy?” he asked with a sneer.

             
Forcing himself up onto one elbow, he choked on his dry throat as he tried to plead for something to drink.

             
“What’s that, boy?” Zel said cupping his ear as if trying to hear.