From Across the Clouded Range (34 page)

Dasen left the stream behind a moment
later. He was already planning the meal he would make and failed to
see the dozen other fish up and down the stream flopping onto the
banks or the dark shape that eventually appeared to claim
them.

#

The sun was almost behind the horizon
by the time Dasen was licking the last bits of fish from his
fingers. Hunger finally sated, he took a deep, calming breath. He
never would have imagined that starting a fire and cooking a meal
could be so agonizingly difficult. Less than an hour before, he had
been prepared to throw the whole damned fish into the trees for
whatever animal wanted it, but his rumbling stomach had won out
over his tooth-grinding frustration, and he was finally enjoying
the reward.

When he had returned from the stream,
he had taken water to Tethina but had thought to surprise her with
the fish. She had given him a bag of kindling and a piece of flint
when he asked, but he soon discovered that starting a fire involved
far more than striking flint to steel. He had thrown sparks into
the kindling for what seemed like hours before a flame finally took
hold and remained. Then the fire had burned through his sticks as
fast as he could gather them. When he finally had enough fuel to
sustain the fire, he had to figure out how to cook the fish. He had
crudely gutted it, but there had been no pan, so he had fashioned a
spit, and the fish had promptly fallen off. Then the spit collapsed
and collapsed and collapsed. By the time he deemed the fish cooked,
his fingers were burnt; his clothes were coated in fish guts,
scales, and soot; and the fish was covered in ash, burnt in some
places, and raw in others. But it was food, and in his hunger, he
had shoveled it in so fast he barely noticed.

He looked up at the red glow to the
west behind the trees and enjoyed the tranquility of the forest for
a long moment. Now that his stomach was not rumbling, he was able
to enjoy the beauty around him and could almost understand why
Tethina spent so much time out here.

The thought reminded him that he still
had to deliver the other half of the fish. He sighed at the
prospect, feeling anticipation and dread battling for control of
his emotions. He thought of their kiss, longing for that closeness,
that excitement. But was it worth what came after? Was it worth
having to endure the emotional whiplash she put him through, the
insults, the accusations? With a deep breath, he picked up the
plate. Either way, he couldn’t leave her to starve. He decided he
would take the fish to her, but that was all. He wouldn’t even talk
to her beyond what was absolutely necessary. He was too tired,
sore, and worried to be put through that wringer again.

He took another deep
breath when he arrived at the shelter.
You’re just delivering the fish
, he
told himself.
Nothing more. You’re not
getting drawn into one of her traps. Give her the fish and get out.
That’s it.
Pep-talk complete, he pulled
back the flap that acted as the shelter’s door. The smell hit him
first. The air was musty and stale. It smelled of sweat, damp wool,
pine, and the sour metallic odor that he had come to recognize as
Tethina’s. Inside was dim, but the light that filtered through
revealed Tethina lying in the same spot. Her face was ruddy and
smudged with dirt. Her sweat-matted hair lay in clumps across her
forehead and cheek. One long, white, muscular leg stuck out from
the blanket bared all the way to her thigh, small white foot bare.
It was covered with red scratches and purple bruises, but Dasen
could not help but feel his breath catch at the sight. Inexorably,
his thoughts went in exactly the direction he was trying to
avoid.
Damn her
,
he thought,
even sleeping filthy,
stinking, and battered, she finds ways to draw me
in
.

Cursing silently, he ducked into the
shelter and tried to position himself next to Tethina without
touching her, but her limbs were sprawled everywhere, and his bad
knee could not support a slow descent. The knee gave out, and he
flopped onto something lumpy. The lump moved.

Instantly awake, Tethina snapped her
hand away and clutched it to her chest. “Agh! Damn it! That really
hurt. By the Order, what . . . what do you think you're doing?” She
fixed him with a glare then pulled the hand away from her chest and
flexed it.

The harsh words dispelled Dasen’s
apology. He clenched his teeth and offered the fish. Tethina’s face
softened almost instantly. Her eyes darted from the fish to him and
back again. Her tongue moved over her dry lips, and her stomach
growled under the blankets. A small smile crept onto her lips,
lighting her eyes and revealing tiny dimples on her cheeks. She
looked at him with what might have been admiration.

Dasen felt himself
soaring.
Damn her
. A
smile and a fond look is all she
needs. And in a minute, she’ll probably bring me crashing down. How
does she do that?

Her tongue darted over her lips again
as she accepted the plate. "You probably think that just because
you come with gifts you can sit anywhere you please, even if
there’s already a hand there. Well, my aunt always said, ‘never
trust a man bearing fish.’"

Dasen was so used to her derision that
he did not catch the joke, which only added to her enjoyment. Her
smile grew into a chuckle. Dasen could not help but smile
himself.

Tethina sat up, snatched the plate
from his hands, and began picking the meat away from the bones and
skin. She pushed it into her mouth in a very unladylike way, only
to have a sour expression replace her half smile. She looked as if
she might spit the fish back out onto the plate. "By the Order, how
did you cook this? By just throwing it on the fire? I think I got
more ash than fish, and it’s barely cooked. If I weren't so hungry,
I’d throw the whole thing out."

"I thought it was pretty good
considering the circumstances. Besides, it’s better than nothing. A
poor man shouldn’t complain because his only coin doesn’t shine."
Dasen rattled off his father’s expression with an air of reprisal
then cursed himself. This was exactly what he wanted to
avoid.

"I’m sure it is a fine
effort under the circumstances,” Tethina mocked. “Maybe when I’m
feeling better, I’ll show you the proper way to cook a fish when
there aren’t servants to do it for you. The trick is to use
a
pan
.” She
emphasized the final word as if he might not know what it
was.

Dasen gawked at her audacity. “And
where was I supposed to get a pan? Should I have gone back to the
village and asked the bandits to borrow one?”

Tethina, mouth full, just pointed to a
large rock standing against the back of the shelter.

“
What does that mean? Was
I supposed to use the rock? You know, you are . . . .”

Tethina held up a finger to silence
him. She reached for the rock and, with some effort, rolled it to
the side. Behind the rock was a small alcove. Inside was a sack of
oiled cloth. She removed it and handed it to Dasen then took
another bite of fish without saying a word. The sack held a
flat-bottomed cast-iron pot that would have done nicely for the
fish. He held it out to her in frustration, but she was chewing and
motioned for him to open it. Inside were a generous bag of dried
meat, another of dried fruits and nuts, and a final sack of roots
and herbs that he did not recognize.

Dasen stammered. Thinking back to all
he had been through to cook the fish, he had to restrain his desire
to strangle his wife. "Do you . . . do you realize what I . . . why
. . . why would you . . . why didn’t you.” He stopped and gathered
his thoughts. Tethina had her hand to her mouth, trying to hide her
laughter. “Why did you hide this stuff behind a rock where I'd
never be able to find it? I really could have used this pan and . .
. and the food. I mean, what if I hadn’t caught that fish? Were you
going to let us starve while you had food a foot away?”

Tethina laughed. “Oh Dasen, if you
ever got out of your city, you would know these things. I keep
those things behind that rock to keep animals from getting them.
How long do you think a bag of dried meat, fruit, and nuts would
last in the middle of the forest if it weren't protected? And no, I
would not have let us starve, but if I’d have given you that meat
this morning, we wouldn’t have this.” She gestured to the fish with
mock sarcasm. “Hunger is what drives the wolf to hunt. And, yes,
Milne has as many sayings as Ipid, so don’t think you’re going to
win that battle either.”

Dasen’s ire rose. His jaw clenched. He
wanted to think of something biting to say, but nothing would come
that wasn’t laughable. Tethina raised an eyebrow, daring him to
try. Then she laughed. “Men! You get a compliment but are so
absorbed with feeling wronged that you can’t even see it. How was
it that the Order put you in charge of everything?” She put a hand
on his arm to comfort him then returned to the fish and picked the
bones clean while Dasen tried to figure out where the compliment
had been.

He still hadn’t found it when Tethina
held the plate out for him to take. She had not left a scrap of
meat. “Looks like the fish was alright after all,” Dasen said as he
took the plate.

She snuffed. “It was food. What did
you do to catch it? Did you wrestle it? If so, who won?” She held
her fingers to her nose and waved her hand at him.

His jaw clenched again. “You know, you
don’t look or smell much better. At least I made it outside the
shelter.”

Tethina chuckled and looked at
herself. She smiled. She was enjoying this, was baiting him on
purpose and he couldn’t help but walk into the trap time and again.
“And made it back again. I am amazed. I guessed you would be out
there wondering where the carriage was.”

Dasen gave up. “I need to check on the fire,”
he growled.

“
And that,” Tethina gasped
playfully. “I thought you’d be out there all day wondering how that
flint conjured servants.” She laughed at the repetitive joke then
stretched out across the shelter and rolled over to
sleep.

Despite his comment, Dasen did not
immediately leave. He sat for a long moment and watched Tethina in
the sparse twilight that made its way into the shelter. For some
reason, he could not make himself stand even as his worry grew.
Finally, he pulled his eyes from the back of her head and looked at
the door framed in red light. He gathered himself to leave, but
before he did, he impulsively reached down and brushed an errant
strand of hair from her eyes. He was just bringing his hand back
when its progress stopped.

Tethina's sudden grip on his wrist
almost sent his heart from his chest. He instinctively tried to
wrest his hand away, but she was too strong, and he braced himself
for a brutal scolding. Tethina rolled her head around to face him.
Dasen barely dared to look at her, but when he did, he found
something that surprised him almost as much as her hand on his
wrist. Her eyes were soft and her expression was kind. "Thank you,
Dasen,” she said softly. Her small smile had returned. It suggested
something that might be affection. “If you listen, everything I
said was a compliment. You have done more than I ever would have
expected. You have been very caring and very brave. I am sorry I
gave you a hard time yesterday. I enjoyed kissing you and had no
right to blame you.”

She looked at him for a long moment as
if expecting something. When Dasen failed to speak, her lower lip
slipped up under her teeth and sadness crept into her eyes.
Finally, he shook himself from his shock and gave her what she
clearly wanted. “I’m sorry too. What I said was cruel and unfair.
If you were like any other girl, we’d both be dead right
now.”

Tethina smiled as genuine a smile as
Dasen had yet seen. “Can we just forget all the things we said
then?”

Dasen nodded.

Tethina moved her hand to his and
squeezed it. “Try to get some sleep. You’ll need it in the coming
days. We're safe here. No one knows about this shelter, and no one
lives on this side of the river." She paused and looked into his
eyes, making his stomach flip. "Goodnight."

She released his hand, but Dasen was
too stunned to move. He watched dumbstruck as she drifted back to
sleep. He wondered what he should say, but there was nothing to
say, so he simply stood and stepped into the twilight.

Chapter 17

Dasen was jarred from sleep by a fading dream
and made a groggy inspection of the ground outside the shelter. For
the briefest second, he could not remember where he was, and a wave
of fear raced through him before his mind regained its balance. He
groaned and rolled over onto his back. The night was cool, and the
thin blanket that he had taken from the shelter left him shivering,
so he threw a few stout logs onto the dying fire and eased himself
closer to its warmth.

The sky above was clear and beautiful
unlike any he had ever seen. The moon had dropped near the horizon,
leaving the stars to dominate the night in a multitude so great
that he could spend the entire night counting the number covered by
his outstretch hand. He searched that sky for the constellations he
remembered from his childhood but only found the jester with his
magic flute of bright stars in a row. His eyes grew heavy as he
searched, and he was just about to sleep when something caught his
attention and held him.