Hand of Fire (The Master of the Tane) (25 page)

  
              “Weren’t you terrified?” she asked, forgetting their predicament for the moment while becoming engulfed in the story.

  
              “That’s the strange thing. I suddenly felt completely calm. I knew he was about to kill me but I also knew that no matter how much he destroyed my body, he couldn’t change who or what I was. At that moment, I practically welcomed death. And ever since, whenever I have looked into death’s blank stare I have felt calm and have even challenged it to take me.”

  
              Tam’s look showed that she thought him crazy. “That’s the dumbest thing I have heard in my whole life. Everyone’s afraid of dying. It’s only natural.”

  
              Dor emptied the rest of the food on the floor and then got up, taking the pouch with him. “I should have known you wouldn’t understand. You’re just a dumb girl who can’t see anything past your own selfish thoughts.”

  
              Before she could answer, he exited back towards the cave entrance leaving Tam’s counter insult stuck in her throat.

  
              He looked over the covered entry and smiled at the little bit of snow Tam had managed to dig out. Using his knife he chipped away at it letting it fall into the pouch. “At least we won’t die of thirst.” When the pouch was filled he returned to the fire and placed it close enough so as to melt the snow but not burn the pouch. Tam had put the other piece of quiver on the glowing embers and the fire blazed bright once more.

  
              Both sat in silence staring at the hypnotic flames and not daring to look at the other.
I knew she wouldn’t understand
, Dor thought with a strange feeling of disappointment.

  
             
He’s so insensitive
, Tam returned in her own thoughts.
Stupid girl, humph. He’s the one who’s stupid
.

  
              This went on for quite some time until Tam’s stomach started to growl. She wanted some of the food she’d brought but she didn’t want have to speak to Dor to ask for any of it. Dor, whose temper had cooled by now, heard the noise and couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s so funny?” she snapped.

                 His eyes narrowed but he decided he had had enough arguing for one day. “Would you like some food now?” he asked trying to sound nice. “It is yours after all,” he chuckled.

  
              Tam was about to say no just to show him she didn’t need anything from him but decided she was tired of fighting and too famished to care. “Yes, thank you,” she said trying to smile back.

  
              Dor sighed after dropping some of the tubers into her outstretched hand. “Listen Tam, I’m sorry for yelling at you like I did. I mean if we’re going to be stuck here together we might as well try to be friendly.”

  
              Tam looked at him, realizing the effort it must have taken for him to say that. “You’re right,” she said slowly. “I’m sorry too.”

  
              “Good. Now that we’ve gotten that taken care of how about something to drink?”

  
              Tam smiled as he passed her the pouch. “Why thank you, kind sir.”

  
              “You’re quite welcome, dear madam.” Both of them laughed and the cold, damp cave suddenly felt a bit warmer.

  
              Dor threw the last of the broken arrows onto the fire and then grabbed five more from the other quiver. “I guess we won’t be needing these after all. We might as well stay warm.” Breaking them up, he threw them onto the fire as well giving them enough heat to almost dry out their blankets, as well as their clothes.

  
              Tam yawned. “I wonder what time of day it is?”

  
              Dor followed suit with a yawn of his own and then replied, “I don’t know but it must be close to dark outside. I’m starting to feel a bit sleepy.”

  
              “Me too.”

  
              “I guess that means we should get some sleep. We’ve got a busy day of sitting around tomorrow,” he laughed weakly.

  
              Tam tried to smile but felt more like crying. She looked up at him and noticed that his face was suddenly twisted in such a way as to make it look like he was trying to come to a decision. “What is it?” She finally asked.

  
              “What’s what?” he answered trying to look innocent.

  
              “You look as if your brain is about to explode. What is it?”

  
              Dor shrugged. “It’s nothing,” he said staring at the fire. “Anyway, you’d laugh.”

  
              “No, I wouldn’t, Dor. Come on, out with it. I promise I won’t laugh.”

  
              Dor kept his face down as if embarrassed to say what he had been thinking. “Well, I was just thinking, purely on survival mind you,” he added glancing up quickly.

  
              “Yes, what?”

  
              “Well, judging by the way the fire has been burning, I don’t think it will be going in the morning when we wake up.”

  
              “So?”

  
              “So, if we don’t want to freeze to death our first night, I think, uh...”

  
              “Yes, you think,” Tam was enjoying this too much.

  
              “Hold on there, I’m getting to it,” he said trying to sound angry. “Like I was saying, I...” he paused for a moment and then suddenly rushed on, “I think it would be best if we conserved our heat by sleeping next to each other.” As the last word passed his lips he quickly stared at the ground and waited for the laughter he knew was coming. When nothing happened, he looked up wondering if maybe she had fainted or something.

  
              But Tam’s face showed no emotion. “That’s a good idea Dor. We could use both blankets and our body heat to keep us a lot warmer than if we slept separately. I don’t see why it was so hard for you to mention it.”

  
              “Well,” he said, looking down again, “I didn’t want you thinking the wrong thing.”

  
              “What?” she asked surprised and then smiled. “Oh, come on Dor. You and me? Not even in death.”

  
              Dor’s face got a little bit hot but he wasn’t sure if it was in anger or embarrassment. After all, what was so bad about him? Tam should be flattered he even thought she might think wrongly. He finally decided it wasn’t worth his effort to worry about it and instead moved over under her blank adding his to the top of hers and pulled it up close to their chins.

  
              “This is a lot warmer,” Tam said, moving close enough so their bodies just barely touched. “Am I crowding too close?” she asked.

  
              “No,” Dor replied, trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing, although feeling somewhat strange about her sitting so close. “That’s fine.”

  
              It wasn’t too long before Tam had fallen asleep, her breathing coming softly as Dor struggled to make himself comfortable. He couldn’t quite figure out why sleep had abruptly left him. His heart was pounding like he’d been running all day and he was suddenly short of breath. Finally, he just gave up trying and sat watching the fire as it slowly started dying out.

“I guess I’ll keep first guard,” he chuckled knowing there wasn’t anything to guard against.

                 Dor woke with a start. The fire was down to a few burning embers that gave off the slightest bit of light. He waited for his eyes to adjust not sure of where he was when he felt a weight against his shoulder. Turning quickly, he found Tam with her head resting gently against him and it suddenly all came back. He sighed, wondering what it was that had awoken him and decided it must have been a nightmare. He laughed quietly realizing he was living the nightmare and the possibility of waking up from this one was pretty much nil. He looked around the cave trying to think of some way they could get out but nothing presented itself. It frustrated him because he felt like there was something scratching at his brain, like a distant memory, but he couldn’t quite focus on what it was.

  
              He looked down at the coals, now barely alive, and he saw how they mimicked his and Tam’s situation. Soon they would be dead, just like the fire. He watched the smoke as it made its way up towards the ceiling and then curved off deeper into the cave. Like a wispy river running its course down stream and away into parts unknown. He gasped. Suddenly his mind brought into focus what it was that he had been trying to remember. The smoke! What an idiot he had been! The smoke was moving deeper into the cave. He hadn’t even thought of exploring deeper.

“What a fool you are DorMar,” he said out loud and was about to wake Tam but then stopped. His eyes latched onto her peaceful face as she slowly breathed in and out. She looked different somehow, almost pretty. What was he thinking? This was TamVen, the snotty little girl who always had to have her way and made his nerves curl in a bundle whenever she opened her mouth. As if on its own, his hand moved up to her face and touched her cheek.

                 “What are you doing?” Tam suddenly asked as she quickly sat up and stared at him like he was some strange looking bug.

  
              “Uh, I thought you were asleep,” he stammered.

  
              “How can anyone sleep with you moving around so much?”

  
              “Oh, uh, sorry.”

  
              “What were you doing anyway?”

             
“Well, uh, well, there was a, um, well...”

  
              “Spit it out Dor. Come on, you can do it.”

  
              If he hadn’t been so embarrassed about getting caught trying to touch her he probably would have been on fire by her comment but his whole being suddenly seemed weak and, at the same time, depressed that he’d missed his chance.

  
              “I, uh, I was brushing a bug or something off your cheek. That’s it, that’s what I was doing.” Dor beamed with pride at his quick thinking while getting himself out of a situation he wasn’t sure how he’d gotten into.

  
              Tam furrowed her brow still looking at him like
he
was the bug. “What are you talking about?”

  
              “What do you mean?” he asked wondering if he would have to think of something better and quick.

  
              “That’s why you were moving around so much? A bug?”

  
              Dor suddenly realized she wasn’t talking about his touching her cheek and a wave of relief washed over him bringing some clarity back to his mind. “No,” he said with a slight laugh, the excitement growing in his voice. “I think I’ve found a way out of here!”

  
              Tam’s face brightened while her hands, as if on their own, suddenly brushed frantically at her hair. “Really? How?”

  
              “Look,” Dor said pointing at the fire.

  
              She looked and then her face slowly lost its smile. “So.”

  
              “So? Look at the smoke.”

  
              Tam watched for a moment and then looked at him like he was a bug again. “It’s smoke, so what?”

  
              Dor sighed heavily. How could he have ever thought this mole was pretty? “The smoke is moving back and away not staying in here and smoking us to death. There is some sort of air flow pulling it back into the cave which means there must be some ventilation somewhere and a way out.” Dor felt like he was teaching a piece of wood to dance when Tam’s face finally lit up.

  
              “This is great!” she squealed. “You are a genius!” Suddenly reaching out she grabbed and hugged him tight.

  
              Normally, her actions would have embarrassed him but the pain she created in his collarbone superseded his shyness and was what put the red in his face. “Let go of me,” he barely managed as little dots burst all around his eyes.

  
              Tam let go, preparing to blast him for being so rude when she saw the excruciating pain playing across his face. “Oh Dor, I’m sorry,” she gushed as she released him. “Are you all right?”

  
              “Yes,” he squeezed between his teeth. “Thank you. I just need to rest for a moment. Apparently, all of this excitement is not healthy for me right now.” He leaned back against the cool wall trying to block out the waves of pain that crashed against his shoulder making him feel nauseated.

Tam shot up and ran towards the cave entrance and soon returned with some snow. “Here, put this on it.”