The door to Tam’s room swung open and he whirled, drawing his sword from the scabbard. When he saw Keiron standing on the threshold, he returned his weapon to its holder.
Isla watched the two stare each other down as if on the brink of a conflict. She stepped deeper into the corner. The small room, with only one narrow bed in the centre, didn’t provide any place to hide. The last rays of the evening sun kissed the glass on the only window. Light from the lantern hanging near the door illuminated the shadows and flashed in the hauflin’s eyes.
“I’ll have our orders soon.” Keiron closed the door “Be ready to leave at dawn.” He glanced at her then back at the dwarf. “Make sure it doesn’t escape tonight.” He threw a short chain connected to a shackle on the bed.
“What’s that for?” Tam glared at him.
“Use yer imagination.” Keiron handed him a key.
“You want me to chain her?”
Isla pulled her hands around her. The thought of being shackled like an animal terrified her.
“Concerned it might get in yer way?” He leered at him. “When yer done, chain her.”
“This is wrong.”
Keiron stepped forward and held a dagger to the dwarf’s neck. “What’s wrong is a man who doesn’t live for himself.”
The evil in his eyes made Isla sink deeper in the corner. Her hands shook and her heart beat faster. If he killed Tam, she’d have no buffer between her and Keiron, her and the gnome.
Tam glared at him. He measured a foot taller than the hauflin but held no weapon. “Fine.” Spit sprayed from his mouth.
Keiron released him with a shove. “If she escapes, it’ll be yer blood Reese will savour.” He glared at Isla. “Kill her if she tries to escape.” He slid the dagger back into the sheath and chuckled. “If yew’ve got the stomach for it.”
“She’ll be here in the morning.” Tam put distance between him and the hauflin.
“It wouldn’t be the first time yew let a prisoner escape.” Keiron clenched his fists. “I’m startin’ to think yer losing yer nerve.”
“He was boy!” Tam’s top lip curled. “I won’t kill a child for you.”
“He was practically a man!”
“He was a terrified little boy.” He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. “Did you have to kill his mum in front of him?”
“I carry out my orders. I don’t worry about the details.”
“Is she a detail?” Tam pointed at Isla.
She watched the hauflin grumble as he walked out, slamming the door behind him. Tam stared at the door as if he wanted to follow Keiron and kill him. But he didn’t. Instead, he withdrew the sword from the scabbard and tossed it on the bed. He dug into his rucksack and withdrew a sharpening stone.
Tam sat on the bed and dragged the stone along the blade. He spit on the weapon to make the slide more effective. He flipped the sword and repeated the action. Isla guessed he had perfected the motion over the years. She had seen it many times before in the guardhouse. When he finished with the length of the blade, he used a special curved stone to sharpen the tip.
As she watched the familiar procedure, her nerves settled, but she didn’t move from her spot. Tam used the same cleaning and sharpening method as her das, Farlan and every other guard in the guardhouse. She wondered if everyone sharpened their swords in the same manner. Keiron didn’t, neither did Reese. Tam took pride in his weapons. He respected them.
She realised he had also taken the bit from his horse’s mouth to let it drink. Her das did that, too, and he trained all his guards to do it. He had been trained in the procedure when he enlisted. She had asked him about it once, and he said, Do you want to drink with a piece of steel in your mouth? Your horse can save your life. Treat it well, better than you treat yourself. When you need it, it’ll be there.
Tam treated his horse with respect. He cared for it the same way her das taught all new recruits to tend their animals.
As strange as it seemed, Isla wondered if Tam had once served as a guard at Aruam Castle. If so, why had he left, and why did he wander The Trail with bandits? She wanted to ask him, but didn’t know how. Thinking about the lecture on How to Interrogate a Prisoner, she decided to use the shock effect. She’d word her question in a way that made him think she knew more than she actually did. Her das had said, The look on his face usually gave away the answer.
“Tam.” To her surprise, her voice didn’t shake. He continued to sharpen his sword and didn’t look up. She thought of the exact words before she spoke. “How long did you serve as an Aruam Castle Guard?”
He glanced at her. “What makes you think I worked as a guard at that hovel?”
Isla caught her breath; he had served at the castle. “You did…It’s obvious to me.” He was about ten years older than her das. Maybe they served together, but she didn’t remember him.
Tam stopped sharpening his sword and studied her as he thought. “Who are you?”
“Isla of—”
“No, I mean who are you? Or better yet, who is your das, this dwarf you speak of? Does he serve at the castle?”
She nodded. Maybe he would help her escape if he knew.
“In what capacity?”
“He’s a sergeant.”
Tam rubbed the back of his hand across his chin. “Your das is Sergeant Bronwyn Darrow?” When she nodded, he released a nervous chuckle. “What the hell does Keiron want with you?”
“I don’t know. Do you know my das?”
“Know him? No. But we’ve crossed paths.” He started to clean his sword again. “He’s…something.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing. You look at him with different eyes than I do.”
“He’s a good man, an honourable one.”
Tam chuckled. “He’s that.”
She wondered why Tam had left the service of the castle. Was he a dishonourable man?
The evening passed. Isla had done nothing but sit and watch him clean his weapons and equipment. When he stood and put everything away, preparing for sleep, she wondered if he’d carry out Keiron’s instructions. The chain and shackle still lay on the bed where they had been tossed. Tam moved them to the foot, pulled back the blankets and looked at her.
“Take off your shoes,” he said. She removed the footwear, and he gestured her towards the bed. “Lay down.”
“On the bed?” If she had the bed, where would he sleep?
“I didn’t point to the floor.”
Isla climbed onto the mattress, and he pulled the blankets over her. He picked up the shackle and sat next to her head. “Tell me if this is too tight.” He fixed the metal band around her wrist and snapped it in place. “Does it hurt?”
She shook her head. “It frightens me.”
He looked down at her. His face knotted as if he prepared to drive a dagger into his own leg. “If you need anything in the night, wake me.” He secured the chain to the corner post and stood. On the floor beside the bed, he spread his blankets. He locked the door, secured it with a metal bar and extinguished the lantern.
Isla heard him crawl into his bedroll. By the time he had settled, her eyes had adjusted to the dim light. As a dwarf, he also possessed the ability to see as well as her under these conditions. Several minutes passed before she found the courage to ask the question haunting her since her kidnapping.
“Tam, does Keiron plan to kill me?”
A cold silence followed. When she thought he wouldn’t answer, he spoke in a low voice. “I don’t know.”
“Will you let him?” She heard him heave a heavy sigh.
“Isla, the first thing you learn on The Trail is you have to look out for yourself, or you’re a dead man. If you’re sure you can help another without spending your life then it’s up to you to judge if the person is worthy of your help.”
Isla could see he stared at the moon shine illuminating the ceiling. She heard strong emotions in his voice, and when she studied his eyes, she thought th
ey glistened from dampness.
“Trail life is brutal,” he said. “At times you can’t help the one whose life is worthier than your own and when you can’t, nothing matters.”