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“You have got to be joking,” Liselle cried out. “Nobody could survive walking through that.”
“Do not worry,” Patrick said, stepping forward. “I have this covered.”
“Are you sure?” Tor asked. “I cannot begin to imagine the pain you will go through.”
Patrick just shrugged his shoulders as if it was of no consequence.
The dwarf who had made the announcement then shook his head. “We decide who will go through.”
“No.” Tor moved to stand in front of the dwarf, towering over him. He stood with his legs shoulder width apart and crossed his arms, making himself look as menacing as possible. “I will not allow you to kill any of my people. If anyone has to get burned to death, I will decide who it shall be.”
The dwarf showed no sign of feeling intimidated. “That is not the way it works.”
“Then we are leaving. I have lost one friend to this quest already. I will not lose another.” Tor turned his back and started to walk away, but Jem grabbed his arm.
“If we leave now, William will have died for nothing. If I am the one chosen, I am prepared to walk into those flames.”
Tor stared at him in disbelief. Did Jem realise what he was saying? He then looked around at all of the faces who were watching the confrontation. As his eyes fell on each person, they nodded. Even River and Grimmel.
“It looks like you are outvoted,” Jem told him.
Tor turned back to look at the flames and the dwarf who was standing in front of them. “It seems my team members have other ideas. Who?” He could not make himself finish the sentence. The words ‘who do you want to kill themselves’ would not form in his mouth.
The dwarf could have strung things out, making them all wait on tenterhooks to hear if they were to be the one to die, but he didn’t. He answered immediately.
“Marie.”
“You bastard,” Jem screamed out and launched himself at the speaker, his arms outstretched and his hands open, ready to strangle him. Ban and Torrick grabbed him, dragging him backward, away from his target.
His anger disappeared as quickly as it had surfaced. “Not her. Please, not her.” The anguish he was feeling came through in his voice. “She does not have long to live as it is. Please do not take away the time she has left.”
Marie walked up to him and placed her hand on his cheek. “It is alright.” She was trembling as she spoke. She nodded to Ban and Torrick and they released him. The moment he was free he hugged her tight.
“I will not let this happen,” he told her.
They felt rather than saw people move around them, forming a protective ring. While they were prepared to die for Tor, they were not going to let Marie do so.
“You do not have to decide now,” the lead dwarf announced. “Food will be prepared and you will be provided with rooms for the night. The ceremony will be in the morning.” He sounded like a gracious host rather than someone who was demanding a live sacrifice.
Nobody felt like eating and they knew they would not be able to sleep, but they silently followed the dwarf as he led them deeper into the village. It was good to leave the fire behind them, but they all knew that when they closed their eyes they would see its image and would be able to picture what would happen the next day.
The village was small and it did not take them long to reach the outskirts, where they were led into a large building. Many doors lined a long corridor, but they were taken past them to a set of double doors at the end. They opened automatically as the dwarf leading them approached, revealing a dining room. A long stone table was surrounded by chairs and steam could be seen rising from platters of food.
“Magic?” Tor asked Bellak, but he shook his head.
“Eat your fill,” the dwarf instructed. “There is a bell on the table. If you need anything, please ring it. There are a number of bedrooms in this house. Make use of them however you see fit. I will return at sunrise. Your horses are being taken care of and your belongings will be delivered to you shortly.”
He turned to leave, but Tor blocked his path. “Are we prisoners?”
The dwarf raised his head, as though he was looking Tor in the eyes, but his face gave away nothing. “No. You are free to leave whenever you wish, but I would not recommend it.”
“Why not?”
“Because you will not be able to complete the quest.”
The dwarf then whistled and two more dwarves appeared from inside the dining room. It had been these who had opened the doors when they heard the group approaching. There was nothing magical about the house at all. Maybe there was nothing mysterious about how these dwarves knew when to expect them either. It was possible they had lookouts stationed around the area and a quick messaging system.
Tor was still pondering this when Patrick interrupted his thoughts. “Why do I find it so hard to trust someone who keeps his eyes covered?”
“Because most people say more with their eyes than they do with their mouths,” Ellen informed him. “If they hide their eyes you feel like they are hiding something else.”
“And I believe these people have a lot to hide,” Tor said. “I do not like the fact that only one of them ever speaks. Grimmel, is there anything else you can tell us?”
Grimmel shook his head. “I have told you all I know.”
“Then we might as well eat and discuss what our next move should be.”
The food was surprisingly good. Though nobody really felt like eating, as soon as their first mouthful reached their taste buds they readily ate more. Except for Jem and Marie, who could not face trying anything.
Wine had been provided, as well as fruit juices and water and there were plenty of different vegetables to keep River happy. Almost everyone ate their fill and there was still more left on the table.
While they ate, they talked. First Tor apologised for bringing everyone with him. He thought the quest might involve some danger, but if he had had the slightest notion that any of those accompanying him would die he would have done it all alone.
It was Ban who told him that that would not have been possible and that he had warned each of them of the danger. He had not forced any of them to join; everyone had made their own decision so he had nothing to feel guilty about.
Next Tor wanted to know why each of them had agreed to face death for him.
“After all you have done for me, what else could I do?” Seth said.
“I was a soldier. Facing death is what soldiers do,” Torrick told him.
“And I always go where my husband goes,” Liselle added.
Modo shrugged his shoulders. “We all have to die sometime,” and Ban nodded his agreement.
“I want my brother’s death to have some meaning,” Jem explained, “and if the quest ends here, that will not be possible.”
“And I am dying anyway,” Marie said.
Bellak, Vicky and Nosmas all believed that there was some trick or that they would be able to use magic to survive the experience.
River explained that, as she was needed to blow the horn, she never for one moment believed that her name would be called out and Grimmel admitted that he thought the same about himself.
Ellen thought for a while before answering. “You will make a good King, some of your brothers will not. I love Remeny and want it to have a proper ruler. What is my life compared to the running of our country?”
Patrick did not need to answer. Everyone knew that death was a temporary state for him, so he did not face the same dilemma.
That only left Ria. For a moment Tor thought she would not answer. He had not known her long and, out of all of those present, it was her reason that he wanted to hear most. It made no sense to him that she would be willing to lay down her life for him.
Eventually she spoke. “Travelling with you is the first time I have ever felt safe. I feel like I belong, that I am part of a family. If it had been my name called and I let you put my life ahead of your quest, I would be filled with guilt. I would no longer feel worthy of travelling with you and I would be forced to go out on my own again.” She looked like she was going to say more, but fell silent.
Tor wanted to argue against letting Marie enter the flames. He wanted to give up on the quest; the cost was just too high, but after all that everyone had said he felt he would be letting them down if he did. Instead he tried a different tack.
“Does anyone have any idea how we can get the next clue without Marie dying?”
He looked around the table expectantly, but without any real hope. The only reply he received was blank faces and silence. It was broken by Jem.
“I am sorry, but I really need to be alone with Marie right now.” She did not protest as he took her hand, helped her to her feet and escorted her out of the room.
Ria watched them leave with interest. “So that explains why Nosmas had to sleep in our room,” she commented to Ellen.
Patrick could not help overhearing. “You stayed in the same room as Ellen and Ria? You are braver than I thought.” A grin spread across his face. “Tell me, how was the view?”
Nosmas gave him a sour look while Tor pointed to the door. “If you are going to make comments like that for the rest of the evening, you can leave the room.”
“Sorry,” he said, not meaning it at all. “I could not resist.”
Jem led Marie down the corridor, stopping at the door furthest away from the dining room.
As he had hoped, it was a well-furnished bedroom. There were two small bedside tables with lamps burning on them, a large chest of drawers and a dressing table, over which hung a tapestry of a waterfall. The bed was large and the covers looked soft and inviting. In the middle lay their bags.
“How?” Jem started to say, then he shook his head. He had more important things to think about. He locked the door then began to undress. When he was down to his underclothes he helped Marie untie her dress.
As she finished taking most of her clothes off, he got under the covers. She slid in beside him and he pulled her close. With one arm he cradled her while he gently stroked her face with his other hand.
“You really are beautiful,” he told her, then kissed her passionately. “Please do not do this.” He did not need to explain what he was talking about. “Come away with me. I will make your last few weeks the happiest you have ever had.”
Marie shook her head. “You do not understand. My final few days will be agony for me as my organs are slowly destroyed. I do not want you to see me go through that. Please do not ask me to.”
Though he desperately wanted to, Jem did not argue any further against her decision. Instead he kissed her again. “We should try to get some sleep,” he suggested when he finally pulled away from her, but Marie had other ideas.
“Make love to me.”
It was a request not an order and Jem could not be certain he had heard her correctly. “Are you sure?”
She nodded her head. “I want to have you once before I die.”
That was all he needed to hear. He quickly removed the rest of his clothes, throwing them onto the floor and not caring where they landed. Then he made to help her remove her petticoat, but she stopped him.
“Please blow out the lamp. My body is so ugly I cannot face you seeing it.”
This time Jem did not follow her request. “No.” He traced the design of the pattern on her arm with his fingers. “This illness, this disease does not make you ugly. Nothing ever could. If I am only ever going to be able to intimately touch you once, I want to see what I am doing. I want to remember every little detail.”
This time she did not stop him as he took hold of the hem of the thin material and slowly pulled it over her head.
For a while he just looked at her with adoring eyes, taking every detail into his memory and storing it away. Then he began to touch her, gently at first but becoming firmer as he kissed her once more. He tried not to rush, but passion was overtaking both of them and keeping things slow became impossible.
Soon all thought of their problems and Marie’s impending death left their minds as they concentrated on nothing but each other.
Nobody slept well that night, other than Jem and Marie, who were so exhausted they could not keep their eyes open. Breakfast was waiting for them when the first person entered the dining room and soon only Jem and Marie were not present.
Jem watched Marie as she slept. She was still smiling. He could not believe this would be their last few hours together. From the window he could see that the sun was beginning to rise and he willed it to stop.
When Marie began to stir he kissed her forehead. She rolled over and hugged him tight.
“Can I ask you a question?” he asked as he stroked her back. “You know when you said you wanted to have me once before you die. How do you feel about making it twice?”
She lifted her head to look at him and her gaze was filled with love. “I am sure you can persuade me.”
Breakfast was finished long before their host arrived.
“I thought you said sunrise,” Patrick said sarcastically as the dwarf entered the room.
“We had to delay as two of your party were...um... busy.” He blushed.
A few moments later Jem and Marie arrived. Despite the fact that they had not eaten the previous evening, neither could face food.
“Are you ready?” the dwarf asked.
“Yes,” Marie lied.
“Can some of us stay here?” Liselle asked, hugging herself tight as a chill went through her. She had grown close to Marie and did not think she would be able to bear watching her die.
“Unfortunately, no.” The dwarf sounded genuinely regretful.
With weary hearts, Tor and all of his companions trudged out of the building and headed back toward the main square. Nobody wanted to enter it, but they forced themselves to, and the sight of the fire in front of them made more than one person shiver.
Dwarves lined each side of the fire ‘pit’, staring with covered eyes into the flames. As the group approached, as one the dwarves bowed their heads.
“It is time,” the lead dwarf said, though not unkindly.
Marie turned to Jem and he hugged her tight.
“I cannot lose you,” he told her.
“We both knew it was going to happen. It is just happening a little sooner than expected.”
She freed herself from his embrace and kissed him on the lips. Then she turned away, knowing that if she stayed any longer she would not have the courage to face her fate.
She walked up to the fire, feeling the heat on her face as she approached, her legs trembling more with each step.
“There has to be another way,” Ellen said, tears streaming down her face. “We cannot let her do this.”
“It is her decision to make,” Patrick told her and took her in his arms, pulling her tight to his chest and using his body to prevent her seeing what was about to happen.
Marie took a deep breath and raised her foot, ready to step into the flames, but Tor called to her.
“Marie. You do not have to do this.”
When she turned to look at him, the tears filling her eyes threatened to overflow. “I have no choice.”
“Of course you do. We can walk away, abandon the quest. It is not worth you losing your life over.”
“Listen to him,” Jem called out. Nobody pointed out to him that it was he who talked Tor out of doing that exact thing the previous day. It would be too cruel to remind him that it was his fault that Marie was going to die.
Marie kept her eyes on Tor, knowing that if she turned to look at Jem she would lose the fragile hold she had on herself and would break down. “We all know I only have a few weeks to live anyway.” Her voice broke as she spoke.
Tor walked up to her and took her hands in his. “There is so much you could do in those few weeks. Do not give them up. Especially not for me.”
Without saying a word she pulled her hands away and turned toward the flames once more.
Despair took hold of Jem, starting in the pit of his stomach and rapidly spreading outward until he found it hard to breathe. Then suddenly he knew what he had to do.
“Wait,” he cried out and ran up to Marie, slipping his hand into hers. “Let me go with you.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head.
“Please,” he begged. “Walking into fire will hurt a lot less than watching you die.”
Marie looked toward the head dwarf, silently asking for permission. His mouth had become a thin straight line. He was clearly displeased with what was being asked.
He turned to look at his fellow dwarves, who were still standing around the fire. They raised their heads and once more stared into the flames. Then he sightlessly looked at the fire himself. Finally he turned back and nodded his head.
Jem removed his jacket, shirt and shoes and handed them to Ban. They might be of use to one of the others and he saw no sense in keeping them on. It was not as if they would offer him any protection. Marie, too, slipped her shoes off and stepped away from them.
She clutched Jem’s hand tight as together they took their first step toward death. The light of the flames danced off Jem’s bare chest and Marie would have appreciated the sight, had the circumstances been different.
Bracing themselves for the agony they were about to endure, they continued to walk forward, stepping over the bricks and into the liquid they held in place.
Nothing happened. They could feel the flames all around them, going through them, playing with their hair, but they did not burn. Jem and Marie looked at each other in surprise, neither understanding what was happening, then they continued to walk forward.
Jem watched the flames dancing along his skin, but they had no effect on the hairs on his arm. He could feel the heat, but it was bearable. Breathing was hard, but not impossible.
“What is going on?” Tor asked as he watched his friends walk through the fire. “Is this some sort of optical illusion or a cruel trick?”
His despair was turning to anger and the dwarf hurriedly answered his question. “Neither. Wait until they walk out of the fire and you will understand.”
Tor did as he was told, though his pacing showed his impatience. “That is not helping you know,” Seth told him, but Tor ignored the comment.
It seemed to take forever, but eventually he saw Jem and Marie emerge, apparently unscathed, out of the fire.
“Now will you tell us what this charade was all about?” Tor snapped. He did not like his emotions being played with, or those of his friends.
The dwarf did not answer.
“Grimmel,” Tor shouted. “Get here now.”
Grimmel ran over, but there was nothing he could do to help. He had as little idea about what had just happened as Tor did and he knew of no way of forcing his countryman to reveal his secrets.
Ellen ran up to Marie and hugged her. “Are you alright?” she asked in concern. Then she gasped. “Look at your skin.”
Jem and Marie were too overwhelmed with still being alive that they had not taken anything else in. Jem raised his hand, which was still attached to Marie’s, and studied her.
The markings had faded. They were still clearly visible, but the change was easy to notice.
“What does this mean?” Marie asked, worried that the fire had hastened her illness instead of helping it.
The dwarf smiled. “You must both be hungry, seeing as you have not eaten since arriving here. Return with me to the visitors lodge and I will explain everything.”
“Start talking,” Tor demanded once everyone was seated around the table and Jem and Marie had started to eat.
“I can understand your anger,” the dwarf said, “but I hope you will understand why things had to happen the way they did.”
As promised, he told them everything they needed to know, starting with the fire itself.
“It is not a normal fire; the flames are in fact living creatures that we feed and care for. We are their protectors and they, in turn, tell us of the future. That is how we knew when to expect you, which rooms each would sleep in, when to collect you for this morning’s ceremony.”
He went on to explain that the dwarves who lived in the village kept their eyes bandaged as they discovered that this heightened their sense of hearing to such a degree that they could hear what the mysterious fire creatures were saying. They knew about Marie’s illness and said they could help.
“They can cure me?” Marie asked, her voice filled with hope for the first time since she had joined the quest.
The dwarf shook his head. “I am afraid not. All they can do is keep the disease at bay. If you walk through the flames each day, the markings will keep reducing until they are no longer visible, but they will come back. Eventually you will be able to cut down to only going into the fire once, maybe twice a week, but if you leave it any longer, the markings will start to appear once more.”
Marie was more than happy with this news. Tears formed in her eyes, but this time they were tears of joy. “So if I stay here I will live?”
The dwarf nodded his head. “We will make you more than welcome. Both of you.” He looked toward Jem. “I am assuming that you will be staying as well.”
“If she will let me.” Marie’s answer was to leap out of her chair and throw herself into his open arms. She sat on his lap and kissed him so passionately most people around the table had to look away.
Patrick cleared his throat. “If you two are going to carry on doing that, please can you do so in the privacy of your own room.”
Marie’s face started to colour, but Jem was too filled with happiness to be embarrassed by the comment. “Good idea,” he said and gently pushed Marie away from him so he could stand up. He then took her by the hand and they walked toward the door.
Before they left the room, however, Marie freed her hand and ran over to the dwarf. Bending low she hugged him tight. “Thank you,” she whispered in his ear. Then she rushed back to Jem’s side and he closed the door behind them.
“Someone seems happy,” the dwarf commented.
“Well I am far from happy,” Tor growled. “Why not just tell us all this upfront. Why let us all think Marie was going to die? That was beyond cruel.”
The dwarf sighed. “I am sorry, but this was how it had to happen. Marie had to truly believe she would die. If not, the flame creatures would not have been able to help her. They would not have been able to enter her body and attack her disease. Now that they have gained entry once, they will have no trouble doing so again.”
“So this had nothing to do with the quest,” Seth observed. “You did not make any of Tor’s brothers go through this?”
The dwarf shook his head.
“You already knew we were in last place, yet you delayed us by an extra day,” Bellak accused.
“It was worth it though, do you not agree?” The wizard reluctantly did so. The fire creatures had saved Marie’s life; that was far more important than falling further behind on the quest. Hopefully they would be able to make up the time on the next leg.
“So why have none of the other dwarves spoken to us and why have you not even told us your name?” Nosmas asked.
“Again I must apologise. Our sight is not the only thing we have given up in order to communicate with the flame creatures. As the leader of the group, I am the only one that talks. Everyone else in the village chooses to be mute in order to hear the creatures better. They can read our minds, so we do not need to speak verbally to them. And the reason I have not told you my name is because I do not have one. Now, does anyone have any more questions, or do you want to go and get the next clue?”
“One more thing,” Hurst said, raising his hand as if asking permission to speak. “May I speak with the fire creatures before we go? You have given us no reason to trust you and I, for one, would like confirmation on what you have been telling us.”
The dwarf looked unsure of himself. “I do not know if they will speak with you.”
“I only ask that you let me try.”
“Very well,” the dwarf said, but he sounded far from happy. Hurst was led back to the fire, where he went down on his knees and placed his hands into the flames. Almost instantly he could hear their voices. They were excited to be speaking to a human for the first time in their known history and wanted to know all about him.
“I can hear them,” he said, his voice filled with wonder.
“You may remain here for as long as you wish,” he was informed. “I will lead Ban, River, Grimmel and Tor to the Stairway to the Gods.”
Leaving the rest of their group behind, the four of them followed their guide out of the village and into the countryside. They had not been walking long when the dwarf stopped and pointed in front of him.
“There is the first step. The path is narrow so you will have to go up in single file. Do not become separated or you may lose your way. Tor must go first as the clue will be calling to him, guiding his path if ever it is in doubt. Once River has blown on the horn the clue will be revealed. I will wait here for you. Good luck.”
He handed small shoulder bags to each of them and a quick inspection showed they contained food and a few bottles of water.
Tor looked at the steps. They did not seem steep, but quickly veered to the right, into woodland and out of his line of sight. “How many steps did you say there were?” he asked Grimmel.
“Around ten thousand.”
“Oh well. Here goes.” He placed his foot on the first step and began to climb.
River went next, followed by Grimmel then Ban. They kept some distance between them, so they did not get in each other’s way and did not risk bumping into each other if the person in front tripped or stopped suddenly, but they made sure the person in front of them was always in sight.
The journey started well. The weather was good; the sun was shining but the trees provided plenty of shade and a cool breeze prevented them from overheating. The scenery was spectacular and birds could be heard calling to each other. The steps were well spaced out, allowing them to walk along for a short way between each upward step, thus not tiring their muscles as much as they had feared.
Then the fog set in. It seemed to come from nowhere and soon River could not see Tor ahead of her. She could hear him though and could see the next two or three steps in front, so she was not worried. So far there had been no deviations from the path that could accidentally be taken, so not being able to see Tor did not concern her.
A short while later she rounded a bend and could just make out a fork in the path ahead. She had no idea which way to go. She walked a few steps up one side and listened hard, but could hear no sound of movement in front of her. She tried the other, but with the same result. Looking behind her she hoped to see Grimmel, but there was no sign of him.
She suddenly felt very alone and began to be afraid.
“Tor,” she called out, but there was no reply.