The Bonding Read online

  “Yes. He certainly made mincemeat out of you.” Davin smirked, and then held up both hands as Kiri made a gesture that threatened bodily injury to some treasured part of his anatomy. “Sorry, I was only joking. Actually, I was going to thank you for letting me watch your exercises. You move beautifully, like a dancer.”

  Slightly mollified, Kiri replied, “I studied dance when I was in training. It's not enough to wave a broadsword around. In fact, uncontrolled movements can cause injuries. Dancing helped us learn control.” A loud groan emerged from the tent. “Is he always so eager?”

  “Always. Stay clear if you are wise. He's broken many hearts.

  Kiri shook her head. “Well, mine is in no danger from that one.”

  “You might want to warn Eliada,” Davin suggested.

  “She has no heart to be broken,” Kiri said, and then clapped her hands over her mouth, horrified with herself.

  Davin laughed. “Don't worry. I won't tell her you said that. She's pretty eager herself, isn't she?”

  Kiri just rolled her eyes. “And you,” she asked, “are you like them?”

  Davin leaned casually back against the tree trunk. “No,” he said, “I'm too old to chase every skirt that goes by. I wouldn't bother with anyone unless she was worth knowing for a loooong time. Old, blond, and blatant doesn't really do it for me. She would have to be dark and mysterious and strong. Do you know anyone like that?” His relaxed pose contrasted sharply with his intense expression.

  Kiri could hardly believe what she was hearing. No. She couldn't believe it. “You're not…flirting with me, are you?”

  “Yes,” he admitted without embarrassment. “Is it working?”

  For a moment she could only stare. Then, she exclaimed, “I don't even know you!”

  “I'm Davin. You're Kiri.”

  “Yes, but…sir, can you SEE me?” she demanded

  Davin appeared nonplussed for a moment. “What do you mean? Of course I can see you.”

  “Really? How do I look to you?” He still looked puzzled, so she tried again. “What color is my hair?”

  “Brown,” he replied calmly.

  “And my face, how does it look,” Kiri pressed.

  “Young and smooth…mostly. What kind of questions are these?” he demanded.

  “Well I wanted to be sure you could really see me, and not my old woman disguise.”

  Davin snorted. “Kiri, I haven't seen your disguise since last night.”

  She gulped. “Oh, I wasn't sure what version of me you were really talking to.”

  “It's the hair, isn't it?” he asked, smoothing a silver strand back into the queue. “Many people assume I'm older than I am because of it. My hair grayed prematurely when a magical experiment went wrong years ago. I've been like this since I was seventeen.”

  “Oh,” Kiri replied. Oh gods, he could really be flirting. “And now?”

  “I'm thirty-two.”

  “Fairly young then.”

  His mouth turned up in a smile. “Yes. So you see, it's Kiri the young warrior woman I wanted to talk to.”

  Startled, Kiri blinked several times before demanding, “Why?”

  “I don't exactly know,” he replied. “You fascinate me. Besides, with what we're up against, it's not likely that any of us will live the next month. I don't want to die regretting that I didn't at least try to talk to the most interesting woman I've seen in…I don't know…ever.”

  Kiri smiled. What a man to turn grave danger into a sexy joke. The change in her expression pulled uncomfortably where her scars cut into her lips. It had been so long since anyone had flirted with her, and she was really enjoying it. Gray hair notwithstanding, Davin had a pleasant, attractive face, warm laughing brown eyes, and a charming personality. He was extremely likable. If things were different…

  Her expression turned serious. “Davin, it's so kind of you. I really do appreciate your interest. No one has shown any in me in so long. But I really can't do this with you. You're very tempting, but it's forbidden. I cannot have liaisons with anyone.

  He traced the line of her jaw with his thumb, and the touch elicited pleasurable shivers through Kiri's entire frame. “But you're not in your own country anymore. Here, no one knows you. If you bent the rules, who would be here to object?”

  Oh Gods, he tempts me. How can a stranger tempt me so much? Shaking off the drugging sensations, she replied, “Eliada.”

  “Look, she's not here. Looks like she and Jarrell have gone off alone together.” More moans emerged from the tent. Kiri turned her face that direction, then away, allowing her mistress some privacy. Gods, to have need of privacy. Davin reached out one finger towards Kiri's shimmering braid. She caught the movement in her peripheral vision.

  “Don't touch my hair,” Kiri said sharply. Davin drew his hand back, startled.

  “I'm sorry,” she said, more softly, “That sounded really stupid, didn't it. I'm not afraid to be touched or anything. Look.” She gingerly pulled the twisted coil over her shoulder so Davin could see that there was… something poking out between the strands. “It's a weapon I designed. If you touch it, it will cut you.”

  “What can? I don't see anything.” He met her eyes, confused again. Poor Davin. I'll have you tied up in knots in no time.

  “I have metal strikers with sharpened iron spikes twisted into my braid. Touch it if you want, but be very careful.”

  Davin gingerly ran his finger over her hair. When he reached the juncture of two strands, his skin was punctured by something hard and very sharp. He withdrew quickly, watching several drops of blood run down his fingertip.

  “You turned your hair into a weapon? Why on earth did you do that?” Interesting. He sounds as fascinated as he does stunned.

  She explained. “Long hair is always a weak point for a warrior. Most women cut theirs short, like a man, in order to prevent it from being grabbed in battle. I've always been a little vain about my hair, and I didn't want to cut it, so I developed the braid spikes. Anyone who takes hold of my hair will get a nasty surprise.”

  “How do you keep from cutting yourself?” he demanded, eyeing his bleeding finger.

  “Years of practice,” she replied succinctly. “It wasn't pretty at first.” She slipped the blouse off one shoulder and showed him a messy crosshatch of scars. He winced.

  “Later, I learned to use them as an active weapon, not just a defensive one. I was so glad to have them after… after they did this to my face.” She indicated her scars with the back of her hand. “At least I can keep my long hair and still feel like a woman.”

  “What happened to you?” Davin asked softly.

  Lord and Lady, don't ask me that. Don't make me explain that I'm a… not to Davin. She forced her expression to grim seriousness. “This is my punishment for a terrible crime. You would be wise not to flirt with me. I killed the last man who did, and this was the result.”

  Without another word, she turned and walked away.

  Chapter 3

  Over the next several days, Kiri refused to interact with Davin. She was not actually as angry with him as she pretended to be. She just needed an excuse not to let him near her. He was too appealing, too tempting, and she simply could not afford to be distracted anymore. The stakes were too high. He did not give up his pursuit of her, however. He watched her spar with Jarrell every night. She wondered if he realized she let the larger man win each time. It doesn't do to reveal one's full abilities outside of battle. Each evening, beside their cooking fire, he sat next to her. Eliada did not object because she went into Jarrell's tent soon after the evening meal and was not seen again until morning. Sometimes, Davin would talk, telling her funny stories, trying to make her laugh, but mostly he remained quiet, near her but not attempting to interact, merely allowing her to become accustomed to his presence. Rather like taming a wild beast, she thought ruefully to herself as the four walked through a densely wooded area, and it's working. The temptation to grab onto a little human contact offered by such
a charming man was almost more than she could resist. A crooked half-smile pulled her scars to the left.

  “What are you grinning about?” Eliada snapped. “Your task is not to enjoy yourself.”

  “No, my lady, of course not.” The response was automatic, but her tone was tepid, distracted.

  “I see you watching that wizard,” Eliada said abruptly, startling her younger companion. “He watches you too. Remember you are forbidden any contact with men. I will not tolerate your sluttish ways on this trip. You are only here to protect me with your sword. If you are mooning over some man, you will be worse than useless. You will be a danger to us all.”

  “Yes, my lady,” Kiri replied obediently, but inwardly she chafed at being called a slut by a woman who spent each night in the tent of a near total stranger.

  On the thirteenth day of their journey, they emerged from the forest into a little clearing.

  “There is the cave,” Davin stated, pointing at a muddy looking crack in the rock ahead.

  “Nasty things,” Eliada commented to no one in particular. “I hate them.”

  “This one is particularly nasty,” Davin told her, “Because of what is inside.”

  “Show me,” the witch demanded.

  The four of them squeezed into the hole and found themselves in a dark and very tight passage. Jarrell had to turn sideways to get through. Davin, smaller and slenderer than his companion, just barely fit. As they walked deeper into the tunnel, Kiri experienced a strange sensation. It felt as though invisible waves of water were bouncing off the walls and hitting her at unexpected moments. By the time they stepped out into a rather large room, she felt completely unsettled. Eliada, she noticed, was shuddering visibly. Davin looked quite strained. Only Jarrell stepped into the room with a great show of relief, as he was finally able to stretch out. A small amount of natural light filtered into this chamber from a crack in the ceiling above, and as Kiri turned towards it, flashes of brilliant color shone all around her. She looked at the walls and gasped. The entire room was a single hollow crystal, and the dim sunlight shone on hundreds of glittering facets. It was astonishingly beautiful. In the twinkling, colorful light, Kiri could see a low stone platform in the center of the room. She approached cautiously. There, under a glass dome, was one of the most disgusting things she had ever seen. It had clearly once been a man, tall and well formed, but now he was shrunken, his skin grayish like a corpse. Most horrifying of all, both eyes had been sown shut. This was not part of his punishment. Instead, he had done it himself, blocking out all physical sight and relying solely on his magical ability to lead him. Kiri knew that inside his mouth was a set of sharpened iron teeth, which he had placed himself with many magic spells. There was also a small five-pointed green leaf, shining with red veins. This was the only thing that held him in his magically induced stasis. It was a focus point for the magic of many of the best mages of the past. If that leaf ever slipped from his mouth, he would rise and continue his quest for total domination of the world around him.

  “Well,” Jarrell said, his voice strained as he attempted his usual boisterous tone, “at least we know this one is still where it's supposed to be. How do we destroy it?”

  “As near as anyone can tell,” Davin replied, “the best thing to do is cut him up, burn the pieces, and sprinkle the ashes around the different passages of this cavern. He won't die, but such small fragments will hardly be able to find each other again, particularly if he remains in stasis and encased in crystal.”

  “If the means to destroy this creature is known,” Kiri said, “why was it not done long ago?”

  “What a warrior,” Davin replied fondly. “Destroy your enemy. Listen, Kiri, politics are a lot more complicated than battles. Governments are reluctant to give up sources of power, no matter how dangerous they may be. But everyone agrees on this now. The creature must be destroyed, immediately.”

  “That means spending a lot more time in this cave,” Eliada said sourly.

  Ah good, something practical to do. Disgusting, but far from difficult. “How do we begin?” Kiri asked.

  “We have to gather a large amount of wood from outside and bring it in here. We should have the fire going before we start cutting,” Davin explained.

  “I'll stay and guard him,” Eliada volunteered. Davin's eyes narrowed. “That won't be necessary,” he told her. “The female will never come in here. No one else lives for miles around. There's nothing to guard him from. This will go much faster if we all go out together.”

  Kiri sensed a tension between the two wizards, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was about. At least gathering wood is clear-cut enough.

  The group squeezed uncomfortably back through the opening to the clearing, and the wizards sighed with relief as their magical abilities reignited. They scattered into the woods, but Kiri noticed Davin staying near her as always.

  “What do you want?” she asked, exasperated by his persistence. “Do you think you need to be a hero and protect me?”

  “Not at all. If there's danger, I want to stay close to the best source of protection.”

  She laughed in spite of her self. No magical law-enforcer could be so ineffectual. “Davin,” she said, trying his name out for the first time. It felt deliciously naughty and intimate. She asked the question that had been bothering her from the beginning. “How long will it take her to get here?”

  “Hard to say,” he replied, releasing his insouciance. “Our best defense is the secrecy of this cave. Undoubtedly, the perpetrator is a mage who was enslaved by her magic. She will make that person find out where the male is hidden, and bring him here to free the creature. That will take a little time, but she has mind control on her side. With any luck, the male will already be destroyed before she arrives. We will have enough to do trying to contain her. Both of them together would be unstoppable.”

  “So likely we don't have much time.” She summed up the situation in a single, succinct phrase.

  “Likely not,” he agreed, his usual smile fading to a grimace.

  “And our odds of surviving?”

  “All of us? Almost nonexistent. Most likely none of us will.”

  She nodded. Impossible odds. “Still, my grandmother survived.”

  “Your grandmother?”

  “Yes. She developed the magic leaves, and then she and my grandfather administered them.” Kiri wasn't sure why she was saying these things, but it felt good to make conversation with someone who cared to listen. “She was so brave, fighting the creatures while she was pregnant with my mother, and she lived.”

  Kiri's story rendered Davin wide-eyed. “You're the grandchild of those two heroes? Then it's fitting you're here, to complete what they started, what your grandfather died doing.” He paused. “Are you sure you have no magic yourself? Your grandmother was a powerful mage.”

  Kiri shook her head and her heavy, weighted braid slithered across her back like a serpent. “No more than the merest spark. I can feel when others use magic, but I cannot connect to it.”

  “Odd,” Davin commented, his face drawn into a mask of disbelief.

  “My mother had no magic,” Kiri pointed out.

  “Of course not. Normally, it skips a generation. My parents had no magic, but my sister and I both did.”

  “Well I don't,” Kiri stated firmly. “I've been tested over and over. Nothing ever happens.”

  “But you should be able to feel magic through the bond with Eliada,” he pressed. Why is this so important to him? I told him I have no magic.

  “Perhaps I could, if such a bond existed,” Kiri explained.

  Davin stared. “So you two were not bonded?”

  “No, Davin, I was never her swordmaster. I'm her slave.” Her cheeks heated at the painful admission.

  He dipped his chin slowly, acknowledging her words, then added, “You know, Jarrell and I were never bonded either. He isn't my slave though. We work together.”

  “Why?” She blinked in surprise. We
're doomed.

  “You know how the bonding ceremony works?”

  Kiri nodded.

  “Well, Jarrell was not willing to kiss another man, even for symbolic reasons. I wasn't sorry. I prefer girls myself.” He winked at her, though the gesture lacked his customary sexiness.

  “Ah, I see.” Kiri turned away.

  “But it means that I have no protection against that thing. None of us does.” Kiri nodded. “She could turn Eliada and me into slaves in a heartbeat, and you and Jarrell would be food. We would be much safer with a magical bond.” Of course we would, Davin, but it's too late, she thought, and then realized he seemed to be pressing forward towards making a point. She focused on his words. “Kiri, would you be willing to bond with me? Together, the two of us stand a much better chance that either of us alone. And kissing you would be no hardship.”

  Oh gods, really? Kiri opened her mouth to speak, and then hesitated. Finally she said sadly, “I can't do it Davin. Eliada would know. I'm under a death sentence. When we returned home, I would be executed immediately. Hell, she would be within her rights to kill me where I stood. It can never happen.” She fought down an urge to sniffle. Everything I've ever dreamed of stands before me and I have to refuse it. Life grows more unfair every year. She reached out to Davin with the hand not burdened with a pile of sticks and gently touched his shirt. “I do want to say one thing, though, since this battle is likely to be the end of us. I wanted to tell you I am glad to have known you. There are precious few good men in the world, and you must be one of the best.”

  “Kiri, you're making me blush,” he said lightly. Then, in a darker tone, “do you mean that?”

  She set down the wood and laid her hand on his cheek. He turned to look down into her upturned eyes. “Yes,” she said softly.

  Davin dropped his armful of kindling, gathered Kiri to his chest and brought his mouth down hard on hers. She slid her arms around his neck and kissed him back. They clung, tasting each other, clutching tight, for several minutes. Stoking down her back, Davin pressed Kiri close. She moaned into his mouth at the intimate contact, hugging him tighter, not resisting at all. Pure pleasure flared in her core as she accepted a deep thrust of Davin's tongue. Too long since I've kissed a man. I've forgotten how wonderful it feels. And even then, a little voice reminded her, it was nothing like this. If I'm going to die anyway, I want it to be with the taste of this man in my mouth, the feeling of his warmth on my skin. She drank in the beautiful sensations, savoring long forgotten passion and arousal.