Authors: Tamie Dearen
Silence fell over the group… an awkward heavy blanket. Kaevin had the good grace to appear abashed.
Two bright red spots bloomed on Daegreth’s cheeks. Blinking in rapid succession, he murmured, “I offer my sincere apologies; I’ve spoken out of turn.” He backed away until he tripped on a stump under the snow, almost losing his footing. Righting himself, he spun on his heel and disappeared into the house.
No one spoke for a few interminable breaths. Charles cleared his throat. “I think we should consider utilizing zip ties again, just as a safeguard, so he can remain here in Montana. How could we send the boy back to such a life?”
“Charles, I’m surprised to hear such sentiment from your lips. I thought your only concern was Alora’s safety.” Graely winked at his friend to soften the impact of his words.
“I can hear how desperate he is. I don’t need Chaleah’s power to know truth when it’s spoken. Plus he’s only a boy, though he speaks like a man. How old is he?”
“He has nineteen years,” Graely answered. “One more than Kaevin.” He didn’t look back to see his son’s expression.
“We’ll use the zip ties if that’s what it takes to keep him here,” Brian agreed. “And maybe Steven will have an idea what to do when he comes tomorrow.”
“I’m anxious to meet your son,” Graely said. “He must be very gifted in intelligence for you to so anticipate his help in this dilemma.” He tried to imagine a more slender version of Daegreth, as that was how Brian and Karen had described him.
“Yeah, he’s pretty smart, alright. He’s getting a PhD in Astrophysics.” Brian beamed his pride.
The words sounded foreign to Graely’s ears. “What does this mean? What is his gift?”
Brian’s mouth curved up on one corner. “Basically, it means he’s spent years sitting around and gazing at the stars while contemplating the meaning of the universe. But it’s given him plenty of time to learn how to solve unimaginable problems. This should be a piece of cake.”
“A piece of cake?” asked Graely.
“This shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for Steven,” Brian clarified.
Charles made a grunting noise, his mouth set in a grim line.
“You don’t agree, Charles?” Graely asked.
“I’m still unhappy Brian took it upon himself to break our agreement. The more people who’re aware of Alora’s gift, the more dangerous it is for her.”
“Charles, you worry too much.” Brian laughed. “I promise Steven won’t tell a soul. He could write a paper about Alora’s ability and publish it in one of his journals, but nobody would believe him. He’d be a laughing-stock.”
The muscles along Charles’ jaw clenched and unclenched. “I hope you’re right.”
Kaevin gripped the zip ties with sweaty fingers as he followed the long hallway to the room where Daegreth was to sleep. Slipping the thin straps into his pocket, he retrieved a blade before entering the room.
Why did he ask for me to be the one to bind him to the bed?
Daegreth had secluded himself in his room the entire evening, refusing to come out and declining dinner, despite a long conversation with Karen and Brian. Since Daegreth had insisted his restraint begin immediately, Kaevin’s father had been the first to secure him. Kaevin opened the door to find Daegreth bound to the metal chair Brian had retrieved from an outside sitting area. The chair faced the window, providing a view of the sun setting behind the mountains. Daegreth sat so quiet and still, Kaevin wondered if he might be asleep.
Steeling himself in an effort to hold onto his righteous indignation, Kaevin approached him from behind.
“This realm is very beautiful, isn’t it?” Daegreth’s voice sounded flat and impassive. “I suppose Tenavae might be beautiful as well, but I can’t remember ever noticing.”
I don’t feel like chatting with him.
“I don’t know. I suppose both are beautiful.”
Daegreth twisted to peer over his shoulder. “Please come closer. I’m not a danger, bound as I am to this chair.”
“I’m not afraid of you.” Kaevin relished the resentment he felt at Daegreth’s insinuation.
“Of course you have no fear of me, gifted as you are in dexterity and carrying a blade. But you’re the only man in this household who seems to understand the true danger I pose to everyone here.”
Kaevin gave him a silent nod as he moved to stand where they could face one another.
“I awoke this morning in this house and heard a bird sounding a merry tune outside the window. It was the first time I remember hearing a bird sing since I was a child.” Daegreth’s eyes squeezed shut. “I can’t hear birds singing in Tenavae. All I can hear is Vindrake’s voice in my mind.”
Kaevin knew he ought to offer regrets for his earlier harsh words. He’d been jealous and immature. With great effort, he formed an apology in his mind. “Daegreth, I—”
“Kaevin, I need to confess something and ask a favor of you, though you hate me with good cause.”
“I don’t hate you, although I don’t trust you, either. You’re not at fault, but Vindrake’s bond—”
“No. You’re correct about me.” Though his voice was without inflection, he looked up with haunted eyes. “I killed him. I killed my best friend.”
Kaevin felt a cold chill ripple down his back. He stared for a long moment before forcing his mouth closed. No proper response came to mind.
Daegreth continued. “In the trials. Everyone must fight—it’s mandatory. Brivaene wasn’t gifted in strength or dexterity or weapons. He never had a chance of victory. He wanted to die—he didn’t wish to become a wendt. I killed him. I watched the life leave his eyes. How I longed to join him, yet my bloodbond made me fight to win.”
Imagining in his mind if he were forced to kill Jireo, Kaevin’s gut roiled. For the first time, he felt true empathy for the boy whose bond made him his mortal enemy.
“So, I want you to promise something. If this doesn’t work… if the bondmark returns, you must kill me. If there isn’t a way to eliminate the bloodbond, will you do that for me?”
“Kill you? You want me to promise to kill you?” A wave of dizziness struck and Kaevin reached out to steady himself against the wall.
“Yes, promise me. Please. I have no one else to ask. You can’t imagine how sickening it is to have Vindrake’s evil controlling your body.”
“Still, I don’t believe I can make that promise.”
“Kaevin, if you don’t I’ll eventually kill someone… Wesley. Brian. Karen. Alora.”
“It may never come to that. Perhaps Vindrake won’t locate the portal. Or we may find a way to eliminate the bond. The council plans to search for a way to dissolve the soulmate bond between Alora and me; we may discover some method to remove your bond with Vindrake as well.”
Why do I suddenly care so much for Daegreth’s life?
“I would like that.” There was a hint of hope in his voice. “But if not, can I count on you? I would recommend killing me while I’m still bound.”
Kaevin recoiled even further at the idea of slaughtering him while he was helpless to defend himself. “I’ll not sink so low—”
“Kaevin, you can’t take the risk of setting me free. Not if Vindrake has control of my body. Don’t you understand? I won the tournament—the entire tournament. I might as well be a wendt. I’m nothing more than a foul creature, honed and trained to kill at Vindrake’s will. You must promise you’ll execute me before I can kill anyone else. Please.”
Kaevin locked gazes with him, and saw the fear in his eyes. Not a fear of death, but of a fate far worse. “Fine. I’ll promise to do it. I’m certain it won’t be necessary.”
Daegreth smiled as Kaevin freed his wrists and feet from the chair. He stood and stretched before moving to lie on the bed, extending his arms over his head to be secured to the scrolled metal frame.
“I wanted an opportunity to speak with you alone tonight. However, next time we should have several men present when I’m unbound, for safety’s sake. Thank you for your promise, Kaevin. And don’t be concerned… If it becomes necessary, I’ll make your task easy. I’ll taunt and curse you and help you feel angry. That much I can do with Vindrake’s bond in control.”
Somehow Kaevin didn’t think a few derisive words from Daegreth would make the task painless. He now felt sorry for Daegreth, and the feeling didn’t sit well with him at all. He struggled with a need to make amends for his previous unsympathetic attitude. “Daegreth. About before . . . I’m sorry I judged you harshly.”
Daegreth opened his eyes wide. “You may have demonstrated disrespect to your father, but why should you apologize to me? You only spoke the truth about me. I might wish it otherwise, but it is truth nonetheless. You judged correctly that I am malevolent and your enemy, not to be trusted.” He closed his eyes again. “If I may depend on you to end my piteous existence should the need arise, I’m content. I’ll sleep better tonight than I have since I can remember.”
“But you’re not a vile person,” Kaevin insisted.
For a long time, only silence answered him. When Daegreth replied, his voice was so soft Kaevin had to lean close to hear his words. “I wanted to be a hero… When I was a little boy, I thought I would grow up to be a great warrior and fight for my people—like you and your father and Morvaen. I wanted to save lives, not destroy them. I detest what I’ve become with every ounce of my being. You’ve given no insult to me that I haven’t already given to myself.”
“But still—”
“Good sleep, Kaevin. Thank you, again. I’ll hold you to your promise.”
“You’re really not anything like your brother, are you?” Alora plopped onto the couch beside Wesley, who’d been conspicuously quiet for the past three hours since his brother’s arrival.
Steven’s dark curls bounced as he spoke with animated eloquence, explaining everything he understood about the universe, which heretofore had not included parallel realms. Tall and thin, his fingers appeared even longer with his emphatic gestures.
His muscular twin—for the two really did appear almost identical in their facial features—sat on the couch, his hands and feet bound with zip ties. Daegreth wasn’t secured in place, a condition to which he only agreed because Brian was carrying his loaded gun.
“No, not at all,” Wesley said. “I totally took after Dad, and Steven took after Mom. Dad likes to hunt and fish like me. Steven and Mom were always the intellectuals in the family.” He spoke without taking his eyes off his brother.
“Makes sense. How old is he?”
“He’s twenty-four—seven years older than me. By the way, where’s Beth? She hasn’t come over since Daegreth got here.”
“Still grounded until tomorrow.”
“For going to Laegenshire without permission?”
“I think so. I don’t know for sure. She gets grounded a lot.”
In a surreptitious motion, he pointed his nose toward Steven and Daegreth. “But it’s kind of creepy, isn’t it? How much they look alike?”
Alora nodded. The resemblance, contrasted with their disparity of body types, was the stuff of sci-fi movies. Both had dark curly hair, though Daegreth’s was longer, and he sported a sparse beard. She centered the two on the image of her phone and snapped a picture, sending it off to Beth with a caption:
Twins? What do you think?
“How long is Steven staying here?
Wesley shrugged. “No telling. He abandoned his research to come, but he’s always been flighty like that.”
Alora’s cell phone vibrated with Beth’s reply:
Awesome! I wish I could be there.
She showed her phone to Wesley, who stifled a laugh, shaking his head.
“You know Steven will want to go to Laegenshire and see it for himself, right? He hasn’t asked yet, but he will.”
“I’ve already transported with him outside the house and back. So he knows we’re telling the truth.”
“It’s not that he doesn’t believe you. He wants to observe and take notes or do some kind of experiment, I’m sure. He’s way too curious to be satisfied with our descriptions.”
Right on cue, Steven motioned toward Alora. “I think I’m ready to visit this new realm now. Let me make sure I have everything I need. I know my cell phone won’t work, but surely the camera will function…”
“You can’t take your cell phone or any other kind of camera.” Wesley answered before Alora could decide how to respond. “You can’t take anything metal on a transport. It just gets left behind. So we take ceramic knives, and I take my compound bows because they’re made of a composite instead of metal.”
“No metal will transport?” He ran his fingers through his unruly locks. “But my pants have a zipper, and the zipper didn’t stay behind when Alora transported me.”
“We think maybe small amounts of metal, like zippers, will transport.” Alora had been always been a bit confused about this issue. “But I know cell phones don’t go, because I’ve tried it.”
“Ah! Then it’s probably stainless steel that won’t transport.” Steven paced, musing aloud. “So any metal with iron in it. Zippers are made of other metals—aluminum and nickel, I think. If stainless steel won’t transport, I can’t take a watch. Darn, I wanted to see if there was a shift in the time measured on two identical watches if one transported and the other stayed behind.”
Alora whispered to Wesley. “He’s awfully smart, isn’t he?”