The Binding (32 page)

He shrugs as he continues digging through the bag, “Most likely walk, we really don’t have a choice.”

“Who would take them way out here,” asks Julia searching about her in disbelief.

Alorn laughs softly answering, “You’d be surprised.”

“There’s a ranger station close by,” adds Phoris, “They probably kept an eye on them for a while, and when no one came for them after a day or two, they had them towed to their station.”

“Can we go get them?” I ask hopefully.

“No. Too dangerous. The Ange could be there waiting. Tharin won’t take the chance. There’s also the chance that when we get there the rangers may not have them.”

Julia and I look at each other and then around us as we put on our gloves.
I can feel my fin gers tingle with a thousand pins and needles as the gloves quickly warm them. I didn’t realize my feet were cold until I had wrapped them in the cloth from Tharin. The warmth it provides extends up my calves and just above the knee . The only area s freezing are my thighs, with only my jeans to protect them . M
y face also feels frozen and ready to break.

As if reading my mind, Phoris tosses us each something similar to his beanie. When I lift it to get a better look, I see two ho les staring back at me ―
a mask!
I turn to see Julia first pulling the mask over her head like a beanie, and then she p ulls it down until she’s looking through the mask’s eyelets. I hear her giggle and I quickly put mine on . Pho ris then tosses us another headwear, a fur -lined hood with two lar ge flaps at the front. I pull it over the beanie to find a snug fit and realize that the flaps have Velcro on them . I pull the flaps together and my neck is now covered and warm. I button up the rest of my coat and breathe through the mask easily. I stretch out my hands checking out my new gloves and realize that , with the exception of my eyes, I’m completely covered.

I turn toward Phoris and he’s putting the head gear on Mellis as Alorn dresses himself. Before Alorn pulls his mask down, I notice the pain run across his face. His skin looks almost a s white as the snow. Something i s wrong. I saw his cut on the fiel d , and even though it’s not as deep as Mellis ’
, it still looks ugly and painful. Something about his breathing doesn’t seem right, as if he’s struggling for air, more so for someone with only a knife wound , a healed one at that . I look at his lips just before the mask comes dow n and notice they’
re discolored. It can’t be the cold. He’s covered up and I’m sure his clothing , including his coat , are protecting him from the low temperature .

“He’s been poisoned,”
says a familiar voice in my head.
It’s a woman’s voice that I’ve never heard before, but yet it’s familiar to me.
W
ithout question, I move into action.
I tear off my two headpieces and new gloves as I move toward him. I’m at his side within seconds removing his mask to find him unconscious. Phoris is startle d and sucks in a hard breath when he sees Alorn’s face. He reaches over and shakes his cousin, calling out his name. I quickly lay Alorn down onto the snow. Julia is at his feet trying to straighten him out , no longer weari ng the mask and furry cap.
Phoris comes around to my side. I undo Alorn’s coat and lift his jersey. The wound is still close d from Tolan’s healing. Along the cut, however, the skin is green and sickly and black spots spread along the closed wound, just under his skin. I watch closely as the black poison continues to slowly spread up his torso and upper back.

Phoris gasps
through clenched teeth, “Poison!
”

The woman in my head is softly talking , and I find myself following her instructions without question. I know she’s here to help, but who she is, I don’t know. I focus on Alorn, listening intently to the voice as I continue to follow her directions closely.

“Give me your knife, ”
I demand of Phoris. He looks at me for a moment and I stare back at him without wavering, “Give me your knife,” I ask again.

Without further hesitation, he takes his blade from his side and hands it to me handle first.

In a calm voice I say, “Phoris, call the elements. I need the black root misma that grows here. Have the elements show you the way and bring it to me.”

“Misma?” ask Phoris .
“It’s poisonous.”

I make a cut
at one end of the wound and without turning to him, “I know , Phoris. Please trust me on this. Hurry.”

I hear Phoris rise and then he’s gone without another sound. Julia com es near and watches for a minute.
“Lily, do you know what you’re doing? How do you know about this root?”

The blood that flows from the wound is black, thick and oily. I press down around the wound trying to push the pois on toward the opening and watch as it slowly seeps out.

“I don’t know, Julia. I just do. Here,” I ask pulling on the warrior’s arm, “help me get him on his side. I’ll need to try and work the poison out from his back.” Somehow, I know the woman speaking to me doesn’t want Julia to know about her. A slight sense of guilt flows through me , as I’ve never kept anything from Julia before. She grabs hold of Alorn’s hip and together we pull the elf so he’s on his side. Julia grabs Tolan’s coat, rolling it on her lap quickly. She moves to Alorn’s head, lifts it and slips the coat under him.

I hop to the other side and look at his back. The back area is not as bad as the front, w hich means the cut started deep from the front, and then tapered off as it sliced along the back .
I take Phoris’ knife and make another cut near the end of the wound on his back . The black blood is now seeping slowly from both ends.

While pressing gently along the wound, I say, “Check on Mellis. See if his lips are also discolored , t hen check the knife wound to see that it’s not infected like this.”

Julia does as I say as she quickly moves to Mellis. I can hear her grunting with effort as she tries to lay Mellis on his back. Phoris appears kneeling beside Alorn, root in his hand. As I take it from him, he holds on to it not releasing it right away .

“Please,” I say locking eyes with him , “trust me.”

Phoris lets go of the root. I ask him for somethin g that I can use as a bowl. He reaches into one of the bag and pulls out a wooden bowl. I place it on the snow, and then using his knife, I cut small chunks of the root into it. I take some snow from beside me and add it in the bowl with the chunks. I use the butt of the blade and begin to m a sh the root into a paste , holding my breath against its foul odor . I glance over at Phoris and he takes over from where I left off.
He’s gently pressing the wound at both ends trying to get the poisoned blood out. I take the paste and gently move Phoris ’
hands to the side.

“Breath e deep, Lilianethia,”
she commands softly .
“
P
lace your hands near each opening, but don’t touch him.”
I do as she instructs. She tells me to concentrate on the wound. Word for word, I listen and I follow. I can feel my hands going numb from the cold. I start to feel a drain on my body, but I stay focused on the wound as she continues to instruct me. With bleary eyes, I see the poison no longer slowly seeping, but draining at both ends as if being pulled out by some unseen force. I watch along the cut as the black dots push toward each end as if now trying to escape from Alorn’s body. I see the green tinge to his skin clear up, and finally, I see red blood flow freely from the opening s . Without hesitation, I pick up the bowl and after wiping the ex cess blood with my own hand, I apply the paste to each end of the wound, closing the cuts and stopping the bleeding.

I sit back on my heels surprised that I’m sweating ; at the same time I feel the cold seep through my bare fingers. My head hurts and it feels as if it’s about to explode from the pressure. I know Phoris and Julia are staring at me, but I close my eyes , shutting them out, trying to hear the voice again. I re ach out with my mind, but there i s no answer, only silence.

I open my eyes to see Phoris looking at me strangely.
He’s saying something to me, but I can’t hear him . I feel Julia beside me holding my hand and s he’s talking to o , I can see her lips moving, but there ’
s no sound. I lean into her and the last thing I see is a grey wolf disappearing into the trees .

*

W
e found the old pine deeper in the forest. When Tolan sent out the calling, we heard the return ing call of the old pine about a mile away. Within minutes we we re standing in front of it, looking up. After a moment of inspection we decide d that it would be a s afe spot to leave Fien until we a re able to send a party back for him. We need to conserve ou r energy for the long trek ahead. As Tolan prepares to accept the old pine ’
s offer of shelter for the fallen Sidhe , I turn my back to keep vigil from any attack.

I’m
worried about leaving the others, especially with both Mellis and Alorn down. Phoris is almost fully recovered, but if the Ange should show up, he will be tested. Alorn’s cut looked bad , but wasn’t deep , and he should be able to hold his own in a fight. Mellis, however, will be out of the game for a while. As soon as we reach the northern peak of Crowfoot Glacier , we will be able to find shelter within the rock wall.
I’m certain that Lily and Julia will be wrapped up nice and warm, but no matter how much we prepare for the cold, I know it won’t protect us when the temperature drops by night fall. The protection of the Sidhe clothes is also useless against a blizzard. We have to reach shelter quickly.

I hear the soft padding of footsteps and I slowly shift my stance. I let my sense s roam out before me and find that the footsteps don’t belong to man or Sidhe, but animal. I lift my head as if to breath in air, and I catch the scent of the she-wolf. I don’t sense hunger from her, so her presence is more of curiosity than the need to hunt and kill. I send out my senses beyond her and find her mate, a large black beast further back, silent and waiting. I don’t sense any danger from him either, just patience.

I slowly lower my head and my eyes seek a patch of shadows not more than twenty feet from us. Her coat is dusky grey, and she blends in easily with the shadows. As if sensing I’m now aware of her presence, she slowly approaches until the front of her chest is visible. She’s magnificent and as if reading my mind, she bows her head to me.

I reach out to her, but to my surprise, my thoughts are block ed .
I can’t get a read on her. I look closely and see the gr e y within her coat and around her eyes. She’s old that’s certain. Either she was or still is the a lpha female of her pack. I sensed that her mate is just as old, definite ly a lpha.
He’s suddenly by her side. Tall and proud, broad and fierce, yet, I feel no danger from him. Strange, but they “feel”
familiar.

“Tharin, son of Thilthen, future King of Velesi,”
her thoughts come to me swift and gentle.
I’m startled that she’s able to initiate the communication between us.
I’ve never heard of a beast initiating the communication link ―
ever. Their minds are different and to communicate in their language takes a skill I’ve honed over the years working with Cessa, and only a handful have the skill to do so. Not only has the she -wolf initiated contact but she’s also in control.

I stay q
uiet, no t liking that she’s able to reach me, while I’m unable to read her. She senses my frustration, which in itself makes me even more frustrated.

“Calm yourself, child. We mean you and your brother no harm.”

“What may I do for you , Mother,”
I ask respectfully.

I feel her satisfaction at the term of respect and I sense her mate take a step back, also satisfied.
She moves forward saying, “There is much you need to know, but very little time. War is at King Thilthen’s doorstep, you must convince him to prepare to meet with the other k ings and unite the c lans.”

“If we’re uniting the c lans, then there will be no war. Each clan will handle its region and hold fast to peace , ”
I answer.

“
W
ar will happen between the c lans, young prince , if Thilthen does not meet with the other kings . An old evil has come to Velesi and has planted the seed of fear and doubt within the minds of the other rulers . If he meets with them now and convince s them of the impending danger , then they will unite as one and fight this impending evil.
”
Although her voice is calm, I hear the underlying desperation.

“What evil are you referring to? How can I convince my father if I don’t know or understand what you speak of?”
I question with trepidation.

“He will know. Tell him that Eathos has return ed to the land of Sidhe . He will know what I speak of,”
she response cryptically.

“
Eathos ? Is he this Falsad who has killed and taken over Lucas?”

“
Falsad is but one of many minions who serves one master ―
Eathos.
Falsad’s master is old, older than Thilthen. He has been here before an d he nearly succeeded in tearing the Velesi realm apart.”