Life Bonds

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “I concur,” Myna nodded.

  Sean had immediate ideas about what he could order two beautiful women to do. Shutting the door on those notions, he got to his feet and helped them up. “Anything?”

  “Yes,” they both said.

  “Good. We’ll get ready for bed first,” Sean said, buying time.

  The women eagerly got everything ready for bed. When Sean went to lay down, they tried to lay on either side of him. “Stop. Myna, lay down on the other side of Fiona,” Sean said.

  The moment of hurt in Myna’s eyes caused Sean to almost change his mind, but he didn’t. Once they were settled, he sighed once. “Okay, I won. Each of you, kiss each other goodnight, and cuddle each other all night.”

  “What?” Fiona said, clearly not having expected his idea.

  “If that is what you want,” Myna said after a moment.

  “Myna, he didn—” Fiona began, but was cut off as Myna leaned in and kissed her.

  “Goodnight, Fiona. I’m glad we are equals,” Myna said.

  “Goodnight,” Fiona replied, clearly confused.

  “Goodnight,” Sean added as he closed his eyes.

  Chapter Eight

  A soft footfall, close at hand, brought Sean awake. He reacted before he was fully aware, lashing out with Dark Cutter. It connected and something yelped, which was enough to wake Fiona and Myna.

  Sean rolled to his feet and brought the staff up. In the little bit of light from the sliver of white moon and the light of dawn not far off, he saw the Red-eye that had drawn back from him. With a howl that was answered from all around them, the Red-eye lowered itself to the ground and snarled at Sean.

  Fiona and Myna were on their feet with weapons in hand, going back to back to back with Sean. “How many?”

  “I heard at least six,” Myna told Fiona.

  “Plus this one,” Sean said, turning Dark Cutter into a spear. “Spears to start, Fiona. Myna, can you Camo and get the drop on any?”

  “They have us surrounded, so not likely,” Myna added. “I will do what I can to support you both.”

  The snarling Red-eye crept forward a pace, still out of range of the spear. More snarls could be heard, along with Fiona counting behind Sean.

  “I see seven,” Fiona said.

  “Add two before me, out of your line of sight,” Myna said.

  “And this one makes ten,” Sean said. “Stay close, make them come in. They should try to wolfpack us. Don’t get separated.”

  “I’m the weak link—I don’t have a reach weapon,” Myna added. “They’ll focus on me once they realize how much closer they can get.”

  “Taking minor wounds won’t be an issue,” Sean said. “If they do get in, just protect your vitals. I don’t want to have to bring you back a second time.”

  “Understood.”

  “Sean, is waiting for them the best idea?” Fiona asked, her spear making small figure eights as she tried to keep an eye on all the ones she could see.

  “Better than getting separated and being mobbed,” Sean replied.

  With a short howl, the Red-eye before Sean leapt. Time slowed like it had for him before, and he hoped the women could also use the effect. Choosing the direct path, Sean lunged, not bothering to sidestep as he planted the spear directly into the chest of the Red-eye. Dark Cutter cut through the beast like butter, punching straight through its heart. Stepping back, Sean yanked the spear loose and turned his attention to Fiona, who had more of them coming at her.

  Fiona had changed her spear into a glaive, sweeping the wooden blade back and forth to deter an attack. The howl behind her prompted the seven she faced to charge. Fiona lashed out, slamming the blade into the shoulder of one, knocking it into the path of two more and slowing them. Swinging the blade around, she managed to impale a second one, using its momentum to do the work for her. Before she could do more, the other three got inside the length of the weapon. Shaping it down to two swords, she was about to strike out when Sean pinned one to the ground. “Thank you,” Fiona said as she fought defensively, trying to keep the teeth away from her.

  Sean grunted as he pulled the spear free, then focused on the two unwounded beasts that had been delayed. They came in tandem, and Sean followed his impulse to Shape Dark Cutter into twin swords. The Red-eyes separated, just beyond a spear’s reach, then leapt from two angles. He waited, timing his thrusts to skewer both of them, but they still managed to bite his arms as they died.

  Fiona hissed in pain as one of the Red-eyes managed to sink its teeth into her leg. She cut at the second one, but didn’t have the angle or strength to pierce its hide. Dragged down, she frantically tried to keep the teeth of the second Red-eye away from her neck.

  Myna waited for the two that were facing her to come forward. She hunched down, making herself smaller, so the Red-eyes didn’t have a good idea of what her reach might be. But with only her two short blades as weapons, she was at a severe disadvantage.

  Just as they got into her range, she focused solely on one. She knew that she would be bitten by the other, but was willing to take the trade. Using one blade to make the Red-eye jerk its head up, she slammed her second blade into its neck. The Red-eye she’d ignored clamped down on her thigh, yanking her to the ground and savaging her leg.

  Sean spun to help Fiona, his blades fusing together into a spear again. Jabbing down, he went through the heart of the beast on Fiona’s leg. That got the attention of the other one, which stopped trying to bite Fiona and leapt backwards, baring its fangs at Sean. “Wrong move,” Sean said.

  Fiona gasped as she felt the lacerations in her leg healing. “Myna needs help.”

  Eyes flicking to Myna, Sean saw her fighting with a Red-eye that was mauling her leg. “Fucking monsters,” Sean snarled. Jumping over Fiona, he brought the spear around, the blade shifting to a halberd.

  The Red-eye drew back, but not far enough, as the halberd went through the creature’s neck. Without stopping, Sean Shaped the weapon back into a spear, thrusting into the back of the Red-eye attacking Myna. The creature went limp as Dark Cutter punched through its spine.

  Going to a knee beside Myna, who had clamped both hands to her leg, Sean poured more energy into her to accelerate the healing. Myna’s gasping whimper let him know he was right on the edge of overloading her, but he waited for the blood to stop flowing before he backed it off to a lower level of intensity.

  A pained whimper came from the Red-eye Fiona had hit first, as it got to its three good legs and limped toward the trees. Sean, seeing the beast try to flee, pulled back his arm and launched Dark Cutter at it. The weapon formed into a javelin just before it left his hand, almost without any need for thought on his part. Lodging firmly into the last Red-eye, the weapon siphoned what energy it could from the beast.

  Fiona got to her feet carefully, her wounds healing slowly. “Maybe we should sleep in the trees, after all.”

  Sean snorted, “Moot point if we make it to the river today. Are you two okay?”

  “Healing. I’ll be fine,” Fiona replied.

  “I’m okay, thanks to you. We should skin these,” Myna said as she sat up. “The hides will fetch us some coin at Pinebough, though we can probably skip trying to deal with the meat.”

  Sean looked at where the sun was just breaking the horizon. “Let’s get to work, then.”

  It took them some time, but they finally got the skins off and cleaned. Makeshift sandwiches in one hand and cups of tea in the other, they ate breakfast on the move, since they’d gotten such a late start already.

  “I didn’t think a pack of ten Red-eyes was a normal thing,” Sean said around a mouthful of food.

  Myna shook her head. “Not around a settlement, but we are a few days out, so maybe it is more natural out here.”

  “I hope that is the case,” Fiona muttered. “There is a rumor though…”

  “A rumor?” Sean asked.

  “Sometimes, nobles will put together hunting parties and head into the wilds. I recal
l a rumor from one of the nobles I used to work for that a powerful Canine Moonbound can force Red-eyes to become part of its pack.”

  “Because either by themselves isn’t enough,” Sean snorted. “I really hope that isn’t true.”

  “As do I,” Fiona agreed.

  Myna’s lips were pursed in thought. “My grandmother once said something like that, now that I think about it. Before she met and fell in love with my grandfather, her clan was involved in a territory dispute with a pack of Canine Moonbound. She mentioned the Red-eyes helping the Canines during that dispute.”

  “We encountered a displaced Canine Moonbound…” Sean said, not liking his sudden train of thought.

  “And we just dispatched a vocal set of Red-eyes,” Fiona added.

  “We should hurry,” Myna said, and began to jog.

  “Agreed,” the other two said as they kept pace with her.

  Myna kept them jogging or walking, changing the pace at regular intervals over the next few hours. Sean could have kept jogging, but he saw the strain on Fiona’s face and, after a bit, on Myna’s face as well.

  They hadn’t heard any sounds of pursuit, so they were starting to think that maybe they were being paranoid when the faintest of howls drifted from behind them. All three turned their heads to look behind them, then their eyes met briefly.

  “Come here,” Sean said, grabbing Fiona and Myna with an arm around each of them. “Time for another test.”

  Myna and Fiona were puzzled until Sean began to run. Grabbing on to him as they bounced along, they were both shocked at how easily he carried them and all their gear while he ran. Hanging on to him, the two women exchanged a glance, knowing that it very well might take both of them to help him in some regards.

  Sean, oblivious to the women’s looks, ran on. At the start, he carried them with little difficulty, but as he ran, his arms began to feel the strain a little at a time and his breath was starting to become more labored than it had been all day.

  Another howl, just as faint, came from behind them, which spurred Sean to run even faster. He wanted to keep them all safe and a pack of Canine Moonbound might be too much, even with all of his gods-given gifts.

  Sean had to slow down finally, so he set Fiona and Myna down. “Stay close,” he panted as they kept walking. “I’ll let you know when I can run more.”

  “Okay.”

  “Understood.”

  They walked as quickly as Sean could manage while he tried to catch his breath. Another howl went up, still distant enough to make Sean happy he had run with them. “I hope the river isn’t far,” he said.

  “I have no idea how far it is, I’ve never travelled so fast,” Myna said.

  Once he felt like he could run again, he picked them both back up in his arms, this time having them sit on his forearms with their arms around his neck. “Okay, let’s go…” A howl, closer, but still distant, reached them and Sean took off like a rocket. “Might have walked too long.”

  “That’s Canine Moonbound, not Red-eyes,” Myna said as he ran. “The pitch is much deeper—it might be their alpha.”

  “Why would their alpha be leading the tracking effort?” Fiona asked.

  “If he found the body of the Canine we killed, it could have caused him to set the Red-eyes on us. Then he finds them dead... he’s likely pissed,” Myna replied. “The whole pack is probably after us now.”

  Sean thought he was giving everything before, but Myna’s words caused him to speed up. Have to run faster, he thought, managing as best he could with his arms stationary.

  He ran on and on, ignoring the burning in his arms and lungs, focused on finding the river. The pounding of his pulse in his ears stopped him from hearing the rushing water, but Myna and Fiona heard it.

  “It’s close,” Myna said, looking up at the sky to see the sun near its peak.

  Sean nodded. He slowed and set them down, stumbling a bit as he kept walking. “Can’t… run…”

  Fiona rubbed his back, walking beside him as he gulped air. “We’ll be fine. Now we just need to make a raft.”

  “The river,” Myna said from ahead of them.

  Sean looked at the broad, fast-flowing river. “Glad we’re not trying to cross it,” he told them as he finished catching his breath.

  “I need two trees,” Fiona said.

  Sean pulled Dark Cutter from his belt, Shaping it back into its original axe form and went to a tree that grew close to the river. “Step away from the bank, I want to drop it close,” Sean told them as he marked his targets with the edge of the axe.

  Once they were out of the way, Sean quickly felled the first tree, dropping it near where he wanted. He waved Fiona back as he went to the next tree and began to chop it down.

  Fiona and Myna went to the trees, Fiona explaining to Myna what she needed help with. Sean watched the two of them work, seeing how they seemed to be Shaping the limbs into the logs. Sean went to help Myna with her tree, and together, they finished at the same time Fiona did.

  “Okay, I need them touching,” Fiona said.

  Sean knelt down and rolled the logs together, making both women shake their heads at the casual display of strength. “Shaping them into a single piece, and then into the raft?” Sean asked.

  “Yes, but I’m going to make a boat. It won’t take any longer. If you two can start connecting them, I’ll follow behind and Shape it,” Fiona said. Another howl, much closer, came from the forest.

  Myna and Sean focused on Shaping the two trees into a single, much larger log. Sean kept looking back at Fiona as she worked behind them when he noticed Myna was pale and shaky.

  “You okay?”

  “Used too much,” Myna said, before her eyes rolled up and she collapsed on the ground.

  Sean rushed to her. Her pulse and breathing were okay, so he turned his Mage Sight on and found her normal brightness dimmed. Feeding her more of his energy, he felt her stir in his arms. He banished Mage Sight just in time to see Myna’s eyes flutter open. “Welcome back. No more work for you until you sleep.”

  “Understood,” Myna said weakly. “You should help Fiona.”

  “I will,” Sean rubbed Myna’s head for a moment before settling her on the ground.

  Fiona was working on the end of the boat when Sean joined her and fed her more energy, as she seemed to be slowing. “Thank you,” Fiona said, keeping her focus on the boat she was making.

  Another howl, much closer than the others, rose up from the forest. Sean went back to Myna. “Let’s get you in the boat.”

  “I can walk,” Myna said, then put her arms around his neck as he scooped her up.

  Fiona looked up in time to see Sean place Myna into the boat. “Is she okay?”

  “I used too much energy,” Myna replied. “I can walk, but he picked me up before I could object.”

  Dropping the rucksack into the boat, Sean went back to grab the other bag that Fiona had put aside. “Get in,” Sean told Fiona. “I’ll get the boat into the water, then join you.”

  Nodding, Fiona did as he said. She picked up the oars and rudder she had made earlier, ready to get them into place. Luckily for Sean, it was a flat bottomed boat, so he was able to shove it into the water easily. As it cleared the bank, he stepped into it and took a seat at the back. “That is that,” Sean exhaled.

  “Behind us,” Fiona said, looking over his shoulder as she extended the rudder.

  Sean looked back at the forest while he Shaped the rudder into place. A dozen Canine Moonbound had just come to a stop, panting heavily. Sean’s eyes were drawn to the largest member of the pack, and he realized it was the alpha as their eyes met.

  The alpha inhaled deeply, raising his snout in their direction, then let out a deep howl that was slowly picked up by cries in all directions. When the howl ended, the alpha sneered at them and turned back to the forest.

  “What was that?” Fiona asked.

  “I think it was a declaration of war,” Myna said.

  Sean frowned, as he
knew what else the howl indicated but not how he knew it. “He was telling the others that we’re going down river. If we try to get off the boat, we’ll likely find other Canine Moonbound waiting for us.” Both women looked at Sean with speculation in their eyes. Sean just shrugged. “No idea, that’s just what I got out of the howl.”

  “We can ride the river all the way to Pinebough,” Fiona said.

  “Probably for the best,” Myna agreed. “It will be a day or two, and we’ll need to look for a branch that goes more toward the west.”

  “Get some sleep. Fiona and I will stay up for a while. When you wake, one of us will get some sleep.”