Life Bonds

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Ryann bit her lip. “He owned my Bond for a year. I was supposed to be Bonded for ten years; that was the deal for him to forgive my father the debts that he owed to Oriv.”

  “Your father sold you to a bandit?” Fiona asked with a raised brow.

  “No, my father sold me to a cheat who was never caught at it,” Ryann replied, looking at Fiona. “My father had a dice habit, and never understood how he could lose so much to Oriv and was foolish enough to think that the next game would win him back what he’d lost.”

  “He was a fool,” Myna said simply.

  Ryann glared at Myna, nostrils flared and her teeth clenched. “My father is a good… was a good man…” With those words, the fight went out of her.

  “He’s dead?” Sean asked.

  “He was found dead in an alley a month after I was bonded to Oriv,” Ryann said, her eyes closing as she trembled. “There was talk that he was collecting old debts to try to raise the price of my Bond. There was a clause that if my father repaid what was owed, I would be freed.”

  “Oriv had him killed?” Fiona asked.

  “It’s likely, but no one knew anything, and no one would come forward,” Ryann sniffled.

  “That happens sometimes,” Sean said. “Let’s get back on topic, though,” he leaned forward as Fiona took the meat off the fire. “Did you want to shoot me, or did Oriv make you?”

  “I never wanted to be with him, or do anything he made me do…” Ryann shuddered at her thoughts, looking repulsed.

  “He made you lay with him?” Fiona asked, a hint of anger in her voice.

  “No… not exactly…” Ryann shuddered, “he withheld food and other things until I was desperate enough to do what he wanted for it.”

  “Pig,” Fiona growled.

  “As you can tell, Fiona has a special place for rapists and coercive assholes,” Sean said. “You still need to answer: did you want to shoot me?”

  “No, but if I didn’t, he said that I would get no food again for three days, and it's already been a full day since I ate last,” Ryann said.

  “We can feed you, at least,” Sean said as he moved behind Ryann. “Hold still, I don’t want to cut you.”

  “I can untie her easily enough,” Fiona said, “if you’ll plate the food, Myna.”

  “I can do that,” Myna said, taking the plate of meat from Fiona. “Master, can you make the tea?”

  “Oh, sure,” Sean said, filling up the kettle and adding the leaves.

  Ryann stared at him like he had two heads. “You do as your Bonded ask?”

  “I wanted tea, too,” Sean said, shrugging. “I’m also the one who can summon water easiest.”

  “If you try anything, we will kill you where you sit,” Fiona said, breaking into the conversation as the ropes around Ryann’s arms came free.

  “I figure you’re taking me to the magistrate, so my life is already forfeit,” Ryann said with a sigh. “Thank you for this moment of kindness, though.”

  Myna handed out plates to everyone while Sean passed around the cups of black tea. The seared meat had a woody flavor that went well with the garlic Fiona had rubbed onto it.

  Silence fell over the group as they ate, each of them lost in their own thoughts. When Sean finished, he looked at Ryann and wondered about what to do with her. He knew they should turn her over to the magistrate in Holden, but something about the idea just rubbed him the wrong way.

  Fiona looked at him. “Master, it is your decision.”

  “I think she should go to the magistrate. She hasn’t pledged to tell the truth, so her words have no value,” Myna added.

  “My life is in your hands, sir. If you wish me to pledge on the Queens to only speak the truth, I will,” Ryann said, looking at the ground.

  Sean frowned, “Myna, if she is telling the truth, would you still counsel turning her over to the magistrate?”

  Staring at the thin woman, Myna chewed her lip for a moment. “She did hit you from quite a distance. Maybe she would have some value.”

  “Ryann, will you pledge to tell the truth to us for the next ten minutes?” Sean asked.

  “I pledge on my life, under the Queens’ laws, that every word I speak for the next ten minutes is the truth,” Ryann said with conviction.

  “Master, will you give us eight minutes with her?” Fiona asked with a smile.

  “I’ll go check on the horses, but no hurting her or digging past the relevant events,” Sean said as he handed his empty cup to Fiona and walked away.

  “Ryann, what happens now will depend entirely on your answers,” Myna said simply. “Firstly, how did you come into Oriv’s care?”

  “As I told you earlier, my father was in debt to Oriv…” Ryann began, before Sean tuned her out.

  Sean made sure the horses were watered and fed, then started currying them. Sean grinned as he worked, getting the feeling from the horses that they were happy. Going back to the wagon, he dug out two vegetables that reminded him of carrots and gave each of them a treat.

  He’d lost track of time, and was surprised when Myna came to him. “Oh, is the questioning over?”

  “We have decided that she should be given a chance to prove herself,” Myna told him softly. “She said she’ll guide us to Oriv’s camp. That is the first test of her faithfulness. The second will be testing her ability to shoot—she claims to be a good shot.”

  Sean’s lips pursed as he stared at Myna. “Why do I have a bad feeling about where this is going?”

  “You shouldn’t,” Myna told him simply. “We are giving her the chance you wanted to give her. Isn’t that a good thing, Master?”

  Sighing, Sean reached out and tousled Myna’s hair between her ears. “Damned cat, using my own words against me.”

  Myna purred softly, dipping her head a little to give him better access. “We wish you to be happy, Master.”

  “Please stop calling me that, then,” Sean said softly.

  “We are in public with another not of our group, so I have to,” Myna giggled.

  Sean blinked as he realized he was being effectively bratted at. “Fucking cat,” he chuckled, “too smart for my own good.”

  “Thank you for saying so,” Myna purred louder.

  “Is that plan satisfactory, Master?” Fiona called to him from where she sat next to Ryann.

  “If you’ve both agreed, then yes,” Sean said. “Get the rest of the rope off her, and let’s get moving.”

  When they got back on the road, Ryann sat next to Sean on the driver’s bench. “How did you survive the poison?” Ryann asked.

  “I can’t say,” Sean shrugged. “What will you do if we don’t turn you over to the magistrate?”

  Ryann looked over her shoulder at the two women who sat in the back Shaping the weapons they’d taken from the bandits into metal stock. “I don’t know. I’m not Talented like they are.”

  “You weren’t born with any?” Sean asked.

  “My father paid to have me checked, but I wasn’t found to have any,” Ryann said sadly.

  Sean brought up his Mage Sight and looked at her. She lacked the bright energy that permeated Fiona and Myna even before they’d Bonded with him. He was about to drop Mage Sight, frowning, when Ryann looked at him. Her eyes sparkled with a light blue energy.

  “Is something wrong?” Ryann asked.

  Blinking to clear the Mage Sight away, Sean shook his head. “I was just thinking about what that must have been like.”

  “You have been blessed with Talent, or at least with Bonded who have Talents,” Ryann replied, a bitter edge to her tone. “Oriv had a Talent for switching small items without being seen. He bragged about it to me a month ago. That was how he could switch out dice mid game. He never shared his Talent with me, though.”

  “You never did answer my question, Ryann. What will you do if we don’t hand you over to the magistrate?”

  “Find someone who can use labor, I guess. I’ll end up working in an inn maybe, or help carting things,” Ryan
n shrugged. “I can hit a target without too much trouble, but I’m no good with stealth or woodcraft, so I can’t make it as a hunter and I’m hopeless in melee, as you doubtlessly saw when Fiona hit me. That doesn’t leave me much.”

  “Huh,” Sean grunted as he guided the wagon down the road.

  “There,” Ryann said suddenly after an hour or so of travel, pointing across his body. “That path leads to their camp.”

  Sean looked and could see the faint lines of a trail leading off into the woods. “Myna,” Sean said.

  Almost as soon as he spoke, Myna was out of the wagon. Moving toward the path, she vanished from view, making Ryann sigh with envy.

  “She can Camouflage herself, on top of Shaping…” Ryann bit her lip, breaking off the sentence.

  “Master is a man of many Talents that he generously shares with his Bonded,” Fiona mentioned casually. “We are blessed to be his.”

  Sean kept his face still, even as he wondered why Fiona would say that. Keeping his eyes on the path, he waited for Myna to come back to them. After a minute, Sean looked up as a few flakes of snow began drifting down.

  “Does it always snow this much, Fiona?” Sean asked out of exasperation.

  “When a Queen is displeased about something, the weather is always worse.”

  “It has been bad over the last few days,” Ryann said. “Something must have angered her.”

  A minute later, Myna appeared at the edge of the path. “It’s empty, Master,” Myna called out. “It is a deplorable camp.”

  Ryann looked away from her. “They never cared for anything. I did the best I could…”

  “Can the wagon make it there,” Sean asked, “and is there shelter for the horses?”

  “It will be a bumpy ride and there are a couple of tight spots between trees, but yes, I think the wagon can make it. We can use one of the canvases to make a shelter,” Myna said as she jumped into the back of the wagon. “I would also like to get our tent set up for the day and wait out the storm.”

  “Guess we camp early tonight,” Sean said as he turned the horses onto the trail.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  In the end, it took them almost an hour to reach the campsite. Sean had Myna take over the driving shortly after starting on the trail and helped guide the horses through the tighter spots. At one point, they were forced to stop to deal with a downed log. Sean Shaped it into smaller pieces and put it into the wagon.

  When they finally reached the camp, Sean looked around and agreed with Myna’s assessment. Four tents were erected haphazardly, the fire pit hadn’t been cleared for well over a day, and there was debris scattered all around the campsite. The stench drifting across the camp indicated the latrine, which Sean spotted not even thirty feet away.

  “Fucking shit,” Sean snorted. “Fiona, I need you to come out here and make a shelter for the horses.”

  “Of course, Master,” Fiona said, coming out of the back of the wagon, bundled up against the cold.

  “Myna, take care of the horses,” Sean said.

  “As you command, Master,” Myna added as she applied the brake to the wagon.

  “Ryann, can you please try to get a fire started?” Sean asked. “I’m going to set up the tent.”

  “I will do what I can,” Ryann said hesitantly, with a puzzled expression.

  Giving her a thankful smile, he went past her to retrieve the tent from the back of the wagon. He was able to set it up faster this time, now that he’d had some practice. By the time he had the tent in order, Myna and Fiona had finished getting the horses settled in a crude lean-to. Ryann had a small blaze going in the fire pit, and was warming her hands with her back to them.

  “Well, it's still hours before dinner, and the snow doesn’t look like it’s going to let up,” Sean said as the slow snowfall continued. “Should we grab the brazier from the wagon and retire to the tent to work on crafts for a bit?”

  “I’ll get the brazier,” Myna said.

  “I’ll bring in some of the wood we’ve picked up,” Fiona added.

  “What should I do?” Ryann asked, not turning to look at them.

  “You can join us inside where it will be warm and chat. Maybe tell us a story,” Sean said. “Frankly Ryann, I’m at a loss with what to do about you. I’m not sure I want to turn you over to a magistrate.”

  “You’d just let me go?” Ryann asked, disbelief clear in her voice.

  “I might. The ladies said they wanted to test your accuracy. Maybe you can do that before it snows too much,” Sean suggested.

  “That’s a good idea. Then we can come inside the tent to get warm and have some tea,” Fiona said as she placed a decent sized log inside the tent, along with the bedding.

  “Are you willing to do what we asked?” Myna asked Ryann, using tongs to transfer coals from the fire into the small bronze brazier.

  “I’m willing, but I don’t see why it matters,” Ryann said diffidently. “You’d trust me with a crossbow?”

  Myna gave her a predatory smile as she stood up, “Do you think you could put us both down before we killed you?”

  Lips pursed, Ryann shook her head slowly. “No, not with the way you killed Oriv.”

  “Glad to see you understand,” Myna said as she walked away from Ryann and toward the tent. “Master, I will bring you the kettle so you can start tea when you wish.”

  Sean’s smile was tight; he still wasn’t used to being called master. “Grab some food, as well. I can get things set up for later.”

  “As you wish, Master,” Myna said, brushing against him on her way past.

  Shaking his head, he went into the tent. Taking off his boots just inside, he laid out their bedding and set the brazier at the back.

  While he waited for the three women, Sean sectioned off pieces of wood to make more hair clips. He could hear snippets of their conversation as they set up targets and commented on Ryann’s aim.

  When they finally came back to the tent to warm themselves, Sean had finished four wooden pieces. “Fiona,” Sean said quickly, “Bring me some of the bronze from earlier so I can finish these, please.”

  “Of course, Master,” Fiona said, stepping back out while the other two took off their boots.

  Fiona was back quickly with two bars of bronze. “Will this be enough?”

  “Should work,” Sean smiled. “How was the shooting?”

  “She hit every target,” Myna said with a pensive look. “She could very well have an innate Talent that only manifests when she’s holding a crossbow.”

  “Wouldn’t they have seen that when I was tested?” Ryann frowned.

  “Not necessarily,” Fiona replied. “If a Talent has some kind of condition that the tester isn’t used to, then they wouldn’t.” Lips pursed, she looked at Ryann. “When was the first time you picked up a crossbow?”

  “Two years ago,” Ryann murmured.

  Sean wanted to mention what he had seen in her eyes but held off, deciding to go about it a different way. “Did you test her with the bow we have, or with throwing knives?”

  All three women looked at him with puzzled expressions, before they all slowly nodded. “That’s an idea, to see if it’s just crossbows or not,” Myna said.

  “I’ll grab the bow,” Fiona said, standing and tugging her boots back on.

  “There are a couple of knives from the bandits that we haven’t gotten to yet,” Myna told Fiona.

  “I’ll get them, too,” Fiona said, leaving the tent.

  “Why?” Ryann asked, her face troubled. “Why go through the trouble of finding out what I can do, if you’re just going to turn me over to the magistrate?”

  Myna could see that Ryann wasn’t willing to hope that Sean might actually let her go. “Master is still undecided. If he doesn’t, then it will be good for you to know more about yourself.”

  Taking her boots and pulling them on, Ryann’s brow was furrowed as she followed Myna from the tent. Sean watched them go with a pensive look of his own, befo
re calling out to Myna. “Myna,” he paused until she stuck her head in the flap, “Mage Sight, watch her eyes.”

  Myna nodded her head. “Understood, Master.”

  Sean rolled his eyes, getting a giggle from Myna as she left the tent. She is certainly starting to deliberately provoke reactions, Sean sighed to himself. I don’t get why I think it’s more cute than annoying, but it is.

  He blinked when the tent flap moved again and Myna and Ryann came back into the tent some time later. He’d just finished putting together the last clip, turning it over in his hands as he Shaped the wood and metal together.