The Spirit Binds

by D. K. Holmberg

  “By someone I thought was my friend.” That was still hard for him to fathom. Not only had Tanner attacked, but he’d done so using an elemental’s power. It was that power Tolan had begun to truly understand and having somebody else use it against him left him troubled—and angry. “He was using some sort of strange bondar.”

  “What do you mean, it was a strange bondar?”

  “It wasn’t the same as we have here. There was power in it, and it allowed him to summon an elemental from the bond, but it was angry and violent when it emerged. It took everything in my power to calm the elemental.”

  She tore her gaze away from the portraits and frowned at him. “To what?”

  Tolan didn’t know if he’d said too much. “To calm the elemental. I did everything I could to try to settle it, but I’m not sure it was successful.”

  She tapped on her chin. “Interesting. I wouldn’t have expected that to have been the case, but perhaps it’s for the best you are the one to have escaped from Ephra.”

  “I grabbed the strange bondar from him. It would’ve been with my belongings.”

  Master Minden nodded. Her milky eyes made it difficult to know what she was thinking, the way it was always difficult to know. And yet, she always seemed like she managed to see everything clearly. It was almost as if she didn’t need her eyes in order to do so.

  “What’s taking place here?”

  “The Grand Master has sent shapers to investigate. It seems most of the Selections that went awry were on the outskirts of Terndahl.”

  “The outskirts? Like Par?”

  She nodded. “I’m sure Shaper Changen is well. She is a gifted shaper.”

  Tolan wasn’t quite certain of that. If something had happened to her… “I need to go to Par.”

  “I’m afraid the Grand Master won’t allow you to go to Par. He has instructed the students to remain within the Academy.”

  “Why?”

  Master Minden watched him for a moment, and it seemed almost as if she were tempted to say something, but she restrained herself.

  “Master Minden?”

  She shook her head. “I know you have been instrumental in helping to protect the Academy, but in this case, you need to remain here. It really is dangerous.”

  “I saw what happened in Ephra.”

  “And the Grand Master has sent others to ensure the safety of Terndahl.”

  “What others?”

  “Soldiers.” She practically spat the word, and Tolan found himself frowning. His gaze drifted to the wall of portraits. There were several depictions of shapers who had been soldiers. Many of them carried swords, and they seemed to be leading something into battle.

  He had some experience with the Terndahl soldiers, but most of them were shapers as well. They had strength and power, but they were rarely called upon to serve at the Academy’s behest.

  If the Grand Master had summoned their assistance, it meant he was more concerned about something.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Something dangerous, I suspect.”

  “Does it have to do with the strange bondar I found?”

  “I will look into it, Shaper Ethar.”

  “I should be involved. You wanted me to be a part of what was happening with the library.”

  “When you progress. For now, you aren’t ready.”

  “Not ready? I’m the reason that device was even brought here.”

  She shook her head. “I wish there was something more I could do for you. Return to your dorm, rest, and know the Academy has others out trying to protect the rest who have gone for the Selection.”

  Master Minden turned her attention back to the hall of portraits, staring at them, and Tolan realized there wasn’t much else he was going to be able to do to convince her she should continue to work with him. She’d always provided him with more than most others did, but in this case, it seemed she believed it really was beyond him.

  Perhaps it was. With what he’d experienced, knowing there was something else out there, someone else who was still leading the Inquisitors and who likely had been the person Aela served, perhaps this was beyond him.

  Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling he needed to be involved in it.

  He wandered along the hall of portraits, glancing at each one. Not many of them had much color or even a scene depicted within them, but he let his gaze linger along them. The one thing he understood about the hall of portraits was that there were messages within these portraits. Somehow, they were shaped so only specific people would be able to see the images, but as he studied them, he couldn’t see anything he hadn’t seen the first time he was here.

  Letting out a long sigh, he reached the stairs at the end of the hall, heading down. He did so slowly, reluctantly, and when he reached the main hallway, he froze.

  Master Minden hadn’t shared everything with him. Not only were soldiers sent to investigate the sites of the Selection, there were soldiers stationed throughout the hallway. All of them were armed with swords, and all of them were dressed in dark leathers. They marched along the hall in pairs, studying each shaping student they passed.

  Was this going to be the new normal within the Academy?

  Perhaps it had been like this when the Draasin Lord had attacked, back in a time when Tolan had believed there was a Draasin Lord who would attack the Academy, but even that seemed too much. The Academy was safe. There should be no reason for anyone to be afraid here.

  Tolan started down the hall, heading toward the stairs leading to his dorm. He still hadn’t settled into the third-level rooms yet, but it didn’t feel right to do so without waiting for Ferrah.

  And he wanted answers. More than anything else, going to find those answers seemed to be the most important thing.

  He turned, heading back along the hallway. One pair of soldiers watched him, marching behind him, and he tried to ignore them. From what he’d observed, they left the students alone, though maybe they would see him as a threat. If they did, would there be anything he’d even be able to do? It wasn’t as if Tolan intended to try to do anything.

  When he reached the Grand Master’s quarters, he glanced over his shoulder. The soldiers continued patrolling past, but he had a sense they were paying attention to him. There was a sense of shaping coming off them, radiating toward him. Tolan tried to ignore that sense, instead pounding on the door and waiting.

  It was possible the Grand Master wouldn’t even be there, and even if he was, it was possible he wouldn’t answer. Knowing what he did about the other man, it was likely he already knew Tolan was here.

  Surprisingly, the door came open and the Grand Master looked out at him.

  “Shaper Ethar. You have returned.”

  “Has Master Minden shared with you anything about my arrival?”

  “Only that you appeared on a shaping she was not expecting.”

  “I’m not really sure about that, but…” He licked his lips, swallowing, and then shared with the Grand Master everything that happened in Ephra. As he did, the Grand Master’s face remained neutral.

  Tolan wasn’t sure what he wanted from the other man, though he’d have liked to see more of a reaction—even outrage, something to show him the Grand Master understood the significance of what Tolan was saying.

  Then again, it wasn’t as if the Grand Master didn’t understand the consequences. It was more likely he didn’t have anything he could do about them.

  “I have already sent reinforcements.”

  “That’s what Master Minden said, but I could go and —”

  “You are a student. You have progressed quite well, and you’ve proven yourself capable, Shaper Ethar, but you are still just a student. In this case, with what we have experienced, having soldiers who have experience is most beneficial. This was an assault upon Terndahl.”

  “It’s not the Draasin Lord,” he said hurriedly.

  The Grand Master cocked his head, studying him. “Are you certain of that?”


  “Well…” He hadn’t shared with the Grand Master everything he knew about the Draasin Lord, though perhaps he needed to. Everything they had believed about the Draasin Lord had been wrong. “It doesn’t feel like the type of attack the Draasin Lord would have used.”

  “I was around during the last attack, Shaper Ethar. I know very well what kind of attack the Draasin Lord has used.”

  “That’s not what I was saying,” Tolan said, stepping back. He needed to be careful. While he had a good rapport with the Grand Master, he still was a student, and he needed to remain a student in order to continue to progress. More than anything, he wanted to become a master shaper, and he wasn’t going to be able to do that by angering the Grand Master. “I just don’t feel this represents the Draasin Lord. It’s not the kind of attack he has used before. When the Draasin Lord has attacked, at least recently, the attack has been more focused on the elementals.”

  Tolan had to be careful. What he had shared with Master Minden implied the elementals were involved, though he didn’t think this was the Draasin Lord. Whoever had made this strange bondar and however it had been used was the key, though he didn’t really know what it was.

  “Regardless of what you think, we are prepared for what must take place, Shaper Ethar.”

  “What cities were targeted?”

  “Only the outer cities.”

  “Which is why you think the Draasin Lord is involved.”

  “It fits with the nature of the attack.”

  “What happened to those who were in some of the other Selections?”

  “They returned. Without having any way of performing a Selection effectively, they didn’t have any reason to stay.”

  Which meant Jonas had returned.

  If only Ferrah hadn’t needed to go to Par, but…

  “Return to your quarters, Shaper Ethar. You have been promoted to third level, so I believe you have some settling in to do. Your classes will begin to become even more complicated.”

  “We’ll still have classes?”

  The Grand Master cocked his head, looking at him. “Of course, you will still have classes. The Academy will go on. Just because we’ve had an attack at the outskirts of Terndahl is no reason for us to stop pursuing our studies.”

  Tolan could only shake his head. What else was there to do?

  He nodded blankly, trying to think about what else he needed to do, but even as he did, he could tell the Grand Master wasn’t going to tolerate an argument. For that matter, Tolan wasn’t sure he had anything to say that would be effective.

  Instead, he turned away, heading along the hallway, trying not to look at the soldiers marching through it, and resisting the urge to glance back at the Grand Master.

  If Ferrah didn’t return, what would he do?

  The Academy wasn’t the Academy without her.

  More than that, he still was troubled. Whatever else was taking place was not the Draasin Lord, regardless of what the Grand Master believed. The only problem was Tolan didn’t have any idea who was responsible.

  14

  The next few days passed in something of a blur. He refused to move to the third-level quarters, and though Jonas tried to encourage him to do so, he wanted to remain around others. It was selfish, mostly. He didn’t want to move up to the third-level quarters until he was certain Ferrah was going to be safe.

  In the time he’d been back, he’d not had an opportunity to speak with Master Minden again. He had gone looking for her, hoping maybe she’d have something she might have discovered about the strange bondar, but every time he’d gone to the library, she had not been there. That surprised him.

  He was tempted to go look down the hallway, searching for her in the hall of portraits or in the hidden section of the Academy where the librarians stayed, but some part of him felt as if going there would be a betrayal.

  Instead, he spent his days practicing shaping. He focused on spirit most of all. Given what he’d experienced, the way he’d been forced to use it during the attack, having a way to use spirit seemed to be the most immediately beneficial. For now, he wasn’t entirely sure he was going to be able to use it nearly as effectively as he wanted, but he was determined to keep trying, practicing with it, and eventually gain enough facility where he wouldn’t have to worry about harming someone.

  That was what the Grand Inquisitor had warned him about, and he knew he needed to be careful, ensuring he didn’t destroy someone’s mind while trying to master a spirit shaping.

  For the most part, he stayed outside within the park, and as he did, he avoided most others. Mostly, he wanted to avoid the soldiers. The longer he remained within the Academy, the more the soldiers troubled him. They patrolled everywhere. It wasn’t just that they patrolled through the halls, but they patrolled through the library, and he encountered them near the stairs leading up to the hall of portraits, blocking his access to that space.

  When he did venture into one of the classes he had been assigned as a third-level student, he was unsurprised to find there were soldiers even there.

  He didn’t have the focus needed in those classes, but then again, neither did anybody else. It wasn’t just Tolan who had a strange sense of emptiness. Others seemed to share in that, and Tolan was surprised that Draln of all people seemed to struggle with the presence of the soldiers.

  His instructors never really changed. Regardless of how much he progressed, he kept the same instructors. The only difference was who was present in the classes.

  Once again, he found himself sitting out in the park, ignoring everyone else around him. There were others in the park. He could not only hear them, but he could feel them through his connection to earth. Tolan preferred to avoid them.

  What he wanted to hear was word about those who had been lost. It wasn’t just Par and the Selection there, but it was places like Holawn, and Idarn, and Olosh. Students who had gone on those Selections had not returned either. He wondered whether they would.

  “How long do you intend to keep coming up here?”

  Tolan glanced up. Jonas approached and took a seat next to him on the ground. He was shaping as he did, pulling on water, letting it swirl in the small pool in front of them.

  “I guess until there is word of Ferrah’s return.”

  “And what happens if she doesn’t return?” Jonas shifted, turning toward him, holding his gaze. “I know you don’t want to think about that, and I don’t really either, but there is the possibility she won’t return.”

  Tolan turned his attention back to the pool and breathed out. He focused on the sense of each of the elements, working through each one before releasing them. As he did, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of frustration. “She has to return.”

  “I don’t know. I’ve heard the rumors about the attacks in the other places.” Jonas shook his head. “I don’t want to believe she’s not going to return to us, but there’s the possibility whatever happened has claimed her. The soldiers still don’t have everything under control, and they’ve been working to try to stabilize everything, but as far as I can tell, they haven’t managed to do so yet.”

  Tolan hadn’t spent much time listening to rumors. What he wanted was to find the Grand Master or someone like Master Minden, someone who might be able to provide him with real actionable information, but every time he went looking for them, he wasn’t able to learn anything of much use. And because of that, he couldn’t help but feel as if there was nothing but stories.

  “The soldiers will be able to get everything back under control.”

  “I like to think that too, but I do wonder about why they have focused so much on the Academy.” Jonas looked over his shoulder, and Tolan followed the direction of his gaze. When he did, he realized there was a pair of soldiers patrolling along the street. “They have focused so much on Amitan, and with as many as we have here, I have to wonder if there’s a reason for it.”

  Tolan frowned. He thought about what he’d experienced and what he knew. More than
that, he thought about what Ferrah had told him about Par.

  Why would the Grand Master focus so much here?

  There was only one reason. It was the same reason they had been attacked before, the same reason the Grand Master worried about another possibility, and it was the reason he wondered whether there was an attack in Par.

  Could it be the same reason there were other places under attack?

  If that were the case, it would explain much.

  Getting to his feet, he glanced over at Jonas. “Thank you.”

  “What did I do?”

  “You gave me an idea.”

  “That’s it? I was hoping you’d be able to help me study for my testing. I have it coming up still, you know. We don’t all pass on our first try.”

  Tolan shook his head. “You don’t really need my help. All you have to do is remember everything you’ve been taught. You will pass it.”

  Jonas frowned at him. “That’s it. Remember everything I’ve been taught?”

  “As much as you can.”

  Tolan hurried back to the Academy, ignoring the soldiers marching along the street, and headed straight toward the library.

  When he was there, he looked around. There were a few students in the library, but it was emptier than it usually was. A pair of master librarians remained at the front, sitting on the dais. Neither was Master Minden.

  He needed to find her.

  If this was all about the Convergence, as he suspected, then he needed to let her know.

  Without her here, he hurried back into the hallway, racing toward the stairs.

  When he’d come here before, the soldiers had blocked his access. This time, he snuck past a pair of soldiers and waited while they patrolled. When he reached the end of the hallway, there were no further soldiers.

  Tolan raced along the stairs, heading up.

  At the top of the stairs, he paused again. From here, he knew the hall of portraits would be on the other side of the door, but he didn’t know whether she’d even be there.