Spirit Binder

by Meghan Ciana Doidge

  “All right, then. It will take a couple of hours, maybe more, to set up the spell. I’ll let them know to proceed.” The Chancellor was actually rubbing his hands together as he headed for the library door.

  “No need to look so eager, Father,” Hugh said. “No one will be accumulating this power.” This last was said with tinge of a warning and the Chancellor locked eyes with his son for a moment, but then was the first to break the gaze.

  “Everything is about power.” Dougal rested his head back against the high-backed chair. “Don’t fool yourself, boy. We wouldn’t be here if it didn’t always come to that. Even Rhea, who would prefer to hide behind benign spirituality, wouldn’t have been able to do so if she hadn’t been so powerful and known how and when to use that power.”

  The Chancellor exited the library without participating in the discussion. His point having been made by Dougal, Theo supposed.

  “Theo,” Ren turned to her, with some sort of an apology on his lips.

  “Not the time, Ren. It might never again be the time,” she sighed.

  “When you go walk among the warriors, Theodora, make sure you don’t take that attitude with you,” Dougal spoke firmly, though his arm rested over his eyes.

  “I thought you wanted me to be more than a figurehead?” she couldn’t keep the sneer from her tone.

  “Perhaps I overestimated your abilities.” Her uncle was more weary than nasty, but her mother rose to her defense nonetheless.

  “Dougal.”

  “Fine. I’ll ready the troops to die for me. It’s the least I can do, short of sacrificing myself.”

  Everyone but Dougal looked at her sharply. “You were less childish without the mind mage powers. I liked you better that way.”

  “No one has to die,” Hugh interrupted, “if we make this a battle of spirit and not swords. Words can —”

  “You get the upper hand much quicker with a sword in your hands,” Dougal retorted.

  “I won’t be that weapon,” Theo declared, as she crossed for the exit. She was eager to put this conversation behind her.

  “You don’t have any choice,” Dougal called after her. “It has already been written for you. You’ll play a part no matter what any of us do, no matter what choices we make here.”

  It always came back to the prophecy. No matter what path she tried to choose, she always ended up right back in the middle of someone else's interpretation of her prophecy. She is the fountain through which Spirit flows. Her strength shall unite air and fire, earth and water, with human and beast. Through her, all become Spirit, and Spirit reigns.

  She shut thoughts of the prophecy and Dougal out of her mind as she shut the door behind her, though not before she heard her mother and uncle task Hugh and Ren to look after her. She was getting pretty tired of being wounded and trembling. She was getting pretty tired of being rescued and protected.

  Ultimately, she didn’t feel she deserved any of it — neither their admiration, nor their hate — none of it was based on who she actually was, only on the power that ran in her veins and the prophecy written on her Spirit.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Theo walked among the warriors.

  They were divided by loyalty into camps around the castle grounds. The Chancellor’s gardens were being trampled, though someone had attempted to erect a protective barrier around the roses, since the Chancellor had future fairs to win after all. The castle wasn’t built with defense in mind, and it was being seriously tested by the influx of warriors from the Chancellor’s vassals, Rhea’s private guards, and Dougal’s elite.

  As she walked among Dougal’s warriors, many who greeted her familiarly, she struggled to keep specific memories at bay. Now was not the time to indulge. She hadn’t been overly friendly in the past, so her restraint didn’t seem unusual. It also probably helped that they now knew who she actually was; the daughter of the Apex, the prophesied Manifestation of Spirit. Still, she kept a smile on her face and her hands clasped behind her back, to discourage wayward contact. Ren ran interference by chatting with the warriors as if they were his own, which made her realize that Dougal must have promoted him to second. She wondered how much that promotion was due to the mark of her blood on his forearm, and then pushed the thought away. She wasn’t going to solve anything tonight, and it was best if she just focused on her duty.

  As they crossed by the gates and turned into the practice area of the keep, she murmured to Hugh, “I imagine the Chancellor is regretting not building that moat now.”

  Hugh laughed quietly, which was the biggest response she’d gotten from him all evening, but Ren was confused. “A moat? Out here? Why would he ever have need of one?”

  “It was a joke, Ren,” she said, and Ren fell silent as they began to approach the Chancellor’s guard. Many of his warriors had chosen to be housed in tents, giving up their soft beds for those ranked higher. Their reactions to Theo’s walkabout were more formal and more intimate than Dougal’s elite. Almost all these warriors carried her blessing. They eyed Ren and nodded to Hugh.

  The energy was jovial. Weapons and armor were readied and admired. A fight was to be relished, no matter the foe, no matter that it could be their brothers or teachers or childhood friends waiting in the darkness. Even if his crusade had been strictly underground for years, the swiftness of the Preacher’s momentum since Theo’s return was almost unbelievable. Had she not felt the darkness seething outside the castle walls, she would not have believed it herself. She could see how those in power, Rhea and the Chancellor specifically, could have discounted it for so long.

  “I still think that this is the stupidest place to have taken Theo. How did you think to defend her here?” Ren took all the tension he felt by being surrounded by warriors not under his command and flung it at Hugh.

  “I had no idea you’d come running with an army at your heels,” Hugh calmly replied.

  “The castle of the Apex would have been the right place to make our stand.”

  “Which one? While it is true her summer home, Hollyburn Castle, is protected on three sides by the mountains, leagues of land and the Great Sea surround the Winter Palace. You can see an enemy approach from miles away.”

  “The Winter Palace?”

  “In the northern Drylands? I guess you’ve never been invited.”

  “Why would I have?” Ren snapped, and Theo moved off to see Gia, who’d beckoned to her. She was lucky that Ren and Hugh weren’t at each other’s throats given the circumstances, but the bickering was almost more wearing.

  “My lady,” Gia said. “May I offer you a drink? Would you sit by the fire for a moment?”

  “I would be honored to do so.” Theo glanced back at Hugh and Ren in argument, and then turned to focus on the warriors gathered by the fire. They were trading stories of their exploits. Nathan, who she’d disgraced so badly in the practice yard, briefly caught her eye and nodded. He was ready and willing to stand at her defense even without her blessing. She felt humbled and awed to be so completely accepted by this loyal group of warriors.

  Bryan appeared out of the shadows and snuggled at her feet. His cheek was smudged with dirt and he smelled of hay. He’d probably been visiting the Beast in the stables. Theo indulged herself by touching him lightly on the head, and he smiled up at her so purely that she almost forgot the war waiting outside the gates.

  Except Ren and Hugh’s argument was escalating, and their voices were getting a little difficult to ignore. They were drawing the attention of the warriors around the fire, who really didn’t need any extra underlying tension added to their anticipation of the looming conflict.

  As if they had timed it, the Chancellor and Dougal approached the fire lit area via different avenues. Dougal came from the direction of his guard, and the Chancellor from the kitchens. They saw Hugh and Ren and immediately crossed to them.

  Ren and Hugh were suddenly standing too close to each other.

  Theo excused herself from
the fire and stepped toward the four men. Bryan, along with all the eyes of the warriors gathered, followed her.

  They were without a doubt fighting about her. Ren was currently disputing their “forced betrothal,” but Hugh had been the testy one earlier when Ren broached his prophecy.

  “Perhaps it is better to leave this all until after this conflict is resolved,” Dougal cautioned, as Theo approached. “Then, if you so request, Theodora will most likely choose one of you over the other.”

  Hugh and Ren didn’t take their eyes off each other, but it was the Chancellor who responded to Dougal. “There is no choice, there is only destiny.”

  “Oh, please,” Dougal snorted. “My sister might believe in such things —”

  “It really doesn’t matter what you believe once it comes to pass. It doesn’t matter who Theodora chooses to bed, perhaps the three of them will come to some arrangement, but Hugh is her destiny, whether they formally bond or not.”

  “We are formally bonded. You’ve all seen the mark.” Ren thrust out his marked arm to gesture at Theo’s mark, which prickled lightly in response. “There is no disputing it. The choice has already been made.”

  The Chancellor laughed, more than a little cruelly. “It is interesting really, that you are powerful and yet have no understanding of magic. I imagine that’s because you cannot feel it. How could you possibly be the partner for someone who is spirit manifested?”

  “That particular argument has been going on for twenty-six years, Chancellor. Let’s just leave it. Clasp on it, boys. Tomorrow we might all be dead.” It was odd that Dougal chose to be the rational voice in this moment; perhaps he just liked to be constantly contrary.

  Ren, looking as if he hated every second of it, responded to the command in Dougal’s voice and thrust his arm out toward Hugh. Only Hugh hesitated.

  “You know what you have to do, Hugh,” the Chancellor chided. “What is necessary to ensure Theodora’s safety. What destiny demands.”

  Hugh slowly turned to look back at Theo. The firelight caught in his eyes, and, for a moment, she saw the wolf he’d become in the forest. She wasn’t certain what he sought or what he found in her face, but he turned back to grasp Ren’s arm.

  Except then, they didn’t let go of each other. A sort of squeezing tug of war ensued.

  Dougal sighed, then laughed, but it was the Chancellor’s laugh, which sounded like all his greatest desires had just been fulfilled, that chilled Theo.

  She stepped forward to intercede between the men, but Bryan stepped in front of her to hold her back. “Bad time, Lady Theo,” the boy warned, and though he couldn’t actually physically restrain her, she chose to follow the boy’s instinctual advice.

  Ren shook Hugh off by slamming his open hand on Hugh’s chest. Hugh stumbled back but didn’t fall.

  “Ren!” she cried, for he’d used far too much strength against Hugh. Her cry caused Ren to pause with his hand on the hilt of his sword.

  “This is who you dally with?” Ren accused. “I doubt he can even use that pretty sword at his hip, and he certainly couldn’t match me!”

  “He doesn’t need a sword to defeat you or defend Theodora.” The Chancellor’s voice was low and dangerous.

  Hugh sighed and closed his eyes as if not looking forward to the challenge the Chancellor had just offered. Theo suddenly felt as if they were playing a game, all set up by the Chancellor, and perhaps Dougal, given that he seemed so out of character. That this was a forced pitting of Ren and Hugh against each other. It had started the moment that Dougal and the Chancellor had seemingly coincidentally arrived in the yard.

  “Oh, he’s a mind mage, is he? You’ll see how well that works on me.” Ren accepted the Chancellor’s challenge and actually beckoned toward Hugh, who was still standing with his eyes closed.

  The Chancellor didn’t answer. He simply looked to Hugh.

  The silence stretched. Dougal laughed, “Well, boy, do you have some magic trick to throw?”

  “Do you want her or not? Not everything can just be handed to you.” The Chancellor’s voice was so low that Theo barely heard him.

  Hugh twisted his neck left and then right. He crouched low on all fours. She knew the second before he did so that he was going to change, in front of all these people. It was some big reveal, orchestrated by the Chancellor: a power play. She opened her mouth to call Hugh back, but the air around him churned and the spirit in him glowed brighter and brighter, so bright she had to cover her eyes.

  She heard something tear, painfully.

  And a dragon was standing in the middle of the practice yard. At least that was what she thought it was. She’d only seen pictures and, unquestionably, dragons didn’t actually exist … did they?

  A few quickly muffled screams came from the gathered warriors as they fell back to give the dragon room. Ren and Dougal also stumbled back, and Bryan, inexplicably, clapped his hands together and jumped up and down.

  The dragon lowered his massive head until it was even with Ren’s. He was scaled in red and black armor. She had to stop herself from touching him, though Bryan didn’t seem to share her caution.

  The dragon snuffed a puff of smoke out of his nostrils into Ren’s face.

  Coughing, Ren drew his sword.

  The dragon displayed its teeth, which were bigger than Ren’s blade.

  “You think your sword is mightier than a dragon?” the Chancellor taunted. “Didn’t think they existed, did you? It took me twenty years to find a specimen, and even then, I couldn’t get the egg to hatch.”

  “It would take more than a dragon to vanquish Ren,” Dougal said, rather calmly for having a dragon staring at him.

  “Shall we test that theory, dragon?” Ren grinned, as he did in anticipation of any fight, as he’d grinned at Theo when they’d crossed steel.

  The dragon — Hugh — curled his tail around her and Bryan protectively. She was holding the squealing boy back from climbing all over Hugh. Ren’s face clouded.

  “You still don’t understand, Ren-bearer-of-the-mark,” the Chancellor called. ”While Theodora might be the manifestation, or rather fountain, of spirit, Hugh is the reservoir.”

  “Spirit,” spat Ren. “I’m not ruled by something I cannot see. Theo needs a warrior by her side.”

  “Theo is a warrior,” the Chancellor countered. “What she needs is everything else, and that only Hugh can be. He can be anything she desires.“ Here the Chancellor shifted his gaze from Ren to Hugh. “He can be you.”

  The air twisted around Hugh, and suddenly the dragon was gone, replaced by Ren crouched in the sand completely nude, his clothing shredded by the dragon transformation.

  Hugh-as-Ren straightened, fighting some sort of residual pain, though perhaps only Theo noticed that the transformations were painful for him. He stood in front of Ren, who’d gone severely pale, though he recovered his bluster quickly.

  “Impossible. It’s just a magician’s trick, an illusion. Magic doesn’t work on me,” Ren sneered.

  The Chancellor laughed and turned to Dougal. “What do you teach them, all swords and no spirit?”

  “The Chancellor is suggesting that Hugh isn’t trying to affect you with magic. He had already, what? Sampled?” The Chancellor inclined his head and Dougal continued, “your spirit. I didn’t know it was possible.” Dougal trailed off thoughtfully and then looked at Theo. “I can see why he was chosen for you. If your mother is correct in her interpretation.”

  “What!” Ren exploded. “He is not me! He’s an inferior copy.” He held his marked arm aloft. “He has no mark.”

  Theo looked down at Hugh-as-Ren’s well-muscled forearm, the skin so much lighter than it should be, and he, indeed, did not bear her mark.

  “Blood magic,” the Chancellor commented. “Powerful, but unreliable, is nothing compared to ordained prophecy.”

  Ren looked to Dougal for support, but Dougal just shrugged and headed off toward his troops. Ren then l
ooked to Theo, and for the first time, he looked shaken. “And if I asked you to choose, right now, wouldn’t you choose the man you love, who loves you, rather than some prediction made by an obviously power-hungry father —”

  “That is enough!” Rhea’s voice rang out across the yard.

  The warriors knelt in-cascade as their Apex approached.

  “Hugh! Stop this at once, and put on some clothing. Theodora, you should have been in bed hours ago.” Her mother held out her hand, like she expected Theo to grasp it, even though she always avoided such contact. Theo stepped forward, clasped her mother’s hand, and felt suddenly relieved. Her mother had actually rescued her.

  “Why would you do this now, Hugh? Of all times?”

  She glanced back to see Hugh — himself again — belting a pair of pants offered by one of warriors. He didn’t meet her eye.

  “Or should I be questioning you, Chancellor?” Rhea pressed.

  “Things need to be understood,” the Chancellor answered.

  “But not tonight and not tomorrow.”

  “Yes, Apex.”

  “You know I am right!” Ren suddenly declared, and then stomped off after Dougal.

  “Are you coming, boy?” Rhea asked Bryan, and Theo was foolishly surprised that nothing escaped her mother’s notice. Rhea pulled her and Bryan toward the castle.

  She couldn’t help but glance back at Hugh, who remained shirtless in the middle of the yard, his sword abandoned in the sand. The firelight highlighted his curls as it also darkened his skin. He was taller and slimmer than Ren, but his chest was no less muscled. He was simply built for movement, while Ren was built to be immovable. He met her eyes this time. He looked so tired and so … sad.

  I’m sorry, she whispered in his head.

  He shook off her guilt and cast a look his father’s way.

  Rhea pulled her into the castle and she lost sight of Hugh, but she could still hear him in her head.

  You’ll allow me to speak my words. To make my declarations, before you choose him?