Pledged

by Gwynneth White

  “Erin’s journal and pen,” his spirit suggested.

  Won’t work. They’re Erin’s. She’ll kill me if I give her stuff away.

  “We’re probably dead anyway if you make a deal with Rustus.”

  Seth exhaled slowly.

  Rustus dribbled out a smile. “You will no doubt attend my sacrifice to Lord Reuel in the morning, Seth Hunt. Once there, you will place your weapon on the altar, next to my victim. That is my final offer. Decide. Now. Because I have things to do.”

  Cold sweat broke out of every pore on Seth’s body as he nodded his agreement. “And then? How will we leave here? I can’t use the diamond because it will take me back to the crows and the pans.”

  Rustus laughed. “And you don’t want to go there, do you?” Knowing Seth had no answer, he hobbled across the room, picked up his knife, and returned with it to the altar. Seth clasped the hilt of his sword, ready to draw, but Rustus ignored him. After genuflecting to the idol, Rustus used the tip of his knife to prize out one of the Lightning Bird’s garnet eyes. He held up the stone – the size of a pigeon’s egg – for Seth to see. “The man named Vukani. You’ve heard of him?”

  Seth nodded.

  “He has a matching eye in his collection of sangoma bones. It is he who has been trying to raise the dead to find the Seer-Stone for your brother. Hence the fascinating smell of burning vegetation in this room today, and the throbbing in the Lightning Bird’s all-seeing eyes.” Rustus rolled the garnet in his hand. “I will command our Great High Priest Opher to place this on the altar at the sacrifice. When you lay down your weapon you may pick it up. It will take you to Vukani – and thus to Kyle’s camp.”

  “And Erin comes with me.”

  “You grow tiresome, Seth Hunt.”

  “Then say it! I give you my sword, pick up the eye, and Erin leaves with me.”

  “Yes.”

  Seth pulled his hand away from the altar and vanished from Rustus’s view.

  * * *

  The cries of quarrelling crows on the roof stirred Erin from a dreamless sleep. As she opened her eyes, shafts of troubling daylight fell across the bed. This was Rustus’s day of sacrifice. She lay still, wondering if there was a way to avoid being there. Really, she knew there wasn’t, but a girl could still hope.

  The word ‘sacrifice’ left a bitter taste in her mouth. She clicked her furry tongue against her palate and dreamed of her bathroom back home. She was suddenly conscious that it was time to track down another bath. The only good thing about living like this is that Seth probably smells too, so he won’t notice my pong. It struck her then that Seth, lying next to her, was very quiet. She couldn’t even hear him breathing.

  “Seth? You awake yet?”

  When there was no reply she rolled over to face him.

  The bed was empty. She sat up and looked around the tiny room. He was definitely not there. More confused than concerned, she ran her hand along the smoothness of the springbok pelt on Seth’s side of the bed. It was cold. He had not spent the last few hours lying next to her.

  “So where the hell is he? As if I don’t know. And the diamond . . .” She lunged for the backpack, but it wasn’t on the floor where she’d left it. “Damn him!” Then she saw it on the bed next to her. Praying with all her might that the Seer-Stone was safe, she tipped everything out and sighed with relief as the diamond tumbled onto the bed. She peered into its depths, hoping it would show her Seth’s whereabouts. Opaque and fathomless, it told her nothing. It slipped from her fingers, dropping onto her lap as she leaned back against the pillow.

  “I can’t believe it. He walked out on me. While I was sleeping. How deceitful is that?” She snatched up her shoes and shoved her feet into them. “You’d better have a good excuse for doing . . . whatever you’re doing, without me, Seth.” She started stuffing their possessions back into the backpack. As she grabbed her journal, she stopped, knowing it was pointless: the Fortress was huge and Seth could be anywhere in it. Worse, he could already have left.

  “Maybe he’s walking into Kyle’s camp right at this very moment. With Izzy and Mia.”

  Mia. Erin flopped back down onto the bed, still holding the journal. The same Mia who has no respect for the golden rule that says you never steal your sister’s boyfriend . . . Not that Seth’s my boyfriend. Erin flicked her hair behind her ear as she faced that awful truth. “But he’s so friggin’ good-looking he’s impossible resist. The moment Mia sees him she’ll be all over him.” Erin blew out a long breath. “If I use the diamond it will probably send me back to the campsite on the pan.” A shiver ran down her spine at the thought. That clearly wasn’t an option. But if I stay here, what then? “Well, I can’t just sit here marooned in this room. I’ve got to at least try and find him.”

  As she put the journal in the backpack, she noticed the title, Seth’s & Erin’s Book of Life, embossed on its front cover. That was new. She flipped it open, seeing line-upon-line of Nathan’s flowing calligraphy.

  The Guardian’s words, spoken in Norin – “I strongly suggest you both find time to read it. You may be surprised at what you learn” – seemed to fill the room, as if she had just spoken them.

  Feeling very silly for having neglected something so obvious, Erin opened to a random page near the middle of the book. Nathan, in his usual pedantic style, had written a meticulous account of her and Seth’s meeting with the Lightning Bird on the battlefield. So meticulous, in fact, that he’d even captured her private thoughts. And Seth’s. She scanned the pages reading Seth’s thoughts, thoughts that until this moment had been his own deep secret. She giggled. Seth seemed to keep up a running conversation with himself in his head. It was funny. And cute. She paused to read an entry. Her mouth dropped open. She had to read it again to make sure her eyes hadn’t deceived her.

  “He told himself he loves me! He thinks I’m . . . no way!” She read the entry again. “Beautiful. He thinks I’m beautiful.” Doubts immediately assailed her. “That doesn’t make sense. He’s rejected me so many times.” But, she had to admit, if Nathan’s record of their adventure on the battlefield was picture perfect, why should this entry be any different? Smiling with delight, she sat back, feeling a luxurious, satisfying glow coursing through her entire body. “I’ve got to tell him that I love him too. Wherever he is.” She scrambled to her feet and was busy stuffing the journal into the backpack when Seth walked through the door.

  Ignoring the dismay on his face at seeing her awake, she cried out, “You love me.” He stopped, waiting for Erin to explain herself. “And guess what else?” When it became obvious he wasn’t in a guessing-game mood, she walked over to him and put her hand on his chest, daring to part the buttons on his shirt so she could caress his silky skin. “I love you too, Seth.”

  Seth chuckled. “And this is news, Sparkles?”

  “Yes!”

  Her eyes – the colour of a crystal green sea – looked at him with such wonder. He longed to hold her, to kiss her, to twirl her hair. But he didn’t. Instead, he stepped away from her. “And how did you make this amazing discovery.”

  Yet another rejection! Is he gay, or what? Erin wailed to herself. All she wanted was to fling her arms around his neck and kiss him, but here he was, looking at her with amused disinterest, as if they were discussing the weather. It was unfathomable. Erin took a steadying breath, smiled her brightest smile, and pulled him down onto the bed next to her. “I’ve been reading the journal, Seth. My journal. Well, really it’s Nathan’s journal about our story – everything that’s happened since we met. Including our feelings for each other.”

  “Like reading our thoughts? That’s invasive.” As he reached for the journal, he remembered his deal with Rustus. He stopped dead; then folded his arms nervously. “Will you still love me when I tell you I made a deal with Rustus tonight?”

  Even though the news should not have surprised her, a wave of shock hit her. “I . . . I guessed as much when I woke up and saw you gone. Are . . . is Reuel going to let y
ou leave here?”

  “You too. We take the diamond and they drop us back in Kyle’s camp.”

  “Me too?” A sudden, almost instinctive need to protect the Stone flared in her. The last thing she wanted was to arrive in Kyle’s camp with her precious Seer-Stone dangling from Seth’s fist. Then a thought struck her. The only way to keep it safe would be to never let it out of my sight. Kyle won’t even catch a glimpse of it. And I’ll be on hand to keep Mia’s claws out of Seth too. She grinned at Seth. “Great. I’ll start packing.”

  Seth didn’t smile at her joke. “You didn’t really think I’d leave you here, did you?”

  “To be honest, the possibility did cross my mind when I woke up and you were gone.”

  He looked really hurt. “Erin. I might be cursed, but I’m not scum. I could never leave you here on your own. I would have thought you knew me well enough by now to have guessed that.”

  “I suppose it was out of character,” she admitted. “Seeing that all you ever do is try and protect me.” She smiled an uncertain smile, still hoping for that first kiss.

  “We leave here after the sacrifice. That’s the plan. Just think – in a few hours we’ll be back in the real world.”

  Forget a kiss! Erin said to herself. A hug . . . something . . . anything to prove you’re not gay – or the stupid brother I never knew I had. She forced a calmness she didn’t feel into her voice. “Seth, the Reuel I know would never agree to a no-strings offer. What are we giving him in exchange for that trip back to the real world?”

  He looked down at his hands, avoiding her eyes. “Nothing major.”

  “Out with it, Seth. What are you giving him?”

  He shrugged, wishing that Erin wasn’t always so blunt. “I told you, it’s not important. The main thing is that we get to Kyle safely.”

  “Seth? I’m waiting.”

  The look on her face reminded him of Stephanie – just moments before she went into battle with the Gefallen. He blew out a long, slow breath. “Please don’t kill me, but – it’s my sword they want.”

  “No!” She grabbed his arms and shook him. “Can’t you see what they’re doing?”

  Her panic broke through the façade of control he had been struggling to maintain. He flung his arms around her and buried his face into her hair. “I know the risks, Erin, but it’s the only way I’ll ever know the truth. And as much as I love you, I also have a responsibility to my brother.” He kissed her neck, running his mouth up to her chin.

  With a laugh of delight Erin thrust her arms around him. She breathed deeply, drinking in his smell – chocolate and cinnamon. With slow, gentle movements, he ran his hands through her hair, as if he were feeling every strand. When he pulled away to look at her, she was smiling at him, her mouth slightly open, her eyes pleading with him to kiss her. But that he would not do. Not while his first loyalty was still to Kyle. So instead he traced his fingers across her face, delighting in the feel of her skin, soft and smooth, against his touch. As he stroked her mouth, she kissed his fingers, murmuring, “You’re my soul mate. Forever.”

  Her words made him tremble, and the compulsion to kiss her mouth was overwhelming. He knew he should fight it, that it was wrong to build up her hopes that he had chosen her over Kyle, but needing her – wanting her so badly – he edged into her, his lips hovering above hers.

  Erin closed her mouth over his. She knew exactly how important this first kiss was in her fight for Seth against Kyle. For a split second he hesitated; then, no longer willing to resist, he opened his mouth to hers. As their tongues met, a fountain of fiery sparks surged through Erin’s body, reminding her of the sensation in the prism when her spirit had accepted Custodianship of the diamond. Just like that decision had been right, kissing Seth was right too. More than right. It was the most natural thing in the world to do. Erin slid her hands under his shirt, caressing his back, praying that he felt as at home in her arms as she felt in his. They were both breathless when Seth burst into joyful laughter and pulled away from her.

  “I’ve been wanting to kiss you ever since Maun. Forget Maun . . . almost since the moment I met you at the airport in Gaborone.”

  “All that time wasted.” Erin lay back on the bed and pulled him down with her. With her face close to his, she asked, “So why didn’t you?”

  He sighed. “Sparkles, I thought that was obvious.”

  “Not to me, it wasn’t.”

  He traced the outline of her mouth with his finger. “Well, I had just met you in Gaborone. Imagine how you’d have reacted if I’d done the whole Conan the Barbarian thing by throwing you over my shoulder and dragging you off to my cave?”

  She giggled. “And later?”

  “You know what happened later. I was so freaked out about it all that I was ready to get on the next plane home. Then we hit the Mists of Time–”

  “Yes. Where you rejected me.”

  He took her in his arms and kissed her tenderly, almost as if he was trying to make up for all that hurt. Finally he broke away from her. “Moving on from that . . . Then I saw Caleb and Talitha. That’s when I really decided to keep my hands to myself. The last thing I wanted was for my soul mate to accuse me of using her. The way Caleb did with Talitha.”

  Erin thrilled to hear him call her his soul mate. Then she bit her lip. “Why exactly are you going back to Kyle? Other than the curse, I mean. Because I know you, you’re no different to Caleb or Jared. You’re also one of the noble ones. You could fight the curse if you really wanted to.”

  Seth thought for a moment before answering. “Erin, I know I can’t really expect you to understand, but please try.”

  “Like Jared said to Sophia: how can I deny you anything?”

  He pulled her tighter to him so there was no space between them, and then wrapped his leg around hers. “I don’t want to whine, but I’ve spent the last five years being shunted from one foster home to another by a particularly foul bitch from social services.” He gave a wry smile. “I’ve since discovered that she was possessed by one of Reuel’s Gefallen. Obviously he’s been on my case for years.”

  Erin wondered if she should mention the conversation she’d had with Kate in Norin, but decided against it. She wanted to hear this from Seth.

  “During all that time, Kyle stood by me. He spent every penny he had to pay lawyers to fight the evil.” Seth took a deep breath. “Maybe you can argue that he did it because he wanted me close so I’d bring him the diamond. Or maybe he did it because he loves me. I don’t know which it is. And until I find that out for myself, I’ll never rest.”

  Erin ran her fingers along the stubble on his hard, angular jaw. “I can understand that. When my dad left me, I’d have given anything for a chance to talk to him. To ask him why he didn’t want me anymore.”

  “I’m glad you understand.” He kissed her. “And you’ll be there with me when we get back to Kyle. How can that be bad?”

  “Not bad at all.”

  “See.” He smiled at her, then added thoughtfully, “I think you’re good for me.”

  “Oh, baring your soul to me now!” She wriggled even deeper into his arms. “Tell me more.”

  “Because your fiery nature inspires me to be better than I am.”

  ”Love is supposed to do that. Or so the poets would have us believe.” She paused. “What would you have chosen for your emblem if you had grown up in Shenaya?”

  He shrugged. “I haven’t a clue. My life hasn’t exactly revolved around African animals and birds. Or American ones either. That limits my choice to the spoilt dogs just about every New Yorker parades on the sidewalks after work and over weekends.”

  Erin propped herself up on her elbow and studied his face, but the answer didn’t lie there. For that she had to look into his heart, into who he was, intrinsically. Her mind flipped through all African animals and birds that best represented Seth. There was only one that darted high above the rest. “You are the exquisitely beautiful lilac-breasted roller.”

  �
�Exquisitely beautiful?” He pulled a face, looking embarrassed. “I’d be flattered if I even knew what a lilac-breasted roller was.”

  “It’s a bird. Quite big, with a long tail, and feathers of every colour you can imagine, all jumbled together.”

  “It sounds . . . confused. A bit like me, I suppose.”

  “No. It’s really stunning. Honestly. Turquoise and sapphire blue, jade green, rusty brown, purple, black. And it’s a very strong flyer. Athletic. Just like you.”

  “Okay,” he replied, still looking doubtful. “But I don’t exactly gravitate to bright colours. I own a few red t-shirts, maybe a couple of blue ones. But that’s it.”

  She giggled. “I’ve noticed. You’re more the grey, black and white type.” She ran her hand down his chest. “But I didn’t choose the roller for its looks, Seth – even if you are stamped out of the Shenayan mould of hot-looking guys. In Africa, the lilac-breasted roller represents peace and reconciliation. Like the dove in western culture. Anyway, warring kings would sacrifice a roller when making peace with each other.” She gave him a curious smile. “They’d slit its throat with a spear, and then they’d snap the spear in half and bury it with the bird on top of it.”

  “Charming. A sacrificial offering,” Seth said, clearly trying to get the connection between himself and Erin’s weird perception of him. “Just what I need to hear before Rustus’s sacrifice.”

  “No, Seth. You don’t get it. Lilac-breasted rollers eat scorpions for breakfast. And I’ll bet you my entire collection of books filled with useless facts that Rustus’s emblem is a scorpion.”

  Now Seth smiled. “Okay, I get it. I’m beginning to like the sound of this bird. But Rustus is only part of the problem.”

  “Let me finish. Lilac-breasted rollers also take on raptors to defend their nests. And there are more than enough rollers around to prove that they usually win.”