The Bonded: The Allseer Trilogy Book I

by Kaitlyn Rouhier

  Trista appeared around the corner a moment later, carrying two overly full packs. She glanced between them. “Where are Tomias and Fenir,” she all but demanded.

  “They stayed behind to buy us some time,” Kirheen explained, feeling a wave of guilt. If anything happened to them, it would be on her head and she knew Trista would never forgive her. Truth be told, she’d probably never forgive herself. Trista nodded sadly, giving one of the bags to Kirheen and one to Garild. She’d sewn straps onto each bag, to make it easier to carry.

  “I stuffed what I could in there. There are some basic medical supplies, blankets, extra clothing, water and food. There isn’t much there, so make it last as long as you can.” She remained stoic as she prattled off her list. When she was done, her eyes became glossy and she leapt forward, giving Kirheen a quick, motherly hug. “You two stay safe. Whatever you do, whatever you find out there, stay together. Now go!”

  She gave Garild a quick hug, pressing her lips close to his ear to whisper something Kirheen couldn’t hear. She shooed them off into the trees, pushing against their packs to get them started and then they were off, bolting through the trees with the wind whipping through their hair.

  Kirheen didn’t look back, didn’t glance over her shoulder. She couldn’t afford to let herself think it might be the last time she ever saw home. There was too much at stake, too many people depending on their success. She wouldn’t fail them.

  Chapter 26

  The sun was making its slow descent in the sky when Kirheen called for them to stop. She could no longer keep up the pace they’d set, her body too fatigued to keep pushing through underbrush and weaving around trees. She was terribly thirsty, her lips dry and cracking, every muscle protesting the stop as much as it had the running. Sinking to the ground, she tried to stay alert and listen for any sounds of pursuit but the only thing she could hear was the rush of her blood flowing through her veins.

  Satisfied that they were at least momentarily safe, she dug into the pack Trista had given her. Just as she’d promised, there was a bundle of basic supplies, hastily gathered and thrown in a heap at the bottom. She picked through it, sighing with relief when her fingers wrapped around a liquid filled jug. The stopper came loose with a pop and she took a cautious sip, feeling the weight of the jug lighten. There was so little there and no way to know how long their journey would take. The thought of running out of water terrified her.

  As for food, there was a pack of dried meats and a few wraith blossom cakes, kept safe in a small container Trista had tucked them in. She picked at one of them, hoping the restorative quality of the wraith blossom would help ease her fatigue. Garild ate too, chewing slowly on a piece of meat. She could feel his gaze wander over her from time to time. When he turned back to his food she lifted her head, allowing herself to take in his appearance for the first time since they’d fled. He was a mess. Her eyes followed the curve of his cheek and down to the frown of his lips. When his brown eyes rose to meet hers, she quickly looked away.

  When they were done eating and the food and water was packed, he spoke.

  “Thank you,” he mumbled.

  “For what?”

  “For saving me. A second more and I would…I would have been nothing.”

  He’d almost been unbound, his mind stripped from him. It didn’t entirely make sense to her. She didn’t understand how it worked and even worse, had no way to defend against it. “What exactly did she do?”

  He shook his head, obviously dreading the memory that came with the retelling. “I don’t know. She just reached out, touched Isa and suddenly it was like she was a different person. Everything about her was…gone. I can’t explain it. It was as if she sucked out her soul…”

  Kirheen frowned. “I’m glad we made it in time. Garild, I’m so sorry, I--”

  He held up a hand, cutting her off. “I don’t want to hear it right now. Please. We can talk about all of this later. Let’s just keep moving.”

  She’d been wanting to apologize, to try and make things right. The rejection hurt and for the next few hours, she spoke little. With no sense of what lay ahead, gauging their progress was impossible. The scenery changed little as they made their way, nothing but an endless expanse of wraith wood trees and thick underbrush. It would be an easy place to get lost and she had little desire to do so. She kept watch of the sun through the trees overhead, keeping track of the direction it sank in the sky.

  As the sky darkened, fear crept into her heart and questions began to plague her mind. What if they ran out of food? Water? What would they do? For all she knew, nothing lay beyond but more forest. She’d never been put in a position like this before. She didn’t know how to hunt. She was suddenly very grateful for the little interest she’d shown in Trista’s books. Picking out edible plants wouldn’t be too much of a problem, but if they didn’t encounter enough…

  Hunger. Starvation. Exhaustion. Thirst. Death.

  She tried to shake the thought but it clung to the back of her mind, scratching at the surface. There had to be something out there. If there wasn’t, their entire mission would be for naught. They walked as long as they could by the light of the trees, but once darkness had fully descended, it was too easy to get turned around. They found a nook tucked away in the roots of a wraith wood tree and it was there that they camped for the night.

  Despite the obvious indifference Garild showed her, they slept close together that night, both afraid and unsure of the darkness around them. Neither slept well, the unfamiliar sounds of the forest lending itself to paranoia. Kirheen longed for conversation, but there was none to be found from Garild. Her companion stayed quiet, mulling over his thoughts. Kirheen did the same.

  This had been all her fault. Everyone would be hurt, had been hurt because of her actions. She had been selfish and foolish and it had cost Ian and Isa their lives. She felt a burning shame, a wound that festered and throbbed the more she thought of it. There was no choice left. She had to make things right or everyone she knew and cared for would disappear. And without them, would life even be worth living?

  The morning was overcast and cool, the sky plump with gray clouds. Rain was the last thing she wanted. With little shelter to speak of, the thought of running in wet clothes was enough to make her grimace. Garild’s mood had grown as gloomy as the sky above them. He focused on the task ahead, barely sparing her a glance. They ate and drank in silence, the void between them growing.

  Eventually it became too much and she lurched to a stop. Garild looked back at her, annoyed that they were stopping again. Kirheen took a moment to catch her breath and ready herself for the words she had to speak. She looked at her bond mate. The stress of the past few days seemed to have aged him. His eyes were bloodshot and weepy, his skin dirt streaked. His brown hair was messy and caked to skin now tinged pink from the constant exposure to the sun. Flat eyes, lips tight, brows knitted in frustration.

  Kirheen took a deep breath and then willed herself to speak. “Garild, I’m sorry.”

  Garild frowned. “Kirheen, I told you I didn’t want to hear it. I still don’t.”

  “I know you don’t want to! I know you are angry! You’ve every right to be. But right now, I can’t handle all of this coming from you. I just need you to talk, to speak to me. I need something to fill my head other than all of this guilt. I need my friend!”

  His expression shifted from one of indifference to one of anger. “You want me to drown out your guilt? Would that make things better? You brought this upon all of us. Isa and Ian, are dead because of you. And guess what? Our instructors are probably next and they’ll be dead too! All of Sanctuary is paying for your mess all because I wasn’t good enough for you!”

  The words hit like a slap to the face, triggering her anger. She was furious, her blood boiling. “How can you say that? Garild, none of that matters now! It was all a lie! Everything! Our Bond is a lie! The Darkness is a lie! I made a mistake, Garild. I did. I can’t exactly just go back and change things, c
an I? Right now, I am trying to make this right. I can’t keep up a charade knowing that everything around me isn’t real. I need to find out what is real though and right now I know that despite everything that has happened, I still count you as my friend, a friend I very desperately need right now.”

  Garild looked hurt. “It was never just a lie for me, Kirheen. It never was. This was my life and despite the fact that it was a lie, this life wasn’t horrible. Here we are, running through a forest with no idea what we’ll find. There may be nothing out there and this will all be pointless. Or maybe we’ll find someone but how are we supposed to get anyone to help us? You’ve taken everything from me, Kirheen. Everything I loved and wanted, you’ve stripped it away. I can’t just forgive you for that. I’ll help you fix this because I owe you my life, but I can’t be your friend. Don’t expect that of me right now. I can’t do it.”

  Kirheen slumped, her shoulders drooping, eyes casting down to the forest floor. She turned away from him silent and broken and continued walking. She wanted so badly to cry but found herself far too tired to let it happen. She felt more alone than she ever had. There was nobody there to console her, nobody to tell her it would all be okay. She wished more than anything that Tomias was walking beside her. He’d tell her it would be okay and right then she needed the lie.

  Misery and guilt plagued her sleep. The days wore on and her thoughts were all consuming. The sun rose and fell, a cycle with no end. Food rations grew thin and each day she grew hungrier, eating less and less until there was nothing to eat except for what she could forage. Water was refilled once at a small stream they passed, but even that was downed fast, leaving them with little to keep them going. The forest seemed to stretch on forever, though there were subtle changes to the landscape. The ground, once a dense green underbrush, had thinned. It was more rocky and uneven here and the trees seemed to have grown further apart, becoming sparser.

  Eventually, the wraith wood trees were joined by a variety of others that Kirheen had never seen. One tree in particular had smooth bark and towered above them, broad leaves green and lush. There were skinny trees with speckled bark and large coned shaped trees with strange needles. Kirheen found herself avoiding these ones, finding the needles painful to run into.

  The days grew warmer and their progress seemed to slow, the humidity sapping them of their strength and desire to travel. They rested for a time in the shade, sipping at their water. Garild twisted a stick into the ground angrily, making a hole as he did.

  “You okay,” Kirheen asked. She tried to push her anger aside and instead focus on their survival, on keeping them in check both mentally and physically. It was the least she could do.

  He didn’t raise his eyes, just kept on looking at the hole he was creating in the ground. “This is how it’s going to end, isn’t it? Here in this stupid forest...”

  Kirheen didn’t want to think about it. They were out of food and the water was almost gone. A few more days of this and they wouldn’t have the energy or strength to travel. They’d wither away and die, their bodies picked apart by wild animals, their bones lost and forgotten until they became dust. “I don’t know, Garild. We’ve got to be near something.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I don’t… I just…”

  Garild scoffed, throwing the stick down in front of him. He stood up, stalking a few paces away into the woods, his posture stiff and rigid.

  “Where are you going,” Kirheen asked, concerned.

  “Nowhere,” he yelled angrily. “There isn’t anywhere to go! We’re stuck here, Kirheen! We’re just going to die in the woods. Are you happy now?”

  “You know what,” she said angrily, rising to her feet. All promises on keeping her anger in check went up like a match. She marched into the woods after him, cracking the stick he’d thrown on the ground with a loud snap. “I’ve had about enough of your attitude! You don’t think I hurt too? You don’t think I feel defeated? I do, Garild! I know you’re mad but this isn’t helping!”

  “Nothing is going to help! There..is…nothing…out…here,” he yelled at her, throwing his arms out to the side. He stepped back, his foot catching on a tree root. It sent him stumbling and he tumbled back on the ground. There was an audible hiss, a flash of movement and Garild yelped, pushing himself up and away from the spot he’d been as fast as he could. Something low to the ground slithered away hurriedly.

  Garild held his hand up high, frantically eyeing the ground around his feet. Kirheen looked up in alarm. There was blood running down the side of his hand and she rushed forward, pulling his hand towards her. There were two small puncture wounds near his pinky and blood oozed from them. The skin around the marks was already swelling and the skin was red and hot.

  “Are you alright,” she asked, still holding his hand.

  He pulled away from her, tucking his hand firmly against his chest. “I’m fine,” he said, but his pain could be seen in the set of his jaw, the quick frantic movement of his eyes. Kirheen had read about snakes, had even seen one a time or two. She knew that many of them were completely harmless, but a select few carried powerful venom that moved through the body, causing all sorts of foul side effects in a human. Whether there was venom now coursing through his veins was yet to be seen, but Kirheen knew they’d know soon enough.

  If his reaction to it was bad enough, they’d need an herbalist. Kirheen swept her gaze over the surrounding forest, suddenly feeling very helpless. If something happened to Garild, if he succumbed to poison on her foolish mission to get them help, she’d never be able to live with herself.

  Garild walked ahead of her, still bristling with anger. She followed him, quiet as a mouse. She didn’t want to rouse his anger any more, didn’t want his venom infested blood quickened. A few miles further and Kirheen could see sweat rising on his neck, could see his movements slow and waver. She crept to his side, offered her arm and he refused it with a shake of his head.

  “Garild, please. You’re looking terrible. Let me see your hand,” she pleaded, trying to get him to cooperate. He winced as she darted her hand forward. His skin was so hot it almost startled her out of her grip and she gasped, turning his hand over so she could get a better look. His fingers were swollen, far beyond anything she’d ever seen. The edge of the bite marks were crusty and red and a cloudy liquid oozed from them at her touch. He was clammy, skin and robes slick with sweat. When she raised her eyes, he looked away, expression one of shame and pain. “Garild, this…this isn’t good.”

  “I know,” he whispered. “We can’t stop though. We need to keep going.”

  “We’re stopping for just a few moments,” she said, her tone halting any further argument. She swung the pack from her shoulder, following it to the ground. She dug through, finding the small amount of medical supplies Trista had packed. Her hope had been that they wouldn’t need them. It pained her to be wrong. She cleaned the wound as best she could, slathering some foul smelling green paste over the bites. She wrapped it in clean cloth, gently tying it so not to hurt him. Part of her knew it was going to do little for him. Without proper treatment, it could be hours or days before he succumbed to the poison.

  They set off again, setting a slower pace than before. Neither of them wanted to slow down, but in the state Garild was in, there wasn’t much else to be done. The ground grew even rockier and they found themselves wobbling over giant boulders, each step more precarious than the last. Kirheen watched Garild closely, afraid that a misstep would send him to the ground and cause further injury.

  Towards the evening, hunger set in. Kirheen felt sick, her stomach a roiling pit of acid. With little to settle it, she had no choice but to try and ignore the feeling. Garild seemed to be having an easier time ignoring his hunger, his mind completely absorbed by the symptoms he was experiencing from the bite. As darkness overtook them, they chose the only flat spot they could find, setting down their packs and laying down to sleep.

  Despite the heat, Garild shivered th
e entire night, his teeth chittering loudly. Even after she’d piled her blanket on top of his, he continued to shake. Kirheen couldn’t sleep through the unknown and she stayed by his side, brushing his damp hair out of his face with soft strokes. Every now and then, she’d help him down some water and he drank greedily, as if it was the last water he’d ever have.

  Come morning, Kirheen roused him from his slumber. His fever had eased in the middle of the night, but his hand was still incredibly swollen and the skin around the wound had started to take on a shade of gray terrifyingly devoid of life.

  As he cracked open his eyes, he searched for the bottle of water with his good hand, patting at the blanket covering him trying to find it. There was only one good swig left and Kirheen almost didn’t give it to him. With a sigh, she handed him the last of their water and said a small prayer as he finished it off. Whether the Allseer was real or not, she was the only thing that would see them through this. It would take a miracle for them to survive more than a few days. Without water, all hope was lost.

  Kirheen packed up their things and helped Garild to his feet. He was wobbly and unsure of his footing. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I’m really dizzy.”

  “I know,” Kirheen said. “I’ll help you walk, okay? Just stay close to me.”

  Whatever fight had been left in him had fled during the night. He struggled with his pack for a moment and then they set off. He leaned against Kirheen as he walked, but his steps were slow and sluggish and by noon, he was putting so much pressure on her shoulder that they had to stop. She helped him to the ground to rest.

  He sank back against the rock behind him, nursing his injured hand against his chest. His forehead was once again covered in sweat and his breathing was abnormal, each breath too long and ragged. After a time, he raised his head, seeking her eyes with his. For a moment he said nothing, watching her with an expression that spoke of the pain and defeat he felt.