The Bond

by B. C. Burgess

  Kegan and Weylin silently stared for several shocked and ponderous seconds. Then Kegan ran a hand down his face and shook his head. “Man, Layla, I'm sorry. That's... it's... horrible. I'm sorry it happened to you.”

  She gave a nod, but didn't say anything, and they didn’t expect her to.

  “So how did she get here?” Weylin asked, his voice unusually quiet.

  “That's an even longer story,” Quin answered, “and there’s a lot I don’t know, but here's the rundown. Her mom died a few months ago, and she left a letter revealing Layla was adopted from a family who lived near Portland. Layla took a chance and moved, and she quickly found Cinnia’s café by following a recommendation from her dad.” He paused, looking at Layla as he ran a hand down her curls, and she closed her eyes, practically purring as she leaned into his touch. “And that, guys, is where I found my angel.”

  “Did you know it was her when you saw her?” Kegan asked.

  “No,” Quin answered. “Not until she told me her name.”

  “Layla,” Kegan and Weylin whispered.

  They'd been hearing the name for years, mostly from witches begging for details about Quin’s dreams. Hell, they'd been saying the name for years, when they'd ribbed Quin for giving up another woman because he refused to rid himself of the visions. Now that they were looking at his mysterious dream girl, surely they understood why he refused to give her up. She wasn’t just a dream. She was flesh and blood and beautiful.

  “That explains why she hides her aura,” Weylin noted, “but it doesn't explain why you're hiding yours.”

  “You’re right,” Quin conceded, “but you needed to know that to understand what we’re about to show you.” He looked from Weylin to Kegan. Then he smiled at Layla and kissed her nose. “Show them your aura, love.”

  Quin released his aura the same time Layla let hers go, and as the bright and colorful hazes rolled from their bodies, Weylin jumped to his feet and knocked over his chair. “Whoa!”

  Kegan stayed seated, but his mouth hung open and his eyes were huge. “What the hell happened to you, man?”

  “I'm glad you asked,” Quin replied. “Let the other one go, my love.”

  Their bonded lights rushed from their bodies, surrounding their guests in shiny, gold and silver swirls, and Weylin stumbled back, nearly tripping over his fallen chair. “Whoa!”

  Kegan stood as well, his eyes bugging as he pointed.

  Several people laughed, but then they stifled their humor, giving their guests time to come to terms with what they were seeing.

  “You're bonded?” Kegan whispered.

  “Yes,” Quin confirmed. “We bonded Monday night.”

  “Whoa,” Weylin whispered, and more musical laughs drifted through the air.

  “This is crazy,” Kegan breathed, slowly examining their auras. “What’s that silver? I’ve never seen anything like it?”

  “We don’t know,” Quin replied. “It appeared with the gold.”

  Weylin flipped his chair upright with a wave of his hand. Then he sat and motioned toward Quin. “So what does this mean? Are you a super wizard now?”

  Quin shrugged. “I wouldn't say that.”

  “Of course not,” Weylin returned, his full beard twitching with a grin. “So what would you say?”

  Quin looked at Layla and smiled. “I'd say I'm the luckiest man on earth.”

  Weylin loudly laughed. “Hell yeah, you are. You walked into a coffee shop and found a customized angel. We should all be so lucky.” He shifted in his chair and searched out Cinnia. “I'll be coming to your café once a day from now on, doll. Expect a lot of business from me. Just keep luring in those angels, and I'll be there.”

  Cinnia laughed and shook a finger at him. “Now don't you come in there and scare away my patrons, Weylin.”

  “You think I scare the ladies?” he asked, feigning a broken heart.

  “No,” she countered, “but I don't foresee very many men coming in there if they know it's your hunting ground.”

  “Ahh… You make a good point. I don't want the men to stop bringing the angels, do I? I'll have to keep a low profile. My plan needs work.” He grinned at Quin. “Maybe super wizard can help me out.”

  Quin smiled as he shook his head, but then he looked at Kegan and sobered. “What's on your mind, Keg?”

  Kegan intently eyed him for a moment. Then he sat back down, but he didn't relax. “Is this why you've had your community guarded? And why some of you are staying elsewhere?”

  Quin looked at Caitrin, who shrugged while relaying a mental message. 'This is your call, Quinlan. Not ours.'

  Quin found Layla’s eyes, and she laid a comforting hand on his cheek, pressing her thumb to a hidden dimple. “Yes,” he sighed, returning his attention to Kegan, “we've been guarding our community for Layla's safety.”

  “Is it just a precaution,” Kegan pressed, “or is she in some kind of danger?”

  “Well,” Quin replied, pulling her fingers to his lips, “you could say she's in the worst kind of danger. The Unforgivables are camped less than an hour away, and Agro suspects she's here.”

  Kegan and Weylin froze, unable to respond, and Quin watched their faces while giving them time to swallow the news.

  “Without going into detail,” he eventually explained, “here’s the bottom line. Agro recently found out about Layla, and of course he wants her. He doesn't know we've bonded, so we have no idea what he'll want with us now. He's already been here three times, and he could show back up any day, but we don't foresee it happening for a while since he slaughtered over fifty of his own soldiers the last time he was here. Nevertheless, Agro isn't what you'd call predictable, so we stay guarded.”

  Kegan opened his mouth to talk, but Quin quickly held up a hand. “Before you even say it, Keg, we're not leaving. We have no intention of hiding, so don't tell us we need to, or ask us why we're not. Think about leaving not only your family, but the entire magical world... forever, and you'll find our reasons to stay.”

  “So what are you going to do?” Kegan asked.

  “We’re going to prepare ourselves the best we can then let him find us.”

  “You’re going to face him?” Kegan breathlessly muttered.

  “Yes,” Quin confirmed. “And if it comes to our lives or his… well, the choice is obvious.”

  Weylin's sea-green eyes flashed gray, like stormy waters, and the corners of his mouth twitched. “You're fighting.”

  “Yes,” Quin answered, “we're fighting.”

  Weylin slapped his leg and exposed his grin. “Ha! Agro's going to get his comeuppance, and it's about damn time.”

  Kegan twisted in his chair, looking at Weylin like he was crazy. “You need to clear your head, Wey, and stop celebrating. Don't you understand the possible consequences?”

  Weylin's smile fell as he scanned Kegan's aura. “Quin doesn't fail, Keg. He'll ensure a victory before he even walks into battle.”

  “Not this time,” Quin confessed. “We’ll take every possible precaution, but our chance of failure outweighs our chance of success.”

  Kegan’s complexion paled. “Are you facing him alone?”

  “No,” Quin answered. “We're accepting all the help we can get from people who are eager to see Agro fall.”

  “And how much help can you expect to come of that?”

  “We don't know yet. At the moment, only my parents and Layla's grandparents are committed. Hopefully we’ll have more before the time comes.”

  “That's three bonded couples and you two,” Weylin noted. “Surely that gives you an edge.”

  Quin shook his head. “The eight of us can’t compare to an army, Wey. Agro has hundreds of soldiers at his disposal.”

  Everyone was silent for a long time, probably trying to find slivers of hope or elusive solutions. Then Kegan leaned forward, his posture burdened by the news. “It doesn’t sound like you have a chance, Quin.”

  Quin shrugged and laid his cheek on Layla's head. “I w
ouldn’t say that. If we get some help, there’s a chance. Layla's powers are incredible. She's a magical miracle on every level. I don't think there's anything she can't do if she really wants to do it. You've seen her work.”

  “Hell yeah,” Weylin recalled. “It was amazing.”

  “To say the least,” Quin agreed, “and she performed those things just ten days after learning magic does exist and she possesses it. She's done things you wouldn't believe without seeing proof, and that was before we bonded. After some preparation, she'll be able to perform magic we've never even dreamed about, and now that she's shared a piece of herself with me, I'm capable of magic I never knew exists. A smart plan and larger numbers could equal success.”

  “And you’re prepared for the alternative?” Kegan asked.

  Quin looked at Layla and pulled a corkscrew curl from her cheek, wrapping it around his finger as he answered. “I'll never be prepared for that. But hiding isn't an option we’re willing to accept. We'll fight to keep the life we love, not run toward a life we hate.”

  “Hear, hear,” several people advocated.

  “Hear, hear,” Layla whispered, and Quin smiled as he pulled her into a kiss.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Mentally and physical exhausted, Guthrie practically belly-flopped onto the bed of blankets spread over the floor of his tent. He’d left Vortigern’s institute in southern Nevada more than twenty hours ago, and he’d been all over the damn Rocky Mountains collecting soldiers. Now he lay in a basin in Montana’s Glacier National Park, surrounded by freezing lakes and snow-covered mountains.

  “It’s a far cry from last night’s quarters.”

  Guthrie jolted and rolled over, finding Lynette standing over him. “Go to bed, Lyn.”

  “That’s what I’m doing.” She knelt then crawled to the spot beside him. “Will you keep me warm?”

  “I didn’t invite you to stay.”

  She ignored the remark and laid her cheek on his bicep. “Why else would you keep me with you when you could have sent me to Yellowstone with Token?”

  Staring at the ceiling of his tent, Guthrie took a deep breath, preparing himself to meet her gaze without falling victim to it. “I kept you so I can keep an eye on you. You speak too freely of dangerous things.”

  “You’re worried I’d try to sway Token?”

  “I think you’d do anything to reclaim the power Agro stole from you.”

  “Then why am I still alive, lieutenant?”

  Guthrie’s expression hardened. “Don’t tempt me, Lynette. My world would be easier without you in it.”

  Brushing the jab aside, she slid her hand down his stomach. “But I make you feel good.”

  “You scare the hell out of me,” he corrected.

  Lynette laughed and moved closer. “You know what I think?”

  “What?” he mumbled, eyes drifting shut. He knew what she was doing. She was trying to manipulate him. But he was too exhausted to protest.

  She kissed the tattoo on his neck as she murmured an answer. “I think you’re intrigued by my dangerous talk. You just refuse to admit you have a deep desire to reclaim your own power.”

  He shuddered, and her lips curved into a smile, her breath steaming up his ear and neck. “You don’t have to pretend with me, Guthrie. What do you think I’d do? Tell the boss?”

  “You’re going to get us both killed.”

  “Or we could live like royalty, sleep in the finest beds and eat the freshest food, spread our wealth to those who will praise your name for replacing the man who starved them for so long.”

  Guthrie took a measured breath, suppressing his pleasure to seek out answers. “And where do you think that wealth will come from?”

  “Agro’s a rich man, Guthrie. He could put us all in mansions, but he’d rather keep his treasure locked in vaults.”

  “Perhaps, but his plunders won’t last forever, not when we’re spreading the wealth to hundreds of subordinates. What happens when we run dry?”

  “We get more.”

  “By what means? Will we rob and murder? Steal other’s power just as Agro has stolen ours? If you want to live like him, you have to act like him. Is that what you want?”

  “We already act like him. We’re his right hand, there to commit his sin every time he finds a new target.” She shifted, propping her upper body on his chest, and he opened his eyes to find her intently staring at him. “But if we take him out, the whole world will be better off, especially us.”

  “Replace the old power with a new duo,” Guthrie replied. “That’s what you want?”

  “Yes,” she whispered. “That’s what I want, and you’re the only man who can do it.”

  “I wouldn’t live to see another minute. Those loyal to him would kill me.”

  Lynette smiled and shook her head. “You don’t have to plunge the dagger in. He’s doing that to himself. You just have to let him… while we silently sway the soldiers’ loyalty. Then, when he falls, you’ll hold the power. You’ll be the savior everyone’s dying to please.”

  Guthrie’s forehead furrowed. “The man’s crazy, Lyn, but he’s not suicidal.”

  “He’s worse than suicidal, Guthrie. He’s obsessed with a witch. Women are always the death of the men who fixate wholly upon them.”

  As Guthrie stared into Lynette’s conniving eyes, he couldn’t remember truer words being spoken. “Nothing’s going to stop Agro from getting his witch.”

  “So it would seem. But what do you think will happen when he does?”

  “He’ll have even more power than he has now.”

  “No,” Lynette disagreed. “That witch will ruin him. She’ll fight him at every turn, and he’ll eventually lose his patience and kill her.”

  “So?”

  “So how do you think he’ll handle that? He's risking everything he's built for her; turned his life upside down for her. Nothing else matters to him now, so how do you think he’ll react when his finest treasure is lifeless in his arms? And how will he deal with the regret of being the one who destroyed her? He’s either going to die getting his witch, or he’s going to let her ruin him. Either way, we’re going to make sure no one’s there to save him. Then we’re going to assume power.”

  “And the witch? What would we do with her? If she manages to kill him, we’re next on her list.”

  Lynette’s grin stretched as her fingernails drifted over his thigh. “But we’ll be expecting it; we’ll have the upper hand. And what better way to assume power than to control the fate of the most powerful witch in the world? Agro can’t possess her without losing himself, but we can. What you do with her will determine the direction of your rule and cement you as the undisputed leader of hundreds of magicians.”

  Guthrie took Lynette by the wrist. “And if we don’t get the witch? What will cement me as a ruler then? Should I kill you? The woman who’s been plotting against our boss for weeks. Perhaps I should place your severed head on a pedestal as an example of what happens to traitors.”

  Lynette’s devious determination wavered, exposing remnants of the fragile witch she left behind years ago. In her shiny eyes, Guthrie found fear, weakness and need, a plea for mercy, acceptance and protection. Tears swelled as she wiggled her wrist, but Guthrie held firm, his expression stern.

  “Is that the kind of man you want me to be?” he whispered. “A man who would screw you and kill you in the same day?”

  She blinked, sending tears down her cheeks, but her trembling lips stayed sealed.

  “Remember,” he added, watching moisture pool at the corners of her mouth, “if I want to live like Agro, I must act like him. I must become a cruel man who will stop at nothing to get what I want. Now tell me – is that the man you want me to be? And would you sacrifice yourself to make it so?”

  “I thought we were in this together.”

  “No.” He rolled her onto her back and pinned her arms to the ground, leaning close enough for her to feel the quiet growl rumbling in his chest. “When
you take a position like Agro’s, a position of complete power, you have no partners. You trust no one. You value yourself above all others and will sacrifice the most beautiful woman in camp to prove it. That’s what being a dictator is about. That’s how Agro has maintained power for more than sixty years. That’s what he has that others don’t – a willingness to stop at nothing to get what he wants. Now answer me before I throw your ass out – is that the man you want me to be?”

  Her breathing quickened, her heart rapping on his ribs as she timidly searched his eyes, like she might find the answer within them. “Yes,” she confessed, “I want you to value yourself above the others… above me, because you’re better than Agro, and when he falls, you’ll lead us in a better direction.”

  “No, Lynette. What you speak of isn’t possible. If I were to take control and present myself as a fair leader offering equality and power, I’d be dead within a month, murdered by a soldier jealous of the power I’m clearly not willing to kill for. An army like this must be ruled with an iron fist. So you see, a shift in power won’t save these soldiers. It will only elevate me to an enviable status. If this is to be done, it’s to be done selfishly, not with grand fantasies of a happy family full of cold-blooded killers. This is not a coven, Lyn. This is a snake pit, and every single one of these slithering bastards is fighting for survival. They’ll strike the moment you show weakness – a point proven by your grand schemes. So, are you ready for me to become the man you hate? Because that’s what will happen if you keep this up.”

  Her arms remained pinned to the ground, but her hips wiggled. “Sounds like everyone’s screwed either way. Why not remove yourself from the snake pit and lord over it?”