The Binding

  Then the ringing begins to clear, and I realize it was only meant to delay us. The spell was not strong enough to last longer . By the time either h e or Morlo could reach us, we would have been back on our feet, finishing them off instead.

  The light from the portal finally appears in the middle of the field. I turn as if in slow motion, my left side shooting pain through me once again. The shield is down and I watch from a distance as Phoris collapses to his knees, Julia and Lily struggling with his weight, help ing him back to his feet . Phoris , regaining some strength , assists them and gets up slowly. The girls have his arms around their shoulders as they make for the opening.

  As they run to the portal, both Julia and Lily have their heads down concentrating on where they ’re stepping , trying to stay steady under the big Sidhe’s weight. Then Lily looks up to ga uge the distanc e to the portal. I turn toward Harlu and notice his eyes widen as he sees Lily for the first time. Whoever is controlling the clouds has trapped him in it. I watch as he releases the Lorelei Cord fro m his waist and whips it toward Lily . Terror I’ve never known before grips me tightly . I push aside the pain and start running, trying to reach her before the c ord does. Finally seeing the gold cord coming at her, Lily’s eyes widen in startled awareness , skidding to a stop . The c ord is just within my reach as I dive for it…and miss . From my left, with light ning speed, black stealth leaps over m e. With her large fangs, Cessa mauls the c ord , pulling it away from Lily.

  The scream that comes from the c ord is no match to that of the scream that comes from Harlu. I watch as he roars in frustration at being thwarted when he’s so close to having Lily in his hands. He turns and stares at Cessa as she continues mauling the screaming c ord, hatred and vengeance in his eyes. Finally, Cessa lets the Lorelei Cord go, and it whips back to Harlu. He glares at me before setting his eyes on Lily, finally disappearing into the night.

  Lily lets Phoris go and runs to me. I let her help me up as Tolan rushes to Julia . He moves to Phoris’ free side and takes most of the big Sidhe’s weight. The portal is now fully open. Once I’m up, I hug Lily briefly, o verwhelmed and grateful that she’s still here with me. I let go and turn away from her as I go to meet Alorn. He carries Mellis who is motionless, but breathing.

  I see the blood at Alorn’s side and I take Mellis from him. I look down at the youngest of us and I’m swept with rage. I look at Alorn, his face unreadable, but I feel his own rage seething just below the surface. We quickly make our way to the portal where Tolan is assisting Phoris, allowing some of his healing powers to re-energize him. When he sees us, he quickly turns away from Phoris and helps us lay Mellis on the ground.

  “Alorn, when I tell you to, remove the knife slowly,” instructs Tolan.

  Alorn does as he’s told and puts both of his hands on the hilt of the dagger. In what seem s like an eternity , Alorn ever so slowly begin s to remove the knife as Tolan holds his own hands over the wound. The familiar white glow encases his hands and spreads to Mellis ’ wound. Finally, we see it closing as the knife is slowly pulled out.

  “Will he be okay?” I ask, watching the fascinating healing process . A process I could never do, no matter how hard I have tried.

  “The wound is deep. I’m closing it to prevent more bleeding, but I’ll have to tend to him again once we’re out of here. It will take some time,” he answers.

  Finally, when the knife is completely out, Tolan seals the wound. Another scar for Mellis to brag about once he comes to . Alorn, relaxing knowing that for now Mellis lives, releases a stressful breath and with it his strength. He collapses onto his elbow, his head down.

  “Alorn!” I reach over Mellis to get to him.

  “No,” he says waving me off, “I’m okay . I just need to rest a minute.”

  Tolan is instantly at his side, helping Alorn get his coat off. The cut is not deep, but it runs from the middle of his stomach to almost the middle of his back and he has lost some blood. Again, Tolan puts his hands over Alorn as he did with Mellis. Within seconds, the bleeding stops all together and the cut closes. Once done, Alorn places his hand on Tolan’s shoulder, giving him a shake, his way of saying thank you.

  When Tolan stands , without warning Julia throws herself at him. She hugs him for dear life and he holds her tightly. I see his face relax and the tension leave his body as he strokes her hair. When she pulls away, she looks at him crying . After a moment he takes her hand and leads her back to the portal where Phoris is still resting.

  I turn to find Lily kneeling next to me, her eyes on Mellis. I reach for her and she leans into me, trembling. When she looks up I can see the terror still in her eyes. I find that all I want to do is make that terror go away, but it ’s Cessa who draws Lily’s focus from me as she rubs gently against her . Lily immediately throws her arms around the big cat , pulling away from me . After the hugs, she kisses Cessa and scratches her head while softly talking to the big cat.

  I look at Cessa, and although I’m thankful she was close by …but good grief. Why does she get all the hugs and kisses? What is it about this cat and women?

  *

  Chapter Forty-Four ~ Lily ~

  When I saw the gold cord come at me from nowhere, I thought for sure I was going to die. I can’t explain the sense of evil and hate I felt from just that piece of rope. I remember looking at Tharin and seeing the fear come over his face .

  I watched as he half-ran, half—dragged himself to catch it before it could hit m e . The look of fear and desperation on his face was ingrain ed in my head . Does Tharin have true feelings for me? No, he can’t . He loves Kalis. Despite his recent playful way with me, I know he loves her. How can he not? From what I’ve come to know about him is that he’s honest, loyal and true to his feelings. Someone like that wouldn’t tell someone he loves her and turn around a nd love someone else so easily.

  I think about how we were connected when fighting the Demlok and remember how he was calm through it all. He kept me calm when I thought I would lose it. Is that why he called me “my love”? Thinking that it would distract me from my own fear the way he did at the desert when he shocked me with the whole “I’ll teach you how to properly use that too” remark ? I shake my head because despite all of that, I was so relieve d to see him . When he hugged me, just for a second, I let myself believe that he truly cares for me.

  I watch as Julia and Tolan come together without saying how they feel. Their embrace says it all. The scene between the two of them is so personal, so intimate that I have to look away. I focus on Mellis and realize that I’ve been holding my breath through the whole healing process. When Tharin pulls me to him, I let him . I relax into him for a second comforted by his body’s warmth and strength . Reality is a bitch sometimes. Kalis comes to my mind and the pain I feel makes me want to cry . So, when Cessa comes up to me , I use her as an excuse to pull away from him. I hug her to me , grateful for what she did with the hateful rope.

  Tharin stands. Whatever pain he was experiencing earl ier seems to be fading . He easily picks up Mellis as Alorn takes his time getting up. Cessa moves to walk alongside Tharin. When I turn I find a hand offered to help me up. Alorn looks down waiting for me to take his hand. As he helps me up, he grunts and I quickly wrap an arm around his waist as he puts his own arm around my shoulder. He leans slightly on me and I realize that he’s more hurt than he let on to Tharin and Tolan. I look up at his face and see him grimace as we slowly make our way to the portal.

  By this time, Phoris is up and although there are dark rings under his eyes, he walks over and takes Alorn from me. I follow until I see a body lying a few feet from the portal. I stand still just looking at it, not able to move. I jump when I feel someone take my hand. Julia. She smiles at me and gently tugs me forward. I let her guide me back as Tolan moves to take a look at the still body.

  He calls back to Tharin, “We have to take him with us.” Before Tharin can answer, Tolan continues, “We can’t leave him here for humans to find, and despite being our en
emy he is still Sidhe. He should be laid to r est o n Velesi soil .”

  Tharin thinks it over for a moment, then nods. He walks over to Tolan and together they lift the Ange carrying him to the portal. Tolan takes the dead elf’s body while Tharin reaches for Mellis once again. Tolan enters the portal first, follow ed by Julia. Phoris and Alorn are next. Tharin, with Mellis cradle d in his arms , waits for me to go first. Before I step in, I hear voices shouting and the sound of sirens in the distance . I take a last look and see the distant rays of the sun trying to bring in a new day. As Tharin gently nudges me forward, I don’t kn ow why, but I say a silent good bye to Marilyn.

  ~ * ~

  Chapter Forty-Five ~ Lily ~

  There is no sense of falling or flying. We didn’t find ourselves in a long white hallway with doors leading to other realms; neither did we find ourselves in a waiting room. The portal is in every respect a doorway . When we step through it from the football field of Snow College , we immediate ly sink ankle-deep in snow . Well, Julia and I do . As for Tharin, Tolan and the others, they step lightly onto the white stuff without the slightest of marks.

  I look around and find that we’re in a forest of pine trees. At first I thought it was early evening, but look ing out past the tree line to an opening, I see sunlight. The woods are so d ense that it blocks out the sun. I feel disoriented by my new surroundings and the cold air makes it difficult to breathe.

  I hear someone scream and turn to see Julia fall flat on her face in the snow. Tolan is instantly at her side laughing and pulls her to a sitting position. Her face is covered with snow and she opens her eyes wide, shock ed by the cold. Tolan gently wipes the snow off of her and lifts her into his arms . She squeaks again as her left foot comes out of the snow shoeless.

  Everything seems so unreal to me at this point . Only moments ago I was almost killed by a golden rope . Alorn and Mellis are hurt , and with us is the body of a dead Ang e . Everything that has happened is finally taking its toll. The thought of all that Julia has gone through up to this point without complaint and then to hear her squeak at losing her shoe is just too much. It starts with a giggle and from there I lose all control and laugh out loud. I step back, only to trip over my own feet and land on my butt, causing me to laugh even harder. I see each face looking back at me as if I’ve lost my mind. I throw my head back laughing until my side hurts. One by one, they each start to laugh too , with the exception of Mellis, of course, and the dead elf. Tharin sets Mellis down against a nearby tree and comes over to me. His eyes are bright and he’s smiling at me with his hand extended.

  I reach for him and he pulls me up. I end up standing very close and fi nd that I like the feel of having him close to me. He eyes me curiously, smiling. “As much as I would love to stand here and listen to you laugh all day, there are things that need to be done.”

  My mood sobers a bit. I sigh and look over at Mellis still unconscious, then over at Alorn leaning heavily on Phoris. I glance over at Julia, now standing next to Tolan as he bends down to help place her shoe back on. I shake my head. Even though we all shared in the laughter, somehow I always seem to be off from everyone.

  Tharin lifts my chin with a finger. “I promise you,” he says, “There will be plenty of time for laughter later. But right now we have to take care of a few things before moving on.”

  He looks down at my feet saying , “First, we need to do something about your boots .” I look down at my boots and wo nder why he would worry about them.

  “They’re hiking boots, Tharin. Why wouldn’t they be al l right ?” I ask, still looking down at my feet.

  “Hmmm,” is his only response .

  I look over at Julia saying, “What about Julia? She only has sneakers on.”

  “Tolan will take care of Julia.” Looking around , he says, “Lily, the Ange know that we’re in Crowfoot Mountain , but not our exact location. As soon as Tolan and I take care of Fien’s body, we’ll need to move on. While we’re gone, I need for you and Julia to be prepared against the weather.”

  He looks back at the ot hers, and then turns to me again. “Tolan and I will take off in a few minutes . We need to take Fien and leave him somewhere until we can send back for his b ody. We can’t take him with us. His death is unexpected even if Harlu leaving him behind isn’t. Like I said, o nce Tolan and I return we’ll be on our way. We have to hurry, the nights come quickly here and we’re still not in Velesi yet.”

  We walk back to the others with Tharin taking my hand to help me walk through the unfamiliar terrain. Phoris puts Alorn down next to Mellis and the Sidhe warrior settles himself against the same tree trunk, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

  “I’ll retrieve the vehicles and provisions we stored behind,” offers Phoris, his strength and energy returning quickly.

  Tolan leaves Fien’s body where it lies and walks Julia over to the same tree. “Wrap your entire feet, shoe and all, up to your knees with this,” he instructs her, handing her a roll of cloth that she takes without question. The cloth is the same color as their coat s , dark brown. I feel someone nudge me and I look down to find a roll of cloth the same color as Tharin’s and my coat. Tharin hands it over to me and instructs me to do the same.

  I want to tell h im not to worry about my boots, but the look he gives me makes me think twice and I take the cloth without argument. Tharin takes his coat off and lays it out on the snow for me to sit on. Tolan does the same for Julia. We both stare at the elves shaking our heads . We protest against using their coats in such a manner when they need them to stay warm. They ignore our protests and both turn toward the body lying in the snow. Now coatless, they’re only wear ing long—sleeve d jerseys made of the same material as the roll of cloth. We take the rolls, sit down on the coats and start wrapping. When I look up again, the twins are gone.

  “Don’t wrap it too tight, or you’ll stop the circulation,” orders Alorn from the tree, his eyes still close d . Julia and I both look at each other again and then at our handi work. Julia seems s atisfied with her first foot and continues wrapping up to her knee before starting on her other leg . I’m having a little trouble wrapping from the boot to ankle, so I pull my jeans over the boot and wrap the cloth around it, securing the opening.

  As I start on the other leg , Phoris returns c arrying five small duffel bags, a look of concern on his gentle face.

  “What is it?” asks Alorn, looking past his cousin, searching.

  “The vehicles, they’re gone,” answers Phoris, “There are no t racks. They were taken at least a day ago.” He drops the bags next to Alorn, who shakes his head at his cousin’s news. He sighs as he sits up , taking one of the bags and rummaging through it .

  “Any sign who may have taken them?” asks Alorn.

  Phoris shakes his head as he tosses me a pair of gloves. I’m so thankful that I reward him with a sincere smile. He hands a pair to Julia, who looks at them curiously.

  “Tharin wanted to make sure we brought extra supplies for Lily,” he explains. She takes them , smiling at him gratefully.

  “Phoris, without any transportation, what are we going to do?” I ask.

  He shrugs as he continues digging through the bag, “Most likely walk, we really don’t have a choice.”

  “Who would take them way out here,” asks Julia searching about her in disbelief.

  Alorn laughs softly answering, “You’d be surprised.”

  “There’s a ranger station close by,” adds Phoris, “They probably kept an eye on them for a while, and when no one came for them after a day or two, they had them towed to their station.”

  “Can we go get them?” I ask hopefully.

  “No. Too dangerous. The Ange could be there waiting. Tharin won’t take the chance. There’s also the chance that when we get there the rangers may not have them.”

  Julia and I look at each other and then around us as we put on our gloves. I can feel my fin gers tingle with a thousand pins and needles as the gloves quickly warm them.
I didn’t realize my feet were cold until I had wrapped them in the cloth from Tharin. The warmth it provides extends up my calves and just above the knee . The only area s freezing are my thighs, with only my jeans to protect them . My face also feels frozen and ready to break.

  As if reading my mind, Phoris tosses us each something similar to his beanie. When I lift it to get a better look, I see two ho les staring back at me ― a mask! I turn to see Julia first pulling the mask over her head like a beanie, and then she p ulls it down until she’s looking through the mask’s eyelets. I hear her giggle and I quickly put mine on . Pho ris then tosses us another headwear, a fur -lined hood with two lar ge flaps at the front. I pull it over the beanie to find a snug fit and realize that the flaps have Velcro on them . I pull the flaps together and my neck is now covered and warm. I button up the rest of my coat and breathe through the mask easily. I stretch out my hands checking out my new gloves and realize that , with the exception of my eyes, I’m completely covered.

  I turn toward Phoris and he’s putting the head gear on Mellis as Alorn dresses himself. Before Alorn pulls his mask down, I notice the pain run across his face. His skin looks almost a s white as the snow. Something i s wrong. I saw his cut on the fiel d , and even though it’s not as deep as Mellis ’, it still looks ugly and painful. Something about his breathing doesn’t seem right, as if he’s struggling for air, more so for someone with only a knife wound , a healed one at that . I look at his lips just before the mask comes dow n and notice they’re discolored. It can’t be the cold. He’s covered up and I’m sure his clothing , including his coat , are protecting him from the low temperature .

  “He’s been poisoned,” says a familiar voice in my head. It’s a woman’s voice that I’ve never heard before, but yet it’s familiar to me. Without question, I move into action. I tear off my two headpieces and new gloves as I move toward him. I’m at his side within seconds removing his mask to find him unconscious. Phoris is startle d and sucks in a hard breath when he sees Alorn’s face. He reaches over and shakes his cousin, calling out his name. I quickly lay Alorn down onto the snow. Julia is at his feet trying to straighten him out , no longer weari ng the mask and furry cap. Phoris comes around to my side. I undo Alorn’s coat and lift his jersey. The wound is still close d from Tolan’s healing. Along the cut, however, the skin is green and sickly and black spots spread along the closed wound, just under his skin. I watch closely as the black poison continues to slowly spread up his torso and upper back.