J C Owens [Gaven 02] The Bonding (pdf)

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I took a deep breath of the morning air, feeling my tensions slowly begin to
dissipate. Oh how I had needed this!
None of us spoke. There was only the sound of our steady footsteps on the
packed road and the sun on our faces. As my muscles warmed, I relaxed into the
rhythm, enjoying the peace after the bustle of our life in the city.
88 J. C. Owens
People on the road waved to us, and I responded with less hostility now that I
had freedom almost in my grasp. I was looking forward to being with the wolves
again. Their simple, straightforward company was exactly what I needed to chase
away human insanity.
About a mile from the gates, we turned off the road and toward the forest. We
passed through a few sparse trees; then we had to cross a clearing before we would
reach the main forest itself. There the guards would leave us, wait for our return.
The wolves would not suffer them to accompany us. They were very selective in
their choice of humans.
I was fortunate, it seemed, for I had been accepted totally and completely. I
smiled at the thought of them, eager to be in their company.
We stopped for a moment, and I turned to face Vlar, about to say something,
when his face changed abruptly, his eyes reddening, his fangs elongating.
Immediately I sank into a crouch, reaching for my weapons, but it was far too
late.
They were upon us in moments, silent.
So many of them.
I heard a gurgling scream, saw one of the guards go down, his throat cut. My
fear turned to fury as I fought the hands that grasped at me, prevented me from
drawing my sword or freeing my dagger. They dragged me down as I struggled,
their sheer numbers beyond my ability to battle.
I heard Vlar s roar of fury as I went down. He battled a dozen attackers or
more, struggling to get to my side
Then I saw a figure step into view, a bow drawn, to the left of me.
I had only a moment of horrified recognition; then the arrow flew into Vlar s
throat. I froze, mouth open, mind blank. I stared, numb, only a moment of stunned
disbelief, before a second arrow found its mark in my lover s heart.
Gaven 2: The Bonding 89
Vlar s eyes were on me as he sank to his knees, one hand trying to pry the
arrow from his throat.
His lips moved. I thought it was my name&
It was then that I screamed.
I fought them like a mad thing as I crawled toward Vlar, his name a mantra
on my lips. I saw him fall to the side, saw the two guards dead behind him, and I
went insane. I struggled against our attackers tooth and nail, fighting inch by inch
to reach my Vlar, to touch him.
Vlar&
Then something struck the back of my head, and I knew no more.
90 J. C. Owens
Chapter Seven
I woke slowly, the pain in my head throbbing like a second heartbeat, my skull
aching fiercely. I groaned softly, wanted to sink back into blessed darkness, but
something on the edge of my thoughts shrieked at me. There was something&
Thoughts drifted within my head, none making sense. Then an image
appeared, and my eyes shot open, my body freezing.
No!
My breath stopped, and I had to force it to start again. It was a dream; that
was all. A terrible dream. It could not be true.
My thoughts skittered away from reality, and I looked around me, trying to
deny truth.
I lay on a bed, filthy and rumpled, in a small room. It was simply furnished
and obviously masculine; weapons and other battle paraphernalia littered every
surface.
Where in the hells was I?
Other sensations began to filter through my mind. I was naked; I could feel a
faint breeze moving over my skin. My hands and feet were bound with chains, and
when I tried to roll up, I realized, to my horror, that a collar graced my throat, a
chain leading from it to a ring on the floor.
What the& ?
The door swung open even as I tried to make sense of it all.
A man came through carrying a tray, and I froze in horror. The man who had
held the bow, the man who had&
Gaven 2: The Bonding 91
A scream of rage tore out of my throat, and I thrashed against the chains,
choking myself, making the steel cut into my flesh.
I did not care, did not feel the resulting pain. I had to kill him; I had to.
He set the tray down and turned to me, cold eyes watching my frantic
struggles with satisfaction.
Without any reaction to my screamed obscenities, he took a seat in a chair
near the bed, his eyes never leaving me.
He waited with the patience of a hunter until I collapsed with exhaustion,
tears flowing like rivers down my cheeks, hatred burning from my eyes into his.
We meet again, boy. I have waited long for this day. He tilted his head
slightly, mockery glinting in his eyes. I do hope you remember me.
Well I did.
The bandit leader I had encountered almost a year ago. The one whose men
the wolves had slain.
I closed my eyes as realization dawned. This was revenge. Revenge against
Vlar, who had never touched them. But the wolves were his, and this fool would
never blame himself for kidnapping me in the first place in that long ago incident.
Really it was my fault, all of it. If I had not tried to escape my father back
then&
None of this would have happened.
Oh gods. Vlar
I curled in on myself, pain ripping through my heart and mind so that I could
scarcely find the next breath.
He watched it all, a merciless, unamused smile at the edges of his lips.
You remember, he said softly, with a great deal of satisfaction in his tone.
You will remember my name for a long, long time, boy. It is Carnon, and by the
time I ve finished with you, you will scream it in your sleep.
92 J. C. Owens
I stared at him in silent defiance, rage and hatred seething in my soul. He
might think he had the upper hand, but one day, the time would come. I would be
the wolf and he would die.
I would avenge my mate, come what may&
My lip curled with a silent snarl.
His fist across my face was only the beginning of a long and brutal night&
* * *
The sun beat down upon my unprotected head, making me dizzy and
disoriented. I almost fell again, but having been dragged the last time, I grimly kept
my feet under me, the pull on my collar without mercy.
I could feel Carnon s satisfied stare upon my naked back, but I said nothing,
made no sign I even noticed him.
For seven days, this had been my new life. I trudged in the wake of one of the
wagons, chained by my collar to a ring in the wooden backboard. My feet were
bleeding from the rocky ground, my neck raw and swollen from when I had fallen
and been dragged. My skin was sunburned, and lash marks crisscrossed my back
from his whip, my body mottled with bruises from his beatings.
Hatred was all that kept me going.
I don t think I was quite sane, but then, what did it matter? My only reason for
being was to kill Carnon. When that had been accomplished, there would be
nothing.
I could not think of Vlar at all. There was no grief, no sorrow, only hatred. This
man had taken everything from me, had taken my only chance of happiness and
destroyed it, killed the one I loved, who had loved me.
My mind roiled with fury, and I am quite sure that at that moment I was more
beast than human. I was as the wolf, waiting&
It never crossed my mind to fear for myself.
Gaven 2: The Bonding 93
He had told me the very first night what my fate was to be, but I hardly cared.
Perhaps he was perplexed by my lack of reaction; it was hard to tell. He was not an
easy man to read.
He had told me I was to be taken to the borders of the Arun Desert, far to the
west, and sold there to the tribesmen. It was said that to be a slave to them was
endless death; I had heard this many times from the Masarian men. They had said
they never fought close to those borders for that very reason.
Now I was to be taken there, sacrificed to the mad whim of Carnon, who was
as insane as I was.
My only thought was that I had to find a way to free myself before that border,
had to find a way to kill him, even if it was with my bare hands. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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