The Binding

  The Binding

  A Novel

  By

  L. Filloon

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fi ctitiously, and any resemblance to actual person s , living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © by L. Filloon December 2011

  All Rights Reserve

  Edited by Hollie Westring @ [email protected] Cover Art by Majanka Verstraete @ [email protected]

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission of the author . Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  Acknowledgement

  A special thanks to the following:

  Anthony Stevens, for your unrelenting support and encour agement. I could not have done it without you. I love you.

  Jennifer Guevarra, for the foresight to see what I could not see and threaten to kick my butt if I did not see it now ! Love you, Sis.

  Dorothy Cable, f or the valuable (and often funny) suggestions and for that ‘pink’ pen of yours . Thank you so much, my Wind Blown Lady !

  For Afatia Christina Thank you for being you and for making me be a better me .

  *

  Chapter One

  Lily

  I have celebrated my birthday the same way ea ch year for the past four years, I go for a run. It has been two days since I hit the big one-eight . Until that night, I didn’t realize just how much I missed running. It has been way too long since I’ve exercised. A t first , my body protested my sudden need to work out , but once I got going, it was like track season all over again. When the big day happened, there was no celebration with family or a party with lots of friends from school . It was just me, my running shoes, and the lonely running path at the nearby park. First off, the only family I have, or should say had , was Lucas, my brother who disappeared four years ago. Second, I have only one f riend : Julia Manns, my best friend. Since Lucas’ disappearance, it’s just been the two of us, and Marilyn, my foster parent. However, there has always been a special bond between Julia and me . After four years, she knows that the birthday run is a solitary ritual. Be sides, she couldn’t make it anyway , even if I wanted her to.

  For the first time since I can remember, I overslept. I promised myself that when the day was over, I would be hitting the park for a run. And that’s how I find myself here late at night, in a park devoid of any human presence, with lots of dark, thick trees and bushes. I contemplate my , perhaps rash, but determined decision to get a run in before the day’s end. I try not to notice the dark shadows among the trees. I didn’t realize how late it was until I was halfway through my run. Sometimes I don’t think things through as I should.

  I can feel my heart pumping with each breath along with the solid feel of the pebbled path under my feet. I love the feel of cool sweat on my skin, as a light breeze sweeps tendrils of hair across my face. Tendrils? Who uses that word these days…tendril ? That’s another thing I do. When I know I’m in over my head, stupid random thoughts go unchecked. The next time I decide to finally get off my butt and go for a run, I will maybe just wait for morning.

  The path curves to the left a few yards ahead. Once I make that turn, I’ll be able to see the parking lot where Marilyn’s Jetta sits under a light post, alone. The sound of a snapping twig among the trees startles me and my muscles automatically tense. It could just be my imagination, but I pick up the pace anyway , trying to stay calm. Just keep moving, calmly. What am I thinking? Just cut across the path and run like hell, you idiot!

  Out of nowhere someone blindsides me. I automatically stretch out my arms, e xpecting to hit the ground face—first. The impact is delayed when he spins me into him. I feel a sharp sting cut my cheek, barely missing my left eye. An arrow? Was that an arrow? He hugs me to him, using his own body as a cushion. I end up on top of him when we finally hit the ground , the wind knocked out of me. I can feel my chest tighten with pain as the air catches in my throat. I hear him curse as I try to twist out of his hold, accidentally kneeing him. He roughly pushes me off him so I end up on my stomach, but I quickly turn over into a sitting position. In an instant, he’s on his feet and facing the direction from which I came. Gasping for air , I touch the cut on my cheek. When I look at my fingertips, I see blood. I’m stunned for a moment before my gaze travels to the back of his boots and up along his dark coat to his shoulders. Looking at the back of his head, I expect to see a cowboy hat. Instead, it’s covered with a dark beanie pulled over his ears, the long hair underneath it falling just past his shoulders. I can’t see his face as he’s facing someone before him. I lean to my left to look past him, and the shock of recognition overcomes me. I silently shake my head in denial as my attacker’s name comes to me.

  *

  Chapter Two Tharin

  From behind a tree, I watch her as she jogs toward me . She is athletically built and small, just over five feet, but not as compact as I thought she would be. Although my life would be easier if Lily Michaels were not a part of it, I’m honor—bound to her by the treaty. I close my eyes for a moment, slowly sending my thoughts out to find Cessa. There, hidden by the t rees, on the other side of the path , she waits in the dark . I send a silent command, releasing her to go and find Mellis. She’s not needed for now , as I don’t sense any immediate danger ― the same reason I sent Tolan and the others to wait for us at th e check point . I want to be alone when I meet my betrothed for the first time. I thought it would be easier for her to meet me without the others around. Actually, I really don't care how she accepts the news . I think of Kalis. Her beauty teases my mind, and I inhale deeply. I try to shake off the feeling of loss, but the weight of my responsibility to the clans feels heavy on my chest. I sigh as I push Kalis from my thoughts and concentrate on the runner before me. Lily Michaels has no common sense. What was she thinking when she decided to go running in a park at night ?

  I watch her as she comes closer to where I remain hidden. From here, I wonder if her hair color is natural , not that it would matter. A treaty between her family and my own has bound me to her, stopping me from choosing my own bride, my own destiny. The sound of Kalis’ sweet laughter comes to me on the fading breeze . I feel the same heartbreak each time Kalis enters my thoughts. There is nothing I can do about it now. I swore to my father that I would stay true to the treaty and to his own oath to Senestra of the Willow Clan.

  Distracted by my thoughts, I hear the snap of a twig before sensing the danger. I ha ve no time to waste, but just when I’m about to grab her , s he speeds forward and out of my reach. I have no choice but to dive for her and take her down when I hear the arrow’s release . We hit the ground hard . I hear her suck in a harsh breath as the arrow cuts her , but she doesn’t scream. I take in a deep breath myself, cursing as her knee catches me between the legs. I push her off me before she can do any more damage and stand to face her attacker . I set myself ready to move when from behind me, she speaks.

  *

  Chapter Three Lily

  “Lucas?” I call his name just barely above a whisper. The guy before me glances over his shoulder looking at me for the first time. I would have seen the color of his eyes then, but it’s too dark. Besides, m y eyes are drawn to the man standing in front of us. Lucas takes another arrow from his quiver and adjusts his shot. I watch, in shock, as he slowly lower s his aim at me.

  Finding my voice, unsure of what’s going on, I call out to him , “Lucas!” Wordlessly, my brother releases the arrow.

  As soon as my rescuer yells, “Run!” he shifts to his left . He blocks my
view of Lucas and the speeding arrow. He spins inward, letting the momentum of his body pull him through . He rolls out facing me as his hand catches hold of the arrow ’s shaft, stopping it only inches from my face. He leaps forward with lightning speed back into a crouch between my brother and me . His eyes never leaving Lucas, he shouts at me again , “I said, run !”

  This time I don't hesitate. I hear the release of another arrow and I instinctively duck, but none fly by me . My breath releases and I know my rescuer has once again saved me. I start to take off but come up short . As I glance behind me , I see the stranger hurl two knives from under his coat at Lucas. So fast! He’s so fast that I almost missed it . It might have been four years since I last saw Lucas, and he might be trying to kill me now , but he’s still my brother. I hear someone scream and realize it’s me.

  Lucas has another arrow cocked and aimed at the stranger , but my scream distracts him. He quickly shifts his f ocus back on me. Our eyes meet, and for a moment he hesitates. For one moment he is Lucas, the big brother who raised me. He is the one who was there for me when our uncle and aunt were killed in a freak accident. He is the big brother who comforted me and made me laugh until I cried again . As swiftly as it came, the moment is gone. The two blades hit him hard in the chest. I watch as his eyes grow wide, but not before he releases his last arrow. I hear my rescuer curse under his breath . Even without looking at him, I know he can never reach me in time.

  A sob sticks in my chest as I watch Lucas drop to his knees . His face is a mask of disbelief staring at the knives sticking out of his chest. The air around him begins to shimmer, and slowly he begins to disappear. He looks up at me and lifting his hand , he stretches toward me. He lunges forward as if to grab me and take me with him. Then he’s gone without a trace, disappearing just as he did four years ago.

  I hold my breath , waiting fo r the arrow to hit me, and I don't care. I just lost my big brother , again . The pain I felt four years ago hits me once more like a sledgeh ammer. It’s as if my chest was pierced b y the stranger’s knives. I can’t go through this again. Not again. So I stand and wait, but the piercing sting of the arrow never comes.

  “Burn.” The word comes in a whisper. I sense the heat as the arrow goes up in flames only inches from my heart. I turn toward the trees and watch as a man who is identical to my rescuer walk s out with his hand raise d before him. A black mist rises, swirling and slithering about him until it takes the form of a deep blackness, a hollow nothingness that freezes me to the core . Then two eyes pop open within the blackness ― f reezing my heart in an instant. I try to scream , but the breath I’ve been holding burst s out of my throat in a large gasp. The world around me spins out of control. The last thing I remember is the ground rushing up to meet me.

  *

  Chapter Four ~ Tharin ~

  What the hell was she thinking? She had a clear opportunity to make her escape but in stead she hesitated. If it wasn’t for Tolan she would be dead now. Damn. She’s going to be more of a problem than I anticipated.

  I rush over to h er side to make sure she’s not seriously hurt. I breathe a sigh of relief to find that the only wound she has is the one under her eye. I brush back her hair from her face and find that she’s beautiful. I touch her hair…all natural. It’s as jet black as her mother’s. I want her to open her eyes to see if they ’re the same color as Senestra ’s. Earlier, when she whispered her brother’s name, I looked down at her, but her eyes were focused on Lucas . Now, I have this sudden need to see them.

  Tolan walks up and kneels beside us. He reaches out to her face and touch es where the arrow had nicked her. Within seconds, the wound closes. Only a pink scratch remains. I know that within a day or so, it will disappear completely.

  “It’s only a scratch . Why did she collapse ?” asks Tolan. I look over at my brother, thankful for once that he disobeyed my wishes to be alone with Lily. I shake my head unsure.

  “I don’t know , ” I reply. “She passed o ut at the sight of you, rather tha n from any wound that I can see.”

  “Well, that’s not very flattering considering I’m better looking than you are,” Tolan says, searching her face. “She is beautiful. She doesn’t seem to have her height, but she has her mother’s coloring. She’s definitely Senestra’s daughter. Her brother being here further confirms it.”

  “Thanks to you, he didn’t succeed in kill ing her . I s uppose Velesi owes you a debt, b rother.” I continue to look at the girl. There is a feeling of connection to her. The feeling pisses me off. I don’t want it. I don’t want anything more to do with her except for what’s needed for Velesi.

  “And you, you also owe me a debt,” says Tolan breaking into my thoughts. After a moment he quietly adds, “You know that Kalis was never meant to be in your future.”

  Tolan rises and stands before me, waiting for my response. He knows of my feelings for Kalis, but he also knows I will honor the treaty between the clans. I glare at him until he takes a step back.

  I lift the girl and feel a pang of guilt in my handling of her earlier. She weighs no more than a feather. I’m surprised that I didn’t knock her out when I took her down . I look her over once again. Upon c loser inspection , I can see her pale skin, clear and flawless. Her hair i s in a ponytail, but loose locks frame her face. Like her hair, her lashes are dark in contrast to her pale skin. They seem like soft bars locking up her eyes denying me what I want to see, their color. I look at t he pink scratch under her eye and i t fills me with surprising rage. It’s just a cut, why am I so outraged? Is it because of the thought of Lucas attempting to kill his own sister ― who was unarmed and innocent? Innocent? I think about that for a moment. Maybe, but she’s still Lucas’ sister.

  *

  Chapter Five Lily

  I wake with a start. The scream that i s desperate to escape is caught in my throat , while s trong hands rough ly shake me by my shoulders . When I open my eyes, an annoyed face peers back at me. It takes me a moment to remember who it belongs to. My rescuer shakes me again. He’s close enough now for me to see that his eyes are green , intense and annoyed.

  “Hey!” I cry out as I try to pry myself out of his hold. “What the hell! Stop it !”

  He roughly releases me and moves to the arm chair on the other side of the coffee table . I’m home and lying on the sofa in our small living room . The room seems even smaller with him in it . The house belongs to Marilyn Schell, my foster parent who works with the city's social services department. I've been with her since I was fourteen. She took me in the day after Lucas went missing. Maybe it was the pathetic way I looked when they brought me into her office; or maybe it was because I had no t spoken a word to anyone since the night before . Whatever the reason, she took pity on me . She promise d that day she would find me a good foster home. She started that morning, and worked well into the evening. I sat waiting in her little office with her. Finally, she gave up for the day, deciding t o try again the next morning. It was too late to take me to the shelter, so she took me home, fed me and put me to bed in her spare room. This has been home ever since. Marilyn didn’t just bring me home ― she saved my life.

  I glance over at the picture of Lucas and me on the side table. It was taken on our birthday, my fourteen th , and Lucas’ eighteenth. Each year we would celebrate with hot fudge sundaes . Julia, my best friend even back then, was al ways our special guest . Julia took the picture after a community league basketball game where I had just made the winning basket. We were all looking forward to celebrating later that evening . I t was one of the happiest days of my life …the last day I was ever happy. Lucas never made it to the deli near our home. Julia and I waited until her parents came to pick her up. They gave me a ride and when they realized Lucas was not home, they decided to stay with me until he returned . When he still didn’t show b y midn ight, Frank Chase, Julia’s step dad , called the police. Lucas had disappeared without a trace.

  Everything that happened earlier tonight floods my mind. Lucas
. What was he doing here? Where has he been all these years? And why did he appear out of no where? Even worse, why did he try to kill me? My head is throbbing. I rub at my temples, trying to relieve the pain .

  I sense the stranger sitting in our small armchair waiting. I turn to him only to find him watching me intently. As we sit staring at each other , I feel a connection between us. I can 't explain it, nor do I understand it, but I feel as if I know him. He gives me a derisive smirk. I roll my eyes at him . I throw my legs off the sofa, but as soon as I stand, he stands. I give him a puzzled look , while he stares back at me daring me to make a move. Make a move? What are we, in a cowboy movie? Again, I look at t he top of his head and imagine him wearing a cowboy hat. He’s still wearing the black beanie, but I can see that his hair is a sandy brown color. I also now see that he’s young, maybe a year older than me ; but I’m not sure . I t’s hard to tell.

  I sit back down on the sofa and he sits back down on the armchair. I stand again, and he does the same. I sit back down and , he does the same again, but only this time he takes his time sitting. I try to stand again, but he’s on his feet. With light ning speed, he’s on me, pushing me up against the back of the sofa . He’s only inches from my face. For some insane reason, I’m tempted to lean in and touch his nose with my own. The thought almost makes me giggle, but I decide against it. When I look up and meet his eyes , he seems extremely annoyed. After a moment of glaring at me, and w ithout a word, he’s off of me and back in the arm chair. He has that smirk back on his face, satisfied that he has made his point.