The Binding (Chronicles of Azaria #1) (2 page)

I was going to die.

The bear bellowed; it had almost broken free. Trembling, I flailed for the nearest tree. Too slow. The beast struck, and I cried out as it scored a tear across my face. I slammed back into the ground, gasping. I didn’t bother to get up again. There wasn’t any point. I couldn’t run, and I was so tired…

Something whistled through the air, and the bear screeched. I was facing the wrong way, so I couldn
’t see what was happening, but I could hear it thrashing, cracking branches and disturbing shrubs. Another whistle, then another bellow, and finally a crash so heavy the vibration quaked through the undergrowth. The noises stopped, and I was left in an uneasy quiet. I held my breath, clenching my eyes so tight I saw lights. Yet I never felt claws gouging out my insides, or teeth ripping through my neck.

After a moment convincing myself it wasn’t a nightmare, and I hadn’t fallen asleep back in the clearing,
I pushed myself to a sitting position and glanced around. The bear lay slumped a couple of metres away, its breathing deep and regular. I shuffled closer, wary not to disturb it. From ravenous killing machine to sleeping beauty in under thirty seconds. Something odd was going on. I checked its claws, its snout, its coat. Nothing looked out of the ordinary.

Then I saw them.

Nestled between the beast’s massive bicep and chest lay a pair of red darts. My eyes widened. Those were tranquilliser shots. The terror that gripped me during the chase flooded back, and I almost screamed.

It couldn
’t be. No, no, no!

Footsteps crunched towards me, and I couldn
’t breathe. I tried to stand, but my body had gone numb. I could only sit there and wait for the inevitable. My hands shook. No, I couldn’t be caught, not tonight! Any other night but tonight!

A gentle hand gripped my shoulder, and I heard the creak of leather as
the person knelt beside me. I kept my gaze on the ground, but I knew it was futile. Please, no, not after I
’
ve been so careful for the last two years…

“Are you alright?”

CHAPTER TWO

‘...his touch renewed her senses, spreading warmth and life where there had been cold and darkness.’

—Tale of the Binding

He couldn
’t have been very old, maybe in his twenties. In the moonlight, I could make out fair hair that reached to just below the nape of his neck, and a scar on his chin. A high collared shirt shielded his jaw, tucked beneath a dark leather coat, and I swore I saw something silver around his throat.

My gaze wandered upwards, but before I made eye contact
, I forced myself to look away. A tiny part of me reasoned that if I didn’t acknowledge him, the Binding wouldn’t work. A tiny, quite hysterical part of me. Yet deep down, I knew it was too late. The curse had nothing to do with stolen glances. It was all about the feelings of the heart. Even the smallest smidgen of social interaction would set it off. And a life debt was more than enough to seal my fate.

I
’d become Bound.

“Excuse me?” The young man
gripped my arm. “You’re bleeding. Are you hurt anywhere else?”

I hardly heard him, lost in a semi-daze. Despite the sting on my cheek and the throbbing
of my ankle, neither felt real. It was like watching someone else on the forest floor. This had to be a dream. If I closed my eyes, I’d be back in my own bed, with nothing to worry about except what blouse to wear as I waited for...

By the Goddess, who was I kidding? Fate had cast its tangled net, and I
’d fallen right under it. Worse, this particular net was unbreakable. Nobody escaped a Binding. Those that tried went mad, turning into Unbound, and the only guarantee of true freedom was much too final to think about. Some might have argued that being dead was better than being Bound, but I wasn’t keen on either option.

Yet while I wouldn
’t die to escape the curse, with my feelings now locked to this stranger, I’d already lost my life. Once Bound, you had to stay by your partner’s side, and judging from this man’s clothing, he wasn’t a local. My home, my family, my best friend; I’d have to leave them all behind.

I choked back a sob. What was I going to do? How would my parents react tomorrow when they found my bed empty? And Adam, what would he think? Knowing him,
even after a hard ride from Bane, he’d probably come chasing after me. But I was beyond rescuing. There was nothing he, nor anyone else, could do. Not after I’d been…I’d been…

“Hey, it
’s alright!” The young man’s voice broke through, and he draped his arm around me. “The bear’s not going to hurt you, and neither am I. It’s over. You’re safe now.”

It was then I realised I was breathing as fast as when I
’d been running through the forest. I shut my eyes, stemming panicked thoughts. In their place, a sudden desire took hold. Without warning, my arms wrapped around the man, and I drew myself into his neck, my tears soaking his collar. The scent of leather and pine mixed with something I couldn’t recognise. Whatever it was, my body hungered for more, and I pressed closer.

Oh no, the curse
’s effects had started already!

I clung to him for a long while, waiting for the overwhelming need of closeness to pass. I couldn
’t believe it. I hadn’t hugged someone this tight since I was a little girl and wanted my mother’s comfort. It made me so ashamed. Come on, let go of him. I didn’t want to sit in his arms all night. A grateful hug to get over the bear attack was one thing, but if I couldn’t let go, he’d get suspicious.

Clenching my jaw, I finally managed to push the stranger away. My hands rested on the
rough ground, and the pinch of stones brought me back to the present.

“Thank you.” I had to say something, to break through the emotions
churning inside me. My heart pounded, but not because of fear. I forced myself not to think about what was really driving it.

“It
’s okay,” the man said. “Here.” He handed me a handkerchief. Sighing, I took it and pressed it against the gash on my cheek. Blood soaked through and stained my fingers, though a lot had dried on my face. “Are you in pain anywhere else?” He looked me over, concerned. “Did you hit your head?”

“No, I didn
’t,” I said, furrowing my brow. I had to concentrate to get the words out. My feelings were running rampant, leaving little room for my thoughts. I moved my leg, and pain shot through my ankle. My mind latched onto the sensation, and the mental haze cleared. “I think I sprained my ankle.”

“May I take a look?”

“Go ahead.” It would keep his attention from my flushed face, and that could only be a good thing.

I stretched out my leg, wincing as my heel caught on the broken branch, and watched as he unlaced my boot. He was very gentle, and I was glad I couldn
’t feel his touch through the deer hide. Giddy maiden was not how I liked to present myself.

As he loosened the tongue of the boot, I noticed his fingerless leather gauntlets. That wasn
’t unusual in itself, but what caught my eye was the metal casing on the right one. It spanned his whole forearm, and twin blades were folded along it, joined at the ends by a fine piece of wire.

My eyes widened. That was a portable crossbow, the sort the King
’s assassins were famed to use. They were
very
expensive, and almost impossible to get hold of. Adam was saving up for one—he claimed he knew someone in Lanaran who’d do it cheap. But this man’s was right up with the assassins’, custom built to the curve of his arm.

I frowned. No way your everyday run-off-the-mill hunter could afford that. Besides, most hunters shot to kill
their prey, and you couldn’t fell an alpha wolf with a few darts, poisoned or not. Whoever this guy was, he wasn’t a hunter.

So what was he doing in the Galgiza?

A sharp tug at my ankle jolted my thoughts, and I yelped.

“Sorry!” The young man snatched his hands back.

“It’s okay.” I helped him remove my boot, then placed my hand over the swollen joint. It was puffing up like a male hellersbird in mating season, and the beginnings of a nasty bruise blemished my pale skin.

“Ouch, that
’ll be a good one,” the man whistled.

“Eh, at least it
’ll go with my eyes,” I said, with humour I didn’t feel.

The man looked at me strangely, before he gave a soft chuckle that made my cheeks warm. I looked away again, glad the moon had retreated behind a cloud. I
’d always dreaded the feelings the curse would stir, but this was insane!

“You have an interesting sense of humour,” he said. He reached into his coat and produced a bandage. “Whether it
’ll go with your eyes or not, I’ll need to put some compression around it. Hold still.”

He began to wrap the linen around my ankle. His fingers brushed my skin this time, sending tingles up my leg. I fought to keep still. Ugh, how could anyone stand this? I didn
’t even know his name, and I was swooning like those village bimbos who dream of bagging themselves a noble. To find myself reduced to their level of shallowness made me want to cry again.

Why oh why hadn
’t I stayed in the clearing?

“So what
’s your name?”

He
’d finished bandaging and was on his knees, an expectant look on his face. I took a deep breath.

“Eliza,” I said.

“That’s a pretty name,” the man said. I rolled my eyes, reaching for my boot. Was he flirting with me? Ha, if he knew why I was out here in the first place, he wouldn’t have had to bother. “I’m Ryan. I would say nice to meet you, but I think you were hoping not to, right?”

I dropped my boot. What the...did he
know
? How?! The Binding spell might have been common knowledge, but few would take such drastic measures to hide away like I did. It wasn’t my fault. Velwall was a major thoroughfare between two towns. Too many people passed through it for me to stay safe. Further, as my father was the healer, he saw a great number of patients in our house, so there wasn’t anywhere I could lie low without the risk of being stumbled upon. Even something as simple as a friendly greeting would’ve been enough to trigger the curse. That was why I’d stuck to the safety of the forest.

“I mean,” Ryan went on, “I
’m sure there’re better ways to spend a night than being chased by a bear.”

“Oh, right.” I almost slapped myself. Of course that was what he meant! He didn
’t know I was in the middle of my Binding time. He was trying to lighten the mood. Phew.

Ryan, however, hadn
’t missed the relief in my voice, and raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry.” I fiddled with my laces. Don
’t make him suspicious. Play it cool. “Yeah, I wasn’t planning on being a late night snack.” I had to swallow before I could get the next words out. “I was...lucky you were around to save me.”

“Don
’t mention it,” Ryan said. He helped pull my boot back over the bandages. Warmth spread across my cheeks, so I shifted my foot so our fingers wouldn’t meet. “But what are you doing in the Galgiza forest so late?”

“I could ask the same of you,” I answered. If I wasn
’t so terrified of looking him in the eye, I would’ve kept a level gaze. “Not had much luck finding good prey?”

I hoped he would rise to the bait. It would give me time to think of an excuse myself.

Ryan sighed, and rested his arm on his knee.

“Actually, no,” he said. “I
’m not much of a hunter. I’m more a traveller.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know why, but tonight I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d go for a walk. Then I heard the bear and saw you, and, well, you know the rest.”

I had to clench my teeth to stop my jaw hitting the ground. Wow. I
’d given him a prime excuse and he’d still gone for an explanation worthy of the title ‘Most Evasive Answer’. A traveller? Please, you’d have to be downright insane to take a short-cut through the Galgiza. Either he was painfully honest, or he was simpler than he looked.

“So what about you?” He picked up a twig and began doodling in the dirt. “Out for a moonlit stroll as well?”

I sighed, snaring my fingers in my laces. My moment of excuse-conjuring had only given me one option, and I really didn’t want to use it. But he was looking at me with that expectant expression again. I swallowed, thinking through what to say. The very idea made me sick. It was a lie no loving daughter should ever consider, let alone speak aloud.

But I had no choice.

“I…” My throat burned, trying to drown the words. I couldn’t say it. It was wrong!

Ryan dropped his twig and shuffled closer. I had to say something quickly
, otherwise he’d know I was hiding something. Taking a deep breath, I summoned my courage.

“I ran away from home.” I licked my lips, which were parched as sandpaper. “My parents, they...well, they...” I clenched my fists. “They used to lock me up.”

“Oh.” Ryan looked at me in sympathy. I pressed my hand to the cut on my cheek. Goddess, forgive me! “Why did they do that?”

I gulped. Come on Eliza, think!

“Well…” Finally an idea sprang forth, and I cleared my throat. “My parents were trying to arrange a Binding for me.”

Ryan sat up a little straighter.

“Not that
I’m
affected by the spell or anything, it was the other person,” I hastily added; I needed to cover my tracks. “But when I refused to go through with it, they locked me away.” I loathed the words that rolled off my tongue. “Anyway, tonight they’d gone out together, and they’d forgotten to bolt my door, so I just…”

Ryan put his hand on my shoulder. I fought the urge to shiver
with delight.

“It
’s alright,” he said. “I understand. You don’t have to say anymore.”

I nodded miserably. With such a lie to my name, I deserved to be Bound and taken away. Nonetheless, I was a little surprised that was all it took to convince him. It was hardly any better than his own reason for being here. And the way he
’d looked at me earlier; did he know I was keeping a low profile because of my Binding time?

If that was the case…

Ryan’s hand left my shoulder, and my heart juddered, forcing me to catch my breath. Sheesh, this would take some getting used to.

“Well,” he said, sitting forwards, “as much as I
’d love to sit here all night, why don’t we go back to my camp? You can stay with me for tonight, then tomorrow I can drop you off in Bane. I’m sure…”

“No!”

I cried out before I could think. Ryan blinked, and raised an eyebrow. I bit my lip. That was stupid. I might as well have confessed everything.

“I mean…” My tongue seized up. What could I say? I needed to stay by his side from now on, otherwise I
’d turn into an Unbound; a mindless, drooling drone with no thoughts or feelings of its own. It would only take a separation of half a mile to start the process, and after a day it would become irreversible. I folded my arms around myself, searching for words. “There’s…there’s no-one I can turn to for help. If I’m found, I’ll be sent straight home. I can’t stay in Bane.”