Life Bonds

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “Indeed, Master,” Myna replied. “Fiona should be finishing up breakfast now. She was working with the innkeeper’s daughter.”

  Ryann carried her bag toward the stable door. “I’ll be back in just a moment.”

  Sean took the seat next to Myna. “How are you today?”

  “I’m happy,” Myna said softly.

  “I was a little worried when I woke and neither of you were there,” Sean replied, resting his hand on hers. “I figured you two were up and about doing everything for me, again.”

  “We do what we can for you,” Myna smiled, looking at their hands.

  Sean gently patted her head before giving her a quick kiss. “Silly kitty,” he whispered after breaking the kiss.

  Myna purred gently as she leaned against his side. “You make me happy.”

  “I’m so glad I saved you,” Sean told her. “I felt bad about Life Bonding you inadvertently before, now I’m really happy it happened the way it did.”

  “So am I, Master,” Myna replied. “How are we ever going to find out who was behind the massacre?”

  “That’s going to be a real challenge,” Sean frowned. “All we have to go on is that Whelan made a deal with someone who wanted the village wiped out. The only real thread we have is that he made the deal with a female, as he referenced a ‘her’ or ‘she’ a few times.”

  Myna sighed, “I figured it might be something like that. We’ll probably never have closure, will we?”

  “We’ll do our best. It might take years, but we’ll do what we can,” Sean told her.

  The sound of the stable door opening made Sean look up, and he saw Ryann coming toward them. “Everything is good to go?”

  “Yes, Myna was very efficient,” Ryann said with a smile to the Moonbound. “As soon as we finish breakfast, we’ll be ready to leave.”

  “Breakfast is ready,” Fiona said, coming out of the kitchen, the barmaid they had saved following her. “Andrea, if you’ll place the platter before him, he’ll dole out for us, as a Master should.”

  Fiona set the tea kettle and cups on the table and took a seat. “Ryann, if you’ll pour for us, please.”

  Ryann nodded and began to pour the tea. Andrea placed the fully-laden tray in front of Sean. Bacon, eggs, bread, butter, preserves, cheese, and fruit filled the tray.

  “I wanted to thank you for saving me,” Andrea said softly, her head bowed. “I didn’t think they would grab me like that... they’d only ever made comments before. I never thought…” Trailing off as she sniffled, Andrea looked up briefly at Sean. “Thank you for having your Bonded fight for me, and for making that brute let me go.”

  “You’re entirely welcome, Andrea.” Sean gave her a soft smile. “It is the duty of all men to help a woman in distress.”

  “If only that were true,” Ryann said with a wistful sigh.

  Sean passed out plates of food to everyone, subtly giving Ryann more than everyone else, even him. Andrea stood just behind them, looking as if she were waiting for something. Sean shot Fiona a questioning glance. Fiona looked at his food pointedly, then back at him.

  Sean pulled out his utensils and took a bite. Once he cleared his mouth, he smiled at Andrea, “This is very good. Thank you, Andrea.”

  Giving them a deep curtsy, Andrea hurried off, smiling broadly. Fiona watched her go with pursed lips, before turning her attention to her food. Silence settled over the table as the group enjoyed the meal. Sean made sure to pace his eating so he would be the last one done again.

  When they’d all finished eating, Sean looked at Myna. “What village or town is next?”

  “I believe Flento is,” Myna replied. “If we’re headed for the closest city, that is.”

  “We should register my maker’s mark, at the very least,” Sean said. “What odds are we giving that some kind of major mishap happens in that city, too?”

  Ryann snorted, “With you, the odds are weighted against us.”

  Sean rolled his eyes. “Nice to see you loosening up, Ryann.”

  “Fiona told me that you wouldn’t take it badly,” Ryann said with a quick glance to Fiona.

  “She was right,” Sean chuckled. “Okay. If you’re good, let’s get going.”

  Sean turned to find the innkeeper and his entire family there. “Once again, sir, we wished to thank you,” the innkeeper said. “I still don’t feel like we’ve paid you back enough. If we can do anything in the future, please let us know.”

  Sean gave the man a simple nod. “Everything is good from my point of view, but I’ll keep it in mind. I pray that you all have no more problems.”

  “It was said that Landis worked for House Greenlimb,” the innkeeper said. “As you are likely headed for Hearthglen, you should know that it is overseen by one of their lesser nobles.”

  “Great,” Sean sighed. “Maybe they won’t have found out until after we leave the city.”

  “I just thought you should be aware,” the innkeeper said. “They might not do anything, though, as the rumor has never been confirmed.”

  “Plan for the worst, and hope for the best,” Sean shrugged. “Good day to you all.”

  Before anyone could say more, Sean headed for the stable yard with Fiona, Myna, and Ryann trailing after him. Exiting the inn, Sean went to the wagon and got into the back. Myna and Ryann took the driver's bench, while Fiona got in next to Sean in the back.

  “Do you think this will cause us problems?” Sean asked Fiona as the wagon started moving.

  “It will depend on what Geoff does,” Fiona said. “If he sits on Landis’ death, then we’ll have plenty of time. It is possible that he’s sent a missive to the noble already. If he has, then when we get to the city, we might run into issues before we even get inside the gates.”

  “Great,” Sean breathed out heavily. “Add in the unknowns of the road, and the next few days are going to get very interesting.”

  “I’m sure things will work out,” Fiona smiled at him. “Who knows what good might happen? Not everything has been bad. We’ve added Ryann to our group, even if only for a short time, and we saved a young woman from rape. It’s not just bad that follows us.”

  Sean put his arm around her waist. “Maybe you’re right, Fiona. As long as you and Myna are with me, the world seems like a wonderful place.”

  “Thank you, Master,” Myna said from the driver's seat.

  “Indeed,” Fiona said, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “Thank you, Sean.”

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  The first day’s travel from Merits to Flento was quiet, so Sean and Fiona spent the first few hours Shaping hair clips. After a while, Sean had Myna hop in the back so she could rest, and Fiona had Ryann take a break as well. Passing the reins off to Fiona, Sean turned to see Ryann Shaping a hair clip with Myna’s help and he smiled.

  When they pulled off the road for the night, everyone went about their tasks without direction. By the time Sean had the tent set up, Fiona and Myna had the horses taken care of, and Ryann had a fire going and was adding items to the pot for dinner.

  “Seems we have our nightly routine down,” Sean smiled at the women.

  “We’ve all found the best places for us to help make setting camp go faster,” Fiona replied.

  “I’ll need some water for dinner,” Ryann said as she set the pot closer to Sean. “I hope you all don’t mind me taking over cooking tonight.”

  “We take turns,” Myna told her. “You’re probably hungry from the Shaping you did today, so it’s not surprising you want the food done quickly.”

  Sean held his hand out over the pot and tried to summon water without words or motions again. After a few moments passed and he didn’t feel his energy stir, he sighed. Not deterred, Sean tried by just miming a teapot, but still the magic failed to work. “Fine, we’ll try just the words,” Sean grumbled under his breath. He held his hand over the pot and began to sing softly.

  Movement of the energy inside him almost made him lose the song, but he was able to kee
p singing. After the first few lines, hot water began to pour from his hand into the pot. A huge grin filled his face as he felt a sense of achievement at the magic finally giving him the option to not be a human teapot.

  “So fast,” he heard Fiona whisper.

  Meeting her eyes, Sean gave her a wink and stopped the flow of water. “Finally, I won’t have to be a literal teapot to summon water.”

  “You learned that from Misa, didn’t you?” Myna asked as she stretched off to the side.

  “Yeah.”

  “You’ve gotten to the point of not needing the motions in two tendays. I would have said it was impossible, but it’s you,” Fiona said.

  “He does like to defy the standard knowledge,” Myna added, pulling two Shaped training blades from the wagon bed. “Shall we spar while dinner cooks?”

  Ryann hung the pot over the fire and got to her feet. “Can you not go into hiding when we fight? Not many people can do that, and I would like to get some actual practice in.”

  “Only if you refrain from throwing things,” Myna replied.

  Ryann grimaced, but nodded. “Fine. I should work on my defensive posture, anyway.”

  “Fiona will fight the winner, and I’ll fight the loser,” Sean said, pulling Dark Cutter from the scabbard on his hip. “Round-robin fighting: loser fights loser, and winner fights winner.”

  “That should be interesting,” Fiona commented with pursed lips. “No special abilities? Or just no Camo and throwing?”

  “None at all, just pure martial combat. It will help Ryann the most, but the rest of us could use some basic work as well,” Sean smiled.

  “I think you and Myna will have the edge, then,” Fiona sighed, “but you make a good point.”

  Sean and Fiona moved back so Ryann and Myna could face off. Ryann looked around for a weapon she could use, as she only had throwing knives and her crossbow. Sean went over to the woodpile and grabbed two logs, quickly Shaping short blades out of them. “Here. You might want to get Myna to show you the best way to use them later tonight. We can see about picking up actual blades in Hearthglen for you.”

  “Thank you,” Ryann said, getting a feel for the two training swords.

  Myna waited a minute, then brought her blades up. “Are you ready, Ryann?”

  “As good as I’m going to be,” Ryann said, holding the blades near her waist.

  Myna glided forward, her balance perfect as she came for the attack. Ryann licked her lips as the distance closed between them, her unease obvious to everyone. As Myna was about to attack, Ryann lunged forward. The sound of wooden blades connecting filled the space for a brief moment, then Ryann was stumbling back.

  “Right, we’ll need to start with the basics,” Myna said softly as she stepped back.

  “Myna, why don’t you work on showing Ryann the basics? Fiona and I can get a little exercise in, and then we’ll check on the food in a few minutes,” Sean suggested. “We can take turns sparring another night.”

  “That would be for the best,” Myna agreed.

  “Am I that bad?” Ryann frowned.

  “As bad as I was when I first started,” Myna replied. “We can make you better, if you’re interested in learning, but it will be painful to body and pride.”

  The staccato sound of quarterstaffs meeting drew their eyes to Sean and Fiona sparring. The two separated before coming together again, their staves moving in a blur punctuated with loud cracks. They separated, circling each other, then met with another crash of their staves.

  “Will I be able to be equal to any of you?” Ryann asked as she got to her feet.

  “In time, it’s likely,” Myna said. “I’ll train you the way my grandfather taught me, and the way the academy taught me.”

  Nodding, Ryann took a deep breath. “I’m in your hands, Myna. Teach me the ways to protect him and you.”

  “First, we will start with your stance.”

  Myna walked Ryann through the most basic part of fighting, how to stand. Sean and Fiona fought each other with smiles on their faces, easily able to hear the entire conversation the other two had.

  When Sean called a halt for dinner, Ryann was sore. Limping over to the fire, she eased herself to the ground. “I didn’t think learning to stand could be so painful,” Ryann murmured. “I wasn’t expecting that type of correction.”

  Myna took her seat with a distant expression. “That’s how my grandfather taught me. If you’re standing properly, you don’t fall so easily.”

  “It looked like she was getting it when we stopped you,” Fiona said as she handed a bowl of stew to Myna.

  “Yes, her balance is much better,” Myna nodded and accepted the food.

  “Thank the Queens,” Ryann sighed. “I shall persevere if this will make me better able to perform my duty.”

  “I’d like to work on my archery tomorrow night,” Fiona said, “with and without Ryann’s Talent involved. It’s been many years since I last held a bow.”

  “We all have things we can work on,” Sean added. “Tomorrow we’ll make Flento, so practice might be harder to come by for a day or two. We’ll be staying the night there before moving on to Hearthglen.”

  “Have you decided if we’re going to stay when we get to Hearthglen?” Fiona asked, pausing between bites.

  “It would be good to stay in a city for at least a little while, but it’ll depend on what happens with the dead we left behind. The guard in Merits said the lesser noble who oversees Hearthglen was connected to those attempted rapists, so we don’t know if we’ll find trouble there or not.”

  “Whatever you decide is fine with me, Master,” Myna smiled at Sean with a twinkle in her eye.

  Shaking his head, Sean didn’t take the bait and continued eating. Fiona snickered lightly as she watched Myna’s smile become a pout. Ryann watched them all with a thoughtful look as she methodically ate her meal.

  Sean was the first one done eating and took over cleaning duty. As each of the others finished, Sean collected their bowls and cups, washing them and putting them away. Myna was the last one done, and none too soon, as a light snow began to fall.

  “I’ll get the brazier for the tent,” Fiona said, pulling the bronze brazier from the wagon. “We might want the extra warmth if it’s going to snow.”

  “We shouldn’t need it,” Sean said. “It’s just a light dusting.” As if to prove his words wrong, a cold wind began to blow.

  Ryann shivered and headed for the tent. “That wind has a bite to it.”

  Sean had to agree when even he felt a momentary shiver, too. “On second thought…”

  Fiona pulled some embers from the fire for the brazier. “I think safe is better than sorry in this case, Sean.”

  “Not going to argue,” Sean said as he dried the last of the dishes. The wind started blowing a little harder as he packed everything away. “I’m going to blanket the horses, then I’ll join you.”

  “Don’t take too long,” Myna added, starting toward the tent.

  “I won’t,” Sean replied. “I’ll douse the campfire before I come in.”

  “A wise move,” Fiona said, following Myna.

  Inside the tent, Sean found the others already under covers. Moving to the larger of the two piles, Sean stripped down before joining Myna and Fiona. The wind outside picked up, causing everyone but Sean to shiver as they imagined how cold it must feel outside.

  “We might have to hunker down in Flento for a day or two if the weather stays this bad,” Fiona murmured, inching closer to Sean.

  “I hope it isn’t too bad for travelling tomorrow,” Myna added, moving closer to him as well.

  “We’ll have to see how the weather is in the morning,” Sean murmured as he cuddled his two lovers.

  ~ * ~ * ~

  Sean woke to the sound of howling wind and very dim light in the tent. “Morning?”

  “Already?” Fiona murmured, draping her leg over his.

  “It’s light out,” Myna said sleepily, her arm tightening on
the body next to her. A frown crossed her face. She knew Sean had gone to bed without his shirt, but she was holding someone wearing one. “Ryann?”

  Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, Ryann went still as she felt the arm holding her. “It got colder last night,” she whispered.

  Sean sat up and saw Myna holding Ryann. “Ah, so you came to join us for warmth.”

  Ryann rolled away from Myna and got to her feet. “Sorry, it—”

  “It’s fine with me,” Myna cut Ryann off. “We’d rather you stay healthy, and it’s not like you interrupted anything.”