Bound

by Sue Tingey

  She screamed all the way down, but I spread out my arms and legs like a skydiver and closed my eyes – I didn’t want to see the ground coming before I hit it. Actually, I was feeling quite nice; I just wished she’d shut up. All that screaming – how undignified was that?

  I wished Jamie was here. Maybe he could teach me to fly. No, I needed wings. I giggled. I could do with some now. I could do with … ah, so tired.

  Then she stopped screaming and I thought, I can sleep now.

  *

  I woke up in a strange room, although the ceiling spinning around above me was of pink and gold marble, which I thought I recognised, but my poor thumping head made it difficult to think. I closed my eyes, but that didn’t help; I felt like I was spread-eagled across a merry-go-round on speed. My stomach began to churn and there was a roaring in my ears, and just when I thought I was about to throw up darkness took me.

  When I finally came to again I was still in the same room, though thankfully the ceiling was no longer rotating. The bed was warm and comfy, and although there was the memory of an ache behind my eyes I felt a hell of a lot better than I had before.

  I could hear the gentle burr of snoring and when I struggled to sit up I found my legs pinned down by my sleeping drakon. Pyrites shifted a bit as I pulled myself up the bed, then he opened an eye and, seeing I was awake, scrambled up beside me to give my cheek a lick of hello.

  ‘Mistress Lucky?’ Kubeck appeared above me.

  ‘Where am I?’ I asked.

  ‘We’re in Askala,’ he told me. ‘How are you feeling?’

  ‘A bit woozy,’ I said, pushing myself up into a sitting position. ‘What happened?’

  ‘I think it better that the Guardian and Deathbringer explain. They know the whole story.’

  ‘Jamie and Jinx are here?’

  He gave a bob of the head. ‘They’ll be back shortly, once the tribunal has reached its verdict.’

  ‘Tribunal? Verdict?’ I started imagining all sorts of things, like Jamie and Jinx wrapped in chains. ‘But they haven’t done anything wrong—’

  ‘No, no, Mistress. You misunderstand me – they’re awaiting the verdict and sentencing of the woman they call the Keeper.’

  I sank back against the pillows. ‘The Keeper,’ I murmured to myself and it all began to come back. My stomach gave an unpleasant lurch and for a moment I felt like I was falling again, even though I knew I was safe in bed. ‘She tried to kill me.’ My voice was shaking.

  Kubeck pulled up a stool to sit closer to the bed. ‘If we’d arrived a moment later it would have been too late,’ he said. ‘We heard a scream as we reached the door to the Keeper’s chamber. Fortunately, the woman didn’t stop screaming as she fell, otherwise—’ He sucked in breath through his teeth. ‘As it was, the Guardian and Pyrites reached the pair of you only just in time.’

  For the next few hours Kubeck fussed over me, making sure I had plenty to drink and trying to entice me to eat some fruit or the dainty little pastries he had purloined from somewhere or other, but I wasn’t a very good patient; I couldn’t settle. He’d assured me that Jinx and Jamie weren’t in trouble, but I couldn’t quite believe it, and until my two men were back with me I wouldn’t be happy.

  At last the door opened and Jamie came striding through, Jinx right behind him. Their expressions were so serious I immediately thought the worst, then the relief in their smiles as they saw me told me that at least one of the reasons for their dour expressions was their worry for me. They both started to talk at once.

  ‘—are you—?’

  ‘—you all right—?’

  ‘—we were so worried—’

  ‘—we thought we’d lost you—’

  ‘—we so nearly didn’t get to you in time—’

  ‘I’m fine,’ I told them as they dropped down to sit either side of me. Jamie hugged me to him, and Jinx took hold of my hand, caressing my fingers with his. ‘At least, I am now. I was worried about you, too – but what the hell happened?’

  Then the whole story came tumbling out, Jinx interjecting from time to time, his expression grim, as Jamie explained, ‘It must have been just before you arrived back from dinner with Baltheza. There was a surge of power from somewhere beneath the palace.’ He gave a wry smile. ‘Do you know, for a few seconds I actually thought that maybe Amaliel had somehow come back. Stupid really, but I did wonder.’

  ‘As did I,’ Jinx added. ‘I’d put nothing past that creature.’

  ‘When we investigated the labyrinth of corridors of Amaliel’s domain, we found an open door to a secret passage leading to a flight of stairs – we’d just started up them when there was another rush of energy, from right above us,’ Jamie went on. ‘You can imagine what we thought when we got to the top and found we were in your bathroom. It didn’t help that we could hear Kubeck out in the corridor battering against the door trying to get in. We really did fear the worst.’

  ‘Then Kubeck showed us the note, which immediately brought us to Askala,’ Jinx said.

  ‘Fortunately for Isla—’ Jamie stopped when I looked blank, then explained, ‘The Keeper, her name’s Isla, anyway, lucky for her, Pyrites returned from his hunting just as we were setting off. It was he who had saved her – although I’m not sure how happy she’ll be about that now she’s been arrested and charged with trying to kill you, amongst other crimes.’

  ‘But why did she want me dead?’ I asked.

  Jamie and Jinx exchanged a look and my angel’s face flushed a deep rose. ‘She’s been questioned at length, but she refuses to say anything other than everything she has done has been for the good of Askala.’

  I studied Jamie’s glowing face and the penny dropped. ‘She fancies you,’ I said. The way she had touched his arm and the expression on her face when I saw them together should have been a big enough clue.

  ‘Well, one of the few pieces of information she volunteered was that she thought you were a bad influence on me,’ he admitted. ‘She also says she acted alone, but that doesn’t ring true.’

  ‘None of it makes any sense,’ Jinx said.

  ‘Did she admit to being in cahoots with Amaliel?’ I asked.

  Jamie shook his head.

  ‘Or Pasqual?’

  ‘No,’ Jamie said.

  ‘And who was the bitch in black?’

  Jamie and Jinx both frowned at me. ‘Bitch in black?’ Jamie asked.

  I told them about the woman who had brought me to Askala. ‘The first surge of power you felt must have been when she arrived and the second when she left with me.’ Then something else occurred to me. ‘How did she know about the secret passageway into my bathroom?’

  We sat in silence pondering on that one. How had she known? Unless she was no stranger to the hidden ways that riddled the palace …

  Jamie went very still for a moment, then he ran a finger along my wrist. ‘This woman in black – what did she say? Did she give any clue as to who she was?’

  ‘Not really, just that you’d sent her to bring me to Askala – that you’d said I was to trust no one, not even my guard. She was really fast – and very strong. Then she dragged me into a black hole and the next minute I was in Askala and she was ushering me into the Keeper’s lair.’

  ‘I have heard rumours of a daemon such as she,’ Jamie said eventually, his voice low, ‘but I’d thought it just a story to frighten small children.’

  ‘The Shadow?’ Kubeck whispered.

  Jamie’s lips pressed into a thin line.

  ‘Rumour or not, we now know the Keeper wasn’t acting alone,’ Jinx said, ‘and that makes me wonder about what we discussed before.’

  I suddenly remembered something else. ‘Isla was the one communicating with Amaliel, and she must have visited him in the Overlands at least once.’

  ‘What makes you say that?’ Jamie said.

  ‘There were long golden strands of hair on Amaliel’s robe – at first I thought they were golden threads, then just before she pushed me out of the window
I found some on my T-shirt.’

  ‘This could explain something that’s been bothering me,’ Jamie said. ‘You and Jinx were using power all over the place when you were in the Overlands, but half the time we either didn’t feel it, or when we did, it was almost as though it was distorted. The rest of my Guardians went off on several wild goose chases, only to find that you weren’t where they’d been led to believe.’

  ‘She could do that?’ I asked. ‘She could mask our use of power?’

  Jamie’s expression became ultra-grim. ‘Not without help.’

  ‘Which brings us back to the Veteribus,’ Jinx said.

  Kubeck had been sitting quietly on his stool, listening, but before we could say any more he moved closer and whispered, ‘Not here.’

  ‘You don’t think—?’ I started, but he put his forefinger to his lips.

  ‘I think it’s time we took Lucinda home,’ Jinx said.

  ‘Are you feeling well enough?’ Jamie asked, studying my face.

  ‘I’ll feel a lot better once we’re out of here,’ I told him. As beautiful as Askala was, I didn’t ever want to see the place again.

  We decided to use conventional methods of transport; they might be speedy, but I still didn’t much care for the jumping through black holes method. Anyway, Jinx wanted to be reunited with Bob and I’d never seen the huge creature look so cheerful as when he descended from the sky to see Jinx there waiting for him; there was a definite spring in his step as he trotted to my Deathbringer’s side to nuzzle at his neck. Kubeck and I rode on Pyrites and Jamie used wing power.

  Everyone was smiling as we set off for home.

  As we were traversing the Icedfire Mountains which surrounded Askala, Pyrites’ birthplace, we saw several drakons from a distance, and a couple more snoozing on the mountainside below us, but I was rather disappointed that none came up close.

  ‘These days they’re not over-fond of daemonkind,’ Kubeck explained and Pyrites puffed grey smoke. This was another question for my angel, I guessed, as no one could doubt Pyrites’ love for me.

  It was only once we’d left the mountains behind that Jamie gestured for us to land and we resumed our previous conversation where we’d left off. I sank down onto the grass, still feeling a little light-headed, with Jamie beside me and Jinx sitting cross-legged opposite. Kubeck and Pyrites joined us, forming a circle, while Bob wandered around munching contentedly on the leafy vegetation surrounding us.

  ‘I know you probably don’t want to hear this,’ Kubeck said, ‘but I think you’re right – there is more to this than Amaliel and the Keeper working together to subjugate the Overlands.’

  We all looked thoughtful, then Jinx said, ‘I think what we have here is two people with totally different and yet linked agendas banding together.’

  ‘How do you mean?’ Jamie asked.

  ‘The Trinity,’ I said.

  ‘Pardon?’

  ‘She told you I was a bad influence,’ I said. ‘What if this is what it’s all about? We know Amaliel tried to find me as soon as I was born, and at the same time Pasqual was sent to kill me, we think.’

  ‘Amaliel wanted power, and he didn’t much care which one of us he used to get it,’ Jinx said.

  ‘Isla, on the other hand, wanted me dead, because for some reason she believes the three of us together – the Trinity – are a threat.’

  ‘And what better way to destroy the Trinity than by helping Amaliel bind the Deathbringer to bring death to millions in the Overlands,’ Kubeck said. ‘The Deathbringer would be for ever bound, Amaliel would in the meantime attempt to kill the Soulseer and trap her soul in one of his little trinkets and the Guardian would lose his wings if he helped his friend or lose the Soulseer’s affection if he didn’t.’

  ‘But why should it matter to Isla?’

  ‘Power,’ Kubeck said.

  ‘But she has no power,’ Jamie said.

  ‘Who gives you and the Deathbringer their orders?’ Kubeck said.

  ‘The Keeper is the voice of the Veteribus,’ Jamie said.

  ‘But who’s to say when she speaks it’s their words she’s using?’ I asked. ‘You’re always telling me how power corrupts—’

  ‘No,’ Jamie said, ‘I don’t believe it.’

  ‘Jamie, she tried to kill me!’

  ‘I know that! What I mean is, I don’t believe she did this without the help of someone other than Amaliel and this mystery woman. For one thing, she would only have known Jinx’s daemonic name if someone had told her – and second, she simply wouldn’t have the capability of blocking the resonance of the use of daemonic power in the Overlands.’

  ‘You do know there’s only one explanation?’ Jinx said. My angel looked extremely uncomfortable, but Jinx’s expression was one of disgust.

  ‘But what can we do?’ I asked.

  ‘Nothing,’ Jamie said, his shoulders slumping. ‘We can do nothing.’

  ‘Except hope that either we’re wrong, or the Veteribus will come to the same conclusion and be on the lookout for a dark soul within their ranks.’ There was a long, uneasy silence as we all thought on this.

  ‘What will happen to Isla now?’ I eventually asked.

  ‘She will be punished – but whatever her punishment, it will not be enough,’ Jinx said.

  ‘Do you know what it will be?’ I asked Jamie.

  ‘No,’ he said very quietly, ‘it hasn’t yet been decided.’

  Twenty-Eight

  After dropping Kubeck off at his uncle’s shop we went straight back to our villa by the lake to finish the holiday which had been so rudely interrupted. Jinx sent a raven to let Shenanigans and Kerfuffle know we were all well; they were to join us in a few days.

  I was still a bit jittery and out of sorts, and I drifted listlessly around the villa. Whatever drug the Keeper had given me certainly hung around.

  We’d only been back at our retreat for a couple of days when we had unexpected visitors. Pyrites and I were coming back from a stroll along the beach when in the distance I saw Jamie and Jinx on the verandah in front of the villa, locked in conversation with two Guardians. It didn’t look as if there was a lot of laughter going on.

  Then one of the Guardians leaned forward and handed Jamie a small box or package. A few more words were spoken, the Guardians both bowed their heads, then they backed away a few steps before taking off into the skies.

  Jamie and Jinx stood there watching them fly away, and then Jamie looked down at the package. His lips moved, and Jinx rested one hand on my angel’s shoulder. I began to hurry; something had happened and I doubted from their body language that it was anything good. I was still a few yards away when Jinx caught sight of me. He murmured something to Jamie and they both came down off the verandah and walked to join me.

  ‘We’ve had a visitation,’ Jinx said.

  ‘I saw. What did they want?’

  Jamie looked down at his hand. ‘They brought something for you,’ he said and unclenched his fingers to show me.

  On his palm sat a small, finely engraved gold box. ‘For me?’ Jamie grimaced. ‘Why do I get the impression that you’re not very happy about this?’

  ‘It’s not how I feel that matters.’

  ‘I don’t follow you.’

  Jinx took my hand and led me to the verandah. He sat, and pulled me down onto the step beside him. Jamie arranged himself on my other side, took hold of my hand and began to stroke my thumb with his: a familiar gesture; one he used when trying to give me comfort – or when trying to find some of his own.

  ‘What is it?’ I asked.

  Jamie held out the box again. ‘The Veteribus have appointed a new Keeper, and Isla’s punishment has been carried out. Officially, Isla was a co-conspirator with Amaliel in a plot against us.’

  ‘And unofficially?’

  ‘Assurances have been given that if a member of the tribune was involved, they too will be found and brought to justice.’

  ‘So, what’s in the box?’

  Jamie
lifted my hand to his lips and after a brief kiss looked into my eyes, his expression sad. ‘It has always been the way with the Veteribus that the punishment should fit the crime.’ He let go of my hand to prise the lid from the box. ‘Isla was imprisoned within Blue Fire while the court deliberated on her ultimate punishment.’ Within the box were a couple of curls of golden hair. ‘She had no wings to be taken from her, so her head was shaved.’ I peered at the shining locks; now I could see something else, nestled within. ‘Her ultimate punishment was not just death, but that her soul should be imprisoned within a crystal phial, as yours would have been, had Amaliel had his way.’

  With my fingertip I brushed away the hair to reveal a dark blue crystal that glowed at its centre with celestial light.

  ‘She is now yours, to do with what you will.’

  For a moment I stared at the crystal, horrified at what had become of the woman. This truly was a fate worse than death. Then I flicked a curl of gold back over the phial and closed the lid. I supposed they could have thrown her off the cliff – but maybe they did, before entrapping her soul.

  ‘Take it away,’ I said. ‘I can’t bear to look at it.’

  It vanished into Jamie’s pocket.

  *

  Dinner would have probably been a sober occasion if I’d let it, but I’d had enough sadness and worry to last me a lifetime. We were here, we were alive and our enemies were gone; at least those we knew of. Jamie cooked and Jinx kept us supplied with wine, and when Pyrites wasn’t capering around my feet he was flying rings about my head or sitting on my lap licking my face or my hand at every opportunity.

  It was a real shame that I couldn’t do justice to the wonderful meal Jamie had prepared. It looked amazing, but the smell, which should have set my mouth watering, just made me feel plain ill. I surreptitiously fed lumps off my plate to Pyrites, but I don’t think I was fooling anyone.

  Jamie dropped his cutlery onto his plate and leaned back in his chair with a contented sigh while Jinx poured us all more wine.

  ‘Will we ever find out if one of the Veteribus was in collusion with Amaliel?’ I asked. ‘I mean if one of them was …’ I hesitated, not wanting to put my fear into words.

  ‘They might try and strike against one or all of us again,’ Jinx filled in the gap.