Keeping the Promise: The Binding Saga, #4

Dedication

To Charlie Wells and Jeff Bedard.

My two best friends – gone but never forgotten.

Acknowledgements

My thanks go out to so many people who've helped so much.  There's Cait McCarren who helped hash out  problem bits and pieces so that things make sense.  Many thanks to Sharon Crosby who helped with the most difficult part - writing the blurb.  Special thanks go to Brooks Kohler, who beta read the first book of this saga and has stayed for the duration.  His comments have often made me see something in a way that I hadn't.  We're told not to judge a book by its cover, but the cover is the first thing we see, which is why my gratitude for Mariah Sinclair, whose magic touch turns my awkward ideas into fabulous covers, knows no bounds.  Finally my thanks to you, the reader, for without you these are only words on a page.

Chapter 1

One Thing after Another

FELYN QUIETLY CREPT through the halls of the palace.  It was before dawn and most everyone still slept.  She’d considered sneaking out through the kitchens, but Cook and her helpers were already up and bustling about.  She finally made her way to the laundry.  No one would be washing yet and the yard where the linens were hung wasn’t far from an alley leading to the street.  She’d considered taking her own horse, but that meant waking a stable boy who’d have questions.  Why was she up and about this early in the morning?  Where was she going?  When would she be back?  Where were the guards?  Endless questions she didn’t want to answer.  She hastened down the street to a public stable and hired a horse.  Enough coin ensured no questions were asked.  She’d be far away before anyone thought to look there.

Hours later, one of the maids reported that Felyn was not in her rooms.  Ruul ordered a search of the palace and grounds.  When nothing was found, the search was expanded.  Of all the times for his willful daughter to go missing this was one of the worst.  He stopped pacing, rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at the closed door to his chambers.  On the other side, with the midwife and her assistant, Malynd was in labor.  He was deeply worried.  She’d miscarried one child and another had been stillborn.  After the last, the midwife said she’d not have any more children.  He chuckled.  Perhaps because the midwife said that, his wife had conceived again.  He looked up at the arrival of a guard.

It seems she rented a horse from Koop’s stable down the street, Sire, he said.  The stable boy didn’t know where she was going.

Ruul dismissed the guard as muffled sounds came from the other side of the door.  He knew where his daughter was headed.  It was the summer of her nineteenth year.  He’d never mentioned the Binding ceremony, but he knew in his heart she was headed to the Forest.  He’d have to go after her and hopefully catch up before....  He sighed deeply and turned to leave.

Begging your pardon, Sire.

Ruul turned to look at the midwife standing in the half opened doorway to his chambers.

It’s highly irregular you understand, the midwife said, but the Queen wishes you by her side.

She’s in labor, Ruul said.  She’s having a babe.

Yes, Sire, said the midwife as Malynd groaned in the background.  I think we’re all aware of it, however she’s requesting your presence.  The labor’s been hard and if you being near will calm her it’ll help a great deal.

Ruul looked at the half open door, then the door to the hallway.  Which way to go?  After a few moments he followed the midwife and prayed his daughter would forgive him.

FELYN TOOK THE TURNOFF toward Bechter’s farmstead and smiled.  It was still called Bechter’s farmstead even though Bechter had died long ago and Aherne, his son by marriage, ran it now.  She concentrated on the side of the road facing the Forest, looking for the turn off about which her mother had told her.  The problem was that no one had been there since her grandmother had been found in the ruins of the old cottage.

Her mother had told her about the coming Ceremony and what to expect, but she hadn’t known where to meet those who would come for her.  She’d suggested the old cottage because it was the only place she knew.  After following several false trails, Felyn was frustrated.  Perhaps she’d just push through the weeds and underbrush until she reached the Forest.  Stubbornly, she kept trying anything which looked like a trail toward the trees.

Something caught her eye as she pushed down this latest trail.  This must be it, she mused, looking at the blackened timbers overgrown by weeds.  Dismounting, she walked forward trying to picture a small cottage here.  She shook her head, the image eluding her.  Mother said her grandmother had been found lying among the ruins.  She’d only been four years old then and didn’t remember her grandmother.  Dropping the reins, she carefully stepped through the charred bits of wood on the ground.  Mother had also told her that Father had the building burned.

Lookee what we got here.

Felyn spun around at the sound of the gruff voice.  Two men were walking toward her through the tall weeds.  Her heart pounded.  Were these the ones she was supposed to meet?  They didn’t fit her mother’s description.  Maybe things had changed?  Her mother hadn’t been to the camp since before she wed Father.

Pretty little thing ain’t she?

Felyn jumped and looked at the third man who stepped between her and the horse.  Fear filled her and her heart sank.  These weren’t Forest People come to meet her.  Slowly she backed away as the men advanced.  Catching her heel on a rock, she tripped and fell backwards.

The three were on her in moments, two of them pinning her arms to the ground, the third straddling her body.  Grinning, he unbuttoned the front of her riding jacket.  She struggled as hard as she could to no avail.  Slowly, he pushed the jacket open over her heaving breasts.

Let’s have a look shall we girlie?

He reached for her blouse buttons and jerked, his eyes wide as his chest sprouted an arrow shaft.  He fell forward on top of her.  She screamed.

The other two brigands each fell to an arrow in the chest.  Felyn struggled until she could push the dead man off.  Looking up she saw a man holding a bow and scrabbled backward as fast as she could.

Felyn, you’re safe now, Cuinn said.  It’s all right.  You’re safe.

Felyn looked up at the man standing near the dead men.  He was tall and muscular, long black hair and black eyes, bare chested, wearing breeches and boots.  A bright gold band wrapped around his upper arm.  She frowned.  He looked like her father without a haircut.  How did he know who she was anyway?

Cuinn laughed at the description.  She had a strong mind, but lacked the skill to keep her thoughts quiet.  Grinning he held out his hand to help her up from the ground.

I know your father, Cuinn said.  When she placed her hand in his, he pulled her to her feet.  His expression grew serious.  What are you doing out here alone?

Felyn brushed leaves and grass from her skirts oblivious to her blood stained blouse and jacket.  She looked at the dead brigands and shuddered as realization began to sink in.  Those men... they... they were going to....

They would have, yes and without a second thought, Cuinn said.  You’re lucky we were hunting nearby.

Won’t someone come looking for them? Felyn asked.

Not likely, Cuinn replied.  After the others left he’d take the bodies deep into the woods.  You didn’t answer my question,

Question? Felyn dragged her attention from the bodies.  Oh, I came for the Ceremony.

The Ceremony, Cuinn said.

Yes, the Ceremony, Felyn said.  It’s the summer of my nineteenth year.  Mother told me about the Ceremony.

Cuinn looked at her in wonder.  What a difference from her father who had resisted every step of the way.  Not only was Ruul’s daughter coming willingly, she was doing so even before the summons.  He shook his head slightly.  Your father will come looking for you.

Not for a while, Felyn replied.  Mother went into labor early this morning.  Since she lost the last babe, she wants him near.  It seemed the best time to slip away.

Why come here? he asked.  Why come to this place?

Mother didn’t know where else to go, Felyn replied.

Cuinn nodded.  Thurin had drugged Ruul to take him to the meeting place.  Ruul wouldn’t know where it was.  Not that he’d have told his daughter.  He doubted Ruul would consent to his daughter’s participation given his own reluctance.  Using the mind seek he contacted the Dhe’an.

Felyn followed the man as he met the other hunters at the edge of the Forest.  The two men shouldered bucks, the two women carried rabbits and fowl.  Felyn was astounded to see women hunters.  She wasn’t allowed to hunt anything except her younger sister’s toys when they went missing.  She wished father would let her do more.  At the edge of the Forest, the man blindfolded her and sent her with the others.  He’d catch up with them before they made the camp.

I NEED TO FIND OUR daughter, Ruul said to Malynd.  He didn’t want to leave her and the babe, but Felyn’s disappearance weighed on his mind.

She’ll do well, Malynd replied, her voice weary.

Do well at what? Ruul questioned.  He had a hunch where Felyn had gone and why.  He shuddered recalling his own time.  He hadn’t said anything about the Ceremony, but his wife was of the Forest.  She would have.

Cuinn will take care of her, Malynd mumbled.

Ruul stiffened.  Now he knew with certainty where she’d gone.  There had been no summons as yet, but he knew in his heart she’d used the distraction of her mother’s labor to slip out unnoticed.  He sighed and brushed a kiss on his sleeping wife’s forehead.  He checked little Prys, who also slept.  Leaving orders for the maids and servants to watch over the pair, he made his way to the stable.  Mounting up, he headed for the ruins of the old cottage.  It was the only place of which he could think to start looking for his errant daughter.

He spotted her horse wandering not far from the turnoff to the ruins.  Anxiously he stood in his stirrups and scanned the fields.  Nothing.  He turned down the track. Pulling his mount to a halt he gazed over what was left of the cottage his parents loved so much.  He’d been told that he’d given the order to have it burned.  He sighed heavily.  Much of that time was still a fog and a time he preferred to forget.  That was the past and now he had to find his daughter.  Dismounting, he searched for any indication that she’d been here.  He was about to give up when he spotted a small pool of blood on the ground.  His heart pounded.  Was she injured?  He doubted Cuinn would hurt her, but there was no guarantee others wouldn’t.  Crouching, he touched his finger to the small puddle.  Not fresh, but he was no hunter to be able to say how long it’d been there.  Standing again he wiped his hands on his breeches and took a deep breath.  With no idea where the camp was located, he’d just have to search the entire Forest if need be.  Apprehensive but determined, he walked into the Forest.

FELYN BLINKED HER EYES in the brightness when the blindfold was removed.  She stood at the edge of a clearing, the tall man beside her.  She’d asked his name, but was told names would wait until after the Ceremony.  She looked out over the camp, her heart beating in excitement.  After hearing all the stories, she was finally here – the camp of the Forest People.  Tents were arranged along the perimeter under the shadow of the massive trees.  All but one.  That must be the Dhe’an’s, she mused.  There was Meyona Dara’a, the central oak.  The man’s voice broke into her thoughts.

Are you frightened, little one? Cuinn said gently, feeling her excitement.  She was aware of the Ceremony in the abstract having heard of it from her mother, but he wondered how the reality of it would affect her.  It was one thing to be told something and something else to experience it.

No, Felyn said a little too quickly.  Her cheeks pinked lightly.  A little, I suppose.  Taking a deep breath and mustering her courage, she marched away from the man and headed straight for the central oak.  Halting beneath the tree, she tipped her head back to look up its height.  Laying a hand on the trunk to steady herself, she felt the throbbing of the tree’s lifeblood beneath her touch.  Closing her eyes, she set her other hand beside the first.  The throbbing increased, filling her with warmth and a sense of homecoming.  How could that be, she wondered.  She’d never been here before this day.  No matter, the throbbing strengthened her resolve.  Opening her eyes, she looked up and located the lowest branch.

Stepping beneath the branch she removed her riding jacket, frowning at the blood stains on the front.  Reminded of what had almost happened, she shuddered.  Folding the jacket neatly, she laid it on the ground.  She pulled her blouse from the waistband of her skirt and unbuttoned it.  Seeing the blood stain on the white blouse, she frowned again before carefully folding it and setting it atop the jacket.  Her skirt, riding boots and stockings followed in short order.  Dressed only in a light shift, she took down her hair, unpinning the coils of her braid.  Pulling the ribbon from the end, her deft fingers made swift work unbraiding her hair.  Shaking her hair loose, it lay over her shoulders like a waterfall of black silk.

Cuinn slowly crossed the clearing.  By the time she’d shaken her hair free, he stood beside her.  Her emotions rippled through the mind seek and he hid a smile.  She was anxious although determined to hide it.  He looked into her bright green eyes and called Chara with the mind seek to bring the cuffs.  There would be no speech, other than through the mind seek, until the Ceremony was completed.  The only one to speak to the girl would be the Dhe’an.

Felyn stood defiant beneath the gaze of the tall man and reached for a bow at the shoulder of her shift, untying it.  The second bow untied, her shift slid the ground at her feet.  Gracefully she stepped out of the linen puddle and used one foot to push the shift towards her pile of clothing.  Naked, she glanced up at the branch overhead and reached for it.  She couldn’t touch it.  Frustrated, she stood on her toes and reached again.  Still out of reach.  She dropped back down on her feet, put her hands on her hips and glared at the man.

Cuinn choked back a chuckle as Chara arrived with the cuffs along with the hook and rope which would be suspended from the branch.  Taking one of the fur lined cuffs he unlaced it and reached out, asking without words for her arm.  He felt her shiver as he laced on the wrist cuffs and attached the short gold chain between them.  He knelt and laced on the ankle cuffs.  Chara pounded short stakes in the ground, about shoulder width apart while he tossed the rope over the branch pulling the hook to dangle just above Felyn’s head.

RUUL PLUNGED INTO THE depths of the Forest and having no idea which way to go, plowed straight ahead.  Sometimes the going was easy, other times he had to push his way through.  Many times he had to detour around a tree.  How easy it’d be to become lost, he thought.  The worry flickered that he’d become lost and leave his wife without a husband, his children without a father and his kingdom without a king.  He pushed those thoughts aside.  His main concern at the moment was finding his daughter.  Stopping to wipe the sweat from his forehead, he looked around.  He had the strongest sensation over the past hour that he was being watched, but he saw nothing.  He knew he wouldn’t.  The Forest People had lived among these trees, in this Forest, for centuries.  He was willing to bet they knew these woods better than he knew his City, better than he knew the palace.  Having rested, he plunged forward again keeping as straight a line as possible.

FELYN STOOD PASSIVE as the cuffs were laced on and her feet spread, the ankle cuffs tied to the stakes.  She held out her arms to the big man and watched calmly as he hooked the chain between the wrist cuffs over the hook, then drew her arms over her head.  Naked, she was now displayed for all to see.  She racked her memory for what her mother said would be the next step as the People slowly gathered around her.  She heard no voices although she heard fleeting words in her mind.  Next should be... the Dhe’an, she thought.  As if the thought had summoned her, the crowd parted to let a woman through.

The woman was old although not ancient and walked with the aid of a staff from which dangled bits of bone, feathers and other things which Felyn couldn’t name.  What caught Felyn’s attention were her eyes... bright pools of black into which she sank and was held.  The Dhe’an.  It could be no one else.

You’re early, child, the Dhe’an said softly.  The summons has yet to be sent.

Felyn nodded, her eyes held by the Dhe’an’s gaze.  She lost awareness of everything else as the Dhe’an gazed at her, looking into her heart and soul, baring her innermost self.  The Dhe’an’s mind reached into hers, probing, testing, but she felt no fear.  Rather than feeling invaded, she welcomed the older woman’s mental touch.  Maybe the Dhe’an could tell her for what, for whom, she waited.

You wait for something? the Dhe’an asked, puzzled.  How do you know?

Felyn struggled to define the feeling inside, a feeling which had been with her for as long as she could remember.  It was never intrusive, just the knowledge that she was waiting, but for what or whom she didn’t know.  Now, here, she hoped someone, the Dhe’an perhaps, could tell her.  Maybe she was meant to find that something or someone here.  She didn’t know.  She only knew she waited.

The Dhe’an listened to the girl’s thoughts.  Whatever it was would come in its time.  It had ever been thus since the beginning of time.  Now was time for the Ceremony to commence.  Passing her staff to her apprentice, the Dhe’an began her assessment of Felyn’s body.  The girl shivered, closing her eyes and biting her lower lip as the Dhe’an put her hands on the girl’s breasts.  They were plump and firm, nipples already erect.  Running her thumbs over the sensitive nubs the Dhe’an felt the shudder of response.  Sliding her hands down the girl’s sides, she noted the trim waist which flared into pleasing hips.  The Dhe’an nodded approval.  She’d not have her mother’s difficulty bearing children.  The Dhe’an flattened her hand over the girl’s belly and slid a finger down to part her cleft.  The girl whimpered, but held still.  Gently the Dhe’an slipped her finger within, probing until she found the maiden’s barrier.  She smiled.  Withdrawing her finger, she turned to face the People.

{She is untouched,} she said.  {Bathe her and prepare her, but remember there will be no penetration of any kind.}

Cuinn and Chara stepped forward to release Felyn from her bonds.  Together they escorted her to the bathing area where Chara scrubbed her body and washed her hair under Cuinn’s watchful eye.  He knew once they returned to the clearing, he’d have to keep a careful eye on the young men during the preparation time lest someone get carried away.  Chara dried the girl, trying her best to reassure her.  She could feel the girl’s anxiety which lay beneath her brave face.

Cuinn led Felyn back to Meyona Dara’a in the center of the clearing.  She sat down beneath the tree, tucking her feet back, her hands on her lap.  Cuinn took a long golden chain and hooked it to an ankle cuff.  The other end was wrapped around the tree trunk.  He smiled at her reassuringly before he left.  He’d be nearby to keep an eye on things, but it was up to the young people to prepare her for the coming night.  He wasn’t more than ten strides away when the first young man made his approach.

Felyn looked up and shivered not sure what to expect as the young man crept close.  His long black hair was pulled back and tied with a leather thong, his eyes bright blue.  He was pleasing to look at, she thought.  He reached out and ran a fingertip softly down her cheek.  She shivered under his touch.  He leaned forward and brushed a kiss across her mouth.  Her heart pounded.  She’d never been kissed before.  Her parents had kissed her, but that was nothing like this.  He deepened the kiss, his tongue brushing her lips seeking entrance.  Surprised, she pulled away, eyes wide.  He smiled and leaned forward again.  She closed her eyes and let the sensations wash over her.  Deep in his kiss, she paid little heed to his hands, now wandering gently over her body, leaving little trails of desire in their wake.  Flooded in sensation, she was unaware when other hands joined in, stroking, touching, awakening the desire within.  Something warm and wet suckled at a breast and she moaned in pleasure.  Gently, she was pressed back to the ground, the hands and mouths never ceasing their stimulation.  When she felt a weight on her stomach, the memory of the men from the ruined cottage flooded her mind and she panicked.

{Sorry, I’m late, mother,} Kyllan said.  {I was....}

A scream rent the air.

Kyllan saw a tumble of bodies on the ground beneath Meyona Dara’a.  Without thought he headed across the clearing toward them.

At that moment, Ruul burst into the clearing.  Hearing her scream, he started to run.  He got two steps before the watchers who’d been following, grabbed him and pulled him back.

Felyn! he yelled, struggling in the watchers’ grasp.

Kyllan waded into the group on the ground and began pulling the young men away from the woman on the bottom of the pile.  He didn’t know what was going on, but this was unacceptable.  One of the young men swung at him furious at the interruption, but Kyllan ducked and sent him flying.  Seeing the fury on his face, the others scrambled away.  Kyllan stood spread legged over the naked woman on the ground and dared anyone to return.  Kneeling beside her, he attempted to comfort her only to have her skitter away.  Her sobbing touched him deeply as he tried to calm her.

Cuinn had looked up at Felyn’s scream which was followed by Ruul’s bellow.  His indecision lasted long enough for Kyllan to scatter the youths.  He turned to Ruul and the watchers.

{Why didn’t you stop him?} he demanded.

{We tried,} replied one of the men who sported a blackening eye along with several cuts on his face.  {Tooey is still back there unconscious.}

Cuinn sighed and shoved his hair back from his face wondering what more could go wrong this day.

Kyllan sent waves of peace and calmness to the girl through the mind seek.  Slowly her fear eased enough for her to meet his gaze.  He was stunned.  She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.  Even filled with fear and moist with tears, he knew he could drown in those lush green eyes.  He stood mute.

You came, she whispered when their eyes met.

Music sang through the mind seek.

Let me go, Ruul growled.  Let me go to my daughter.  He pulled against the men holding him.

How did you find us? Cuinn said, hoping to change the subject.

I walked, Ruul replied tersely.  Let me go to my daughter.

You can’t, Cuinn replied, then he heard it, the music in the mind seek.  He turned and saw Kyllan and Felyn staring at each other and knew from where it came.  The Ceremony has already begun.

Damn your Ceremony, Ruul growled, struggling again.  That’s my daughter.

Cuinn turned on him.  You profaned the sacred once.  You would do so again? Anger filled his voice.

That’s my baby girl.  Ruul sagged in the watchers’ grip.

She’s also the Chosen, Cuinn replied.  She came of her own free will.  {Where’s the Dhe’an?} Cuinn called out.  {Find the Dhe’an.  Now!}

People scattered looking for the Dhe’an.

{She’s at the Place of Stones, Father,} Corie cried out in alarm.  {She’s lying on the ground and won’t wake up.}

Cuinn growled and rubbed the back of his neck.  Everything was going wrong today.  He pointed at Ruul.  Keep him here, he ordered the men holding him.  He turned and trotted across the clearing stopping briefly at Meyona Dara’a.  Don’t touch her, he said sternly to Kyllan.  Whatever you do – do not touch her.  He trotted on to the Place of Stones.

Stepping into the grotto, he saw the Dhe’an on the ground between the God and Goddess stones.  Nearby lay an empty cup.  She’d drunk the masa’a to seek a vision, but why?  Why now, with the Ceremony beginning?  He knelt beside her and checked for a pulse.  It was steady, although her breathing was shallow.  He started to lift her from the ground when she spoke.

{Ruul.  Urgent.}

Cuinn looked up at Corie, his youngest daughter.  {Go tell the men holding Ruul to bring him here.  Now.}

Corie left at a run.  Cuinn sat on the ground, cradling the Dhe’an not really knowing what else to do.  He reached out to Neela, the Dhe’an’s apprentice, asking for her to come also and bring whatever she might need to help the Dhe’an.

After what seemed an eternity, but was likely only a few minutes, Ruul was escorted into the grotto.  He stopped when he saw the stones.  Cuinn felt his fear radiating through the mind seek.

Ruul, Cuinn snapped.

Ruul tore his gaze from the stones and looked at Cuinn and the Dhe’an.  He didn’t know this place, but it terrified him.  Something had happened here, something he couldn’t remember, didn’t want to remember.  He trembled.  Cuinn cradled the Dhe’an in his lap.  She looked... dead?  No, her chest still rose and fell.  The girl said the Dhe’an wanted him and the men brought him.  They didn’t let him stop and speak with his daughter as they passed by.

The Dhe’an stirred.  Cuinn helped her sit.  When she opened her eyes, they were glazed over.  Whatever she saw was not of this world.

Ruul? her voice was hushed.

Ruul shook off his escorts and crouched beside the old woman.  I’m here.  You asked for me?

Malynd... the children... send them from the City.  The Dhe’an’s eyes were wide now as if she was seeing something terrible.  Send the people from the City.  Now.  As far as they can go.  The ground moves.  Hurry!  Hurry!

When, Grandmother, Cuinn prompted.  When does the ground move?

Her eyes shifted back and forth as if trying to see something just out of sight.  Two? Days?  Her eyes closed and she was silent again.

Ruul stared at Cuinn.  He didn’t know what to believe, what to do.  If what the Dhe’an said was true, then there were two days, maybe, to evacuate the City.  If the ground moved violently the buildings would tumble, those of wood would burn.  No place in the City would be safe, not even the palace.

Cuinn saw Ruul’s hesitation.  The Dhe’an came here and drank the masa’a seeking a vision, he said seriously.  She doesn’t do this often as it can be risky.  Past visions have all come to pass.  You’ve been forewarned.  Now what will you do?

Ruul looked back toward the camp where his daughter was naked and chained to a tree.  He needed to get her, her mother and siblings to safety, but did he have enough time?  His mind whirled.

She’s safe here.  Cuinn spoke softly.  Go.  Send your family here.  Send the people from the City.

Ruul looked at Cuinn again.  He wasn’t sure he trusted the man, but at this point there was little choice.  He sighed.  Lately his choices seemed to be between his daughter and his family... one or the other.

{Guide him to his horse at the cottage,} Cuinn told Ruul’s escorts.  {Wait by the main road for his family.}

Go, Cuinn said to Ruul.

Ruul rose to leave, but stopped just before leaving the grotto.  Turning, he glared at Cuinn and said forcefully, Nobody fucks my little girl.

Once Ruul left the grotto, Cuinn lifted the Dhe’an into his arms and carried her to her tent.  He set her on the furs and left her to the ministrations of Neela, her apprentice.

{If the Dhe’an doesn’t wake in time, will you be able to make the masa’a and conduct the Ceremony?} he asked.  When she nodded he left the tent to confront Kyllan.

Kyllan and Felyn stared at one another, oblivious to everything happening around them.  If the music in the mind seek was a physical thing it would have enveloped them completely.  The spell was broken when Cuinn clapped his hand on Kyllan’s shoulder.  With glazed eyes, Kyllan looked at his father.