The Binding (15 page)

I steal a glance at Lily and wonder how she will do learning our ways. She has some of her mother’s powers . E
ver y now and then I sense her will, but she has so much self doubt. I still don’t know why she won’t ask me questions when I know she wants to.

I shake my head and stare at the road before us. Hwy 15 will take us nor th to Ephraim in a straight shot, but we will be taking a brief detour downtown. My meeting with Mareck is not until later to night and , unfortunately, there is no time for sightseeing. If things don’t go as planned with Mareck, then I need Julia and Lily rested and ready for the rest of the trip.
It’s too dangerous to stay at one of the main hotels, so I instruct Alorn to find a motel off the Strip.
In the next day or two we will be without such accommodations, and Julia and Lily will have to take advantage of the little we will have tonight before getting back on the road again.

As I turn into the parking lot of the motel that Alorn has selected, Julia asks why we’re staying here. I know they had expected to stay at one of the main hotels and any other time, I would have indulged them . When I tell her why, Lily is suddenly interested. In fact, when she asks if I was leaving her, the concern in her eyes made things feel, I don ’
t know …
right again.
K
nowing she’s concern ed about me makes me feel oddly good inside.

I leave them and make my way to Phoris and Alorn. Mellis is to stay with Lily and Tolan will see to Julia. I watch Tolan as he makes his way to Julia’s side of the SUV
and I have to smile to myself.
I’ve never seen Tolan so nervous and excited at the same time.
I will speak to father about allowing this relationship to happen, preferably without having to exile my brother.

“Alorn,” I call as I walk up to him, “did you find Mareck’s location on the map?”

“Yes. It took a minute to follow the streams, but I was able to locate the current location.
It’s at the Mandalay , h igh r oller s uite,” he replies, scratching the back of his ears through the beanie material.

“Good. You and I will get the rooms situated. Phoris,” I turn to my big cousin, “have you word on where the Ange are?”

Softly
he answers, “No, Tharin. Whoever is assisting them is as powerful as you say. I wasn’t even able to sense the Demlok back in the desert.”

“Both Tolan and I barely sensed it , and I only sensed it because Tolan was right beside me.”
It’s true. I should have sensed it s presence on my own , way before it got too close .
I’m honest enough to admit that.
It’s because of the connection we share as twins that our senses are enhanced . As the stronger of the two , I was able to feel its presence before Tolan, but nevertheless, I would have missed it completely until it was too late.

W
hoever conjured up the Demlok was able to cloak it , allowing only the wearer of the Bells of Sheni to see it.
I’ve been playing it over and over again in my head.
Harlu didn’t seem to care that Lucas is dead and that this Falsad has taken over his body and mind . I n fact, I sensed he has no fear of this Falsad at all.
Even if Falsad succeeds in having Lily killed , is able to rally supporters under the guise of Lucas and the Willow Clan throne accepts him …
he would still be defeated . The coup would be bloody and senseless .
My father would prefer to avoid any bloodshed among the clans. He would rather that war not be the outcome.
There is a larger plan here, but I don’t know what it is. Everything depends on Lily and me .

I watch her as I make my way to the main office with Alorn at my side . She and Mellis seem to have developed a friendship, which means she trusts him. Unlike the rest of the ride to Las Vegas from Primm, she seems talkative all of a sudden. It should n’t matter to me that they ha ve become friends . She will have to be close to others in Velesi and it might as well be with someone I trust. Then why is it that the sight of him holding her hand irks the hell out of me? I walk on ignoring them, not that they notice.

The small office is dark and dingy but surprisingly neat. The smell of musty old carpets and drapes that have not been aired for a while mixes with the smell of Pine -
Sol and chlorine. The cloying smell of the office is stifling and even though the air conditioner is on, the mugginess from outside is now trap ped inside with us just from opening the door .

We look
around as Alorn walks over to the desk . He’s just about to strike the small desk bell when a short man of about five-foot nothing enters from a back room.
He’s round, with rolls of fat, layer upon layer of it, hanging from under his chin to his swollen feet that are fitted into shoes two sizes too small. He limps his way over to us and I recognize his scent instantly. I notice Alorn stepping back with a distaste ful look on his face. A troll.

When Kalinest bonded the Thirteen Clans to each other, he separated the denizens of Velesi and severed the realm from the realm of man. However, there were those who chose to remain in this realm to find their own fortune and there were many who made it. Obviously, the ancestors of this troll were not part of that group.

“Humph,” he greets as he reaches the registration desk, “Sidhe from Velesi are you?” He sneers as he looks us over , and in return we look down at him stone—
face and without greeting.

“I can smell Mother Earth on you,” he continues .
“
F
resh from Velesi.” After a moment he asks, “What do you want?”

“
Two rooms ,” answers Alorn.

“I don’t take Velesi money here, it’s useless,” remarks the troll his eyes wearily on Alorn.

Alorn pulls from his side pocket a diamond the size of a quarter.
It’s worth fifty of the troll’s motel and then some. The troll’s eyes widen greedily as he licks his thin lips. When he reaches out for the small fortune, Alorn snaps it up in a tight fist, holding it only inches from the troll’s reach.

“The diamond is yours,” I finally say. He shifts his eyes from me to Alorn’s close d fist . He continues to listen as I say , “
F
or two rooms, adjoining, a few hours…and some discretion.”

His attitude changes to one of obscene servitude. “But of course, your highness. I have two available for you.”

I raise my brow at him and after a moment he insolently says, “Yes, Prince Tharin, I know who you are. We are still Velesian after all.” The sneer returns to his face and in a blink of an eye he finds the tip of Alorn’s Shadika knife digging painfully into one of his large jowl s .

“I’m sorry your highness. Please excuse my insolence , ”
squeaks the troll, his fat hands up in the air, his large eyes, covered with several moles, staring fearfully at Alorn.

When neither Alorn nor I make a move to speak, he continues on quickly, “My name is Konalt , and I didn’t mean any disrespect.”

“How do you know me?” I ask quietly. His eyes become less worried and more fearful as the tone of my voice finally registers in his little brain.

“It’s all over the spheres, your highness. Word is out that you have come for the missing princess, the daughter of Senestra.” He swallows hard as Alorn put s more pressure on the knife.

When Alorn and I continue to stand without speaking he goes on to say, “There’s a reward, a bounty, for any information that would lead to your capture.”

“Who?” I ask not raising my voice.

“I…I don’t know. It came through the spheres and those who don’t possess one heard it by word of mouth.”

“How much?”

“Five million.”

His eyes
shift to the window and focus on Julia standing close to Tolan. Forgetting about Alorn’s blade, he sneers again as he says, “Ah, the princess herself. You do me honor in allowing me to provide shelter for the both of you and for Prince Tolan. What an honor indeed.”

Alorn presses his arm lightly forward, this time drawing blood. Konalt squeals again, standing very still not saying another word.

“We will take our business elsewhere .” I lean toward him so he doesn’t misunders tand my meaning, I quiet ly say, “
A nd if we should come into some trouble before reaching Vele si, we will be back. All of us; and next time, I will not keep my cousin from doing what he so wishes to do now.”

Alorn’s
blade disappears as quickly as it appeared. Konalt puts a hand to his throat swallowing hard. Before we take a step away, he holds out his other hand and says, “Wait! Prince Tharin, please.”

He reaches for a drawer and Alorn’s gun is out in an instant, aim ed at the troll’s head. He raises his hands again and speaks quickly, “I have something for you, for atonement.”

Alorn waves his gun slightly indicating that Konalt move to the side.
The troll backs away as Alorn walks around the counter to the drawer the troll had been reaching for. He opens it slowly only to find a brown sphere. He steps back and stands a few feet from both the drawer and Konalt. I do the same. Nodding his head toward the sphere, Alorn indicates for Konalt to activate it.

Spheres are very dangerous if they a re not clear or pure white. The spheres are mainly used among the royalty of the Thirteen Clans , as they are created using pure energy. Only those with strong enough wills and the knowledge of alchemy know how to create these spheres . S
ince alchemy is unpredictable and dangerous , its use was outlawed centuries ago, with the exception of the royal families of each Clan. Any other color to the sphere indicates that the sender or the receiver who created it isn’t of royal blood . It also means they don’t have the full knowledge of alchemy or the will to produce a pure white ball. Therefore, any colored sphere is unpredictable and dangerous.

Konalt sighs heavily as he reaches for the sphere. Concentrating hard , he spins the sphere between his pudgy hands until it floats before him. After a moment, the image from the sphere appears and a hooded person waits quietly.

“Oh, damn it,” curses the troll as he hits the sphere with both hands. Both Alorn and I step back instinctively, but it doesn’t explode. Instead , it blinks out momentarily then springs back to life with the hooded face speaking in troll-tongue. Konalt’s fingers work on the sphere and once again it blinks out. This time when the hooded face reappears he’s speaking in the neutral tongue of Velesi.

“…and any information on the Twin Lights that results in their detainment will receive five million dollars, per p rince. My Lord is very generous, so if the brothers are taken alive, there will be an added bonus of five million dollars…per p rince. We will send…” then the sphere goes black and remains that way.

“Damn thing goes out at that point,” said Konalt as he hits the sphere once again. The click of Alorn’s gun stops the troll from striking it again. He looks toward my cousin, breathing laboriously. He sighs, grabs the sphere , and places it back in the drawer.

“How do you get in contact with them when you’ve detained us,” I ask.

The fat troll shrugs his heavy shoulders and says, “I don ’
t know. I could never get pas t that last part without the sphere going black on me . T
hat’s why it’s in the drawer.”

“Why show me this,” I ask staring at him steadily.

He shrugs his shoulders again, “In hopes that you’ll change your mind about staying here.”

“Ah,” I reply, “and , of course , the payment for your hospitality has nothing to do with it?”

The greasy smile on his face is enough to make me want to shoot him myself . He replies , “The thought did occur to me , your h ighness . Hopefully, by showing you the bounty on your heads, you’ll trust me enough to stay in my humble abode.”

“I don’t trust him,” says Alorn quietly. “I think I should take him out so we won’t have to worry about looking over our shoulders.”

If there is anything true about trolls , it’s this : T
hey are born liars. They can’t help themselves; it’s ingrained in their genetic makeup. If Konalt is telling the truth about the sphere, then he doesn’t have a way to communicate back to the hooded messenger. However, that doesn’t mean that there’s not another sphere hidden somewhere else . Perhaps a sphere not colored as the one in his top drawer.

“As I said,
we will find accommodations elsewhere.” I give Alorn a look and he flicks something to Konalt, who despite his size , quickly catch es the small object. When he ope ns his hand, a small ruby sits i n his palm. His greedy eyes grow wide and he licks his lips again. The small gem is not worth the weight of the diamond, but instead of buying fifty of his buildings, it would at least buy him one more with all the furnishings.

“Do you accept the payment for the information you ha ve just shared with us?” I ask quietly.

“Yes, yes
, I accept!” answers Konalt nodding his head, causing all his jowls to shake with greed, his eyes never leaving the gem.

“Done
, ” I state quietly and then , “You’ve accepted the gem of the Oak Clan in payment of a service done in good faith. Should you betray us in any way that will cause us harm in any form, the gem will find your heart and explode it into a thousand pieces.” The tro ll slowly turns his head toward me as I continue, “You can give it away, lose it or even sell it . It doesn’t matter. The gem will travel thousands of miles and go through ten feet of steel or concrete to find your heart, and you will die for your betrayal. That is the stipulation of accepting the gem of the Oak Clan.”