Ties That Bind: a New Adult Fantasy Novel (The Spire Chronicles Book 2) (17 page)

“Technically, it was yesterday. And she was the one sneaking around our territory, so we took her. We weren’t going to torture her, though.” The boy sounded offended, as if the idea of them torturing anyone was impossible. Which was weird since they
had
tortured those hunters. They deserved it if they really were the ones behind this, but still. “That hole’s been sealed, by the way. No sneaking back in for you.”

“Why was there even a tunnel there, anyways?” I asked.

Alex groaned. “Morgan.”

“What? I’m curious; it was a really long tunnel.”

“I know, right? I crawled through it to see where it led and thought it would never end,” said the boy. “We aren’t sure what it’s for, though. Either the kids dug a tunnel to sneak into the storeroom and steal extra food, or they dug it from the storeroom to sneak out, which is stupid because we don’t usually have–”

Alex interrupted him. “Why are you here?”

“To talk…?”

“You kidnapped, tortured, and killed a group of hunters–”

“They were killing us.”

“The hell they were!”

“What do you think?” the boy asked.

“I just–”

“Not you.” He scoffed. “Her. Morgan.”

I pursed my lips at the expectant look Alex gave me. I placed a hand on his arm and gave him the most open-hearted look I could manage. “Alex, I think he’s telling the truth.”

The look of betrayal on his face broke my heart, but not as much as when he ripped his arm out of my grasp, reeling away from me. “Are you fucking serious?”

I held up my hands in a placating gesture. “Let me explain.”

“Explain? You want to justify the torture and murder–”

“Sure, when it happens to your kind it’s ‘torture and murder,’” said the boy. “But when it’s Garou or Protean being mutilated, then it’s just whatever, right?”

Alex let out a slow, deep exhale. “That isn’t what I said.”

“Enough.” I took a step towards Alex, flinching when he backed away. “We all want the killing to stop, right? Alex, you know that we can’t give up an opportunity to hear their side–”

“Fuck. That.”

“Oh my God.” I gaped at him. “You are being a child.”

“I’m acting exactly like you do when you’re around your father.”

“Fuck you,” I snapped. “That’s different.”

“What’s wrong with him?” the boy asked.

“You tortured my best friend!”

“Not you. Her father. He’s such a nice guy.”

“You know my father?” I frowned. “You
like
my father?”

“Yeah, he’s cool.”

“Then why aren’t you talking to him instead?” Alex asked. “Why close off?”

“Um, because hunters are killing our kind and it’s sort of rubbing people the wrong way? Like, dude, you don’t want to speak with us because we killed your friends. Why would we want to speak with you?”

Alex was radiating a hateful anger so intense I had to take a step back. “Okay, let’s take this one step at a time. First–” I looked at the figure “–you come out.” I turned back to Alex. “Let’s just hear him out. Please.”

Alex worked his jaw side to side, his lips pursed so tightly I was afraid he’d swallow them. After a bout of silence, he finally nodded.

“Fine,” the boy grumbled as he stepped forward.

He was the poster child for boyish good looks. He had a strong, square jaw, high cheekbones, full lips, and big blue eyes. On his head were soft-looking blond curls. His clothing consisted of a plain t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. All in all, he looked like a perfectly normal boy…that could turn into an uber-sized wolf.

He waved and gave us a polite smile. “Hi.”

Aw, he is the cutest little thing.
I waved back. “Hi.”

“Speak your piece and leave.” Alex looked like he was sucking on a lemon.

The boy pursed his lips but forced his smile to remain. “Nice to meet you, too.”

I inched my way over so I was standing between them. “What’s your name?”

His smile widened when he looked back at me. “Tamlin. And I’m not actually the one who wants to speak with you, though I wouldn’t mind a chance to get to know you better afterwards,” he added with a coy wink.

Seriously, he was too cute. And I meant that in a general way, not a cougar way. The scowl Alex had made it clear he disagreed.

“But for now,” the boy continued, “you’ll have to come with me.”

“The hell she will.” Alex pulled me back to him. “I’m taking you home.”

“Chill out, Romeo,” said Tamlin. “It’s just a chat.”

“Like it was just ‘torture’?” Alex shot back.

“I explained that.”

“You explained nothing.” Alex began to steer me back to the main road. “You just expect us to take you at your word.”

“The tribe leader wants your help, Morgan,” said Tamlin. “You can bring your guard dog, too, if you want.”

I wanted to comment on a werewolf making a dog joke, but I was too worried about how Alex would react to the nickname. To his credit, he didn’t flip out like I expected. Instead, he stopped in his tracks and took in a deep breath. He didn’t say anything, just nodded at Tamlin, his jaw back in full Nutcracker mode. My arm felt cold when he let go in favor of following the werewolf. I trailed after them, not looking forward to trekking through the woods again.

“How did you find me?” I asked.

“The shaman,” Tamlin called over his shoulder.

“I was actually asking Alex.” Awkward.

Tamlin ran a hand through his hair. “Awkward.”

“You two could be twins,” Alex mumbled. “As for how I found you, the guard called me. Well, he called your father. When you ran off earlier, Sir Wallace sent the guards out to find you. The guard recognized the photo.”

“Sullivan has photos of me?” My brows drew together. “Current photos?”

“No, I do.”

“Oh.” Doubly awkward.

“Doubly awkward,” Tamlin whispered loudly.
Wow, that is really uncanny.

“What were you thinking, anyway?” said Alex. “You just ran off. Do you have any idea how worried we were?”

“We?” I said.

I summoned up some ghost lights to help me see. The boys may have been happy feeling like they were walking through the Abyss, but I wasn’t dealing with that shit. Though I guess it wasn’t that dark for Tamlin – wolfy senses and all.

“Your father cares about you more than you think,” Alex said. A ghost light fluttered up to his face and he wrinkled his nose as it bounced off him. “Are you doing that on purpose?”

“I’m not doing it. Maybe they just like you because they’re
ghost
lights,” I teased, hoping his mood would lighten up a bit.

“Mhm,” he said dryly. He didn’t seem
more
upset, so I decided to call it a draw.

“Hey, Tamlin,” I called. “No offense, but what exactly is our guarantee that you won’t kill us?”

“Well, I did promise you wouldn’t be hurt.”

“Not really,” I said. “You just said I wouldn’t be eaten.”

“Oh. Oops.” Tamlin ran a hand through his hair again in what I assumed was a nervous habit. “Well, the tribe leader and shaman both pass on their sworn oath that no harm will come to you, and that you will be allowed to leave unharmed no matter what your decision.” He turned to give me a cheeky smile. “I give you my word, too, if that helps.”

I wanted to pinch his cheeks, that’s how precious he was. Alex did not appear to be as charmed by the young Garou as I was, but he hadn’t tried to kill him yet. That was something. I’m pretty sure he’s thought of at least six ways to do it, though. How many ways
are
there to kill a werewolf? Would it be inappropriate to ask? Probably.

Tamlin moved confidently through the woods, not making a sound. His movements were graceful, as if he was part of the woods themselves. He practically glided through the underbrush like it was water. There was a small smile on his face the entire time, and I wasn’t sure if it was because he was actually enjoying himself or if that was just his default expression. He seemed like an easy-going kind of guy, so maybe it was the latter.

Now that there wasn’t a mutilated body for me to examine, I could appreciate the forest at night. The air was fresher during the witching hour and the scent of pine got stronger the farther we traveled. I took a deep breath in to fully appreciate the smell.

I wasn’t sure where he was leading us, though I assumed it would be back to the boundary line we discovered earlier. It was hard to believe that it had been twenty-four hours since we were last out here; it felt more like years. The familiar hum of magic hit me, and I knelt down to touch the ground again.

“Boundary spell,” said Tamlin. “The shaman uses it to prevent unwanted guests from stumbling upon us, though I guess you know that already.”

I nodded. “Garou magic, right?”

“The only kind we use. Well, the only kind magic users in our tribe use.”

“You can’t use magic?” I asked.

Tamlin shook his head. “Nah. Disappointed my mom a little, but she said it wasn’t a big surprise considering who my dad is.”

“Your father isn’t magical?” I asked, looking back at Alex.

He didn’t seem to be interested in our conversation at all. Instead, he was boring holes in the ground to the point where I was worried he’d set the leaves on fire. Hearing your best friend may be behind skinning and gutting a bunch of seemingly innocent people would hurt anyone. I wanted to comfort him, to help, but he seemed to shrink away whenever I made the slightest move to get close.

“Nope,” said Tamlin. “It wouldn’t have mattered if he was Garou, but whatever. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to give me control of fire while we live in a forest.”

I peered at him. So, this is what I would be like as a guy. A werewolf guy. With nice hair. A half-breed, though? First a reaper and now him; I’m meeting all sorts of interesting people tonight.

“So, does the spell differentiate by species or…?”

“The shaman knows if the person passing through is human or Garou – or anything, really. The spell is set to only allow specific people entry. Anyone else just gets sent around in circles.”

That was pretty damn handy. It would’ve been great to have when Lily and I were kids making treehouses, that was for sure.

We continued our journey in peace. I basked in the magic emanating from the earth, letting it flow through me like a beautifully written piece of music playing in my ears. The ebb and flow was invigorating. It wasn’t until Tamlin waved a hand in my face that I realized I had stopped walking.

“Ley line?” he asked.

“Um, yeah.” I dropped my eyes, embarrassed.

“Don’t worry about it. Happens to all the magic users here. Same for casters in the Levin tribe. Their camp is on the opposite side of the ley line’s heart.”

“I knew it,” I said with a grin. “So, what’s the site of the heart like?”

Tamlin shrugged. “Dunno. Only the shamans are allowed there.”

A soft orange glow I recognized as fire emanated from the horizon, and the soft mumblings of people drifted around from farther ahead. Tamlin turned around and held a hand out toward the lights.

“We’re here.”

11

The Garou settlement was surprising for a town in the middle of the woods. It was big and…civilized. There were log cabins laid out in a circular pattern around the giant bonfire in the middle of the town. The cabins on the right appeared to be for commercial use, with various knickknacks on display, and a few people cleaning up and stacking chairs despite the late hour. The cabins on the left were dark, with only one or two windows lit up. Residential homes. The crackling of the bonfire and the rustling of a broom across a wooden floor were the only sounds outside of our footsteps.

Despite the suspicious looks we received, the village looked like a pleasant place to live; simple but satisfying. My chest ached at the thought of how much they’ve suffered lately. How many of those cabins were missing people? How many children like Alice’s were missing their parents? What was happening with Alice’s son, anyway? His father was in jail and his mother was gone – who was taking caring of him?

How about the Protean village? Was it the same? How had they felt upon discovering the first mutilated body? Had it been someone like Alice – a wife, a mother? All these thoughts weighed me down like a pair of thousand ton fists pulling at my insides.

Tamlin led us past the buildings and around the bonfire to a larger home at the end of the path, almost out of range of the flame’s light. He held the door open for us and we stepped inside. Well, I stepped inside. Alex hovered around the doorway looking like he’d rather chew his arm off.

The young Garou looked between us awkwardly. “This would probably be a bad time to ask you to hand over your weapons.”

Alex’s eyes widened and he turned to look at Tamlin as if he’d grown a second head. “Are you insane?”

“Depends on who you ask,” he said. “…Maybe you
shouldn’t
meet my mother. Look, don’t worry, you’ve got Morgan’s magic to–”

“Protect against a herd of werewolves that are resistant to magic?” he asked.

“We’re actually a ‘pack.’ And I already promised you weren’t going to be hurt.” Tamlin leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms. “Either give up your weapons or wait outside.”

With a look that promised a painful disemboweling, Alex removed his sword and shoved it at Tamlin. There was a small snap as he unholstered his gun and handed that over, too. Satisfied, Tamlin led us to a small but cozily decorated sitting room where a gruff-looking man was waiting.