Path Of The Broken

23. Perverted Bonds-1

23

Perverted Bonds

Alex restlessly hunted for the Sundered when he sensed that roiling mess of madness that was not quite the same as some others of his kind. His movement through the veil slowed, and he concentrated moving from that place in between the worlds back into the real world. He did it smoothly and slowly, never taking his eyes off the sobbing man, who sat with his back against the tree and his head cradled in his arms. Alex just stood there quietly, waiting for the Sundered One to noticed his presence; he was sure he would eventually.

If he didn’t know it would startle the man, Alex would have laughed. Even a couple of months ago, a couple of weeks ago, he never would have contemplated doing this. He’d always viewed the Sundered Ones as being dangerous, like rabid animals that had to be put down. Now, because of his own path, he knew that perhaps going through transition wasn't as simple as he'd thought. Not everyone sank to madness, or at least not everyone descended into madness and stayed there. This man was not totally crazy, yet his mind imprint glowed and stuttered, similar yet not so similar to the crazy ones of their kind. Alex frowned and wondered if he could be reached rather than just killed.

Finally, the man started and sprang to his feet, immediately going into a fighting crouch, his hands raised in front of him, balled into fists, yet empty of any weapons. An inarticulate growl escaped from his mouth, echoed by his mind voice as he looked at Alex with wide eyes.

Alex drew in a little of the power of the veil, using it to put a barrier between him and the man and, remembering how Isabella had pulled him back from madness, sent soothing thoughts out, trying to get the man to relax. The Sundered in front of him seemed to lose some internal struggle as he screamed and ran at Alex. Alex didn’t even flinch as the man came to a halt, impacting with a barrier he couldn’t understand, and fell to the ground, obviously stunned.

Alex filtered through the jumble of images and rambling thoughts from the man's mind and had a moment of recognition. He'd seen this man before, had watched as he’d succumbed to madness, killing his family before running off into the forest. It had seemed like almost a lifetime ago now. He was shocked that he was still alive.

“Calm down. Devon, isn’t it?” Alex spoke calmly, projecting authority, looking sadly at the seemingly broken and confused man. Alex frowned once more as Devon struggled obviously with himself, searching for words. Then Alex smiled slightly and imposed a barrier around his mind, cutting him off from what must be the constant whispering voices of the other Tainted running through his head. The difference was almost immediate and Devon cried out in relief, almost curling into a ball on the ground.

Alex felt a surge in the veil and smiled as he recognised Isabella; she'd found him, as she often seemed to do. How she managed to track him so well was a conversation he needed to have with her another time. He knew she was there and sensed her sudden interest and sadness at the quivering mess of what had once been a man. Alex moved forward, one foot carefully placed before the other, closing the distance between him and Devon. He sank down on one knee near the sobbing man, ignoring the bite of twigs and a stone from the forest floor through his trousers. Alex placed a hand on Devon's shoulder as he sobbed and just sat there, letting him cry out his fear, sorrow and anger. Alex wasn’t sure how long he sat there, projecting soothing, calming thoughts and emotions at him, but eventually he calmed down. Alex was under no illusion, though. His calm was artificially imposed in part due to the barrier that Alex was maintaining. His mind was still switching between healthy, sane and angry, chaotic.

“You don’t know what I’ve done, what I am.” Devon’s voice was low and gravelly with raw emotion. “I couldn’t stand it anymore. I killed them. I didn’t mean to…” The man stopped and looked up at him, frowning. “How do you know my name?”

“I know who and what you are, Devon. You bear the Taint, you succumbed to madness.” Alex paused as the man groaned and he caught the flashing images from his mind as he flashed back to his killing frenzy. “Shh, you were not in control. No one taught you how to control what you are. It’s not your fault.”

Alex continued to project calmness and keep his barrier on Devon’s mind, sheltering him from the whispering, screaming voices that were not his own. That, at least for now, seemed to be helping him stay reasonably calm. Alex grimaced as he felt Devon stiffen at the realisation that he was being controlled.

Devon glared at Alex, his sorrow fading fast to the anger that was bubbling up in him.

“What are you doing to me, how are you doing it?” Devon started and pushed himself back away from Alex, then froze, staring behind Alex.

Alex grinned, knowing that the broken man had just noticed Isabella behind him. He knew how startling it was to see. She also had drawn in her not inconsiderable power and he had no doubt that she would use it if she needed to.

Devon snarled, his mind snapping, spiralling into turmoil. He lurched and, in a surge of raw, uncontrolled power, wrenched himself from Alex's control, fleeing into the veil.

Alex sighed, looking over at Isabella.

Isabella closed the distance between them. Placing her arms around his shoulders, she pulled him into an embrace.

He is Broken, Alex. There isn’t much that you could do that would reach him.

“I’m not so sure, Isabella. There was something wrong. I don’t think he was Broken, as you put it.”

“Not all the Broken are capable of mending, Alex.”

Alex heard the sympathy in Isabella’s tone. Suddenly he felt guilty, certain she remembered all the times in the past where a piece of her had been crushed to discover yet another Broken that she couldn’t help. Yet he couldn’t help that niggling part of his brain that insisted that this wasn’t the same.

“I can’t help but track the Sundered down, Isabella. Something about him is similar to the Sundered.”

“I’m sorry, Alex. I have other things I must attend to. I’ll catch up with you later.” Isabella pulled his head down and brushed his lips with her own.

Alex sighed, sure that he’d upset her with his own uncertainty. He pushed a little of his remorse at her and was rewarded with her smile before she turned, heading off into the veil.

* * * *

Simon swore as he saw a woman, obviously Kin, with Alex. He wanted Alex to see him as a friend, to trust him without another getting in the way. Simon sighed. Today was not the day when that was going to happen. Pushing his irritation aside, he watched as Alex departed through the veil and, shrugging, decided to follow. He had a little more time before he had to be back.

Simon stiffened, barely aware in that split moment before he was hauled back to face the woman that had been with Alex. Only this time he gasped. She glowed. A part of his mind froze. The woman who’d been with Alex wasn’t Kin. She was Elder.

“Who are you? Why are you prying where you are not wanted?” The Elder’s voice was cold, the hint of anger not that well restrained.

Simon licked his lips, his mind racing. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interfere. I’m a friend of his uncle’s. I said I’d check in on Alex, look out for him.”

Simon allowed himself to babble, shunting aside the knowledge that it was not far from the truth. He may have been numbered as a member of the Cohort in his day, but that didn’t mean he wanted to go up against an angry Elder. He swore internally, keeping his annoyance to himself.

The Elder’s eyes narrowed as she looked at him. “Go. If I catch you around again, I will kill you.”

The anger glowing in the Elder’s eyes left Simon with no doubt that she was serious in her threat. Feeling her release her hold on him, Simon wasted no time in fleeing through the veil, determined to put as much distance between him and the Elder as possible.