Desa Kincaid Collection

Chapter 8

The small, golden ring glowed with a soft orange light, casting shadows over the trees of this small glade. Wind sighed through fluttering leaves, and every now and then, he heard the skitter of some animal moving through the underbrush.

Tommy sat on a log with his hands on his knees, frowning into his lap. “Everything is going wrong,” he whispered. “No matter how hard I try, I can"t keep it together.”

Sebastian was gone. Less than a week ago, Tommy had been prepared to die for the man he loved, and now that man had abandoned him. He was hunted by his own brother. He would never see his home again.

Was he really such a terrible man? Was loving another man so great a sin that the Almighty himself would turn all of his wrath upon Tommy? Something deep inside of him wanted to say no, but he felt broken.

He had felt a brief flicker of hope when Sebastian came running to join them, but that had died when Desa Kincaid refused to stop for him. Maybe it was wrong to say that Sebastian had abandoned him.

No, he had abandoned Sebastian.

heThere was barely a sound as Desa stepped into the light of the glowing ring. She had removed her duster, revealing a sleeveless shirt beneath, and a sheen of sweat coated her face and upper arms. “It"s done,” she declared. “I"ve Infused my supplies with a new connection to the Ether.”

Pressing his lips together, Tommy nodded. He felt numb inside. Just a few hours ago, the prospect of learning Field Binding had seemed enticing, but now...Well, he had committed himself to the path of sin. There was no sense in being squeamish now.

Desa stood before him with fists on her hips, a stern expression on her face. “What is it?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “You look uneasy.”

“It"s nothing.”

“I doubt that.”

Hunching over, Tommy set his elbows on his thighs and then buried his face in his hands. He split his fingers apart to look at her. “Did we really have to leave Sebastian to the mercy of that crowd?”

Desa eased herself onto the log across from him, folding her arms and letting out a breath. “The alternative would have been to put ourselves at the mercy of that crowd,” she replied. “Field Binding can only do so much to protect us.”

ourselves“But Sebastian-”

“Would have left at the earliest opportunity,” Desa insisted. “I know that you want to trust him, Tommy, but I"ve seen his kind before.”

Tommy felt his mouth tighten, but he said nothing. A tear slid over his cheek in a hot, sticky trail. Maybe Desa was right. Sebastian had been kicking up a fuss during their journey to Glad Meadows. Just a few days ago, Tommy had proclaimed that Sebastian could go if he wanted to go, but he would stay with Desa Kincaid. How could he have been so certain then and so full of doubt now? “How does it work?” he said at last.

“Field Binding?”

Tommy nodded.

Sitting up straight with hands gripping the surface of her log, Desa turned her face up to the starry sky. “The Ether is part of the very fabric of reality,” she said. “You might say it"s a holdover from Creation itself.”

“Left by the Almighty?”

Desa grimaced, shaking her head. “The Almighty"s a myth,” she said. “As I told you, this world was created by two goddesses: Mercy, and Vengeance. Mercy to give energy and Vengeance to take it, and Field Binding a balance between them.”

Clasping his chin in one hand, Tommy shut his eyes and considered that. “So, this Ether you speak of...It"s...”

“No one knows for sure exactly what it is,” Desa explained. “You might think of it as a remnant of the goddesses. But it connects the souls of all humankind. With enough discipline, anyone can learn to commune with the Ether.”

what“Anyone?”

“Anyone.”

“Even me?”

Desa"s smile was kindly. Maybe even fond. Either way, it was enough to take the edge of Tommy"s pain. “Yes, even you,” she said. “I would not have offered to teach you if I did not know that you could do it. But it won"t be easy. Yes, some people learn Field Binding very quickly, but for others, it takes years of practice.”

“How do I begin?”

Desa stood up with a grunt, as if her bones ached, then stretched and finally strode over to him. “You must begin by training your mind,” she said. “You will meditate for at least half an hour at night before sleep.”

Tommy looked up with uncertainty plain on his face. “How should I do that?” he asked. “I don"t really know what meditation is or how I should go about doing it, but I"m willing to try if-”

“It"s fairly simple,” Desa cut in. “Repeat a mantra quietly to your yourself. Make it something simple. One, two, three, four, five should suffice.”

So, he tried.

One, two, three, four, five. Was he supposed to feel something? One, two, three, four, five. Goodness, this was painfully dull. Was he really supposed to sit here for half an hour, just repeating numbers like a toddler? One, two, three, four, five. It was so hard to keep his mind focused on the task.

He powered through it as best he could, but when he finally gave up in frustration after what must have been, at most, ten minutes, he only felt exasperated and annoyed. A cynical thought occurred to him. Was this really the way to learn Field Binding? Or was Desa just stringing him along?

reallyHe curled up in his bedroll and fell into a fitful sleep.

Come morning, Tommy woke to find the glade teaming with life. In the last week or so, the trees had sprouted thick green leaves, and now they fluttered in the breeze of a warm spring morning. The sky was a bright, vibrant blue.

Desa was crouching with her back turned, but he could see steam rising from the pot she tended. So, there would be tea, at least. His stomach was aching with hunger, but hot tea might settle it a little and...Did he smell roasted rabbit?

He looked around to find that there was indeed a rabbit roasting on a spit that Desa had set up over a...Well, not a fire. She appeared to be using three of her Infused coins to cook their breakfast. Tommy could feel the heat from here.

He felt his mouth stretch into a yawn, then winced and sat up with a hand pressed to his forehead. Gently, he massaged the fog out of his brain.

“Good morning,” Desa said without looking.

“Morning.”

Without having to be told, he got up, stretched and then made his way over to the spot where Midnight waited patiently. The stallion gave him a nonchalant glance and then remained still while Tommy fetched cups and ground tea leaves from the saddlebags.

He delivered them to Desa.

Her lips curled into a small smile as she filled one cup with leaves and then lifted the pot to carefully pour water on top. “Let that steep a moment,” she said, handing the cup to Tommy. “It seems you made a good start last night.”

Tommy wrinkled his nose, then shook his head in distaste. “A good start?” he said. “I barely managed ten minutes, and the whole time I felt like an i***t reciting lessons that his mother taught him as a child.”

Desa filled the other cup, inhaling the aroma that wafted upward. “That, my friend, is how everyone begins,” she said. “Meditation is a difficult skill to master. But if you"re feeling bored, it probably means you"re doing well.”

“Rabbit for breakfast?”

“I had hoped to purchase some supplies in Glad Meadows,” Desa explained. “But your brother robbed us of that opportunity.”

“I"m sorry.”

Lifting the cup to her lips, Desa sipped her tea with a satisfied murmur. “And why should you feel sorry?” she asked. “You are not responsible for what he does, Tommy.”

“I know.”

“Do try to remember it.”

The rabbit was crispy and juicy and delicious. Tommy savoured every last bite and licked his fingers clean afterward. With a full belly, he was tempted to just rest his head against a tree trunk and sleep a little longer. He briefly entertained the idea of giving up on civilization altogether and living peacefully in these woods. It was pure foolishness, of course, but civilization seemed to despise him...And Desa could teach him to hunt rabbit.

He put such notions out of his head and began packing their things to continue their journey southward. Another week or so on the road, and they would reach the grand city of Ofalla. Tommy had always wanted to see it.

But he missed Sebastian.

Taking one last look at their campsite, Desa nodded to herself. “All right,” she said. “Let"s get-”

Something was wrong.

Drawing her pistol in a flash, she whirled around and pointed its barrel at a small thicket of trees. Leafy branches drooped low, making it hard to see anything beyond the two elms that grew so close together, they were almost twined around one another. But someone was in there. “Come out.”

The branches rustled, and the woman from the inn stepped out into the open. It took a moment for Desa to remember her name. Miri. Tall and slim, she wore her dungarees, her duster and that wide-brimmed hat. And she glared at Desa with all the indignation of a woman who had caught some fool boy peeping on her bath. “Well, now, ain"t this just a fine coincidence: me finding you out here?”

Tommy was adjusting Midnight"s bridle when he heard Miri"s voice. The poor lad spun around with a start and reached for his belt knife. A moment later, he let out a deep breath of air.

Desa holstered her weapon.

Crossing her arms, she stepped forward and looked up to meet the other woman"s eyes. “Why are you following us?” she asked. “More importantly, why are you skulking in the bushes instead of announcing yourself?”

“My word, I ain"t never been so insulted!” Miri protested. “You think a lady such as myself is in the habit of skulking?”

“You were in the bushes.”

wereMiri shrugged her shoulders. “Out for a simple morning stroll, is all,” she insisted. “I can"t help it if I wandered through the woods and got lost. Heard a man talkin", and I thought I"d head that way.”

Desa covered her face with one hand, gently massaging her eyelids. “We don"t have time for this,” she muttered into her palm. “If you wish to skulk, by all means, do so. But you will leave my companion and me to our business.”

“Speaking of your companions, maybe you"d like to have the other one back?”

Tommy perked up at that.

Jerking a thumb back over her shoulder, Miri grunted in disapproval. “He"s about a half mile up the road with our horse,” she explained. “Town didn"t seem quite so friendly after all that noise you kicked up; so we both headed south. Figured, we"d walk together for a spell.”

“I thought you said your horse broke its leg.”

“Actually, it ain"t my horse,” Miri replied. “It"s Lommy"s.”

Turning her back on the other woman, Desa shook her head as she stomped across the campsite. She paused with her fists on her hips. “We do not have time for this,” she said. “Tommy, let"s go.”

Of course, that wasn"t the end of the discussion. Getting Tommy into the saddle was next to impossible now that he knew that his lover was just a short ride away. Or thought he knew. Desa was not willing to trust anything this Miri said. Honest people didn"t skulk and spy.

After five minutes of whimpered protests from her young companion, they were finally on their way. Miri just stood at the edge of the campsite with a curious expression, watching them go. Somehow, Desa knew that she hadn"t seen the last of that woman.

She tried to help Tommy with Field Binding. She encouraged him to meditate on their long ride south – it wasn"t as if they had anything better to do – but the lad seemed to be hopelessly distracted. It almost broke her heart, and more than once, she considered going back to fetch Sebastian. But for all she knew, that was a trap.

She explained as much to Tommy, and he seemed to accept her reasoning. But that did nothing to ease his sorrow. It took everything Desa had to resist the urge to groan in frustration. Just what she needed! A lovesick young man slowing her down! Any hope of catching Morley was dwindling with every passing second.

She sighed as Midnight continued his slow plod southward.