Don Bassingthwaite - The Binding Stone

You don’t know that , Dandra told her. The Bonetree clan are savages. They could have overrun Bull Hollow just looking for us .

You should have run when you had the chance. You could have made a clean escape .

Anger flared in Dandra’s belly. If you had worked with me instead of sulking, maybe I could have made a difference! She thrust another memory at Tetkashtai: hunters and dolgrims she should have been able to stop with fiery blasts, flames raging out of control that she should have been able to control with a thought. Without Tetkashtai’s cooperation, her powers had dwindled-

Your powers? Tetkashtai’s voice filled with disdain. You forget yourself! Without me, you’re little more than a warm body with a few tricks in your head. Without me , Dandra snapped, you’re a rock!

Coming from you, that’s almost amusing , Tetkashtai struck back with seething hatred. Give the crystal to Singe and we’ll see what happens .

A chill settled over Dandra. Tetkashtai sensed her apprehension. Are you afraid of what might happen, Dandra? she asked. Are you afraid that I might find another-?

Dandra wrenched her mind away. She couldn’t shut the presence out entirely, though, and Tetkashtai pulled at the edge of her consciousness. The presence was laughing at her, an edge of madness to her silent voice. Dandra sagged down in her saddle.

They passed around the hill and onto another, winding their way through wild valleys of astounding beauty. Where the folds of the hills dropped away to her right, Dandra could see dark mountains in the distance. The forests of the Eldeen Reaches were spread out to her left, a green sea that filled valleys and turned hilltops into islands. She found herself staring in spite of her exhaustion. In her flight from the Bonetree, she had been too busy watching the ground to enjoy the sweeping vistas of the wilderness.

The sun had climbed twice its own width above the horizon when Singe groaned, “Enough, Geth! I need to stop, at least for a little while.”

Dandra watched the shifter turn slowly in his saddle, surveying the land around them. The metal of his great gauntlet scraped as he flexed his arm. Dandra looked around as well, but could see nothing over the entire distance behind them. If the Bonetree hunters were back there, they were more stealthy than she would have believed possible. Finally, Geth nodded. Muttering a curse, Singe reined in his horse and dismounted to lurch a short distance away. He fumbled with his pants, then let out a tremendous sigh of relief. Dandra flushed and glanced away.

Her gaze met Geth’s. He was staring at her as he dismounted. She jerked without meaning to and her horse shifted in alarmed reaction. Dandra clutched at the reins. The horse just swung its head around to fix one dark eye on her.

“Get down.” Geth’s voice was harsh, the sudden sound of it startling.

Dandra’s eyes darted to him out of instinct. He wasn’t looking at her this time though. Squatting by his horse’s head, he stared out at the rugged horizon. There was a battered packet of what looked like dried meat in his hand. Thick fingers fished out a strip.

“Get down,” he said again. “This rest is for your horse more than it is you.” He stuffed the meat into his mouth.

Dandra felt blood rush to her face at the rebuke. She leaned forward and braced her hands on the front of the saddle, then swung her left leg back awkwardly. Her knees and hips were stiff. Moving was painful. Gritting her teeth, she got her leg around and slithered backward out of the saddle.

The instant she put her weight down on her aching legs, though, they started to fold under her. Dandra gasped and grabbed at the saddle, but her horse whinnied in alarm and danced sideways. She would have fallen if Singe hadn’t stepped up and caught her. She nodded silent thanks to him and steadied herself on her feet, feeling very much like a child.

“Have you never ridden before?” Singe asked.

“Not so hard or so long,” said Dandra. “I’m more used to walking.”

“Or floating?”

His words were raw. She flushed again. “Or floating,” she admitted.

She took a few tentative steps, rubbing her fingers into her muscles and stretching her legs. As she moved, she looked out at the landscape ahead. Hills, forest, and more hills-including one that bore a distinctive lopsided crest of white stone. Dandra glanced at Geth. The shifter was snapping at another piece of dried meat.

“I recognize that hill ahead,” she said. “I passed it on the south side two days ago.”

“And you’ll be passing it again on the north side before sunset,” Geth mumbled around the meat.

Dandra’s breath caught in her throat. “What?”

“You came this way, didn’t you? You came from the Shadow Marches? Well, you’re going back.”

What? screeched Tetkashtai. Back? We can’t go back there! Dandra, tell him-

Dandra pushed the raving presence away and swallowed hard. A long moment of silence passed, the only sound the rustle of a cool breeze in the grass. Finally, Dandra took a slow breath. “Geth,” she said softly, “I’m so sorry. Adolan was-”

Geth spun around so fast that Dandra barely even saw him rise to his feet. “Adolan was what?” the shifter roared, thrusting his face into hers. “What was Adolan to you? What was Bull Hollow to you? A place to stop? A place to hide?”

He bared his teeth and Dandra could feel the moist heat of his breath. His wide amber eyes stared into hers. His very presence was intimidating, as if he was some wild animal that had come leaping out of the trees to confront her. A primal fear seized her heart. Geth was an animal in every way: his teeth, his eyes, his flat nose, his dense hair, the thick muscles that corded his neck, shoulders, and arms.

“Geth …” she pleaded.

He lifted his right hand slowly, raising the hooked blades that stood out from the back of his gauntlet in front of her face. “By Tiger’s blood, I wish we had left you to those displacer beasts.”

His hand snapped down and he turned away. Dandra stood stiff in shock. Singe was standing nearby. She shot a frightened glance at him. He shook his head. “Don’t ask me.” The Aundairian’s mouth twisted. “Geth wasn’t the only one who lost someone at Bull Hollow.”

Dandra’s heart felt like it had been turned inside out. Geth asked the question that she wanted to. “Who?” he snapped from a distance. “Who did you lose?”

Singe gave the shifter a cold, flat look. “His name was Toller d’Deneith, Geth. We were recruiting. This was his first command.” He stood up a little straighter. “He was Robrand’s nephew. Do you know what House Deneith has done to the old man’s name since Narath?”

Dandra didn’t understand what Singe meant, but it was clear that Geth did. A look of haunted guilt flickered briefly in his eyes. Singe’s anger wasn’t spent though. The wizard turned to her.

“I thought I found Toller last night, but he was already dead,” he said harshly. “Hruucan killed him.” He held out an arm, tugging back a blood-stained sleeve so that Dandra could see the marks-fading a little now-where the dolgaunt’s skin had pressed against his. “These hurt . Toller was covered in marks even deeper. He must have died in agony.” Singe let his sleeve drop and looked up at her.

“You never told us how exactly you knew Hruucan’s name,” he said.

Geth growled and stood closer. “Or why a cult of the Dragon Below would want a random sacrifice back so badly they’d spend a month chasing her and be willing to destroy a hamlet in the process.” He lifted his gauntlet.