MATTHEW
Matthew stretched out on his pallet, staring at the ceiling. He was exhausted but couldn't manage sleep. The forest was freezing compared to Shanthavan even if it was late spring! Matt was convinced that he could see his breath in the air in the early morning. After so many years in Shanthavan way down in the south, he had to get used to the cooler temperatures. But the cold wasn't really what bothered him. Nina Mirwood, Thorn Avera, Nadia, or Nadine Namid as she liked to be called, and Miga Cooper bothered him. They were all very powerful Migas. Powerful enough to unknowingly take him as a warder. Matt sighed and rolled to his side. He had to figure out a way to break the bond before they found out. He couldn't afford to be bonded to one Miga let alone four.
A sudden rapping on the door startled him. "Who's there," he called, silently padding toward the door.
"It's me, Nadine. May I come in?" He rolled his eyes. Couldn't he have just one hour without her clinging to him? Ever since she had recognized him as her former slave she hadn't given him a moments rest. Matt reluctantly opened the door.
"What is it now, Nadine?" He looked closely at her. Her long black hair was braided tightly instead of down like she preferred. Her simple jewelry that she liked so much was missing and she wore her stained traveling clothes instead of the Migas uniform she had taken a liking to. He met her eyes. "What's going on?"
"I need to talk to you. Let me in." He frowned and stepped back, letting her through.
His room was one of the smaller ones. It was just one room with nothing but a few pegs, a couple uneven stools, and a small stained table. It had most likely belonged to a servant before the place had been abandoned. While Matthew might have preferred a room with better furniture- and a fireplace- this one suited him just fine. It was out of the way of the girls and close to several entry points. He could be in and out without anyone else noticing.
"Take a seat, Matthew." Matt scowled at her but took his seat. Still so superior after all this time. You are not a Princess anymore, little Nadia. "I think that we are been watched. I haven't seen anything but I can sense their presence. If the Mages are on our tail we need to move and we need to move now."
He froze. She sensed it. She sensed the bond. He shook himself. She could simply just be sensing the Thieves that had been watching them. He shouldn't panic. Feel it out. Don't let anything slip.
"Nadine, don't you think you might be overreacting? This is a new environment to you. You're not used to being in a forest. I assure you there isn't anything dangerous out there. I've looked. I've set traps. If anyone came within a mile of this place I would know." It's just one girl. With how delicate she seems he should be able to convince the rest of the girls that she was just stressed and imagining things.
"I am not imagining this Aram! Matthew. I'm sorry. Matthew. I'm sensing a presence very close to us. As good a woodsman as you are a mage could easily get past such defenses. So far I'm just sensing one but he could call in support. We need to get out of here. I just want you to back me up in front of Miga Cooper. She won't leave unless we have solid evidence."
"Nadine, I'm not going to lie for you. Whatever you all are looking for is obviously important. Do you really want to blow your mission for a hunch?" He couldn't let them leave before he figured out what they were after. If he didn't find out now then they'd come back later with back up. He had to take care of this now.
"It's not just a hunch! Thorn and Nina have felt it too." Matt mentally slammed his head into a wall.
"Are you sure it's a mage and not just a hedge witch?"
She glared at him. "Whatever it is, it's powerful. It's not some mildly talented medicine woman. It's like a pressure in my mind and it worries me how close it seems."
"I don't know what you're sensing then Nadine. There's no possible way someone could sneak past me. Not without me knowing."
"There isn't anything else it could be!"
"Talk to Miga Cooper. See what she says."
"So you won't support me? You won't even consider the possibility that someone might be better than you? You won't take a second look?"
He met her eyes. "If it means that much to you, I'll take another look. Poke around a bit. But there is nothing out there. Talk to Cooper about this. Maybe you girls caught some sort of special illness or something. Whatever it is, she should be able to sort this out."
MIGA GENNA COOPER
She frowned at her apprentices. She had thought that what she was sensing was simply the result of stress. But Nadine, Nina, and Thorn were all experiencing the exact same symptoms. She had felt the presence of a mage before and this wasn't what it felt like. A mage would have influenced their magic. Their magic would be stronger, harder to control, more temperamental in a mage's presence. What they were all feeling was something else entirely. The only thing that would explain the feelings was if they had bonded a warder together.
But that was impossible. The normal ceremonies took days to complete and the ritual itself would have required their willing participation and an enormous amount of energy. She stared at the girls. If one of them had bonded a warder would it be possible to share that bond with the rest of them somehow? The laws regarding the bonding of a warder were strict, however, and the punishments were almost ridiculously harsh. Would one of them dare to break the laws?
"I am going to ask you all a very serious question and I require the absolute truth." She stared into each of their eyes, trying to impress upon them the gravity of the situation. "Has anyone here taken a warder?"
The girls glanced at each other, wide eyed. Genna studied each ones reaction. She knew before they said a word that none of them had. She frowned. Was it possible that a natural bond had taken place? There was only one person it could possibly be if it were true.
"I think it's time we visited our guide."
Genna led the way down the halls of the deserted manor to Matthew's room. She knocked firmly on his door. "Miga Cooper, he's not there. I asked him to search the perimeter- to make sure that there weren't any mages about."
The Miga rolled her eyes. "Very well. We'll just have to wait for him." She opened the door and scanned the room. She wrinkled her nose. It reminded her of her room she shared with her sisters back on the farm, before she had become a Miga. "Nadine, Nina. Go fetch some chairs. Thorn, go to the kitchen and bring up some tea." The girls scattered.
As soon as they were gone she started searching his room. There had to be something there that could give her a clue as to whether or not he was feeling the effects of a bond. She spotted his bag first. Just an ugly dirty green bag that sat in the corner nearest the door. There was nothing in the bag but a small stack of neatly folded clothes, a few bags of dried fruit and meat, and a few odd looking rocks. She quickly piled everything back into Matthew's pack. Scanning the room, her eyes fell upon his pallet. Patting down the thin makeshift mattress she smiled. She lifted up the bottom half and pulled out a journal.
"Miga Cooper, I have the tea you asked for." Genna looked up, startled.
"Perfect. Thank you. Come sit with me." They both took their seats. Thorn began fixing the tea for the rest of the girls while Genna quickly scanned the book. It was written in an odd language, one she had never seen before. She frowned and pushed the book to Thorn. "Have you ever seen anything like this?"
Thorn quickly thumbed through the book. "It seems rather similar to the calligraphy the desert tribesmen use. It makes sense. Wasn't Matthew born in the desert?"
Genna nodded. "Yes, I believe so. It's just strange. I may not understand all of the languages of the tribes but I can identify most."
"Identify what," Nadine asked, as she levitated a chair through the door to gently land at the table. Nina quickly followed, setting her chair next to Nadine's. Genna smiled and passed the book to the pair.
"This tribal calligraphy. It's a different form. One that neither of us have seen before. Do either of you recognize it?"
They took a moment to glance at it, flipping through pages, hoping to find a character they knew. They soon passed the book back to Genna shaking their heads.
"Well, I suppose we'll just have to ask Matthew."
"Ask me what?" The girls' heads snapped up. Matthew was casually leaning against the door frame, glaring at the girls. "Are we having a bit of a tea party? I'd ask if I'm invited but I see that all the chairs are taken."
Genna smiled disarmingly. "We were just having a bit of a meeting. It seems that something is a little off. We're all sensing things that we should not be sensing." She searched Matthew's face but she detected no change.
"Come here Matthew." He looked at her warily.
"Why?"
"Because I told you to Matthew. Now come here. Kneel." His face paled slightly as he did as he was told. He looked at the ground, letting his hair fall in front of his eyes.
"Good. I just need to take a look at you. This might sting. Don't twitch."
She placed her hand under his chin and tilted his head until their eyes met. All Genna saw was fear. She shoved part of her magic into him, searching for a connection between them. Matthew's eyes glazed over with pain but he stayed still. Genna frowned when she couldn't find anything and shoved her magic deeper. Sweat started to bead at his temples. He grimaced and shut his eyes. A small groan escaped him. Nadine flinched. Genna glanced at her but quickly returned her attention to their guide. She gently shushed him, rubbed her thumb across his cheek, trying to soothe him.
"Genna, you're hurting him. This needs to stop." Genna glared at her.
"I'm aware, Nadine, thank you. I am sorry Matthew. It will only be a bit longer, then it will all be over."
She wormed her way a little deeper into his mind, searching desperately for some hint of a link. His eyes shot open. He whimpered and tried to jerk away from her hand. She quickly grabbed his hair with one hand, holding him in place.
"There it is. It's almost like he tried to hide it from me somehow." She removed her hand. Matthew's eyes rolled to the back of his head. He dropped straight to the ground.
Genna grimaced. She wished that that hadn't been necessary. She didn't enjoy hurting people.
"Help me move him to the bed." Nadine and Genna struggled. He was heavier than he looked.
"We'll have to wait until he wakes up to explain the situation further. We'll take turns keeping an eye on him. Nina, you take the first shift. Everyone else should follow his example and rest."
MATTHEW
Matthew blinked, trying to clear his blurry vision. He attempted to lift himself into a sitting position but quickly gave up as his vision started to go spotty on the edges. He gave a little moan. It felt like someone had hit him right between the eyes with a sledge hammer.
"Don't get up. You're going to be very weak for a few hours. Miga Cooper was in a bit of a rush to find the bond. She didn't have time to take it easy with you."
He rolled his head to the side, searching for the source of Thorn's voice. "What-" His voice came out as a rasp. He cleared his throat and tried again. "What did she have on her agenda that was so important that she had to rape my mind, Thorn?"
Thorn frowned at him. "Well, the possibility of a hostile mage had us all rather jumpy. And I think that using the word 'rape' to describe a scan is a bit excessive."
"How long have I been out?"
"Three days in a few hours. It's just past midday."
"I've been unconscious for three days, wake up with a pounding headache so bad I can't move, and the word 'rape' is excessive?"
Thorn pursed her lips and stood. "She was harsh but it was necessary."
She reached for a kettle on the table and poured its contents into a small mug. In three dainty little steps she was at Matt's side. He tried to sit up again, to push himself away from the drink, but quickly gave up. Thorn helped him into a sitting position, moving pillows that he didn't remember owning, until he was in a comfortable reclining position. She held the mug to his lips.
"This will help with the headache."
He turned his head away. "I don't want it."
Thorn glared at him. "You are acting like a sullen child. Drink it. Now."
Matthew winced. Ever since the bond had first started forming direct commands had been harder and harder to resist. He looked up at her with purposely wide eyes, filled with faux (mostly) fear.
"Please Thorn. Is that really all it is? Just a pain killer?" He bit his lip, trying to appear as innocent as possible.
Thorn visibly softened. She sat beside him and stroked his hair gently. She looked into his eyes filled with reassuring warmth. "I promise that it's nothing that will hurt you, Matthew. It really will help with your pain. Here. Drink this until there's nothing left. You can't leave a drop." She held the mug back to his lips.
Matthew felt her manipulate the bond, putting more force behind her gentle words. He reluctantly took a small sip of the mysterious contents of the mug. He nearly gagged. He glanced back up at Thorn, misery written across his face. She quickly covered her quivering lips, trying to stifle her giggles. He glared at her and quickly chugged the rest down, trying not to taste it.
His headache immediately receded. He noticed that the general feeling of weakness didn't leave, however. In fact, it was almost as if it had intensified. He couldn't even muster the strength to glare at Thorn. All he could do was look up at her with betrayal and confusion.
To her credit Thorn did look rather abashed. "I promised it wouldn't hurt you Matt and it won't. It's just Rutla and Zatal. I'm going to go get Genna, alright? I'll be right back. Don't try to move."
In what seemed like an eye blink in his shocked state, she was gone. He grimaced. Zatal was a rather potent painkiller that left a patient in a very relaxed state so that they wouldn't aggravate their injuries. Harmless, helpful even, but annoying. Rutla on the other hand, was an addictive drug that enhanced the effect of certain magics. The most common use was to reign in obstinate warders. As difficult as it was to refuse a direct order before it would be impossible now.