Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce owns everything, except Tahir and Bindings, those are from my head, so I get to keep them!
Neal stumbled in as the sun set, the sky darkening outside. He had only woken up a short time ago. The first thought that came into his head was that he had a street thief in his infirmary with a Binding. Neal rubbed his eyes and heaved himself up out of the chair. Who could he ask for help? Not the King, his Majesty just wouldn't pause to consider long and in the effort to protect his country, a certain thief may be lost in the chaos. Diane couldn't help him with this sort of spell… It took a moment, but it hit him, Numiar. There was one mage who would think about whoever was part of the Binding, rather than just the fact that it was a Bond.
Neal blinked in the sun's red light. He couldn't help but smile when he saw Kel slumped in the chair. The thief was asleep as well, curled on the bed, as if trying to avoid something painful. He touched Kel's shoulder. A moment later she stirred.
"Good morning, Kel," He said quietly.
"What time is it?" Kel looked around at the setting sun.
"Almost dinner time, if you wanted to ask Numiar about the Binding, now would be the time to do it." Neal gathered a mixture of ingredients from the table nearby.
Kel groaned, "You're right. But what about Tahir? Will he be alright?"
"So he has a name now?" Neal grinned. "Don't worry about your new friend. I'll keep an eye on Tahir as long as he keeps his hands away from anything else."
Kel shook her head; if she were lucky Tahir wouldn't wake until she returned. He seemed to trust few people and she didn't know what sort of effect Neal would have on him. Somehow she didn't think Neal would get along with Tahir well.
It didn't take her long to reach the dining hall. It also didn't take her long to pick out Numiar. The mage was sitting at a table with Diane, but even from here it was easy to pick him out. He was a head taller than all those around him. Kel couldn't help but imagine the tall mage towering over her small thief. She walked up to the table, and stood quietly for a moment before speaking.
"Numiar?"
"Kel! How are you?" He turned towards her. Diane smiled as well.
"I need your help." At first she hadn't wanted to speak to the mage, as the spell on Tahir was illegal, and dangerous so it would probably get him in trouble. Then she realized that Numiar wouldn't punish Tahir unless it was justified.
"Fine, but I need to talk to you about a spell."
Numiar's attention, which before hadn't been entirely on her suddenly became focused. "What kind of spell does our Lady Knight need?"
"I don't need a spell so much as I need one removed from a…friend of mine."
"What kind of spell is it?" Numiar asked again, this time looking somewhat worried.
"It's a Binding." Both of the mages looked startled.
"And where did you find this?" Numiar asked when he recovered.
"On a thief, I rescued in the market." Numiar nodded to Diane and stood up. A Binding took precedence over all else, including a formal dinner. Numiar stood and swept down the corridor. Kel had to run to keep up with the mage's long strides. A page was just lighting the lamps as they rushed by. He flattened himself against the stone wall. Kel gave him a look of sympathy as she tried to keep up with Numiar. Neal looked up as they entered; he shrank back as Numiar studied Tahir.
"Is this our new friend?" He sounded hurried.
"Yes, this is Tahir, sir. What are you going to do?" Numiar must have heard the worried note in Kel's voice as he relaxed slightly and smiled.
"I'm sorry if I worried you Kel. It's just been so long since I have seen one of these and the last time I saw one the result was unpleasant." He winced and continued his study of Tahir. He reached down and turned his hands palm up. Tahir's eyes flew open and he pulled away, knocking Numiar away. Kel gripped his arms before he could hurt anyone including himself.
"He's going to help you. You've got a Binding." As she was explaining Neal's glowing green hand touched Tahir's forehead. The thief lapsed into sleep. Neal smiled tightly.
"I thought it would be easier this way." Numiar didn't even notice the change in his patient's condition. He was already studding the scars on Tahir's hands.
"This is not going to be easy is. I've read about this. An orb about the size of two fists generated the spell that did this. It has four sets of these." Numiar gestured at the shapes on his hands. "The device is very powerful, and dangerous." Kel and Neal just gapped at him. For Numiar, a black robe mage to be worried it had to be dangerous. "But, if possible we should remove it immediately. Two people who are Bound can hear each other's thoughts as well as several other affects. Eventually there will be a contest of wills. They will either merge and be destroyed or achieve a balance and they will become quite powerful. This orb is different though. It comes from the north. The mage who created it left a slight flaw in the center. This mistake is what makes it so dangerous. If used correctly one of those in the Binding can absorb the other."
"How long does it take?" Kel looked down at Tahir. Numiar shrugged and began to prepare for a spell.
"It depends on the mage and on other factors."
"In other words you have no idea." Neal slumped into the chair. The mage gave him a side-glance.
"True." They fell silent as Numiar began to glow. Black fire gathered around him. Soon it became too bright for the knights and they turned away as it began to flow into the Tahir. The flowing light burned streaks into their eyes. It only took a moment for him to begin shaking. Numiar gripped the bed. Kel wanted to hold Tahir down, but the flow of magic pinned her in place. She couldn't help but wish she weren't wearing the griffin feathers. It seemed to go on and on.
Finally, it exploded out blanketing the empty room before fading. Numiar staggered before Neal caught him. They staggered to the bed where Neal helped Numiar sit. Kel leaned over Tahir who had gone limp. His eyes fluttered by he didn't move. The sky outside was dark and the castle was quiet. No pages could be heard in the halls and no servants were working. The spell had lasted for some time, contending with the intricate magic of the Binding.
"Did…did it work?" She turned to the two mages. Numiar shook his head tiredly.
"I can't. We need the orb…"
"We can get it and then we can help him?" Kel sounded hopeful.
Numiar smiled and shook his head, "The part that scares me is why someone would do this. It's a lot of effort for a street thief."
"You should get some rest." Neal pulled Numiar to his feet, supporting him as he wavered. "Will this hurt him in any way?" He nodded at Tahir. Numiar shook his head and they made their way out the door.
Kel sat down in the chair. "I suppose that means I get to watch you."
It was almost unreal, Numiar had come, tried, and failed in so short a time. What were they going to do now? Numiar had mentioned using the orb itself. That made sense to Kel at the very least they should take it away from whoever was using it. He was right though they should be worrying about why it was done. The idea of a Binding had scared her so much at first she hadn't thought about why someone would have done it in the first place. Now the ideas filling her head scared her more than any northern army.
Kel was determined to try to answer some of the questions bothering her, but sleep seemed to take over. The spell must have lasted even longer than she had thought. Her eyes drifted closed and her thoughts pulled apart and no longer made any sense. Just as she was about to fall asleep a murmuring brought her back to wakefulness.
Tahir was moving nervously and talking in his sleep. She leaned over to hear what he said.
"Miar…I don't want it…please, I stole what you wanted…you promised you would let me go." He turned over, "The King…no, stop…I won't destroy…please…NO!" He flung himself forward. Kel caught him and forced him back.
"Stop, Tahir it's alright. You're in the palace now."
His eyes opened eyes, "But the King, our home he wants to destroy it all." Kel knew he couldn't see her. His eyes saw another picture entirely as they looked into the distance. "I can't let you. I'm leaving, I have to tell someone!"
Ok, explanations, why are my posts short? Well, I do post at least once a week, so it's not too bad. Anyway, I do better if I post a little bit, very often. I have to or my stories never get finished. I'll make the next post longer! Soon we're going to get an explanation.