Read The Bonding (The Song and the Rhythm) Online

Authors: Brian C. Hager

Tags: #Christian, #Fantasy, #Epic, #General, #Fiction

The Bonding (The Song and the Rhythm)

BOOK: The Bonding (The Song and the Rhythm)
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The Bonding

 

Published in the U.S. by:

OakTara Publishers

P.O. Box 8, Waterford, VA 20197

www.oaktara.com

Cover design by Yvonne Parks at www.pearcreative.ca

Cover images © thinkstockphotos.ca: portrait of a young man/Jupiterimages, 80376611; castle ruins landscape/Matt Gibson, 147435042; Celtic national ornaments, 140010230; ancient knightly sword/Ivan Gusev, 99229072; dragon/beast/Ral Kraft, 101076579

Author photo © 2007 by Mary Jones

 

Copyright © 2013 by Brian C. Hager. All rights reserved.

 

Cover and interior design © 2013, OakTara Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in professional reviews.

 

ISBN-13: 978-1-60290-373-9 ▪ ISBN-10: 1-60290-373-5

eISBN-13: 978-1-60290-416-3 ▪ eISBN-10: 1-60290-416-2

 

The Bonding
is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity and are used fictitiously. All other characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination.

 

The perspective, opinions, and worldview represented by this book are those of the author and are not intended to be a reflection or endorsement of the publisher’s views.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*
*
*

This book is for my father,

Roy Thomas Hager,

who, with annoying simplicity,

can solve even the most formidable writerly dilemma.

 

Thanks, Dad, for always being willing to offer counsel,

even when you’re not sure exactly what my problem is.

 

 

 

Acknowledgments

 

 

As usual, there are too many people who gave their time and consideration to help make this book what it is to adequately thank them all here, though chief among them this time are Jeff, Melissa, Young, Mom, and Dad. Thanks also to the Dojo crew who helped with fight choreography. As with anything I write, I deeply appreciate all those who are willing to read, and sometimes re-read, what I give them. I am truly blessed to have such willing servants to help me in my endeavors.

 

Most of all, I thank God in Heaven for giving me a gift that brings me such joy.

 

 

 

 

Prologue

 

 

Sunlight streaked down from the trees overhead,
spotting the ground with pools of light and dark. The close air felt warmer here amongst the trees, but the breeze blew cooler, even though the wide trunks blocked most of it.

Sean Matthews ducked around a protruding branch and stepped over a low bush, searching for a more open place to fight. He disliked such close quarters, more because an inconvenient tree might snap his wooden sword than because it would hinder his strikes. He enjoyed the challenge of avoiding the natural obstacles while sword fighting; he just didn’t want anything to happen to his sword. It had taken most of a day to create it, and he hated the idea of losing it by accident.

He had cut it from these same woods a few weeks back. He and his best friend, David, had been hunting for new swords after a particularly hard fight had shattered both their weapons. He had wanted to find a curved tree branch that would make a fine sword, but most of the time those types of branches curved either too much or in two directions. Frustration had driven him to cut straight branches for his last three swords, but this time he was determined to have a curved weapon.

David had grown tired of searching even before he found an acceptable branch for himself, mumbling about being too old for this kind of thing now. After that, he had become downright irritating—complaining that his arms and legs hurt, and that it was quickly getting dark. Their parents didn’t like them staying out late on a school night. He still had a whole lot of homework to do. It was almost dinner time. And other such parental admonitions.

But Sean hadn’t listened; he’d simply kept searching. Several times he’d stopped and closely inspected a potential weapon, even going so far as to climb into a couple of trees. But he’d found a flaw every time. As the branches had become harder and harder to see with the oncoming night, he’d thought he would either have to abandon his search until the next day or settle for yet another straight sword.

But finally, in the last rays of the dying sun, Sean had spotted his sword. Even from ten yards away, he’d known it was what he was looking for, almost as if it had called out to him. Approaching it slowly, he’d been awestruck at how perfect it was. The graceful curve, the perfect length, the—

A branch snapped, yanking Sean out of his daydream. He glanced quickly around but saw no one. He shook his head to rid himself of the silliness his imagination had added to his memory and tried to focus on his surroundings.

It had been nothing like that, of course. David had suggested the branch as just an excuse to get Sean out of the woods. Sean had nearly rejected it without looking at it, not trusting his friend’s biased opinion. But he had looked it over anyway and found it acceptable, although he had no idea what kind of wood it was. He’d had to stretch up on his toes to cut it, which took longer, but it had been worth it. After much work, it had turned out to be the best one he’d ever made, which to him wasn’t much compared to the ones anybody else could make.

Sean hefted the weapon. The crossguard he’d nailed on it had proven useful for turning aside Charlie’s habitual thrusts and had saved his fingers from several bruisings by Matt, who always hit too hard.

It
was
a good weapon, though it curved a little too much toward the end and had a knot that wouldn’t be sanded down. He’d had to cut length off it twice before it felt manageable, for it was heavy toward the tip. The wrapping on the hilt needed changing again, and he swore David had cracked it during their last fight. Still, it served to beat his friends, and Sean wondered not for the first time if it would save him from real enemies, provided the sword itself was real. And he would have to be more than what he thought he was—a goofy kid swinging a cleverly disguised stick.

Those two bullies who’d beaten him up last year reinforced that thought. They’d come upon him during a hard practice and had taunted him about being so strange. Then one of them, Mark, took his wooden sword away from him and had hit him with it when he’d tried to take it back. That had begun a rather vicious beating, the two of them taking turns with his sword to do it, and Sean even now cursed himself for being such a coward. If he were as good as everybody said, he should’ve been able to prevent what those boys did to him. But he’d been too scared to act. Too scared he might hurt them. If only he’d been a great warrior...

BOOK: The Bonding (The Song and the Rhythm)
4.4Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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