The Bonding (The Song and the Rhythm) (4 page)

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Drath watched Sean analyze what he’d told him, waiting until the youth convinced himself he could trust what he heard. He didn’t want to deceive Sean. For their quest to be successful, his acceptance had to be genuine. He had to trust them all completely, and the only way for that to happen was if Drath let him guide himself. Not only that, but he found he liked this young man and didn’t want to manipulate him.

When Drath looked up, Sean was watching him closely. He found it difficult to read the expression in the pale blue eyes, but Drath guessed the youth searched for something in his appearance to confirm what he’d been told. Drath let him stare, chills running up and down his spine at the effect of Sean’s near-transparent eyes. They made him seem almost unreal.

“What else do you have to tell me? I mean, surely there’s a specific reason you want
me
to come with you.”

Drath nodded. “There is. But this is the part that may chase you away rather than encourage you to come.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Drath squatted in front of Sean, studying him for a long moment, searching for the inner strength his instincts told him the youth had. Seeing neither that strength nor its lack, Drath continued. “Our worlds are in danger. There is a man, a wizard, who is trying to take over my world, and yours, too. Somehow he’s found a way to bridge or destroy the barriers that separate our worlds and intends to rule both when he’s finished. Merdel explained it all to me before I came to you, but he lost me about halfway through. If you want a better answer, you’ll have to ask him. But the how and the why isn’t what’s important. The danger of what will happen if this man succeeds is. Merdel says our worlds could just simply cease to exist, or they could be destroyed in a magical cataclysm. I myself don’t know, and I don’t really care. All I want to do is prevent it from happening.”

“So why did you come to me?”

“A good king, whom you’ll meet on our journey, asked us to find someone in this world to help save both our worlds. It was him who said it was only fair someone in your world knew of the danger. Merdel says it will balance the forces between the worlds, or some such wizardly nonsense.” Drath decided to omit the part about the Great God’s involvement; they’d seen Sean’s lack of interest in religious matters. Drath himself wasn’t that convinced, either. Let the wizards, priests, and scholars determine if the Great God truly did care about the actions of His creations; he would just trust his gut. “Merdel always has some long, unintelligible explanation for everything. He’d be glad to tell you himself, if you asked.”

Drath could tell the young man had picked up on the way he’d implied Sean had already agreed to go but saw another question forming on Sean’s lips.

“Why do you think I should join you?”

“Me?” Drath shrugged, surprised to be asked his opinion. “I just think coming here feels right. My instincts tell me this is the right thing to do, and I trust them.”

“What do your instincts say about me?” Sean didn’t seem to believe they truly wanted him, and Drath grinned inwardly. Merdel had warned him that Sean possessed a great deal of self-doubt, and Drath felt he could help the youth see differently if given a little time.

“My instincts tell me you’re perfect for this quest. You are remarkably skilled at sword fighting, even though you’ve had no formal training. You know a good bit about worlds similar to mine through your reading. And, since you’re an adult, you have the freedom to choose for yourself what you do. But, most of all, you want to go. You see, my world is much like yours used to be, the one you want so much to live in. No, yours never had magic, but it did have more everyday dangers. And lots of adventure to be had.”

Drath rose and paced again. “Now, your world has changed so much that the role of the adventurer and warrior is changing with it. The technology the Great God has given you permission to develop has made your people different, much like the magic He gave us makes us different. But you have a spirit like someone from our world, someone who can accept the hazards posed by direct contact with the supernatural, be it in the form of magical spells or fantastical creatures.” Drath stopped midstride, regarding Sean strongly and reassuringly. “That
is
the type of person you are, whether you believe it to be true or not.”

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Sean thought about that a moment. While he did, Drath resumed pacing to stretch his long legs.

A flock of birds flew by overhead, calling out to each other to hurry home while light still remained in the sky. Off to Sean’s right, the orange ball of the sun touched the tops of the trees in the distance. He could hear cars passing by on the road behind him, and he only just noticed that the lamps surrounding the quad had come on. He had to leave soon if he wanted to get his research paper done, the one his professor had graciously allowed him to submit after the semester had ended. That thought made him sigh despondently, for nothing seemed to let him be what he wanted.

This was his world, a conglomeration of technological wonders. Things were done faster and easier than they ever had before. You could travel around the world in almost the same time it once took to walk from one town to another. You could call someone on the other side of the planet and ask them about their day, which would turn out to be your tomorrow. This was his world, and he hated it.

Actually,
hate
was too strong a word, but he did dislike it, sometimes greatly. He felt out of place, disjointed, as if he’d never really belonged. His daydreams had always taken him to a place where he found confidence in himself, confidence in his abilities as a warrior and as a human being. He saw himself as stronger in his dreams, able to handle life’s shortcomings without tearing himself down. At the same time he took advantage of all his world’s wonderful conveniences, just as everyone else did, he believed he was spoiled by them, using them as a crutch so his life didn’t seem so difficult. That was something fewer people he knew of seemed willing to do. That was the price of technology.

But in Drath’s world, if the tall man spoke the truth, life wasn’t like that. It was the way it was here many years ago: simpler, more basic. True, many of the problems of the past were appropriately and adequately solved by technology, and any world would benefit from such advancement. But sometimes the cost seemed to outweigh the merits, at least to Sean’s thinking. He preferred things to be more direct, honest even. You could never truly rely on technology, for when it broke down you were back to where you were before you had it. The technological step seemed, at times, almost wasted.

Sean hefted his wooden sword, eyeing it thoughtfully. This he could trust—this simple piece of wood. It wouldn’t misfire or explode in his hand when he tried to use it, and it would be very difficult to kill himself with it accidentally. He could protect himself with it and feel confident in his ability to do so. That could apply to any world, but, from the sounds of it, more so in Drath’s. In the absence of technology, warriors and wizards and vile creatures inhabited this other world, the kind that threatened your life by their very presence. You couldn’t reason with them, or sue them, or sit them out to teach them the error of their ways. You had to slice them open with your sword to keep them from killing you. Whether or not he could adjust to and survive in such a place was immaterial. Sean merely knew he desperately wanted to try.

“You really think I’m that good with a sword?” It wasn’t his only question, but it was the only one he had the courage to ask.

Drath nodded seriously. “Aye. I’ve never really trained anybody, but from watching you, I could tell you’re something of a natural. I think you’ll respond very well to real training and be able to refine those techniques the way you want to. My teachers used to tell me stories of people like you. They said they were the hardest ones to teach, but also the ones they were the most proud of. I remember wishing I could be like that.”

Drath moved closer and smiled. “I see the potential in you to become a great sword fighter, but not a Swordsman. Don’t think I am insulting you or putting you down when I say that, because the Swordsman in my world is better than anyone. He is also decidedly rare, and has special gifts granted by the Great God Himself. Even so, you could be much better than the average man.”

Sean blushed at such praise and found himself trying to come up with an argument against what Drath had said. But he stopped himself, remembering his father’s advice on taking praise. He’d said that, while it may not be easy to believe those words yourself, it belittled and even insulted the other person if you constantly disagreed with him. His father had told him to let the other person say what he wanted and to decide later whether or not to accept it as true. Knowing about his son’s low self-esteem, he also said that the majority of praise, if coming from someone you trust, was true, and that believing that part was the hardest, most important thing.

Sean finally looked up at Drath. “Who is this Merdel you keep talking about?”

Drath laughed. “One of my trusted friends. As I’ve mentioned, he’s a wizard and the one who first noticed the danger to our worlds and brought it to my attention. He’s also the one who searched this world for a companion to our quest after King Dobry told us to.

“Merdel and I have known each other for a long time, and we’ve had many adventures together. I was one of the only ones he could trust to hear what he had to say and be willing to help him. I have a little more pull with Dobry than Merdel does, so I went to the king myself, both because he is my sovereign and because we needed his financial support. He also helped us petition the elves and dwarves for their assistance.”

Sean nodded, wondering about all that might be involved in what the tall man had just said, but decided to wait before hearing those answers. Right now, he wanted to know more about his traveling companions. If he decided to go, that is.

“Who are your other friends?”

Drath crossed his arms with a thoughtful frown. “They are adventurers like I am, and they agreed to help in stopping this wizard’s activities. They came here with me to help prove to you I’m telling the truth.”

Sean looked around, suddenly worried he was surrounded. “Where are they?”

Drath gestured with his head toward the trees behind him. “They’re waiting over there with Merdel. We all agreed it best if I approached you first, and that if you wanted to see proof, you would then meet them. And they might attract too much attention.” He paused. “You see, my other friends are not human.”

Sean jumped to his feet. “Not human! What are they?”

“Two of them are elves, and one’s a dwarf. They have traveled with me many times before and have proven loyal companions, Thorne especially.” Drath smiled good-naturedly. “Like all dwarves, he’s got an inflated sense of honor. It can be annoying at times, as can his knowledge of things, but it’s balanced by his love of fighting, drinking, and swearing.” His grin widened. “And by the corrupt nature of the two elves.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“They are, shall we say, somewhat untroubled by certain laws, despite their devotion to the Great God. While they obey the serious ones, they tend to disregard the ones they see as foolish.”

“What are they? Thieves?”

Drath winced. “They wouldn’t agree to such a prejudicial term, but that about sums it up. They really are good people. They’re just good at taking things from others, too.”

Sean lifted a brow. “And you trust them?”

“With my own life.” The smile had left Drath’s mouth.

The seriousness in Drath’s tone made Sean regret he’d thought badly of the tall man’s companions, but he reconciled it by telling himself it was only natural. Anybody would be skeptical of someone known to be a thief. He would have to trust Drath’s word and believe they were good, but that wouldn’t stop him from keeping a close eye on his possessions, too.

That thought made Sean realize he was already committed to this quest. He had no real proof of the veracity of the story but found himself believing it, and not only because he wanted to. Something in the way Drath told the story, something in his demeanor, persuaded Sean that the man could be trusted. Vaun knew he’d be in great danger if he went, but that excited more than frightened him. Perhaps it was his adventurous nature manifesting itself. Either way, before he agreed, he wanted to meet these so-called elves and this dwarf, not to mention this wizard named Merdel, and he said so.

Drath smiled happily, seeming to believe the battle had been won. “Certainly, Sean.” With an expansive wave, he gestured for his friends to come out from hiding.

Hefting his wooden sword, Sean wondered if he might need it as four people suddenly appeared around him. He took a couple of steps back, wondering if the story he’d heard was a lie and that these men meant to do him grave harm. Tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword, he wished it were real.

But no attack came. The two figures that stepped out on his left simply stood there, covered by long green cloaks with the hoods pulled up. Both were about a foot shorter than Sean, and they peered around nervously, talking quietly to each other. Sean tried to overhear what they were saying, but the only clear words he was able to pick up sounded like gibberish. He glanced around, but their side of the quadrangle was vacant.

The other two now made their way toward him, also scanning their surroundings. It seemed to Sean that these visitors were more apprehensive about this meeting than he was.

The one approaching closest to him was an older man a few inches shorter than Drath. He had long grey-streaked black hair pulled back into a tail that fell just below the collar of his loose-fitting, light grey shirt. His beard was mostly white, but it still held a few patches of his youthful dark hair. His broad nose nestled comfortably amongst the hairs of his mustache, and silver speckled his intelligent black eyes. His pants were of the same make and color as his shirt, and they were tucked into ankle-high black boots. Sean was convinced he looked upon the wizard from Drath’s story, but for some reason he couldn’t remember the man’s name.