Bound in Spirals Ch. 08

He tugged on the thread again, and her foot moved with it. She muttered something and stirred again, her breathing becoming uneven. Sam held his breath. Eventually she settled back down and he heard soft snoring. This time when he pulled the thread, he did not feed it as much power, but kept it moving at a steady speed. It moved at a snail's pace, sliding her foot for another few inches. Then, it slipped under the foot, no longer dragging it along.

In his excitement, Sam accidentally jerked the thread with more power. The sword flew straight at his hand. It clattered along the ground, the echoing sound was deafening in the quiet of the cave. 'God. Dammit.' He watched in horror as the weapon seemed to move in slow motion, dragging over the uneven cave floor. It was too late to stop now, so he fed the thread more power and watched it speed straight into his hands.

The rough impact jarred him slightly, but he payed it no mind. Two of the adults were moving now, along with Feima who's eyes were opened and looking at him with incomprehension. He unsheathed the sword and slashed the ropes around his ankles, not bothering to try it on his wrists. He jumped up with a speed that surprised himself. His hands came down with a thunk as he whacked Feima in the side of the head with the flat of his blade. She slumped to the side, already unconscious.

That was when he heard the growling. He turned to see Belleby looking at him with an animalistic ferocity, his sharp, needle teeth bared in a snarl. Muscles tensed, and Sam dove to the left. Belleby's claws clicked along the stone as he pivoted, preparing to lunge again.

'Wait!' Sam shouted, but Belleby charged anyway. So he said the first idea that came to mind. 'If you help me I will make you her familiar!'

That made the beast hesitate. 'Can you do that?'

'Yes, of course I can.' Sam said with as much certainty as he could muster. 'I really hope Samson knows how to do that.' As if hearing his thoughts, he felt Samson's presence shift closer. He didn't say anything but Sam could feel the tension from him, like a bow drawn taught.

'It depends what you want me to do...' Belleby said, his eyes looked about uncertainly as all six of the elves started making noise. Sam heard a mumbled word or two drift over, but didn't pay it any attention.

'I need you to lead me back to my friends. I will pretend to kidnap Feima, and you chase me.' Sam said, picking the best idea he could come up with in those few short seconds.

'...Very well,' Belleby replied, looking at the rising adults with worry.

Sam quickly bound his sheathed sword to his back. The positioning was uncomfortable but he had no time to fix it. He stuffed the partially fixed shirt into his pocket and slung the limp form of Feima up over his shoulder. She was light, but he grunted under the weight just the same. 'Damn my arms are achy...'

'Wait here for a second, then make some noise after I leave. Give them enough time to see that the two of us are gone, then give chase.' Sam said, sparing a glance for Feima's mother who was rising now, rubbing her eyes. Then, he was out of the cave and into the darkness of night.

———

Dettella woke to find that she'd fallen asleep while reading, again. She sighed, 'I've lost my place again.' and put a place marker in her book. She blinked as she looked about the carriage, realizing that it was still dark outside. Yalene snorted loudly as the cart bumped, then fell back into a steady snore. Dettella grimaced at the rather unsightly appearance of her handmaiden. Her red hair splayed across the cushions in a tangled fan of tight curls.

'What happened to the terrified young woman of a few days ago? I think I preferred her to this.' She thought, shaking her head. She couldn't get that look of pity out of her mind and it was starting to grate on her nerves. 'I'm not so weak. I made it all the way to the village without complaints, after all.' She thought sullenly.

She sighed softly, brushing the long, loose curls of blonde from her face. 'I need to control my frustration better. I cannot let stress beat me as it has.' She told herself, but knew it was easier said than done.

She felt the carriage slow to a stop. "H-Huh? Wh-What happened?" Yalene asked, rubbing her eyes drowsily. "Why did we stop?"

"I'm not sure, wait here a minute." Dettella replied and opened the door. 'Why does this girl ask such stupid questions?! As if I would know!' She grimaced inwardly as she realized she'd lost her composure in less than a minute.

The darkness outside was briefly lit by the magic inside the carriage before she closed the door behind her. "Captain, why have we stopped?"

Darrel glanced at her, the lantern he held illuminating the right half of his face. "There is an argwolf a little off the road a mile ahead. We will have to make a detour to avoid it. It will be slower going through these dense trees." He replied, his tone giving no emotion. Then he gave a few curt orders to the two remaining guards and they rode ahead.

Dettella felt a surge of curiosity at the mention of the argwolf. Oh how she wished to see it, there were so many stories of the creatures in the books. Recounts of the woman who attempted to fulfill a prophecy and killed a queen with the aid of an argwolf, and the story of the Wolf King who roamed the world amongst a pack of the beasts, unable to be killed. Those were her favorites. She barely restrained the urge to order them onward anyway, but the recent memory of the gurilthenn held her back.

'This world isn't one of the grand stories, I need to get that through my head.' She thought, but her desire to see the creature didn't diminish. Her fists bunched at her sides and she sulked back into the carriage, feeling like she had as a child when her tutor didn't allow her to read certain books.

Yalene looked at her with the question written all over her face. "There is a small disturbance in the road ahead, we just need to take an off-road course for a while," Dettella said, "nothing to worry over."

"Ah, that is good. For a minute I thought there might be more danger." She replied with a relieved smile as the carriage began moving again.

Dettella sat back down and took up her book, trying to find the right page. A few minutes later, the ride became rough. Even with those springs under the carriage it was uncomfortable. 'I can't imagine how bad this would be without those... The thing would probably shake itself apart.'

"Milady, when do you suspect we will arrive at Geylin?" Yalene asked.

Dettella rubbed her temples, "I do not know, Yalene. Two, three more days perhaps? The Leddin forest is enormous, and Geylin is at the center. We still have many miles yet to travel."

Suddenly, the carriage bumped to the side and Dettella heard a string of curses from outside. "Stop the carriage!"

———

Sam rubbed his head, cursing under his breath. 'What the hell was that?' He looked up, blinking at the sudden brightness in his eyes. 'A carriage?' He heard voices but he was too dazed to pay attention as the carriage slowed to a stop 15 feet away.

Feima had fallen from his grasp and lay crumpled a few feet from him. Behind him, he heard the crunching footsteps as Belleby caught up. He hurried to his feet, groaning at the protestation of his sore muscles. 'I gotta get moving, the elves won't be too far behind.'

As he bent to pick up Feima once again, he saw the glint of the sword at his throat and froze. "What are you doing out here?" asked the voice to his right. He spoke in English, with an accent that reminded him of the French. Though it was quite subtle.

Sam felt his body tensing, ready to move. His eyes darted around instinctively, taking in his surroundings.

'Oh blight...' Samson said. 'Crestellans.'

"I'm just trying to escape a group of elves that kidnapped me." Sam said, remembering the thing Fenella had told him about his terrible lying ability.

"Then why are you running off with an elven child?" The man asked in a plain monotone that unnerved Sam.

"Ehh, long story. I need to get back to my friend, he's lost his legs and needs treatment."

"I've got all the time in the world. Start talking."

'Samson, any ideas?' Sam asked.

'Nope, we're screwed. That's a sword captain of the high guard, even if I had my felnn blade I'd have a difficult time defeating him.' He replied, from his tone Sam guessed difficult was an understatement.

"I-I'm using her as a sort of alibi for my pal Belleby over there, he's leading me back to my friends. I told him I would make him her familiar once he got me there, and if the elf women back there find out he's helping me they'll kill him, so I took her to make it more believable that he's chasing me." Sam said in a rush, feeling breathless.

He heard the sound of the carriage door opening, and risked a glance at it. A woman figure was silhouetted against silvery light that glowed from inside. "Darrel, who is that?"

"Our new temporary companion." Darrel replied, his tone unchanged as he slit the ropes binding Sam's wrists and slid his sword into a sheath at his waist.

Sam was too dumbfounded to reply at first as the man picked up Feima in one hand and carried her to the carriage. "I... What?"

"Get in, kid. We'll take you to your friend. If what you say is the truth, then we will have no quarrel." Darrel said. "Give me your sword and tell that hoshind to lead the way."

Sam removed his sword and handed it to the big man without thinking, but figured he had no choice anyway. 'Er... Belleby lead this carriage back to my friends, they're giving me a ride.' Sam told the creature, who looked at him with orange eyes that seemed to glow.

'Alright... but don't forget your promise.' The hoshind said, with clear uncertainty in his voice.

'Don't worry, I haven't forgotten.'

———

Dettella looked toward the shirtless man as he reached down for the elf girl. In a flash, Darrel was there with his sword held to the man's throat. He froze, his sharp blue eyes scanning the area in an instant, and for a moment she thought he would fight. Darrel seemed to notice it as well, his eyes flicking toward the sword then to the hoshind that had loped up a few yards away.

Then, the man replied, his words coming out in a blur. Dettella couldn't tell what he'd said, but Darrel slashed his bindings, sheathed his sword and told the man to get in the carriage. "Darrel, who is that?"

"Our new temporary companion." For a moment she considered protesting, but Darrel followed just behind the hesitant man after giving a loud whistle. As he came into the light, she noticed that he was younger than she'd first estimated. He couldn't have been older than 20.

Dettella backed into the carriage to allow the two to climb in. She sat down next to Yalene who was darting nervous glances from her, to the newcomer, to Darrel, and back again. The young man sat across from her, glancing down at the few books she'd acquired in the last village. It remained silent for a minute. When the two guards returned, Darrel ordered them to follow the hoshind, then he turned his gaze back on the man.

He stared back with those icy blue eyes, surprising Dettella with the lack of fear in them. Then, he turned that gaze onto her and for a moment she felt fear threaten to surge up, but still she looked him in the eye. There was a hint of something recognizable in those eyes. Something she'd seen in Tenall's eyes, but slightly different. There was madness in those piercing eyes. Not the same as Tenall, they didn't have the same lust for murder in them, but there was madness there all the same.

She spoke a moment after the carriage began rolling, after Darrel sat the elf girl between her and Yalene. "Where are we taking this man?" She asked.

"He claims that he must return to his friend, who is injured. He was running from a group of elves who had captured him." Darrel replied, but said nothing more, even when she looked pointedly at the girl next to her.

"It isn't too far from here. Well, I don't think it was anyway. Can't really remember much of it." The man said, his accent sounding oddly over enunciated to her ears. "Oh, I should warn you that my familiar is there. She won't do anything, but she might be pretty scary when you first meet her."

She frowned, suddenly intrigued. "What do you mean by that?"

"Ah, she's an argwolf." He said impassively.

Dettella blinked, taking a moment to digest his words. "You mean an argwolf as in, the argwolf just off the road a few miles up?"

The man looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Yeah, I guess so. Why?"

She couldn't hold back the smile that crept onto her face, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Darrel's eyes flash in amusement. She ignored him, barely keeping herself from bombarding the man with questions. "Would you let me see her? Let me speak to her?"

In an instant, the man in front of her seemed to change. The changes were subtle, but it was as if he was an entirely different person. Darrel seemed as taken aback by it as she was, as he openly expressed the first emotion she'd seen from him. Shock.

The man now didn't seem like a man, but more like a boy. His eyes weren't as sharp, predatory, now they seemed innocent and a bit lost. His shoulders slumped forward slightly, and his back wasn't as straight. The tension left his muscles, and he shuffled a little closer to the corner. His eyes moved away from hers, and he brushed the brown locks back from his forehead and started rubbing the back of his head as he replied.

"Um, yeah sure. I-If you want to. I don't really mind." He said, his cheeks stained with a pinkish-red tinge.

"It would be an honor if I could meet such a magnificent beast." Dettella said, her smile broadening. "Oh, I did not get your name."

"Huh? O-Oh, uh my name's Samson, but most just call me Sam. Er... Samson Wallace is my full name." Sam stammered.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Lord Samson. I am Dettella Reyall, Princess of Crestell." She replied formally, holding out a hand to him. Too late, she realized that she wasn't wearing her gloves.

He took her hand hesitantly. Dettella froze, a gasp escaping her lips. As soon as her skin touched his, she caught her first glimpse of what infinity must look like. Inside this Samson was the most immense pool of magic she'd ever seen. The endless spirals of coruscant gold and silver threatened to suck her in, enveloping her in the impossibly intricate patterns. Then, it was gone. The calloused hand pulled from hers.

Sam looked surprised. "Wow," he said, "you're the strongest mage I've met so far."

Dettella couldn't form words, couldn't do anything but stare at the man in front of her. 'This man could be the most powerful mage in the realm, and I have never even heard of him. I doubt even Tenall, with her stolen magic, could compare to what I just saw.' She thought, her amazement getting the best of her. 'And on top of that, it's a man at such a level. Amazing.'

"What is it?" Yalene asked, looking back and forth between them with worry etched over her features.

"We seem to have picked up a very strange man." Darrel said simply.

———

Sam watched Dettella, her mouth slightly open as she stared at him with what he thought was awe. 'S-Samson, you said you've heard of her?' He asked, marveling at how green her eyes were. Such a rich emerald color. And her hair, such a perfect golden blonde.

'Yes, and that is definitely her. Not easy to impersonate a princess, especially one with that much magic.' Replied Samson, his voice tainted with anxiety. 'We need to get away as quick as possible. She'll kill us if she finds out I'm Straldan.'

'A princess... A real life princess.' Sam was so enthralled that he didn't hear what the other two passengers said.

'Sam snap out of it!' Samson sounded panicked now. 'Dammit, we'd be better off in elven hands!'

'What are you so worried about. I'm not even from this world, and our accents are totally different. She won't think I'm Straldan.' Sam said.

Samson muttered something but seemed to settle down. Finally, the princess seemed to regain her wits.

"Well, that was... astonishing." She said, giving her head a small shake to clear it. "Would you mind telling me where you hail from?"

Sam was quick to answer, "O-Oregon."

"Oregon? I have not heard of such a place. I have not heard an accent like yours either."

He nodded, "It's really, really far away."

Suddenly the ride smoothed out considerably. "We have reached the road." The big man, Darrel, said to his left. They were close in height, a little above six feet, but Darrel was thick with muscle and gave off a powerful atmosphere.

"How did you come to be so far from home?" Dettella asked.

"...I-I, uh, well I was sorta left stranded here. I guess you could say." Sam replied, really wishing he'd followed Fenella's advice and prepared a story beforehand.

"Ah, my apologies, Samson. I don't mean to pry into your privacy." She said with a small smile. "I've been told I am too curious many a time."

"Oh, no worries, no worries. It's just a difficult story to tell." Sam said, suddenly wishing he could tell her his story. "I promise I'm not a runaway criminal or anything."

'No! Sam, you are losing it!' Samson shouted, his worry returning. 'You are acting as if you've never seen a beautiful woman before! You can't tell her how you came here.'

'Dude, she's a princess though. Like a real one... I'm sure we can trust her.' He replied, blushing as Dettella gave a delightful laugh. 'Such a beautiful smile.'

'What the hell has blighted your mind?! If you tell her, you realize that we might not be able to get Theodore the healing he needs. People like her don't like to just let strange and powerful men run around you know. They'll stick you in a cell and do all sorts of tests on you, torture you for information. That sort of thing.'

That caught Sam's attention. 'You're right, I'm being foolish. I can't risk Theodore's life on a whim.' He shook his head, trying to regain his focus. 'She really reminds me of Ms. Albright though...' He thought, suddenly wishing he could see the dignified librarian again. She'd been what kept him going during hard times, the thought of seeing her the next day. He shook his head again, dashing away the memories that were surfacing.

"Is there something wrong?" Dettella asked, giving him a puzzled frown.

"No, I'm alright. I just realized something is all." He replied, looking at her with a new suspicion.

"Are you sure? Did I offend you in someway?"

"I'm fine." Sam said tersely. "I need to tell my familiar we're coming, give me a minute."

Her frown deepened, and he saw her share a glance with Darrel and the other girl. He tried to ignore them, but he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for his rudeness.

'Letta! Are you there?' Sam called out mentally. It took a moment before she replied, but when she did it sounded more than a little worried.

'Sam! What has happened?! Where are you?! Are you hurt?! I cannot find you!'

'Calm down Letta, I'm fine. A little scuffed up, but otherwise alright. I'm on my way back with some other people, please don't kill them. Not yet at least.' Sam said, trying to ebb her concern. 'I'll explain what happened in a little while, so for now just try not to scare these people into doing something rash.'

'...Very well. But, you have a lot of explaining to do later, pup.' She said sternly.

Sam grinned, feeling comforted by her presence in his head again. 'We'll be there in a few minutes probably. I'm in a carriage that's following a... what was it called? Oh, right. A hoshind, he's friendly too by the way.'