The Eighth Warden Bk. 03 Ch. 15-16

"Badru?"

"He's the first among those of us who are left. You should know he might show up in your dreams someday. That's how he talks to us."

"The First? He never told me his real name."

"He's ... not well. He's been at this for a long time. I offered to send him help once, but he's stubborn."

"If you're Three ..." Corec started. Then he laughed and shook his head. "We came here for another reason, but I was hoping to find you too." As he spoke, he realized it had never occurred to him to ask Leena to search for Three.

"Oh?" Hildra asked.

"The First said you could help me. If you can answer my questions, I'd be happy to let you examine the sword."

"I'm not so mercenary as that," the dwarven woman said. "I'll answer your questions either way. If you're even newer than Seven, I imagine things must still seem very strange."

"Thank you," Corec said. He was about to ask how to end the warden binding spell when another thought occurred to him. "You're right—this is all new to us. My friends and I are still trying to figure out what to do. It seems like the wardens don't really have any sort of real purpose."

"That's not a question," Hildra pointed out. "As for a purpose, would you really want some ancient spell forcing you to serve it? You should always live your life on your own terms. Maybe the wardens once served a higher cause, or maybe that's just a story we tell each other; I don't know. I provide guidance for those who will listen, and I conduct my studies." She hefted his sword again, and gestured to the other weapons around the room. "That's enough for me. It should be enough for anyone."

Hildra's choices sounded a lot like Yelena's. Maybe the wardens weren't so unusual after all.

"I think I understand," Corec said.

"No, you don't. Not yet."

"What do you mean?"

Hildra gave him a serious look. "You can go about your life however you want, but, together with your bondmates, you'll represent a great deal of power. Eventually you'll be tempted to interfere, to do something to help the people around you. And you should—but not everyone will want the help you think they need. One person can only help so much. Can you stand aside and let people make their own decisions, even when you know the outcome will be a disaster? Or will you force them to do what you think is best?"

"I'd never force anyone to do what I want."

"You'll be tempted. You'll watch nations rise and fall; you'll see them make the same mistakes time and time again. You'll want to save them from themselves, but where does it end? You conquer a small kingdom and you rule over it for, what, a hundred years? A thousand? You crush its enemies and you conquer its neighbors, because wouldn't it be good if they, too, could benefit from your wisdom? Soon, you have an empire, and your word is law. People are afraid to speak their own minds because you think you know more than anyone else, even your own bondmates." She paused, looking off into the distance.

"That's what you did," Corec said with sudden realization.

"Bancyra didn't become the most powerful kingdom in Cordaea by accident. But that was a long time ago and I've learned better. As far as anyone knows, the Sorceress Queen has been dead for eight hundred years. Let the people find their own destiny. Stick to gentle advice and subtle guidance. A simple word here and there can change the course of a nation's future for the better. The wisdom is in knowing what that word is, and when you should say it."

Corec wasn't sure how to respond. He hadn't planned anything more ambitious than building a small home near Four Roads. "I'll be careful."

She chuckled. "You'll learn—give it a few centuries. Now, you said you had other questions?"

Corec nodded. "The First told me you know of a way to end the warden bond?"

"I do. You've run into problems with your bondmates already?"

"I didn't have any control over the binding spell until recently. I had no idea what I was doing. The first five people I cast it on didn't have any choice in the matter, and I promised them I'd find a way to end it. The two who want to end it, at least."

Hildra nodded. Unlike Yelena and the First, she didn't lecture him about the appropriate use of binding spells. "This life isn't for everyone. For me, it was my husband. My first husband, I mean. We married before I was chosen, and he didn't like how close I grew to my other bondmates. He was also jealous that I bonded my sister before I'd even told him about being a warden. I suppose that should have been a warning sign—though whether for him or me, I couldn't say."

"Can you teach me how to do it?"

She hesitated. "I can, but it may not be everything you're hoping for." She rolled up her left sleeve and pointed to the uppermost rune on her arm. Unlike the other three, which glowed with a purple light, the top rune was just a white outline, barely visible on her skin. "The bond is severed on the other person's side, but it doesn't go away completely from your end. You're limited to eight bondmates, and that bond can never be used for someone else. You might be able to bond the same person again, though. I haven't tried it, but there's no reason why it wouldn't work."

"What happened to your husband?"

"We separated, and he went his own way. He grew old and died, like any other stoneborn."

"I'm sorry."

"It was a long time ago. In truth, I can barely remember him, but our son and daughter live on." She tapped two spots on her right arm, where the two lowest runes would be hidden by her sleeve. "One of my bondmates died in a cave-in two hundred years ago, but the others are still around. My daughter is in Desat, serving as an advisor to the queen. My son lives in Aencyr from time to time, but he's somewhere down south at the moment."

"Your bondmates don't stay nearby?" Corec asked. Yelena's bondmates had seemed to remain in Tyrsall most of the time.

"I wouldn't say that, but your sense of time changes when you've been around as long as we have. We go where we're needed. Right now, Bancyra is peaceful, which allows us to follow our own pursuits. I conduct my research, my son writes his books, and my sister's probably out in the orchard checking our fruit trees. I'll introduce you to her before you leave."

Corec nodded. "I'm not concerned about the limitations. I'd like to learn how to end the binding spell." Being limited to six bondmates didn't seem like much of a sacrifice, considering he'd never intended to have any at all.

"Then watch what I do with your arcane sight. I can demonstrate it on my husband's inactive bond."

"I don't know an arcane sight spell."

Hildra frowned at him. "You should have learned one by now. You're not a wizard, but you're not a trifler either."

"A what?"

"Maybe that doesn't translate well," she said. "A dabbler? They're arcane mages who can't control which spells they learn. But you and I are wardens. We have some control over it, and arcane sight is too useful to ignore—like mage lights." She paused. "You know a mage light spell, don't you?"

Corec held his palm up and released a mage light. It floated up to hover near the ceiling as he thought over her words. Was she saying she wasn't a wizard after all? She was like him?

Hildra smiled. "Good. If you can learn that, then maybe I can teach you an arcane sight spell. Let's start there, and then I'll show you how to sever the bond."

#

"You can end the binding spell?" Razai asked, hoping she hadn't misheard.

"She showed me how, but I haven't tried it yet," Corec replied. "I wanted to tell everyone at once." He looked around the room at his other bondmates. "Not just Razai and Ellerie, but all of you. For anyone who wants out, if Hildra's right, I should be able to undo it."

"I don't want out," Treya said clearly.

Katrin didn't speak; she simply grasped Corec's hand. Shavala shook her head. Sarette didn't react at all, but then, of all of them, she was the only one who'd chosen the warden bond for herself.

Ellerie frowned. "Lady Hildra just happened to be Three, who we didn't know how to find?" she asked. "And she just happened to send for you without knowing you were also a warden? Doesn't that seem too convenient?"

Corec shrugged. "We knew she was somewhere in this direction. She's definitely a warden, if that arcane sight spell is working right. She and I have the same ... I don't know what to call them. Those lines or tendrils that are linked to the runes."

"I'm not saying she's not a warden; I'm saying maybe she's not the real Hildra."

"The servants seemed to believe she was. Unless you think she replaced the entire household? I suppose that's possible, but why bother? If she wanted to talk to me, she could have done so without the pretense."

Ellerie relaxed. "No, I just get nervous when things are too easy. It makes me wonder why."

Corec laughed. "Easy? I've been trying to fix this for almost a year now. Maybe we just got lucky for a change." He turned to Razai. "Do you want to try?"

"Let's do it," she said.

"There's something I should tell you first. Hildra said her husband grew old and died. He lost the long life that the bondmates receive."

"I don't care about that!" Razai snapped. Then she had a worrying thought. "Wait. When you say he grew old, you don't mean all at once, do you?"

"Uhh, no. He lived a normal lifespan. Normal for a dwarf, anyway."

"Then it's fine. I just want it gone." Razai was a hundred thirty-seven years old and hadn't noticed herself aging since her early twenties. At this rate, she'd live to be as old as an elf. She hardly needed to extend that any further.

Corec said, "She also thinks I might be able to cast the spell on you again if you ever change your mind."

"Why would I ever want to do that?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just telling you what she told me."

"Just try it, will you?"

Corec nodded and closed his eyes, concentrating. A moment later, he looked up. "It's done."

Razai hadn't felt anything. She checked the extra sense that had come with the warden bond, but could no longer feel Corec's location in her mind. "That's it?" she asked. "Is it gone?" She held her hand up in front of her forehead to see if it reflected any light. "I stopped trying to conceal the rune. Did it go away?"

"It's gone," Corec confirmed. He rolled up his right sleeve. The third rune down—twin to Razai's own, approximating a pair of curved knives—had faded to a faint white outline against his skin. Above it, Treya's circle with a curved line through it and Katrin's odd horseshoe rune still glowed a brilliant blue. "She said your side should go away completely, but mine will stay like this."

"But you can't track me anymore?" Razai asked.

"No, the link is dead."

Razai took in a deep breath. She'd suspected Corec's promises to find a way to end the spell would come to nothing, and now that it had happened so suddenly, she hadn't had a chance to figure out how she felt about it. "You did what you said you'd do," she admitted. "I suppose I should thank you for that." She didn't actually thank him though, wondering if he'd notice the wordplay. So there, Father, Razai thought to herself, hiding a wild grin. You'll have to find someone else to do your bidding. Vatarxis hadn't contacted her since she'd been bonded, so she'd never even learned why he'd wanted it to happen in the first place.

"You're welcome," Corec said. "Ellerie?"

The elven woman looked uncertain. "Will it affect anything else? I still don't know what Yelena meant about the warden bond strengthening our magic. Will I be able to cast the larger arrow shield? It takes more power than I could have managed when we first met. And there are some other spells I'm trying to learn."

"We didn't really discuss that. I got the impression Hildra didn't talk to her husband much after they severed the bond. She might not know."

"Then maybe I should wait. Let's find Tir Yadar, and then see if there's anything I can do to help you with Prince Rusol. After that we can end it."

"Are you sure?" Corec asked. "Before, you didn't want any help from the binding spell."

"We're finally close to Tir Yadar, and we're more likely to succeed if we use all of our resources. It won't hurt to wait a while."

Razai snorted. The elf was as crazy as the rest of them. As for herself, Razai still had a job to do—a well-paying job that she'd promised Renny she'd finish—but in a few more months, she'd be done with it, and she'd never have to deal with the rest of the group again. Except Leena. Leena was all right. And Treya was Renny's friend, so she'd probably meet her again. And Boktar wasn't too annoying. But that was it, definitely.