hers, but thankfully there were a few places people seldom went.
Ezzy focused harder and an image started to form in her mind. Through Paz's jewelled eyes, she could see the worn cobble road, the lake to the west, and the huge dilapidated building where Paz hid. She had placed him behind a large vine-covered column with the grass tall enough to almost cover his waist. People feared that place. Said it was haunted. Ezzy didn't believe in such things. Everyone knew a person's soul was released by the Soulbearers and sent to Kaz'ren.
The abandoned temple of Ze'an did give her the creeps though.
She had Paz take a look around, curious to see how the fallen temple looked. She hadn't been there since she was a kid, and it had been a mess back then. The dozen or so years surprisingly hadn't done that much more damage to the building. It even looked like--
The image started to blur for a moment, and Ezzy blinked her eyes reflexively even though they had nothing to do with what she was seeing. Shaking her head with chagrin, she instead focused harder on her connection to Paz. He wasn't that far away. It shouldn't be this hard to see through his--
Oh n o .
The realization hit her just as the image blurred and then vanished.
It had been less than two years! NO!
Ezzy grasped at the bond. Clawed at it. Felt it slip through her mental fingers, felt its strength wane.
No, no, no, no, no...
She could do nothing as the bond shrunk to thread thin and then was gone. There was nothing there.
Ezzy braced herself.
The whiplash of the bond dissolving hit her mind stronger than any physical blow she had ever felt. Her body convulsed and she lost all control. She blacked out before she could feel the impact of her crumpling body hit the floor.
***
"Thank you," Nolan said, swinging the pack of rations over his uninjured shoulder. The pack was light enough that it didn't much irritate his bad knee. The inn-keeper's wife just nodded in reply. The owners really were not a friendly bunch. It kept with their reputation though and fit in with their location close to the Endless Tombs.
He made his way back through the common room. Not a single person sat at the tables. As infrequently as he had visited inns and taverns throughout most of his life, he was used to at least some signs of life, regardless of the time of day. Here, it felt like a funeral procession had just left. He moved back through the room as quickly as he could, up the stairs, and into the room he and Ezzy would share for the night.
The bag slid from his shoulder as he saw Ezzy convulsing on the floor. In a few quick and painful steps he was by her side, lifting her head with one hand as he grabbed a pillow from the bed with his other hand and slid it underneath. Her eyes were closed, her breathing ragged, and drool ran out of both corners of her mouth. This was the first time Nolan had actually been present when Ezzy's bond had dissolved. The sight of her in this condition broke his heart.
"Ezzy," he whispered, "Ezzy, I need you to wake up."
Her body stopped twitching but she remained unresponsive.
"Ezzy, I need to know where you hid Paz."
Giving her a shake, he gently pulled one of her eyelids open. Her eye was rolled back. Not good.
"Come on, Ezzy. You're stronger than this." That was a lie, no one was strong enough to just shrug it off when a bond broke. "We need to get you to Paz so I can fix this."
Still nothing. Rising, he looked around the room until he spotted the pitcher of water provided by the inn. Grabbing it off the floor, he stood over her and hesitated for a moment to brace himself for her indignant screams. It couldn't be helped. Their situation was too dangerous at the moment for her to be out of it for a few days and for Paz to be who-knows-where, standing as useless as a statue.
With a sigh only he could hear, he dumped the entire contents of the pitcher onto her face.
As soon as the water hit her, she spluttered and sat up. Her eyes looked around,
Ezzy focused harder and an image started to form in her mind. Through Paz's jewelled eyes, she could see the worn cobble road, the lake to the west, and the huge dilapidated building where Paz hid. She had placed him behind a large vine-covered column with the grass tall enough to almost cover his waist. People feared that place. Said it was haunted. Ezzy didn't believe in such things. Everyone knew a person's soul was released by the Soulbearers and sent to Kaz'ren.
The abandoned temple of Ze'an did give her the creeps though.
She had Paz take a look around, curious to see how the fallen temple looked. She hadn't been there since she was a kid, and it had been a mess back then. The dozen or so years surprisingly hadn't done that much more damage to the building. It even looked like--
The image started to blur for a moment, and Ezzy blinked her eyes reflexively even though they had nothing to do with what she was seeing. Shaking her head with chagrin, she instead focused harder on her connection to Paz. He wasn't that far away. It shouldn't be this hard to see through his--
Oh n o .
The realization hit her just as the image blurred and then vanished.
It had been less than two years! NO!
Ezzy grasped at the bond. Clawed at it. Felt it slip through her mental fingers, felt its strength wane.
No, no, no, no, no...
She could do nothing as the bond shrunk to thread thin and then was gone. There was nothing there.
Ezzy braced herself.
The whiplash of the bond dissolving hit her mind stronger than any physical blow she had ever felt. Her body convulsed and she lost all control. She blacked out before she could feel the impact of her crumpling body hit the floor.
***
"Thank you," Nolan said, swinging the pack of rations over his uninjured shoulder. The pack was light enough that it didn't much irritate his bad knee. The inn-keeper's wife just nodded in reply. The owners really were not a friendly bunch. It kept with their reputation though and fit in with their location close to the Endless Tombs.
He made his way back through the common room. Not a single person sat at the tables. As infrequently as he had visited inns and taverns throughout most of his life, he was used to at least some signs of life, regardless of the time of day. Here, it felt like a funeral procession had just left. He moved back through the room as quickly as he could, up the stairs, and into the room he and Ezzy would share for the night.
The bag slid from his shoulder as he saw Ezzy convulsing on the floor. In a few quick and painful steps he was by her side, lifting her head with one hand as he grabbed a pillow from the bed with his other hand and slid it underneath. Her eyes were closed, her breathing ragged, and drool ran out of both corners of her mouth. This was the first time Nolan had actually been present when Ezzy's bond had dissolved. The sight of her in this condition broke his heart.
"Ezzy," he whispered, "Ezzy, I need you to wake up."
Her body stopped twitching but she remained unresponsive.
"Ezzy, I need to know where you hid Paz."
Giving her a shake, he gently pulled one of her eyelids open. Her eye was rolled back. Not good.
"Come on, Ezzy. You're stronger than this." That was a lie, no one was strong enough to just shrug it off when a bond broke. "We need to get you to Paz so I can fix this."
Still nothing. Rising, he looked around the room until he spotted the pitcher of water provided by the inn. Grabbing it off the floor, he stood over her and hesitated for a moment to brace himself for her indignant screams. It couldn't be helped. Their situation was too dangerous at the moment for her to be out of it for a few days and for Paz to be who-knows-where, standing as useless as a statue.
With a sigh only he could hear, he dumped the entire contents of the pitcher onto her face.
As soon as the water hit her, she spluttered and sat up. Her eyes looked around,
Similar Books
