Bird of a Wing (Bow 1)

Chapter 41

Eyeri's blood ran cold at the words, a chill running down his spine. His hands began to shake, only just managing to keep his breathing under control as the smell of burning flesh returned to his nose. His inside suddenly feeling numb and his throat dry. A flash of pain moved through his scars with a haunting voice of his old overseer.

'As a slave you are nothing. This mark will prove that to everyone. That you are nothing but a belonging... You are nothing but an object...'

Heat bloomed over Eyeri's back, the phantom sensation of boiling water been poured over him as a mock ritual into being a slave. Gulping, Eyeri moved forwards out of Ryraso's grip, his hands reaching for the burn mark, both Ryraso and Tai'ray watching him with cautious eyes as his hands touched the mark, lightly tracing the pattern. Two wings on either shoulder blade. A simple mark, but burnt into the skin forevermore. A purple blemish for the rest of his life.

Eyeri began to shake as the memory of a whip coming down on his back flashed though him. He hadn't done anything wrong to deserve that whip, the overseer had just been showing him his place. Still, the words that Tai'ray said echoed over the memory, with the feeling of Ryraso's arms around him, pulling him away from Jak.

"Eyeri," Ryraso breathed.

"Belong..." Eyeri murmured, looking at Tai'ray with unreadable eyes. "To the K'nairi?" his voice sounded almost questioning. A brand to show who he belonged to, who every human who lived with the k'nairi belonged to, the race itself.

A flash of a memory moved through him again. The overseer's cruel smile, made harsh by the lighting shadowing his eyes meaning all Eyeri had seen was sharp teeth. 'You all are nothing more than animals to be owned after all...' the man's voice moved through him.

"No, not to the k'nairi but to the link," Tai'ray said firmly, "Just as every k'nairi does." The difference was something Ryraso knew but he doubted Eyeri would.

"And the Winglord is the bearer of the link?" Eyeri asked, looking at Tai'ray with a look that suggested he knew the answer. The Winglord was Lord and Master of the k'nairi, quite literally from the current perspective Eyeri was seeing through.

"Yes, I am. The link is a bond which joins every k'nairi together. I can see it. I can see who is in the link and who has a bond. Humans are not born into the link like the k'nairi, but they can form one. These are the ones who are k'nairi. These are the ones who are branded," Tai'ray explained gently, mentally letting Jak know he could put his shirt back on.

"I will receive one as well?" Eyeri stated.

"Yes," Tai'ray nodded.

"Why? I'm not k'nairi!" Eyeri said, horror filling his voice as the world began to shrink back in again, taking a step backwards. "I can't go through that again. I won't be an object again," his voice became more and more panicked with every word. Ryraso grabbed Eyeri's waist, tugged him close, kissing his 'ray winced at the words, knowing the meanings behind his words hadn't reached the boy.

"It is not a slave mark, Eyeri," Jak said softly. "We are not slaves!" he added more strongly.

"Jak is right. You will never be an object," Tai'ray promised. "What you are is a very clever medic with the potential to do a lot of good. What you are, is the protege of someone who is very much k'nairi."

Slaves with tricks are more valuable than slaves without ... you are without. The overseer's voice returned with an amused sneer in his tone.

"I gave myself tricks..." Eyeri breathed, his breathing becoming more erratic making it hard for him to speak more. He had made himself desirable as a tool. He had made himself valuable. He had been a fool. A worthless human was just that, a clever human was wanted and cherished. This slavery wouldn't be with whips and burns but with hugs and kisses, for as long as his hands could work.

"You're safe with the k'nairi," Jak said this time. "They never leave their own behind. They always take care of each other."

There is no escape.

"You don't need to," Tai'ray said firmly, shocking Eyeri by making him realise he had muttered that memory out loud. How many times had he been told that phrase? That he had no escape? "The k'nairi will become your home, Navat will become your home."

"He is telling the truth. There is no shame in belonging to the link," Jak agreed, "It is the safest place in the world." Even as the words were spoken, everyone knew they had not reached the boy. Eyeri looked almost green and still trembling in Ryraso's arms.

"No, NO!" Eyeri started yelling, "Not again, not again. Not that smell..." He shut his eyes and pushed his hands against his ears. His legs collapsed and Ryraso supported him, pulling him backwards so they were sitting down again on the pillows, rocking him gently. "Not that smell... It never goes away you know? The smell of burning flesh. Of a human being stripped of its soul. Of its life," Eyeri sobbed.

"You will have a life," Ryraso murmured, "You will. The link is nothing to be scared off." It really wasn't. It was home. He knew that. Everyone in it knew that. As much as they tried to fight it.

"Slaves are never kept whole," Eyeri yelled.

"You will not be a slave!" Tai'ray almost yelled, losing his patience. He moved over to Eyeri and surrounded him with wings, blocking Eyeri's vision of anything but him and white feathers. He was careful to wrap them behind Ryraso and shove them in his face, his eyes flashing at Ryraso with a warning not to speak. "Look at me!" Tai'ray ordered. Eyeri flinched, pressing back into Ryraso's firm grip. "I said look at me!" Tai'ray said firmly and seriously. Eyeri looked up, blue eyes meeting blue.

The look in Tai'ray's eyes was not gentle, nor was it angry but rather serious and sincere. He did not want the little one to hurt. He wanted Eyeri to be able to laugh and tease. He wanted Eyeri to be able to ask questions and get in trouble. He wanted the boy to be safe. If nothing else, he did not like how damaged the boy appeared to be due to the cruelty of others. Already Tai'ray had seen traces of what the boy could have been if it wasn't for how meek he had been forced to become.

"No human marked by the k'nairi is a slave. No more than if someone wears the crest of a house that they are slaves to the house" Tai'ray stated firmly. "It means that if anyone harms you, it is an offence to the k'nairi race and they will be dealt with as such!" That was something they had made clear to Loror as well. More than a few D'mar had been on the wrong sides of arguments on how to treat caw. Humans outside the link did not understand how it worked. Even inside the link, it was confusing for some of them. "You will be safe and you will never have to worry about anything again! We will not take you from Ryraso. You will be treated as we treat Aw'endo. As along as you need to reside with us, you will be welcome at the royal nest. You will be safe!"

Ryraso let his own relief roll over the link to Tai'ray at those words. Eyeri was going to be adopted into the family as well, not just left on his own but he couldn't help but also let his own displeasure be felt at the statement. Eyeri was not going to be taken from him but brought with him to the nest. "Because it's not like we have any choice about our home from now on," Ryraso added.

Tai'ray's eyes snapped up to Ryraso's. His next response could have been better.