Bound In Blood (Bound In Blood - Book One)

Chapter Thirty-Three

I was woken violently by someone grabbing me and lifting me from the ground in a hurry. Hardly able to open my eyes and with very little strength, I didn't fight them as they took me. Someone was shouting profanities in my ears and a sudden breeze was rushing past me. Tentatively, I opened my eyes to see the world disappearing before me at an incredible speed. Beneath me was Conner's shoulder of which I was perched on ungracefully and to my right, Romanus was beside him, struggling to keep up with the pace as he stumbled over the underbrush.

They seemed to be running from something with desperation. However, I saw no beast nor crowd of which we should have been evading. It appeared just as quiet as one would expect, the odd bird singing its beautiful song in the sky and flitting from treetop to treetop while small critters bounded through the underbrush. It was nothing out of the ordinary.

Confused and still prying myself away from sleep, I wriggled in Conner's grasp, desperate for some information. However, with his supernatural strength, he held me still, focusing on nothing but getting us away. Fear gripped at me at the thought of being discovered. Surely they were not upon us already. They couldn't be.

There was no way I was going back to that place. Never again. I could not bear the thought of practicing in their ways, doing things that were not right; that were not natural. I only wished to return to my old life. At one time, I would have loved the thrill of the chase but now, I was just so tired. I wanted a break.

For many miles we ran before Conner finally set me down. Romanus was hunched over, trying to catch his breath, gasping for air with his hands resting on his knees. I stumbled as my feet touched the ground; my legs were still wobbly and weak from my disturbed rest. Conner held my forearm gently, keeping me steady on my feet. I would never get used to the cold.

Above us, the sun was halfway between the horizon and the apex of its cycle. Conner seemed bothered by the light, tugging his cowl further over his head and fastening his mask on tight.

"What... what 'appened?" I asked in confusion, staring between the two of them. One moment, I had been sleeping so peacefully with my comrades and the next, I was being lugged through the woods in a daze. I felt awfully disorientated and my head was spinning.

"It's the scholars," Conner answered. "They know you've escaped."

"They found us?" I asked fearfully. Conner shook his head.

"Not quite. I woke to the sounds of their footsteps far off. A few more minutes and they would have been right on top of us," he explained.

"Ya think they heard us runnin'?"

"I would say so, yes." I dropped my gaze to the ground for a moment, not knowing what to really think. "Alex, do you know who Claridge Staryle is?" Conner asked. His tone of voice gave me the impression he knew something I hadn't. I looked back up at him, my head cocked to the side, curiosity burning within me.

"He's the headmaster o' the college, why d'ya ask?"

"I was told... things about him. Terrible things," he said vaguely. Perhaps my intuition was correct. Those damned scholars were not to be trusted.

"From who?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Well, what did this person say?"

"They said that he wants to... abolish you," he told me solemnly.

"Abolish? What're ya on about, eh?" I didn't even know the meaning of the word.

"Alex, you're but a pawn to him. He wishes to bend this world to his own will and he's been doing well at it thus far. I'm sure he's part of the reason that magick has been outlawed and labelled 'legend'. You're the only person who can stand in his way and ensure that doesn't happen. He... he wants to end you." I thought back to the message Silva had written me which depicted something similar. She knew exactly who he was and his intentions with me. When I read her letter, I couldn't trust a word she said but perhaps it were not just useless scrawling but words to abide by and study with care.