Forged Bonds (Binding Words Book 4) Read online

  “Dominguez? Your apprentice was accused of attacking them before,” Carmady said. “Maybe someone just wants you to tarnish their name.”

  “Maybe,” Sean shrugged. “If I can help again, let me know. And thank you. I know the guard doesn’t normally get enough credit for all their hard work.”

  Carmady blinked, “Thank you, sir. I just want to close this case; someone paid to have you assaulted and that goes against the law.” Standing up, the Sergeant looked back at the table of smiths and Shapers, who kept looking their way. “It looks like your friends are waiting for you. I wish you a pleasant night.”

  “Night, Sergeant.”

  When he got back to the table, Sean explained what had just happened. While he was talking, he became aware of just how tired he was. At that, he decided to call it a night and finished his mug.

  “Another round?” Lilly asked, coming to the table before he could stand.

  “Not for me,” Sean said. “Thank you for your understanding, Lilly.”

  “Sean, tomorrow we’ll be having dinner with Eva,” Ryann said. “You’ll be on your own.”

  “That’s fine,” Sean chuckled. “Guys, see you tomorrow.”

  Ida, seeing him stand, said her goodbyes and joined him and Ryann as they headed for the door. “Early night again?”

  “Sir,” Ven said, landing on his shoulder as they walked, “Felora agreed to helping early and collecting payment on Fiveday night.”

  “Thanks, Ven,” Sean said.

  “She wanted me to tell you she will be over after nightfall on Fiveday. She needs to be in the same room for it to work, she said.”

  Sean rolled his eyes, “I’ll have my wives there to make sure she behaves, so fine. I’m sure she could do it from another room if pressed. Let’s go tell everyone and call it a night.”

  “A night sounds good,” Ida smiled.

  “Agreed,” Ryann said.

  Sean frowned at the byplay but let it go. Once they reached the house and made it to the bedroom, he found out what they meant. “Oh… both of you?”

  “If that’s okay?” Ida asked.

  “I’m not saying no, but are you both—” Sean began to say, but Ryann kissed him hard, pushing him against the wall.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Sean took his seat, a broad smile on his face. “Okay, Oscar, we’re going to get you Shaping today.”

  “Thank you, sir. I’ve been waiting all tenday for this,” Oscar Blackhammer said, then winced. “Do you have to give me more energy?”

  “You took it like a champ last time,” Sean said, “and yes. This should be the last time it hurts you, though. Did you want to try Shaping first or get past this first?”

  “Rather get the pain done first, sir.”

  “Okay, try to relax. I’ll get you through this as quickly as I can. Try not to break the chair this time.”

  “I’m still sorry about that,” Oscar said earnestly. “I—” He cut off when what felt like liquid fire started pouring through his veins.

  Sean watched him adjust with Mage Sight, cutting the energy off once the young man was holding as much as he could. “And done. Take a minute to recover.”

  Oscar slumped in the chair, panting heavily. He uncurled one of his fists to wipe the sweat off his forehead. “That was worse than the last time.”

  “More energy this time,” Sean replied. “You might not have had any to start with, but you’re a giant reservoir now. Out of all the boys, you are the spongiest of them. Let’s see what you can do.”

  “I’m ready,” Oscar said, beaming at the praise.

  ~*~*~

  A couple of hours later, Sean was walking Oscar to the front door. “Minimal Shaping until next tenday. Sharpen an edge, fix the small flaw, but be careful. You can still easily tap out if you do too much too fast.”

  “I’ll be careful, sir,” Oscar agreed.

  “Oh, good, I was about to send Ven for you,” Fiona said when he walked into the main room. “Rebecca Angusson is here.”

  Sean gave the painfully thin woman a wide smile, “It’s good to see you again.”

  “Thank you for giving my Angus so much to do,” Rebecca replied. “He told me that people have been trying to pressure him to stop, but he won’t let them. I thank you for not holding anything against him.”

  “He’s a good man, and I’m glad to work with him,” Sean said. “Oscar, see you next Fourday.”

  “Of course. Thank you again, sir.”

  Once Oscar left, Rebecca was the only customer in the shop. “If you can tell Fiona what you want for your clip, she can get it started,” Sean said, focusing on her with flesh Shaping to find what was wrong with her.

  “I’m hoping for…” Rebecca began, but Sean tuned her out as he stared into her. Nothing immediately jumped out at him as being wrong. Frowning, he narrowed his view, going past the muscle and into her blood.

  Rebecca’s blood was off; tracking that small lead, he found the problem in her bone marrow. She had two types of blood cells being made. One died shortly after being made, never making it into her body in any great quantity.

  If I nudge her body into not producing them, it should work, Sean thought. Or I can stabilize the production so they would survive. Fuck, what do I do?

  “Sean, do you want to look at this design for me?” Fiona asked, breaking his focus.

  “Of course,” Sean said as he looked down at the hair clip. Frowning, he could not see anything wrong with it, then realized Fiona was buying him more time. “I can touch it up,” he said. “Rebecca, would you like some tea while I finish this up?”

  “Oh, no, I couldn’t,” Rebecca said, clearly shocked that the offer had even been made.

  “He’s a perfectionist,” Fiona said. “He might take a bit longer on it, and there’s no need to stand here waiting. Please, come and have some tea with me.”

  Gnawing her lip for a moment, Rebecca almost refused again but nodded. “Okay, but only one cup. I do need to get home.”

  “Venn, have Andrea bring a kettle of tea to the work room, please,” Fiona said.

  “Of course,” Venn said, vanishing through the ceiling.

  “This way,” Fiona said and lifted the counter for Rebecca.

  Sean watched them go as he held the clip in his hands. The door shut behind them and Sean called out in a soft voice, “Omin?”

  “Yes, sir?” the Messenger Fairy asked, landing on the counter.

  “Ask Andrea to come up here once she drops the tea off, please.”

  “Of course.”

  Now what do I do... do I stop the secondary production or stabilize it? I have no idea what the second sort of blood cells are from. It’s possible she has a mixed heritage and doesn’t know about it. If I strengthen that side, it might cause her other problems. On the other hand, it might let her do things that could make their lives better. The front door opening derailed his train of thought again.

  “How can I help you?” Sean asked the man who stepped into the shop.

  It only took him a couple of minutes to sell the man a kettle and two hair clips. As the man was walking out the door, Andrea came in the back door.

  “You needed me?”

  “I want you to watch the counter for a few minutes, Andrea. If you have any trouble, have one of the Fairies come get me or Fiona.”

  “Yes, Sean.”

  “Thanks… umm. If you had a bloodline you didn’t know about and it suddenly asserted itself at your age, would you be okay with that or would you hate it?”

  Andrea looked at him blankly for a minute. “I don’t understand. If I could have access to Talents, I would welcome it gladly.”

  “What if it changed who you are?”

  “Made me blue or gave me wings, you mean?”

  “Yeah.”

  Andrea paused, lips pursed. “If I was around loved ones, I would be fine with it. It might mean I could do more for those I cared about.”

  Exhaling his held breath, Sean nodded. “Okay
. Thanks.”

  “I don’t, do I? Have a secret bloodline, I mean.”

  “No, not you, Andrea. You’re human all the way through as far as I can see.”

  “Oh,” Andrea said, shoulders slumping as she looked away from him.

  “Sorry, Andrea. There’s nothing wrong with just being human.”

  “Of course,” she replied, clearly still sad.

  “After I finish this, we can spar,” Sean said.

  “If that is your wish, sir.”

  Sean sighed internally. Patting her shoulder, he opened the door into the hallway. “Be back in a minute or two.”

  He shook his head as he headed down the hall, wondering if he would always end up putting his foot in his mouth when it came to women. Stopping just outside the door, he took a deep breath. He knew he was about to meddle in ways he probably should not.

  “I have it done,” Sean announced as he entered the room. Going to Rebecca, he held the clip out to her. “If it’s okay, I’d like to fasten this in your hair to make sure it works like I think it will.”

  Rebecca’s jaw dropped a bit, “But—”

  “Forgive him, please. He can be such a child at times,” Fiona said, smiling gently at the uncertain woman. “I find it easiest to humor him.”

  “Oh.... then of course, sir.”

  Sean smiled, stepping behind her. He slowly gathered her hair together as he surrounded her with his energy. “Here we go,” he said, opening the clip and pushing his energy into her bones. His hands worked almost automatically as he focused on her blood marrow. Pushing his intent out, he watched when her marrow changed in some indefinable way, responding to him. The next moment, both kinds of blood cells were being produced and surviving side-by-side. With an audible snick, the clip closed in her hair and Sean stepped back, pulling his energy back with him. “All done. I hope you like it.”

  Rebecca swayed in her seat, setting her cup down with shaky hands. “Oh, pardon me.”

  “Are you okay?” Fiona asked with concern.

  “I have moments,” Rebecca said softly as she leaned back in the chair, closing her eyes. “It’ll pass. I just need a minute.”

  Sean watched her with Mage Sight in one eye. A flicker of aquamarine began to sparkle deep inside of her. It was the faintest of sparks for now, but easily visible in the void she was, the tiny motes floating toward her neck. Physically, Rebecca did not change as he watched, but instinctively, he knew she was healthier than she had been.

  “Can we do anything?” Sean asked with concern. “Fairly certain Angus would be upset with me if you had a problem while here.”

  Rebecca giggled, her voice carrying a soothing note, “No, Angus wouldn’t blame you. He knows about my problems. My mother’s side has always been a little frail.”

  “Oh?” Fiona asked, seeing Sean’s curiosity.

  “Yes, it’s nothing. We once had a healer check; there is nothing physically wrong with me.”

  “Are you feeling better?” Sean asked.

  “Yes, the dizziness is passing,” Rebecca said. “Thank you for the clip. Angus was so proud of the deal when he told me of it. I agree with him that our dealings with you are worth the trouble it might bring.”

  “Can I walk you home to make sure that you’re okay?” Fiona asked.

  “Oh, no, I couldn’t,” Rebecca said, standing up. “I feel much better now... if anything, I feel better than I have all day.”

  “I’ll look forward to seeing him on Sixday,” Sean said.

  “He’ll be here.” Touching the clip in her hair, she smiled, “Thank you again.”

  Escorting her to the front, Sean patted Andrea’s shoulder. “Ready for some sparring?”

  “Yes, sir,” Andrea replied, her disappointment still obvious.

  “Come on, then. I’ll explain what I was asking you about,” Sean said.

  ~*~*~

  Sean sighed and set the pipes aside. I still have a few days to figure this out, but if I can’t, we’ll go with the gem pipes so the bathhouse can at least have hot and cold water on tap. I just don’t see what I can do to emulate knobs. Then again... I’d want to wait on those until after the deals are concluded with the inn and the Den. No doubt Amedee and Saret will find ways to angle for those upgrades, too, but maybe I can get another favor out of them for it.

  Looking at the gems he had on the bench next to him, Sean frowned. It has to be the gems that will be the key. The enchantment itself is as good as it’s going to get. It’s not the type of gem, though... I’ve checked that four times already. Wait, wait, wait. I’m doing this backward. What if the water was always there, always being summoned and the enchantment cut off if the water got to a certain level? Then I could just use a standard valve to throttle the flow.

  Shaping a simple ball valve, Sean attached it to a pipe and sealed the end of it. Shaping the enchantment inside the pipe, he let it fill the pipe with cold water. He waited for a full minute, feeling the pipe grow colder, then examined it. The pipe was straining as the water pressure started to build, with the enchantment continuing to try to add more water. Pointing the valve into the room, Sean opened it and water shot out of it at speed. Wincing as he imagined taking that to the face, he opened the valve all the way, but the pressure did not diminish. He erased the rune and the water slowed and stopped as the pipe emptied.

  “Okay... the theory of the valve is good. Now to find a way to make a shut off enchantment instead. An off switch will be easier to make, right?”

  “Sean, you okay?” Ida asked, poking her head into the room.

  “Yeah. I think I’ve been going about my ideas the wrong way. I might have a solution in a tenday or two.”

  “I don’t doubt you in the least,” Ida said, smiling. “Andrea said dinner will be ready shortly. We’re about to leave, as well.”

  “Okay. I’ll clean up then come inside.”

  “I can help,” Ida chuckled as she saw the water slowly draining out of the room. “You have a way of making the darnedest messes.”

  Sean’s mind flashed back to the previous night, and he went red, “Err…”

  Ida glanced at him and giggled, blushing. “That isn’t what I meant.”

  “I know, I know,” Sean said quickly.

  “Are you going to the inn or staying home?” Ida asked after a minute.

  “Going to just stay home. I know that will make Ryann happier since I won’t have anyone else with me.”

  “And the rest of us, too,” Ida added, nodding.

  “I’ll probably work on this a bit after dinner. I still need to get my bath in, too. I was going to, but I had an idea and well... here we are.”

  Once they had everything cleaned up, Sean headed upstairs with Ida. “Maybe Andrea and I will go check on Chastity and Marjorie. Felora was supposed to see her today. We should drop off food, if nothing else.”

  “That should be okay,” Ida said slowly. “It’s just down the street, after all.”

  “It will be fine,” Myna said, having overheard them. “Master will make sure that Andrea is okay, and the scouts will watch out for any ambushes for both of them.”

  “He’s not going to the inn, is he?” Ryann asked alertly.

  “Just to drop off food and check on Chastity,” Sean told her. “I’m going to come home and work on my next idea instead of going to the inn. Oh, I should let them know. Omin, can you nip over to tell Joseph not to expect me tonight, please?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You all stay safe and have a good night,” Sean said, giving each of his wives a kiss in turn.

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a female only gathering,” Fiona said. “A long time.” Her mood went a bit melancholy.

  “My first,” Ryann said.

  “Mine, too,” Ida nodded.

  “We’ll have to make it special, then,” Fiona said, snapping out of it. “Come now, ladies. Let’s go see our friends.”

  Sean saw them out the door with a smile, stepping out to wat
ch them make it to the street and waving when they waved back at him. Andrea was waiting in the doorway of the dining room when he went back inside.

  “Dinner is ready.”

  “I’m looking forward to it, Andrea.”

  Dinner was steak salad, the “steak” being very thin strips of meat. Andrea served a light red wine with it, which paired well with the dressing. Ven and Venn sat where Fiona normally would, while Andrea was to Sean’s other side.