Bindings Read Online Free Page A

skin.
    â€œAre you here to help?” the other man holding the net asked. He seemed peeved. “Did she think we couldn’t do this on our own?”
    The man gripping Tim ignored the other two men. He concentrated on Tim. “I will release you if you give me your word that you will not run away.”
    â€œAll right,” Tim choked out. “I promise.”
    â€œSwear by your name,” the man demanded.
    Now that’s another thing entirely , Tim thought. I’m not giving up my name to this bloke. I learn from my mistakes . “No,” Tim replied. He cringed a little, waiting for the man’s reaction.
    A begrudging smile crossed the man’s lean face. “Very well. You know the value of names, I see.”
    The man lowered the knife but kept a powerful grip on Tim’s shoulder. Unrelenting, he quickly bound Tim’s wrists together with thin leather straps. Then he lowered a hood over Tim’s head. Tim felt the man hoist him up onto his shoulders as if he were no more than an overloaded knapsack.
    â€œHey!” Tim protested, but the sound was muffled by the hood.
    â€œYou two go home,” Tim heard his kidnapper tell the others.
    â€œShe will be furious if we return without him,” one of the men protested.
    â€œShe’s not here. I am,” the man said. “And now I’m not!”
    With that statement, the world seemed to vanish. Tim felt a rush of air as his abductor transported them away to somewhere.
    Tim had felt this rush before—on his journey through time and space. It could only mean one thing; his abductor was magic!

Chapter Two
    T IM FELT A POUNDING HEAT. The hood he wore grew stifling, and his shirt clung to his sweating skin. He felt none of the woozy nausea he had experienced the first time he’d been magicked across planes of reality.
    I suppose I’m getting used to it , Tim thought, becoming an old hand at this magical travel. Maybe I should look into becoming an astral guide—cruise director for magical journeys.
    He felt himself being lowered to the ground.
    â€œHold still,” Tim was ordered.
    Tim obeyed—what else could he do? The hood covering his head was removed roughly.
    â€œOy!” Tim cried. The hood had dragged his glasses off his face, scraping his skin. He blinked against the punishing sun, then scanned the rocky ground for his specs. He hated feeling as helpless as he did without them.
    A large, gloved hand appeared under Tim’s nose. It held his glasses. Tim squinted up at his abductor.
    Tim wasn’t sure whether or not the man was offering the glasses to him.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with your eyes?” the man asked.
    â€œWhat’s it to you?” Tim snapped.
    The man moved his hand out of reach. Clearly he wasn’t going to give Tim his glasses until he got an answer.
    â€œOkay,” Tim grumbled. “I’m nearsighted.”
    The man turned the glasses over and then peered through them. “Ah. You need these to see what’s in the distance?”
    This bloke has never seen eyeglasses before? Where’s he been? “Yes. Can I have them back, please?”
    The man nodded and held them out to Tim, who grabbed the glasses awkwardly, his wrists still bound together. He put them on and took a better look at the stranger.
    The man was tall, and he had a weathered face that bore the unmistakable signs of outdoor life. His long straight hair was lighter than Tim’s, but his eyes were the same shade of brown. He wore a long leather coat, high leather boots, and one glove. His shirt and trousers were of somesoft material Tim had never seen, and they were the purplish color of twilight. A large, smooth stone hung around his neck on a leather cord.
    He settled onto a boulder and seemed to be studying Tim as intently as Tim was studying him. Tim wondered how he was measuring up. This scrutiny was worse than being kidnapped. Tim felt as if he were being tested,