Bindings Read Online Free Page B

and he didn’t even know in what subject.
    The man leaned forward and held up the curved hunting knife that not too long ago had been pressed against Tim’s throat. “Hold out your hands,” he said.
    Tim hesitated. That knife looked awfully sharp.
    The man’s brown eyes never wavered from Tim’s, and he held very still, as if a sudden movement might cause Tim to bolt. The man nodded once as if to say “it’s all right, chap,” and gestured with his gloved hand for Tim to come closer.
    Tim held out his arms and the man cut the bindings. Tim rubbed his sore wrists. Those leather ties were tight!
    The man tossed his knife to the dirt, stood, and paced. Now that Tim felt less vulnerable, and his kidnapper was farther away and unarmed, he was able to take in his surroundings. They seemed to be in some vast desert. There was nothing greenanywhere. It was all dirt, tumbleweed, boulders, and rocks under a bleached-out sky. Tim and this man were probably the only living things for miles; nothing could survive in this bleak landscape.
    Finally the man addressed Tim. “You may ask me three questions. That’s the rule.”
    Tim raised an eyebrow. So wherever they were, there were rules and this man was abiding by them. That gave Tim a bit of courage, even though he didn’t know what any of those rules might be.
    â€œWhat do you want with me?” There. Tim had asked his first question. Straight and to the point.
    â€œI want to find out what you’re made of,” the man responded.
    Hm. Does he mean literally? As in, flesh, blood, and bone ? Or like in the nursery rhyme—snips and snails and puppy dog tails . It occurred to Tim that might be what the knife was for—to dissect him like a frog in biology class. Then Tim decided that, despite all the weirdness he’d been through, his imagination was working overtime. This guy wouldn’t have gone to all the trouble of kidnapping Tim and bringing him to this place as a lab experiment. No. He must mean something else. Which was just as confusing.
    â€œWhy?” Tim asked. What does it matter to thisbloke what sort of person I am?
    â€œLook around you, boy,” the man ordered. “You’re no stranger to this twilight realm, I know. So tell me. Have you ever seen such pretty groves or heard a river make such music anywhere but in Faerie?”
    The man knelt down in a shallow trench, and Tim realized it had once been a riverbed—a river that had gone dry ages ago, judging by the looks of things.
    â€œThis is Faerie? I don’t believe you,” Tim scoffed. “I’ve been to Faerie, and it’s all green and pretty and full of flowers.”
    The man smiled sadly. “It has been that. It is not that now. Not here where we can truly see.”
    â€œYou haven’t answered my question,” Tim pointed out.
    â€œHaven’t I?” The man gave him a quizzical look.
    â€œI asked you why you wanted to find out what I’m made of.”
    The man turned his back to Tim and gazed out across the wasteland. He sounded weary. “Because this land was once alive and I would have it live again.” He turned to face Tim. “And you may or may not be the key to the healing of it.”
    Whoa . That wasn’t the answer Tim had expected. And this bloke certainly hadn’t beentreating him like the answer to all of his problems. “So you kidnap and threaten me? Of course, it all makes perfect sense,” Tim said sarcastically.
    Everyone is acting like their opposites today , Tim thought. First, Dad plays devoted parent, and now this one treats me worse than an enemy, when what he wants is my help.
    The man kept his back to Tim. His knife still lay on the ground between them. Tim had a feeling he was being tested.
    â€œIt’s no use trying to make me mad,” Tim said. “I’m not going to grab your stupid knife.”
    The man spun around, his face cruel.