Bound by Max Ellendale

Author:Max Ellendale [Ellendale, Max]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-02-23T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Caden led me through a path he cleared in the snow. The midafternoon sunlight melted some of it, dampening the ground beneath my feet into squishy mud pies. He offered me a leg up over an ice patch and we continued deeper into the woods.

"How far are we going?"

"Just a bit more. We need to move out of range," he said.

"Of what?"

"Things." He grinned and steered me through a cluster of low-hanging branches.

In the clearing ahead, four targets hung between a set of trees with snow-covered bales of hay between them. Remnants of paper bull's-eyes scattered in the fallen hay.

"Are you going to teach me to use a crossbow like Xany?"

"Nope." He set down the small duffle bag he carried from the cabin and removed a brown box.

"Then what are we doing? Knife throwing? No, wait, wooden stake throwing like in that movie with the vampire slayer." I smirked at my own wiseassness. For some reason, it shone brighter when I shared Caden's company. He seemed amused by me, laughing in the appropriate places and tossing a few jabs back every now and then.

"I was thinking you'd be best at shuriken. Ninja stars all the way." With his back to me, I heard the locks spring back on the box. "Here, hold this."

"Hold what?" I asked as he slapped a heavy black gun in my hand. "Caden! I don't want this." I held it as far away from my body as possible as if it was a snot-covered gumball.

"The safety is on." He laughed at me, a full hearty laugh. "Why does stress make you funny?"

"I'm socially awkward." I dangled the gun from my finger. "Take this before I accidentally shoot myself and my mates kill you."

"Fine, fine." He took the gun from me then held it up. "I'm going to teach you to shoot."

"No. I don't like guns. Get the shuriken."

"Nah. C'mon."

"Why can't I learn a crossbow like Xany?"

"Two Breeders, two different weapons." Caden stood beside me and clicked something on the gun, which I assumed was the safety. He pointed it at one of the targets and pulled the trigger. I jumped but nothing happened. He pulled it again but this time I didn't flinch. "Besides, would you really want Xany using a gun?"

"No, actually. A crossbow is bad enough."

"It's not loaded," he said as he turned and held the gun to me, butt first.

"I really don't want to." Knowing it wasn't loaded soothed me only slightly. "I don't like guns."

"Because you don't trust anything that you can't control. Face the target and pull the trigger." He nodded toward the targets.

I gripped the gun, but my hands trembled pathetically. Caden moved behind me and showed me how to hold it, guiding my legs apart for balance.

"Squeeze the trigger, don't pull it. If you pull, it messes up your aim."

"Um…my finger moves the same way no matter what I do." The shaking sure didn't help any.

"Calm." Caden's voice slithered over me like a cooling vapor. My shoulders relaxed and the shaking subsided.

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