Chapter 45: Chapter 45: The Rite of Bond Transference

System! Tell me what is involved in this ritual again?

[Very well, but pay attention.]

Okay, okay. All ears.

[ A beast may be reassigned to another tamer through the Rite of Bond Transference. This is not often done, and requires unique circumstances.

1) A beast tamer is ill, incapacitated, too old, or otherwise unable to continue as a beast tamer.

2) There is documented evidence of beast abuse, but this requires extensive proof.

* NOTE: Beast abuse is not taken lightly since it is a serious allegation, the most serious one in the beast taming world, apart from stealing a beast. However, false accusations have, unfortunately, been common in the past.

3) The beast wants a new tamer and is sincere about it.

4) Conditions exist that would make the bond harmful to the beast and/or the tamer.

5) The tamer wants a new beast.

To perform the ritual, you will need:

* A willing beast (MUST be willing)

* Another tamer to transfer the beast to (this can be done at another time)

* The consent of the original tamer (does not have to be willing, but it helps)

* The incantation to transfer the bond

INCANTATION FOR BOND TRANSFERENCE

“By soul and breath, by will unbroken,

I sever chains that are unspoken.

The bond is released, the beast set free,

A new connection waits for thee.”

To create the new bond:

“Now turn your gaze to this sacred space,

A beast unknown, yet with willing grace

Your hand shall create the bond new and true,

[Beast Name] will come in answer to you!”]

Okay. This sounds good. We’re ready.

Just in time. Lady Lammermoor strides in, wearing a robe of blue and white watered silk. Niall, Kaline, and Vedette stay in the background. Gussie, Demos, and I hide beneath one of the benches that form the perimeter of the training area. Lady Lammermoor can’t see us, or she’ll know something is up.

Lobo, trotting beside his mistress, smells us right away and glances in the direction of our hiding place. I hold my breath. Come on, Lobo. I know we’ve had our differences, but I’m trying to help you. I want to return the favor.

Almost as if he heard my thought, he turns his head away and focuses on Hans, Lightning, and Shade. He doesn’t give away anything, but I smell something like relief and hope.

“What did you want to show me, my son?” Lady Lammermoor asks Hans.

A servant, face hidden by a hood, stands beside her. Uh-oh. I sniff him out. Nothing. He’s not stinky. I was worried about Rossa coming in.

Hans steps forward with Shade in his arms. “This is Shade. He was banished from the Fothergill home. They couldn’t keep him anymore.”

Lady Lammermoor accepts this. “How dreadful. Well, that family never did know how to handle its beasts.”

I bite down to keep from laughing at her words. Talk about no self-awareness.

Hans plays his part well. “I found him rummaging through a friend’s kitchen not far from here. He was in a pitiful state. But he has much potential as a tamed beast. I thought that you might help rehabilitate him.”

Lady Lammermoor’s too-thin eyebrows are pale lines, but she still raises one of them like Mr. Spock. “How flattering. But I have Lobo.”

She sounds like she’s talking to an underling, not her own son.

Keeping it together, Hans pours on the charm. “But you are the best at rehabilitating beasts, and I’m sure Lobo won’t mind. All it will take is a simple temporary bond.”

“Temporary bond? No such thing! What sort of nonsense is this, Hans?”

Uh-oh. Niall worried that that line wouldn’t work. Time for Plan B. I communicate to Lightning. [That’s our cue. Tell Lobo what we talked about.]

[Of course.]

Lady Lammermoor spins around on her heel. “Hans, I do not have time for your foolishness today. I swear, it’s a good thing you aren’t socializing with that Riddlehoeven girl. She’s–”

Exactly what Kaline is, we never get to hear, because Lobo goes berserk.

Running around, chewing the training area (and the scenery), howling, acting rabid. He is a furry menace. Uncontrollable.

Lady Lammermoor tries several times to stop him, to control him, but he’s out of his mind, and my sense is that he’s thoroughly enjoying it. Even her Elvish magic and spells have no effect. If anything, he becomes more primal and savage. His eyes are feral, and he foams at the mouth. At a loss, Lady Lammermoor tries to force feed hm a potion.

Her mistake. She screams, “AAAGH!” Lobo has bitten her hand.

Snapping, snarling, he refuses to let her near him.

“MOTHER.” Hans plays his part to perfection once again. “Lobo is feral! He’s going to hurt you. Look at yourself. You’re distraught.”

Phase Two complete. Now for Phase Three.

Shade jumps from Hans’ arms into Lady Lammermoor’s, and he snuggles up, comforting her. She calms down instantly. “What a well-mannered beast. Maybe I was too hasty. I think I want him instead of that dreadful Lobo. Let’s do the Rite of Bond Transference.”

“As you wish, Mother.”

Hans and his “servants” subdue Lobo, and bring him close to Lady Lammermoor so she can briefly lay a hand on his head and speak the following words along with Hans:

“By soul and breath, by will unbroken,

I sever chains that are unspoken.

The bond is released, the beast set free,

A new connection waits for thee.”

A soft golden light flares before dissolving into a cloud of mist and vanishing. Lightning, Shade, Demos, Gussie, and I stir. We sense the energy shift. Lobo blinks rapidly as if waking from sleep.

[I’m free.]

His words, echoing through the mind-link, are all the reward I need.

Hans thrusts Lobo into Kaline’s arms. “Take him away. We’ll release him later. Let’s create the new bond, Mother. You can tame Shade.”

Without delay, Lady Lammermoor places her hand on Shade’s head and recites the incantation together with Hans:

“Now turn your gaze to this sacred space,

A beast unknown, yet with willing grace

Your hand shall create the bond new and true,

Shade will come in answer to you!”]

A soft gold light once again flares, and descends onto Shade’s head, absorbed by his fur. we all feel the change. Then, Shade nuzzles Lady Lammermoor. A match made in Heaven.

“Shade,” Lady Lammermoor coos. “What a perfect beast you are. Much better than that wretched Lobo.” She turns to Kaline, still assuming she’s speaking to a servant. “His fate is decided. Take him to the Shed.”

Demos lets loose a growl before stopping himself.

[No, not the Shed.]

Lightning’s voice is outraged. [No, she can’t! I thought it was a lie!]

I don’t want to know what the Shed is, but I have a sick feeling that I know already.

“The Shed?” Hans is visibly shaken. “MOTHER. Just let him go in the woods.” He signals Kaline, who darts out of the training area with Vedette and Niall covering her.

“He viciously attacked me, unprovoked,” Lady Lammermoor hisses. “He deserves his fate.”

“NO. If he attacked you, it’s because he knows that no beast in this house is safe.” Hans stands up to her. “When you refused to stand up for Blaze and covered up the truth, you put any beast in this house in jeopardy. Now, you condemn Lobo to death. You are not fit to lead this house. I am taking over until Father returns.”

Lady Lammermoor turns white with outrage, and she looses her elf powers at Hans in a swirl of energy. He blocks her, with Lightning shooting stars at her. She’ll have to teach me that trick. Or Hans will. He’s holding his own, but he’s no match for his mother’s powers.

My friends and I launch an attack, with Gussie dive bombing Lady Lammermoor and Demos and I nipping at her heels. The energy bursts conceal us, and Lady Lammermoor is confused.

“ENOUGH.”

A commanding voice makes everyone freeze, and Demos, Gussie, and I retreat out of sight, were we have a jaw-dropping view of the speaker revealing himself.

The hooded servant lowers his hood to reveal a distinguished, stately, mature and ageless male elf, pale and blue-eyed.

Hans can only offer one word, full of emotion.

“FATHER.”

The current Lord Lammermoor motions to the guards. “Take Lady Lammermoor to the dungeon and confine her.”

Outraged, Lady Lammermoor screeches and throws a fit while her guards drag her off. Shade, whom I almost feel sorry for, cowers in her arms.

Lord Lammermoor hugs his son. “You saved our house, son. Our family.”

“You got my letters,” Hans murmurs. “Including my latest one.”

“Not your latest. But I sensed how distasteful things were.” Lord Lammermoor holds him. “I should have come home long ago. I’m never leaving again.”

[Are you crying?] Gussie asks Demos.

[No, it’s all the spells in the air. My eyes are watering.] But he sounds like he’s crying.

“I didn’t do this alone,” Hans says, and beckons for us all to come out. “Vedette, Kaline, Niall, you can come back now.”

Demos leads us out of hiding, while Kaline, Vedette, and Niall emerge with Lobo. Lord Lammermoor looks stunned to see them. “The Riddlehoevens, as I live and breathe! And is that Niall Widdershins? And where are Minette and Lamant?”

“It’s a long story,” Kaline says, scooping me up while Vedette holds Lobo.

I still have to complete the quests that will make me level up. Lobo still needs to bond with Minette or someone else. And we still have to unmask Lady Lammermoor and Rossa as the beast thieves. But for right now, my life is perfect!

Shouting outdoors, and a guard rushes back in. “Lady Lammermoor has escaped!”

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