The Ties That Bind: The Borderlands Book 1

it. The road cut through the small field and then entered the woods. In his daily life, Danny didn't spend much time in the woods. He told himself, and anyone else who

the Borderlands talked about it as if it was an entirely different world, a completely separate planet. The belief was held by both sides of the border. But it wasn't, not

In the purely human realm wars were used to change the exact positioning of borders, proving that they were moveable. The borders here were less malleable and hadn't changed location

e between the worlds that they

ort. He was ready to leave everything behind. And he thought he had, until his first camping trip with his newly made friends at university. Once in the w

regardless of which side of the border he stood on. While he held himself in check without anyone thinking anything was amiss, from then on, Dan

ay in the Borderlands. They didn't seem to realize they had only stripped away those who could sense and use the magic, not the magic of the world

rees here were louder, but relatively easy to block. Still, it was a relief whe

ack and it was at almost a right angle to the road as though the i

straightened his head now

world into Barrowville. In Barrowville it became Main Street and then exited town out the other side once again becoming Stanwick again. Following Stanwick would take him deeper int

looked both ways and turned heading North to Barrowville. In the

ay to the horizon. While the plants were still natural elements, they were tamed by agricultural intent and barely fluttered a few words in his

happy to see Barrowville again,' he

owville. The heart of the Borderlands and the place wh

he

that drew him. He toyed with becoming a lawyer, but defending those caught by the law

e accepted it as part of his makeup, even if he never studied or admitted the details

t the hard work and effort I put into building a life outside the

Danny learned a long time ago

hat counted down the days and hours until Halloween. It was a digital sign and as he watch

detailed to waddle out of the office once an hour to remove the latest number. They remained stationary ov

ere were orange and black streamers, and arched backed cats along with a few cartoon ghosts emblazoned with the word 'boo'

ls or goblins pictured, of

fountain in the center. As always Halloween was a big deal in Barrowville. It trumped every other holiday in the yea

ces and the hours of trick or treating were posted. Danny thought he saw a sign for a cemetery t

imself. If there was a worse time to

t worthy of stopping and starring. While Barrowville was the largest town in the Borderlands County and the residents were accustomed to visi

nged," Danny mused. "Even

this time or if they just thought he was lost. The side street he needed came up and Danny turned on his blinker, turning right and le

f I don't immediately let Aunt Alice know I'm back for a

no longer felt as a steady pressure. He had no illusions about his return, however temporary

uld make i

ian heavily planted with trees. They whispered at his arrival, not needing to look at his face or the car plates to know who he was and that

said trying hard to block out the sound of the

o be beautiful. And beautiful it was. It was also the line that separated the Jarots and the Faraways. Keeping two of th

most part it was true. With the separation clearly established

t it mat

who now lived in these houses. They were well kept and as far as he could see, occupied. He wondered if the re

house where he lived with his parents before their deaths. Before he was sent to live with Alice. Danny pulled into the driveway and

molecule of air. He knew this scent and standing next to his car he stood still for a moment. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. Once, it was so familiar that he didn't think t

even though he knew it wasn't. A chill breeze caused him to shiver and he opened his eyes. In

that long,' he

xterior of the front façade was weathered stone, dovetailing into warmer and less expensive brick at the corners. The details were picked out in white and as al

t of the house always looked like the stern and serious face the Faraways wanted to proje

e front, party

s ancestors horrified by the comparison. He was fairly certain that anyone w

offensive,' he decided.

knockers. They were delicate little hands holding plain looking balls of metal. Here, while still tastefully bronzed, the hand wa

let it fall heavily against the door, wondering