He called for souls, but Kiada called for an individual, a person she had loved once, and loved still. The song drifted into the dark - the encroaching dark, he noticed with widened eyes that shifted to a fox's night vision, to look beyond the meager glow of lantern and luxere.
He glanced back only once, wishing one of the fish would join them on this journey. He remembered one last year following Amalia, and he could have used its light and the hope it represented now, but fish or no they had a task to do, and he steeled himself for it.
He walked at the warrior woman's pace, steps light and silent though their voices made any true stealth impossible. She had Auni's light, and Amalia's, but she turned to offer him the staff and he paused in surprise at the gesture. Thank you, he said softly through the bond, a pulse of gratitude vibrating through it. He knew what the staff could do - what the red antlers had done the year before. Protection of the mind even more than the body, and he felt a trickle of icewater down his spine at the realization that the monsters might have tried to twist him once more into attacking the girl he was sworn to defend.
The fingers of his free hand closed around it, but his song didn't fade as he hefted the weight of it. Not a weapon, not one-handed as he currently had it, but it was better than a weapon. With the shield he could protect her, and with the staff he could heal her, and with the lantern he could help her guide her lover out of the dark.
And with the song he could call the monsters to them. All they could do now was hope that one of them was the man she sought. So he continued to sing as they went back to walking, a beacon in the dark.
Or very tasty bait.
He glanced back only once, wishing one of the fish would join them on this journey. He remembered one last year following Amalia, and he could have used its light and the hope it represented now, but fish or no they had a task to do, and he steeled himself for it.
He walked at the warrior woman's pace, steps light and silent though their voices made any true stealth impossible. She had Auni's light, and Amalia's, but she turned to offer him the staff and he paused in surprise at the gesture. Thank you, he said softly through the bond, a pulse of gratitude vibrating through it. He knew what the staff could do - what the red antlers had done the year before. Protection of the mind even more than the body, and he felt a trickle of icewater down his spine at the realization that the monsters might have tried to twist him once more into attacking the girl he was sworn to defend.
The fingers of his free hand closed around it, but his song didn't fade as he hefted the weight of it. Not a weapon, not one-handed as he currently had it, but it was better than a weapon. With the shield he could protect her, and with the staff he could heal her, and with the lantern he could help her guide her lover out of the dark.
And with the song he could call the monsters to them. All they could do now was hope that one of them was the man she sought. So he continued to sing as they went back to walking, a beacon in the dark.
Or very tasty bait.
