Elgar met his gaze steadily, saying nothing outwardly or through their mental contact, but it was Weryn who looked away first. He could have snapped this twig of a Vampire in two with one hand! Elgar was old, but frail. Some illness had afflicted him. Some terrible deprivation. He was not a threat at all. But he hadheard.
He saw Demos over Elgar’s shoulder. He was not a twig, but well-built. He was fast, too from what Weryn could tell. Used to fighting as well. No stranger to going toe to toe with Vampires older and stronger than him.
But I am an Immortal. He is no match for me.
I’m not myself right now. Maybe it would be better if Demos laid me out,Ryder said.
I told you to–
Then get it together!Ryder snapped, which had Weryn standing up at attention.I want this part of myself in charge? Fine! Then act like someone in charge!
He wasn’t acting like he was in charge. He felt distinctly out of control. That was how the latter part of the War had gone. He had been slipping. Sometimes he hadn’t known what was real and what was a fever dream. Was that the case here? Was he slipping?
“I–I need a moment to calm myself,” Weryn gritted out.
“Take your time,” Elgar’s voice held no censure, no tone at all really.
Demos’ eyes narrowed. Sana jittered about, unable to stay still. She paced around the top of the rise, wanting to move, to get them to their targets. But until he got his act together, she could take them nowhere. Weryn unclenched his jaw. He took a deep breath. Then he closed his eyes again. This time his mind was quiet. He saw only blackness behind his eyelids.
“I am ready,” he said.
“Then let us begin,” Elgar said.
At first, there was no change. But then the darkness he was seeing behind his eyelids began to lighten. It was as if he was seeing the golden light cast from a fire or torches through his eyelashes. The light grew brighter as if he were getting closer and closer to it. An image resolved out of the dark even though his eyelids remained shut.
I know where I am!
He was on the Hunter’s Path. Or rather, he was floating above it as if he was in one of his bird forms.
You have connected to one of the creatures here,Elgar said, a note of wonder in his voice.I thought only Daemon could do this!
No, he is the Ever Dark. But I can connect to him. And through him, I am everywhere. I am everything. These creatures are my eyes and ears. They are my claws and fangs. They are my wings and feet. They are me,Weryn said.
You are indeed great, Weryn,Elgar said quietly.
Better than making people into marionettes?Weryn chuckled.
No. Just different, Elgar answered.
An honest answer! But let me show you more of what I can do. Be one with this world, Elgar, and every creature in it,Weryn murmured.
He looked down at the Hunter’s Path. Black feathers appeared in the edges of his vision. A bird. A raven. He felt the wind beneath his wings. He heard the cheep insects. The growl of predators in the underbrush nearby. The whistle of wind as it glided above and below him.
I didn’t know I could do that. No, no, I did know, I just forgot,the voice–Ryder–said with shock and awe.I can connect to every animal. Not just my forms. But every single animal…
Of course! How can you claim to be me when you do not know this simple fact about yourself?Weryn scoffed.
You’d be surprised what you forget when you’re desperate to pretend you’re someone else,Ryder murmured.But this is truly a loss. Such a loss. I want to remember more. But what will be the cost?
That you would talk less?Weryn grunted.I would never wish to be anyone else!
And yet here I am again, pretending we’re not the same person,Ryder sighed.This is just more of the same. But instead of my memories of being Ryder on top, I have cobbled togethersome from my past. But not all of them. Just the desperate ones. The ones that want to flee from what I’ve done and avoid punishment.
I would never–
Let’s just look around, okay? Arguing won’t change anything right now,Ryder directed.Despite everything, I’m still not ready. Will I be in time?
Weryn thought of telling him that he would argue if he wished! But this peevishness was not usual for him. Or it had not been. The War had made him short-tempered like a bear with a wounded paw. But he had not allowed himself to be directed off course by it before.
