Барб Хенди - The Night Voice

“Come on,” she added gruffly, “or they’ll start talking about us being out here alone so long.”

At that, Osha blinked, making one tear, but his eyes then widened in shock.

Magiere sighed. Leesil was the funny one, and she just wasn’t any good at it.

“Oh, forget it,” she grumbled, jerking him around to push him ahead.

By the time they’d neared the camp, they could already hear Leesil.

“What?” he half shouted. “That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard you come up with.”

“It has to be that way,” Wynn countered. “We have to be certain.”

Magiere stepped around as Osha slowed. Chane stood behind Wynn, dour as ever. Ore-Locks was eyeing Chane, not Wynn, and he didn’t look happy. Chuillyon was the only one who appeared to contemplate whatever Wynn had said that set Leesil off.

Strangest of all, Chap was still and silent—and that worried Magiere the most.

“What’s going on?” she demanded.

Leesil threw his hands up, bit off something foul before he said it, and coughed an exhale instead. He jabbed a finger at Wynn.

“She wants to stay here ... in the mountain!”

Magiere stopped in her tracks and felt her own mouth drop open.

“What?” she finally got out.

“I must,” Wynn continued calmly. “If the staff goes out, someone must reignite it. That can be only me.”

Magiere was still numb, and any outrage wouldn’t come out. Leesil got to that before she did.

“You can’t stay out here,” he snarled. “There’s nothing to eat, there’s no water, there’s no—”

“I’ll manage,” Wynn interrupted.

“And I will stay with her,” Chane added in his rasp.

Another shocked silence came and went, though not without Osha stepping past Magiere to look between Wynn and Chane.

“Oh, that’s even better!” Magiere finally erupted, fixing on Wynn and forgetting any sorrow for her friend’s loss of sight. “And where are you going to find enough livestock for him if you can’t feed yourself? A moon at most, and he’ll be hunting again.”

Chane’s answering rasp was more pronounced. “I have no need to hunt. There is one orb still exposed. It will sustain me ... as I have not fed—in any way—since before we even arrived in the empire’s capital.”

“We’ll be all right,” Wynn said. “What would happen otherwise if the crystal goes out? We must stay to make certain it remains lit. There’s no one else who can do so.”

Magiere couldn’t find another argument, and as Leesil said nothing, he was at a loss as well. Even Osha didn’t make a sound and just stood there. But to Magiere, the pain on his face was evident until he looked to Chane.

Everyone knew the unspoken contention between those two concerning Wynn.

Wynn had made a choice. She’s chosen to remain here, and she’d chosen Chane.

But in addition to Osha, there was another affected by Wynn’s choice.

Magiere carefully glanced aside and found Wayfarer watching Osha. She hoped the girl didn’t see this as an opportunity. Leesil would’ve already told her where she was going, where her home was now—with them. But Osha would not forget this moment for a long time to come.

If Wynn wouldn’t be swayed, then something had to be done for her survival. The sage had already lost too much for what had to be done. A few ideas came to mind, though they might involve a small breach concerning Althahk’s demand for secrecy.

Still, that would have to wait as well.

Magiere reached out, grasped Osha’s shoulder, and pulled him around. “Take the tent with Wayfarer and Ore-Locks.”

He barely looked at her, not saying a word.

“Be packed and ready in the morning,” she added. “You’re going home—to our home—or I’ll come after you again.”

Osha walked off, and Magiere waved Wayfarer after him. She wasn’t certain of the latter choice but didn’t want him to be left alone.

“Ore-Locks,” Leesil said, “we need to talk about some ... arrangements in the morning.”

“He and I have already spoken,” Chane interrupted. “If you have considerations we have not thought of, those are welcome.”

Magiere eyed Leesil, wondering whether he’d had notions similar to hers where Wynn was concerned.

“I would appreciate it,” Wynn began, “if all of you stopped fussing ! I am not half as incapable as everyone keeps assuming.”

Magiere couldn’t remember how many uncomfortable pauses had passed, but there was another one. How they could part this way, even if there were plans as yet so that it wouldn’t be forever?

“Chuillyon,” Magiere said.

The elder sage, who’d been watching in uncomfortable silence as he sat near the fire, looked up and blinked in surprise.

“You’ll be needed in what we have in mind,” Magiere added, exchanging a glance with Leesil. “I’ll tell you more tomorrow.”

Chuillyon frowned in puzzlement. “Very well.”

“And Shade,” Wynn began, catching all off guard, but then her voice began to falter, “you are going with them ... little sister.”

“Wait, what?” Leesil cut in with a step.

Even Magiere had assumed Shade would stay with Wynn—and Chane. Wynn ignored Leesil, but Shade was already up on all fours, as was Chap.

“You have to go, Shade,” Wynn added.

The dog’s ears, though pricked up, flattened as Shade gave a mewling growl. She began barking, even snapping, but Wynn dropped off the stone she sat on and grabbed for Shade’s head. Fresh tears flowed down Wynn’s cheeks.

“You need to have a life of your own,” Wynn said. “It’s not here in the heat and sand. Go with Wayfarer and your father. At least, you’ll have trees, rain, forest ... and I believe we will see each other again, somehow.”

Magiere then noticed Chane.

He looked down upon Wynn and Shade with an expression she couldn’t have imagined on his face, the face she’d see more than once turn into the bloodthirsty monster that he was inside.

Was that sadness?

The sight hit her hard as she thought on how the past few years had changed them all. Here they were at the end of it—the trials and battles they had never asked for, never wanted.

It was finally over.

Shade pulled out of Wynn’s hold. A strange mewling whine shook her all over. She turned and raced off toward where Osha and Wayfarer had both vanished into their tent. Chap just watched after his daughter for a moment and looked back to Wynn, who crumpled upon the ground in tears. Chane knelt beside her.

Battles were done, but there were still wounds being inflicted. Hopefully, time could heal those as well.

Chane raised Wynn up and started to see her off to their tent.

Ore-Locks cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I—I will look in on the younger ones.”

“I think I shall retire as well,” Chuillyon said.

Both went off.

“Come on, Chap,” Leesil said, heading for their tent, and then he looked at Magiere.

She nodded silently and turned to follow. Leesil lifted the flap, Chap crept in slowly, and Leesil looked up. Magiere faltered upon spotting something else beside that tent.

“In a moment,” she said.

Leesil frowned but nodded and slipped inside.

Magiere stood paused over her falchion. There was no other blade like it for what it could do to the undead. She picked it up, began to draw it slowly, and stopped before a three-finger breadth of the blade showed. Then she turned as Chane was about to duck inside a tent behind Wynn.

“Wait,” Magiere called.

Chane froze without flinching, though he eyed the sword and then her. Magiere slammed the falchion back into its sheath and threw it at him across the camp. Stunned, Chane straightened in dropping the tent flap as he caught the weapon.