Remi’s questions were good ones, but Jigano only gave a weary shake of his head. The alchemist’s insistence on seeing the best in people, even gods, still hadn’t changed. In some ways it was reassuring, but in others… It was better not to think about that. One thing Jigano trusted Wessex not to be was overly optimistic, and he waited to see what the Ascended Queen would say before trying to answer Remi’s questions with what were, admittedly, only guesses on his part.
He sipped his tea, wishing the warmth could thaw the coldness that had settled into his bones, and met her eyes warily as he listened to what she had to say. The confirmation was like a lead weight in his stomach as their worst fears were realized. Where she had gotten her information from, whether tome or goddess, mattered less than how well it dovetailed with his own. He merely nodded wearily, closing his eyes briefly as he sought to draw strength from a well that was swiftly running dry.
”The light, godly and magical… it only deters the monsters, not the… the modern Ascended, yes?” he asked, seeking confirmation with a slight frown as he tried to remember… ”Isla was able to call luxere with me during Deepfrost without a problem. She didn’t seem to be bothered by the light of their antlers the way the Long Night monsters were. Perhaps it is the difference between having bodies and not?”
He bit his lip, careful not to break the skin as he considered his next words carefully. ”Ludo… when I spoke to them about bringing twisted souls back to them and Mort, they seemed… pessimistic, but did not forbid me to try. I do not think they will seek them out, but they might accept them if the souls are brought to them. If the numbers of these souls are finite, we might be able to whittle them down in such a manner.” So long as they were not replaced, of course, by the souls of their victims.
”Though not all Ascended,” he cautioned at the suggestion that the nightwalkers had some protection, though part of him bristled with a purely animalistic rage at hearing that Rory’s home had been damaged. He wrestled it back down, taking an overly large swallow of tea and focusing on the burn of the hot water as he used it to distract from his own senseless rage. ”It was a monster that killed Isla. Being Ascended didn’t save her.” And if there was bitterness there, that Wessex had survived where the bright and beloved medic had failed? That much, at least, he could not blame on the blight.
Jigano didn’t question the idea that the Ascended could act as guards. He might not like Wessex, but it wasn’t because of her Ascendedblood fluid. No, he saved his mistrust and ire for the goddess who tricked and bribed and wheedled mortals to her cause, with all the wiles of a black widow spider. He would not soon forget that she had used gentle Sam to spread her blight, and he was not inclined to forgive her, either. He only tilted his head in a nod towards Remi, offering the alchemist a slight curve of his lips that couldn’t really be called a smile. ”Given that the blight is also a thing of the Voice, and how it is… affecting those of us who have it, we were similarly wondering if those of us who are, ah, afflicted might also be able to walk Long Night with more impunity. Assuming we can still walk by then,” he added quietly, grimacing as he turned his eyes to watching the tea in his cup rippling with the tremble in his hand.
He sipped his tea, wishing the warmth could thaw the coldness that had settled into his bones, and met her eyes warily as he listened to what she had to say. The confirmation was like a lead weight in his stomach as their worst fears were realized. Where she had gotten her information from, whether tome or goddess, mattered less than how well it dovetailed with his own. He merely nodded wearily, closing his eyes briefly as he sought to draw strength from a well that was swiftly running dry.
”The light, godly and magical… it only deters the monsters, not the… the modern Ascended, yes?” he asked, seeking confirmation with a slight frown as he tried to remember… ”Isla was able to call luxere with me during Deepfrost without a problem. She didn’t seem to be bothered by the light of their antlers the way the Long Night monsters were. Perhaps it is the difference between having bodies and not?”
He bit his lip, careful not to break the skin as he considered his next words carefully. ”Ludo… when I spoke to them about bringing twisted souls back to them and Mort, they seemed… pessimistic, but did not forbid me to try. I do not think they will seek them out, but they might accept them if the souls are brought to them. If the numbers of these souls are finite, we might be able to whittle them down in such a manner.” So long as they were not replaced, of course, by the souls of their victims.
”Though not all Ascended,” he cautioned at the suggestion that the nightwalkers had some protection, though part of him bristled with a purely animalistic rage at hearing that Rory’s home had been damaged. He wrestled it back down, taking an overly large swallow of tea and focusing on the burn of the hot water as he used it to distract from his own senseless rage. ”It was a monster that killed Isla. Being Ascended didn’t save her.” And if there was bitterness there, that Wessex had survived where the bright and beloved medic had failed? That much, at least, he could not blame on the blight.
Jigano didn’t question the idea that the Ascended could act as guards. He might not like Wessex, but it wasn’t because of her Ascended
