In Pursuit

"Yes," she answers simply, though it is more complicated than that. Ludo holds the dead for Mort, but Mort is not here, and the dead are kept without recourse or rescue. And as she now knows, Ludo some of the souls who die in darkness are unable to find their way to the gods. Amalia does not tell Seiji this: after the Long Night the Outlanders need hope, not more reason to hate this world they've fallen into. Besides, she and Jigano will soon help to address one of those issues come the new moon. For once Amalia perks up at the opportunity to speak, eager and willing to wax poetic on her favored topic: the gods. Eagerly she nods her assent, ready to spin the tales of her youth for this captive audience, to regale Seiji with fact and myth. But a glance at Jigano stills her tongue, and the stories crumble within her mouth as he suggests they move their soiree somewhere more comfortable. There is no denying the appeal of the picture he paints, and though Amalia feels suddenly self-conscious she nods her assent, waiting for Seiji to agree before following Jigano to the Loreseeker's - their - little Hall. a m a l i a You were young and you'd stare With a reverence unimpaired Searching in your dark eyes to find the stars already there