Coldfire re-read: When True Night Falls - chapters 20 and 21

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

This way for daring rescues, grand gestures and high-intensity snark.


Plot Summary

Chapter 20
The pursuers finally catch up, and trigger a series reminiscent of Westerns: gunshots are fired! Horses are shot! Daring rescue on horseback! Daring rescue by collapsing rock walls into canyons! Daring rescue by preventing nosedives into said canyons! Daring rescue from evil sunlight!

Chapter 21
Damien and Gerald do a bit of post-cave cleanup, then regroup with Hesseth to nurse some bruises and look for food in appropriately honourable gestures.



Quotes

• If he was driven onward in this quest for no other reason, it was to avenge all those children. Generation after generation of helpless, innocent souls, sacrificed on the altar of intolerance . . . and they were all guilty of it, he thought. Every human being who participated - by cutting a tiny throat, by staking a frightened child out as bait for demons, or even just by sitting back and making no protest while others did the dirty work - every one of them was guilty, every one of them would answer before God for all those terrible deaths. And he, Damien Kilcannon Vryce, would see to it that the monster responsible for causing it all would burn in Hell forever. If he did nothing else of value in his life, that alone would be sufficient service to his God.



• The priest Worked his own vision, and he watched in awe as the silver-blue ripples of earth-fae gathered about the Hunter's feet, in a pool so deep and so intense that he could no longer see the ground through its light. The very power of the earth obeyed the Hunter like a household pet, coming to heel upon command.



• "I'm going back to him." He swung his leg back over the horse and dismounted; fire shot through his groin as he landed. "I think he's going to do something very stupid. I want to make sure he doesn't do it alone."



• "You shouldn't have come," the Hunter whispered.
  "Yeah. That makes two of us." He looked down at the rocky wall beneath them, but all he could make out were jagged shadows. Too damned many jagged shadows. In the distance he could hear voices, now, and the sound of men running. "I thought you might do something stupid like trying to bring the wall down."
  The pale eyes glittered. "I might."



• "You want my life? Come get it." He was trying to focus the sword on him, not the earth, in the hope that would break the link between the two. The cold power licked at him, and spears of ice shot through his veins. "That's it," he whispered. "Come to me."



• "That was a very foolish thing to do," the Hunter gasped. The hand that held the sword was shaking; he seemed to lack the strength to sheathe it. "Very foolish," he whispered.
  "Yeah." Damien wiped the dust from his eyes. The feeling was coming back into his arm, but not as fast as he would have liked. Not with dawn coming. "I had a good teacher."
  And then he saw a faint smile on Tarrant's face - only a flicker, but a smile nonetheless - and he knew deep down inside that they were going to be okay. Both of them.



• "Can you walk that far?"
  "I'm standing, aren't I?"
  "But if your strength-"
  "Did you bring the horses?"
  "No. Of course not."
  "Then I have no alternative, have I? Strength or no strength."
  Damien bit back a sharp rejoinder. He should be glad that Tarrant was irritating him once more. It showed the man was recovering.



• Damn your vanity, he thought, as the Hunter nodded his readiness and began to walk. There was no mud on him now, nor any sign of dirt or blood. What little moonlight there was gleamed on smooth silk and on spotless hair, perfectly arranged. Even the man's leather boots were clean. Why did I know you'd do that?

Thoughts

• The effect of the last chapters really is showing here - Damien's newfound determination to stop baby adepts from being killed, and his understanding of what it takes for Tarrant not to work (and how well he does it when he can work). They're cooperating, and finally it's without second thoughts about Tarrant's nature from Damien's side. And Damien moves on to a first name basis, too!



• The threat the Prince poses becomes a lot clearer in this chapter now that Gerald finally sees the first effects of him in the fae. I still had trouble to think of him as the real danger in the book even at this point - the Terata sounded a lot more threatening. How about you?



• Bringing the wall down as the only way out - accurate only if Tarrant doesn't consider abandoning Damien and Hesseth as an alternative. Which he obviously doesn't, or he wouldn't have tried that little bit of heroics. It's something that's always puzzled me - why is he taking such a risk, when it might easily mean his death? It also seems to me that he's getting dangerously close to self-sacrifice.



• Damien's relationship with Tarrant's coldfire sword makes me smile every time it shows up. He's once again talking to it and treating it almost like it's sentinent.



• The final conversation, about Tarrant's need to hunt, has always fascinated me. Damien accepts it without even a token protest, and even tells Tarrant to be careful. And then Tarrant's return gesture of announcing that he'll hunt the ones responsible for the village slaughter. If I had to pick a moment in the series to pinpoint when they're accepting each other's nature, this would be it. What about you?



• What a day for the rescue tally! I count two each, which puts the new score at 6:7 in Gerald's favour.

On Monday it's time to meet the Terata in chapter 22!

Comments

[devohoneybee.livejournal.com]

Yes, his relationship with the sword is very... amusing. Especially the way he invites this large, *cough* phallic object belonging to Tarrant IN.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

One day we'll manage a post without slash allusions.

Intelligent swords aren't that rare in fantasy, so when I read this the first time around I practically expected it to speak at some point. And in the end, harboured some hope for Gerald to end up in the sword. I was almost disappointed that Damien's chats were all we got.

[devohoneybee.livejournal.com]

"One day we'll manage a post without slash allusions."

Now where would be the fun in THAT? *g*

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Point taken. *g* And really, these are such slashy chapters we're going through now.

[ladyphoenix9]

Love these chapters, too. ;)

I was struck, somewhere amid my re-readings, that Tarrant's sword is probably a cousin of Stormbringer. (I also think most of Moorcock's books are pretty slashy if you look at them the right way, too. Elric and Moonglum are almost as good for me to read about as Tarrant and Damien!)

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

If Moorcock's books survived, I bet Gerald would be a huge fan. Behind the scary murdering facade he's such a geek at times. ;-)

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

Hey, me too! Stormbringer's even nastier, but they are very similar in function, aren't they?

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

If I weren't sure Gerald wouldn't use a demon sword...

I wonder if that thing is in any way sentient.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

Stormbringer or Tarrant's blade? Stormbringer definitely was. Tarrant's sword...sentient might not be quite the word, but it seems to be at least as aware as something like a spider.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

I love this chapter. It's one of my favorite parts of the books. So much happens here, especially between Damien and Tarrant. The first time Damien calls him by his first name, of course (hee! XD), but as you pointed out, there are other levels of acceptance here too. In the pain and desperation of the moment, everything falls away but their dependence on each other.

Though I do notice that when Damien catches the sword, there's no comment on its burning cold. Has it gone dormant, or is he just so roughed up that he doesn't even bother noticing at this point?

It's something that's always puzzled me - why is he taking such a risk, when it might easily mean his death? It also seems to me that he's getting dangerously close to self-sacrifice.

Hmm, let's say 90% chance of death, 10% of survival. Better than 90% chance of death/10% chance of captivity and torture if their pursuers catch up, or near-inevitable eventual confrontation on the enemy's terms if he escapes but his companions get whacked (because let's face it, even Tarrant can't do this alone, and it's very damned unlikely he'll be able to find another one like Damien to help him try this again). Also, he knows a bit more about Calesta and the Prince than the others do, so between his curiosity and the evidence that this is all going nowhere good very fast...at this point, I don't know that abandonment is really an option for him.

So I don't think it's self-sacrifice--just priorities and playing the odds. I don't think he ever contemplates real self-sacrifice until the end.

That might be part of what Tarrant likes about Damien. The man's got a knack of his own for that kind of thing, and some good luck besides.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Though I do notice that when Damien catches the sword, there's no comment on its burning cold. Has it gone dormant, or is he just so roughed up that he doesn't even bother noticing at this point?

Maybe the sword has grown to like him? *Heroically resists the "warmed up to him" phrasing*

So I don't think it's self-sacrifice--just priorities and playing the odds. I don't think he ever contemplates real self-sacrifice until the end.

He's playing the odds here, but he's rather unwilling to take the gamble of taking on the Prince by himself, and that when he doesn't even know about the Iezu involvement yet. It's a bit like he's taking the chance where he knows the odds to be bad, rather than the one where he can't really know how it might turn out.