Coldfire re-read: When True Night Falls - chapter 34

[trobadora]

Sirens, storms, and strange acts of kindness: That's what we're getting today. :-)

Plot summary

Damien fails to put in his earplugs in time, and is nearly seduced by sirens. Oops. But soon everything's back to normal, and he's arguing with Tarrant about how to proceed: Tarrant wants them to land at Freeshore; Damien objects; Tarrant convinces him. So far, so good - but Jenseny dreams of an ambush in Freeshore, and subconsciously Works a storm to force them ashore in Hellsport. So much for plans. ;)

Quotes

• No Workings, therefore no defense. He wondered how Tarrant had fared. Could one demon seduce another? He glanced toward the bow, saw the Hunter standing rigid with his sword half-drawn; icicles hung from the railing before him as the coldfire glow of a recent Working faded into the night. Which meant that he had felt the music's power. Which meant that he had feared it. Which meant that there was still enough humanity about him that some demons might consider him fair game. That was an interesting thought - and a frightening one. It certainly didn't bode well for their mission.


• Jenseny was at the table playing with toys the Neocount had given her: a set of playing cards with heavily decorated face cards - not Jack, Queen and King, Damien noted, but Protector, Regent, and Matria - and a small pile of twisted metal bits, each one a puzzle requiring her to join or unjoin their knotted elements. Tarrant had apparently purchased them in Esperanova for the purpose of keeping her young mind occupied, and in that way they had succeeded admirably. Damien was torn between being grateful to him for thinking of such a thing and feeling vaguely shamed that the Hunter had shown more proper paternal instinct than he had. Never mind that the Neocount had once been a family man. It was still embarrassing.


• "He said he had made a good deal with the Prince, and everything was going to be all right ..."
  "As it should have been," Damien assured her. "But evidently our enemy doesn't keep to his bargains."


• "You once told me weather-Working was so complicated that most adepts can't even do it."
  "No, Vryce. Moving a storm is easy, provided it already exists. Controlling it is hard. Anyone with enough raw power can yank a few clouds into position, or draw in a respectable wind. But very few can alter an entire weather system, so that the storm thus changed stays under control." He gazed out at the foaming waves, now casting sheets of spray about the ship's hull. Thin rainbows hung before the ship's lanterns. "Merely raising a storm, without thought for consequences? That's not so very difficult. Under the right circumstances, even a child could do it."


• He hesitated only an instant, then lifted her up in his arms and held her tightly against his chest. Her own weight was slight, but her waterlogged clothing added considerably to the burden. Damien was just having second thoughts about his decision when he felt a hand on his other shoulder. Tarrant. The tall man placed a hand on the strap of his pack and waited for him to release it. After a minute he did so, shrugging out of it awkwardly while he maintained his grip on the girl. Much to his surprise the Hunter took it up, clearly meaning to carry it for him. It was a gesture so generous, so utterly unlike him, that for a moment Damien could do no more than stand there gaping while the rain poured down on them all. At last a sharp jab from Hesseth got him moving again, and he shifted his grip on the girl so that he could carry her more easily. He thought, as he moved, that he saw the Hunter smile. Slightly, very slightly. Hard to be sure, in the rain.


• "We're all in this together," Damien said quietly. "Aren't we?"
  Something flickered in the depths of Tarrant's eyes - some dark and secret emotion, that was gone too quickly for Damien to analyze it. When it was gone, the man's accustomed mask was back in place: perfectly controlled, utterly unreadable.
  Slowly, Tarrant took his hand from the handle. Slowly, after a moment more, he stepped away from the door.
  "Yes," he said softly. As if savoring the words. "We're all in this together, aren't we?"

Thoughts

• What do you think Tarrant saw? What visions did the siren song call up for him?


• While most faeborn creatures avoid Tarrant, to the point of leaving our party alone while they travelled across the continent, these sirens obviously try to feed on him. Why do you think that is? Damien is right, though, the thought is strangely chilling.


• I adore that little tidbit about Tarrant buying toys for Jenseny. He's the only one who thought of it, and while it's not done as a kindness, merely a convenience, the effect is much the same. Also, it pisses Damien off because Tarrant was more perceptive than him. And pissing Damien off is always a bonus. *g*


• Interesting reminder, about the Prince's deal with Jenseny's father, and him not keeping his word. The first time you read it, did that reminder influence you on whether you thought Tarrant was going to take the Prince's offer or not?


• What do you think is up with Tarrant helping Damien carry his pack? Damien takes note of how unexpectedly generous it is. No doubt Damien would have made it with or without Tarrant's help. So why is Tarrant making this kind of gesture here? Especially with that little smile at the end? I'm as touched and disturbed by this gesture as Damien, I think. *g*


• And oh, the ending. "We're all in this together." Damien asking, and Tarrant, repeating the sentence - seemingly agreeing, but also throwing the question right back at him. So much foreshadowing: Are they in this together? To what degree do they believe it themselves? Any thoughts on this scene?

On Thursday, we'll be continuing with chapters 35 and 36 ...

Comments

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Tarrant buying toys, and later warning that wet kids fall ill easily... of course it's convenient for him, but it's always made me wonder just a little what his attitude towards Jenseny would have been if circumstances had been different.

The pack carrying is clearly a gentlemanly, old-fashioned way of courtship. ;-)

I find that final bit, about Tarrant staying with them for the day, interesting because it puts him into their hands while he's vulnerable. He's done it before but had no choice about it, so this is the first time he willingly stays around for the daylight hours. Even with the weather outside, it's a tremendous show of trust from his side. Maybe it's even done with the "being in it together" on his mind - strengthen the ties just a bit more so his plan has a better chance of succeeding.

[trobadora]

Yeah, I've always been fascinated by the Tarrant/Jenseny dynamics. Someone needs to write an AU to explore that!

And yes, it's a significant gesture of trust, even though by that point he must know he'll be perfectly safe. It's just not him to do that except under pressure - but here he does. Maybe you're right and it is strategic. Increasing the betrayal by increasing the closeness? He does need Damien to believe, really believe without a doubt, that he's been betrayed. Maybe Tarrant's acting deliberately OOC, so that later Damien will have something to point to, something that convinces him Tarrant never really was on his side and it was all just an act on Tarrant's part ...

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

And yes, it's a significant gesture of trust, even though by that point he must know he'll be perfectly safe.

He must trust Damien, especially after their little rock climbing adventure, but I'm not sure he trusts Hesseth enough, and Jenseny is something of an unknown quantity.

There have been plenty of those little things in the last chapters, so if Damien looks back he could read them as "he wanted to make me feel secure while he was plotting".

Something occurs to me... maybe it's a test for himself, too? He is the one who has to trust the others with everything to make his plan work. If he can do it here, then he can do it with the bigger aspects later on.

[trobadora]

He must trust Damien, especially after their little rock climbing adventure, but I'm not sure he trusts Hesseth enough, and Jenseny is something of an unknown quantity.

True enough, but I still don't think he'd actually consider himself in any real physical danger here. It seems more a matter of principle.

Something occurs to me... maybe it's a test for himself, too?

Oh, cool idea! Yes, I like that one. :-)

[ladyphoenix9]

The pack carrying is clearly a gentlemanly, old-fashioned way of courtship. ;-)

Perfect!

I remember liking this section quite a bit on my first reading, because the group has almost become a family at this point (albeit a rather strange one.) I think that's part of what makes the coming trek through the desert and betrayal so shocking. There's been so much back-and-forth saving by this point I can see why Damien didn't really pick up on (or deliberately thought the best of) the subtle changes in Tarrant leading up to the capture.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

There's been so much back-and-forth saving by this point I can see why Damien didn't really pick up on (or deliberately thought the best of) the subtle changes in Tarrant leading up to the capture.

*nod* He gets to see all those little signs of humanity, along with that glimmer of hope that maybe, somehow, Tarrant can still be saved. I doubt that without this relatively carefree section (it certainly feels calmer and less immediately life-threatening than BSR!), they'd have gotten anywhere nearly as close as they needed to be for CoS.

[ladyraylen.livejournal.com]

I love these chapters... Sorry, this will be longish... *g*

What do you think Tarrant saw?
I believe he saw his wife. First it would have to be somebody who could draw him in, second it would have to be somebody he had an emotional tie to. We see in a few places in the books that he reacts strongly to images of his wife. Shock in the first book, and down right naked fear in the last. Who else has this kind of pull on him?

While most faeborn creatures avoid Tarrant, to the point of leaving our party alone while they travelled across the continent, these sirens obviously try to feed on him. Why do you think that is?
Too much human contact, and his soul is changing from the pure darkness that it was to something else able to care about other people.

We are to a point that he has had some of his humanity return. And this draws the fae-born to try and eat/feed. He is feeling guilty about this betrayal... (among other things) He doesn't want to do it, but see's no other way to get the party within striking distance.

I adore that little tidbit about Tarrant buying toys for Jenseny. He's the only one who thought of it
I love this little bit too... It does bring to mind that Tarrant may not see Jensey as just a child to be killed. He might not have fought with Damien about killing her as hard as he wanted to because of a kinship.
She might be the Only living Adept on that continent... and a Tidel adept as well (something to be studied). They have that in common, and because of when Tarrant grew up he might share more of the 'witch hunting' aspect of being an adept that few other adepts know about. He grew up when adepts where killed because people thought it was a sign of possession, and she survived when all other adepts were systematically killed off.

Damien isn't pissed... he is royally embarrassed that a cold blooded killer like The Hunter would have better insight into raising kids. Still really funny though.

What do you think is up with Tarrant helping Damien carry his pack?
This is weird, no dought about it. I would probably have ended up like Damien on this one... maybe the guilt is catching up to him. *shrug* He is about to hand over his friend to the enemy.
The smile tho, I think comes from Damien's reaction to his offer to take the bag. Being able to completely befuddle your traveling companions of a few years should be smile worthy. *g*

And oh, the ending. "We're all in this together."
Almost sorta feels like he is testing if he can pull off this huge switch without them knowing.

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

Too much human contact, and his soul is changing from the pure darkness that it was to something else able to care about other people.

I really like that thought!

It does bring to mind that Tarrant may not see Jensey as just a child to be killed.

She's the cause for the biggest shock he's had in quite a while, and she's an inconvenience. It must have become obvious to him a few chapters ago that she was a real risk to his secret plans because she might just stumble across it accidentally. And yet he's getting dangerously close to showing her kindness with the toys. I wish we'd had a chance to see his attitude towards her without all the end of the world issues in the way.

[fragorl.livejournal.com]

LOL I agree with most that the smile is creepy (in the sort of seductive yet scary that is very much Hunter's established style) but I think that was rather the point - bear in mind that the man feeds on fear/ uncertainty - and he has just with one casual gesture changed the dynamic - I think if someone like him was to act so out of character I would be worried - it seems to me that his being nice is more dangerous than his been sarcastic :) I got the impression that Tarrant would have a certain sympathy to any adept - do u remember he was really quite upset? when he heard that they had been killed - I think thats probably a reluctant empathy there that he probably couldnt get rid of and I think it probably is quite sympathetic - both in his dealings with Ciani and Jenseny - and maybe even later on slightly the Patriarch - I think as an adept in his youth he was probably quite used to a certain feel of isolation - the company of another adept would have probably been welcome just for what they would have in common - i would assume that even as the hunter it would be easier for him to relate to another adept - and that was presumably the greatest danger of him accepting the princes offer - the fact that despite of the danger here would be another person who came close to his own level - and I cant help wondering if the prince had been truly an indipendant force rather than a puppet of Calesta might the result not have been different....

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

I got the impression that Tarrant would have a certain sympathy to any adept - do u remember he was really quite upset? when he heard that they had been killed

*nod* I'd forgotten about that. Jenseny might well remind him of his own trouble with coping. He certainly has a good insight into what will keep her occupied, and I never get the feeling that this is because of his own children.

Since you bring up Ciani - wouldn't it have been a possibility for him to take on Jenseny as an apprentice of sorts? It took a few days before she fixed on Hesseth for that, so he had the opportunity. And of the three of them, he's by far the most suitable in terms of insight, interest in her abilities, and simple curiosity. I wonder why he didn't even try. Surely he can't have expected Damien to go into enough of a fury to manifest God once again just for talking to her.

[fragorl.livejournal.com]

ah but she had a power he could not necessarily block - she proved that when she foresaw the ambush that waited for them on the boat, if he had already decided to betray them the LAST thing he would have wanted would be close contact with her, not when the fae might show her what he was planning. I think that was the main problem he had with her presence. I think it is fascinating though, the relationship between them, the way that she is afraid of him/ drawn to him at the same time. I always wondered if the fae could ever show him to her as the prophet, after all the light showed her the warriers of the church who became martyrs, and she seems to have been quite obsessed with the imagery.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

I always loved this chapter. The descriptions of them all drenched and slogging through the port town are so vivid, it makes me want to illustrate it.

It was at this chapter, I think, that I realized how often Damien and Tarrant stand together. :D And this--"The girl was having a hard time and at last it was Tarrant who steadied her, his cold flesh making her cry out in surprise..."--made me realize how seldom Tarrant touches anybody besides Damien. It also occurs to me--"Once he almost tripped, but the Hunter's chill grip steadied him. Hardly colder than his own skin, now. That was unnerving."--how frequently Damien seems to court hypothermia.

The funny thing about the "We're all in this together" bit is that really they are. Tarrant's only about to double-cross them so he can triple-cross the Prince, and he's relying pretty much absolutely on Damien for that to work. So trust is hardly an issue at this point--for him, at least.

I never did figure just what was up with the backpack. But I <3 it anyway.

[trobadora]

The touching is interesting, yes! I hadn't thought of it in those terms, but yes. It always seems to be Damien, with very few exceptions.