Coldfire re-read: Crown of Shadows - chapters 30 & 31

[trobadora]

Apologies for the lateness!

Plot summary

Chapter 30
Narilka gets itchy after Andrys is gone, and decides to go after him so she can protect him. (Clearly, he needs it.)

Chapter 31
Meanwhile, Gerald and Damien end their boating trip and take a ride.

Quotes

• "I've been having nightmares," she whispered. "I think they're his. Is that possible?"
  "If you care that much for him? Yes, of course it is. That's how the fae works."


• He fears that this masquerade will really transform him. He's afraid of losing his soul. He had held her all that last night, barricaded in his apartment as if the enemy were at his door, and she had tasted the substance of his fear as if it were her own. She had felt the terror inherent in his masquerade, his gut fear that once the essence of Gerald Tarrant was invoked into his flesh he would never be free of it. To invite the substance of your enemy to take you over, to dim the flame of your own soul so that his might burn even brighter ... was there any greater terror than that?


• She shut her eyes and trembled, but not from fear this time. It was exhilaration coursing through her veins now, the sure high of certainty. This was right. This was what she was meant to do. And soon-within days, if all went well-she would be where she belonged, joining the man she loved in battle. Waging war not only for his Church, but for his very soul.


• "Yeah," he growled. "Only ... oh, hell." He drew in a deep breath and counted to ten. Exhaled it slowly. "It doesn't matter, does it? Just tell me when to jump."
  Now the Hunter's amusement was clear. Damn him to hell for it.
  "I will," he promised.


• Damien had been on a freighter once that had gotten caught up in a tsunami. It had been a simple flood wave that brought them in, not a bore, but that made it no less frightening. The wave had borne them into the harbor amidst a sea of wreckage and then withdrawn beneath them, dashing them down upon the very pier it had deluged mere moments ago. He still remembered the sound of the hull smashing as mooring piles stabbed into it from beneath, the screams of men and women as the deck canted wildly, spilling the less fortunate into the madly churning harbor. It was a scene that still haunted his dreams, that had driven him to choose land over sea whenever possible, that had developed in him an almost pathological hatred of the sea and all its arts.


• Was there a category of insurance for having your boat stolen by an undead sorcerer while the owner was away attending a demon-inspired posse? If so, the rate schedule must be interesting.


• "You're that sure he'll be waiting for us?"
  The silver eyes met his. "Aren't you?"
  "Yeah," he muttered. "That's the rotten part about traveling with you, you know? Even your enemies are competent."

Thoughts

• That's a fascinating bit about sharing someone's nightmares - and creepy as hell. How far do you think this kind of thing would go?


• The way Narilka thinks about Andrys really doesn't feel like the way one would think about a lover. It feels too much like pity, and mothering. I admit it makes me twitchy.


• Damien and the tsunami: Dammit, is there anything the man hasn't seen or done yet? This is getting a bit silly. *g*


• By this time in the trilogy there really is hardly any internal conflict left between them, is there? They work together completely smoothly, without any hitch. And while they may disagree about methods, there's just no real reservation left. ♥


• Tarrant's quip about the boat being insured makes me wonder how insurance would work on Erna. *blinks*


• Not having the perspective we have as readers, Damien actually considers Calesta competent. Which I take to mean that despite everything, even he hasn't actually understood the full scope of Calesta's power yet, and just how little chance they'd have if Calesta actually paid attention. *shudders*

Next Monday, we'll be continuing with chapters 32 and 33 ...

Comments

[carmentalis.livejournal.com]

(Just a quick note for now, since I've got another insanely early morning coming and should be in bed already.)

I love the banter and bickering between Damien and Gerald in these chapters. Like you say, there's very little of the initial conflict left between them, and they just work.

And there's also that bit of praise Gerald has for Damien after captaining the boat for the day. It's just such a touch of keeping up the morale and motivation of your follower(s).

As for Damien having experienced a tsunami - clearly he's Erna's incarnation of an action hero. There'll be a movie. Once they invent movies.

[trobadora]

Off to bed, you! Insanely early mornings are insane. *hugs*

So agreed about the banter - it's lovely. And yep about the praise, too. I just love everything about the two of them here. *squishes them*

Oh God, "Damien, the Movie!" scares me a bit. *g*

[rekishi]

there will be a multitude of movies
"Damien Vryce, Bodyguard and Moral Chaperone", the detective-noir AU will be one of them, too.

[trobadora]

*gigglesnort*

[rekishi]

not one of my creations but I couldn't resist ;)

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

Oh god, now I'm imagining him in a fedora and trenchcoat.

...Oddly, it sort of works.

Crap. Now Tarrant's got one too. Dammit, I need less brain-bending ways of distracting myself from responsibility!

[trobadora]

Aaand ... we have achieved ... PLOT BUNNY! :D

[rekishi]

yup, it totally works, that was the scary part when it was presented to me *g*

and Gerald well...the fedora maybe not but the trench? oh yeah

[alice_montrose]

Ah, part 2.... it's where the juicy Damien-Gerald interaction truly begins. They are now comfortable with each other, and trust each other, and see each others as equals... okay, maybe not the latter, since we are still talking about Gerald, but at least they hold each other in enough esteem to be able to interact flawlessly. So wheeeee! *bounces like silly fangirl*

Narilka [...] decides to go after [Andrys ] so she can protect him. (Clearly, he needs it.)

Does he EVER! Stupid Andrys is stupid, after all!

[trobadora]

I love how comfortable they are with each other!

As for Andrys ... it's not even about stupidity, but their relationship is so incredibly unequal. It does bother me.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

It might bother me too, if I could stop being too astounded at it to think straight.

[trobadora]

You'd think that'd wear off after a couple years, wouln't you. *sighs*

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

To invite the substance of your enemy to take you over, to dim the flame of your own soul so that his might burn even brighter ... was there any greater terror than that?

I dunno, dear. You could ask Damien. ^^ He's an expert at this point.

Narilka seems to have read too many romance novels. She has the whole "redemptive heroine" thing down to a T. Which...ooooh, isn't that interesting? Narilka/Andrys rather parallels Damien/Tarrant in a kind of sad, bodice-ripper send-up sort of way. Not that those slashes are anything other than shorthand for how they're paired off in the plot, noooooo.

Oh god, Damien, I adore you and your mysteriousity! The man who's lived for 900 years doesn't have as many exciting stories as you do. It is may be a bit OTT, but I'm too charmed by the unassuming guy being the action hero. I wonder if he ever told Tarrant any of these stories. It'd certainly explain his opinion that Damien's a bit off his rocker. I can just see it:

o.O "You're insane, priest."
"Hah! Says the man who decided it'd be a great idea to trigger an earthquake."
"Yes, but you're the one who chose to walk into it."
"...You followed me into it."
⌐⌐
¬¬
>:\

[alice_montrose]

Just for that last bit, you can have cookies!

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

Yay, cookies!

[trobadora]

I dunno, dear. You could ask Damien. ^^ He's an expert at this point.

Hee! ♥ ♥ ♥

Narilka/Andrys rather parallels Damien/Tarrant in a kind of sad, bodice-ripper send-up sort of way. Not that those slashes are anything other than shorthand for how they're paired off in the plot, noooooo.

*awards gold star*

It's really sad how much of a romance novel cliché Narilka's story turns into - although generally romance novel males have more agency than Andrys! Or at least they're better at faking it. *g*

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

She's definitely the one wearing the pants in that relationship.

[trobadora]

Seriously, the more attention I pay to it the more I find myself squicked by how unequal it is.

[prettyarbitrary.livejournal.com]

If Andrys were a woman, Friedman would've been flambed by angry feminists years ago. It truly is creepy. I mean, it's creepy and offensive on a regular basis when I see writers doing it to women, but...with the tables turned it doesn't get any less creepy.

I comfort myself with the reminder that in real life, there truly are people who are just that useless. But then, they creep me out too, so it doesn't help much.

[shadowystar.livejournal.com]

Yepp! Definitely cookies for this! *cheers*

[rekishi]

Is there a compilation of "things Damien has done in his life"?

I might want to try to form a coherent image at some point..

[trobadora]

OMG, someone needs to do that. SO MUCH.

[rekishi]

the compilation or the coherent image?

i have a WIP lying around that's set post-trilogy but does shed some light on Damien's past (or will, eventually, when I retrieve my notes from my other laptop and finally manage to get back to this one), but not really good enough as to be satisfying for everyone.

and by now I wonder when he started having those adventures because he must have been on it NONSTOP

[trobadora]

I meant the compilation, but I have a feeling the coherent image would be truly something else. *g* Like you say, he must have been at it nonstop - and stuck in a few temporal loops as well, to have managed to fit all that in!

I hope you'll finish your WIP eventually - I really, really want to read that. :D

[rekishi]

Compilation should be manageable by simply going through the reread posts, pretty much all should have been covered there, right? *ponders*

If 'worst' comes to pass, it means another reread of all the books with special attention to Damien's past and all that he had done. He always throws it just in there in side sentences, it's so easy to miss.

And yeah, I hope I manage to finish the WIP too. It IS from sometime this year, before the evil exams set in and my thesis work started *rolls eyes* We'll see. I'll retrieve my notes and then we'll see how much muse I will have during Yuletide writing season. (Yuletide ;_; I want the archive live NOW and it's still a month!)