Authors: Brian Hodge

The Weight of the Dead (7 page)

Now that she knew, it seemed this had all the makings of a more interesting world by far than what would never be again.

“You finally saw
her
down there, didn't you?” Melody said. “Right? That's why you didn't ring the bell? Because you knew if Tara was the one bringing something like that, it had to be for a good reason.”

“You always were too clever for your own good sometimes.”

To see his face caught between the light of the moon and the light of the fire, you'd never know he was old enough to remember the World Ago. But if it was true, like the old stories said, that there were sights that struck men dead or turned them to stone, then maybe, too, there were sights that gave them back their youth, if only for a night.

“Is there going to come a day,” she said with a quaver, “that I'll climb up to look for you and you won't be here, and nobody else will know where you are either?”

“
You'll
know,” he said, and she couldn't argue with that. “I can't promise you there won't be, if you want the honest truth.”

“Okay,” she said. “Then I'll tell you right now: I'll miss you something fierce.”

“You could come along too. Something tells me you've already got more family out there than in here.”

It was a tempting thought, and sent her pacing about the watchtower's platform for many moments, until she stopped at the railing and looked out over the comings and goings and scurryings. Somebody had to stay behind and start putting the proper fear into these people. Somebody had to be the go-between.

Maybe they would even come to love her for it, the men especially, and if they started down the wrong paths again, she would be the ruin of them.

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