Selune Depthsong's Arc

Chapter 2 of 3

Selune waded to the shore and pulled the dead seaweed up by its black roots. She twisted the strands around a crooked stick and pressed a hollow shell to the top. Her new lure stood at the water's edge, dripping and dark. She leaned close and sang into the shell. Her voice poured out in floating notes that drifted far past the hill. Footsteps came fast this time. The night watch captain stumbled down through the trees, eyes glassy, lantern swinging in his paw. Selune smiled and reached for him. He was almost in the mud when he blinked hard and stopped. He saw her then — the hollow hunger in her face, the bare trellis, the roots waiting like teeth. His lantern slipped from his paw and broke in the mud. He turned and ran without a word. By morning the watch was whispering. Whisper Thornpaw heard it at her stall and tilted her head. She knew that kind of song. She walked the long path to the lake alone, a small green jewel warm in her pocket. She knelt at the muddy edge where the lantern had cracked. She pressed the jewel deep into the soft ground. The mud drank its light. Along the shore, the toothy flower opened. The kelp trellis greened. Every dead vine lifted, alive and humming. Selune stood in the shallows and stared. Her garden bloomed without a single soul. The bargain she had carried for so long sat quiet in her chest. She touched a new petal and did not know what to want next.