The passage of the Crowmen's corpse wagon in the street below him caused Bluejay to stop mid-verse and let the last notes from the guitar fade into silence. It was bad luck for the dead to hear only part of a song. They would come back in the middle of the night and demand to hear the rest.

Behind him Beth had also fallen silent. When he turned to look at her he saw that she had put one finger to her lips and the eight children surrounding her had dutifully covered their own mouths. Another thing that the dead weren't supposed to hear, another superstition that they had followed for so long no one really knew if it was true.

Only when the cart was out of sight did he continue playing, but now his music was slow and full of sorrow. He'd seen six bodies in the back of the cart. Six people killed by the Ice on that one street alone. Perhaps it had been half a dozen strangers who simply hadn't found a Holy Candle in time and died where they had slept. Or perhaps an entire family had been wiped out when an accident blew out their candle and no one had noticed until it was too late.

Beth continued her story. "So Red Rosie keeps on trying to find new eyes, but 'cause she can't see right, she can never find the right ones. So every night she comes back to this world to find another pair."

"Did Red Rosie take your eyes?" One of the children asked Beth. Bluejay winced a little.

"Yes she did, dear. When I was your age the last thing I saw was her climbing out of a mirror and holding her arms up like this." Bluejay glanced behind himself again just in time to see Beth lunge forward with a mock scream and send the children jumping off the walkway to land on the street below. He knew that it hadn't been Red Rosie who had taken Beth's eyes but it was important for the children to learn the tales and fear was an effective teacher.

"Do you think we could find out who the Ice took? Maybe see if they left any candles behind?" Beth asked. She was huddled up against the first floor wall of the Tower of Light as if she was trying to become part of it. Her legs dangling from the walkway. Bluejay shifted his weight onto his crutch, leaned across and took her hand.

With one finger he drew a cross on her hand.

"Yeah, the Crowmen always take them and if they didn't and I'd bet Broker would get his dirty little hands on them." Bluejay shuddered. Broker was almost six feet tall and while his hands were dirty Bluejay knew from experience they weren't small. Beth tapped the side of the Hall of Light. "Could you keep me out of this place tonight Jay, I'll pay you back, I promise. I just couldn't take another night in it right now."

He looked at the Hall of Light again. It was a thin building, like a lighthouse, and at six stories tall it was a little shorter than average for the city of Rosetta. While empty during the day, come nightfall it would be crammed with people desperately hoping for a place near enough to a Holy Candle to survive the night. It didn't always work, twice in the past year Bluejay had woken up next to corpses and he didn't fault anyone for wanting to avoid such a place. He drew a tick across Beth's palm. She smiled. A tiny flash of sunshine so bright it threatened to illuminate the hollow pits of her eyes.

"Mind if I wait here and borrow your guitar? The kids will be back soon and I want to teach them about Blackbird." He put a cross on her hand. She wasn't as good with it as he was but she could sing better than anyone else in the city. At least in Bluejay's mind.

He handed it to her and the warmth of her smile was almost enough to melt away the night's Ice.

***

Twenty minutes later and Bluejay had crossed from the dying quarter of the city and into a part that still had some hope. Crowmen and Guardsmen, the former employed by the Basilica, the later privately employed, watched him carefully. They noted his pale Ice bitten legs, his twig like fingers, and his ruined clothes. They were little more than a set of military cast-offs. A patched up greatcoat that got thinner each winter and outdated leather tricorn hat. He looked like the ghost of a soldier who had gotten lost two decades ago. It was a common enough collection for a street rat, although at only fourteen years old he was a little too small for it.

The crowds thickened as he reached the Basilica. A woman with an Ice twisted arm holding a stick in her good hand brushed past him. An old tinker man, his pack full to burst, hobbled along the side of the road, ignored just as Bluejay was. An old sailor here, a food vendor there. An Orcblood woman he'd met once a year ago ignored him. The crowd swallowed up the street and spilled upwards onto walkways like the branches of a tree. Bluejay moved like a virus, exploiting the small gaps between people, dodging through any opening big enough and always holding on to the small wooden candle that hung around his neck on a brass chain.

"No pushing kid." The woman shouted at him and Bluejay silently waved the candle at her until she fell silent and looked away obviously embarrassed.  Bluejay stopped his ascent through the crowd once he reached the Crowman on guard at Weber Street. He knew that the people who had made it this far had slept out all night here. The survivors here were the most desperate people in the city, even more so than Bluejay and Beth.

The Crowman, six feet of blackened armour beneath a crows mask of a helmet, stared blankly down at him. Once again Bluejay lifted the candle and he stepped aside and gave an awkward bow. Bluejay smiled weakly back at him.

The line moved as slow as it ever did. For those who had waited or those who even now at midday still felt the ice on their skin, it could never move fast enough. Finally Bluejay found himself through the gateway where one of the Sister Crows and two Crowmen waited behind a table. The table was stacked with gold coloured candles and a small amount of paperwork. Slightly further into the courtyard, Bluejay noticed a young Ladycrow, probably an Errant, watching them. Like all knights of She Who Burned her armour glistened with gold etching and she looked like she had never slept through a cold night in her life. He wondered if his mother had looked as young as she did on her first day.

"Good morning." The Sister Crow smiled as she spoke to him. The smile and voice was weak and tired. Bluejay held up his candle so she could see its base.

"Five-Five-A-Seven." She read and one of the Crowmen lifted the book out from under the table. It took a moment to find him and another one to confirm he matched the description in the book. "James Listrani, Lady Listrani's child. Here you go."

She pushed three of the golden candles towards him and he nodded and smiled in thanks. "No work for you this week. But Bishop Sandson may need a boy to run some errands next week. Will you be up to that?" He nodded emphatically.

"I'll make a note so you will know for certain in three days' time. There's another note here, you'll be allowed to visit your mother again in two weeks' time." He nodded and smiled and pushed the hurt away. He'd known that he still had two weeks to wait but the unfairness of it still hurt. With his candles in hand he limped away.

***

The possibility of work gnarled at Bluejay as he walked back to the Hall of Light. Work in the Basilica, and for a bishop at that, would mean more than just strong candles every night. It would mean good food, a wash, maybe even new clothes and a permanent job. Best of all he could visit his mother whenever he had time to spare. He might even be able to save enough money to buy a properly blessed offering from the priests.

However it would also mean leaving Beth behind and when he thought of that it was as if the Ice had reached his heart. He needed to find a way to get her inside as well. So caught up in his thoughts Bluejay didn't notice when Broker slipped out of the shadows of a side street and knocked the crutch away with a kick. The ground slammed into him like a punch. Laughter erupted around him and Bluejay became aware of half a dozen other children rushing towards him. His candles had scattered across the street. A dirty boot pressed down on his wrist and he looked up to see Broker grinning down at him.

"The cripple thinks he's better than us just 'cause he's got one of them wooden candles.” One of the other kids recovered his real candles. Tears stung Bluejay's eyes and he swung his crutch at Broker but last night’s Ice had sapped his strength and Broker just laughed again.

"If you're going to fight me you shouldn't be on the ground like that?" He said and without effort he lifted Bluejay into the air with one hand. The other kids laughed again as Bluejay tried to struggle free.

"I think a knight like you can spare some candles." Broker said. "Or you could if your mam was still a knight couldn't ya? But she ain't is she? So you're nothing, just like us." Bluejay's tears stopped and despite the rage building in him he saw that Broker had lifted him too high. If he could talk or shout his cry would have been loud enough to wake the dead but being silent meant that Broker never saw Bluejay's foot kicking towards him until it was too late.

The blow hit with a dull crunch and the street was suddenly silent as Bluejay and Broker fell into a heap. Bluejay was quickly back onto his feet and he stared in terror at the street kids surrounding him. None made a sound but there was no way to get through them. An inhuman cry came from Broker as he sat up, blood streaming from his nose.

"Bastard." He spat more blood out. He was on his feet in a second and Bluejay found himself frozen to the ground as Broker stormed towards him. Silently Bluejay screamed at his legs to move and begged his arms to rise up and block the incoming blow. He didn't notice the world swinging past him nor did he sense himself falling. Bluejay just felt the numbness of his face and the hard ground pressing against his body. Broker kicked him and Bluejay curled up into a ball. Just get it over with, he prayed, and found himself thankful for the last remains of the Ice numbness in his limbs.

Eventually the kicking stopped and for one blessed moment Bluejay thought he was clear. Then he felt a hand brush past the back of his neck. His scream was a wrenching gasp, not caring to protect himself anymore he reached out to snatch at Broker. But the larger lad had already got his hands on the candle, it must have slipped out from under his shirt and twisted round his neck. As Bluejay watched in horror, Broker snapped it in two. Broker pocketed half of the candle. Bluejay lunged towards Broker, not thinking or caring about anything else, but Broker's kick caught Bluejay around the side of his head and he collapsed to the ground again.

"Crowmen are coming." Someone shouted and he was suddenly alone.

***

Beth wasn't alone when he stumbled back to the Haven Hall. "Hey Bluejay, what happened to you? You look like Nine Nails got his hands on you." Tig croaked as he approached. He was hanging upside down from a walkway a foot or two above Beth.

"What happened? Jay, you alright?" Beth asked. Bluejay sat down next to her and caught Tig's eyes. He shook his head and tears threatened to overwhelm him again. "Jay?"

"He looks bad Lady Beth." Tig said. "Was it Crowmen?" Bluejay shook his head. He raised one hand and held it level.

"Someone bigger than the Crowmen? Never seen anything bigger than them." Bluejay shook his head again and stared daggers at Tig. He smashed one fist into his other palm. "Someone punched you?"

"It was Broker wasn't it Jay?" Beth said. He nodded and ran a tick across her palm. "He took your candles didn't he?" He ticked again.

"Bastard Brok." Tig said. "He did that to some kids down Rockwell street. Three of 'em died before they could get any more. Any chance we can still get into the lighthouse?" Evidently Tig had invited himself into their small group hoping Bluejay would share his candlelight. Bluejay didn't mind. If you had anything to spare you shared it.

"It's already full." Beth said. It was only a couple of hours after midday and Bluejay looked in surprise at Tig. The other shrugged.

"Things are getting worse around here, Bluejay. The preachers don't make as many candles as they used to and they say that the ones they do make ain't as good."

Beth swore quietly. "Can you get more from the Crows? Aren't you entitled?" She struggled a little with that last word. Bluejay shook his head and Tig translated.

"They won't give him any others, they think he might have sold them or something." Tig said and Bluejay ticked Beth's hand again.

"Then we just have to survive till your next ration. We can do that right?" Bluejay closed his eyes and held up the broken candle. He couldn't bear to look at it. This time the tears did overwhelm him. Tig swore and groaned.

"Brok smashed the damned wooden candle."

"Oh I'm so sorry Jay. Burn it! Your mother-" Bluejay took her hand and squeezed it tightly. He needed to think now, come up with a plan to survive. He could worry about everything else, his mother included, later. It was only a grave, he told himself, his mother would understand if he didn't visit her for a while.

"What are you thinking Bluejay? We pray to the Blackbird?"

"Blackbird is dead." Beth said. "The Crowmen get real angry if you steal candles from the rich. I wish they'd get angry about stealing them from Jay but they never care about us.”

An idea formed in Bluejay's mind. He started to grin and pain spiked across his face. He licked a finger and drew a stick figure in the grime of the walkway. Tig leaned in closer to look, biting his lip as he tried to figure it out. Bluejay drew two eyes on the figure's head, large hollow eyes that took up most of the circle. Finally he added trails running from the eyes and across the face. He pointed to Beth and grinned.

"Red Rosie? You don't pray to her Bluejay, you just run." Bluejay's grin collapsed and he tapped Beth on the shoulder. She laughed as she realised what he was trying to say.

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"You want me to pretend to be her?" She said and Tig gasped.

"No, no, no, Lady Beth. You do that and she'll come after you sure as Ice." Beth laughed again.

"She can't see me 'cause I got no eyes. I could be her."

"You need more than just Red Rosie." Bluejay nodded and ticked Beth's hand.

"We need Blackbird, he could grab the candles while you do your thing. " Bluejay turned to look at Tig. He didn't get it.

"Pray all you like but he's dead." Bluejay took a deep breath to calm himself down. The penny finally dropped. Tig's face collapsed into terror.

"Blackbird won't get angry like Red Rosie. You'll be doing his work for him, so he won't mind." Beth said. Tig stared at her in disbelief and then turned to Bluejay.

"And who will you be in all this Jaybird?" Bluejay thought for a moment. He needed a story, they already had a reason for Blackbird to be there. Red Rosie would be the distraction, but no matter how good of a disguise they gave Beth she wouldn't fool anyone in the light. He needed a way to get Broker out of whatever hole he was staying in and into the dark.

He winced in pain as his bruises throbbed and his mind flicked back to what Tig had said. He grinned and raised his hands then slowly bent one finger behind his palm. This time Tig picked up on it quickly.

"You're Nine Nails, oh Jay that would be so perfect. We'll have to do it in the evening as well, they only come out then. We'll need a rat too, a messenger." Bluejay nodded and realised they'd need much more than that. They'd have to move quickly.

***

Bluejay, Tig, and Beth found their rat after looking for a few minutes behind the Hall of Light. The small child, perhaps eight years old, had been listening to Beth's story earlier and was attempting a spot of begging.

"Hey kid," Tig called, "want a job?"

"What’d you pay?" The kid snapped back.

"Night next to a candle."

"You got a candle now? Let me see?" Tig shook his head.

"You're helping us get it kid." Bluejay glanced at Beth, he'd have preferred her to ask for the kid's help, but he had to admit that Tig's directness had its charms.

"I gotta work elsewhere today then. Some place that has a candle now."

"You need anything else? Food or something?”

"I got enough food that I ain't going to risk the Crowmen." Bluejay watched Tig mentally grind to a halt. The rat was going off script. Beth took a breath.

“Do you have any string?” She asked.

“String miss?”

“To stop the Niks from stealing it. They're afraid of string so you wrap one end around your food and tie the other to your wrist.” It was a very old story, and usually it wasn't taught until the child grew a little older and the risk of sleeping alone increased.

“You're lying. Where's your string then?” Bluejay was first to lift up one arm and show the string wrapped around his wrists. Beth took a piece out of her hair and Tig held up the most pathetic string imaginable.

“I have some spare, if you need it. Just deliver one message for us. That's all we need.” Beth said and after a moment's thought the rat nodded.

***

The heat inside Thomas Cromwell's small shop was staggering. It smothered every inch of Bluejay's skin, blasting the last of the Ice's numbness from his legs like a volcano. The dirt on the rooms walls made his skin itch and the rusted remains of old tools scattered around him made Bluejay feel as if was standing on some hellish battlefield. He waited patiently until Cromwell himself, drenched in sweat and reeking from a morning's work, came out of his backroom to see him.

"Afternoon lad." He said with a nod. "You want something fixed?"

Bluejay raised his hand, fingers open wide and wobbled it up and down. He pointed to the nails in a glass case behind the counter.

"Just some nails lad?" He repeated the first gesture.  "Something built with 'em?"

Bluejay nodded. He pointed at the nails and then held out his hands. Cromwell looked at him warily but only for a second. They both knew he couldn't run away with them. Cromwell retrieved five nails and handed them to him. Bluejay placed one between each finger and held up his hand in a fist so it looked like the nails were protruding as claws.

"Ah lad. Nasty weapon, those are. You catch someone in the face with 'em they won't be forgetting it in a hurry. You'll need a bit of wood to keep 'em in place when you punch though. Why'd you want to hurt someone that bad anyway?" Bluejay held up the broken candle.

"I see. I'd repair it if I could, but if I could forge them I wouldn't be working here now would I? And I don't fancy being hung if the church catches me. But if you're looking for revenge, I'll give it to you at cost. No one should break one of those, it's against god. Ten nails and the wood, two crowns." Bluejay shook his head and held up both hands with one finger down again.

"Nine then, that's one crown and eight pence." Bluejay pulled out his handful of small coins and dropped them on the table. Cromwell counted them quickly.

"This all you got lad? You're a quarter of a pence short." Bluejay nodded and cursed himself. He already realised that spending the money would mean a day or two without food if he was lucky, but he'd rather that than spend a night without a candle. After a moment of thought he unslung his guitar from across his back. Cromwell was quick to catch on.

“Burn it lad. I'm not taking that.” Cromwell sighed and shook his head. "I'll tell you what, I'll do it anyway. Just 'cause your mother fell in love with an Orcblood that didn't make what they did to her right."

***

The evening had picked up a bitter chill even before the Ice had arrived. The four of them huddled together in the alleyway. Shaking from cold, excitement, and more than a little fear.

"You better do this quick mister, Ice will be here soon." Their rat said. Bluejay glanced at the other two. Tig was wrapped in a large black cloak. He said he'd stolen it from someone's washing but Bluejay guessed, from its stains and holes, that it was nothing more than an old blanket he'd found in an alleyway. Beth had done better, she shivered quietly in her thin red shawl and then grinned. The white smile flashing against the red streaks running from her eyes. She hadn’t said where she’d found the  liquid, Bluejay hadn't pushed the matter. Bluejay himself looked the least impressive of them all, with just two small pieces of wood in each hand and the nails sticking out between his fingers. That was enough though.

The last of Broker's gang, cold and bored from being on watch, stood and barged his way into the ground floor squat that Broker was using as a hideout.

"Till the flames gone, good luck Jaybird." Tig whispered and with a flap of his cloak he was gone, climbing up the side of the building impressively quickly. Bluejay took hold of Beth's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Good luck Jay. Don't worry, I know which way to go."

Bluejay loped across the street and down the alleyway that ran along the side of Broker’s building. He crouched low under a window and heard voices, laughing and joking as they sat around their stolen candles. There was a knock at the door and a burst of dread ripped through him. This was never going to work. His heart skipped a beat at the sheer insanity of it all. He heard the door open and Broker yelled. "No room."

"I got a message mister."

"Right kid, sure you do." Bluejay forced himself to breathe. Already he could feel the night's Ice clawing at his hands and throat.

"About that kid you beat up today."

"What about him?"

"He's dead." So far the rat was performing perfectly, believable and frightened at the same time.

"So, why tell me?"

"Cause I was asked to." That brought a laugh. The line repeated and the laughter echoed inside the building.

"Who by?"

"Blackbird. That kid you beat up is a Nine Nails now. Blackbird says he is coming for you so you should be careful."

"Yeah right kid, go play your tricks on someone else." The door slammed shut and a moment later the rat skipped past the alleyway and shot Bluejay a thumbs up.

Bluejay waited for the talking in the room to settle down. It took only a few minutes. Then he gently tapped on the windows with his nails. There was no response. He cursed. What else had he expected though, for Broker and the gang to rush out right away? He tapped again and then scraped the nails across the glass. The talking died down and then fell into the dark pit of silence. Something in the back of Bluejay's mind snapped and he flung himself away just as the window was thrown open.

He was around the side of the building in an instant, running as fast as his Ice twisted legs could carry him. He reached the other side of the building breathlessly and heard Broker shouting behind him.

"Whoever you are I'm not buying it." Bluejay tapped on the other window and grinned as he heard a yelp from inside. Broker might not have been fully convinced but those with him weren't quite so sure. He tapped again and a young girl screamed. Footsteps thundered towards him and he turned back onto the main street just as Broker ran round the corner. Broker came to a halt and Bluejay watched the anger evaporate from Broker's face to be replaced with uncertainty. Bluejay lolled his head backwards a little and raised his hands. He hoped that in the dark Broker wouldn't notice how simple the trick was.

"Now that's a little creepy." Bluejay heard Broker say quietly. "But I'm still not buying it."

Then the singing began. Quietly, as befitted such songs in the night. "Candle thief, candle thief, snuff out the light. Candle thief, candle thief, He's coming for you tonight."

Bluejay froze, aware that Tig had sung the wrong verse. If Broker noticed then he never said anything. With a snarl he spun around, hoping to find the source of the singing. The verse repeated itself again, this time with a second voice, the rat joining in the fun. Bluejay felt a trickle of fear burn down his back. Broker finally looked up and saw Tig and his cloak staring down at him from atop a walkway.

Tig leaped from the walkway and landed between Broker and the door to his squat.

The real Blackbird would have fought Broker right out in the street but all four of them could never hope to beat him even without his own gang nearby. Bluejay smiled tightly and braced himself. Luckily his plan didn't involve any fighting at all.

Beth screamed. A scream that threatened to rip Bluejay's soul from his body. She crawled out of the alleyway, her hands and face drenched in what looked like blood. For one agonizing minute Tig and Broker stared at her. Then, to Bluejay's horror, Broker shouldered Tig aside without a glance and fled back into his squat.

"Damn, the whole point was to get him to run the other way." Tig said as he picked himself up.

"Burn him! Let's do this the hard way?" Beth said as she reached him. He pulled her to her feet and nodded at Tig. As one they headed towards the door, Beth screaming and wailing with every step. Tig kicked the door in and they entered to find terror filled chaos. There was only one bare room, a set of broken stairs led up into darkness while a smashed mirror reflected the horror of the three of them. In the center of the room was a lit candle and lying around it or pressed up against the walls were six of the street kids Bluejay had seen earlier. Broker was pointing at Beth, his mouth opening and then slamming shut as he tried to speak.

He backed away from them, his back slamming into the mirror enough to send another crack dancing across its surface. Beth took another step forward but Bluejay stood frozen to the ground. He stared at the mirror and begged the ground to swallow him whole.

It was no longer Beth's reflection in the mirror.

 A long claw glided out of the mirror and wrapped like weeds around Brokers arm. He managed a single gasp and then was gone. Yanked backwards into the mirror in one sudden burst of movement and screaming. The candle went out.

"Bloody Hells. Red Rosie." Tig whispered.

Two claws clasped the edges of the mirror and Red Rosie pulled herself towards them and screamed. Bluejay stared at her face, where her eyes had been there were now two impossibly large holes that seemed to swallow the entire room. Her mouth hung open, blood and spit rivulets streaming down from it. She was a thing of bone dry skin and blood slick hair.

No one moved as her claw-like feet clicked onto the wooden floor.

Tig sank to his knees. Repeating her name over and over again like a prayer. Red Rosie raised one double jointed arm that was as long as her whole body towards Beth and gently cradled her head in one hand.

"Jay...?" Beth whispered and Bluejay watched in fascinated horror as Red Rosie raised her other hand, the claws flickering out and glinted in the faint moon light. She swiped down towards Beth's face but the young girl had been thrown out of her grip. Bluejay, with a cry of anger and desperation, had pushed her aside and now stood in front of Red Rosie, his crutch held in two hands like a sword. She screamed at him, arms swinging forward in a great arc. To her this was a gnat, a child playing knight, he was nothing.

Bluejay's heart was exploding in his chest, his legs felt like iron. A knight's blood ran through his veins and with memories of his mother in his mind he slipped under the two arms and came up swinging the crutch hard into Red Rosie's shattered face.

Tig would forever swear that he had heard nothing. Beth would insist that had been the moment she heard Bluejay’s hoarse cry of “No.”

Red Rosie staggered back from the blow. She looked up at Bluejay as his second swing came to a shuddering halt. For a moment he saw her as she had been, a young and frightened woman, her eyes pleading with him for a moment of mercy.  Then the illusion, if it had not been his own terror crazed mind playing a trick on him, vanished and the creature's monstrous hand slammed into his chest.

He fought through the pain and fear with sheer anger. Forced himself not to feel the blow or the ground smashing into him. It almost didn't work. Every limb was burning with agony and for a moment he wanted nothing more than to crawl into the corner and hide.

It was the thought of Beth that pulled him to his feet. Years ago he had been too slow to save her from being blinded. He would not fail her a second time.

Red Rosie turned to face him and swung her arms out in a wide arc. He was ready for her. Bluejay ducked under her arms and staggered past her. His feet crunched on the glass of the broken mirror.

On instinct Bluejay reached down and grabbed the largest shard. He held it like a knife, aware that it was cutting into his hand but not caring, and then spun around to launch himself at Red Rosie.

She had her back to him and was swinging her arms at the space he had occupied moments before. It would only take a second for her to realise where he had gone, but that was enough. Bluejay stabbed the glass shard into her back and Rosie screamed. His battered legs finally gave out under him but Bluejay tightened his grip on the shard and hung on. His weight pulled the shard down Red Rosie's back and then his arms too were overwhelmed by the pain and the shard slipped out of his hand. Bluejay landed on the floor once again. He knew he couldn't stand but part of him didn't care. He'd hurt Red Rosie, he'd done his best to defend Beth, that would have to be enough.

Then there was silence.

Red Rosie was gone. Vanished into thin air so quickly Bluejay briefly wondered if she'd ever been there.

"Jay?" Beth whispered from the darkness. “Jay what happened?”

"Bluejay fought Rosie off." Tig croaked. "Stabbed her up real well."

Beth crawled on her knees towards him, arms outstretched for him. He saw her grab hold of his left leg and felt nothing.

“Jay, Bluejay?”

“He's alive. Alive and awake, just hurt bad.” Tig said. Beth held him in her arms, one hand brushing against his cheek. She didn't say anything more but after a minute of silence she began to sing. Her voice was weak, she was close to sobbing, but to Bluejay there was no finer sound than the lullaby she sang.