A bone-deep chill pressed in. Neville shuddered, his mouth open but no words coming out.
Reflected in Silan's eyes, Neville dimly saw the cloaked figure behind him draw a long, slow breath.
A strange, chilling rattle sounded, like a thin blade scraping a rusty steel pipe and shaving off flakes of dark red rust.
The bitter cold swirled in, piercing every heart like a sword.
It seized Silan's heart.
The monster that had appeared out of nowhere attacked through some strange means. Silan heard water gurgling beside his ear.
Cold and darkness washed over him.
Silan's mind became a shattered mirror, every shard filled with fragments of memory.
Hunger and cold wrapped around him again. That familiar suffering lashed his body and soul until they were riddled with wounds.
When that suffering fell away, Silan saw a kind woman deep in his memories. She lay in a hospital bed, softly murmuring his name, so gently it seemed to rest between her lips.
"Mother..."
"Silan, don't blame your father... I forgive him."
"Silan, my child, Mommy loves you..."
A cool kiss touched Silan's forehead, making him tremble.
His mother was growing cold. All he could do was watch.
It was the most helpless moment of Silan's life.
Silan had been about to be born the year Fabian Prewett left. Who could have known that once father and son parted, they would never have the chance to meet again?
His mother had to raise him alone.
Perhaps worry had worn her down, but his mother's health grew steadily worse. Fabian had left them a fair amount of money, yet illness soon swallowed it all. The disease tormented her nearly to madness. Night after night, she cried out in agony, her piercing screams sharp enough to slice through the soul.
But whenever she