Beacon vs Other call

  From the distance, Cole began to notice hints of a sweet melody. Only catching it in snippets, he strained to hear it better. The little he could discern seemed to be the prettiest, most welcoming music he had ever heard. And the beacon was taking them in that direction.

  “Do you guys hear that pretty music?” Cole asked. “Kind of far off?”

  Harvan laughed. “You’re finally starting to apprehend it? I wondered how long it would take.”

  “The homesong has never been more distinct,” Winston said.

  “You guys have been hearing it?” Cole asked.

  “For a long time,” Harvan said. “It’s much louder than the music of this emptiness.”

  That wasn’t true for Cole. “I can barely hear it,” he confessed.

  “That’s why we didn’t mention it,” Harvan said. “We were glad you were deaf to the summons. The call of the Other is probably the biggest threat out here on the fringe. When it gets hold of people, they wander off in a trance, never to return.”

  “What I hear sounds beautiful,” Cole said.

  “Try not to focus on it,” Winston said.

  “Like it or not, you’ll hear it more clearly over time,” Harvan explained. “It will only get harder to resist.”

  “The beacon is dampening the effects,” Winston said. “Even so, I’ve never heard the homesong this powerfully.”

  “Think of your duty,” Harvan said. “Don’t let your mind get drawn away.”

  Cole tried not to listen to the call. He still caught little snatches.

  “I’m curious how strong the homesong would be without the beacon,” Harvan said. “Should Cole shutter it for a moment?”

  “Are you mad?” Winston asked. “The call might grab all three of us. Plus, the beacon conceals us.”

  “You’re right,” Harvan said. “I just get curious.”

  “You want to hear the music more distinctly,” Winston said. “You want to wallow in it. You want to gargle it without swallowing. I don’t blame you. So do I. But that’s a deadly game.”

Chapter 25