The Sentinels cemetery and sundown

lasher coughed, a rattling, harsh sound that clenched his body and pained his lungs. the bout of hacking subsided slowly; when it passed, the donnelaith-man had settled to the earth, and blinked up at peregrine weakly. "it will be good for you to return unto the caldera," the druid murmured gently.

the thought of the panther's departure unsettled lasher for reasons he did not understand -- he thought of his dreams and the tension he had experienced when the man set off for the unexplored wilderness. a wild and terrible thought came to him then, but lasher thrust it aside firmly.

"let me walk with you a while," he asked gently, noting the stress of peregrine's taut body; every fibre of it longed for him, and this lasher understood with all of him. the devil was a husband and a father as well as the caldera's leader, and there were those in great need of him.