Rat Song

Chapter 30

William followed the Piper into the empty church with nothing to protect him but the guitar strapped across his back. The heavy wooden doors shut behind them with a deafening boom. Pastor Abrams had already moved his podium to the far side of the church and set up a thick, dark curtain blocking the pulpit from the rest of the church, leaving the two of them ample privacy to prepare for their performance even if any audience members took their seats early.

If William had his way, there wouldn't be a performance at all.

"I'm fully aware you know what I've been planning," the Piper said.

William's hand flew to his guitar. He'd been hoping to catch the Piper off guard, but if he acted fast—

The Piper held up his hand. "That won't be necessary, young man. At least, I certainly hope not. Now that we're alone, I would like to have a word with you."

"Why should I trust you?" William tightened his hold on his guitar. He briefly considered striking the Piper with it, but in the time it took him to swing it, the Piper could grab his flute and begin playing the Hymn of the Whole, to say nothing of how the people of Aerzen would react if he harmed their leader before Burdock could weaken his hold on them.

"Fair question." The Piper extracted his flute from his pocket, careful to keep the instrument away from his face. "The three of us should talk, and I am willing to set aside my instrument if you do the same."

"What do you mean the three of us?" They were the only people inside the church.

"Ah, yes, I suppose I should tell him to come out of hiding." The Piper cast his gaze to the rafters above them. "Burdock, be a dear and join us, would you?"

Burdock slunk from the shadows with his whiskers quivering and his hackles raised. He kept his gaze firmly fixed on the worn wood, not looking at either of them. "Put down your guitar, William," he said quietly. "There are some things you need to hear."

"But he's controlling the children, and you said he corrupted the Whole. Why should we listen to a word he says?"

The Piper laughed, a discordant, joyless sound. "Is that what you told him? Clever Burdock. You always were one for spinning tales."

William waited for Burdock to protest, only for the rat to remain silent. His throat tightened as a heavy dread settled in his gut. Burdock had been hiding something from him. Perhaps he hadn't even attempted to stir up dissent among the Piper's rats as they'd planned.

But then why would Burdock teach him the Hymn to begin with? Why would he trust him enough to allow him to control his body?

If Burdock could trust William enough to fully submit himself to his control, he could trust Burdock long enough to learn what the Piper wanted to tell him. But he would only do so on his own terms. "We must both keep our instruments out of reach, and if either of us tries to take up our instrument before the other, Burdock will keep us from doing so. Swear it upon the Hymn."

"Very well. I swear upon the Hymn that if I try to reclaim my flute before we mutually agree to take up our instruments, Burdock may gnaw my fingers off so that I can never play again."

Once both of them placed their instruments on the floor of the church, the Piper pulled his cloak tighter around himself and fixed William with a steely gaze. "Now then, I'm sure you are curious why I have amassed so many rats under my control and bound them to human souls."

"What's there to be curious about?" William asked. "Many would kill to have the amount of power you have. The rats follow your orders without question, and they can do far more by controlling a human's body than they would ever be able to do on their own."