Even several yards away, the heat of the flaming walls licked at Davos cold burned cheeks. He and everyone else froze for a moment, staring at the impossible wall of flames in wonder. He might not harbor fond feelings for Melisandre or her Lord of Light, but he couldn't deny the power either wielded, the display of which had come not a minute too soon at that.
A shudder ran through him. Where'd her power come from this time? Last time she'd made a big show the cost had been a life for a life and dear sweet Shireen had paid the ultimate price. Davos wondered what Stannis would have thought, should he have lived long enough to know that all that came of his great sacrifice was a resurrected bastard.
So long has he admired Stannis, looked at the grave figure and saw not only a king in the making but a good and just man. Had he always been deceived? Or did power have a way of corroding even the stoutest heart? And if that were true, who had the red woman been before the power came for her too?
He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. As he came back to his senses, he heard the growing murmur of a courtyard full of the able and less able bodies regaining their senses as well during the brief respite from chaos. They'd been granted a boon, it seemed, a moment to breathe in the midst of utter madness. They'd be fools to waste it. This was the closest thing to a chance they were like to get.
He looked around as activity resumed.
A hand grabbed his shoulder making his heart lurch into his throat. He looked around and found the imposing figure of Ser Brienne at his side. Blood darken one side of her face and it looked as though a chunk had been ripped from her cheek, a chunk that looked suspiciously like a bite. The sight and thought filled Davos with a queazy unease. The lady knight, however, seeming either unaware or unconcerned by the unsightly wound even as her blood ran and crusted down her neck and blackened her blue armor.
"What's the witch doing?" Brienne asked, jerking her pale blonde head toward Melisandre who's eyes were closed and arms outstretched. The Red Priestesses brow was furrowed in concentration and her lips moved constantly in silent words Davos couldn't make out.
"Something big." He said, remembering his own words to Melisandre. Apparently her god has something big up his sleeves after all.
"How long can she keep it up?" Brienne asked, her gaze never staying in one place long as she scanned the state of their remaining forces. To call the remaining soldiers shambles would have been a generous overstatement.
"Not long." Melisandre said, opening her eyes and briefly meeting Davos gaze before closing them again. Once closed, the crease between her brows deepened. There was a tinge of of ashy gray spreading across the priestesses porcelain complexion and though Davos didn't know what it was she was doing, he felt sure it was killing her.
"We'd best make use of what time we have then." Brienne said. "I'll begin evacuations."
"Go to the Spider." Davos said. "Tell him Winterfell is falling."
"What about you?" Brienne asked.
Davos glanced at Melisandre, the necklace around her neck was glowing as viciously bright as the flames around them.
He considered the lady knight he'd once been at odds with due to their conflicting loyalties. A shame how much destruction and death had been caused by such trivial things. He was just glad to be on the same side now, to know her as an ally and perhaps even friend.
"She says this Lord of hers has plans for me. Suppose I'd best find out what they are." Davos said, a wave of peace washing over him. "It's been a privilege knowing you, Ser Brienne."
Brienne bowed her head. "May we meet again, Ser Davos."
With that, she turned on her heel and charge into the night.
Davos reluctantly turned his attention back to the Red Woman. The gray was growing and with it the glow of the gems on her necklace. So long he'd wished her dead, fitting, he supposed, that now he'd be praying that she live forever.
He approached her.
"What can I do?" He asked.
She opened her eyes and looked at him, they too were glowing, as though there was a fire inside her, burning her up.
"Keep me on my feet," She said. "When I fall, so do the flames."
Short chapter, but most of the rest of the long night will likely be fairly short chapters due to the need to jump between events and perspectives. Speaking of... we are heading toward some rather big events and likely more deaths. I've got a few potential deaths that I'm struggling with, characters who could live or die but their fates aren't set in stone yet... I don't want to give spoilers, but I'm struggling with going full GRRM or showing some mercy. So if you guys want to help me decide, let me know what characters MUST live or MUST die in your book and I'll see if that helps me with some of my decisions. Sometimes it's hard to be the God of Death. So leave a review and maybe save a fictional life!