Rat Song

Chapter 19

While the rest of Hamelin slept, William slipped into the moonlit night. With the stars as his only audience, he made his way to the Tantalus River with his guitar slung over his shoulder. The familiar wood resting against his back and the ever-present rushing water welcomed him like old friends. Here, he could practice his music without fear of Father's judgment. Here, no one would hear him pour all his burdens into music.

Here, he was free.

But this time, he was not alone. Leaves crunched under Burdock's paws as he scampered behind William. The rat's ears twitched and his whiskers quivered as they made their way to William's usual spot, constantly on the lookout for any unwanted observers or potential predators who would eagerly devour a lone rodent.

Though he'd never imagined allowing anyone to follow him to his sanctuary of solitude, William was surprised to find Burdock's presence not only unintrusive but also welcome. Despite not being the same species, they were bound together by a shared desire to defeat the Piper.

William eased himself onto a fallen log, easing his guitar into his lap as he tuned the strings. "How is this going to work? I tried playing the Hymn of the Whole before, but the children didn't react well."

"I did not teach you how to properly wield the Hymn of the Whole before but merely told you how to see a small sample of its power." Burdock sat on his haunches and rubbed a paw over his ear sheepishly. "There is much I have not yet told you."

"You could have told me that sooner," William said drily. Misplaying the Hymn had led the children to attack him, leaving a myriad of bruises that still covered his legs and wrists in dark purple blotches.

"Not without putting you in grave danger," Burdock explained. "Imperfectly controlling so many listeners could easily lead them to harm others on your behalf whether you wished them to or not, to say nothing of how the Piper would react if he was alerted to your skill."

William shuddered. If the children hurt him so badly simply for misplaying the Hymn, he could only imagine the havoc they could have caused if they had attacked anyone who wasn't aware anything was amiss. "Fair enough."

Burdock twitched his whiskers. "Fear not, for I have done everything I can to ensure you can practice the Hymn safely."

William turned the last of his tuning pegs, giving the guitar strings an experimental strum to make sure the instrument was ready. "What do you have in mind for tonight? Should I just try to play what I remember again?"

Burdock shook his head. "I am not worried about you finding the core notes. Once heard, none with a musically inclined ear will ever forget them. But, as memorable as they are, they are nothing more than a skeleton for what we need. Played properly, the Hymn of the Whole is far more than its core notes. Only by channeling your feelings and desires into the Hymn can you harness its true power."

"You told me to only focus on the notes while I was playing it," William said. There was so much he didn't understand about how this strange song and how it worked. He was solely at Burdock's mercy.

"That is because I did not want to risk you damaging your soul." Burdock whipped his tail. "The benefits of the Hymn are many, but it can also be used to bind souls together. If you played it poorly, your soul could have become entangled with the children's, and you all could have lost yourselves in each other."

"You're taking quite a risk by letting me practice with you, then." William bowed his head. "Thank you."

"Do not thank me yet," Burdock said. "Do so after I have taught you how to wield the Hymn. First..."