Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 133
Strange, how reassuring tears were. They were right for
this body, a healing action. Armiger had never known that
about tears before, had always taken them to be some reflex
reaction of his men to pain. But they freed up sorrow, and this
body of his, now his only one, thanked him for allowing them.
Now he stood, wiped his eyes, and gazed up and down
the path. What else did this body need? It seemed he should
take it into account now that his greater Self was gone. He
required proper food, yes, and shelter, warmth and rest. Rest...
He had not known that his body was so weary. All the
energy he had poured into it over the past day had poured right
out again as he walked. He was healing despite his great
expenditure of energy, not because of it. If he wasn't careful,
the body would give out again, this time permanently. He
would have to find another, or exist only as the ghostly net of
threads that had first come to this world. While he could
survive that way, Armiger feared the loss of his human body--it
was his anchor. Without it he would drift into the madness of
his own sense of loss.
His body wanted the comfort of its own kind to heal it.
He would see where this path led to.
Axel took his hand off Jordan's shoulder. The kid had
settled down. He now appeared to be concentrating on Yuri’s
speech. Good; couldn't have him running off to the latrine
right now. Yuri was obviously about to announce which ship
he was backing, the parliament or the Queen. It would not do
to be conspicuous right now.
Jordan couldn't move. His perceptions seemed doubled:
he knew he was sitting at the table in the banquet hall, even felt
Axel take his hand from his shoulder. But at the same time, he