“Bloody hell, Thomas, slow down, would you?” Phelan jerked his arm from Thom’s grip a few steps shy of the gate.
“If he wants this over quickly, then we’ll end it fast. I’m not above negotiating.” Thom hefted the cross-bar on the gates with a wince and set it aside.
Marin made a face. “For the love of all that’s holy, Phelan, help him before he hurts himself.”
Hurts himself? I’m about to hurt him. Something about all of this tripped every instinct inside him that screamed that this was either a trap or just a very, very bad idea—either way, stepping beyond the safety of Marin’s wards wasn’t something he relished.
But she was glaring at him from atop the wall like Brighid once had and so he hurried to Thom’s side to help him haul the doors open.
“I hope you know what you’re doing fear fiach,” Phelan said as he and Thom shoved one half of the gate doors open.
“I’ve got no idea what I’m doing,” Thom admitted as he stepped through the narrow gap between the doors. “I’m just hoping that Marin’s more right than I am.”
I suppose that’s a safe way to live if you’re Thomas Ambrose. Phelan shook his head and ducked after the younger man. Hope against hope and pray your wife’s wiser than you are.
I wish I could live that way.
Phelan shifted his staff to his left hand and fell in behind Thom, who marched across the snow pack with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
Thirty feet away, well clear of the warding lines, Cariocecus stood alone, draped in a maroon cloak so dark it might as well have been black, leather armor underneath the color of ink. His cold amber gaze met Phelan’s and the once-druid felt a shiver inch its way down his spine. He set his jaw and lifted his chin.
Show no fear and you will know no fear.
It was a lie, but a comforting one to tell himself.
“You wanted a parley?” Thom said as they drew within a few feet of Cariocecus.
The erstwhile war god inclined his head. “I did. I decided to offer you the chance to quit the field without bloodshed.”
Thom’s eyes narrowed. “And what would we need to do to win that?”
Cariocecus’s gaze flicked toward Phelan, then back to Thom. Phelan felt his stomach drop straight out of his body and through the snow and turf beneath his feet.
Gods and monsters. What the hell is the bastard about to ask for?
“Abandon the nodes,” Cariocecus said after a moment. “Leave this place after the weather breaks and find yourselves a new place to live. Forget this place existed, that it was ever home. Move on.”
Thom didn’t even blink. “No.”
One corner of Cariocecus’s mouth twitched in amusement. “I didn’t think you would agree.”
“No more than you would agree to quit the field and leave us in peace without a fight.”
Cariocecus inclined his head. “You’re correct. You’re dangerous, Seer. You and your lady-wife…more dangerous than you could imagine. They fear you.”
“They?”
That queasy feeling wasn’t going away. Phelan squeezed his staff, trying to take comfort in the feel of the wood against his bare hand. Power flickered between his clenched fingers, faint green lightning sending shivers up and down his arm.
This doesn’t feel right. None of this feels right.
He tried to chalk it up to knowing that they were about to fight a protracted battle against Cariocecus and his army of camazotzi but his gut was saying that wasn’t it.
If it’s not that, what is it?
“The others,” Cariocecus said softly. “The rest. Those who would take this world for their own, shape it, possess it. They fear what you may become, what your presence means.”
“And you don’t?” Thom asked.
Cariocecus smiled for a moment, then looked at Phelan. “If they are resolved to combat, then only you must quit the field.”
Phelan arched a brow. “Pardon?”
“A promise made is a promise kept,” Cariocecus said. “No harm is to come to you this day. You must quit the field.”
“I’ve made no such promise,” Phelan said.
“You did not,” Cariocecus agreed. “The Lady of Sighs did. Quit the field, Wanderer. I will not break a promise to her.”
Phelan rocked back against his heels. Thom looked at him askance.
“What the hell is he talking about?”
“My sister.” Phelan’s lips barely moved as he spoke. “He cut a deal with my sister.”
“For what?”
“His life.” Cariocecus smiled. “But I can only guarantee it if he leaves the field here and now.”
“I can’t.” Phelan sucked in a breath and met that amber gaze. “You know that I can’t.”
“So be it. I pray you reconsider.” Cariocecus turned. “Think on it. You have half an hour.”
“And then what?” Phelan asked.
“Hell,” Cariocecus said. “As much as it pains me to destroy you, I will if I must.” He looked back over his shoulder at Thom. “Think on it, Seer.”
Thom turned and walked away. Cariocecus laughed.
The pair headed back to their respective battle-lines, leaving Phelan shivering in no-man’s land between them.
He squeezed his eyes shut. Gods and monsters, cousins mine, pray for us today. Something tell me we’re going to need all the help we can get.
He turned and walked back to the walls.
