[This post is from J.T.’s point of view.]
“I thought—” Matt’s jaw tightened as he broke off, his brow furrowing deeply.
“I guess they finally got off the false trail Daniel and his pack were leaving,” J.T. mumbled, still trying to gather his wits. His stomach felt like it was crossing the English Channel on a bad day while the rest of him was still firmly on dry land. He rummaged around in his kit under the guise of looking for something, though in truth it was just familiar action to buy him time to think.
It must have been one of them that I saw. A warning from one of them.
Playing with their food, I guess. What the hell else could it have been?
“They bought us months,” Phelan said, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. “That was time enough to deal with a lot of bullshit.”
“I guess, but why were they digging here?” Matt gestured toward the barrow. “It doesn’t make any sense, not unless there’s a larger purpose.”
Phelan winced, his eyes opening again. “Her sisters are goddesses of death and disease and worse. I’m not sure exactly what the reason was, but whatever it is, I’m pretty sure I don’t like it.” He pulled the tissues away from his nose to check if it was still bleeding, then jammed them back into place. “Could be anything with them, honestly. They were always pretty unpredictable.”
“That’s bloody reassuring,” J.T. muttered. “So what the hell do we do?”
“Tell the others,” Matt said. “Make a plan. Pray like hell Leviathan or the remnants of Pluton’s army don’t show up while we’re in the middle of dealing with this.”
“I don’t like our odds,” J.T. said, then closed his bag. “Did they do any damage out here, Phelan?”
“Not that I can tell,” Phelan said. “I’ll send Seamus and Thordin down for a second look. You might want to tag along.”
J.T. nodded grimly, offering Phelan his arm. Phelan grasped his hand and pulled himself to his feet with a groan. He wavered for a moment, then shook his head, still holding the tissues against his nose.
“Jac’s going to murder me,” Phelan said. “If it’s not one thing, it’s another.”
“We’ll keep this part a secret,” J.T. said. “Just hope that nose stops bleeding before we get too close.”
Phelan managed a weak smile. “When have I ever been that lucky?”
There’s a first time for everything.
J.T. just shook his head and started heading back up the hill, unable to shake the growing feeling of dread the moment Phelan had mentioned Vammatar and her sisters.
It just occurred to me, they should put a big sign outside the gate titled: “Enemies”. It should have three columns: “Dead,” “Converted,” and “Ran Away.” That sign should contain lists of names/groups with lots of room at the bottom of the columns.
It isn’t like the sign will attract any more enemies than they already have.