{"id":1481,"date":"2012-10-24T00:00:48","date_gmt":"2012-10-24T04:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=1481"},"modified":"2012-10-23T21:20:05","modified_gmt":"2012-10-24T01:20:05","slug":"winter-chapter-24-05","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=1481","title":{"rendered":"Winter – Chapter 24 – 05"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron shook his head and turned to Thordin.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019ve had this feeling in my gut about where I\u2019m supposed to be.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019ve been chasing that, for better or for worse.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWell, that does sound like destiny.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The big man smiled.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cEither that or foolishness, and since you don\u2019t seem the type given to it and I <\/span>know<\/span><\/em> she\u2019s not, I\u2019d have to say it\u2019s what she said.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He nodded to the river\u2019s bank.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNorth or south?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSouth,\u201d Cameron said without thinking.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Thordin nodded.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMind if I lead for a little while?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNot at all,\u201d Cameron said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019d probably know better where good places to cross would be than I.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He squeezed Neve\u2019s hand again as Thordin turned his mount to the south and began to walk it along the muddy bank.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She nodded toward Thordin\u2019s back.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBetter get moving before he starts going any faster and we lose him.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron chuckled softly and nodded.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cRight, right.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He let go after one last squeeze and nudged his horse into motion.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Neve followed, her horse falling into an easy sway next to his.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He dropped his voice low enough that only she could hear.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWho is he, anyway?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Her brows went up.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHe\u2019s like you,\u201d Cameron said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSo who is he?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Where is he?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The ghost of a smile crossed her face.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou already know, Cam.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>You\u2019re smart enough to have already figured it out.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI didn\u2019t think\u2014\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He stopped, frowning. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cYou said he was dead and he said he got better.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>How the hell does that work?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Her brows knit.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t know.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever heard of it before.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She shook her head slightly, fingers tangling in her reins and tightening around the saddle horn.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI was beyond the veil when he was killed, but Phelan was there.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He saw it happen and he couldn\u2019t stop it.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He told us about it when he returned to us for a time.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron asked quietly.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, eyes focusing on something very far away.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Her voice took on a weary, almost dreamy quality as she spoke at a level just above a bare whisper.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt was in the eighth century.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The\u2026old religions\u2026were already well on their way to giving up the ghost to the newer monotheistic faiths across the continent.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Most of us had retreated beyond the Veil, back to our Otherworlds where we might escape the worst of all of it.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>A few stayed.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cLike Phelan?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She nodded.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnd Thordin.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He and a few of his brethren were still hunting in the deep forests of northeastern Europe, feeling as invincible as the day they were made.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It was probably their downfall, that.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>You see, there was this tree in a village up in the hill country in northern <\/span>Germania<\/span><\/em>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Someone told me once that it was an offshoot of Yggdrasil linked to the lives of a couple individuals.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It was this huge, old, beautiful oak so big that three grown men couldn\u2019t wrap their arms around it if they tried.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I saw it when the tree was young.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It was huge even then, and beautiful.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron reached over and squeezed her hand again.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>This is hard for her.\u00a0 <\/span>I suppose I can understand\u2014he was killed somehow, even if he \u201cgot better.\u201d<\/span><\/em>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou don\u2019t have to tell me, Neve.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNo, I do.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She smiled weakly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou deserve to know, and I don\u2019t think you want to ask Thordin.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI wouldn\u2019t tell him,\u201d Thordin called with a measure of decidedly forced cheer from ahead of them.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m going to ride on a little.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>If I find a spot to cross, I\u2019ll wait for you to catch up.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cEars like a bloody bat,\u201d Neve muttered as they watched Thordin urge his horse onward, widening the gap between them.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI should have known that he could hear us.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He could hear flies break wind at twenty paces.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThirty!\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Thordin called back to them, then laughed.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Neve just shook her head.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron smiled.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThe story?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYeah,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThe story.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Well\u2026\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She exhaled quietly and shook her head again.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThere was this man that Rome sent named Wynfryth.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He was on some kind of miniature crusade to turn the last holdouts of the old ways to Christianity.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He came to the village with an axe and power unlike anything Phelan had ever seen, a power that he\u2019d never witnessed in anything before or since\u2014not even his friend <\/span>Br\u00e9anainn had power like that, and Br\u00e9anainn was a powerful, holy man.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWynfryth walked up to that oak and swung the axe once, twice.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>While he was doing that, a dozen men were attacking Thordin and his party in the woods.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They\u2019d just taken down a boar and were starting to butcher it when they were attacked.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019ve heard this story,\u201d Cameron said quietly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI remember it.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Except it was Boniface.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Her eyes slid closed and she nodded slowly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThen you know what happened.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI know that there was some kind of supposed miracle and the tree was knocked down by a great wind.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>And that a certain thunder god didn\u2019t show up to strike Boniface down where he stood.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat could be because he was busy being vivisected a hundred miles away.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Neve\u2019s fingers tightened.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t know if he was able to fell the tree because Thordin was being killed or if Thordin died because the tree was felled.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Either way\u2026I never expected to see him again.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHis presence is a welcome surprise, then,\u201d Cameron said, his head spinning.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Screw it all sideways.\u00a0 <\/span>I can\u2019t believe who we\u2019re following.<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYeah,\u201d she said softly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBut don\u2019t\u2026he\u2019s just a normal guy, Cam, as we all go.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>More normal than my brother, anyway.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron smiled faintly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019ll try forget it.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s got much of his power left.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Good to know.<\/em>\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron nodded.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe\u2019ll have to rely on what you and I can muster.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMostly what you can muster,\u201d Neve said.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAye,\u201d Cameron said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He let go of her hand and reached up to brush hair away from her face.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019d die to protect you, Neve.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Her hand covered his.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDon\u2019t,\u201d she whispered.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019d rather have you with me than lose you.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI guess I\u2019ll just have to stay alive then.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cGood.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Her fingers tightened briefly.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cFound a place to cross!\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Thordin called from beyond a hill.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWell,\u201d Neve said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI guess we\u2019d better get a move on.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYeah.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We should.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>They kicked their horses into a trot, chasing an erstwhile, once-dead thunder god up a hill to cross a river headed toward collective destiny.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cameron shook his head and turned to Thordin.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve had this feeling in my gut about where I\u2019m supposed to be.\u00a0 We\u2019ve been chasing that, for better or for worse.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWell, that does sound like destiny.\u201d\u00a0 The big … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,63,14,52,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-2","category-chapter-24","category-story","category-winter","category-year-one"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-nT","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1481"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1482,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1481\/revisions\/1482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}