{"id":1493,"date":"2012-11-05T00:00:29","date_gmt":"2012-11-05T05:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=1493"},"modified":"2012-11-04T14:53:51","modified_gmt":"2012-11-04T19:53:51","slug":"winter-chapter-25-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=1493","title":{"rendered":"Winter – Chapter 25 – 01"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHell!\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia reeled back from her scrying glass, a string of even more unpleasant words running through her head beyond the one that had already escaped her lips.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Aoife\u2019s fingers dug into the flesh of her shoulder as Ter\u00e9zia tried to quell the shakes that she could feel coming.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat is it?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>What did you see?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThings should <\/span>not<\/span><\/em> be allowed to be that ugly,\u201d Ter\u00e9zia said with a shudder.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The hulking green thing had looked like something had blown half its face off\u2014and then the wound had somehow frozen in the instant a shotgun blast had hit it.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It was quite possibly the most unpleasant thing she\u2019d seen in the whole of her life.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Aoife\u2019s brows knit.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDamnation, Teca, make sense!\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt was big and green and ugly, all right?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She shivered.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnd it was heading right for the camp where your brother is.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The one we\u2019ve been watching.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cShow me,\u201d Aoife said, eyes wide, sounding almost breathless.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia stared at her for a moment before she swallowed, nodding.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI can try, anyway.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Aoife nodded.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s all I ask, Teca.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She set her jaw and laid her hands alongside the mirror again, focusing on Phelan O\u2019Credne again, since that was how she came upon the image in the first place.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The clouds in the glass slowly began to clear, revealing the pale-faced red-head shouting and waving his arms at a knot of men and woman just beyond an open gate.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia winced as she shifted the focus, scything her \u2018gaze\u2019 across broken ground spattered with snow, green grass poking up here and there in thin patches.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>As the creature came into view, Aoife gasped and reeled back from the table.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cLet go of it the image.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Let it go!\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia didn\u2019t hesitate.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Her hands flew away from the mirror and the image vanished as she sprang back, meeting Aoife\u2019s terrified gaze over the now-blank mirror.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat was it?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia asked, feeling sick to her stomach.<\/span>\u00a0 If she\u2019s that afraid\u2026<\/em><\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cA firbolg,\u201d Aoife said, hands curling into tight fists.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBloody hell, what\u2019s one of <\/span>those<\/span><\/em> doing here?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>How did it come across?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Gray chose that moment to burst into the small room, eyes bleary as if he\u2019d just woken up.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI heard shouting.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Aoife huffed a sigh and shook her head, turning toward him and laying one hand against his chest.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s all right,\u201d she said with admirable calm.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cTeca and I were just\u2026looking.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s all.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>He cast them both a dubious look before he nodded and ducked back out again.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia frowned.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you\u2014?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBecause there\u2019s nothing we can do about it,\u201d Aoife said, shaking her head heard.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMuch as I\u2019d like to be able to help them, there\u2019s not a damned thing I can do from this far away.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia frowned to herself.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>If they can throw metaphorical acid in my face, there\u2019s got to be something we can do from this distance to help them.\u00a0 <\/span>There has to be.<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t see what we could do,\u201d Aoife said as she slumped back into her chair.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThink about it,\u201d Ter\u00e9zia said, crossing around the table and leaning against its edge, staring at Aoife.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIf they can affect me from as far away as they are, who\u2019s to say that I\u2014or we\u2014can\u2019t do the same thing?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cScrying doesn\u2019t work like that,\u201d Aoife said, voice quiet, almost lost.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia set her jaw.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMaybe once upon a time it didn\u2019t,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBut today it\u2019s going to.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Are you going to help me?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Aoife blinked at her.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t know.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But I know we\u2019ve got to try.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>For a long moment, all Aoife did was just stare at her.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Finally, the other woman nodded and a ghost of a smile touched her lips.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOf course.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>You\u2019re right.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We have to try.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Ter\u00e9zia smiled.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAye.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Now go get Gray and Kes and Wat. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Let\u2019s see what we can muster.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019ll send that thing back to wherever it came from.\u00a0 <\/span>Somehow.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019ve got to help her brother.<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s the least we can do right now\u2014and it\u2019s the right thing to do.<\/span><\/span><\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>We at least have to try.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHell!\u201d\u00a0 Ter\u00e9zia reeled back from her scrying glass, a string of even more unpleasant words running through her head beyond the one that had already escaped her lips.\u00a0 Aoife\u2019s fingers dug into the flesh of her shoulder as Ter\u00e9zia … 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":[35,64,14,52,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-2","category-chapter-25","category-story","category-winter","category-year-one"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-o5","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493","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=1493"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1494,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1493\/revisions\/1494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}