The vision came almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He wrapped his mount\u2019s reins tightly around a gloved fist, frowning at the horizon as his horse pranced restlessly beneath him.\u00a0 Rory spoke at his elbow, a pace behind and trying to hold an equally antsy creature in check.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s late.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cOr we\u2019re early,\u201d Thom said, brows knitting.\u00a0 There was a bite in the air, either the chill of winter not yet gone or just beginning to settle in.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s late,\u201d Rory repeated, then went on to elaborate, \u201cand the last time he was late, he showed up with three bullet holes with him.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he wouldn\u2019t pull any stunts like that again,\u201d Thom said.\u00a0 \u201cHis wife would kill him.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, well, we left Neve at home, didn\u2019t we?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Thom frowned.\u00a0 They <\/i>had left her at home, and not without good reason.\u00a0 Marin was close to time and though Thom hadn\u2019t wanted to leave her in the first place, some duties had to come first, and Cameron had expected him or J.T., and Jay couldn\u2019t ride with a broken leg.\u00a0 Even Phelan would be a surprise, given how little the Wandering One left the safety of the wards and the comfort of home and family these days.\u00a0 Thom was more than half convinced that if he hadn\u2019t brought Phelan along, Marin would\u2019ve insisted on coming, too.<\/i><\/p>\n
And the last thing I need is my pregnant wife at my back if a fight starts.\u00a0 He\u2019d promised her two days.\u00a0 It\u2019d already been a day and a half.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t have much time to sit around waiting for Cameron if he was going to keep his promise.<\/i><\/p>\n
They\u2019d stay and wait, though.\u00a0 Marin would understand.\u00a0 Somehow, she always did.\u00a0 Always.<\/i><\/p>\n
The hairs on his arms and the back of his neck started to rise.\u00a0 Thom straightened in his stirrups, standing to peer over his horse\u2019s head out into the cold, misty distance.\u00a0 \u201cPhelan?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cI feel it too,\u201d Phelan said, his voice strange.\u00a0 \u201cI think that we need to find some cover, and fast.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
A huge, roaring shadow plunged out of the mists and abruptly, they were out of time.<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Thom jerked awake with a quiet gasp, then blinked at the pair of men that lurked in his doorway.\u00a0 He squinted in the dim, making out Phelan\u2019s familiar features and the less-familiar Thordin there, looking slightly guilty as they met his gaze.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d\u00a0 Thom asked as he threw back the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed.\u00a0 His eyes were gritty and he scrubbed the sleep-sand from them, wondering how long he\u2019d been allowed to sleep.\u00a0 It felt like a lot more than two hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see that Marin got you to get some sleep after all,\u201d Phelan said, brow furrowing.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t think she\u2019d do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m learning not to argue too much with her when she\u2019s right.\u00a0 What are you two up to?\u00a0 I know you\u2019ve got to be up to something because you came looking for me instead of the other way around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan cleared his throat uncomfortably.\u00a0 \u201cThordin\u2019s been expressing some concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom arched a brow.\u00a0 \u201cConcerns?\u00a0 Like what?\u201d\u00a0 His gaze slid toward the big man, who met it for a moment before looking away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of game is the bastard playing?\u201d\u00a0 Thordin asked after a moment, studying the shed\u2019s framing.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s in this for something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, he certainly wants this patch of ground because of some kind of power nodes here,\u201d Thom said, sinking back down onto the corner of his bunk and stretching.\u00a0 His bad leg was a little stiff and he could feel a bone-deep ache already starting.\u00a0 That didn\u2019t bode well for the night and day to come. \u201cHas it started to snow yet?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo hours ago,\u201d Thordin said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd Cariocecus wanting the land doesn\u2019t explain why he\u2019s interested in you and your wife.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom glanced at Phelan, who shrugged slightly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve tried to convince him that maybe it\u2019s just our interpretation of what he\u2019s said and done, but he doesn\u2019t want to believe me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019d be too easy to just believe you,\u201d Thordin retorted. \u201cI\u2019ve got this feeling straight down to my bones that there\u2019s more going on here than we\u2019ve realized.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s not any time to belabor that,\u201d Thom said as he started yanking his boots back on.\u00a0 \u201cWe just have to make sure we\u2019re ready to stand our ground against him.\u00a0 If we\u2019re lucky, the wards will hold and we\u2019ll be able to just shoot them all until they quit the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thordin shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to get at.\u00a0 If he wants more than just the land, I\u2019m not sure he\u2019ll quit the field so easily\u2014and he\u2019ll try to find a way to draw out the ones he wants from behind the lines.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s trying to tell you to be careful,\u201d Phelan said, watching as Thom finished with the boots and then pulled on a sweater.\u00a0 \u201cThis situation is probably a lot more dangerous than we\u2019ve anticipated\u2014and we\u2019ve anticipated quite a bit of danger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom\u2019s nose wrinkled. \u201cWell, that\u2019s just the ray of sunshine I need today, isn\u2019t it?\u201d\u00a0 He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face.\u00a0 \u201cHow are Jay and Cameron?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir fevers broke overnight,\u201d Phelan said.\u00a0 \u201cBut they\u2019re not going to be able to fight tomorrow.\u00a0 It\u2019d take a miracle, and I don\u2019t think Jacqueline has a pair of that magnitude in her right now.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think she\u2019s even got one<\/i> of that magnitude in her right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom nodded slightly.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t expected either of them to be ready to fight this battle, anyway.\u00a0 But the next one\u2026\u00a0 \u201cAnd the Hecate?\u00a0 Felt or seen anything that indicates she\u2019s around?\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cThank goodness, no.\u00a0 No sign.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got no idea what the bastard did with her, but she\u2019s nowhere around that I\u2019ve been able to divine at this\u00a0 point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom\u2019s lips twisted in a wry smile at Phelan\u2019s choice of words.\u00a0 \u201cWell, we\u2019ll just have to hope our luck holds in that regard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAye,\u201d Phelan agreed.\u00a0 \u201cWe will.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The vision came almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. He wrapped his mount\u2019s reins tightly around a gloved fist, frowning at the horizon as his horse pranced restlessly beneath him.\u00a0 Rory spoke at his elbow, a … Continue reading