Cameron stood a few feet shy of the opening in the tent\u2019s walls, watching the wind-driven snow.\u00a0 His jacket was draped over his shoulders rather than actually on, and his breath steamed in the air.\u00a0 His back was warm while his cheeks stung from the tendrils of wind that gusted in through the gap.<\/p>\n
\u201cPretty nasty, huh?\u201d\u00a0 Thom asked as he wandered up behind him.<\/p>\n
Cameron nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u00a0 Glad I\u2019m not out in it.\u201d\u00a0 Flying, riding, or otherwise.<\/i>\u00a0 His gaze slid sidelong to the other man.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe it\u2019ll delay whatever attack is coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cWe can hope, but I don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to be that lucky.\u00a0 All it\u2019s really doing is hindering our final prep, if you ask me.\u201d\u00a0 His breath steamed a little in the air.\u00a0 \u201cSurprised to see you up.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t even know you were awake.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t up until an hour ago,\u201d Cameron said, his gaze lingering on the steel-colored clouds above, just barely visible through the white of the snow.\u00a0 \u201cHate those things.\u00a0 They get a piece of you and you pay for it for weeks afterward.\u201d\u00a0 His hand unconsciously drifted to the older wound, the one that was supposedly healed but still hurt sometimes\u2014like now\u2014with a deep, throbbing ache.\u00a0 He frowned slightly at Thom.\u00a0 \u201cYou were bleeding the other night, weren\u2019t you?\u00a0 Didn\u2019t they get a piece of you, too?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I was bleeding before the fight,\u201d Thom said.\u00a0 \u201cWas helping my brother-in-law with something and got sliced.\u00a0 You and J.T. got clipped.\u00a0 Rory caught a knife, not a claw, which I guess is good because they got his face.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron winced sympathetically.\u00a0 \u201cBad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo stitches.\u00a0 Matt took worse when he had a radio explode in his face a few months back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron nodded, trying to pretend that he remembered who Thom was talking about.\u00a0 He knew he\u2019d met a Matt, but there hadn\u2019t been much time to get know much of anyone before things had gone sideways\u2014again.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s got to stop happening eventually, right?\u00a0 I can\u2019t be that unlucky. <\/i><\/p>\n
I hope not, at least.\u00a0 <\/i>He cleared his throat.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about J.T.?\u201d\u00a0 At least I remember him.\u00a0 He was helping Jacqueline take care of Neve.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cBad, like you,\u201d Thom said with a faint grimace.\u00a0 \u201cHe woke up today, too.\u00a0 Makes me feel a little better that you guys\u2019ll have a conscious medic down in the tunnels.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron raised a brow.\u00a0 \u201cTunnels?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, there\u2019re steam tunnels that run around here.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got a section warded off from the rest where we\u2019ve been sending Tala and Angie and Jac when things start to get rough.\u00a0 Jac doesn\u2019t like it much, but we really can\u2019t afford to risk her up top.\u00a0 She and J.T. are the only medics we\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron shivered at the memory of a faint glow surrounding the small woman\u2019s hands as she worked on Neve.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s more than that, isn\u2019t she?\u00a0 She\u2019s got some kind of talent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou noticed?\u201d\u00a0 Thom said with an arched brow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was there while she was working on Neve,\u201d Cameron said.\u00a0 He swallowed at the memory.\u00a0 Caliburn had grown warm against his back, as if it recognized the power Jacqueline had been wielding.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t mentioned that to anyone yet and wasn\u2019t sure that he would anytime soon.<\/p>\n
Some things, his gut and better judgment said, were better left unsaid.<\/p>\n
\u201cMm,\u201d Thom said, not looking at him, instead following his gaze out at the snow, at the clouds.\u00a0 \u201cWe saw it for the first time a few months ago.\u00a0 She saved Kellin\u2019s life.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled wryly and motioned to his throat.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s the one that looks like she survived some kind of murder attempt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember wondering about the scar,\u201d Cameron said.\u00a0 Hell, I remember wondering how she lived.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last fight with Cariocecus,\u201d Thom said, then shook his head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cBe glad that you and Neve aren\u2019t going to be involved in the fighting,\u201d he said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cHe could\u2019ve killed all of us that day.\u00a0 I\u2019m still not sure how we managed to wiggle out of that noose.\u00a0 Fate smiled, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI suppose so,\u201d Cameron said, staring at the sky.\u00a0 \u201cStill, I wish we could help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeday you will,\u201d Thom said.\u00a0 \u201cI know it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron looked askance at him.\u00a0 Thom smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t ask questions you don\u2019t want to know the answers to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hear that a lot,\u201d Cameron said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAround here it\u2019s true.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cMarin and I see things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThings?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe future,\u201d Thom elaborated.\u00a0 \u201cPossibilities.\u00a0 So it\u2019ll go easier on you if you don\u2019t ask.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight,\u201d Cameron said, eyeing him sidelong.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve seen me, then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd your wife.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron swallowed.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s not\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom met his gaze head-on, expression serious, eyes dark with certainty and pain.\u00a0 \u201cShe might as well be.\u00a0 She will be soon.\u201d\u00a0 He looked away again.\u00a0 \u201cAnd then there\u2019s something about our sons.\u201d<\/p>\n
A shiver worked its way down Cameron\u2019s spine.\u00a0 \u201cOur sons?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d Thom murmured.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t quite see it, but there\u2019s something.\u00a0 Enough to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKnow what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom shook his head slowly.\u00a0 \u201cThat I wish I couldn\u2019t see the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron shivered.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t envy you, then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re smarter than most, then.\u201d\u00a0 A bitter little laugh escaped Thom\u2019s list.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re smarter than most.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cameron stood a few feet shy of the opening in the tent\u2019s walls, watching the wind-driven snow.\u00a0 His jacket was draped over his shoulders rather than actually on, and his breath steamed in the air.\u00a0 His back was warm while … Continue reading