Phelan came to them later, as the day slowly gave way to night, the sun sinking lower and sparkling against the snow.\u00a0 Never had lost track of how long she and Cameron had stood there together, staring out at nothing but snow, distant trees, and a future neither of them dared predict.<\/p>\n
She felt his approach as much as heard it, half turning to see him and wincing as her body protested.\u00a0 Damnation.\u00a0 I feel like some kind of old woman.\u00a0 Someone ancient.<\/i><\/p>\n
Well, I guess that fits\u2014because I am.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cI see you\u2019re alive,\u201d she said, struggling to keep her tone level.\u00a0 There were gashes down the sides of his face, neatly stitched but already showing signs of healing faster than they should have.<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently so,\u201d he answered with a wry smile.\u00a0 \u201cAnother narrow escape from the jaws of death.\u201d<\/p>\n
She sobered immediately, all thoughts of teasing evaporating in a heartbeat.\u00a0 \u201cHow narrow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t see my life flicker before my eyes,\u201d Phelan said, one shoulder hitching in a shrug.\u00a0 \u201cBut I scared Jacqueline and Jameson, at the very least\u2014probably Thom and Marin, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a close call, then.<\/i>\u00a0 She caught her lip between her teeth and leaned into Cameron.\u00a0 \u201cShouldn\u2019t you be sleeping it off, then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know me.\u00a0 I work until I drop and then I sleep for a week.\u00a0 I think I\u2019ve got another few days in me.\u201d\u00a0 He gave her a cheeky grin that shrank after a moment, something distant and painful in his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s Yule, Neve.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stiffened.\u00a0 Cameron glanced down at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cNeve, you just got all tense.\u00a0 What\u2019s the significance?\u201d he asked, looking between them.\u00a0 \u201cMust mean something<\/i> beyond Yule logs and the darkest day of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t do it.\u00a0 I can\u2019t.\u00a0 I\u2019m not ready for it\u2014not prepared.\u00a0 There\u2019s so much that goes into being ready to do that\u2026he\u2019ll ask.\u00a0 I know he\u2019ll ask.\u00a0 But I\u2019m going to have to tell him no.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nothing,\u201d she whispered, though the words were a lie.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need you to do it,\u201d Phelan said half a second later.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo what?\u201d Cameron asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nothing,\u201d she repeated, her voice a little stronger this time.\u00a0 Cam, quit asking.\u00a0 Phelan, stop it.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not important.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSing them home<\/i>, Neve.\u201d\u00a0 Phelan\u2019s voice was quiet, but firm, on the bleeding edge of pleading without slipping over the line.\u00a0 \u201cNo one else can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have Jameson,\u201d she snapped.\u00a0 \u201cHe can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t know how.\u00a0 Someone has to teach them, Neve.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTeach Marin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0 He fell silent for a moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can,\u201d she answered.\u00a0 I know that you can.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that difficult.\u00a0 You know the concept.\u00a0 You\u2019d be able to figure it out.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cWill one of you please start making sense?\u201d\u00a0 Cameron demanded.<\/p>\n
Neve just buried her face against her lover\u2019s neck and said nothing.\u00a0 Phelan held his peace as well and for a moment, she thought that maybe, just maybe, he was going to let it all go.<\/p>\n
No such luck.\u00a0 Phelan broke the heavy silence a moment later.\u00a0 \u201c\u00c9riu came to me today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hellfire.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s still\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like I\u2019m speaking another language,\u201d Cameron muttered.\u00a0 \u201cWill one of you please explain<\/i> what\u2019s going on here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we were young, back where we\u2019re from, Neve was one of the women who would sing the souls of the dead across to the Summer Country.\u00a0 Every turning of the season, every festival\u2014she and my sister, most often\u2014they\u2019d sing the dead home.\u201d\u00a0 Phelan looked away from Cameron and toward Neve again.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I need her to do it now.\u00a0 We\u2019ve done it once and it was\u2026clumsy.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t go as well as I\u2019d have hoped.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve\u2019s fingers dug into Cameron\u2019s arm.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t,\u201d she breathed.\u00a0 \u201cPhelan\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t, Neve, who will?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you,\u201d she said, tears gathering in her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cTeach one of the others.\u00a0 I can\u2019t do this, Phelan.\u00a0 I can\u2019t do this now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cameron\u2019s arms closed around her.\u00a0 \u201cWhy not?\u201d he murmured in her ear.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just can\u2019t,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cPlease don\u2019t ask it of me.\u201d\u00a0 Not when I just want to curl up and hide from death Herself.\u00a0 Please, don\u2019t ask me.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cThen it won\u2019t be done,\u201d Phelan said softly.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ll have to wait until an easier time\u2014the autumnal equinox again, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shivers shot through her.\u00a0 \u201cHell,\u201d she swore under her breath.\u00a0 \u201cPhelan\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u00a0 You said you won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I have to.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared back and nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u00a0 You do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve squeezed her eyes shut.\u00a0 \u201cThen I will.\u00a0 But I\u2019ll need something to wear.\u201d<\/p>\n
His lips quirked into a smile.\u00a0 \u201cI think that can be arranged.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Phelan came to them later, as the day slowly gave way to night, the sun sinking lower and sparkling against the snow.\u00a0 Never had lost track of how long she and Cameron had stood there together, staring out at nothing … Continue reading