\u201cMarin, wait.\u00a0 Marin!\u201d<\/p>\n
Matt ducked Thordin\u2019s whistling axe and turned toward the sound of Phelan\u2019s shouting, holding up a hand to forestall another assault.\u00a0 Behind him, Thordin frowned slightly and took a step closer, cocking his head to one side.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t hear that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thordin snorted.\u00a0 \u201cOf course I do, I just didn\u2019t think anything of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mat shook his head slightly, watching as his sister came marching into view with a look of horror mixed with terror etched on her face, Phelan\u2019s voice chasing her.\u00a0 \u201cThis isn\u2019t something you ignore,\u201d he muttered, then handed his axe to Thordin.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll be back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thordin snorted again and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cLead on.\u00a0 Time I learned something myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMarin!\u201d<\/p>\n
Matt winced at the tone in Phelan\u2019s voice\u2014a slight edge of panic he couldn\u2019t quite remember hearing, especially directed at his sister\u2014and jogged downhill to catch up with Marin, who was moving at a fairly quick pace toward the rest of camp.\u00a0 He picked up his pace slightly so he was sure to catch up with her before Phelan did.<\/p>\n
He put a hand on her shoulder and she whipped around so fast he was shocked she didn\u2019t have whiplash.\u00a0 Her shoulders slumped slightly as she met his gaze.<\/p>\n
\u201cMatt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWorried I was Phelan?\u201d he asked, falling into step with her, setting a pace that was a little slower than the clip she\u2019d been moving at a moment before.<\/p>\n
Marin shuddered and shoved her hands into her pockets.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 Worried you were the thing following him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thing following\u2026?<\/i>\u00a0 He glanced back over his shoulder, beyond Thordin toward where Phelan was trying to catch up, J.T. at his heels.\u00a0 \u201cMar, last time I checked, J.T. was not a thing<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot J.T.\u00a0 There\u2019s a ghost with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh.\u201d\u00a0 Great.\u00a0 More ghosts.\u00a0 I guess I shouldn\u2019t complain, given how many times they seem to show up just in time to save our asses\u2026<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s never made you wig out like this before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s because they\u2019ve never said what this one said before.\u00a0 And before you ask, no, I really don\u2019t want to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matt blinked at her.\u00a0 \u201cUh, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thordin fell into step with them on the other side of Marin.\u00a0 She barely glanced at him, just kept her head down and kept right on walking.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething eating at you, skj\u00f6ldur<\/i> <\/i>m\u00e6r<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\n
She glanced at him, blinking.\u00a0 \u201cWhat did you call me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thordin hitched a shoulder in a shrug.\u00a0 \u201cA pet name for someone I knew long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a very large part of me that doesn\u2019t want to be called by the old nicknames for her, Thordin,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cEspecially not right now, when it\u2019s her past that\u2019s haunting me today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matt frowned, biting the inside of his cheek to keep himself from saying something.\u00a0 As if visions of the future weren\u2019t enough, she\u2019s haunted by a past that may or may not be hers.<\/i>\u00a0 He looked away.\u00a0 Who am I kidding?\u00a0 I\u2019ve dreamed enough to know it\u2019s hers\u2014and mine.<\/i><\/p>\n
At least I haven\u2019t outright admitted that to anyone yet, though.\u00a0 The longer I can keep that under my hat, the better off we\u2019ll all be.\u00a0 At least for a little while longer.<\/i>\u00a0 The longer at least one of them from that innermost core at least appeared<\/i> not to completely buy into the magic that everyone seemed to be somehow infected with, the better off they all were.<\/p>\n
That was the thought, anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d he asked his sister after a momentary silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have no fucking clue,\u201d she said, then sighed.\u00a0 \u201cProbably to catch up with Thom.\u00a0 Of course, he\u2019s probably done fighting with Tala about meals for the next four days anyway, so I\u2019ve got no idea where I\u2019m going or why.\u201d\u00a0 She stopped and looked at her brother.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s Yule.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u00a0 I was there when Phelan brought it up and Thom had some kind of brain drizzle over it and bolted.\u00a0 You guys trying to find a way to make us celebrate the season, then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the idea.\u201d\u00a0 Her gaze drifted toward Phelan, who was still heading toward them.\u00a0 She blew out a quiet breath.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not going to be able to get away, am I?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCamp\u2019s not big enough for it,\u201d Matt said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight.\u201d\u00a0 Her jaw firmed.\u00a0 \u201cThe ghost told me that I\u2019m going to have a baby sometime in the near future, Matt.\u201d<\/p>\n
He rocked back against his heels, blinking. \u201cSeriously?\u00a0 How likely is that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marin\u2019s lips thinned and she met his gaze head-on.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m a week late.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cMarin, wait.\u00a0 Marin!\u201d Matt ducked Thordin\u2019s whistling axe and turned toward the sound of Phelan\u2019s shouting, holding up a hand to forestall another assault.\u00a0 Behind him, Thordin frowned slightly and took a step closer, cocking his head to one side. … Continue reading