The sun rose slow in the east, over trees and river and the snow-covered remnants of a state highway and university campus.\u00a0 His breath steamed in the cold, eyes stinging in the wind.\u00a0 There were already dark clouds in the west.\u00a0 More snow would come before the day was out.<\/p>\n
Story of our lives, lately.<\/i><\/p>\n
Phelan O\u2019Credne smiled grimly to himself as he slipped into a patch of bright orange sunshine, letting its anemic warmth wash over him.\u00a0 It would be months before the weather broke\u2014both magic and what was left of science agreed on that.<\/p>\n
Behind him were the shambles that remained of a battlefield, still spattered with otherworldly blood and gore along the settlement\u2019s walls.\u00a0 His friends would likely be upset that he was beyond the safety of those walls by himself so soon after the battle that had nearly killed him, but after thousands of years of life, he\u2019d found it was typically better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.<\/p>\n
He stripped his gloves off and wrapped his hands around the bare wood of his staff.\u00a0 It was warm against his palms, comforting, pulsing with the power of the world around him.<\/p>\n
Good sign, that.<\/i>\u00a0 He smiled again as he turned his face up toward the sunlight that slanted through the trees that lined the wide, deep river to the east.\u00a0 Nothing broken that can\u2019t be repaired.\u00a0 That\u2019s a step in the right direction.<\/i><\/p>\n
It meant that they were still winning the unseen war that he\u2019d been fighting since time immemorial\u2014the unseen war that his friends were just becoming aware of in the months since the end of everything they\u2019d known.<\/p>\n
All in all,<\/i> he mused, they\u2019re handling it well.<\/i><\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t turn at the sound of boots behind him, crunching on the ice-laced snow.\u00a0 It was probably Thom or Marin, perhaps Cameron, Thordin, or J.T.<\/p>\n
Then he felt hairs stirring on the back of his neck and realized it wasn\u2019t any of his friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey really do love you, don\u2019t they, Wanderer?\u201d\u00a0 Cariocecus drew up alongside of him, looking pale and shaky in the light of dawn, his black mantle drawn tight around his broad-shouldered form.\u00a0 \u201cThey really, truly do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d\u00a0 Phelan asked the amber-eyed godling.\u00a0 Why had it taken so long for his danger senses to trip at the other man\u2019s approach?<\/p>\n
Because you almost got your brains scrambled like eggs yesterday, that\u2019s why.\u00a0 Even a soul-healing can\u2019t fully mend the physical wounds, and you had a soul-healing <\/i>and magical healing.\u00a0 You\u2019re lucky you\u2019re not dead.<\/i>\u00a0 He knew he should have been.\u00a0 He\u2019d heard it from the others enough times.<\/p>\n
\u201cTruce,\u201d Cariocecus said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cPeace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan went rigid, slowly turning toward him.\u00a0 The former war deity looked tired, somehow spent.\u00a0 Phelan\u2019s eyes narrowed slightly.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s this about?\u00a0 Yesterday, you were hell-bent on wiping us off the map and taking this patch for yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy priorities were\u2026skewed,\u201d Cariocecus said, lips thinning.\u00a0 There was a deep gouge on his cheek beneath his eye, one that looked raw and painful despite the tiny stitches that held his flesh together.\u00a0 Phelan briefly wondered if he\u2019d done it himself or if he had allies they were unaware of to help patch him up.<\/p>\n
\u201cSkewed,\u201d Phelan echoed, peering at him.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s one way to put it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want from me, Wanderer?\u201d\u00a0 Cariocecus sighed, turning his gaze to the rising sun.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you want me to say?\u00a0 That I was wrong, that I picked the wrong side, that I am<\/i> the wrong side?\u00a0 You should know better.\u00a0 Words like that aren\u2019t in me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I think you\u2019re SOL,\u201d Phelan said, fingers tightening around his staff.\u00a0 \u201cBecause I\u2019m not buying whatever it is you\u2019re selling today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI saved your life,\u201d Cariocecus growled.\u00a0 \u201cI saved all of your lives\u2014twice.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t have to deal with Hecate for you and I didn\u2019t have to deal with Menhit, either.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeems that the latter tried to deal with you<\/i>,\u201d Phelan said, finally looking at him again.\u00a0 \u201cHow\u2019d that work out for you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cariocecus snarled and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s gunning hard for you.\u00a0 What did you do to piss her off?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do I do to piss anyone off?\u201d\u00a0 Phelan sighed.\u00a0 \u201cI exist.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d\u00a0 Cariocecus crossed his arms.\u00a0 \u201cI need to talk to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Seers.\u00a0 The rest of them.\u00a0 All of them.\u00a0 I just want to be able to plead my case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan frowned.\u00a0 We\u2019d have to choose the ground for that and choose it very, very carefully.\u00a0 Despite his claim of wanting peace, we can\u2019t take that statement at face value.\u00a0 He\u2019s a lying bastard\u2014like so many of them are.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cI know what you\u2019re thinking,\u201d Cariocecus said.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll have my word of honor and you get to choose the ground.\u00a0 They\u2019re not stupid.\u00a0 You\u2019ve trained them well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan snorted.\u00a0 \u201cThey haven\u2019t required much.\u201d\u00a0 His gaze drifted back toward the shafts of sunlight slanting through the trees.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll tell them,\u201d he said after a moment of silence.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll tell them that you want to talk peace\u2014talk truce.\u00a0 Should I tell them that you want to talk about your surrender?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know that they\u2019d accept it,\u201d Cariocecus said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I\u2019m even more uncertain what that would mean.\u00a0 You\u2019d never trust me within your wards and I\u2019m not sure I\u2019d be able to live within them anyhow.\u201d<\/p>\n
One corner of Phelan\u2019s mouth quirked upward, a smile almost blooming.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re likely right on that.\u00a0 Tomorrow morning, you\u2019ll have an answer, one way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHere, then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHere,\u201d Phelan confirmed.\u00a0 \u201cAt dawn.\u00a0 And be prepared to tell me everything<\/i>\u2014regardless of what they decide.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything,\u201d Cariocecus said.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll see what everything entails tomorrow, then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIndeed,\u201d Phelan murmured as the other man turned and walked away.\u00a0 \u201cWe shall certainly see.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The sun rose slow in the east, over trees and river and the snow-covered remnants of a state highway and university campus.\u00a0 His breath steamed in the cold, eyes stinging in the wind.\u00a0 There were already dark clouds in the … Continue reading