\u201cPhelan\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom winced slightly, glancing at his brother-in-law.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s he doing up this early in the morning?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matt shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cYou say that like it\u2019s unusual.\u00a0 He\u2019s usually up earlier than a lot of us.\u201d\u00a0 He turned away from the forge\u2019s doorway and met Thom\u2019s troubled gaze.\u00a0 \u201cAre you trying to avid him or something?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot entirely,\u201d Thom lied, looking down at the sketchpad in his lap.\u00a0 Only partially.<\/i>\u00a0 He smoothed a bare hand over the paper, careful not to smear the lines of his sketch.\u00a0 \u201cThough I\u2019ll admit that I\u2019m not in the mood for him to gently hint at wanting confirmation about some things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean like my sister being pregnant?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly like that.\u201d\u00a0 Thom closed his eyes and flipped to a fresh page in his sketchbook, hiding the rough blueprints for a cradle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to regret asking this, but why is he so concerned with that happening, exactly?\u00a0 I know that he\u2019s interested in it, but no one\u2019s quite explained why<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not entirely sure I understand why\u2014or that I really want to understand the parts I\u2019m already aware of.\u00a0 <\/i>Thom exhaled.\u00a0 \u201cIt starts some kind of cosmic timer or something that Phelan seems to think is coming on too fast.\u201d\u00a0 I wish I didn\u2019t agree with him about the goddamned timer part, either.<\/i><\/p>\n
Matt shook his head as he sat down on an overturned bucket next to Thom and settled in to start wrapping the grip of one of the new swords with a strip of suede.\u00a0 \u201cWell, whether you want to talk to him or not, he\u2019s coming up here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I caught that.\u201d\u00a0 Thom closed the sketchbook and set it aside, reaching for one of the finished swords and a whetstone.<\/p>\n
Settle down.\u00a0 It could be something totally unrelated.<\/i><\/p>\n
I don\u2019t have much confidence that it is, but it could be.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cHe might be here about J.T. or something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, maybe.\u201d\u00a0 The whetstone whispered against the still-dull edge of the blade.\u00a0 It\u2019d take quite a bit of honing until the edge was as sharp as they\u2019d need it before the next attack came\u2014before their next hand to hand round with something ugly and dangerous from beyond their wards, possibly beyond their imagining.<\/p>\n
That was one of the perils of surviving the apocalypse.<\/p>\n
Phelan ducked into the forge a moment later and nodded to Matt in greeting before he turned his attention to Thom.\u00a0 \u201cYou should come down by the fire,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to talk.\u00a0 Honestly, both of you probably should.\u00a0 You\u2019re both going to have to be part of this decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDecision?\u201d\u00a0 Thom glanced up from the blade, brow furrowing.\u00a0 \u201cWhat decision?\u201d<\/p>\n
The once-druid leaned in the doorway, studying both men.\u00a0 \u201cCariocecus made us an offer of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because I\u2019d trust an offer from the bleeding Shadow Man who almost killed us.\u00a0 <\/i>Thom\u2019s eyes narrowed.\u00a0 \u201cDo you believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI almost wish I didn\u2019t,\u201d Phelan said.\u00a0 He shook his head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cBut with everything happening right now\u2014everything changing so fast\u2014I can see how and why he\u2019d make the offer.\u201d\u00a0 His lips thinned.\u00a0 \u201cIt could bode well for us if we make the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you figure?\u201d\u00a0 Matt asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve forgotten, but I haven\u2019t forgotten that there\u2019s a trio of Scandinavian bitch goddesses that\u2019re gunning for me because I killed their sister.\u201d<\/p>\n
At lease we <\/i>hope you killed their sister.<\/i>\u00a0 Thom winced.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t forgotten\u2014not quite\u2014no matter how much he might have wanted to.\u00a0 \u201cAnd then there\u2019s the new one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThe new one could be worse than them, but the jury\u2019s still out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI imagine you\u2019ll let us know if we actually have something to worry about,\u201d Thom said, setting aside the sword and whetstone, standing and stretching.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know I would.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood,\u201d Thom said with a firm nod.\u00a0 \u201cHave you told Marin yet?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore I told the two of\u00a0 you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom nodded.\u00a0 Then she\u2019s already forming her own opinion.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cHow long do we have?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
It won\u2019t take that long to decide.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cAll right.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get some breakfast and we can discuss this\u2014figure out what\u2019s best for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan managed to smile.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re taking this remarkably well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cIt doesn\u2019t make sense for me to flip out over everything.\u00a0 Just the important things.\u00a0 This ranks somewhere just below that.\u00a0 Come on.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go eat.\u201d<\/p>\n
The three of them headed back down to the cookfires together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cPhelan\u2019s coming.\u201d Thom winced slightly, glancing at his brother-in-law.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s he doing up this early in the morning?\u201d Matt shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cYou say that like it\u2019s unusual.\u00a0 He\u2019s usually up earlier than a lot of us.\u201d\u00a0 He turned away … Continue reading