The energy tore at his jacket and magic-born wind blew his hair back from his face, stung his eyes.<\/p>\n
Just like at Winterkill.<\/i>\u00a0 He swallowed bile at the memory and bent his head against the growing magical wind, the sting of the green sparks that were starting to spill from the wards.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the hell did they do?\u201d\u00a0 Thom asked, almost in his ear.<\/p>\n
\u201cActed on instinct in the case of your wife if I\u2019m anyone to guess,\u201d Thordin said.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll need to cross the ward lines.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure what will happen if I try to.\u201d\u00a0 They\u2019re more than certainly keyed for him to be able to pass.\u00a0 It\u2019s me that I\u2019m not so certain of.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom ducked past him and headed for the wall of light that seemed more solid than not.\u00a0 Their friends on either side of the warding lines had begun cluster nearer to Phelan and Marin, many wide-eyed and slack-jawed.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep a sharp eye on the ravine!\u201d\u00a0 Matt snapped from somewhere behind Thordin.\u00a0 \u201cThere may be more coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
I doubt it, after what we all just saw, but it\u2019s certainly not a bad precaution to take.<\/i><\/p>\n
Thom swore as he touched the light-built wall of the ward lines, green sparks showering around his hand.\u00a0 Then he grit his teeth and forced his way through, leading with one shoulder.\u00a0 The faint smell of burnt hair and cloth drifted to Thordin and he winced.<\/p>\n
If it did that to him, I\u2019d hate to think what it would have done to me.<\/i>\u00a0 He eyed Marin\u2019s back.\u00a0 Then again, we\u2019re not out of the woods yet, are we?<\/i><\/p>\n
Before common sense could rear her fair head and stop him, Thordin seized Marin by the shoulders and hauled her backwards with every ounce of his strength.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2022<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The pain was incredible.<\/p>\n
He couldn\u2019t breathe.\u00a0 Red-tinged darkness chewed like a hungry beast on the edges of his vision as his lungs spasmed, seemingly incapable of sucking air into his body.\u00a0 Every nerve in his body fired in rhythm with each heartbeat, burning and freezing all at once, every muscle taut and knotted tight.<\/p>\n
Then, abruptly, the pain vanished and he was falling, falling\u2026<\/p>\n
The ground rushed up to meet the back of his head all too quickly.\u00a0 He blacked out for a moment, but when his eyes came open again, he was staring up at the winter-gray sky, eyes tearing, and he could breathe again.<\/p>\n
The pain was back, though, but duller, a soreness through his whole body\u2014except for his side, which felt like someone had shoved a sharp, hot poker from Matt\u2019s forge deep into his flesh and left it there for a while.<\/p>\n
Phelan sucked in a pair of breaths before he realized he was cold, bleeding, and laying on top of someone else.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the hell–?\u201d he slurred, not realizing right away that he\u2019d reverted to his native tongue and the words probably sounded like a mishmash of vowel sounds to his friends.\u00a0 He blinked and tried to roll onto his side, off of whoever was beneath him, then froze as the pain in his side doubled.\u00a0 He flopped back over again, moaning.<\/p>\n
\u201cJay, give me a hand,\u201d Thom said from beneath him.\u00a0 Phelan cursed under his breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d he managed to ask in English this time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were hoping you could tell us, \u201c Thom said, grunting as he tried to carefully slide out from underneath Phelan.\u00a0 J.T. hurried to help, lifting Phelan slightly to give Thom room to move.\u00a0 Phelan hissed softly, hands flopping uselessly, though he was trying to touch his side.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like shit.\u201d\u00a0 His tongue felt swollen in his mouth.\u00a0 Poisoned again?\u00a0 Gods and monsters, I hope not.<\/i><\/p>\n
Thom ignored the question as he managed to ease out from under the once-druid.\u00a0 \u201cIs she okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan just stared at him as J.T. eased him back down to the ground as gently as he could, then moved to examine whatever was stuck in his side and causing so much pain.\u00a0 \u201cThom,\u201d Phelan began, \u201cwhat are you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so,\u201d Thordin said.\u00a0 \u201cThough I think I\u2019m going to need some kind of ointment for my hands.\u00a0 Otherwise, they\u2019re going to blister.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marin.\u00a0 Damnation, she–<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cCac<\/i>!\u00a0 Jameson\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShut up and hold still,\u201d J.T. said as Jacqueline joined him.\u00a0 \u201cThe bugger lodged the head of this thing deep.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell for the love of god, don\u2019t just yank it out,\u201d Jacqueline said as she dropped to her knees in the snow.\u00a0 \u201cYou know better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019re just going to carry him back to camp with a four-foot spear sticking out of his side?\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan closed his eyes.\u00a0 Bugger me sideways.<\/i>\u00a0 The fragments were starting to piece themselves together.\u00a0 \u201cIs she all right?\u201d he rasped.\u00a0 \u201cOne of you check on her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine.\u201d\u00a0 Marin\u2019s voice reached his ears dimly, barely audible over the roaring that started up in his ears.\u00a0 \u201cHead\u2019s ringing and I\u2019m shaky and I feel like I\u2019ve been screaming for hours, but I\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u00a0 Never do that again.\u201d Phelan managed to say before he tumbled back into darkness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The energy tore at his jacket and magic-born wind blew his hair back from his face, stung his eyes. Just like at Winterkill.\u00a0 He swallowed bile at the memory and bent his head against the growing magical wind, the sting … Continue reading