Pain woke him when they tried to move him.\u00a0 He sucked in a rasping breath, eyes blinking open to see the sky.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t have been out for more than a few minutes, though cold was nibbling at his nose, his fingers, and the tips of his ears.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat in blazes were you thinking?\u201d\u00a0 Cariocecus asked, almost shouting.\u00a0 \u201cDo you have any idea what you did?\u201d\u00a0 His voice was close, though not too close\u2014not inside the wardings, it seemed.<\/p>\n
Phelan sucked in a deep breath and shifted slightly, earning a sharp, \u201cHold still!\u201d from Jacqueline.\u00a0 She had both hands wrapped around the spear that was still stuck in him, he realized, and J.T. had produced a pair of scissors from somewhere and was cutting away the fabric of his shirt and coat to get to the wound.<\/p>\n
Phelan put his head back down and glanced to the side.\u00a0 Cariocecus looked as angry as he\u2019d ever seen the southron godling, though Phelan suspected it was less anger than fear that was fueling the expression and his tirade.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just rang the entire bloody world like a bell,\u201d Cariocecus snarled, his ire focused not on Phelan, but on Marin.\u00a0 \u201cYou started to rewrite the lines of magic around this place!\u00a0 Do you have any idea what kind of beacon that is to\u2014to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo bad guys like you?\u201d\u00a0 Kellin suggested, her eyes narrowing for a moment as she came to her friend\u2019s defense, Phelan\u2019s fallen staff in her hands.<\/p>\n
Cariocecus actually flinched.\u00a0 \u201cI deserved that,\u201d he said, his voice quieter, more even.\u00a0 \u201cBut that doesn\u2019t mean that what just happened here wasn\u2019t insane and dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s my job to tell them that,\u201d Phelan croaked, wincing at the sound of his own voice.\u00a0 He swallowed and tried again, voice more normal this time.\u00a0 \u201cBesides, it couldn\u2019t have been her.\u00a0 It must have been me.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t in control.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo offense to you, Wanderer, but I don\u2019t think you quite have that kind of power.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither does she.\u201d\u00a0 At least, I\u2019m fairly certain she doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 The power to see the future, yes, the power to change it and to ward like no one I\u2019ve ever encountered, yes.\u00a0 But to reweave the very fabric of the world?\u00a0 I doubt that very much.<\/i><\/p>\n
Cariocecus was silent for a long moment.\u00a0 \u201cThen it must be the child.\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t just–<\/i>\u00a0 Phelan started to jerk upright, only to be shoved back down forcefully by Jacqueline.<\/p>\n
\u201cDammit!\u201d she cursed.\u00a0 \u201cMatt, get over here and hold him down.\u201d\u00a0 She glared at Cariocecus.\u00a0 \u201cAnd shut him<\/i> up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Marin said.\u00a0 \u201cNo, don\u2019t shut him up.\u00a0 I want to hear this.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelan wanted to pound his head against the ground a little harder than he was able to, though he bounced it lightly off the snow-covered ground beneath him even as Matt came to hold him down.\u00a0 He could feel the cold against the flesh of his abdomen, now.\u00a0 J.T. would be trying to extract the spear soon enough.<\/p>\n
I guess it\u2019s better than them trying to carry me back to shelter with it sticking out of me.\u00a0 At least it\u2019s not snowing.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Not snowing <\/i>yet, anyway.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes when a woman is carrying a child of great and special talent, their abilities begin to manifest through her temporarily,\u201d Cariocecus said, his tone even but his voice soft.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s rare and usually only happens in times of great stress and only when the child will hold great power.\u201d\u00a0 He stared pointedly at Marin\u2019s belly for a moment, still showing no sign of her condition.\u00a0 Then his gaze flicked toward her face, then toward Thom, who stood nearby, the point of his bared blade hovering just above the crust of snow.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems,\u201d he said softly, \u201cthat the pairing of the two most powerful Seers left in the world may be producing the most gifted child to walk this earth since the days of old.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pain woke him when they tried to move him.\u00a0 He sucked in a rasping breath, eyes blinking open to see the sky.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t have been out for more than a few minutes, though cold was nibbling at his nose, … Continue reading