\u201cListen to him, Phelan,\u201d<\/i> \u00c9riu said, her spirit drifting closer to the bed, close enough that J.T. could clearly feel the chill of her presence through the heavy sweatshirt he was wearing.\u00a0 He suppressed a shiver, lips thinning slightly.\u00a0 The spirit didn\u2019t seem to notice as her spectral hand grazed Phelan\u2019s forehead.\u00a0 \u201cThey care for you, you fool.\u00a0 You\u2019ll not put them off as easily as you put off Mother and Father.\u00a0 You never did put off Uncle, you just stopped listening.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhelan.\u201d\u00a0 J.T. checked his tone, took a deep breath, then tried again.\u00a0 \u201cI wouldn\u2019t argue with her.\u00a0 Something tells me that hasn\u2019t worked out overly well for you in the past, has it?\u00a0 I mean, the only ones who know what\u2014\u201d\u00a0 He stopped short, brows knitting as his mind slammed into a brick wall of possibility.<\/p>\n
Marin and Thom <\/i>might know.\u00a0 Marin <\/i>was \u00c9riu\u2019s mother in a past life\u2014or something.<\/i>\u00a0 His lips thinned.\u00a0 If that was the case, didn\u2019t it stand to reason that Thom may have been the father then, and Matt the uncle the spirit talked about?<\/p>\n
\u201cYou begin to understand,\u201d <\/i>the spirit whispered.\u00a0 J.T. shuddered as he realized that she was talking to him, her gaze penetrating to the depths of his soul.\u00a0 \u201cYou begin to see the strands that bind us all together.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d J.T. murmured, though it was a lie.\u00a0 He was starting to see the connections, the interlocking threads.\u00a0 Something tells me she\u2019s talking about something deeper than the connections, though\u2014there\u2019s something I\u2019m not quite seeing yet.<\/i><\/p>\n
I\u2019m not sure I want to see what she\u2019s talking about.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll learn,\u201d<\/i> she promised softly.\u00a0 Her spectral hand was on his arm, not burningly cold as he\u2019d expected.\u00a0 There was something warm about it, despite the chill of her presence.\u00a0 \u201cYou have a Spiritweaver\u2019s gift, a Spiritweaver\u2019s burden.\u00a0 You\u2019ll learn, you\u2019ll understand.\u00a0 Then you\u2019ll know.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cKnow what?\u201d J.T. asked without thinking.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow terrible and wonderful it can be,\u201d Phelan said softly, his eyes focused on some distant point.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a rare gift, Jameson.\u00a0 A rare curse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s neither,\u201d<\/i> \u00c9riu said softly.\u00a0 \u201cAnd both.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
J.T. shuddered again, swallowed bile, and tried to concentrate on his work.<\/p>\n
Nothing made sense anymore.\u00a0 Nothing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cListen to him, Phelan,\u201d \u00c9riu said, her spirit drifting closer to the bed, close enough that J.T. could clearly feel the chill of her presence through the heavy sweatshirt he was wearing.\u00a0 He suppressed a shiver, lips thinning slightly.\u00a0 The … Continue reading