Another wolf called in the distance.\u00a0 Jacqueline shivered, tugging her blanket closer.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re getting nearer,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cThink the world ending\u2019s just pushing their range further and further south because they can\u2019t find enough food up in the UP?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe,\u201d Thom said, staring at the flames.<\/p>\n
Rory frowned.\u00a0 \u201cYou sure it\u2019s not more of those skinwalkers coming after Phelan?\u00a0 We can\u2019t be that far, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thordin swore softly.\u00a0 \u201cDamnation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacqueline looked toward him.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t think that\u2019s what those are, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope not,\u201d he said, lurching to his feet and heading for the horses.\u00a0 \u201cBut in case they are, we need to get to Phelan first.\u00a0 Before it\u2019s too late.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore it\u2019s too late?\u201d\u00a0 Jacqueline swallowed the urge to swear herself.\u00a0 \u201cYou really think they\u2019re still hunting him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that they\u2019re still hunting him,\u201d Thordin said, already re-saddling their horses by firelight.\u00a0 \u201cThey won\u2019t stop.\u00a0 Those witches won\u2019t stop until he\u2019s dead or they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the hell did he do to them that made them hate him so much?\u201d she asked, pushing to her feet and watching as he finished with one horse and moved on to the next.\u00a0 \u201cNot that I\u2019m not familiar with his ability to piss people off, but this is a little extreme, even by the standards of Cariocecus and\u2014what was that other chick\u2019s name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean Menhit?\u201d\u00a0 Rory asked, watching the two of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, her.\u00a0 That one.\u201d\u00a0 Jacqueline crossed her arms.\u00a0 \u201cI know he dealt with Vammatar, but she was trying to kill him\u2014and all of us\u2014before he did what he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure Vammatar\u2019s death only has a very little to do with how much her sisters want Phelan dead.\u201d\u00a0 Thordin shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cIf I didn\u2019t know better, I\u2019d say Phelan was the original Puck archetype\u2014the inspiration for him.\u00a0 I never knew all of the trouble he\u2019d gotten himself into, but there was a lot.\u00a0 I imagine that one of his misadventures was what won him this particular set of tenacious enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019re going to ride out after Phelan in the dark and hope we reach him before the other people hunting him do?\u201d\u00a0 Thom asked, still sitting by the fire, arms crossed as he watched.\u00a0 \u201cBefore those skinwalkers find him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see us having much other choice,\u201d Thordin said.\u00a0 \u201cUnless you want to bring home a corpse, we ride now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom sighed.\u00a0 \u201cThen I guess we ride.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Another wolf called in the distance.\u00a0 Jacqueline shivered, tugging her blanket closer.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re getting nearer,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cThink the world ending\u2019s just pushing their range further and further south because they can\u2019t find enough food up in the UP?\u201d \u201cMaybe,\u201d … Continue reading