His breath steamed in the cold, the fog illuminated by the moon, the stars above.\u00a0 He\u2019d almost come to enjoy these night watches, twice a week on the graveyard shift with Paul in the tower and him on foot along the perimeter.\u00a0 Matt shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and stared off into the darkness along the walls. No shadows moved against the snow.\u00a0 No one here, just like every other night.<\/p>\n
He glanced at the sky, half expecting to see some kind of shadow cross the moon. Nothing.<\/p>\n
Nothing, just like every other night out here.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t get used to it,<\/i> he told himself.\u00a0 Sometime, someday, it\u2019s going to happen and you\u2019ll have to be ready for it.<\/i><\/p>\n
His newly-crafted war axe hung from a harness across his shoulders, the flat of its deadly double blade nestled against the small of his back.\u00a0 Thordin was pleased with his progress with the weapon\u2014pleased enough that he\u2019d declared the newly minted blacksmith capable enough to carry the weapon on these patrols.\u00a0 He wouldn\u2019t have done that if he hadn\u2019t thought him ready.<\/p>\n
Phelan had frowned but said nothing.\u00a0 Thom had just laughed and Marin shook her head.<\/p>\n
It is what it is.\u00a0 That\u2019s what she said.<\/i>\u00a0 The expression on his sister\u2019s face had been somewhere between troubled and sad, a strange expression he\u2019d never seen on her face before.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wonder what she knows,\u201d he murmured into the night as his boots crunched on the ice-crusted snow.\u00a0 Sunny afternoons had caused enough melt to coat the snow in a thin layer of ice that crackled and broke underfoot, not sturdy enough to hold even Angie.\u00a0 All Matt could hope was that it was the harbinger of spring to come.\u00a0 Now that February was here, it couldn\u2019t be long.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d made the mistake of saying that to Greg, who\u2019d just grimaced and shook his head in a way that told Matt that the professor didn\u2019t think that was the case but didn\u2019t want to dash anyone\u2019s hope by saying so.<\/p>\n
Paul\u2019s lantern flashed in his peripheral vision and he glanced up toward the tower and the man minding it.\u00a0 Paul was pointing out beyond the wall a dozen yards from where Matt stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave a look!\u201d Paul called, his voice pitched just loud enough to carry to him and no further.<\/p>\n
Matt tossed him a salute and headed for the wall, clambering up to the perch near the gate.\u00a0 He peered across the snowpack\u00a0 that glowed with moonlight.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
He stopped as he saw something move, perhaps fifty yards or more from the wall, a shadow amidst snow-laden rubble and brush.\u00a0 He leaned forward slightly, squinting, trying to get a better look.<\/p>\n
Nothing.\u00a0 He scarcely dared to breathe, focusing on the area where he\u2019d seen the shadow.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan\u2019t be my imagination,\u201d he muttered.\u00a0 \u201cCan it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Something slammed into his shoulder and toppled him off the wall into the snow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
His breath steamed in the cold, the fog illuminated by the moon, the stars above.\u00a0 He\u2019d almost come to enjoy these night watches, twice a week on the graveyard shift with Paul in the tower and him on foot along … Continue reading