Consciousness came slowly, accompanied by a full body ache punctuated by sharper pains. Even breathing hurt a little and his senses felt like he was wrapped in cotton wool.<\/p>\n
What the bloody hell hit me?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cPhelan?\u201d<\/p>\n The voice was familiar\u2014it felt familiar, anyway. The name was just beyond his grasp.<\/p>\n He made a sound that was half a groan, half a hiss, trying to shift his weight and lift his head\u2014neither to any avail. \u201cWhat hit me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s awake,\u201d she said, relief flooding her voice. Who was<\/em> that? Why did she sound so familiar?<\/p>\n \u201cGood,\u201d another woman said.<\/p>\n His throat tightened. Brigh\u00edd. But she\u2019s dead…am I dead, too?<\/em><\/p>\n Hellfire and ashes and monsters and gods.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHow did you know where to find it, Matt?\u201d Neve\u2019s voice. He would recognize his cousin anywhere.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought you said you weren\u2019t going to ask me that question,\u201d the man his cousin had called Matt answered.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s Ciar\u2019s voice. What the hell is going on here?<\/em> He struggled to open his eyes. It was like they were glued shut somehow, and they ached fiercely. He groaned quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cEasy,\u201d the first woman\u2019s voice soothed. He found himself relaxing by degrees at the sound, relaxing even more as her fingers combed through his hair and brushed along the flesh of his face and neck.<\/p>\n But I can\u2019t remember her name. Why can\u2019t I remember her name?<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m the bloody Taliesin. It\u2019s my job to remember these things. It\u2019s the burden that Seamus gave me\u2014carry the stories. Remember. Teach. Learn.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bloody hellfire.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIs someone going to tell me what happened or not?\u201d he rasped, fingers tightening in the blankets. He was warm, almost too warm, but a chill ran through his body right down to his core. It was the most bizarre sensation he\u2019d ever experienced and he wasn\u2019t sure if he liked it at all.<\/p>\n \u201cYou were sundered,\u201d someone else said. \u201cNow you\u2019ve been put back together again. How do you feel, cousin?\u201d<\/p>\n He sat straight up, eyes flying open and immediately tearing up at the light and the pain. \u201cSeamus? D\u00e9ithe agus arrachtaigh<\/em>, I\u2019m dead, aren\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n His dead cousin\u2014the Taliesin who had been\u2014laughed, and for some reason, Phelan O\u2019Credne didn\u2019t find the sound comforting at all.<\/p>\n Gods and monsters. What in bloody blazes did I run afoul of and what have I gotten myself mixed up in this time?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Consciousness came slowly, accompanied by a full body ache punctuated by sharper pains. Even breathing hurt a little and his senses felt like he was wrapped in cotton wool. What the bloody hell hit me? \u201cPhelan?\u201d The voice was familiar\u2014it … Continue reading