Phelan jerked awake as someone\u2014Thom\u2014heaved him up onto his horse\u2019s back. He flailed for a moment, limbs feeling like jelly as he looked around blearily. \u201cHow long–?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly a few minutes,\u201d Marin said from near his horse\u2019s head. \u201cSif and Matt headed back with Thordin as soon as she was sure that thing was dead. You killed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe killed it,\u201d Phelan said, sliding back down from his horse\u2019s back, leaning against its flank for a moment. The world spun slowly, then righted itself. \u201cII just happened to hit it hard enough for the rest of you to finish the job.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMore like we distracted it so you could make the kill shot,\u201d Thom said, glancing back toward the cooling carcass stretched out on the ice. \u201cWhat the hell did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m more worried about what I might have awakened,\u201d Phelan muttered. He grasped his saddle with both hands and hoisted himself up into it, wavering as he settled himself and Marin passed him the reins. \u201cI reached deep, fear fiach<\/em>. Maybe too deep. I\u2019m not sure what sort of spirits lurk in the depths of that lake, but I\u2019m afraid I woke every single one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n Marin shivered. \u201cI don\u2019t think I like the sound of that, Phelan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTrust me, I don\u2019t like saying it.\u201d He sighed, staring at the broken snow that marked their passage from their settlement to the shore. \u201cEspecially knowing that I\u2019m the one that did it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be fine,\u201d Thom said, moving to give his wife a leg up into the saddle. \u201cWe\u2019ve dealt with worse consequences, haven\u2019t we? I\u2019m sure whatever you woke won\u2019t be terrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe odds don\u2019t tend to work in that direction, Thom,\u201d Phelan said with a wry smile. He felt vaguely ill, though that could be the aftereffects of the magic he\u2019d drawn, not necessarily because the words tasted like a lie. After all, maybe Thom was right this time. Maybe they wouldn\u2019t reap a terrible harvest from what he\u2019d done.<\/p>\n And maybe every day between that one and the previous August had been some sort of bizarre dream.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d better hurry,\u201d Marin said. \u201cJac may need help.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe probably will,\u201d Phelan said. \u201cIf only to keep Sif out of her hair.\u201d<\/p>\n Thom swung up into the saddle. \u201cAll right, then. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n They rode away from the setting sun, toward the gathering darkness in the east, leaving the corpse of their foe behind, silent and still on the shattered ice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Phelan jerked awake as someone\u2014Thom\u2014heaved him up onto his horse\u2019s back. He flailed for a moment, limbs feeling like jelly as he looked around blearily. \u201cHow long–?\u201d \u201cOnly a few minutes,\u201d Marin said from near his horse\u2019s head. \u201cSif and … Continue reading