{"id":2563,"date":"2015-07-31T00:00:53","date_gmt":"2015-07-31T04:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=2563"},"modified":"2015-07-30T20:09:58","modified_gmt":"2015-07-31T00:09:58","slug":"twelve-07","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=2563","title":{"rendered":"Twelve – 07"},"content":{"rendered":"

Phelan took a pair of slow, quiet breaths, trying to will his suddenly racing heart back into regular rhythm. Jacqueline\u2019s fingers flexed around his again and his heart started to slow, settling back into something at least close to normal. Sickness settled in his gut, like a ball of lead. Seamus. She\u2019ll go after Seamus, too. <\/em>He swallowed bile. And Cameron.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDetails, Cariocecus,\u201d Phelan managed to rasp. \u201cWhat do you know? Anything?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that she\u2019s done licking her wounds,\u201d he said, amber eyes gleaming in the afternoon sun. He stared off into the distance, his expression grim. \u201cI still have contacts, you know. Some that will still send a whisper.\u201d Cariocecus shivered slightly. \u201cThey should have killed the girl, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tendrils of ice danced along Phelan\u2019s nerves. \u201cWho? Which girl?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dawn\u2019s get with Seamus the Black,\u201d Cariocecus said. \u201cThe insane one who sundered you. You lot should have had the Hunt tear her apart for what she did. She\u2019s a danger, Phelan. She\u2019ll doom you all.\u201d<\/p>\n

His throat constricted. \u201cYou\u2019re no seer, Cariocecus. You don\u2019t know that for certain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d the former war god agreed. \u201cI don\u2019t. But it wouldn\u2019t make you so fearful if the thought hadn\u2019t crossed your mind as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Damnation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Jacqueline shook her head. \u201cIf she becomes a problem again, her life is forfeit. It\u2019s as simple as that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter she does how much damage?\u201d Cariocecus gave them a sad, regretful smile. \u201cYou people…so many enemies, too much mercy given.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWatch yourself,\u201d Phelan said. \u201cThat mercy is the reason you\u2019re still breathing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd for that, you have my gratitude and my loyalty, such as it is.\u201d He sketched a bow. \u201cHeed my warning, Taliesin. You know the spirit in which it was meant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mouth dry, Phelan nodded. He knew all too well. \u201cI understand,\u201d he said, then swallowed again, turning toward Jacqueline. \u201cI was going to walk out to the barrow, but maybe we\u2019d better go back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure?\u201d she asked softly, running her palm up and down his arm. It was a comforting gesture and it calmed him slightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably best,\u201d he said, then sighed. \u201cWe need to talk to Marin. Need her to read the cards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacqueline shivered. \u201cShe hasn\u2019t done that in a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. I know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe might not want to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phelan stared at the trees lining the ravines, their skeletal branches waving in the breeze. \u201cI know. But I\u2019m going to ask her anyway. The worst she can is no.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr hell no.\u201d<\/p>\n

He managed to laugh. \u201cRight. Hell no.\u201d He slid his arm around her waist and squeezed his eyes shut. \u201cThank you, Cariocecus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d the other man said softly, then nodded to them both. \u201cPowers smile on you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right. We can only hope.<\/em><\/p>\n

The pair turned and walked away, back toward the safety of the wards and the settlement they called home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Phelan took a pair of slow, quiet breaths, trying to will his suddenly racing heart back into regular rhythm. Jacqueline\u2019s fingers flexed around his again and his heart started to slow, settling back into something at least close to normal. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,137,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-5","category-chapter-12-book-5","category-story"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-Fl","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2563"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2565,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2563\/revisions\/2565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}