{"id":2997,"date":"2016-09-30T00:00:18","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T04:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=2997"},"modified":"2016-09-29T16:42:07","modified_gmt":"2016-09-29T20:42:07","slug":"forty-one-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=2997","title":{"rendered":"Forty-one – 01"},"content":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Thom’s point of view.]<\/em><\/p>\n

It was the deep breath before the storm broke. Thom could feel it as he slowly climbed up into the watchtower. Paul climbed up behind him silently and stood next to him at the railing, staring out over what they\u2019d all started to think of as the killing fields\u2014the flat stretch of broken concrete, asphalt, and grass that had once been parking lots before the end of everything.<\/p>\n

Nothing yet, but there would be soon.<\/p>\n

Too soon.<\/em><\/p>\n

And yet, not soon enough.<\/em><\/p>\n

He could feel the drums with every fiber of his being, felt them thrumming in his blood. There was something oddly thrilling about them even as dread coiled in his belly at the prospect of another battle\u2014at the same time he recoiled from the thought, there was a sense of excitement there, too, the whisper of some kind of promise long lost and forgotten.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going insane.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThom!\u201d<\/p>\n

He stiffened slightly at the sound of Leinth\u2019s voice, turning and peering down in the direction it\u2019d come from. There was something in her voice\u2014<\/p>\n

Her face was white, pinched with something close to rage, and she was closing fast on the wall and the defenders starting to gather there. \u201cCome down.\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t argue. He just glanced at Paul, who nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know. Sing out if I see something coming and keep my head down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thom clapped him on the shoulder and scrambled down the ladder, his scabbarded blade thumping against his thigh as he did. Leinth was there as soon as his boots hit the dirt.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething attacked Phelan,\u201d she said, her voice quiet, pitched to a level that only he could hear her. \u201cThordin was getting him and Marin below. I came to tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ice shot through Thom\u2019s nerves even as the temperature of his blood climbed perilously close to the boiling point. \u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly a few minutes ago, ten minutes, probably less.\u201d Leinth sucked in a pair of breaths before continuing\u2014she was breathing raggedly, as if she\u2019d done more than just run across camp to give him the news. \u201cHe said something about old enemies and new enemies. Whatever it was\u2014he was reaching deep again, Thomas. He and I agreed\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever\u2019s coming, it\u2019s bad,\u201d Thom said quietly. \u201cI know, Leinth. I can feel it, too.\u201d He closed his eyes for a moment, desperately seeking some sort of calm, reaching for his center even as it tried to elude him. He would not, could not stand for that.<\/p>\n

Keep your head. Now isn\u2019t the time to give in to some kind of bloodlust or thirst for violence or vengeance.<\/em> He took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeamus is over there,\u201d he said, gesturing toward a knot of the Wild Hunt\u2019s people, archers that were getting ready to mount the wall to aid in the defense. \u201cYou said Marin\u2019s safe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThordin was taking her to the tunnels. Phelan, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thom nodded. \u201cThen they\u2019re both safe. Go see if Seamus needs you. If he doesn\u2019t, come back to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leinth\u2019s lips thinned. She started to reach for his shoulder, but her hand fell back to her side before it ever reached him. \u201cIt\u2019s beginning again,\u201d she whispered. \u201cThe cycle starts anew.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thom grimaced. There was a part of him that knew what she was talking about\u2014two parts, if he were truly honest. One was the part that had lived a life as Finn of the Fiana, husband to Brigh\u00edd of the Imbolg, High Chieftain of the Clans of Eire.<\/p>\n

The other part was Thom Ambrose, the reluctant Seer, a quiet Cassandra who didn\u2019t even want to believe himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d he said, his voice quiet and gentle. \u201cBut this time, no matter what it takes, that cycle breaks with us. We\u2019re breaking the wheel, Leinth. I don\u2019t care what it takes. The cycle ends with us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Thom’s point of view.] It was the deep breath before the storm broke. Thom could feel it as he slowly climbed up into the watchtower. Paul climbed up behind him silently and stood next to him … 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":[124,222,14],"tags":[150,171,170,166,149,223,148,159,168,147,165,158,146,195],"class_list":["post-2997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-5","category-chapter-41","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-leinth","tag-original-fiction","tag-paul-van-rijn","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-seamus-vaughan","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-thom-ambrose","tag-web-fiction","tag-wild-hunt"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-Ml","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2997","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=2997"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2998,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2997\/revisions\/2998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}