{"id":3087,"date":"2016-12-28T00:00:24","date_gmt":"2016-12-28T05:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3087"},"modified":"2016-12-27T19:44:44","modified_gmt":"2016-12-28T00:44:44","slug":"forty-eight-02","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3087","title":{"rendered":"Forty-eight – 02"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\u201cHer magic\u2019s awake,\u201d Cariocecus rasped, his voice much closer now than it should have been. Phelan blinked blearily in surprise his head resting against Neve\u2019s shoulder, as he saw Cariocecus appear behind Marin, pale and shaky. \u201cThe Hecate,\u201d Cariocecus clarified, his breathing ragged and shallow, as if still in pain\u2014he probably was, Phelan realized, as he stared at the other man. \u201cI\u2019ve not felt it this strongly in centuries, not since the wars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phelan swallowed twice before he trusted himself to speak. \u201cWas it her, then?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo doubt,\u201d Cariocecus said quietly, his eyes sliding closed for a moment. \u201cYou couldn\u2019t tell, Wanderer? Considering how much her magic has been aimed at you and yours\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHush,\u201d Marin said, her tone brooking no argument without being overly harsh. \u201cHe\u2019s been through quite a bit today and he hasn\u2019t had the luxury of being her ally by any stretch. You were at least able to observe her magic firsthand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMmph.\u201d Cariocecus glanced upward, toward the hatch that hid them from the world above, then looked back toward Phelan, trying for eye contact with the former druid. \u201cSuch as my experience was. She won\u2019t be glad to see me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAssuming she\u2019s here to help us,\u201d Phelan said with a slight shudder. Marin\u2019s grip on him tightened.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is,\u201d Marin whispered. \u201cI know that she is, Phelan. Trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded, jaw tightening. \u201cYou know I do, leann\u00e1n<\/em>. I always have.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the Hecate that I find it hard to trust.<\/em><\/p>\n

Phelan closed his eyes again, reaching deep to try to find his center, trying to ground himself once more in the depths of the earth. Strangely, that act came easier now\u2014had come easier since he\u2019d reached too deep that day on the ice. It was just another thing on the list of things he hadn\u2019t quite determined the meaning of, only knew that they meant something<\/em> and it was an open question as to whether or not they were good<\/em> things.<\/p>\n

\u201cThesan\u2019s out there, too,\u201d he murmured, feeling goosebumps begin to race up and down his limbs. \u201cAnd we all know where she stands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAgainst us,\u201d Cariocecus said as he sank back down to sit along the wall, much like Phelan had earlier. \u201cOf that, there\u2019s no doubt. Her sanity…\u201d his voice trailed away.<\/p>\n

Marin\u2019s jaw tightened. \u201cShe\u2019s come closer to destroying Phelan than the Hecate ever did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phelan winced, knowing she was right, knowing that her words were true. That didn\u2019t make them any easier to take, though, any easier to deal with. He swallowed hard. \u201cWe can\u2019t just stay down here,\u201d he said, feeling a little steadier. He glanced down toward his hands, now faintly tinged green.<\/p>\n

Drawing too much could be the end of you.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was C\u00edar\u2019s voice, words spoken long ago but never forgotten. Phelan exhaled a silent breath and swallowed hard again. It had been centuries and more since he\u2019d drawn this much, especially with the incidents being so close together.<\/p>\n

If there was ever an age to do it, this is it.<\/em><\/p>\n

He straightened, looking toward the ladder. \u201cAll of you stay here,\u201d he said, his voice firm. Marin opened her mouth to protest but he gave her a long, silent look that made her let go of him and nod.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe careful,\u201d she whispered as her fingers fell away from his sleeve.<\/p>\n

Phelan nodded slowly. Neve looked shocked, her gaze bouncing between him and Marin. Her face clearly asked one question\u2014how had he convinced Marin with a single look to stay put when only minutes before she\u2019d been stubbornly insisting on marching into a fight right on his heels?<\/p>\n

He took his cousin\u2019s hand and squeezed. \u201cPlease listen to me, Neve,\u201d he said softly. \u201cPlease just do it. We can\u2019t do what we need to do if we\u2019re worrying about you two in the line of fire while we\u2019re doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou say that like you\u2019re going to war.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou act like I\u2019m not.\u201d He pressed a kiss to her forehead. \u201cStay down here. If we fail…\u201d his voice trailed away and he looked at the two women, at the babies, at Angie. He took a deep breath. \u201cYou carry tomorrow\u2019s hope,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n

Then he turned away and began to climb. He\u2019d nearly reached the top when Marin\u2019s voice stopped him.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhelan.\u201d<\/p>\n

He glanced down to see her holding his staff in both hands. His breath caught in his throat.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou might need this.\u201d<\/p>\n

She lofted it toward him and he caught it. With a grim smile and a nod, he finished his ascent, shouldered open the hatch, and climbed out into the pouring rain.<\/p>\n

The hatch clanked closed behind him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Phelan’s point of view.] \u201cHer magic\u2019s awake,\u201d Cariocecus rasped, his voice much closer now than it should have been. Phelan blinked blearily in surprise his head resting against Neve\u2019s shoulder, as he saw Cariocecus appear behind … 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":[124,238,14],"tags":[225,150,226,171,170,228,227,152,151,149,173,148,168,147,165,146],"class_list":["post-3087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-5","category-chapter-48","category-story","tag-angie-van-rijn","tag-awakenings","tag-cariocecus","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-gwen-johanson","tag-kurt-johanson","tag-marin-astoris","tag-neve-vaughan","tag-original-fiction","tag-phelan-ocredne","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-NN","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3087","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=3087"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3088,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3087\/revisions\/3088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}