{"id":3266,"date":"2017-06-23T00:00:57","date_gmt":"2017-06-23T04:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3266"},"modified":"2017-06-22T22:06:19","modified_gmt":"2017-06-23T02:06:19","slug":"fourteen-01-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3266","title":{"rendered":"Fourteen – 01"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Perched on the wall with Sif at his side, Thordin stared out toward the west, toward the oncoming storm. The faint rasp of her whetstone across an edge of steel was almost comforting, a counterpoint to the growl of thunder.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be nasty,\u201d he murmured.<\/p>\n

She snorted softly but didn\u2019t look up from her work. \u201cThese days they tend to be. Between the height of summer\u2014such as it is\u2014and whatever the hell is going on well west of here, it\u2019s to be expected, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMm. It doesn\u2019t feel like a normal kind of nasty, though.\u201d He\u2019d been able to sense the storms ever since his parents had been killed, since he\u2019d called that first storm without knowing that he\u2019d done it. He risked a glance toward Sif, intent on her work. He hadn\u2019t told her, though he suspected she already knew.<\/p>\n

After she watched me holding that shield during the storm, she must know that there\u2019s something\u2014that there\u2019s something more than just the mortal left in me.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

He startled, blinking, looking away quickly, back to the sky and the vista laid out before the walls. \u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBollocks,\u201d she said. The whetstone went still. \u201cI could hear shit rattling around in that head of yours. What are you feeling out there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the problem. I can\u2019t put my finger on it.\u201d He exhaled quietly. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho could it be?\u201d There was a gentle probe in her voice and he knew that she hadn\u2019t meant for the question to sting, but it did all the same.<\/p>\n

He shook his head slowly. \u201cI don\u2019t know. I really don\u2019t.\u201d His lips thinned, his fingers tightening around the edge of the wall. \u201cI don\u2019t remember everything, Sif. A lot, yeah, but not…not everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a few moments, there was only silence before she edged closer to him, wrapped one arm around his waist and squeezed gently. Thordin stiffened for a moment, then relaxed, exhaling a breath he didn\u2019t realize he\u2019d been holding.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom what I\u2019ve seen, it\u2019s enough.\u201d She pressed her lips to the corner of his jaw, then his ear.<\/p>\n

\u201cTry harder,\u201d she whispered. \u201cIt\u2019ll come to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

After another squeeze, she released him, returning to sharpening the blade across her knees. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart.<\/p>\n

Head in the game, Thordin. Head in the fucking game. Concentrate.<\/em><\/p>\n

Thunder rolled, closer now. The clouds piled on top of each other, then curled back, the squall line well-defined and but moving slowly, still at least a dozen miles out, still over the water.<\/p>\n

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

There was moisture on the wind; he could taste it mingling with the faint scent of salt\u2014unusual, to be certain, this far inland.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait,\u201d he whispered, standing slowly, balancing. \u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. No, it can\u2019t be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThordin<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

He groped for her arm, his hand shaking. Sif stiffened, wrapping her hand over his. Her tone gentled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is it?\u201d she asked in a whisper.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dead have come again,\u201d he breathed, pointing at the shadow walking in the distance, the leading edge of the massive storm trailing behind him like a cloak flapping in the wind. \u201cAnhur walks again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you killed him,\u201d Sif breathed, her fingers tightening. \u201cYou killed him centuries ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cApparently not enough to stick.\u201d Thordin swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. He felt cold. \u201cGet the others. Warn them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. No, this fight is mine\u2014will be mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

She jerked him down into a crouch, meeting his gaze fiercely. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t fly when it\u2019s Phelan saying it and it\u2019s sure as hell not going to fly when you\u2019re <\/em>saying it, not after the stunt you pulled with the lindwyrm. This is our<\/em> fight, Thordin\u2014all of us together. I\u2019ve lost you once and then nearly once again. I don\u2019t intend to lose you for good. I refuse to let that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

He swallowed bile, momentarily losing himself in her blue-eyed gaze, reading the fear and the pain that lurked beneath the steel.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight,\u201d he whispered. \u201cAll right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGo warn them. Tell them what they need to do. I\u2019ll be here, waiting. Go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thordin sucked in a deep breath and pressed his mouth over hers, stealing a kiss that he hoped would give him more strength than he suspected he had\u2014would give him the strength he would need for the coming battle. Sif wrapped one arm around his neck and held him there for a few extra heartbeats, then released him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will<\/em> have our eternity this time,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n

Mutely, he nodded. She released him and gave him a gentle shove.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow hurry. If he\u2019s here, Menhit can\u2019t be far behind, now can she?\u201d<\/p>\n

A shiver shot down his spine. \u201cNo. No, she won\u2019t be.\u201d<\/p>\n

He dropped off the wall and took off at a dead run toward the center of the settlement to raise the alarm even as Sif set aside the blade and readied her bow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Thordin’s point of view.] Perched on the wall with Sif at his side, Thordin stared out toward the west, toward the oncoming storm. The faint rasp of her whetstone across an edge of steel was almost … 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":[240,256,14],"tags":[150,171,170,149,148,168,147,167,165,169,146],"class_list":["post-3266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-6","category-chapter-14-book-6","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-original-fiction","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-sif","tag-story","tag-thordin","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-QG","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3266","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=3266"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3267,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3266\/revisions\/3267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}