{"id":3371,"date":"2017-10-06T00:00:33","date_gmt":"2017-10-06T04:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3371"},"modified":"2017-10-05T18:09:45","modified_gmt":"2017-10-05T22:09:45","slug":"twenty-three-04-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3371","title":{"rendered":"Twenty-three – 04"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\u201cThat seems to be a common refrain,\u201d a voice said from behind them. Seamus winced, but Phelan only turned to glance back toward Kellin with a faint smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cChecking the wards?\u201d<\/p>\n

The slender woman nodded, a small bag slung across her body, likely laden with odds and ends and perhaps a thermos of tea for her breakfast. \u201cHopefully if I beat Marin to it, she\u2019ll finally just go to bed. She was still sitting up by the fire when I came out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phelan winced and Seamus sighed, shaking his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome things come through,\u201d he murmured to his cousin.<\/p>\n

Phelan snorted. Kellin just arched a brow mildly and regarded the two men for a few moments, crossing her arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt occurs to me that at some point, something\u2019s going to come for every ancient soul here, whether it\u2019s inhabiting the same body or not,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I dare either one of you to tell me I\u2019m wrong on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not going to get an argument out of me,\u201d Phelan said, staring out toward the ravine again. \u201cMy gut tells me you\u2019re right and that\u2019s more than a little disheartening because there\u2019s a lot of old souls here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDamn straight,\u201d Kellin said. She passed in front of both of them and boosted herself up onto the railing, perching to Phelan\u2019s right while Seamus leaned on his left. She fished her thermos out and cracked it open, taking a sip before she continued. \u201cI used to wonder\u2014Marin and I both used to, honestly\u2014if there was something about this place that drew us all here, all the old souls and the ones that woke to power when the world ended. Now I\u2019m sure of it. There was something that brought us here, brought us together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phelan took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, fingers tightening around the railing. The lines of power buried beneath the ravine in front of them thrummed gently, like the strings of a bass strummed by a musician. Nothing seemed amiss\u2014not right now, anyway, though he knew from experience that was something that could change in the space of a heartbeat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat would it have been?\u201d Seamus asked, peering past Phelan to study Kellin as she calmly sipped her tea, her gaze as distant as Phelan\u2019s was becoming.<\/p>\n

She shrugged slightly. \u201cI\u2019m still trying to figure that out. Eventually it\u2019ll make sense\u2014or it won\u2019t matter anymore. One or the other, I think.\u201d She lowered her thermos and sighed softly, wrapping both hands around its silver barrel as she stared off into the mist that rose with the sunrise, leading a ghostly quality to the world. \u201cI know I\u2019m glad that it happened, though. I\u2019m glad that none of us were alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

She glanced toward them both and smiled slightly. Phelan reached over and squeezed her shoulder gently.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad none of you were alone, too,\u201d he murmured. \u201cAnd I\u2019m sorry it took me so damned long to get here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m convinced the delay was probably for the best,\u201d she said, then smiled, self-consciously rubbing at the scar across her throat. \u201cWhat happened to me notwithstanding. I\u2019m still wrestling with everything I saw in those few seconds, but I think I\u2019m finally starting to see it as instructive rather than anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cInstructive,\u201d Seamus echoed. His gaze settled on the scar on her throat and he swallowed once, twice, then glanced toward his cousin.<\/p>\n

Phelan shook his head slightly, staying quiet. For a moment, he wished he\u2019d brought his staff out here with him. The focus would have helped with working on the wards. Seamus just kept staring at him.<\/p>\n

Kellin took notice. \u201cBefore Phelan made it here from Chicago, the camazotzi<\/em> attacked us\u2014they were under Cariocecus\u2019s banner at the time, before he bent knee to us. One of them almost killed me\u2014pretty much did<\/em> kill me, but Jacqueline was able to haul me back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJacquline did that?\u201d Seamus glanced at Phelan, then back to Kellin. \u201cHis Jacqueline?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot sure how she\u2019d take to being called anyone\u2019s possessively, but yeah. That Jacqueline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phelan watched his cousin, saw the blood drain from his face, saw his shoulders slump slightly. He took a quiet breath. \u201cSeamus?\u201d<\/p>\n

The former leader of the Wild Hunt waved a hand as if to ward off the question Phelan hadn\u2019t asked. \u201cI\u2019m all right. Don\u2019t ask.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe I won\u2019t right now, but someday, I will.<\/em> Phelan shook his head. \u201cAll right.\u201d His gaze slanted toward Kellin. \u201cWould you like company working those wards?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t mind it,\u201d she admitted. \u201cAre you offering?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me get my staff and we\u2019ll get started,\u201d Phelan said. He glanced back toward Seamus. \u201cDo you want to\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

Seamus shook his head. \u201cNo. No, I think I\u2019ll stay here a little longer, then I\u2019ll look in on Neve and Cameron and the c\u00fapla<\/em>. Perhaps then sleep will find me.\u201d<\/p>\n

His cousin didn\u2019t sound very convinced that sleep would, in fact, find him, but in light of what he\u2019d said, Phelan couldn\u2019t blame him\u2014nor could he blame him for perhaps not<\/em> wanting to sleep.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeamus,\u201d he said slowly. \u201cHave you told Leinth?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Seamus said, his voice hoarse. \u201cAnd you\u2019re not going to tell her, either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you will?\u201d<\/p>\n

Seamus didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n

Phelan sighed and shook his head. He hopped off the rail and looked at Kellin. \u201cI\u2019ll be back in a few minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be here,\u201d she assured him.<\/p>\n

The Taliesin nodded and headed back to camp to fetch his staff, his thoughts a maelstrom that he fought getting sucked down into with each step he took.<\/p>\n

There was just too much to do to get caught in that ridiculous mire, after all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Phelan’s point of view.] \u201cThat seems to be a common refrain,\u201d a voice said from behind them. Seamus winced, but Phelan only turned to glance back toward Kellin with a faint smile. \u201cChecking the wards?\u201d The … 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":[240,272,14],"tags":[150,171,170,19,149,173,148,159,168,147,165,146],"class_list":["post-3371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-6","category-chapter-23-book-6","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-kellin","tag-original-fiction","tag-phelan-ocredne","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-seamus-vaughan","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-Sn","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3371","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=3371"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3372,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3371\/revisions\/3372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}