{"id":3537,"date":"2018-03-16T00:00:46","date_gmt":"2018-03-16T04:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3537"},"modified":"2018-03-15T16:55:44","modified_gmt":"2018-03-15T20:55:44","slug":"thirty-four-06-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3537","title":{"rendered":"Thirty-four – 06"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Matt glanced around the room one more time, then picked up Hecate\u2019s bag\u2014he wasn\u2019t sure when she\u2019d picked it up, but she\u2019d stuffed it full of odds and ends, some useful and some not, and some things a complete mystery. He slung it over his shoulder and then stepped out, the door clicking shut behind him.<\/p>\n

In the hall, it was still quiet.<\/p>\n

Maybe we\u2019re all just being paranoid. It wouldn\u2019t be the first time, right?<\/em><\/p>\n

Even if it wasn\u2019t, it always felt like the first time, every time something turned out to be nothing.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t go back to the fire right away, didn\u2019t go back to Hecate and Tala and the infants in their care. Instead, he walked out to watch the sky, standing a half dozen yards from the tent\u2019s overhang and staring out to the west.<\/p>\n

The storm was drawing undeniably closer. His lips thinned as he watched it. The clouds piled atop each other and then twisted back, as if churned by something sentient, something knowing. Tightness rose in his throat, born of no emotion beyond nervousness.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t like the look of it, either.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sound of Thordin\u2019s voice nearly made him jump out of his skin.<\/p>\n

\u201cDamn it all,\u201d he spat, voice abruptly raspy.<\/p>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t hear me coming?\u201d Thordin shot him a wry smile that faded within seconds, his gaze drifting from Matt up to the approaching weather. \u201cI can\u2019t blame you. It\u2019s a nervous-making sky, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Matt nodded slowly. \u201cHecate said that you didn\u2019t think it was natural.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t,\u201d Thordin said. \u201cBut I also couldn\u2019t tell you who\u2019s responsible for it\u2014beyond being able to tell you that it\u2019s sure as hell not me.\u201d He exhaled quietly, crossing his arms. He was dressed in khaki shorts and an old tee, mud on his hiking boots and spattering his calves. \u201cBut there\u2019s something off-kilter here,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cSomething I can\u2019t quite put my finger on but I know is out there. You know that feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBetter than I ever wanted to,\u201d Matt admitted. He took a deep breath. \u201cWhere\u2019s your gear?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m on my way to get it,\u201d Thordin said. \u201cJust been trying to figure out how to get it without tipping Sif off to something going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matt looked at him askance and got another rueful smile from his friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s not physically ready,\u201d Thordin murmured. \u201cBut when has that ever mattered, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Matt shook his head, cracking a smile of his own. \u201cGoing to go out on a limb and guess never.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d be right, my friend.\u201d Thordin clapped him on the shoulder. \u201cWish me luck.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLuck,\u201d Matt said, crossing his arms, watching as Thordin ducked into the shadows of the tent.<\/p>\n

Then his gaze drifted back to the sky. Thunder growled far in the distance, the first audible sign of the storm. The air was still. A fresh shiver crept down his spine.<\/p>\n

There was no doubt anymore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Matt’s point of view.] Matt glanced around the room one more time, then picked up Hecate\u2019s bag\u2014he wasn\u2019t sure when she\u2019d picked it up, but she\u2019d stuffed it full of odds and ends, some useful and … 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":[240,285,14],"tags":[150,171,170,181,149,148,168,147,165,169,146],"class_list":["post-3537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-6","category-chapter-34-book-6","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-matthew-astoris","tag-original-fiction","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-thordin","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-V3","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3537","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=3537"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3538,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3537\/revisions\/3538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}