{"id":3896,"date":"2019-03-08T00:00:29","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T05:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3896"},"modified":"2019-03-08T00:00:29","modified_gmt":"2019-03-08T05:00:29","slug":"twelve-04-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3896","title":{"rendered":"Twelve – 04"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Matt lifted his hand in greeting as the rider grew closer, stepping clear of the gates, out into the field beyond\u2014not far, only a few steps, but far enough. Phelan stayed behind in the shadows of the gates, watching. If Hecate came any closer, Matt didn\u2019t see it.<\/p>\n

The rider lifted his hand in return, mount slowing from a gallop to a canter, then a jog, and finally a walk as it crossed the last hundred yards coming up to the killing fields. He reined up and dismounted a few dozen yards shy of Matt, leading his horse toward the open gate.<\/p>\n

\u201cHail and well met, brother,\u201d Daegan greeted. His accent had faded over the centuries\u2014but all of theirs had. \u201cI confess I didn\u2019t expect you to be here to greet me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matt smiled weakly. \u201cWe caught the whistles at breakfast. Thought maybe I should come see what\u2019s what.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daegan nodded, looking past him to Gideon, already on his way from the watchtower to the gates. Hecate was trailing behind the huntsman, her lips pressed into a thin line. Matt\u2019s stomach twisted.<\/p>\n

Does she sense something I don\u2019t?<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t be sure without asking.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir,\u201d Daegan greeted Gideon with a fist pounded against his breast and a brief nod, one that Gideon returned. The rider wasted no time in reporting. \u201cThere is a mass of dirae massing to the northeast of here. I didn\u2019t stop to count them, but they were numerous enough that I turned and came back immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust dirae?\u201d Hecate asked, her face pale as she stopped just behind Gideon, peering around his shoulder to watch Daegan. \u201cYou didn\u2019t see anyone leading them?\u201d<\/p>\n

Daegan hesitated.<\/p>\n

\u201cOut with it,\u201d Gideon said, his voice commanding, though not unkind. \u201cEven if it\u2019s speculation. Tell us what you saw.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBig,\u201d Daegan said. \u201cHe was big, in a dark cloak. I didn\u2019t get a good look and I wasn\u2019t close.\u201d He glanced at Matt, at Hecate, then past her toward Phelan, who\u2019d taken a few steps out of the shadow of the gates. \u201cHe had a smaller figure with him, too, in gray. A woman, I think.\u201d He shook his head. \u201cBut I\u2019m not sure. I can\u2019t be sure.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Matt’s point of view.] Matt lifted his hand in greeting as the rider grew closer, stepping clear of the gates, out into the field beyond\u2014not far, only a few steps, but far enough. Phelan stayed 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":[299,316,14],"tags":[150,171,170,314,194,181,149,173,148,168,147,165,146,195],"class_list":["post-3896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-7","category-chapter-12-book-7","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-gideon","tag-hecate","tag-matthew-astoris","tag-original-fiction","tag-phelan-ocredne","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-web-fiction","tag-wild-hunt"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-10Q","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3896","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=3896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3896\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}