{"id":3985,"date":"2019-06-07T00:00:44","date_gmt":"2019-06-07T04:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3985"},"modified":"2019-06-06T17:02:40","modified_gmt":"2019-06-06T21:02:40","slug":"sixteen-07-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3985","title":{"rendered":"Sixteen – 07"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Matt swore quietly, starting to move faster toward the shadow. Thordin stayed on his heels, axe in hand, though the crackling of energy around the other man had abated\u2014at least a little, at least for now.<\/p>\n

Keep it together.<\/em><\/p>\n

The edges of the shadow grew clearer, more distinct\u2014a woman in a cloak, kneeling amidst the grass. Matt\u2019s heart seized, leaping up into his throat. His voice came as a croak. \u201cPersephone?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her head snapped up, eyes luminous in her hood. \u201cNo,\u201d<\/em> she breathed. \u201cNo, no, please,<\/em> run.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Matt blinked, struck by the urgency in her voice, the panic that welled up. \u201cBut–\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a trap.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He wheeled. Thordin had already turned, gone a step, and stopped in his tracks, facing a man at least twice his size. Matt\u2019s heart lodged in his throat as he stared up at the figure, a dark-bearded, dark-eyed hulk of a man in a coal-dark cloak.<\/p>\n

The man\u2019s lips twisted into a smile. \u201cAh,\u201d he said. \u201cYou<\/em>.\u201d His dark-eyed gaze slid toward Thordin for a moment and the smile grew a little wider. \u201cAnd the Odinson. Isn\u2019t this a lovely surprise?\u201d<\/p>\n

Matt swallowed bile. Orcus<\/em>. He couldn\u2019t say how he knew, only that he did. This was the fear that had been named\u2014the fear that Seamus had predicted would come.<\/p>\n

His mind raced. Is he really here? Is this our chance? What about his armies? Is there an army?<\/em> He risked a glance back toward Persephone. Is <\/em>she really here?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI want the witch,\u201d Orcus rumbled, and Matt\u2019s gaze snapped back to the huge man. \u201cI need<\/em> the witch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has a name,\u201d Matt snapped, instantly regretting the words. Bile slicked the back of his throat, sour on the back of his tongue.<\/p>\n

Orcus leaned down, eyes narrowing. The temperature dropped a few degrees. Matt suppressed a shiver.<\/p>\n

Next to him, Thordin\u2019s hand tightened around the haft of his weapon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Hecate,\u201d Orcus said, his voice quiet, deadly with a razored edge. \u201cI want her. You will relinquish her into my custody.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Matt said, his voice steady, firm. \u201cShe is neither mine to give, nor yours to take. You will not have her, no matter what<\/em> you want. Your desire is irrelevant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it, now?\u201d Orcus smiled, straightening. It was a cold smile.<\/p>\n

He snapped his fingers. Behind them, Persephone gave an anguished cry and Matt spun, looking at where she\u2019d been. There was nothing but swirling fog.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere did she go?\u201d Thordin demanded, lifting his hammer. \u201cWhat did you do<\/em> with her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is where she has been for weeks,\u201d Orcus said. \u201cWith me. If you wish to see her alive again, you will deliver the witch-queen Hecate to me within three days. Ten miles northwest, near the shore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Matt said again. Orcus held up a hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t,\u201d Orcus continued, \u201cI will simply have to come and take<\/em> her from you with my army<\/em>. Three days, Druid. You have my word.\u201d That smile returned and ice sluiced down Matt\u2019s spine. He stepped back into the swirling fog and vanished from sight, though his words echoed back to them through it, cold and heavy with promise. \u201cAnd unlike many, I always<\/em> keep my word.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Matt’s point of view.] Matt swore quietly, starting to move faster toward the shadow. Thordin stayed on his heels, axe in hand, though the crackling of energy around the other man had abated\u2014at least a little, … 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":[299,320,14],"tags":[150,171,170,152,315,149,252,148,168,147,165,169,146],"class_list":["post-3985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-7","category-chapter-16-book-7","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-marin-astoris","tag-orcus","tag-original-fiction","tag-persephone","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-12h","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3985","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=3985"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3986,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3985\/revisions\/3986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}