{"id":4256,"date":"2020-03-20T00:00:55","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T04:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=4256"},"modified":"2020-03-19T19:09:55","modified_gmt":"2020-03-19T23:09:55","slug":"one-03-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=4256","title":{"rendered":"One – 03"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\u201cLin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sound swam up through the darkness, my head ringing with each heartbeat. I twitched feebly, feeling nothing but bone-deep ache and a burning where the camazotzi <\/em>had gotten pieces of me. Regardless of anything else, that meant I was in for an unpleasant few days.<\/p>\n

\u201cLin.\u201d The voice was more urgent the second time it said my name, but still muffled.<\/p>\n

I might have groaned. Moving hurt. The voice mumbled a curse.<\/p>\n

\u201cD\u00e9ithe agus arrachtaigh<\/em>, Thomas Merlin,\u201d the voice growled. \u201cOpen your eyes, dammit, or I\u2019ll haul you back by your ankles.\u201d<\/p>\n

My uncle Phelan has always had a way with words.<\/p>\n

I cracked one eye open, then the other. He was crouched above me, green eyes wide and worried, every plane and angle of his face etched with concern. \u201cOkay,\u201d I croaked. \u201cOkay, okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh no,\u201d he said, his voice dripping with a mix of disbelief and concern. \u201cNot<\/em> okay. What the hell happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it still out there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it\u2019s obliterated. What happened?\u201d By now, he was helping me sit up slowly. The world pirouetted once, then a second time before it stopped its slow twirl around me. I groaned and would have buried my face in my hands if I hadn\u2019t been sure it would make me dizzier.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was taking a walk,\u201d I told him. \u201cDown in the ravines. It happened too fast. One second everything was normal and then there weren\u2019t any birds anymore and it started to get dark and I\u2014\u201d I stopped, squinting at him. Was it my imagination, or was he paler than normal? \u201cUncle?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll talk about it later,\u201d he said, starting to pull my arm across his shoulders. \u201cCome on, on your feet. You aunts are going to have some kind of conniption. Probably after Jac has a good look at you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be fine,\u201d I muttered as he hauled me to my feet. The world spun again; only one revolution this time, for which I was silently grateful. \u201cI was the last time. A couple days of fever and a nasty scar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d love to think that,\u201d Phelan muttered, shaking his head. \u201cUnfortunately, these things tend to get worse<\/em> with repeated exposure, not better. It\u2019s a little game the world plays with people who have blood like ours.\u201d He wrapped his arm around my waist and together we started to limp back toward the village proper. \u201cYou\u2019re going to do as she tells you, Lin, whether you like it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

I frowned. My head pounded and the wounds burned. For a second, I wondered how long I\u2019d been out. \u201cDid you see it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt it before I saw it,\u201d Phelan said quietly. \u201cYou were lucky I was out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat were<\/em> you doing out here?\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled briefly. \u201cTaking a walk. And you\u2019re lucky I was, too. That thing would have come through after you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt couldn\u2019t have made it,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

He shook his head. \u201cThey have before, Lin. They have before.\u201d He lapsed into silence for a few steps, then added, \u201cFor a prize like you, they would do anything, risk anything, especially now that they know where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy now?\u201d I asked. \u201cThey haven\u2019t come \u2018round since I was a baby. Why now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cAnd there\u2019s a part of me that\u2019s afraid to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you think it has something to do with Mom and Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n

Phelan closed his eyes, a trace of pain crossing through his expression, though he smiled. \u201cIt always does, Lin. Somehow, it always does.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Thomas Merlin Ambrose’s point of view.] \u201cLin.\u201d Sound swam up through the darkness, my head ringing with each heartbeat. I twitched feebly, feeling nothing but bone-deep ache and a burning where the camazotzi had gotten pieces … 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":[336,337,338],"tags":[340,150,171,170,149,173,148,168,147,165,200,146],"class_list":["post-4256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ambrose-cycle","category-book-8","category-chapter-01-book-8","tag-ambrose-cycle","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-original-fiction","tag-phelan-ocredne","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-thomas-merlin-ambrose","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-16E","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4256","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=4256"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4257,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4256\/revisions\/4257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}