{"id":4258,"date":"2020-03-23T00:00:58","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T04:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=4258"},"modified":"2020-03-23T09:55:11","modified_gmt":"2020-03-23T13:55:11","slug":"two-01-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=4258","title":{"rendered":"Two – 01"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\u201cWhat the hell happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacqueline\u2019s voice reached them before Phelan actually saw his wife, who\u2019d spotted them before he could spot her. He glanced up the hill, toward the old forge where Matt Astoris still spent most of his days even after all these years. Smoke drifted into the sky above it, a sure sign that the smith was still at work and Jacqueline was coming down the hill from the forge, an empty basket in her hand and her expression like the sky just before a storm\u2019s breaking.<\/p>\n

Lin shifted his weight slightly and Phelan glanced at him, frowning. The teenager\u2019s complexion was washed-out, even in the afternoon sunshine. It was all Phelan could do not to shake his head.<\/p>\n

Eighteen years since that deal was struck.<\/em> His lips thinned. Five years since they tried to buy us more time. Our luck had to run out eventually.<\/em> \u201cCamazotzi<\/em> got the drop on Lin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA camazotzi<\/em>.\u201d Jacqueline stumbled a step before she reached them. \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the ravine,\u201d Lin said. \u201cDon\u2019t worry, Aunt Jac, it\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I imagine it is.\u201d Her gaze slid toward Phelan for a second before it flicked back to Lin. \u201cOnly one?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the weird part,\u201d Lin said. \u201cI saw something. That\u2019s how it was able to creep up on me like it did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacqueline looked at Phelan again, her brow furrowing. Phelan shook his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can talk about it later,\u201d he said. \u201cFor now, you need to have a look at him. Thing took a few chunks out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat much I can see,\u201d Jacqueline said, jaw tightening for a second. \u201cBloody hell, Lin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot too much of one,\u201d the teen mumbled, glancing down, cheeks flaming\u2014likely not from the fever that Phelan could already feel setting in, either. \u201cSorry, Aunt Jac.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not something to apologize to me about,\u201d she said, swinging around to his other side. \u201cLet\u2019s get you cleaned up and into bed. I\u2019m sure something<\/em> is going to need a stitch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd some antibiotics from your stash,\u201d Phelan said, silently thankful that Lin hadn\u2019t inherited an allergy to the stuff that seemed to plague their bloodline.<\/p>\n

Jacqueline frowned for a second, studying Lin, then nodded. \u201cYeah. I think you\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can hear you,\u201d Lin muttered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am fully<\/em> aware of that,\u201d Jacqueline said, tone chiding and amused all at once. \u201cTrust me when I tell you that we did this to your father, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

They had<\/em> done it to Thom Ambrose\u2014many, many times over the years, they\u2019d done the same and it had always annoyed him, too. Most of the time, he just let it go, but every so often it led to explosions that Phelan was sad to say he still missed, even all these years later.<\/p>\n

Even having lived for as long as he had, somehow five years felt like a long time, now.<\/p>\n

\u201cOften?\u201d Lin asked as they headed for the small cottage where the teenager had lived on his own for almost a year, since his seventeenth birthday.<\/p>\n

\u201cOften enough,\u201d Jacqueline said, smiling wistfully. \u201cThough I don\u2019t remember it fondly enough to have ever wanted repeats. The worst points in my life have always been marked by someone needing my healing skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, some of the best moments have been those, too.<\/em> Phelan held his tongue. His soulmate\u2019s skills often took her on a rollercoaster of understandable highs and lows. That, of course, was the hand dealt to the healers, to the fixers.<\/p>\n

The front door was unlocked and Jacqueline led the way inside. Lin winced, possibly at the books strewn across the small table near the fireplace and the unwashed mug sitting next to them, at the quilt draped haphazardly across the back of his chair, the laundry piled in a basket in the corner. In truth, it looked no different from anyone else\u2019s space, but Phelan could understand his embarrassment. This was his space, his sanctum, and almost no one was ever there except for him.<\/p>\n

Jacqueline snorted a laugh, spotting something Phelan hadn\u2019t noticed. \u201cYour bed is actually made?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHabit,\u201d Lin mumbled. \u201cMom and Dad always made sure I made it before I left in the morning. Now I just do it. Always have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phelan\u2019s throat tightened for a second and he swallowed hard. Of all the things…<\/em><\/p>\n

Jacqueline shook her head, walking to the table and chair. She plucked the quilt from the chair and pointed. \u201cRight here, Phelan. We\u2019ll get everything stitched and bandaged and then to bed with you, Thomas Merlin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lin winced. That was the second time he\u2019d heard both<\/em> names trotted out in the span of half an hour, and that never boded well. The teenager dropped into the chair without complaint and started to take off his shirt. Jacqueline handed the quilt to Phelan, giving him a long, measured look.<\/p>\n

He nodded slightly, folding the quilt out of reflex. \u201cI\u2019ll get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d she said softly.<\/p>\n

He set the quilt on the foot of the bed and slipped out of the cottage. She would need her kit and supplies to treat Lin\u2019s wounds.<\/p>\n

After that, Phelan would have to tell the others that it was becoming clear that the peace really was finally breaking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Phelan’s point of view.] \u201cWhat the hell happened?\u201d Jacqueline\u2019s voice reached them before Phelan actually saw his wife, who\u2019d spotted them before he could spot her. He glanced up the hill, toward the old forge where … 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":[336,337,341],"tags":[340,150,171,170,174,149,173,148,168,147,165,200,146],"class_list":["post-4258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ambrose-cycle","category-book-8","category-chapter-02-book-8","tag-ambrose-cycle","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-jacqueline-bell","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-16G","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4258","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=4258"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4259,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4258\/revisions\/4259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}