{"id":4265,"date":"2020-03-30T10:26:57","date_gmt":"2020-03-30T14:26:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=4265"},"modified":"2020-03-30T10:26:57","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T14:26:57","slug":"two-04-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=4265","title":{"rendered":"Two – 04"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Matt was watching his face and Phelan had long known his friend to be far more perceptive than he ever truly let on. There was a thread of concern in the smith\u2019s voice as he asked the question, a look in his eye that spoke volumes about what he suspected and what he feared.<\/p>\n

\u201cA camazotzi<\/em> attacked Lin,\u201d Phelan said, staring at the embers in the firebox, unable to meet Matt\u2019s gaze. He already knew what would be written on his friend\u2019s face and it was an expression he feared he would see far more of in the coming weeks and months than he\u2019d seen in years.<\/p>\n

\u201cA camazotzi<\/em>,\u201d Gilad echoed. \u201cThose haven\u2019t been spotted this far north in years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought we saw one a few weeks ago,\u201d Matt said slowly, his voice low. \u201cBut we couldn\u2019t confirm what it was.\u201d He stared at nothing for a few seconds, then took a slow, deep breath, exhaling before he asked, \u201cHow did it happen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI only saw the tail end of what happened,\u201d Phelan admitted. \u201cFrom what he said before I passed him off to Jac, he was taking a walk in the ravine and saw something. He didn\u2019t say what.\u201d He didn\u2019t have to say what, because I suspect I know what he saw. I\u2019m just afraid to confirm it.<\/em> \u201cI saw him come charging across the bridge with the thing in pursuit. Looked like he\u2019d taken a chunk or five out of it, but it also got its claws into him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why he\u2019s with Jac right now,\u201d Matt said. \u201cDid it reach the wards?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI blasted it before it could, but it was about to.\u201d Phelan\u2019s lips thinned. \u201cI don\u2019t know if it would have punched through or not at this point. It was certainly determined.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the wards aren\u2019t exactly what they used to be.\u201d Matt\u2019s lips thinned and he started to pace. \u201cNone of this is good news.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course it\u2019s not,\u201d Phelan said, sitting down on one of the old benches against the forge\u2019s stone walls. They were as old as the new world, built that first year\u2014the handiwork of Lin\u2019s father, Matt\u2019s brother-in-law.<\/p>\n

He missed Thom and Marin Ambrose more than he could ever properly express. If he were honest with himself, he knew they all did, each of them for different reasons.<\/p>\n

He leaned against the cool stone, watching Matt. He likely missed them most of all, if only because with them gone, de facto<\/em> leadership had fallen to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe peace is breaking,\u201d he said. \u201cThe agreement unravels.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew it would,\u201d Phelan said softly. \u201cYour sister said it would.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d Matt whispered. \u201cBut she also always hoped she was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d Matt said, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Phelan’s point of view.] \u201cWhat is it?\u201d Matt was watching his face and Phelan had long known his friend to be far more perceptive than he ever truly let on. There was a thread of concern … 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":[340,150,171,170,343,149,148,168,147,165,146,195],"class_list":["post-4265","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-gilad","tag-original-fiction","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-16N","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4265","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=4265"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4266,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4265\/revisions\/4266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}