{"id":4579,"date":"2021-03-29T00:00:30","date_gmt":"2021-03-29T04:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=4579"},"modified":"2021-03-27T15:45:29","modified_gmt":"2021-03-27T19:45:29","slug":"eighteen-03-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=4579","title":{"rendered":"Eighteen – 03"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Thordin crossed his arms, his brow furrowing.\u00a0 Something about his stance and expression reminded Phelan of the sky before a storm\u2014an irony that was not lost on him at all.\u00a0 \u201cHas anyone seen Cariocecus lately?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Matt said.\u00a0 \u201cBut if you\u2019re thinking he\u2019s responsible, I\u2019d probably reconsider.\u201d\u00a0 His gaze flicked toward Phelan as he continued.\u00a0 \u201cHecate and I talked about it, partially about the fact that they were here long before Cariocecus ever showed up and aimed them at us.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how anyone controls them or how it\u2019s decided when someone does or doesn\u2019t\u2014we\u2019ve seen their strings pulled by a few people over the years\u2014but I don\u2019t think he\u2019s got anything to do with this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not what I\u2019m getting at,\u201d Thordin said, reaching for the bellows.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m just wondering.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d\u00a0 Jacqueline set down her basket on one of the benches and sat down slowly, watching Thordin intently.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019re you thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe he has insights on this,\u201d Thordin said, then shrugged slightly with one shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know, Jac, but that\u2019s just it.\u00a0 None of us know anything right now.\u00a0 We\u2019re grasping at straws and groping around in the dark.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wouldn\u2019t be the first time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he agreed.\u00a0 \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t.\u00a0 I think all of us would rather not, though, all things considered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThings are happening too fast,\u201d Phelan said, leaning against the doorframe.\u00a0 Matt was still staring at the embers, even as Thordin started to pump the bellows slowly, adding more fuel to the coals.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s been a long time since we\u2019ve had to deal with a pile-on like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA long time,\u201d Matt echoed, nodding.\u00a0 \u201cNot since they left.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phelan winced, the bottom dropping out of his stomach.\u00a0 \u201cMatt\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe peace they brokered is breaking down,\u201d he said again, then sighed.\u00a0 \u201cJust like we all knew it would someday.\u00a0 Just like she\u2014like both of them wanted to prevent.\u00a0 I guess they didn\u2019t find a way.\u201d<\/p>\n

What he let unsaid was something none of them quite wanted to face, a question that had long gone unanswered\u2014because none of them were really willing to give voice to it.\u00a0 So far as almost everyone was concerned, Marin and Thom were dead and had been for years.\u00a0 There was an empty grave that bore their names out in the burial grounds north of the village.<\/p>\n

That<\/em> grave was empty, but none of them could be sure of what had happened to Thom and Marin Ambrose after they\u2019d left the Valley.\u00a0 There had been no word, no sign\u2014nothing.\u00a0 Every time Cameron rode out, he looked for signs of them, listened for word of them.<\/p>\n

For years, there had been nothing.<\/p>\n

Phelan closed his eyes, exhaling a breath as pain tightened in his chest and throat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen we know what we have to do,\u201d Jacqueline said.\u00a0 \u201cThey left us the tools we need to make it all work.\u00a0 All four of us know that\u2014the whole council knows that.\u00a0 We\u2019ll make it work and we\u2019ll win\u2014we\u2019ll win because there\u2019s no other choice.\u201d\u00a0 She sighed, picking up her basket as she stood.\u00a0 \u201cWe made them a promise and I, for one, intend to keep it as long as I\u2019ve got breath in my body.\u201d\u00a0 She headed for the door, pausing to peck Phelan on the cheek.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to go make sure Lin\u2019s eaten something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d Phelan murmured, squeezing her arm for a second before letting go.\u00a0 \u201cTell him I\u2019ll come down and see him in a little while.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacqueline nodded, offering him a reassuring smile as she turned and headed back down the path.\u00a0 Phelan\u2019s gaze drifted after her, though only for a few seconds.\u00a0 He swallowed past the tightness in his throat.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s right,\u201d he said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cWe do know what we have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just the matter of doing it that\u2019s hard.\u201d\u00a0 Matt rubbed at a spot on his forehead between his eyes, as if his head was starting to ache.\u00a0 \u201cBut it was never easy, was it?\u00a0 Even when they were here.\u00a0 Hell. \u00a0I guess it was harder then, wasn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Phelan said.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, it was.\u201d\u00a0 He turned back toward them.\u00a0 \u201cSo.\u00a0 Who do we send hunting?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Phelan’s point of view.] Thordin crossed his arms, his brow furrowing.\u00a0 Something about his stance and expression reminded Phelan of the sky before a storm\u2014an irony that was not lost on him at all.\u00a0 \u201cHas anyone … 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":[336,337,367,14],"tags":[340,150,171,170,174,181,149,173,148,168,147,165,169,146],"class_list":["post-4579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ambrose-cycle","category-book-8","category-chapter-18-book-8","category-story","tag-ambrose-cycle","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-jacqueline-bell","tag-matthew-astoris","tag-original-fiction","tag-phelan-ocredne","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-1bR","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4579","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=4579"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4580,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4579\/revisions\/4580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}