{"id":899,"date":"2011-12-05T00:00:45","date_gmt":"2011-12-05T05:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=899"},"modified":"2011-12-04T16:44:42","modified_gmt":"2011-12-04T21:44:42","slug":"day-21-chapter-12-marin-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=899","title":{"rendered":"Day 21 – Chapter 12 – Marin – 12"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Phelan fell into step with me a few moments after I started walking.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I didn\u2019t look at him and he didn\u2019t spek until we\u2019d wandered through the gap between the ruins of Mackinac and the tent were we were still keeping livestock and building supplies.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I shoved my hands into the pocket of my sweatshirt, feeling my skin prickle slightly as we passed through the ward lines to the unprotected area beyond.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He shivered beside me and smiled faintly, glancing me sidelong as I led him toward the bridge.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThey\u2019re strong wards,\u201d he said simply.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I nodded.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYeah,\u201d I said quietly, eyes on the trees, on the rim of the ravines.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI hope that they\u2019ll actually do the job.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I looked toward where the bridge generations of students here had dubbed \u2018Little Mac\u2019 and was surprised that it looked intact, even steady.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>No new cracks in the concrete of the walkway, the metal rails along either side looked intact.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Phelan followed my gaze.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt looks like it\u2019ll hold.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Is there where you wanted to take me?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOne of the places,\u201d I said softly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I closed my eyes for a moment and could feel the power he was talking about, the power that had always been there, just at the edges of our perception.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Were our theories right, the ones that we\u2019d only whispered on those late-night walks?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>That we\u2019d been drawn here, felt that we belonged here because of the lines of power\u2014the leylines\u2014that encircled most of campus, that ran its length and breadth from the ravines to the river, that gave rise to enchanted places like the Shakespeare garden, now in ruins?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I took his hand and led him onward, onto the bridge.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>It wavered slightly under our steps and in the wind, but no more than usual.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Panic that began to rise inside of me subsided as I reminded myself that it always swayed a little under my footsteps and had become so commonplace that I\u2019d just learned to ignore it.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Phelan tensed and relaxed almost in time with me, exhaling softly as he followed me out to the center of the bridge, which hung seventy feet above the ravine floor\u2014and the line that lay buried in the creek, among the stones and rocks and trickling water that had become more like a flood in the past weeks.\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I leaned against the rail and stared down, motioning for Phelan to join me.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He peered over the edge of the rail down at the creek and shook his head slightly.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou lived here for how many years?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Feeling this every day?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cFive years,\u201d I said softly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The line below rippled, then settled.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They were much calmer now, three weeks after the end of everything.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I closed my eyes and breathed deeply.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I could taste autumn coming on the wind.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s calmer now than it was when this all started\u2014when the fragments came down.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Kellin told me that it made her nauseous to get too close to the ravines, the lines were twisting so badly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Said it was like they were trying to rewrite themselves, like the fabric was ripping or just trying to reweave itself into a new pattern.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I frowned a little.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I guess it felt a little like that.\u00a0 <\/span>I was admittedly more worried about other things.<\/span><\/em>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDid it feel like that to you, while you were walking?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>He considered that for a moment, then finally nodded.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cA bit worse than that, I think.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>You make them sound positively stable.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I was outside of Chicago when it happened.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>There\u2019s nexus points in the city, and they moved and were just ripping things apart.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I was lucky that I wasn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He rubbed at the bridge of his nose, voice dropping to a whisper.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019d never seen so much death as what I saw three weeks ago.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>His voice was haunted, gaze a hundred thousand miles\u2014or perhaps a thousand years\u2014away.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of it in my time.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Death.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>War.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Some of it truly awful.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>But this was worse than anything I\u2019d ever seen.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It really was as if the world itself was trying to break.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019m still not sure what webwork held it together.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>His voice was almost mournful.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhen we came back here from <\/span>T\u00edrinna\u2018\u00d3c<\/span><\/em>, we came hoping that we could stop this, the things that have happened.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>When the ways between began to weaken but the bridges were shorter, we knew that something was going to come to pass.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He winced visibly and shook his head.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI never suspected this,\u201d he said quietly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s worse than I ever could have suspected, worse than Teague or Neve ever perceived.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He glanced at me.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>My mouth was dry, heartbeat starting to quicken slightly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDid I what?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 He knows about your visions, Marin, <\/em><\/span>I reminded myself.<\/span>\u00a0 Either Kira told him, or he\u2019s able to sense that about you, just like he\u2019s able to feel the wards and feel the lines and the power here.<\/em><\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>A weak smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThis.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>What happened three weeks ago.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Any of it.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I exhaled quietly and nodded.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYes.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Yes, I did.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>After staring at me a moment longer, Phelan nodded slightly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThen he was right to send me and I was right to come.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019m just sorry I wasn\u2019t here sooner.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Phelan looked away from me again, toward the creek below.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s going to get harder before it gets easier,\u201d he said, a note a sadness in his voice.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I laughed bitterly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI know,\u201d I said quietly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBelieve me, Phelan, I know.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>It was as if he couldn\u2019t look at me.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019ve Seen, then?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYes,\u201d I said softly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019ve seen it.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Phelan fell into step with me a few moments after I started walking.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t look at him and he didn\u2019t spek until we\u2019d wandered through the gap between the ruins of Mackinac and the tent were we were … 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":[31,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-12","category-day-21"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-ev","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899","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=899"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":908,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899\/revisions\/908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}