{"id":914,"date":"2011-12-09T00:00:52","date_gmt":"2011-12-09T05:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=914"},"modified":"2011-12-07T23:17:30","modified_gmt":"2011-12-08T04:17:30","slug":"day-21-chapter-12-marin-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=914","title":{"rendered":"Day 21 – Chapter 12 – Marin – 14"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>A shiver ran through Phelan.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHow\u2019s that?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBecause he could see it even when Drew and I couldn\u2019t.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Before we could\u2014Drew never saw it, I could hear it and feel it, see it after it got close.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I stepped onto the shadowed path, then kept walking even as the chill of the dim became the chill of the grave and threatened to turn my limbs to lead.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Something whispered in the back of my head that we shouldn\u2019t be there.<\/span>\u00a0 Go back,<\/em><\/span> a soft voice whispered.<\/span>\u00a0 Go back.<\/em><\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Phelan hurried after me, a curse on his lips and his power rising, turning him into almost a walking ward.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I knew we would both be protected without even looking as he caught up with me, half a step behind my shoulder.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhat are you, anyway?\u201d I asked as I led him toward the steep incline that was our destination.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou and Teague.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cMortal,\u201d Phelan said, apparently trying to be flippant when he said it.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He was sticking close to me, though, and I heard and sensed the strain in him all at once.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNow, anyway.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I glanced back over my shoulder at him.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnd before?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>A flicker of pain passed through his eyes.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou wouldn\u2019t believe me if I told you,\u201d he said quietly.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I took him by the hand and drew him onward.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We were getting close, now, passing one of the old benches down along this walking trail, the only sanctioned one this close to the edge of the ravine.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cTry me, Phelan.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>We reached our destination before he screwed up the courage to answer me.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We stood shoulder-to-shoulder at the edge of the steep pathway that led down into a wide, grassy marsh at the bottom of the ravine, one of the few places close to the heart of campus where the floor of the ravine was more than a few feet across.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Phelan took a deep breath, uncomfortable.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>My own skin was crawling, and I could sense a faint feeling of wrongness below.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Perhaps the grays\u2014<\/span>gremlins?<\/span><\/em>\u2014had made their home down there, near where they\u2019d jumped me weeks before.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>That was enough to send shivers down my spine, enough to make the spot on my arm where I\u2019d been hit ache dully.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cPrinces of the <\/span>\u00c1<\/em>es D\u00e1na<\/em><\/span>,\u201d Phelan said after we\u2019d stood there for a few long moments in total silence.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We looked at each other sidelong, and I was shocked to see real fear in his eyes.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>His jaw was set but trembling.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou asked,\u201d he said softly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnd I\u2019ve answered.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Usually, this is the part where you tell me I\u2019m crazy and walk away.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I touched his arm.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI asked, remember?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>My fingers tightened slightly, then I let go.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBesides, if I didn\u2019t run when J.T. recognized you from a dream that probably took place two or three thousand years ago, what makes you think I\u2019d run now?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>He smiled briefly, looking down at his feet.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cPoint.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWas it really you?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I asked softly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNot just a reflection of you, but really, really you?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cHuh?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He seemed startled.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou mean in his dream?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I just nodded.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>He winced again.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYes,\u201d he said quietly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt was really me, not just a reflection of me.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It was a very, very long time ago, but time in the Otherworlds passes differently than it does here, in a lot of ways.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>His Adam\u2019s apple bobbed twice as he swallowed hard.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe\u2019ve been sitting on the sidelines for a long time.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Teague has, anyway.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I can\u2019t seem to stay away from this world even when I want to.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>He wasn\u2019t making much sense, of course, but that\u2014as I came to learn later, and many times over\u2014was Phelan. It was who he was and the way he was.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Mysterious without trying, confusing when he meant to be clear.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It was instinct and habit and something he had almost no control over.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>It was probably what got him into and out of trouble so easily time and again.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019ve been keeping track of us for a long time, haven\u2019t you?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Phelan nodded.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYes,\u201d he said softly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYes, I have.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019ve tried to keep an eye on their souls, on her bloodlines\u2014his bloodlines.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He swallowed hard.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s been difficult, and strange.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>There were generations where there would be no trace, and other times it was clear as day.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>His gaze slid sideways again.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAm I making any sense?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I smiled faintly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cA little.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Anyone else back there would think you\u2019re crazy, though.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>He managed to grin.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThey\u2019d be right.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He took my hand and pointed down toward the marsh.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat, down there?<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s what you wanted to show me?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I nodded.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cVery well, then.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Let\u2019s have a closer look, shall we?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A shiver ran through Phelan.\u00a0 \u201cHow\u2019s that?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBecause he could see it even when Drew and I couldn\u2019t.\u00a0 Before we could\u2014Drew never saw it, I could hear it and feel it, see it after it got close.\u201d\u00a0 I … 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-914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-12","category-day-21"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-eK","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914","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=914"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":918,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914\/revisions\/918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}