Anne Bishop - The House of Gaian

When his men used the Inquisitor's Gift to draw magic from an Old Place and release it again to twist the things it touched, there was no control over what was changed. It might cause a new well to go dry, or a cow might birth a two-headed calf, or a field of grain might whither and die overnight. . . or something living might be changed into something out of a nightmare. A flesh eater. A soul eater. A nighthunter. But there had been no way to control that twisted magic, no way to use it for a specific purpose.

Until now.

Even though he was certain the creature was dead, he approached the cage cautiously.

The squirrel had changed into a nighthunter. Almost. One hind leg, or what was left of it, was still furred. Unable to escape from the cage to hunt for other prey, the nighthunter had turned on the unchanged part of itself, ripping through flesh, snapping bone… devouring while it bled to death.

Excitement shivered through Adolfo. There hadn't been enough power left in the old witch to complete the change. He would have to soften the next one faster so that her body was still ripe enough with power to provide what he needed.

Despite the creature's incomplete transformation, the experiment had worked. Before, it had been chance and the strength and number of Inquisitors drawing power from an Old Place that determined the creation of nighthunters.

Now he could create them whenever he chose.

The remains would have to be burned. He wasn't ready to share this with his Inquisitors yet. Which meant giving the task to someone he could trust to remain silent for the time being.

Ubel.

Yes. He'd have Ubel take care of it.

"And then, my fine Inquisitor," Adolfo said quietly, "once you've seen what's in this room, look me in the eyes and tell me I've gone soft."

Selena and Rhyann rode into the Old Place, reining in a few steps after crossing the boundary they recognized by the slightly different feel of the land.

"This is it." Selena rested a hand on Mistrunner's neck to keep the gray stallion quiet. "This is where the Ladies of the Moon will gather tomorrow night to see who will become the Huntress."

"Are you sure?" Rhyann asked, looking around. "It doesn't feel any different than the other Old Places we've seen on the way here."

"I'm sure," Selena replied. Power thrummed through the land, but it wasn't the power from the Great Mother's four branches. This was power from the Fae side of her heritage, seeking a way to fill her. It's not time yet. Not quite yet .

She raised her arm, and her hand swung like a compass needle until it was aligned with the core of that power. "Somewhere in that direction. That's where the Fae will gather. That's where the power is gathering."

Rhyann frowned at her. "What does it feel like?"

Selena lowered her arm. "Heavy. Full."

"And how do you feel?"

Ripe. Juicy. Swollen with desire. For what, I'm not even sure. The power calls me. I have to answer.

"Selena?"

She saw the fierce concern in Rhyann's eyes. They had lived in the same house, had argued and laughed and cried together for years. In another day or two, they would separate to follow their own life journeys, and things would never be the same again. "I'm going to miss you, little sister."

"We have some time left," Rhyann said quietly. "Tonight is still the dark of the moon."

Selena shook her head. "Endings and beginnings. Tomorrow the new moon rises, and the Fae will gather for whatever will come."

"These tests or challenges or whatever they're called always happen at the full moon. That's the way it goes in the stories we've heard about the Fae."

"Not this time. The power will rise with the new moon. I feel it." Selena sighed. She was nervous, even a little frightened. Her face and her ability to change into another form were all she had in common with the Fae, all that made her one of them. She didn't know the ceremonies or rituals that were used for these tests of power. The Fae would surely realize that, resent that. And yet, if she did become the Lady of the Moon, the Fae would be hers to command—and their strength, combined with human and witch, might be enough to save all of Sylvalan's people from destruction.

It always came down to that need, to defend the Great Mother and protect all Her children from those who would destroy and devour. So she would find her courage, swallow her fear, and meet the Fae tomorrow night. Besides, she wasn't sure if the power that had drawn her there would let her walk away.

"Come on," she said, gathering the reins. "Let's pay our respects to the Daughters who live here and beg some hospitality."

Before Rhyann could reply, Mistrunner snorted softly and Fox, Rhyann's dark horse, stamped a foot as if in agreement.

The women looked at each other and shrugged. Both horses were almost too intelligent for comfort, as well as stubborn when something wasn't to their liking, but those traits had been the reason why Selena had been able to talk her father out of hiring men to escort them on this journey.

As long as those two are under you, you'll be safe enough , her father had said. There's nothing that can outrun them, and they won't take you anyplace that's not to their liking .

The two horses swung into an easy trot, apparently having decided their riders had tarried long enough. They moved silently on the wide trail through the woods, their hooves making no sound.

How did two witches end up with Fae horses ? Selena wondered, not for the first time. Fox had shown up late last autumn, taken one look at Rhyann and tried to follow her into the house. He wouldn't leave and wouldn't let anyone else near him until she loudly announced that he belonged to her. After that, the dark horse with lethal hooves acted like a docile pet.

Mistrunner. . . She still wasn't sure about Mistrunner. She'd been out in a clearing three years ago, celebrating the Great Mother and the full moon, playing with the power that swirled inside her. She'd braided the strength of the earth to moonlight, dazzled it with air and drops of water, warmed it with the heat of fire. When she was done, she'd stared at the glittering path that rose from the land and disappeared into the night sky, uncertain if she was delighted or uneasy about what she had done.

And then she heard the desperate, terrified scream, and shouted, "Here!"

A heavy mist poured out of the sky, obscuring the top end of her glittering path. A gray yearling burst out of that mist, galloping down the path she'd created as if it were a solid road, stumbling a little when his hooves touched firm earth. He raced past her, getting as far away from the path as he could without leaving the clearing.

Unnerved that something had come down a path she'd thought led nowhere and had no real substance, she'd unraveled the magic and grounded the power—and her glittering path disappeared. Which left her with a terrified young animal that had decided she was the only safe thing in a strange world. So she ended up taking him home with her and naming him Mistrunner.

She suspected he had come from Tir Alainn, but she still didn't know what had terrified him or how he'd found her glittering path and recognized it as a way to reach the world . . . and safety. She never tried to find out who he belonged to—and she admitted to herself that part of her apprehension in meeting the Fae was that someone would recognize him and want him back.

"We're here," Rhyann said.

Selena blinked. "Where?"

"Where your body has been but you haven't," Rhyann replied testily. She leaned toward Selena. "We aren't home anymore. You can't get so lost in thought you're not aware of the world. You don't know what's out there. Or who is out there."