Anne Bishop - The House of Gaian

The creature hesitated, then nodded.

While Sloane filled the canteens, Breanna repacked the basket to fit the bag of feed in one end. No point having those talons ripping through the cloth and having the feed spill out. If the woman inside still cared enough about her horse to ask for feed, it would hurt her to have nothing to offer because of what her body had become.

When the canteens were placed on the table, Breanna stepped back. "If there's something else you want, take what you can gather."

The creature made a hideous sound that Breanna realized was meant as laughter. Cruelty filled those dark eyes for a moment before it was battled back by a strong will. "I can gather armies." She reached for the basket, then hesitated. "Breanna."

Breanna swallowed hard and wished Sloane had never spoken her name.

"The witches in the Old Place. In the circles of light."

Her heart pounded, throbbed in her temples. "My m-mother and grandmother."

"They have gone to the Summerland."

Tears pricked her eyes. Keely's and Nuala's spirits were out of reach now. Safe.

Grabbing the basket and canteens, the creature hurried toward the open kitchen door. Then stopped. "Have you seen the Hunter?"

"I've seen the Hunter."

"Tell her . . . Warn her that the Gatherer has come."

Breanna saw the dark horse waiting a few steps beyond the open door, saw the creature mount and ride away . . .

The Gatherer has come.

. . . felt the floor disappear . . .

. . . and heard someone saying, "Bless the Mother, she's all right. She just fainted, is all."

Fainted? How embarrassing.

"Nothing to be embarrassed about, Lady Breanna. Never saw anyone with so much foolish courage."

She didn't remember speaking, but she must have since Liam's housekeeper was answering her.

Her eyes popped open. They'd carried her to Elinore's morning room. A smell of burnt feathers stung the air. She'd never understood why gentry households thought burning feathers was so useful for bringing someone out of a faint, but maybe she could add a few coins to the house funds by selling Falco's molted feathers to gentry ladies. Would he be offended by the suggestion or find it amusing? She must remember to ask him, must remember . . .

The Gatherer has come.

She struggled to sit up. "Where's Sloane?"

"Here, Lady Breanna."

She focused on him. The foolish courage the housekeeper had praised was deserting her, and she had to tell him before her body began shaking so badly she wouldn't be coherent. "Send the Fae who are waiting for me. They have to find Ashk and Selena and bring them back here now ."

"Yes, Lady."

The housekeeper urged her to lie down again, tucked a blanket around her. Fear was a runaway horse inside her, and she couldn't stop shaking. Mother's mercy, what were they supposed to do? What could Ashk or Selena or any of them do? The Gatherer has come .

Ashk, Selena, and Liam stood on the low rise overlooking the field. The sun was barely on the horizon, but most of the fog was already gone, giving her a clear view of the field.

"The bodies are gone," Ashk said. They'd had to leave the dead on the field last night. Finding the wounded and getting them to a house where they could be tended had taken all their effort.

"We gave them back to the Mother last night," Rhyann said.

Ashk closed her eyes and wished a silent farewell to the men who hadn't returned from that field. Then she pushed aside any thoughts about those who were gone. She had to do her best for the living—and for the land.

"Those stones," Selena said softly, dreamily.

Ashk looked at the tumble of huge stones that dominated the field. "A den for their longbowmen."

"A den," Selena said in that same soft, dreamy voice. "Yes, a den for the Black Coats."

"Selena?" Worry sharpened Ashk's voice. Neither of them had gotten much sleep, and she didn't like the unfocused look in Selena's eyes.

"Earth. Air. Water. Fire. Light of the sun. Light of the moon. Dreams and will. That's what it takes."

Mother's tits! What is the woman talking about ? But the way Rhyann's expression sharpened told Ashk that, while the words meant nothing to her, they were important.

"Yes," Rhyann said after studying the stones. "But how to drive the Black Coats to that spot? Fighting isn't enough. We need something they'll run from without thinking, something they'll fear in their hearts and react to."

That she could answer. "The Wild Hunt."

Selena and Rhyann looked at her thoughtfully. Varden nodded.

"The Wild Hunt?" Liam asked, sounding skeptical.

"It would be better if we had packs of shadows hounds—"

"We have them," Gwynith said, hurrying back to them. "I was just talking to one of the Fae Lords. He said three Ladies of the Moon arrived at the camps just before the fog closed in last night. They came with their huntsmen—and their packs of shadow hounds."

"If you want something humans will fear, Huntress, there's your answer," Ashk said.

Selena nodded. "Two arrows driving the Black Coats to those stones. One coming from the road, the other from this end of the rise. The human companies will take the middle of the field, coming down from the rise."

"And the House of Gaian?" Liam asked.

"We have a different task." Selena looked at Rhyann. "I'll leave it to you to gather the Sons and Daughters."

Rhyann nodded. "And I'll gather what we'll need."

"Need for what?" Ashk asked.

Selena smiled coldly as she stared at the stones. "For justice . . . and for vengeance. I have no interest in the men who were commanded to fight, but the Black Coats, the barons, and the guard captains . . . I want them driven into those stones."

Liam raked a hand through his hair. "The barons—"

Selena turned on him. "Show me a baron who did not order the death of a witch, and he is yours to deal with as you choose. But the others come to me."

Liam stared at her as if he'd never seen her before. "What will you do with them?"

Selena's smiled turn colder. "We'll give them what they want."

"Let's move," Ashk said. "The sun's coming up, and the Black Coats will be forming their companies. We have to do the same."

As she turned to go down the rise, she saw a huntsman galloping toward her.

"Hunter!" he yelled. "Hunter!"

"What is it?" Ashk demanded. "What's wrong?"

"You have to come to the baron's house. Lady Breanna says she has to speak with you right away."

Breanna was at Liam's house? She was relieved to hear Breanna was no longer lost in that horrible frozen retreat she'd sunk into yesterday, but. . . "Tell Breanna I'll be there as soon as I can. We've a battle coming in a few hours and—"

"Hunter, you have to come now . And the Huntress, too."

"Go on," Liam said. "I'll stay here and start bringing our people into position."

Knowing what it must have cost him to stay, Ashk nodded. "We'll be back as soon as we can." She touched his arm lightly. "She's strong, Liam. The grief will ease, and she'll heal."

"That she wants to talk to anyone is a relief." He tried to smile.

Ashk and Selena hurried down the rise to where their horses waited and galloped away, leaving the Fae Lord who had brought the message trailing behind them.

When they reached Liam's house, it was clear by the way Sloane hovered at the front door, watching for them, that something had happened.

As they reached the door, someone called out, "Hunter!"

A young Fae Lord trotted over from the stables and handed her a wax-sealed piece of paper. "I was told to hand this to the Bard, or to you, Hunter, if the Bard wasn't here."

Ashk nodded, tucked the paper under her belt, and went inside.