Anne Bishop - The Pillars of the World

She wiped her hand on her trousers as she stared at the small package lying on the table and fought the revulsion that had been growing throughout the day. Then she gritted her teeth and stuffed the fancy into her left trouser pocket. Her folding knife went into the right pocket.

Grabbing her dark cloak, Ari took one last look around. She’d let the fire in the main hearth go out and had banked the one in the stove. The windows were all shuttered and locked. She’d put every warding spell she knew on the cottage to keep it safe. She’d even extended one of the wardings to protect the cow shed and her garden.

Nothing left to do.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she slipped out of the cottage and paused to listen.

Silence. Not even the usual night sounds.

Would the Huntress be out tonight with her pack of great hounds, riding over the land while her moon banished the hiding places the hunted usually found in the night shadows?

Fool, Ari thought as she closed the door and locked it. The Huntress wasn’t the only one who would be roaming the land tonight. And in truth, if she had to choose between Royce and the Wild Hunt, she’d rather take her chances with the hounds. At least with them it would end quickly.

She pressed her hand against the door in farewell and headed toward the sea.

A quick walk turned into a run until the stitch in her side forced her to stop. By then the cottage was out of sight.

Royce wouldn’t look for her on this beach. Surely not. Even if he remembered it existed.

She’d thought this out very carefully. Had thought of little else in the past two days. If the Gwynn women had any gift for magic, it was centered in their ability to brew love potions, so she couldn’t dismiss Granny Gwynn’s warning about the magic turning back on a person if it wasn’t properly released. Which meant she couldn’t just hide in the cottage. If Royce came to the door, she’d have to offer him the fancy—and herself, since she was sure he would accept it. But if she saw no one tonight, she wouldn’t be refusing the spell in the fancy, and since the offer had to be made on this particular night, the magic should fade harmlessly.

She hoped.

Another half a mile and she’d reach the rough path that led to the beach and the shallow cave in the cliff wall. Her mother had loved to come here, alone, on summer nights. Tonight it would provide shelter from the wind and, even more important, hide her from anyone who might look down from the cliff.

Clouds drifted across the moon, cutting the light, at the same moment Ari sensed that she was no longer alone.

Her heart raced as she spun around, straining to see down the road. Great Mother, had Royce been to the cottage already? Had he guessed her intention? Was he riding after her?

The road remained empty, but something came closer. She could feel it, even though she heard nothing.

The clouds drifted past.

The moon returned, bright enough to cast a shadow.

Ari forgot to breathe when she saw the black horse racing over the land. This was grace married to strength, an animal so beautiful it made Royce’s finest hunter look like a plow horse.

It wasn’t running away from anything, she decided as she watched it turn toward the old sea road that followed the coast. Just running for the sheer joy of it, as a celebration of life.

She stood there until it was out of sight.

Where had it come from? she wondered as she continued toward the sea. Old Ahern’s farm? He did raise magnificent horses, but even he didn’t have anything in his stables that could compare with this one. Unless this was one of his “special” horses that she hadn’t seen before.

Or perhaps it had slipped away from Tir Alainn itself. She could imagine the Huntress mounted on such a fine animal.

Remembering that she could well be the hunted one spurred her forward until she reached the cliffs that overlooked the sea. Even knowing what to look for, it took her several minutes to find the break in the cliff. She clattered down the rough path as quickly as she could, slipping a couple of times in her haste, until she reached the empty beach.

Over the years, her mother had gathered small boulders and pieces of driftwood that she’d used to build two low walls, using the cliff itself to form the third side of an open-air room. A few times, as a special treat, Meredith had invited Ari to stay with her overnight, but, for the most part, this had been her mother’s private place.

She had never been on this beach without her mother, hadn’t been here at all since Meredith’s death. Because of that, she could almost pretend that Meredith had simply gone for a walk along the beach and would be back soon. Then, as her hand brushed against the pocket that held the fancy, even that much pretense faded, giving loneliness a keener edge and reminding her that she was here to hide, not enjoy a summer evening by the sea.

After making sure the shallow cave wasn’t occupied by anything else, Ari tucked her pack inside. There was a small stack of dried wood at the back of the cave. If she’d dared, she could have made a fire.

No matter. The low wall would block a fair amount of wind, and the night was fairly warm for early summer. Tucked in the cave with her cloak, she would be comfortable enough.

Ari closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, letting the rhythm of the sea and the roll of quiet waves settle her pounding heart.

No one had seen her come here. No one would find her here.

She opened her eyes and saw the black horse galloping along the water’s edge.

It must have found another path down to the beach, she thought as she watched it. But wasn’t it odd that the horse would even try to find its way down the cliff on its own? It couldn’t drink the water, and there was nothing on the beach for it to eat. Maybe it just liked the feel of sand beneath its hooves and sea foam around its legs? She’d have to ask Ahern the next time she saw him. His “special” horses tended to act a bit differently from other animals.

She didn’t know if the horse had seen her or had caught her scent in some shift of the wind, but one moment it was galloping in the foam and the next it was charging up the beach straight at her.

Ari took a step back, ready to duck into the cave.

The horse stopped a length away from the wall and reared.

A wave of heat went through Ari’s body, leaving behind the strange sensation of a heavy lushness combined with the ability to float.

The horse laid its ears back and pawed the sand.

“I have as much right to be here as you do,” Ari said.

Rearing again, the horse trumpeted a challenge.

Obviously, it didn’t like sharing the beach. Well that was just too bad. It could just go galloping back to Ahern’s farm—or wherever it came from. Besides, it was making too much noise, which could draw someone’s attention.

Ari put her hands on her hips. “Now see here, my handsome lad,” she said sternly. “Showing off your fifth leg might make your four-legged ladies roll their eyes and swish their tails, but it doesn’t impress me.”

A flash of panic swept through her. Why had she said that? Was this part of the fancy’s magic, to make a woman speak so brazenly?

The stallion’s forelegs hit the sand. He snorted indignantly.

Ari laughed. “There’s no need for you to nurse a bruised ego. I’m sure your ladies are most appreciative of your . . .” She waved a hand vaguely at his body.

He snorted again.

Ari’s chest tightened. Since it already bound her, she couldn’t fight the fancy’s magic. It would turn back on her if she did. So she had to find some harmless way to channel it. But, Lord and Lady, her body was becoming a stranger she couldn’t trust, and her thoughts were following unfamiliar paths. Even when she’d so foolishly believed herself in love with Royce she hadn’t felt like this.