Barb Hendee - Rebel Fay

Sensing an argument brewing, Leesil cut in. "Magiere and Wynn may still need him, as it will take us a lot longer to return."

Gleann smiled at Wynn. "Come, child. And do not remove that moss from your mouth until I tell you."

To Leesil's relief, Sgaile just grunted. They headed north once again at a slower pace.

Leesil wasn't certain of the distance, but the journey would likely take the rest of the night. They continued until the forest began to lighten with the dawn and they emerged in a shattered clearing of broken branches, torn flowers, and one large uprooted birch.

Chap stopped in sudden weariness, glanced up at Wynn, and took a few steps into the clearing. The sage joined him, placing her hand on his back. Leesil was about to call them back when Chap turned away with Wynn at his side. The dog stalked on through the trees with his head hanging.

They all moved on, and Leesil saw the edge of the barrier woods.

He wanted to run but held back, not wishing to leave Magiere or the others behind as they entered the woods' passage. When he broke through the ferns at the far end, Leesil emerged in the familiar glade.

"Mother?"

He didn't see her at first. She came around from behind her domicile elm and stopped.

"Leshil?"

The hem of her ivory wrap dragged across the grass as she walked closer. Her silken hair spilled down her shoulders and disappeared behind.

Leesil looked at her for a long moment, the sight of her washing through him.

"You're free," he said bluntly. "You're leaving with me."

He reached back for Magiere-who had stood by him and fought for him, even against his own destructive obsession. She clasped his hand.

Favoring her swollen lip, Wynn smiled as Chap trotted up to Nein'a.

Sgaile and Gleann politely remained by the ferns, but Sgaile confirmed Leesil's words.

"You have been released. Most Aged Father told me this himself."

Leesil didn't know what to expect as his mother stared at him with anxious doubt. She glanced about the clearing's border trees. For an instant Leesil saw a viciousglower spread across her elegant features.

"Free," she whispered.

Leesil wanted to take hold of his mother, but he simply stood near her. "Yes… finally."

"What will I do?" she asked.

There was a strange loss in her voice, as if doubt would never fade completely.

Nein'a had been a skilled assassin and spy, a wife then widow, a mother and a daughter… and Anmaglahk. She had also been trapped alone in this glade for eight years. Leesil reached out slowly to take her fingers.

"Come with Magiere and me."

Anxiety grew in her large eyes.

"Into the human world again?" She shook her head. "No… too long, too many years there."

Leesil felt as if he'd been dropped over a precipice. Then his thoughts traced backward through what life he'd had with her.

She had been ordered to Venjetz and lived there for over twenty years, had birthed and cared for him, trained him, and all the while held Most Aged Father's bloodlust at bay.Then imprisoned and alone, without Gavril. How long had it been since she'd lived as she wanted? As much as it hurt, Leesil tried to understand.

But what else could she do? She had no home here-only enemies. Leesil looked at Magiere in deep concern. The two of them could not stay.

Gleann stepped cautiously forward. "Cuirinnena, do you remember me… Sgailsheilleache's grandfather? I have a granddaughter who is… not unlike your Leshil. I fear she grows tired of being the only woman of the house. Our settlement is small and simple, but there is always room for one more."

Nein'a looked at him."Gleanneohkan'thva? Yes, I remember you."

Her words came evenly, and Leesil thought he caught something more than passing recognition within them. When he glanced at Gleann, he remembered how quickly the old man had arrived for Magiere's trial before the gathering, and how familiar he'd been with Brot'an.

Brot'an and his mother-both dissidents among the Anmaglahk, both acquainted with Gleann. Had Sgaile ever noticed this?

"Do us this honor," Gleann said to Nein'a and then turned his owlish gaze upon Leesil."If that is agreeable to both you and Leshil."

Nein'a's serious and exquisite face twisted in pain.

It was clear to Leesil that she wanted to accept Gleann's offer of a small quiet place in her own world where she might find some normal life of her choosing. Yet a part of Leesil grew anxious at the thought of leaving her among those who'd imprisoned her… and perhaps others who'd plotted with her over so many years. But if he trusted anyone among those he had met in this land to help her, it would be Gleann.

Nein'a gripped Leesil's fingers, and Magiere moved up, still grasping his other hand. He stood there caught between the two women of his world.

When Leesil looked at Magiere, he thought of the wedding to come… someday. He would swear fealty to her before their friends and, he hoped, her aunt Bieja. Shouldn'this own mother be present as well?

"You must continue," Nein'a said. "The ancestors will guide you. Do not let anything sway you when the path becomes clear."

It never occurred to Leesil before how much she was like her people, down to their fanatical superstitions. He'd seen the ghosts at the naked tree beyond the serpent and heard them call him by a name he didn't want. But he'd seen a ghost or two in his own life. Most were somewhere between an annoyance and a threat to be banished. They weren't worth this kind of blind faith.

Leesil saw how much Gleann's offer meant to her. Perhaps she would be safe and could come back to herself-to the woman he preferred her to be, his mother.

"All right," he said. "Come back to Crijheaiche with us, and we'll talk."

"Crijheaiche?" she repeated.

"Be at ease," Gleann said. "You will not see anyone you do not wish to."

Sgaile stepped forward, stripping off his cloak. "Put this on and over your head."

Of all the things Sgaile had done, for this Leesil felt most grateful.

"Do you have things to gather?" Wynn asked in her sensible way. "Anything here you wish to bring?"

Nein'a looked about the clearing, and her eyes sparked with the smoldering anger Leesil remembered so well.

"Only what once belonged to me," she said, and turned away into the tree.

When she reemerged, she held the bundled cloth with the skulls of Gavril and Eillean.

Leesil breathed in with difficulty, as Nein'a took her first faltering steps toward the ferns. He walked beside Magiere, not knowing what more to say. She linked her arm with his as they began the journey back.

The return to Crijheaiche left them all exhausted, even Nein'a, who looked wary of her surroundings. Sgaile settled her in a small domicile tree by the river, close to Gleann and Leanalham. When he offered to sit in vigil for Nein'a, Leesil insisted upon doing this himself.

Magiere understood, and so she took Wynn and Chap backto their own quarters.

Chap had been behaving strangely since the end of the trial-from the moment he and Leesil went for a final word with Most Aged Father. His crystal blue eyes shifted continually. Magiere suspected that the strain of the past days affected him as much as any of them.

In all honesty, she'd have much preferred to sit with Leesil, but if Nein'a wished to speak to him, they would need time alone. Poor Wynn looked quite a mess with her swollen jaw and tangled hair. The young woman had been abused too much over their travels.

"You sleep now," she said, guiding Wynn to a cushioned bed ledge inside the elm. "Save the bath for when you wake up."

Chap whined loudly.

Some might think it difficult to read a canine's face. Not so for Magiere, after all the time she'd spent with him. She could read his agitation in the bristled fur and twitch of his jowls. He prowled toward Wynn in halting steps.