Shadows and Light

especially men. Tell him to pass that message along to the magistrate. I want to be informed of anyone coming to the village.”
    “Yes, Baron. I’ll send the message right away.”
    “Come on,” Liam said to Padrick. He dug his heels into his horse’s sides, urging the tired animal to canter. It didn’t occur to him until they were riding down the lane that led to the bridge that he should have offered to let Padrick stay at the manor.
    When they reached the bridge, Padrick thrust out an arm that would have knocked Liam out of the saddle if he hadn’t reined in sharply.
    Padrick urged his horse forward, ahead of Liam’s, and stopped just before his horse’s hooves touched the bridge. He studied the stones and tall grass on the opposite bank.
    “Blessings of the day to you, lady sprite,” Padrick said.
    Liam clenched his fists, impatient to find his family. Then he saw the small woman rise up out of the water and wondered if the fever dreams had returned.
    “Blessings of the day,” the sprite replied warily. “Fae Lord.”
    Padrick nodded. “My friend’s family is visiting the Daughters in the Old Place.”
    “We know his face. He has crossed the bridge many times lately.”

    A water sprite. He was actually seeing one of the Small Folk. And they’d watched him every time he’d crossed the bridge to visit with Breanna and her family? “Has anyone else crossed the bridge recently?”
    he asked.
    “Many,” the sprite replied. “But none who do not belong here.”
    “You’ve seen no one else?” Padrick asked.
    The sprite looked thoughtful. “Four men. They came to the edge of the Old Place farther upstream but did not cross into it. But they drew on the power here, and those who were nearby said that when they released the power again there was a... wrongness ... to it. Then they left. We don’t know where. We don’t go beyond the boundaries of the Old Place.” She tipped her head. “Were they Black Coats?”
    “What do you know about the Black Coats?” Padrick demanded.
    “The Bard warned the Daughters about them, and the Daughters asked us to watch, to give warning if they crossed into the Old Place. But the Black Coats did not enter, so we did no harm.”
    “The Bard?” Padrick said. “ The Bard?”
    “He and the Muse crossed the bridge many days ago. But they did not leave by the bridge. You will have to ask the Daughters where they went.”
    “Thank you,” Padrick said. His horse crossed the bridge.
    Liam followed, feeling a little stunned. As soon as he could, he urged his horse forward until he rode beside Padrick.
    “That... that was one of the Small Folk,” he said.
    “Do you think the witches here will talk to me?” Padrick asked. “I’d like to know what the Bard might have told them about the Inquisitors.”
    “The Bard. You actually think the Fae Lord of Song was here ?”
    “The water sprite said he was.”
    A few days ago, the Fae had been nothing more than stories. Now he’d spent several days traveling with a man who looked human but was actually a Fae Lord, had seen one of the Small Folk, and had been told that the Bard had visited here. Maybe it was all the fever dreams he’d had that made this seem...
    normal... in an extraordinary kind of way.
    “This is an Old Place,” Liam said.
    Padrick grinned, which only made him look more exhausted. “Laddy-boy, I knew this was an Old Place before I crossed the bridge. For one thing, I could feel the difference in the land. For another, the Small Folk don’t live anywhere else.”
    “Why did she call the witches ‘daughters’?”
    “Witches are the Mother’s Daughters. I guess you could say they are the Great Mother’s hands, heart, and eyes.”
    Before Liam could ask anything else, a hawk screamed. He looked up, saw the bird diving toward them.
    Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Padrick’s face change so that he looked like a Fae Lord.

    With another scream that sounded a bit surprised, the hawk broke off its attack, circled them twice to get a good look at Padrick’s face, then flew toward Breanna’s house.
    “What was that about?” Liam said, soothing his startled horse.
    “That was a Fae Lord who, apparently, didn’t like seeing two men riding toward the ladies’ home.”
    “A Fae Lord. I didn’t know there were any Fae around here.” And he wondered what Breanna’s reaction had been when she’d found out. He was certain she would have an opinion about Fae showing up on her