Shadows and Light

passageway leading to the street and an archway in one back corner. Doors on each side, opening into the courtyard.
    Cordell led them through the archway. Another courtyard. More doors. And a couple of arched gates leading out to the stables and the back gardens.
    A comfortable place, Morag thought. Which made her wonder why no one lived there.
    Cordell didn’t take them into the house itself. When they’d seen the courtyards and had a glimpse of the grounds, she led them back to the cart.
    “What do you think of it?” Cordell asked, looking at Jenny as they rode back to the harbor.
    “It’s lovely,” Jenny replied. “A grand and sprawling home with room and more for a lively family.” She hesitated. “But no one lives there.”
    “No,” Cordell said quietly. “No one lives there anymore. It needs loving hands—and laughter and songs filling its courtyards again.” She paused. “Would it suit you and yours?”
    Jenny stared at her.
    “Baron Padrick wrote to me and mine about a merchant captain who was looking for a safe harbor for his family’s ships ... and his family.” Cordell looked pointedly at Mihail, then at Ashk, who nodded. “
    Even in this part of Sylvalan, we’ve heard bits of things about these Black Coats. Enough to understand why you’d have cause to worry, and why you’d want another place to go if you need to run. Well, I’m a Crone now, and while I don’t expect to be journeying with the Gatherer for some years yet”—she shot an amused and knowing look at Morag—“I’d feel easier if there was another of the Mother’s Daughters here who felt a kinship with the sea.”
    “Aren’t there any other witches around here?” Jenny asked cautiously.
    “There are. But not every witch whose branch is water feels comfortable with the moods of the sea.
    There are those who are more attuned to the rivers and streams, to the ponds and the lakes. Not that they can’t command water wherever it is, but we all follow our hearts to the right places. My own daughter, like my mother, may the Great Mother hold them both gently, had the gift of earth, and she was happy in the Old Place where she lived. But the brooks and streams ... I had little to offer them, nor did they have what I needed. For me, it was the sea. I think it’s much the same with you.”
    Jenny nodded.
    “So. If you want it, you have a place to live and a safe harbor for your ships.” Cordell hesitated, actually seemed uncomfortable for a moment. “The only question is, will you be comfortable with your neighbors?
    ”
    Morag felt the tension rise again. But not from Jenny or Mihail. It was the driver who tensed.
    “I am not the only witch in my family,” Jenny said slowly. “I think the question is whether or not our new neighbors could accept a family like ours.”

    “No,” Cordell said in an odd voice. “That’s not the question.”
    The crowd was still at the harbor, waiting. When they heard the cart, they turned to face it.
    A jolt went through Morag, and she understood why the village looked different. Some of the villagers still looked human. But more—many more now that they’d dropped the glamour—had the pointed ears and feral quality of the Fae that gave even a plain face a kind of beauty.
    “They’re Fae,” Mihail whispered.
    Morag looked at Ashk, who returned the look calmly.
    She knew all along. Of course she knew. Just as she knew that if the people here had perceived Mihail and his ship as a threat, he and his people would have never left the harbor alive.
    “Yes,” Cordell said quietly. “They are Fae. The Old Place is Ronat Isle, the largest island, and many make their home there—as I do. But there have been humans and Fae who have made this harbor their home for generations. Over time, they built a village together. And they made families together until it’s impossible to say, ‘This family is Fae, and this one is human.’ We don’t bother with such things here. This is our home, and we are its people. The question is, is a Daughter of the House of Gaian willing to walk among them as friend and neighbor?”
    Jenny stared at the villagers. They stared back at her. She glanced at Mihail, but he lowered his eyes and kept his expression carefully neutral. Even the boys knew enough to keep silent.
    It was Jenny’s decision. Morag knew that as well as Mihail and the villagers did. They wanted her and her affinity to the sea, but they would welcome any family she brought with