Shadows and Light

won’t be looking to be more than friendly and helpful—at least until their sisters or female cousins have a chance to find out if there’s a special man Jenny’s waiting to have join her.”
    “I’m not sure her brother felt so reassured by all the helpfulness.”
    “She’s a witch, and she can command the sea. No one in that village is going to overstep any boundaries Jenny chooses to set.” Ashk hesitated. “What about Mihail?”
    “I saw no shadows on his face this morning, nor any on the faces of his crew. That doesn’t mean Death isn’t waiting for him somewhere along the journey, only that it wasn’t close.”
    Ashk nodded. “Then we’ll hope for an easy journey and a quick return to safe harbor. But I could see the worry in his eyes.”
    “Not for himself,” Morag said quietly. “For Jenny. It isn’t easy to leave a sister when all you can do is trust that she’ll remain safe and well—especially when you know it’s quite possible that she’ll be neither.”
    Ashk didn’t reply. Wasn’t certain what she could say. The ale last night had loosened Morag’s tongue enough that she’d talked about her sister, Morphia. It hadn’t taken much effort for Ashk to hear what wasn’t being said: Morag’s gift had shown long before she’d actually become the Gatherer, and her Clan, without doing it intentionally, had made her keenly aware that she was an outsider, someone whose gift made the rest of them uncomfortable. Everyone except Morphia.

    An outsider among her own. Ashk understood how that felt. She’d been one in her own Clan, which is why her grandfather had brought her to Bretonwood. His home Clan, before he’d left to live with his mate’s Clan as was the Fae custom when a man and woman made a pledge to each other that was meant to last more than a season.
    An outsider among her own, she’d found family in Neall’s parents, Nora and Kief, and, later, with Padrick and the children they’d made together. She hoped Morag would find the same with Ari and Neall... and with her. She hadn’t realized how much she and Morag had in common. Perhaps getting a little drunk and sentimental together was a fine step toward becoming good friends.
    Words have shadows, too, Ashk thought. They can hide as much as they reveal. Perhaps the first step in becoming good friends is mine to take, to tell her what I think she already senses but doesn
    ‘t yet understand. She saw the curve in the road. They had almost reached the place where this road joined the road that led to Bretonwood. Perhaps this was a good time to say the words that would bring some things into the light.
    “Morag—”
    Ashk suddenly reined in at the same moment Morag did, both of them listening, searching.
    “Something’s wrong,” Ashk said softly. “There’s something here that doesn’t belong.”
    “Death is whispering,” Morag said just as softly. “But I’m not being summoned in any particular direction.
    ”
    Ashk hesitated for a moment, torn between loyalties. If Padrick were home, he would take care of his people and she would take care of hers. She could ride to the manor house, but if there was trouble, what could she do there? Wasn’t that the very reason Padrick had insisted the children stay with her in the Clan house?
    “Let’s go home,” she said grimly.
    The two Fae horses surged forward and galloped down the road, stride for stride. A short time later, they reached the Clan house. Seeing the way the Fae dropped whatever they were working on and hurried toward her and Morag, she knew her abrupt return had been the only disturbance. But there was something out there that didn’t belong.
    She dismounted, told her horse to walk and cool down. Heard Morag tell the dark horse the same thing.
    “Has there been any trouble here?” she asked.
    The Fae who had gathered around her shook their heads.
    “Well,” one of the men said, “that groom from the manor house rode by this morning. Seems that one of Forrester’s apprentices went missing yesterday. Forrester thought the boy might have met up with a couple of our lads and abandoned his duties in order to go fishing or have a bit of fun. When the boy hadn’t returned at dusk, Forrester started to go out to look for him, but he said there was something about the feel of the woods that made him uneasy about sending men out when the light was going. The groom showed up here soon after first light to see if the boy had taken shelter with us or with