The Hob's Bargain

valley who found the wildlings fascinating rather than terrifying. Or at least in addition to terrifying , I thought, remembering yesterday’s ghosts and the earth guardian.
    â€œMerewich wonders if you can come up with any way to make the village more amiable to a celebration of the earth spirit. If you do, he’d like you to tell him, Koret, or Tolleck.” I turned to leave.
    â€œAren, I’m sorry,” he said suddenly.
    I knew what he was talking about, and it wasn’t the Green Man.
    I turned back to him. “The king is dead. The world in which you made your vows to him is dead. Leave Kith be.”
    â€œKith is dangerous. He knows it.”
    â€œAnd we need him!” I snapped. “Do you think the danger will be over when the raiders are gone? The hob doesn’t. He’s not nearly as worried about the raiders as he is about other things. Things like the hillgrim that attacked me. The wildlings are back, and most of them don’t like humans very well—if they ever did.”
    â€œLook, Aren, most of the bloodmages’ get commit suicide after a year or two. Kith’s lasted longer than any other. The berserkers understand—Kith understands—that they are dead already, it’s just a matter of time. If they’re lucky, they die in battle.”
    I left without saying another word.

NINE
    T he hob was waiting for me when I woke up the next evening. This time he was holding a mug of something steaming that smelled sweet and milky.
    â€œHere,” he said. “It’s a little chilly tonight. There’s a storm blowing in. I thought you might like something warm to start the night with.”
    I wiggled around until I could take it from him, then sipped it cautiously. Some kind of tea with honey, but the blend was nothing I’d ever tasted before.
    â€œThanks,” I said. He intimidated me a lot less than he had the night before, but I decided not to ask him why he was here tonight.
    â€œI’ve come to teach you,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’ve cleared it with Koret. Tomorrow he’ll need you, but tonight’s mine.”
    I rolled my eyes at his mock leer, and he laughed. I didn’t ask him what he was going to teach me. I should have—then I could have refused while I had a chance.

    â€œB UT I DON’T WANT TO TALK TO GHOSTS .”
    The manor garden was unkempt, but still recognizable as deliberate planting. I was all too aware of the burial ground on the other side of the garden’s stone wall.
    â€œIf you don’t learn how to use your abilities, you’ll be used by them,” he said. Hurrah, that sounded like fun . “Aren, you’ve got to learn to protect yourself. You can summon spirits, but by the same token you can be summoned by them.”
    â€œWhy you?” I asked nastily. It wasn’t his fault, and I knew it, but he was there. “You aren’t a speaker.” Whatever that was.
    â€œBecause there’s no one else,” he explained, though I could see him fight a smile. He seemed to get some sadistic enjoyment out of my whining. “On this side of the river, I can deal with ghosts if I have to. But I’m hoping you’ll be able to save yourself.”
    â€œHow reassuring,” I said witheringly.
    This time he did grin. “Come on, lass. Likely you won’t be summoning anyone you know. It won’t hurt to talk a bit with the dead. If you can convince them to go on, as you did the ones who came to you last night, you’ll be doing them a favor.”
    â€œGreat,” I said, shivering, though I wasn’t cold.
    Last night was a lot more frightening in memory than it seemed at the time. I was in no hurry to visit with more ghosts.
    I thought of a possible way out of it. “Hold up a minute. Didn’t you stop me from summoning the ghost of that poor skeleton?”
    â€œThere is a difference between summoning a soul back to its dead remains, and calling a ghost which is merely spirit.”
    â€œWhat’s the difference between soul and spirit?” I asked.
    â€œPeople like you and I are made of body, soul, and spirit. The body is the physical and is tied very tightly to time. Humans are very rooted in the body—it’s why there aren’t more mages among you. Soul is what determines who you are—stubborn, impatient…the qualities that make you different from Kith or Koret. It is where emotions