The Hob's Bargain

for long—it’ll start to take victims.”
    I shook my head. “So what am I supposed to do with it?”
    â€œYou’ll have to decide that yourself.” Caefawn sat down on the ground, wrapping his tail around one of his ankles for a change.
    We waited in silence for a while, a peaceful silence. I could hear Soul’s Creek running behind me. A nightjar cried out.
    â€œTell me about names,” I said.
    â€œNames?” he asked.
    â€œMy gram always said the wildlings guarded their names, and I know Caefawn isn’t your name. You enjoyed it too much when you gave it to me.”
    He snickered. “I’ll tell you what it means sometime. Right. Names, then. Names have power.”
    â€œWhat power? Should I worry that everyone and their dog knows my name?”
    He shook his head. “You don’t have a name, not really. Birth names are weak things, tied to the body, not the soul. There aren’t many in your village who have real names. The priest does, and he knows enough to keep his real name secret. Real names are given in a ceremony with earth, air, fire, water, and magic. If someone knows your real name, it gives them power over you—an advantage. Focusing a spell on someone with their real name makes it harder to fight or unspell. If you knew the real name of the earth spirit, you could call him and he would have to come.”
    â€œIf real names are so dangerous, why would anyone want one?” I asked.
    He laughed. “Real names add power to your magic as well. When you know enough about your magic to know what you are choosing, you can decide if you want a real name and I will help gift you with one.”
    â€œHmm.” I considered what he said, shifting against my tree because my shoulder was going numb. “What did you say I should do with the fetch if she comes?”
    â€œAnything you want to,” replied a low feminine voice in sultry tones.
    I turned, but it was too dark under the trees to see anything more than a shadow. The voice sounded familiar. Knowing what little I did about fetches, I would have bet that its voice sounded just like mine—though I don’t think I’d ever sounded quite so sultry. There was an old saying, “If you ever meet your fetch, if you don’t die today, you’ll die the next.”
    I felt outward with the sight . At some point in our excursions, I’d discovered that the sight and this spirit-speaking were very close. It was the sight that allowed me to see the spirits when even the hob couldn’t. Calling and seeing were just two sides of the same thing, like talking and listening. Not that I was good at controlling either one, but I was getting there.
    A woman dressed in boy’s clothing walked out from the shadows of the trees where I’d been watching. Her face was strong, though not pretty. Her dark hair was drawn untidily back into a thick braid. I’d thought it might be like looking into a mirror, but it wasn’t. I’d thought it might be like looking at Caulem animated by the shaper, but it wasn’t like that either. She was a stranger; if I hadn’t known she was a fetch, I wouldn’t have noticed she looked like me.
    â€œWhat do you see?” I asked Caefawn.
    He shrugged with his ever-present grin, though his eyes were wary. “Nothing, but I heard it speak.”
    â€œLeave this valley,” I said, turning back to the woman.
    â€œHe brings you here to me,” she purred. I never purr, at least not in public. I began to feel a little indignant, but she continued. “So kind of him. He never told you what happens to a human who meets their fetch, did he?”
    A few days ago, I would have believed her. Believed the mere sight of her would kill me. But I trusted Caefawn. He wouldn’t have brought me here if death was the only thing to win.
    â€œI’ve heard the stories,” I agreed mildly. “But you cannot harm me, a speaker.” The look on her face told me that what I said was true, and that she wasn’t happy I said it. Me, I was happy. I’d hoped that, as with the ghosts, my magic would serve to protect me.
    â€œNot if I don’t believe you can hurt me,” I continued, watching her face closely to see if I was right. I was.
    â€œWe don’t believe in you anymore,” I said cheerfully. This one was as easy as the noeglins had been. “If someone meets you and talks with you, when