The House Of Gaian

at any moment.
    “Did the Fae do anything before now?” Rhyann countered.
    “No,” Aiden replied. “To our shame, we did not.”
    Rhyann brushed her hair back. “The wiccanfae did not ask for help, and the House of Gaian doesn’t usually interfere in the lives of others.”
    Aiden shifted uneasily. “The witches who died by the Black Coats’ hands didn’t ask for help because they didn’t know there was anyone they could ask.”
    Rhyann nodded. “They have forgotten much of who and what they are. Just as the Fae have forgotten who and what they are.”
    Ashk stiffened. “Meaning?”
    Rhyann gave her a considering look. “Do you not know the story of how the Fae came to be? It is an old story. Have your Grandmothers never told you?”
    Chills raced through Ashk. “No, I’ve never heard the story. Have you?” She looked at Lyrra, who shook her head.
    “Do you know the story?” Aiden asked, leaning forward. “Could you tell us?”
    “Do you really want to know?” Rhyann replied.
    “Why wouldn’t we?” Ashk wanted to throw another log on the fire, but she doubted it would ease the chill inside her.
    “Because you’re the Hunter,” Rhyann said gently.
    Ashk twisted around to stare at the witch. “Why would that make a difference? And how did you know?

    ”
    Rhyann smiled. “You said the Fae feared you and the Huntress. Since the Huntress is justice and will not harm those who do no harm, you must be the Hunter, the one who rules the Fae.”
    “I don’t rule the Fae. Not in the way you mean.”
    “Yes, you do. Because the Hunter was the oldest, the strongest, the first. And it was the Hunter’s love of a witch that created the Fae.
    Long ago, there was the Great Mother. She was earth and water. She was air and fire. Everything that lived depended on her for food and shelter, and while she was not always benevolent, she was generous with her bounty and the world thrived.
    But the animals and birds and creatures of the sea and stream were not the only ones who were nurtured by the Great Mother.
    There were people who lived in the long ridge of hills, and they had a gift of sensing the Mother in a way other creatures could not. They became Her vessels, drawing in the power of Her branches and breathing it out again. They became the Sons and Daughters of the House of Gaian.
    In that long ago time, there were also spirits in the woods. Small spirits... and powerful spirits.
    They had no shape of their own, so sometimes they slipped into a living thing to enjoy the feel of wind on leaves or water through gills or the warmth of the sun on a furred body. Many of the spirits remained in a small piece of the woods or in the meadows around it, needing the familiar.
    Others wandered the land, residing in a part of the woods for a season or two before moving on.
    One of those wanderers was a very powerful spirit, the oldest and strongest of them all. He did not need a host body in order to have form because he had the power to draw on the branches of the Great Mother to create a cloak of flesh. He needed to slip into a host body once in order to learn its shape, but after that, he could change at will. His favorite form was a stag, but he also walked the woods as a wolf or rode the air as a hawk. The other spirits quickly learned that when he walked as a stag, he was simply there to live among them. But when he appeared as hawk or wolf, he hunted — and when he hunted, he was feared .
    One day, he had wandered close to the long ridge of hills and caught unfamiliar scents on the wind. So he followed them, curious to see what kind of creature smelted that way.
    They walked on two legs and lived in strange stone burrows above the ground. Smoke rose from the burrows, a warning of fire, but he saw no fire that would be a danger to the woods. The ground was turned in a way he’d never seen before, and plants grew in even rows.
    For many days, safely hidden at the edge of the woods, he watched the creatures. Then one morning, just after dawn, he approached the turned earth and nibbled one of the plants. Pleased by the taste, he ate more, forgetting to be cautious — until he heard something running toward him and harsh sounds filled the air .
    The scent of female filled his nostrils and delighted him in a way he didn’t understand. What he did understand was the sounds she was making were like snarls and growls. The female was not pleased. When she picked up a stone and threw it at him, he bounded back