The House Of Gaian

and wild-flowers. Beyond the field, more woodland took over. The road cut through the woodland and the field, curving leisurely around the rise they stood on as it continued on its way to the village and the surrounding farms and estates.
    Almost in the center of the field was a tumbled pile of huge stones, as if a giant child had taken blocks of stone to play with, built them up, then knocked them down. There would be a warren of hiding places among those stones. An enemy entrenched there wouldn’t be attacked or driven out easily.
    She didn’t like those stones. She didn’t know why, but they made her hackles rise.
    Ashk shifted back to human form. Reluctantly, Selena did the same.
    “This is the place,” Ashk said quietly as she studied the land. “This is where we’ll stand and fight. The Black Coats will take cover among the trees to hide the strength of their army, but they won’t hide as well as they hope to. The woods will watch them. Birds will give warning. We’ll know when they arrive.
    We can hold this high ground, use it to cover our own movements. The village is behind us, and if we defend the road here, we can keep it protected. The wounded will be sent to the Old Place. It’s closer to the Mother’s Hills, and that will give our people a better chance of getting the wounded to safety if we’re forced back and have to choose another battleground.”
    Selena looked out at the grass and wildflowers. Looked away from the tumble of stones. “That’s what you see here? A battleground?”
    Ashk nodded. “It’s a good place to fight. As good as any I’ve seen today.”
    A shiver went through Selena. Not because there would be a fight, but because Ashk sounded so calm about it. Feeling unsettled, she asked, “What was that smell back there? The foul one?”
    “Nighthunters. I’ll have to talk to the witches, maybe even the baron, to find out how many we have to cleanse from the woods here.” Ashk continued to study the land. She paused for a long moment as her eyes focused on the stones, then went on. “We have to hunt them down. And I’ll have to find out if any of the Clans brought Fae who are Death’s Servants. We can bury the bodies of the dead, but their spirits will still be a feast that will draw the nighthunters, no matter what we do to stop them.”
    Selena swallowed the sick feeling rising from the pit of her stomach. “Feast?”
    Ashk looked at her. “Some of us will die here, Huntress. Many of us will die here. It’s not just flesh and blood that nighthunters devour. They feast on the ghosts, the spirits of the dead. So the spirits of our dead need to be taken to the Shadowed Veil as quickly as possible. To keep them safe. To let them go on to the Summerland.”
    “Mother’s mercy,” Selena whispered.
    “We’d better get back,” Ashk said, turning away from the field. “We need to put the time we have left to good use.”
    Selena followed Ashk down the rise. Changing back into shadow hounds, they loped to the field where they had left the horses.
    Many of us will die here.
    She’d known that. Of course she had. But it had remained unspoken when she and Breanna, Fiona, Nuala, and Elinore had discussed the best places to house the wounded and how to divide the people with healing skills among those places. None of them had mentioned Death’s Servants or the Shadowed Veil.
    And that is the difference between us , she thought as she and Ashk rode back to the Old Place. As the Huntress, she would be justice . .. and vengeance ... when it was needed. But the Hunter always saw the things that lived within Life’s shadows and wouldn’t ignore or deny them. As the Hunter, Ashk would be Death’s ally ... and Death’s weapon.
    Aiden resisted the urge to shift position again, but after his hands had curled hard enough to hurt on the top stones of the pasture wall, he tucked them under his arms. His fingertips were sore from the few minutes he’d taken to work with his harp before Ashk and Selena returned, and he was still very aware of how much he might have lost if it hadn’t been for the power of Rhyann’s gifts.
    But it wasn’t Ashk’s silence that made him edgy as they leaned against one of Baron Liam’s pasture walls. It was learning that there were nighthunters out there, somewhere, that made him yearn for solid walls and thick doors and shutters. He was grateful Liam had found room for them at his house. Several of the gentry had offered accommodations to