The House Of Gaian

the Clan house itself, but it had swept through the woods around the shining road so fast, the Small Folk who lived in that part of Bretonwood had had no chance to escape. Some of the Fae were missing, but the Clan tried to remain hopeful that their kin had been able to outrun the fire and were taking shelter elsewhere until morning. Since Death no longer tugged at her, she hoped they were right.
    The cottage was dark except for the kitchen. When she saw light flicker in the barn, her heart bumped against her chest. No. Too steady to be uncontained fire. A lamp most likely.
    Then Glenn stepped out of the cottage, a pitcher in his hand. “Lady Morag?”
    “How are you, Glenn? Is everything all right here?” Morag grabbed at the saddle as she felt herself slip sideways.
    “I’m fine. We’re all fine. Baron Padrick had a carriage brought over and took Ari, Neall, and Merle back to his house. Said he wanted his physician and the midwife—”
    “Physician? Midwife?”
    Glenn raised his hand in a placating gesture. “Neall’s got that burn on his hip which I think is paining him more than he’ll admit, and he and Padrick both wanted Ari looked over to make sure she and the babe came to no harm because of— Well, because. And the baron said they’d get no rest with the smell of smoke and—” He shifted uneasily as he glanced at the meadow. “Ari doesn’t need to see that. The baron will send men over in the morning to take care of things.”
    Morag lifted her chin toward the barn. “Something wrong with the animals?”
    “No,” Glenn said quickly. “It’s just... well... some of the Small Folk showed up. Didn’t have anywhere to go for shelter. Too dangerous to try traveling any distance in the woods tonight. Wouldn’t stay in the cottage for anything, but they were glad of the offer of a couple of stalls in the barn. Forrester came back with some blankets and a small keg of ale. Brought some bread and cheese, too, to have with the day soup Ari had simmering on the stove. So they’re snug enough for the night.”
    She wanted bread and soup, too—and enough ale to dull the memories of the bodies she’d seen.
    “Will you be staying, Morag? There’s plenty of soup left.”
    With regret, Morag shook her head. “I’ll go on to Padrick’s house.”
    Glenn nodded. “You tell Ari not to worry. Plenty of neighbors have stopped by to say they’d be back in the morning to air out the cottage and put things to right.”
    Morag lifted a hand in farewell, then signaled the dark horse to move on. Halfway to Padrick’s house, she wondered why she hadn’t stayed at the cottage. She was almost blind with exhaustion and the dark horse wasn’t in any better condition.
    She needed to see Ari. That’s why. She needed the assurance that Neall would recover. She needed to tell Merle he was a wonderful shadow hound. She needed her family.
    So she rode on until her dark horse snorted in surprise and a hand closed over her arm. Startled, she tried to pull away—and found herself staring into Padrick’s grim face.
    “I thought you wouldn’t have sense to stay at the cottage once you got done gathering,” he said, exasperation making his voice rough. He released her arm and signaled his horse to walk on. “The two of you staggering down the road, asleep on your feet—”
    “I’m not on my feet,” Morag protested.
    “And your horse is barely staying on his. Damn fool of a woman.”
    “Who’s a fool?”
    “You. Ari. All of you. You’re all too stubborn to know when you need to stop, when you’ve done all you can—more than you can. No, you’ll just keep pushing until your brain shuts down or your body quits.”
    Stung, Morag made an effort to sit up straighter in the saddle. “You can’t speak to me that way.”
    “I can and I will, just as I’d speak that way to Ari or Caitlin if they were being too stubborn to show some sense. Ashk, too, for that matter—although she’d change into her other form long enough to nip me for it.”
    Wish I could do that , Morag thought sourly.
    “Damn fool of a woman,” Padrick muttered. “She was trying to ground the whole fire. Did you realize that? Not just the meadow. Not just keeping that stunted excuse of a man from burning her home down around her or killing the man she loves. No, she was trying to hold the whole thing back.”
    Alarmed that Ari would even think of trying to do that much, Padrick’s tone nevertheless compelled her to defend the