The House Of Gaian

Daughter of the House of Gaian.”
    He swallowed whatever he’d been about to say and left her, signaling to his men to take up their own position.
    As she reached her horse, she heard Varden call her.
    “You don’t have to be here today,” she told him.
    ‘There aren’t many of my men who felt they could face this field again, but those of us who can . ..“
    Varden shook his head. ”We need to do this, Hunter. Now, there’s not many of us, so I thought we’d join Baron Liam’s men. Besides, fighting from the cover of the trees will be an advantage to our new warriors.“ He jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
    Ashk stared at the Small Folk being helped off the Fae horses.
    “They wanted to come. They’ve lost friends and family to the nighthunters, too. And they’ve assured me they’re wicked accurate with a sling.”
    She walked over and studied the grim-faced men and women who were no taller than the length of her arm. All of them carried slings and had a bag bulging with stones hanging from their belts.
    “All right,” she said. “You go with Varden and Baron Liam.
    Varden, tell Liam we’ll alternate between arrow and sling. When the enemy reaches the striking point, let the slings fire first. Once the first line drops, the bowmen will have a clear shot at the second line.“
    “Yes, Hunter.”
    Ashk hurried to her horse. How much time had passed? How far had the enemy advanced? Her eyes scanned the field. Gwynith and one other Lady of the Moon with a pack of shadow hounds was riding with her. The other two Ladies with their packs were with the Hunt coming up the road from the village.
    Her huntsmen were ready, the first waves of human companies were waiting for the order to move up the rise and descend into the field. Breanna and Falco had taken up position where she’d told them to. And Selena, dressed in white overdress and trousers, sat quietly on Mistrunner with Rhyann beside her, mounted on Fox.
    They’d refused to explain what they’d meant by “dreams and will,” but seeing the Sons and Daughters now gathered behind the Huntress, and remembering the Son who had asked her if she really wanted Wolfram made barren, she decided it was just as well they hadn’t told her what they intended to do after the Black Coats and the barons who followed them were driven into the tumble of stones.
    She felt the first gust of wind hit her back, watched men take a stagger-step to keep their balance, saw the trees bend with the force of it. And saw the first enemy arrows hit that wind and dance skyward, tumbling back the way they’d come like twigs driven by a storm.
    It was time.
    She unhooked her hunting horn from her belt, raised it to her lips, and sounded the call for the Wild Hunt.
    Lords of the Woods picked up the call, the notes from their horns flying on the wind. Finally she heard the call of a distant horn. After hooking her horn back on her belt, she nocked an arrow in her bow, and, using leg and knee commands, signaled her horse to canter up the rise.
    Adolfo kept his horse at a walk as he moved into the field. Excitement filled him as he watched the lines of men marching toward the rise. Hungry lust bit at him, making it hard not to grab one of the men marching past him and begin the feast. But he waited, knowing that soon he would be able to gorge on the spirits locked helplessly to their dead bodies. And once he had destroyed the witches, he would take some of the prettier women from the village and slake another kind of lust.
    Then he heard the horns. And something in him too primitive to listen to reason wanted to run, to hide, to get away from whatever was coming behind those horns.
    He wouldn’t run. Curse whatever shivered through him, he wouldn‘t run. But...
    Almost without thought, driven by something he could barely control, he cut between two companies of men and rode toward the tumble of stones.
    They came down the rise in terrifying silence. Silent horses, silent hounds. That was the way of the Wild Hunt. Only the horn gave the warning that the Fae were out riding to hunt.
    They came down the rise with their bows drawn, but the first line of men who froze when they caught sight of them fell before the first arrow was loosed, clutching their heads or throats, dropping weapons as stones shot from slings broke hands or wrists. The second line fell from arrows flying out from the trees.
    Then she was down amongst the enemy, letting her bow sing Death’s song, turning her