The House Of Gaian

whirling of wind and earth, could Breanna create something larger, something more destructive? If she needed to protect her family, would she create a funnel of earth and air that could be used as a weapon?
    Would he have used the fire at his command to burn men as he’d burned the nighthunters? Yes, he would have. He didn’t like knowing that about himself, especially after seeing the bodies that had been caught in that rage of wind and fire, and understood now why the creed to do no harm was constantly reinforced every time Breanna or Nuala gave him another lesson hi using and controlling the power that lived inside him.
    “Liam? Where have you gone?”
    Liam looked at Donovan and shook his head. A knock on the study door saved him from a discussion he didn’t want to have.
    Varden walked in, and said bluntly, “We need to talk.”
    Before he could say anything more, two Fae led a prisoner into the room.
    Liam studied the man dressed in the homespun tunic and trousers that were commonly worn by farmers.
    A pleasant-looking man in his mid-twenties, who appeared more relieved than fearful.
    “Sit down,” Liam said, indicating the chair in front of the desk.
    “Yes, sir,” the man said. “Thank you, sir.”
    He’d never dealt with prisoners before, but it baffled him that the man was acting more like a tenant farmer talking to his landlord than a man who’d just been captured in battle.
    “You do understand that you’re a prisoner,” Liam said.
    “Yes, sir, and grateful to be so.”
    “Why?”
    The man shifted in the chair. “You stand against the eastern barons.” Not quite a statement; more a request for confirmation.
    Liam nodded. “I stand against everything the Inquisitors brought to our land—and I stand against any baron who supports them.”
    The man nodded. “That’s why the lads and I were grateful for the chance to surrender. We didn’t want to fight you. The Black Coat kept stirring up the men by saying you were a servant of the Evil One and had to be destroyed to keep our homes and families safe.” Bitterness filled his face. “We’ve seen what the baron and the Black Coats did to our families, and if that’s keeping them safe—” He swallowed hard.
    “If that’s how you feel, why did you come to fight at all?” Donovan asked.
    “No choice. Any man who refused was condemned on the spot and hung for being ensnared by the Evil One. A man isn’t much good to his family once he’s dead. And it wouldn’t have done any good to try to slip away at night because the rest of the army is just a few days behind us, and the Black Coat said the Witch’s Hammer himself is leading them.”
    “If that’s true, why did your troops attack us now?” Liam asked.
    The man shrugged. “Don’t know. They weren’t for telling us much. But the lads and I talked it over last night and decided that if you were against the Black Coats you had to be a good man, and it wasn’t right to be fighting against you. So we decided we wouldn’t raise a hand against your people and we’d surrender as quick as we could.” He shuddered. “Nobody expected that lady witch to ...” His voice trailed off.
    Liam rubbed his forehead, trying to soothe the headache building behind his eyes. “I’ve never had prisoners before. I’m not sure what to do with you.”
    The man leaned forward. “There’s work to be done, isn’t there? Your people can’t do all the work and get ready for the fight.”
    Liam frowned. “You want to work for me?”
    “We’re farmers, most of us. We can chop wood, take care of livestock. Baron ... Baron, you have to win. You have to. You can’t give us back what our baron and the Black Coats took from us, but we want Sylvalan to be what it used to be. We don’t want to be afraid of what might happen to our wives or our sisters or our mothers anytime a guard rides by. We don’t want to be afraid anymore. If you win, you can force the barons to change things back to the way they were before the Black Coats came.”
    “I’ll think about it,” Liam said. “That’s all for now.”
    The man nodded and walked to the door, the Fae guards behind him. When he reached the door, he looked back. “Baron? We didn’t raise a hand against your people. But if you give us back our weapons, we’ll fight alongside them when the Witch’s Hammer comes.”

    The door closed behind the prisoner and guards. Liam leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
    “I’ll send out