The Pillars Of The World

among you, pretending to be human.”
    “Fae?” Felston paled. “Ahern is one of the Fae!”
    “Oh, yes,” Adolfo said. “I am certain your horse farmer is one of the Fae.”
    “Then what do we do?”
    “First we ride to Ridgeley to have a restorative glass of something potent and a light meal. Then we’ll take care of the witch before the Fae Lord decides to interfere.”
    “In that case, shouldn’t we go to Brightwood now?” Felston said.
    Adolfo shook his head. “There’s time. He’s Fae. No matter what he thinks, he won’t believe there’s really that much urgency. They never do.”
    Neall slipped out of the barn and joined Ahern.
    “Who were those men?” he asked.
    Ahern didn’t answer. He watched the lane long after the men had disappeared. Finally, “I think they were the Black Coats Morag told me about. The Inquisitors. The witch killers.”
    “Ari.” Neall spun around until he was staring in the direction of Brightwood.
    Ahern nodded grimly. “Yes. Ari.” He took a deep breath, let it out in an explosive huff. “She’ll be here soon with the horses. Then, young Neall, I think we need to discuss a change of plans.”
    Ari took the biscuits out of the oven. Bread would have been better, but there wasn’t time to bake bread today. Besides, the biscuits would be easier to carry.
    She’d have to ask Morag if there was a practical way to carry a bit of food when riding on horseback.
    And she needed to remember her canteens.
    Right now, she had to take the sun stallion and the mares over to Ahern’s.
    Giving the soup simmering on the back of the stove one last stir, she stepped to the kitchen doorway and pressed her hands against the frame. She felt the tingle of the warding spells.
    “Those who have been welcomed before are welcome again. As I will it, so mote it be.”
    The warding spells shifted, formed a new pattern. If Morag got back before she did, the warding spells would allow the Fae woman to enter the house. After all, what was the point of leaving the soup simmering if Morag couldn’t get inside to have something to eat?
    “Come on, Merle,” Ari called, stepping outside and closing the kitchen door.
    When the puppy bounced over to her, she picked him up and hugged him.
    “I hope you’re not so young that you’ll forget me in a few weeks’ time. And that’s all it will be. Then we’
    ll both have a new home. And you’ll have Neall to play with, too.”
    She put the puppy down and walked over to the sun stallion, patted his neck cautiously. “It’s time to go.”
    The stallion pawed the ground.
    “Come on, now. Come on. Ahern will look after you.”
    The sun stallion shook his head. When Ari walked away and kept going, he and his mares followed.
    Except the wounded mare. She remained in the meadow, near the spot where the witches of Brightwood had danced year after year.
    Ari let her stay. The mare was doing better, and it would be a shame to take her away before the magic in Brightwood had a chance to heal her.

    “I’ll let Ahern know she’s here,” Ari told Merle as they crossed the road and headed for Ahern’s farm. “
    He’ll keep an eye on her.” As she reached the top of the rise, she looked over her shoulder at the horses trailing behind them. “I wonder if a mother duck feels this way when all her ducklings waddle after her.”
    The image of a duck being followed by horses who thought they belonged to her made Ari smile. It was best to think of silly things today. It was best not to think at all.
    Lucian watched the canopy of leaves over his head play with the sunlight and shadows. This little spot in the garden was always a peaceful place, but today he found no peace there. He kept thinking about the version of “The Lover’s Lament” that Ari had sung on the Solstice.
    A song like that was more than folly; it was cruel. Yes, cruel, since it filled a young woman’s head with dreamy-eyed, unreasonable expectations. That wasn’t the way of the world. That wasn’t the way of men
    .
    Is it cruel ? something inside him asked. Are those expectations really so unreasonable ?
    Lucian shifted uneasily.
    Kindness? Courtesy? Well, those things weren’t so unreasonable for someone like Ari to want. And he’d already given her those. But respect? She was barely more than a girl. If a man showed her too much deference, she would never have the incentive to improve herself and become more interesting. After all, how much respect could any woman