The Pillars Of The World

and girl she’d pulled out of the fog were standing beside him.
    There were no other horses.
    She burst into the stables. A handful of horses were saddled. “ What have you been doing ?”
    The men eyed her with dislike.
    “What’s the hurry?” one of them said. “Is the world about to end?”
    “Yes,” Morag snapped. “It is.”
    Their mouths fell open. One rushed outside, the others followed.
    Morag slapped the rump of the first saddled horse. “Outside. Go!” Not waiting to see if the horse obeyed, she ran to the rest of the stalls, flinging the doors open, and shouting, “Outside! Go!”
    At the far end of the stable, a horse trumpeted a challenge.
    She ran to that stall, looked inside.
    The stallion pawed the straw. It was a sun stallion, called that because of the golden hide and white mane and tail.
    “We have to get down the road through the Veil before it’s too late,” Morag said. She flung the door open and stepped aside.
    The stallion charged past her. The rest of the horses followed him.
    She ran outside. The Clan house had completely disappeared. A few of the Fae were running toward the stables, but not many.
    The girl was now mounted on the dark horse behind her little sister. The boy was mounted on another horse. Morphia was helping a couple more children mount the horses that were saddled. The grooms were simply staring at the fog in disbelief.
    Morag turned her back on the Clan house. She had tried to talk to the elders, had tried to talk to anyone who would listen. Now there was nothing more to say—and no time to do anything but save what she could.
    She went to the dark horse, pressed one hand against his cheek.
    “I want you to go down the road through the Veil. I want you to lead the others. You know the way better than the rest of them. Take them down to the human world.”

    He laid his ears back, planted his feet.
    “Lead the way,” she said. “I’ll follow behind you. I promise.”
    She felt him relax a little. And she knew that, if he reached the human world and she didn’t appear quickly, he would go back up the road to find her. She just hoped, if she couldn’t keep her promise, the road would close fast enough to keep him in the human world.
    “Go,” she whispered, stepping aside.
    He moved out at a fast walk. She wanted to shout at him to hurry, but the only horse that followed him was the one the boy was riding.
    “Go!” she shouted.
    The horses milled around until the sun stallion nipped one and sent it trotting after the dark horse. He nipped another, sending it on its way.
    While the stallion got his mares and the geldings moving, Morag and Morphia helped anyone they could to mount the remaining horses. Mostly it was children too young or frightened to argue. The adults wouldn’t listen to her.
    Morag grabbed one of the younger grooms while Morphia lifted a small boy onto a mare’s bare back.
    “He’s too small to ride by himself,” Morag said. “Get up behind him and take him down the road through the Veil.”
    The groom looked at her with terrified eyes. “I’ve never been down the road. I don’t know how.”
    “The dark horse knows the way. The others will follow. Now go!”
    He mounted behind the boy and sent the horse galloping after the others.
    The only horse left was the sun stallion. He took a step toward them.
    Morag shook her head. She and Morphia changed shape at the same time.
    The stallion whirled, racing after the last horse while a raven and an owl flew above him.
    As they reached the beginning of the road, she heard shouts behind them, frightened cries. Too late, the Fae were finally understanding the danger and were trying to flee.
    Great Mother, let my wings fly straight and true.
    She could barely see the road, and what she could see had shrunk to a narrow corridor. One misplaced hoof and someone would be lost.
    Morphia no longer flew beside her.
    “Morphia!” The word came out in a caw.
    An owl hooted behind her.
    When they reached the Veil, she couldn’t see anything, not even the sun stallion’s golden hide.
    She flew—and wondered if the road was still beneath her or if she had slipped to one side just enough that she would fly through this mist and fog forever.
    Somewhere ahead of her, a horse neighed again and again. She followed the sound.
    The mist thinned. She saw the sun stallion beneath her and a dark shape up ahead.
    Stay there , she thought fiercely. Stay there .
    The sun stallion disappeared.
    Another