Tir Alainn - The House Of Gaian - Tir Alainn - The House of Gaian Part 24
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Tir Alainn - The House of Gaian Part 24

Alainn."

"Then you should leave."

Lucian stared at her until her control frayed to the breaking point.

"I am Fae," Selena said, "and I am a Daughter of the House of Gaian. So

that would make me one of the wiccanfae. But if I am wiccanfae, Lord of Fire, what did you think you are?""What?"

"Fire is a branch of the Great Mother. It isn't a Fae gift. The only way you

could command fire is if you're a descendant of at least one person who was from the House of Gaian."

"You lie!" Lucian shouted. "I. Am. Fae!""Wiccanfae," Selena shouted back. "You can't be pure Fae and have the power you have. No Lord of Fire can have that power and be anything butwiccanfae. What did you think you were?" She shook her head and turned enough to look at Gwynith, feeling a pang of regret that she couldn't ease into the truth as she'd intended when she'd asked the Ladies of the Moon, the bards, and storytellers to gather. "What did you think you were?"

Gwynith stared at her.

Selena pointed a finger at Gwynith. "Earth." She pointed to the other Ladies of the Moon. "Water. Water. Air. Air. Earth. Water. Air." She looked at

Gwynith again. "Did you think I couldn't feel what branch anchors you?

That I wouldn't be able to tell?"

"You're bluffing," Lucian snarled. "You're just trying to justify taking

Dianna's place."

She turned back to face him. "I don't have to justify anything, Lightbringer. Least of all to you."He raised his hand. "You need to learn who you're dealing with.""I'm connected to the Mother in ways you will never be. So don't play fire games with me unless you want to see Tir Alainn burn."

Lucian paled, but his eyes still flashed with temper. "You're not in your world anymore. There's nothing you can do in Tir Alainn.""Really?"She flung out one hand, giving earth the temper building inside her.A moment later, a clap of thunder boomed overhead. The ground shook. The Clan house shook. Someone screamed.

The land ripped apart, zigzagging as if following a lightning bolt.

Selena poured more of her power into the land, holding it now, giving it

strength to fight against the first lash of power she'd flung out.

The rip continued, speeding through the land, becoming narrower and narrower until it ended as a crack between Lucian's and Selena's feet.

It had happened, and ended, so quickly, the Fae hadn't had time to get up

from the table, let alone run.

"That is what I can do in Tir Alainn, Lightbringer," Selena said quietly.

His arrogance was gone. Standing in front of her was a shaking, terrified

man.

"You bards and storytellers," Selena said, not taking her eyes off Lucian.

"You Ladies of the Moon. Listen carefiilly. The House of Gaian made Tir Alainn out of dreams and will. It is our power that made the shining roads to anchor this place to the world and keep it alive. What we gave we can take back. Or destroy. I have no wish to harm those who have done no harm, but I will not leave an enemy at my back when all of Sylvalan is at risk. So I will give the Fae this choice: The rest of Sylvalan is going to war against the Inquisitors and the barons they control. You will either fight with us, and earn your place in the world, or you will stay here."

Lucian brushed the sleeve of his coat with a shaking hand. "At least you're

being sensible about this."

"You misunderstand, Lightbringer." Selena waited until he looked at her. "If you choose to stay in Tir Alainn, then here is where you will stay. Forever.

We will close the shining roads. Oh, we won't destroy them as the Black Coats did when they slaughtered the witches. We will simply turn the shining roads into ropes. They will still anchor your Fair Land ... but there isn't any one of you who will be able to get down that rope to the human world. You will have your Tir Alainn-and that is all you will have.

Forever."

She looked back at the other Fae, sitting pale and silent, too frightened now to dare speak. "Send that message to all the Clans, and send it swiftly. You have until the full moon to decide. If you do not decide then, we will decide for you."

"D-do no harm," Lucian stammered. "That's your creed. We're the Fae, the

Mother's Children. You can't harm us."

At that moment, he looked more like a terrified child desperately seeking reassurance than a grown man.

"Please, take her. Please."

Cold, cold eyes.

"My pets will tear her flesh and drink her blood.... And then they will devour

her soul."

"Lightbringer," Selena said with terrible gentleness, "anyone who makes the mistake of trying to use our creed as a weapon against us does not understand the House of Gaian... or the ones who live in the Mother's Hills."

As she walked back into the Clan house to pack her saddlebags, she heard someone hurrying to catch up to her.

"Lady," Gwynith said shakily. "Huntress? Oh, Selena, please listen!"

Selena stopped and waited. "Come up to my room. We can talk while I

pack."

Gwynith managed to keep silent until they'd reached Selena's room and the door was closed. Then the words spilled out."Selena ... Lady ... if some of the Clans refuse to help, you won't punish all of the Fae, will you? You won't close all of Tir Alainn away from the world, will you?"

Selena removed her saddlebags from the wardrobe, walked around Gwynith, and put them on the bed. "You said you don't live in Tir Alainn. Why would it matter?"

"I don't live there. Most of the Clan only goes there a few days each season to rest. But our elders live there. The weather is milder and the work is easier. Don't they deserve some ease in their autumn years? And ... and anyone in the Clan who is seriously ill or injured is taken to Tir Alainn to heal. If you close off all the Clan territories, our elders will be alone."

Selena retrieved her clothes from the wardrobe, folded them carefully, and

filled one saddlebag. "Do the witches ever go to Tir Alainn?"

Gwynith linked her fingers and twisted them so hard Selena expected to hear a bone snap at any second.

"Sometimes," Gwynith said cautiously. "They need to rest from the labors of the world, too. And one time, when my cousin's mother got lung fever during a bad winter, she stayed at the Clan house in Tir Alainn for a month to make sure she had recovered. The Clan matriarchs invite her to spend a turn of the moon with them in Tir Alainn every winter to help her stay strong and healthy."

And that kindness is why your piece of Tir Alainn remains strong and healthy. A witch's roots are in the real world. She would draw in the strength from the Mother's branches and breathe it out again. As Tir Alainn gives her the peace to renew body and heart, she renews Tir Alainn.

Selena walked around Gwynith again to reach the dressing table. She could have asked Gwynith to move, since the woman had chosen to stand in the one spot in the room that put her in the way no matter what Selena was trying to reach, but Gwynith was so distressed right now, even a simple request might bring on a collapse.

"You said the western Clans are willing to defend Sylvalan?" Selena asked as she began packing her toiletries in the other saddlebag.

"They were gathering at the Hunter's command when I left to come to this Old Place."

The Hunter. Did the Fae remember who the Hunter was, or were the Crones

in the Mother's Hills the only ones who still knew the old stories and passed

them down to be remembered?

"The Hunter is in the west?" Selena asked carefully. She went back to the dressing table for her comb and brush. She stayed there, moving her hand idly to look occupied while she watched Gwynith in the mirror.

'The Hunter is traveling east," Gwynith said.

"With Lady Ashk?"

A hesitation. Too long a hesitation.

Selena liked Gwynith, but how much she trusted her now depended on this

answer.

"Lady Ashk is the Hunter," Gwynith said reluctantly. She glanced over, her eyes meeting Selena's in the mirror.

Selena sat on die dressing table stool and turned to face Gwynith. "The

Green Lord is a woman?""The Green Lady," Gwynith said, bristling.Quick to defend her, aren't you? Selena thought. And proud of her-and wary of her as well. As you should be.