Tir Alainn - The House Of Gaian - Tir Alainn - The House of Gaian Part 74
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Tir Alainn - The House of Gaian Part 74

Minstrel stopped so suddenly, Aiden wobbled in the saddle before regaining

his balance. The horse's attention was focused on the fields.Reaching down to give the horse a reassuring pat, he felt the muscles quivering beneath his hand. Alarmed, he strained to see if there was anything out there in the dark. Nothing. But something was spooking Minstrel.

Then he thought he heard a muffled cry of pain. Was someone in the field?

He looked back toward the grave and saw two of the huntsmen moving toward the brook, their attention focused on the field as well.

Horses galloping away. Not Fae then. He wouldn't have heard Fae horses.

Humans who had lost their way in the dark and realized where they were when they saw the glow of moonlight around Nuala's grave? Possible. But Minstrel still trembled under his hand, and his own skin was starting to crawl.

"Come on, boy," he whispered. "Let's get away from here."

Wide awake now, he let the horse run. He didn't want to be out in the dark.

He didn't want to be near that field.

When he reached Liam's house and led Minstrel into the stable, Arthur

sleepily offered to bed down the dark horse. Accepting the offer, Aiden gave Minstrel a farewell pat and hurried to the house. It was locked at night now, but guards kept watch at the front windows, so the door was open for him as soon as he reached it.

He rushed up the stairs, then hesitated in front of Liam's bedroom door. Had he spooked himself over something that had a simple explanation because he wasn't easy about being out at night anymore? But that didn't explain Minstrel or the huntsmen who had also heard or sensed something. So he knocked on the door, grateful he didn't have to rouse the whole house in order to wake Liam.

Liam opened the door partway and raked a hand through his hair. "What is

it?" he asked, his voice sleep-roughened.

"We have to talk," Aiden said, keeping his voice low. "Ashk and Selena, too."

Liam stared at him, then seemed to really wake up. "I'll join you in a

minute."

Nodding, Aiden hurried to the other rooms. Selena was harder to rouse, but Ashk was still dressed, which meant she hadn't even tried to get any sleep yet.

They gathered in the hallway outside Ashk's door. As soon as Liam joined them, Aiden told them what he could. When he'd finished, the others said nothing.

Finally, Ashk shook her head. "Are you certain the huntsmen were aware of something out in the field?"

"I saw two of them moving toward the brook. Since we were all looking at

the same field, I'm assuming they sensed something," Aiden replied.

"Then they'll warn the others when the watch changes. I'll go out and take a look around."

"You can't go out there in the dark," Selena protested.

"Shadow hounds hunt in the dark," Ashk replied quietly.

"Then I'll go with you."

Before he or Liam could argue, another voice said, "No," sharply enough to

silence all of them.

They turned to find Morphia, pale and shaking, walking toward them.

"You can't go out tonight," she said.

"Morphia-" Ashk began.

"You can't." Morphia closed her eyes. "Dreams. Blood in the water... and

blood-soaked fur. And ... more." When she opened her eyes, they were glazed with fear. "We can't lose either of you. Something's coming.

Something terrible. And something is already here. If you go out tonight, we'll lose you... and then we'll lose so much more. Please. Don't go."

Silence.

Finally, Ashk said, "All right. We'll go out at first light." She brushed a hand lightly down Morphia's arm. "Go back to bed. Try to get some rest."

They watched Morphia go back to her room. Waited until the door softly

closed.

"I don't want you to go out either," Liam said slowly, "but it is just a dream."Ashk looked at him. "Liam, do you want to tell the Sleep Sister it's just a dream?"

After a brief hesitation, Liam shook his head.

"Then let's get what rest we can. It looks like we'll be hunting in the

morning."

Adolfo took a long sip of wine. The guard captain's uneasiness didn't please him, but he would hear the man out before deciding what discipline was required. "Well?"

"The guards managed to get deep into Baron Liam's estate, almost to the

water that divides his land and the Old Place."

"But they didn't get to the Old Place?"

The guard captain shook his head. "They didn't dare move closer. They said

there was a strange light. Not torches or a campfire. They said it looked like a circle of moonlight rising up from the ground. And there were men guarding the place. Then..." He hesitated. "One of the creatures roused sooner than expected, bit the guard on the forearm, and escaped. The sounds alerted the guards on the other side of the water."

"What happened to the other four creatures?" Adolfo asked quietly.

"They were released in the field. The guards rode away. They're certain the creatures weren't seen."

Adolfo thought this over and finally nodded. "They are close enough, and

when they wake, the fresh prey within sight will keep them close to the water. That is adequate. Tomorrow we will attack. We'll set our catapults on the low rise beyond the field with the tumbled stones and fire on them as the enemy moves to meet us."

"As you will." The guard captain turned to leave the tent. He stopped and turned back. "Master Adolfo, the guard who was bitten ... In the time it took to return to camp, the flesh around the wound turned putrid and the rot is spreading. The physicians don't know how to stop it. I wondered . .."

"Tell the physicians to take the arm."

The guard captain tensed. "But the bite itself wasn't that serious!"

"There is nothing that can be done. He can lose an arm or lose his life."

Adolfo smiled horribly. "And what is an arm compared to crushing this enemy once and for all?"

Chapter 47.

waning moon Ashk stepped out of Liam's house, annoyed with herself because she'd slept past first light. As Aiden had pointed out, the sun was barely up, but she couldn't shake the dream she'd had last night that she'd tried to catch something fragile and it had slipped through her fingers and shattered all around her, couldn't shake the feeling that this small delay would make a difference ... somehow.

"Ashk?"

She turned to look at Selena and almost smiled. The Huntress was dressed in soft gray trousers and a short-sleeved tunic. The tunic had been done up hastily, revealing the white camisole she wore beneath it. Not practical garb