For a second, he thought his heart might stop.<\/p>\n
The Wild Hunt.<\/em><\/p>\n They had been in those stories that Aoife O\u2019Credne told all those years ago when he was still a boy, on those dark and fire-lit nights and the long winter days when he and his sister could do little but tuck in and listen.\u00a0 There had been thousands of them, drawn from the fabric of centuries of life and even more of legends and tales she\u2019d heard secondhand, passed along.\u00a0 They were the stories that Grey Miller had memorized, had written down, so that he could pass them along to his son after Aoife left.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t think that Grey had forgotten a single one, either.<\/p>\n Like he knew.\u00a0 Like he knew she was never going to stay.<\/em><\/p>\n It was one thing to go off chasing stories and legends because David had seen something.\u00a0 But now, sitting here, confronted with the Wild Hunt<\/em>, all the moisture from his mouth dried up and something inside of him coiled up, shrank back\u2014a primal fear, a soul-deep warning.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s heard of us,\u201d Miriam quipped.\u00a0 \u201cLook at his face.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t be that way, Miriam,\u201d Bastien said, his mirth fading.\u00a0 \u201cHe looks fit to run back out into that storm and I\u2019m the first to tell you, boy, that\u2019d be ill-advised.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI take it you\u2019ve heard the stories,\u201d Caleb said, his voice still gentle.\u00a0 \u201cI won\u2019t tell you that they\u2019re not true, but they\u2019re certainly a product of another time\u2014another age<\/em>.\u00a0 And not all<\/em> of it\u2019s true.\u00a0 There\u2019s quite a bit of exaggeration in some.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd not enough in others,\u201d Jakob observed, pouring another mug of tea, his manner relaxed, casual, but not lacking…something<\/em>.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t predatory, nothing like that, but\u2026<\/p>\n A readiness.\u00a0 An alertness.<\/em>\u00a0 Bryant\u2019s fingers tightened around the enameled metal of his mug, eyes fluttering shut for a few seconds as he tried to find his center, find calm.<\/p>\n Breathe.\u00a0 Just\u2014just breathe.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBut the stories\u2014\u201d he started, then stopped, his heart stumbling over itself.\u00a0 \u201c\u2014the stories always said that you were doomed to keep riding, always hunting.\u00a0 And\u2014and I thought you\u2019d faded from the world.\u00a0 That you were gone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Hunt never truly goes away,\u201d Miriam said.\u00a0 \u201cEither a gift or a curse, that.\u00a0 With everything in the last couple decades, the rules have gotten more flexible<\/em>, though, if they ever really were rules at all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRules, spellcraft, who knows,\u201d Ariel rumbled from where she was still dressing the deer.\u00a0 She held a haunch out toward the fire pit and Bastien heaved himself up, moving over to take it from her and mount it on a spit Bryant hadn\u2019t noticed.\u00a0 \u201cIt all got strange when the Otherworlds started cracking open and spilling back into the world.\u00a0 One wonders if the folk who spilled out are trapped here now, or not.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOr if those Otherworlds still exist,\u201d Caleb said, his voice almost too quiet to hear.\u00a0 For a second, his gaze flicked toward the barracks, then off toward the rest of the village.\u00a0 \u201cIf all we\u2019ve learned over these years is to be believed, they may well not.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell that\u2019s a cheerful thought that I\u2019m not nearly drunk enough to consider,\u201d Miriam said.\u00a0 \u201cIs that the current theory, then?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSomething that\u2019s been batted about, anyway,\u201d Caleb said, then shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNot our business until someone makes it our business.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that hasn\u2019t happened yet,\u201d Bastien said, starting to season the haunch.\u00a0 Bryant recognized the salt he sprinkled on it, but nothing else from the tins open on bricks of the fire pit.\u00a0 \u201cAnd may not be anything we ever quite need to know.\u00a0 The watch continues, the ride eases.\u00a0 Did you hear what Gilad came back to report?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnselm\u2019s already planning on sending out another group,\u201d Jakob said.\u00a0 \u201cSee if they can pick anything up.\u201d<\/p>\n Bryant\u2019s gaze bounced between them, his brow furrowing.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cProbably nothing for you to worry about,\u201d Miriam said, though the troubled look that crossed into her expression suggested that she was reconsidering the words even as they left her mouth.\u00a0 \u201cJust an increase in raiding.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat we haven\u2019t seen in more than a few years,\u201d Bastien muttered, glancing at Caleb.<\/p>\n The scarred man sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face.\u00a0 \u201cIt could be something\u2014or nothing.\u201d\u00a0 He turned a reassuring smile on Bryant.\u00a0 \u201cCould be bad luck.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Bryant said with a faintly furrowed brow.\u00a0 \u201cGuess so.\u00a0 We saw some on the roads on our way here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs that how your friend got hurt?\u201d\u00a0 Ariel asked.\u00a0 At the silence and the stares of her companions, her brow furrowed and she paused in her butchery.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u00a0 I heard everything from Paul when we were down in the ravines this morning.\u00a0 He was on watch.\u201d<\/p>\n For a second, Bryant\u2019s voice lodged in his throat, the images\u2014the memories\u2014flickering through his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo,\u201d he managed.\u00a0 \u201cNo, not unless raiders are big, coal-black things with wings and claws and glowing red eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n The group of Huntsmen went silent, exchanging looks.\u00a0 It was Jakob that spoke, his voice quiet.\u00a0 \u201cCamazotzi<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLike Thom and Marin\u2019s boy,\u201d Bastien said, his gaze settling on Caleb.\u00a0 \u201cThink Anselm knows?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cProbably,\u201d Caleb murmured.<\/p>\n Bryant picked up on the subtle shift to their mood and slowly set down his mug.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2014I\u2019m sorry if this comes off as rude, but this clearly means something to all of you that I\u2019m missing.\u201d<\/p>\n Bastien mustered a smile and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNot anything for you to worry about yet, lad.\u00a0 Maybe not even anything for us to worry about yet.\u201d<\/p>\n But there was something in all of their expressions\u2014especially Caleb\u2019s, especially Miriam\u2019s\u2014that said something different.\u00a0 It said something had changed and it wasn\u2019t good.<\/p>\n As he reached to pick up his mug again, Bryant decided he wasn\u2019t sure he actually wanted to know.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For a second, he thought his heart might stop. The Wild Hunt. They had been in those stories that Aoife O\u2019Credne told all those years ago when he was still a boy, on those dark and fire-lit nights and the … Continue reading