The Pillars of the World by Anne Bishop

Author:Anne Bishop
Language: eng
Format: epub

* * *

Ari poured the last of the pale-tasting wine Lucian had brought, drank it down in two swallows, then sat on the bench. Hearing a soft whine coming from the open kitchen door, she said, “It’s all right. They’re gone now.”

Merle crept out of the cottage. He pressed himself against her leg, shivering.

Ari picked him up and set him on her lap.

“They don’t know anything about witches,” she told him. “If they did, they would have known their glamour magic wouldn’t hide them during the dance. They must all know each other, maybe they’re all from the same Clan, and yet they pretended Lucian was a stranger. I may be young, but I’m not blind.”

She laughed. There was a hint of bitterness in it. “Well, Dianna did tell me she had had dealings with the Fae. She’d just forgotten to mention that she was one herself. I wonder which one.” She rubbed her nose against Merle’s soft fur. “Perhaps that’s a question best left unanswered.” She studied the puppy’s coloring. “You’re a shadow hound, aren’t you? But your mother mated with a less-than-desirable male, and that made you worthless in their eyes. No wonder you’re so afraid of them. No wonder you can recognize them. But if you’re undesirable because you’re not a pure blood, what does that make me? I can’t even claim that much of their world. What do they want? I’m certain now they want something. But they’re keeping it hidden, just as they hide their real faces.”

Setting Merle down, she walked over to the chopping block.

“Since you were hiding, you didn’t see how often Falco looked at this chopping block and tried not to smile. I wonder if we’ll be getting any more rabbits after today.”

She walked over to the brazier and sat down. The kindling had burned quickly, but there were still a few hot embers. They never doused this fire. It always quietly burned out on its own. It had been a dry summer, so she would sit there for a while to make sure no puff of wind blew a spark into the meadow.

No, the Fae didn’t know about witches, didn’t understand the dance. Strong pockets and pools of magic would form over time. The cottage was one of them because that’s where she lived. But there were other places around Brightwood that drew magic to them, making it harder for Small Folk who didn’t live near one of those pockets or pools to keep their own magic balanced. And sometimes those pools became strong enough to trap a being who didn’t have much magic. So the dance drew all the magic that came from the Mother’s branches into one place so that it could flow through the witches and be sent out again to cover the Old Place.

It drew magic that came from the Mother’s branches. But no other kind of magic. So the Small Folk always appeared as bright spots of magic standing in a world that looked a little pale.

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