Blood Price

Chapter 1

Blodwyn galloped up to Branwyn's side, breathless with exertion but with a gaze so intense it made her sister shiver. "They're saying the hunt will begin any moment."

Branwyn swallowed and took a deep breath before looking toward the front again.

At first, nothing seemed different. It was a typical morning in the lands of the u'Dziki. Silvery icicles hung off the branches of skeletal trees, tinkling like wind chimes as a chill breeze blew by. The sun shone hard and clear, giving everything a cold, almost metallic beauty, much like the Goddess the u'Dziki worshipped.

Then, ahead of the foremost hunters, there was a shimmering in the air. Objects grew hazy and translucent on the path ahead until, like the parting of a veil, a window appeared into a moonlit night.

There lay the portal into mortal lands, their destination. A deep horn sounded and was answered. The huge black hounds were released from their pen by the kennelmaster, and they ran through first, howling balefully. A horse at the front reared up, so that even Blodwyn could see the fearsome antlered helm of the Huntmaster rising above the throng.

"May the mortal folk beware!" he called, his voice deep and clear as a bell. "The Wild Hunt rides tonight!"

With another blast on the horn, Ciardha t'Ysbryd sprang forward and galloped through the portal. The rest of the host followed with a ragged shout.

Branwyn couldn't have stopped her horse even if she wanted to, surrounded on all sides by thundering hooves. She gripped Arianmwyg tightly between her knees and held on to the reigns for dear life as the sudden change in temperature marked their passage through the veil and into another world.

Warm, wet air slapped Branwyn in the face, and her nose was assaulted by the scent of rain and growing things, like her mother's greenhouse on a massive scale. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust so that she could see how dim the stars were compared to those at home, but more importantly, the Hunt itself had undergone a radical transformation.

Everyone seemed suddenly... less solid. She looked down and realized she could see the ground rushing by beneath her, right through the back of her horse. Even her own body appeared as insubstantial as shadow, though physically, she felt unchanged. Surprised, she glanced over to where her sister had been.

Blodwyn was still there, but her white hair and silver eyes shone eerily in the moonlight. Every movement of the horse sent black eddies of smoke into the night, and the banners all around left trails of glowing mist. The hooves of the horses were like thunder and the horn was the clarion call of death. The baying of the hounds in the distance was the wolf pack of the underworld come to devour the souls of the wicked.

No wonder humans fear us, Branwyn thought, a stab of pity pricking her heart. But the thought passed quickly and was dismissed.

The mortals had driven her folk into the shadows long ago, though they were newcomers to this land. They had usurped the homeland of the Aos Si by trickery, and all u'Dziki children knew that if a mortal caught you alone, they wouldn't hesitate to kill you. After they tortured you with cold iron. The Wild Hunt was justice long overdue.

Conscience soothed by righteous anger, Branwyn scanned the swiftly passing countryside for signs of their quarry. She carried a bow and dagger, but she wasn't expected to do more than watch on her first Hunt. Still, her father would no doubt question her later about what she had learned. She wanted to at least be able to say she'd seen something important.

So far, however, not one mortal had been sighted. Most knew better now than to stray outside when the horn of the Wild Hunt sounded. Branwyn couldn't help but be relieved. Mortals might deserve their doom, but she wasn't too keen to be the deliverer of it.