In truth, there wasn't much for Emma to show me in her "court." The manor, though old and worn down, was clean and comfortably furnished. It had little in the way of riches, reminding me of a wealthy home stripped of its possessions to pay off debts.

I recalled some talk of a castle and her parents buying this place. A picture was starting to form in my mind, of a powerful family forced to leave their ancestral home and take up residence in another, diminished but still proud. It went a ways to explaining the young Carreon's aristocratic airs despite her obvious lack of authority.

Given Brenner's possessive attitude toward the Carreon scion and her heirlooms, I wondered how much of her family's treasures he'd claimed in return for his "protection."

Night fell after Brenner and his entourage departed, and my host retired after telling me Vanya would see to my needs. The maidservant showed me around the mansion, speaking softly and little. I noticed no other servants. I met one resident when I nearly stepped on the second of its two long, fluffy red tails, and it rewarded me with a high pitched yelp before darting off into the depths of the house.

"A hearthhound?" I asked.

Vanya's lips had quirked in amusement at my moment of fright, the first sign of real emotion from her. "That was Valiant. Because he's our valiant protector, you see?"

"…Right. It's just, they're usually bigger." I paused a beat and added, "And braver."

Vanya shrugged. "He keeps ghosts and other weaker spirits away. Qoth deals with anything bigger."

She knew about Qoth. Interesting. What else did the maid know?

Besides that, the manor seemed empty. No guards, no handmaids, no relatives. There were crop fields beyond the manor grounds tended by country folk from nearby villages, so the manor wasn't completely isolated. Vanya told me a bit about the surrounding landscape, and I estimated that Brenner Hunting oversaw a large and prosperous fief.

Yet he seemed to pay little attention to this pocket of it, except when his fine toys were stolen. I didn't like Brenner Hunting much from what I knew of him so far, even discounting the fact he'd been willing to strike a teenage girl in anger.

The young warlock led a lonely life. Alone in this house, at the mercy of an overbearing lord, without family or wealth, with a violent spirit shadowing her. I started to understand how Nath had gotten her hooks in.

We finished the tour and Vanya showed me a small, clean guest room on the second floor. "You can sleep here," she said. "I sleep downstairs, if there's anything you need. Would you like some food? I've had a stew going all day."

"That would be grand, thank you. There are no other servants?"

"Just my daughter and me, but she's not around right now." Her eyes went distant. "She's younger than Lady Emma. Good girl, better than I deserve."

I saw warmth bloom in her face, and liked how much younger and gentler it made her look. "I managed to get her work as a laundress at Antlerhall a few weeks ago, before things became… difficult."

"That's something I don't understand. Everyone keeps talking like this situation with the Burnt Rider just started up recently, but I get the feeling it's been going on longer than that. Does it have anything to do with why your lady's family moved here?"

"Oh, she's not really my lady." Vanya looked embarrassed. "I lived here before, and took this job about six or seven years ago? The Carreons brought no servants with them."

"Yet they had enough wealth to buy this manor," I mused.

"It's complicated. The Burnt Rider…" Vanya shuddered even at the mention of the name. "It can be a long time between when he appears. Years, or even decades. The last time happened when…"

Her eyes drifted, stopping in the general direction of Emma's room as though she were uncertain whether she should be talking about this. "When he drove Emma's parents' off a cliff. They were riding a carriage back from Brenner's keep. She was only ten years old and just moved here from her family's home to the south. The poor girl."

"Hard age to lose your parents," I agreed. I wanted to ask why they hadn't been riding their flying coach at the time, but suspected I already knew the answer. They must have sold it to Brenner. Is that why she's so angry at him? Does she blame him for her parents' death?

"It's hard at any age," Vanya corrected. "I lost my husband when my girl was only four, and she wouldn't stop crying for weeks." She sighed tiredly. "But yes, she didn't take it well. Neither did Lady Anastasia. That was Emma's grandmother. She died just last year. The young lady is alone now."

I folded my arms. Last year, was it? I wondered how long Nath had been in the picture.

Stolen novel; please report.

Vanya suddenly looked chagrined. "These last few days have rattled me, and I'm afraid I've said too much. I don't even know you."

I winced. Sometimes, my powers had a tendency to work on people without training or other protections, drawing out truth from the honest and causing discomfort in liars. While it could be useful, I didn't much like seeing its effect on ordinary folk. It felt too much like compulsion.

"I'm just here to help," I said. Whether I want to or not, I did not add aloud. "I appreciate your help, Vanya. I'm new to all of this."

Vanya blushed when I said her name. "Even still, it wasn't my place to tell you these things."

"No. It was not."

The maid flinched. I turned to see Emma standing at the end of the hall. She'd let her hair down, washed, and was now dressed in a burgundy robe cinched at the waist. Her amber eyes were fixed on Vanya and hard with anger.

"My lady!" Vanya blanched. "Forgive me, I was just—"

"I would speak to Alken alone, if you please."

The servant fled. Emma stared after the older woman until she'd gone, her expression stony.

"Don't blame her," I said. "I needed more information."

The young noble's uncanny eyes moved back to me. They reminded me of a bird-of-prey's, both in color and shape. She studied me a moment, her thoughts unreadable.

"My family's story is no business of yours. You are here for one specific purpose, Headsman."

When I stilled at her use of that name, a cold smile crept across the girl's face. She didn't much look like an inexperienced youth in over her head in that moment. I saw the shadow of something darker behind her.

"All you need to do is find a way to destroy this spirit. I don't care how you do it, only that it gets done. Nath gave you to me for this purpose. Now good night."

I stayed awake for a long while, thinking over the days events. The room I'd been given was spacious and comfortable, the bed soft. Though it was no church or sacred shrine, the presence of a hearth hound and a strong threshold kept many of the ghosts who'd normally trouble me away.

It'd been a long time since I'd enjoyed such accommodations, but sleep eluded me. Wind rustled the trees outside. My eyes kept straying to the window. Was the Burnt Rider out there, watching us even then? Waiting for me to let my guard down?

Why had it let us go? I felt certain the apparition could have broken through my defenses and taken the girl, but it'd left with barely a fight. More than that, the way it took the coach down also bothered me. If it had the skill to kill one of the griffons at that range, it definitely could have put the spear through Emma's skull. She' had the window open.

Had it known Qoth was capable of saving her? Or that I'd be able to survive the fall? Did it even know there was another passenger?

If so, it made me suspect something that made the whole situation more complicated. The Rider might not want to kill Emma at all.

What then? To torment her?

This is what sin tastes like, little shrike.

I needed more information. Emma had stonewalled my attempt to get more information about her history, which left me few ways to get the details that would help me pin down what exactly I was facing. Brenner might be able to tell me more, or that priest. Neither seemed like they'd cooperate without other forms of trouble, but it might be my only option. There were other ways, but I didn't much like the thought of them.

Vanya seemed to know some things. I'd ask her more when her lady wasn't around to stop us.

I toyed with the ring on my right hand. My eyes fell down to it. I'd lit no lamp and it was an overcast night, but the aura in my eyes let me see through the darkness. The black stone glinted, swirling with eddies of red like droplets of blood fallen into water.

It's a bad idea, I warned myself. You were in the Fane before. This place won't have the same protections.

That last dream had been so vivid. I could still remember Fidei's lips on mine, her cool fingers on my jaw.

Ten years. A decade, and I could still feel it. I still longed for it.

You're a fool. Those memories are a poison. You know where they end.

Fire. Pain. Horror. Grief.

Those wounds festered. I did no good to myself prodding at the scabs. Even still, I couldn't stop my thumb from stroking the ivory ring's band.

It hadn't helped Maxim. Not at all.

Yet…

You're a coward. You'll have to face the past eventually.

I had more important things to do than sleep, anyway. There were fresh clothes in the room. I didn't know who they'd belonged to originally, but they were close enough to my size. I put them on and went downstairs.

Emma remained in her room, probably exhausted from days of travel and deep asleep. Vanya had fallen asleep on a chair in the parlor. She had needles and thread, and a ripped shirt I recognized. Repairing some of her lady's clothes. She snored softly.

Otherwise, I was alone with the quiet. Valiant, the hearth hound, was curled up by Vanya's feet. He whined at me when we met gazes. I shrugged and went outside.

Both moons were out. The larger one still hung low, bright in shades of silver and foggy green. Its smaller sibling hung high and aloof, a sulfurous yellow this night.

To my left as I stood on the porch, I sensed the darkness staring back at me. I folded my arms and let my gaze roam the moonlit countryside.

"Why is Nath so concerned with this fallen noble?" I asked aloud. "Who is she?"

Qoth's scratchy voice emerged from the night, low and ponderous. "Will that tale help you, Headsman?"

I shrugged. "It might."

"I could tell you… of House Carreon, its glory and its fall. I could tell you why these things matter to the Angel of the Briar… but in this guise I am but the young lady's familiar. She has made her wishes in this clear. If you want your answers, then you must seek them elsewhere."

I sighed. "Very well. Then tell me this, Briar Elf; what is Brenner's position in all of this? There's obviously tension between him and your mistress."

"He is the child's guardian, by the wishes of her parents. Even passed from the flesh, the shadow of the lord and lady Carreon stretches long. Brenner Hunting is ambitious and has his own plans, yet fear all too often shifts so easily into hate."

"Fear, huh?" I lifted my chin as I thought, looking at the sky again. "I thought it odd he needed three grown men with him for a conversation with a teenage girl."

Qoth let out an odd warbling sound. "You underestimate her. That is foolish. She is Carreon."

"I don't know what that means," I said in frustration.

"Brenner does. And that is why he is wise enough to fear the girl, even as he keeps her close for his own plans."

So Brenner Hunting was my best bet for understanding all of this. Qoth had just thrown me a bone.

I wondered what it would cost me.

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