Prologue

PROLOGUE

T he man smelled of horses and wood varnish as he gathered the little girl close. Wind whipped off the lake, but in her father's arms, she was warm and safe. She held her stick sword firmly in one plump hand as he lowered her to the ground.

"You see these stones, Rhosyn?" he asked with a thick Welsh accent, placing a hand on the smooth black rock that rose out of the ground. "Do you know what they are?"

"Aye. Roger said they are faerie stones," the girl answered, prodding one with her stick.

"Oh, did he now? And when did you have time to talk to the stableman?" her father questioned, heavy brows drawing together.

"When I went to see Mr. Eli's horses," she answered truthfully, knowing that her father wasn't really angry with her. "Are they doorways to the Other Lands?"

"They are, God's truth, little one." Her father crouched down to be level with her. "Some nights, when magic is thick in the air and the time between times opens the worlds, the Seelie come through to dance at the lake. It is on those nights, my Rhosyn, that you must lock your window and your door, and pray that they don't try to steal you away."

"How can I tell if it's a faerie?"

"They are so beautiful and terrible to look upon that there is no mistaking them for anything else. If you ever see such a one, dancing or hunting through the forest, you must find Mr. Eli as soon as you can." Her father's voice lost the storyteller's warmth and became serious, "Promise me, Rosa. Promise me you will find him."

"I promise, Da," she swore, wondering what Mr. Eli could do that her father could not, should the faeries come.

"Good lass." He kissed her head and got to his feet. They were almost back at their little cottage when the wolves came.

Then there was only blood, screaming, and monsters, and her father was gone forever.