"Long ago, before this island knew the rule of great King Arthur and his advisor, the one called Merlin Ambrosius, whom thou wizards revere as the best of thy kind, I was born to a minor lordling who held land at the edge of the great forest of the March, a vast wood that hardly any could see to the edge of, it spanned nearly the breadth of this island. It knew no earthly master, and was home to all manner of birds, beasts, and the Folk of the Wood-what thou hast called fairies-the Children of Danu. They dwelled deep with the March's heart, where no mortal was ever permitted to go, unless specifically invited.

"As my father's heir I was sent to be schooled by the druids, for such was common in that time, the druids were respected as keepers of law and knowledge of the earth, wise and just, and possessed of the mystic power that flowed throughout all things. I was seven when I came to the nemetons and eighteen when I left them, having proven myself skilled at mediating and hunting and the druids had taught me much of the ways of the forest and all that dwelled there and the wood witches who lived with them taught me the goodly arts of healing and magical divining, for I too was heir to the powers of the mystic.

"But it was not my fate to become as they, druid and wizard, I was heir to Wood's Edge, and I returned to my father's keep to rule my people. When my father passed, I became lord in his stead, and ruled thus for many years. My greatest passion was the hunt and often I could be found deep in the March, with my boon companions, hunting deer, boar, and elk, and even times bear and other dangerous creatures, those who dared trespass in my domain and slay my flocks.

"I was content, save for one thing. I had no wife and therefore no heirs. Yet I felt no particular hurry to marry. One Midsummer Eve, I was celebrating with my people, and a stranger came to the fire. She was made welcome, and I danced with her. But she was no ordinary maid, but one of Folk of the Wood, come to see what mortal revels were like.

"She named herself to me as Maeve, daughter of the Winter King, and in one glance I was ensnared, desiring her above all others. Such is the spell the fae cast over mortals, even one such as I, who had been schooled in resisting such magic. I learned later that she had been sent by her kin to seduce the lord of Wood's Edge, and this she did. She played with me, teasing and taunting, and I, poor foolish boy that I was, mistook her shallow affection for love.

"Night and day, I spent with her, forsaking even my duties as lord of my land, I forgot all save her when she appeared. I loved her, wildly and passionately, more even than I did my beloved hunt, and I swore she loved me as well. I would have taken her for my lady wife, but she kept refusing, promising me she would wed me anon.

"I had forgotten that the Folk of the Wood are often capricious and they love to play with mortals, but rarely do they ever allow themselves to love one. I hunted with Maeve and visited her people with her, in the heart of the wood. They were cordial, but maintained a distance that I recalled only later. I was mortal, I could never be one of them.

"I knew my mortality frightened Maeve, so I asked if she could make me immortal. She consented, but first she made me swear a great oath-to forever preserve the wood that was her home. I swore, for I believed that would end all her refusal of my suit.

"She granted me long life and perfect health, not a true immortality, but it was enough for me. I asked her once more for her hand, but she just looked at me and laughed. Angered by her mockery, I left her, and while I was out riding off my temper, I heard a cry for help.

"I rode a short distance, and discovered a young maid surrounded by four brigands, who were intent on robbing her of possessions and virtue. I killed all of them and then asked the maid her name. She told me she was the daughter of a local chieftain, one who owed fealty to me. Her name was Valina, and I took her up on my horse and brought her back to her father's house.

"They made me welcome, inviting me to dinner, and I could not refuse. I spent a very pleasant time with them, and I realized then what I had been missing all of this time, flirting with the Winter King's daughter. They were honest folk and Valina was charming and though she was not beautiful like the fae, there was something that drew the eye.

"I had intended to punish my fickle lover Maeve by staying away for a month or two. I had never planned on doing anything more than staying inside my own hall. But after meeting Valina, I could not stay away from her home. There was something there . . .some feeling, some sense of belonging, that called to me as not even the palaces of the Fair Folk did. Their beauty was mostly artifice, but this . . .this was real, as real as the human heart.

"I am sure thou canst guess what happened then. I fell in love with Valina and she with me. And this time my proposal of marriage was not rejected. We became man and wife in a small grove, bound and married by a druid ritual, and I was so incredibly happy I nearly died.

"Our wedding night was the stuff of dreams and poets, and she conceived nearly instantly, for the fairy gift had blessed me with fertility. I sent a messenger to Maeve's kin, informing her that I wished to break off our liaison, as it was doomed to fail and I already had a mortal wife and an heir on the way.

"But Maeve was off dallying in another part of the realm with her Irish kin and she didn't return until my wife had given birth to two healthy babes, a son and a daughter.

"When she discovered what had gone on in her absence, she was full of fury. She considered me her . . .own property, I think is the best way to describe it, and to find that not only had I not been languishing over her, but that I had replaced her in my heart was something she could not abide. The Fair Ones have always considered themselves above us, and while she herself dallied with other men, she could not stand that I had found another whom I loved more.

"She came to me that night, as I walked over my fields, inspecting them for the spring planting, and she accused me of being a faithless cad, ungrateful, a wretch whom she wished had never drawn breath. Nothing I said would cause her jealous rage to abate, and my explanation, while perfectly rational, incited her to greater fury.

"Some of my people heard her and came out, armed, to drive away the madwoman who threatened their lord. They refused to leave when I bid them, they were too loyal and concerned for my safety. In the end they paid for it.

"For she cursed me then, using her power to bind me to the land and the wood forevermore, she could not remove the gift she had given me, but she could deny me all pleasures save one. "Hunt, thou faithless one! Hunt till thou sicken from the carnage, thee and thine, any quarry thou please, and know that thee shall never know rest and those who know the words of summoning may call thee forth and thou must hunt as they bid-save for two instances. Thou art forbidden to shed the blood of thy own kin, and thou mayest accept a willing substitute, should one present itself. Otherwise thy shall pursue endlessly until the quarry is dead, Herne the Faithless Hunter! Thus say I, Maeve, princess of Danu, Lady of Winter, Oberon's daughter."

"And after cursing me, she cursed my followers, only them she killed and caused to rise again as specters, forever bound to a half-life, doomed to hunt in my train, eternal rest denied forevermore. The Wild Hunt, she called her creation, and the first thing she set us on was the one thing I loved best in all the world-my wife."

For the first time since he had begun narrating to his spellbound audience, Herne paused, and a shiver wracked him. In his eyes were a torment and an agony that was nearly unfathomable. But he soon gathered himself and went on, though his voice was hoarse with centuries of misery.

"So then, I was forced to hunt and kill the one who held my heart, I could not fight Maeve's dictate, not then, when the curse was newly set. She knew, of course, wicked bitch . . .aye, she knew what it would cost me to harm the woman I loved, the mother of my children . . .but the wrath of a fairy woman scorned knows no bounds. She wished her rival dead and gone, and I was to be the instrument of her revenge.

"She called my Valina from the keep then, and bade me hunt her down and I . . .may the old gods forgive me . . .hunted my beloved like a beast through the March until I slew her.

"No one knew what had occurred, the dogs tore her to pieces, and no body was ever found. It was thought she suffered from an odd malady common to women who had just given birth, and she wandered away in a depressed fit and disappeared or drowned.

"But my children were safe, and I made certain to put magical safeguards in place so they would never be taken in by a fae's wiles or glamours. That much I could do, but my horrible crime preyed upon my mind . . .night and day I was haunted by it . . .there was no rest, no peace, and in the end I began to hunt and never stopped. I had killed my heart that day, and become a monster, damned for all of time. I was quite mad then, and it was in that state that the Wild Hunt became a synonym for terror and death and evil. It was then the horns of a stag emerged on my head, the sign of madness, and at the same time a sign of my utter surrender to the magic of the wood.

"Only one thing saved me from becoming a ravening beast . . .and that was my children and their children. They had inherited my gifts, as marked by them as ever I had been. I was still bound to them by blood, and once in a great while I would return to my birthplace and watch them, hidden always, and remember what I had been, and the beloved I had held and promised to love forever.

"For time out of mind I was a harbinger of doom, Death's Messenger, until Merlin called upon me to be something more, to help him in the final fight for Britain against the Powers of the Dark wizards, witches, and dark fae led by Morgause, Arthur's half-sister, the Queen of Air and Darkness. He gave me a choice then, to stand against them or sleep forever, bound by magic so strong it could only be undone by a single spell in the Book of Night. I agreed, and thus was redeemed of my great crime. Thus began the legend of Herne the Hunter, the Lord of the Wood, who was given dominion over all the birds and beasts and all that grows within the forest. People began to worship me as a god, a savage unpredictable god, to be sure, but nevertheless, I was revered, and could grant small blessings to those who worshipped me.

"I fought for a time, and every Samhain Eve I rode at the head of the Hunt, and sought the evil and the cursed, they swelled my ranks, punishment for their crimes, but I knew that my curse would someday betray me, and I would turn upon those I called allies once more. Rather than risk such a betrayal again, I requested I be allowed the enchanted sleep. My request was granted, and thus I have slept, and the Hunt with me, while the world turned and was remade again."

The Hunter's eyes, fiery emeralds in his lean face, burned as they alighted upon Lucius Malfoy.

"Until now, when thee hast called me from my sleep and bade me hunt this child-this innocent girl, who bears thy blood within her veins. The crime of kinslaying is the most heinous of all, and yet thee would commit it without blinking. In the name of Gaia, why?"

Lucius coughed, then managed to say, "She is nothing to me, I have cast her out. She is no longer my daughter, useless Squib that she is."

"Cold, thou art, as cold as Maeve, thy heart is flawed, to so condemn thy own to such a fate," declared Herne angrily. "And more, for thee too committed the sin I did, and killed thy lover, I see in thy mind, only thou hast no regret at all, unnatural creature! For that alone thou art damned. But thee made a grave mistake, Lord Malfoy, for not only is she kin to thee, but she bears my blood as well."

"WHAT!"

The Hunter bared his teeth in a terrible parody of a smile. "Indeed. For Sinclair is the line of my daughter, Hestia, and I can always sense a descendant of my blood. This child is my many-times great-granddaughter, bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, and thou wouldst have me kill her? Thou awakened me to commit murder of my own kin?" Herne thundered, his rage a tangible thing that rolled about the clearing, slamming into Lucius and Throckmorton like a freight train.

They were knocked face down upon the ground.

"Thy contract is null and void!" roared the irate Hunter, and lightning crackled about his antlers.

His horse reared, hooves lashing out, shrilling a battle cry.

The hell hounds howled, licking their lips, and the rest of the host wailed and cried aloud. "Blood for blood! Blood for blood! Set us free, Master!"

Herne held up a hand, and the Hunt went quiet.

Then he turned back to the wizards before him and said in a voice devoid of any emotion, "Now, we shall discuss the sacrifice I require from thee."