They say bad news rides a fast horse.
           

No one said anything about it riding a dead one, and the black destrier my uncle now rode toward me had died two years ago.
           

Even though the copse of trees shielded me, he crossed the pasture as if he knew exactly where I stood. My mind ticked down a list of things I had eaten that might cause hallucinations. There wasn’t a mushroom in the bunch.
           

Beside me, a ewe stared at the approaching apparition, nervously flicking her ears. Then she bunted my leg, reminding me of the lamb still tangled in the witchberry vines. I knelt back down and finished cutting him loose. The lamb latched onto his mother’s swollen udder, but she remained fixed on the rider. As did I.
           

As he neared, she stamped in apprehension and then bounded away with her youngster. I wanted to follow. My mind screamed at me to run, but my feet were as firmly rooted as the tangle of vines. He reined to a stop in front of me and dismounted, plunging the area into a deep, winter chill. Just below his pallid face, his throat had been sliced clean as a butcher’s cut.
           

My face felt as bloodless as his and it was all I could do to keep upright. He held out his hand to steady me.
            

I forced my gaze from his gaping throat with its raw, red, flesh. The dried blood made the embroidered golden lion leaping across his tabard look as if it were mortally wounded also. I tried to focus on the tabard, which seemed the safest place to dwell, but my gaze wandered, leaving me sickened at the extent of his injuries. His right shoulder was sheared nearly off so his arm dangled unnaturally. He had been stabbed in the ribs. There were other wounds showing through the ragged mail and cloth. He had not been taken easily.
           

“You’re dead.” I expected the nonsense whisper to form a fog.
           

“There are different levels of existence, Kaelyn.” My full name was reserved for when I was in trouble or for very serious talks. His icy hand stroked my hair as he had done many times before. “I’m in another room. You mustn’t worry about me. You have your own path, as I had mine.”
           

“You can’t leave me.” I wasn’t above pleading.
           

He tilted my chin up and wiped my tears with frozen fingers, but tears welled in his own eyes. “I died, but I’m still here. I’m between the veils.”

He tilted my chin up and wiped my tears with frozen fingers, but tears welled in his own eyes. “I died, but I’m still here. I’m between the veils.”
           

I looked away, unable to bear the gashed throat any longer. Why was he so accepting? My nostrils flared. “We’ll find your killer!”
           

“And what would you do when you found him?” he asked as calmly as if we were discussing kittens.
           

“I’d kill him. In Eiryn, you’d be avenged.”
           

“In Eiryn, entire clans have been sacrificed on the altar of vengeance. He’d kill you before you drew a sword.”
           

I needed answers, or promises of action. “You have no faith in me.”
           

“Faith has nothing to do with it. He cut me down like a peach-fuzz boy, and I was the Shield. People are already working on my behalf. You must promise me you won’t meddle.”
           

His gaze was steady. I always knew when he was lying because he invariably looked away. He smiled as if he could read my mind. “Yes, I’m telling the truth. Now promise me.”
           

He asked too much of me. “I can’t.”
           

“You must. I came here to tell you before the Rider got here. Don’t do anything rash. I won’t have you throw your life away for me.”
           

“You deserve justice.”
           

“Do you know how hard it was for me to appear like this? I had to make you see. This isn’t a game. Promise me now!”
           

Kael seldom raised his voice. When he did, there was no disputing him. I had to trust him, but I wasn’t ready to concede unconditionally. “I won’t do anything until I know you’ve crossed the veil.”
           

He looked over his shoulder toward the road. “If all goes well, I won’t for many years. But I have to go now. Remember your promise.”
           

I followed his gaze and noticed a Far Rider coming down the road toward the house. Normally I would have dashed to meet her. I turned back to Kael, but he was back on his horse, and they were already fading. “I love you, Kaelyn,” whispered in my mind.
           

“I love you, too.”