He wanted to talk about it more, but he could never think of a good way to bring it up. And what did it matter anyhow? Ariana was long gone. Spark was here. So he continued to go out with her whenever there was a gathering in the area, and he found that he was thinking less and less of the adventurer and more of the farmer next door.

The winter was late to leave that year, and there was a hard cold snap when spring ought to have been on the way. So it was well below freezing one night as Spark drove the cart into Jonathan's yard and unhitched her horse from it.

"That was pretty fun," she said.

"Yes, it was. Will you be over for dinner tomorrow?"

"You know I will, I...." she was cut off by a loud whinny from the horse. It was looking towards her farm. Spark spun around. She could only just make out her farmhouse through the fields and trees, but it was immediately obvious that it was on fire. "Oh no!" She started as if to run towards it. Then she froze. "Oh no." Jonathan looked, and realized that there were dark shapes moving in front of the fire. Unfamiliar shapes, shapes that weren't human.

"Get inside," snapped Spark. "Now!" she added when he didn't move immediately. He shook himself and ran for the farmhouse door, but even as he reached it, he could see some of those shapes in the road in front of the house. Ariana's horse squealed, and it spun around nimbly, in a move he'd never seen a horse do in his life, and its hind hooves lashed out at the dark creatures. Spark nearly plowed into him running into the house. He scrambled inside and shut the door behind them. Then he blinked. Spark had vanished up the stairs to where the attic rooms lay. From outside came a confusion of thuds, inhuman screams, and the cries of an enraged horse. Then Spark came racing down the stairs, and she had Ariana's sword in her hand. Even as she reached the bottom, there was a crash, and one of the creatures broke the door in.