To Ride A Púca by Heather McCorkle Read Free Book Online

started to move in. Dubh kicked back and Neala both heard and felt his hind leg connect with one of the men. The man let out a wail and stumbled back, clutching his shoulder. The other three men closed in on Bren. He raised his sword to block the swing of one man while thrusting his free hand toward the other. Another bolt of energy shot from his palm and struck the second man, throwing him back like it had his leader. The remaining two men standing drew away.
    “What are ye, a sidhe?” The man who had swung the sword at Bren asked.
    The intended insult made Neala cringe despite the fact that it was one of the kinder names people called druids.
    “I’m somethin’ ye don’t want to mess with,” Bren said in a cool, steady voice.
    The man shook his head and took a step back. The others retreated as well. Neala let out a long breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. The men started to disappear in the mess of trees, vines, and ferns. The fiann leader was the only one who hesitated. His eyes flicked from Bren to her, then back. Finally, he stepped into the ferns, ducked behind a tree, and was gone. Bren sheathed his sword and leapt onto his horse, taking the reins from Neala.
    “They might come back with others, run,” he whispered to her.
    With barely any urging, Neala launched Dubh into a canter. She was careful to hold him back from an all out run so they didn’t repeat what had happened last time. Just thinking about the fall she’d taken had her heart beating out a rhythm that kept time with Dubh’s hooves. The forest whipped by in a blur of greens and browns. Pine boughs brushed her legs as they went through areas packed tight with trees.
    At the tangy scent of horse sweat Neala gathered up the reins and slowed Dubh to a brisk trot to save his energy. Just as they came to a small clearing Bren caught up with her and trotted his horse alongside her.
    Once they crossed the green meadow they slowed their horses to a walk. Questions gnawed at Neala’s mind but she had to catch her breath before she could ask them. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Bren. She was fascinated not only by what he’d done with his power, but by the simple fact that he had protected her. They were practically strangers after all.
    “Thank ye. Not many men would have done what ye did for a lass they just met,” she said.
    His features dropped into a look of disappointment. “That’s part of what’s wrong with the world,” he said. After a moment he thrust his chin up and turned to look at her. “Ye’re welcome.” 
    She smiled and his expression softened. “Ye used yer power to attack those men,” she said. “How did ye do that?”
    His brow furrowed and he cocked his head. “I’m a warrior druid. It’s the nature of me power, just like ye,” he said.
    Confusion and anger stirred within Neala. She was starting to get used to anger’s presence. This sounded like something else her parents hadn’t told her about, something big.
    “What is a warrior druid? And what do ye mean, just like me?” she asked.
    Bren gave her a long, hard look. The impulse to force it out of him was hard to fight. Her energy rose like a fire within her and she had to concentrate hard to suppress it. Dubh began to prance in response to her spike of energy, lifting his knees high. She couldn’t soothe him when she couldn’t even soothe herself though.
    “Yer parents really did shelter ye,” he said as he gave her a sympathetic look. “There are two kinds of druids, warriors and healers. Ye really didn’t know?”
    “They told me our kind were healers,” she said as she looked down at Dubh’s neck. It may not be her fault but she still felt foolish for not knowing these things.
    “How did they explain what ye can do?” Bren asked.
    She couldn’t bring herself to look up. “I can’t do much besides push things and see energy.” 
    Bren reached over and touched her arm. “That’s probably because ye either came into