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laughter grew more distant and finally was no more.

4
    L innea heard Marius following her but at some distance, calling her name as he thrashed through the undergrowth. Dear Goddess, neither man nor centaur could move with her subtlety. She laughed inside at the frustration in his voice, letting her slender feet carry her ahead with scarcely a sound, feeling wonderfully giddy. May wine was deceptive. Still, she’d not had so much that she stumbled as she ran. No doe could go more lightly.
    Of a sudden she saw one.
    The animal looked out wonderingly from the thicket that concealed her, straight at Linnea but only for a second. Did the creature have a fawn nearby? Linnea paused, looking into the doe’s eyes. The soft-eyed doe simply stared back at her and then…she was joined by not one but two fawns, spotted and spindly-legged. She looked to each of her children as if admonishing them for coming forward, until Linnea reached out to stroke her slender neck.
    The doe seemed fragile, Linnea knew. But she was capable of rearing and lashing out with her split hooves to protect her young. Both fawns nestled close to their mother, trembling ever so slightly. It would not do to have Marius, foolish with lust, burst through the branches that concealed them all and frighten the little group.
    “Well met,” she whispered to the beautiful animal, “but you must dash away. The forest is full of men.” She gave the creature a final caress and stepped away.
    Then the doe trembled too of a sudden, her brown eyes sparking with fear as she looked over Linnea’s shoulder. Filled with instant apprehension, Linnea whirled around to see what stood behind her.
    A man—Marius? So it seemed, but…A prickling uneasiness took hold of her. He stood in the shadows, his outline familiar, not saying a word. Linnea chided herself for her skittishness and tried to catch his elusive gaze. No mask—his head was bare—but then Marius had not worn the antlered headdress a moment longer than he had to. Why did he not speak? She peered through the rustling leaves that partly hid him, trying to see more. The male figure took a step back.
    Something in the sensual movement of his body almost convinced her that it was indeed her solstice-spelled lover. But not quite.
    She would scare the doe and fawns half to death if she spoke, so Linnea held her tongue, willing him to step forth and come to her.
    Did he understand? She was not at all sure if she had reached him.
    Half in light, half in darkness, he stood looking at her, his gaze impenetrable. She must have made him angry by running away. Bah. He had no right to control her—during Midsummer, she was his equal.
    Ah. Her thoughts had gotten through to him. Her lips parted a little as she observed an aura begin to emanate from his body. Soon enough it reached her, enfolding her in a curious warmth that addled her mind a bit. She felt the doe move closer and nuzzle the shimmering gossamer of her gown. Linnea raised her arm as if to let the animal under but all the doe did was nip at her gown and tear off a piece.
    “Oh!” Linnea cried. “Why?”
    The doe’s ears twitched, then lay back against its slender neck. She looked questioningly at the woman and then at the man, as if she was unable to understand the ways of humans. She shook her head, the scrap of gossamer still held in her teeth.
    “Do not be afraid, little sister,” Linnea said, looking at the doe and fawns as they turned as one, ready to bound away. “He is not unlike you and me. Scarcely more than human, after all.”
    The doe shuddered and looked one last time at Marius, who had withdrawn back into the woods. Then she vanished with her fawns. The leaves closed behind them as if they had never been there at all.
    But Marius was very much there. His enfolding aura said what he would not—he wanted her—but was he sulking? His eyes gleamed at Linnea and she felt more drawn to him than before. The seductive power of his masterful embrace