House of Earth and Blood

Hunt visits the Oracle in her temple. Others have asked her about the missing Horn, but her visions reveal nothing about the theft. Hunt asks her why anyone would want Luna’s Horn. She says that the thief intends to repair it and open the Northern Rift, allowing the princes of Hel to return to Midgard. When the Oracle offers to reveal Hunt’s future and tell him about her vision for Bryce, he declines both offers. The session ends with the Oracle warning him, “Do yourself a favor, Orion Athalar: keep well away from Bryce Quinlan” (326).

Hunt emerges from the temple to report to Bryce and Ruhn. They speculate about how the Horn might be repaired since the Oracle insisted that this is possible. Ruhn intends to ask a medwitch with healing abilities about it. After he leaves, Bryce tells Hunt about her own encounter with the Oracle. “When the Oracle looked into her smoke, she screamed. Clawed at her eyes […] I heard later that she went blind for a week” (330). Rumors of this evil portent get back to Bryce’s father, who was expecting a favorable prediction. He feels that his daughter has disgraced the family somehow and sends her packing.