Kelpie (Come Love a Fey) (16 page)

He
spun in a swirl of pixie silk and picked up his sword from its resting place
near his bed.  The moonstone hilt- chosen to channel his power- was warm in his
hand, and it greeted him like an old friend as he strapped it to his hips.  He
glanced around the room one final time to make sure everything was in order. 
For all his flash and showmanship, his dwelling was stark.  He owned only the
necessities, and the one ornament.  He touched the portrait in passing and left
the quiet sanctuary of his room.

The
dining hall was loud and bright, even this early in the morning.  Fey magic made
it seem as if the room was filled with the light of the rising sun.  It was a
nice effect among the smooth, worn tree roots that arched overhead, but a poor
substitute for the genuine article.

Adhene
pulled out a tall chair and took a seat near one of the other Underhill lords. 
The topic this morning seemed to be the death of a mountain spirit in Peru. 
The fey next to him passed a basket of fruit and grinned at Adhene with a
mouthful of jagged, crooked yellow teeth.  His amber eyes glittered like gems. 
“We didn’t need an assassin this time,” he leered.  “The humans brought about
their own demise.  Better than what they deserved.”

Adhene
thought of the crushing, suffocating death the humans must have endured, and
nodded in agreement.He plucked a bunch of grapes from the basket and passed it
on down the line.  He could smell the sunshine on them.  They must have been
gathered very recently.  Sometimes the fare in Underhill was not as fresh as he
would like.  Elves were meant to live in the forests and fields, not holed up
beneath the earth.  He reached for a decanter of nectar.  He was silent as he
filled his goblet, listening to the gossip around the table.

The
death of a mountain spirit was appalling but, in this case, there was nothing
to be done.  The other Underhill lords tended to view Adhene as an assassin. 
It was not how he saw himself at all, but it made no difference to him what
they thought.  He’d been robbed of his vengeance this time.  The miners that
had caused the death of the mountain spirit had died immediately after, as
their mine shafts collapsed around them.  Their village had been crushed in the
landslide that followed.  He plucked a grape from the bunch and popped it into
his mouth.  It was bitter and sweet at the same time. 

A
gruff voice brought Adhene out of his thoughts.  “What do you have to say about
all of this, Adhene?”

It
was one of the elder lords, a comrade of his father’s.  The old goblin was a
mountain dweller himself.  He had lived in harmony under the rich earth of the
mountain until the death of his own mountain spirit had caused him to come here
to Underhill.  He had dwelt here now for a hundred years.  His burly, ageless
frame had lost none of its power, but his black eyes were cloudy and flat.

“What
is there to say?”  Adhene spoke softly.  His hand lifted to toy with the golden
leaf that dangled from a chain around his neck.  “Humans prove their colossal
ignorance time and time again.  They destroy the very things that give them
life.  Why should we have any compunction about their demise, when they are
already killing themselves?  Let them ruin themselves.  I merely want to ensure
they don’t take us with them.”

He
slid his chair back and stood, dropping his father’s necklace.  The sweet
nectar was sour in his stomach.  “If you’ll excuse me, I need to speak with the
king.”  He left the room in a dramatic flurry of silk.  The other Underhill fey
watched him with a tinge of awe.  

Adhene
was making his way down a dark, earthen corridor when the king appeared before
him.  He paused, and then gestured ahead toward the soft light at the end of
the corridor.  The king always preferred to meet outside in the open.  “Your
majesty,” he inclined his head respectfully.

The
small, dark man had been alive since the beginning of time.  He made even the
oldest fey feel like children.  Adhene thought it likely that he purposefully
chose his diminutive stature and soft appearance for just that reason.  They
emerged from Underhill and the elf sighed at the touch of the sunshine on his
skin.  

The
king smiled.  “You are your father’s son, no doubt,” he said jovially. 

Adhene
didn’t smile back.  “Am I?”

The
king’s perceptive gaze lit on the feather at Adhene’s throat.  “In more ways
than one.”

He
hopped up on a boulder and sat cross-legged, studying Adhene intently.  “Have
you allowed your father’s death to corrupt your sight?”

Adhene
crossed his arms and paced, impatient with this tired conversation.  His father
had died trying to bring about destruction.  He had died a terrible death-
especially for one of his race- bathed in the un-natural, man-made sickness of
nuclear holocaust.

“You
have the light of the sunshine flowing in your blood my child,” the king said
softly.  “How is it that your heart is so dark?”

Adhene
stopped his pacing and lifted his head so that the morning sun bathed his
features.  Darkness, was it?  A silvery tear streaked down his cheek to fall
unheeded to the forest floor.  “My heart has known no light since the day she
left this world.”

A
dryad’s life was tied to its tree.  The men who cut down her home were blind,
oblivious to the unseen world around them.  They couldn’t even hear her screams
of agony.  Adhene had heard them, but he had been too far away.  He had been far
too late to save her.  The woodsmen were the first humans he consumed.  He had bathed
the forest in their blood, and the light in him went out, leaving behind the
thin blue flame of hatred.

The
king looked upon the face of one of his most beautiful children, a child of
light and life, and growing things.  One who now knew only vengeance and pain,
darkness.

“Perhaps
you’re right,” the old fey whispered.  “They will be the death of all that is
pure in this world.”

Adhene
looked at the monarch in surprise, but he had disappeared.  “You are wrong,” he
whispered.  “All that is pure has already been lost.”

I
came home from
work to find Leith out on the balcony talking to someone.  I rolled my eyes and
went to join him, assuming he was talking to the damned bird again.  I stepped
through the slider and stopped in my tracks. 

Leith
was squatting down so that he could be at eye level with the tiny person who
was standing on the railing.  He stood, and gave me a blindingly beautiful
smile.

“Welcome
home, Ada,” he said happily.  What was he, a puppy, or something?

I
looked from him to the little person, waiting for some kind of explanation. 
Leith acted as though it were any other day.  The silence became awkward and I
cleared my throat.  “So, uh… are you going to introduce me to your friend?”  I
gestured at the tiny woman.

Leith
looked in the direction of my gaze and gave a short laugh, realization washing
over his sharp features.  “I almost forgot that things appear different to you
now.” 

The
little creature lifted her moth wings and flew to Leith’s shoulder.  “Ada, this
is Una.”  He sounded delighted at my progress.  It made me feel like I was two
years old.  “You’ve met her before.  She’s the sprite that visits us as a
robin.”

I
stepped closer to peer at the sprite.  She looked exactly like a dainty,
miniature person.  She had tangled blonde hair and sharp features that were
like an exaggerated version of Leith’s.  Her wings reminded me of a luna moth. 
I hadn’t see one since I was a child.  Including the wings, she was about the
size of my splayed hand.  She smiled and lifted a hand in greeting.  Her voice
was soft and wispy, like the wind.

“Sorry
I was so uptight before.  You can see me now?”  She lifted to hover between
Leith and I.  “I wanted to talk to you so badly, but I couldn’t with the
glamour and all.”

I
stared at her, wide-eyed.  Just then, my phone started ringing.  I jumped and
went to grab it.  “Shoot that’s probably Noah.”  I waved at them as I darted
inside.  “Sorry.”

When
I hung up the phone, I turned to find Leith regarding me from just inside the
door.  “You’re going somewhere?”

I
nodded.  For some reason I felt embarrassed, almost guilty.  “To dinner with
Noah.”

Leith’s
dark brows drew together in a scowl, and I held up my hands defensively.  “Don’t
give me that look.  It is not a date.  Nothing like that.  I just want to see
how he’s doing…you know, being sober.”

He
grunted in disbelief.  “I don’t trust that man.  You may think this is
harmless, but he surely wants to ensnare you again.”

I
laughed. 
Ensnare
?  “Oh come on, Leith,” I snorted, “you’ve got to be
joking.”

I
went to the fridge and pulled out some leftovers.  “You can have this for
dinner- or you can make whatever you can find.”

I
turned to find him regarding me with his arms crossed.  He looked just like a jilted
lover.  I shook my head.  Una darted in and landed on my shoulder, startling me
with her nearness.  I felt a tug on my hair as she got her balance.

“Don’t
go Ada, Leith will worry about you the whole time you’re gone.”  She laughed
merrily at his frown.

I
crossed my arms, aping Leith’s posture.  “What is your problem?  You’re acting
like a jealous boyfriend here.”

He
gave a short laugh.  “Don’t be mistaken.  I don’t care who you choose to bed
down with.  However, at the moment you are my shelter.  I simply rely on you
too much right now to have you all addlepated with human emotion.”

I
laughed aloud.  “You know, when you get upset like this, you really start to
show your age.”

He
was not amused.  “I know you’ll go anyway.  Your stubbornness knows no bounds. 
At least take Una with you.”

I
awkwardly turned my head to look at the sprite.  “And why should I do something
like that?”

Leith
relaxed his posture and I narrowed my eyes at him.  He was just trying to look
like it wasn’t a big deal.  I wasn’t fooled.“Una is a member of my clan.  I
would trust her with my life.”

I
took a deep breath, striving for calm.  “You are making such a huge deal out of
nothing.  Listen to yourself- you would trust her with your life?  This isn’t
some life or death situation.  It’s dinner. 
God
, you are crazy!”

*****

We
ate at a small restaurant, chatting over our meal, talking of work and the
news- light topics that you would discuss with an acquaintance or friend.  Noah’s
dinner invitation had surprised me, and I was weary of his motives, regardless
of what I had told Leith.  But I felt like I owed it to him to at least see
what he wanted. 

We
didn’t speak of his issues.  He didn’t ask me to take him back.  I felt myself
relaxing my guard as the night went on.  I had half expected to be storming out
of here moments after I sat down, just like before. 

I
watched his hands as he ate, as he held his glass of water.  They were clean
and soft- perfectly manicured as usual; his hands were not blue-collar hands.  There
wasn’t a single hint of tremor in them.  His hazel eyes met mine and he
laughed, obviously onto me.  His eyes were clear too, alert, and present.  Overall,
he looked healthier, glowing, and well rested.

We
paid our bill and I agreed to walk to the park with him.  The city had
installed charming streetlights last year, and it wasn’t uncommon for couples
to stroll along between downtown and the park at night. 
Not that we are a
couple
, I reminded myself.

I
stuffed my hands into my coat pockets and hunched my shoulders against the
chill.  Fall was coming, and the nights were getting crisp.  It wouldn’t be
long and this cute little stretch of sidewalk would be coated in snow.  In the
winter, they would flood the park for ice skaters.  It was one of my favorite
things about the season.

Noah
walked close beside me, but didn’t take my arm, as he would have in the past. 
“You’re looking really well,” I said honestly.  “How are you feeling?”

He
laughed.  “You talk like I’ve been deathly ill, or something.”  He looked up at
the few stars that were just visible above the streetlights.  “Though I guess in
a way, I have been.”

His
feet scuffed lightly on the sidewalk.  “I’ve been sober since the last time I
saw you.  I went to the meetings you set up for me.”  He sighed.  “I don’t want
to jinx myself, but it’s been going really well.”

I
nodded.  “I’m glad.”  It was the truth.  I didn’t bear him any malice.  We all
had our issues.  Some of us drank, some of us picked up homeless men who turned
out to be fairies…

He
stopped and turned to me.  “Listen, Ada,” he looked embarrassed and I held my
breath, knowing what was coming next.  “I know we’ve had a hard time of it; and
I haven’t treated you well.  I love you, though.  I really do.”  I was silent;
it seemed important to let him speak his mind.  Maybe it was important that I
heard this too.

“I
can’t make you any promises right now, and I have no right to ask you to wait
for me.”  He did reach out for me then, taking my elbows since my hands were
still in my pockets.  “Give me a year.  If I can stay sober for a year, I will
know I can do this.  Then I will give you everything you want.”