Kelpie (Come Love a Fey) (21 page)

Noah
grinned at me.  “I was promoted yesterday, Ada.  We need to find an employee to
fill my position.” 

Mr.
Stark pulled a stack of papers from the folder at his side.  “Ada, we would
like to promote you to office manager.”  He laid out all the details of the
promotion and job duties, pointing to the appropriate documentation as he went. 
I knew I should be elated, but for some reason it felt like I had just
swallowed something sharp. 

Noah
looked at me questioningly.  “I realize you will have to work more hours, and
the pay probably isn’t as high as you had hoped, but this is a wonderful
opportunity for you to move up.”

I
nodded.  All true.  Then why did I suddenly feel like I couldn’t breathe?  I
gave the men a warm smile.  “I am very honored to be offered this opportunity
for growth,” I said sweetly.  “Would it be ok for me to have a little time to
think it over before I accept?  I’ll let you know by the end of the week.”

The
men traded glances.  Mr. Stark gathered up the paperwork and put it back in the
folder, frowning.  He handed me copies of the main points.  “We had hoped that
you would start right away,” he said seriously.  “Please let Noah know by
tomorrow.”

I
felt my shoulders draw tight.  So soon?  “Of course, sir.”  The older man stood
and shook my hand, then left.

Noah
leaned against the table and crossed his arms.  He gave me a disbelieving
look.  “What the hell was that?”

I
shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I just need some time to think it over.”  My chest
was starting to hurt.  I took a deep breath.  Not now.  I hadn’t had a panic
attack in weeks.  I froze when something hard and cold appeared in my hands,
hidden beneath the table.

Noah
reached across the table and took the second half of my bagel, regarding me
with a smirk as he chewed.  His gaze traveled from head to toe and back again. 
“You look different today,” he said with a grin.

I
waved at hand at him dismissively.  “I just didn’t feel like dressing up.”  My
fingers told me that what I held was a rusty bit of metal.  One with very sharp
edges. 

Noah
pressed his lips together.  “Mmm….”  He dusted off his hands and poured himself
a cup of coffee as I pretended to look through the offer letter again.  “I saw
you come in this morning.  You looked really happy.”

I
didn’t look up.  “Mmm….”  I was wondering what I was going to do with the rusty
dagger. 

He
came around the table and stared down at me until I looked up.  “Oh, like that,
is it.”  He laughed.  “Well good for you.  But he’s only got a year, remember.”

I
shook my head and gave him a bland look.  “I don’t know what you’re talking
about.”  He turned to take a sip of his coffee and I scooped up the packet of
papers, folding them around the knife.  I gathered up my stuff and started to
leave.  Pausing in the doorway, I glanced back.  Noah was still smiling.  Apparently,
he really was happy that I was happy.  Or maybe just that confident that it
wouldn’t last.  “And you?”  I asked softly.  “How are…things...going?”

He
nodded.  “I’m doing really well.  Don’t worry- I’ve got a really good motivator,
so I can’t fail.”  He winked at me.  “Whoever it is, don’t fall in love.  A
year from now you’ll be my fiancé.”  I shook my head and tightened my grip on
the papers, so the knife wouldn’t slip out.

I
went back to my desk and slipped the knife into my purse.  I dropped the offer
letter on my keyboard.  Sinking into my chair, I leaned my head back and closed
my eyes.  I had waited for this promotion for over a year now.  Why did I feel
a panic attack coming on every time I thought of accepting?  I took a deep
breath to quell the panic in me, then picked up the dagger off my desk and put
it back in my purse.  Damned thing.

I
sat up and stuffed the letter into a random drawer.  I would think about it
later.  Right now, I had a bunch of crap to catch up on, and a day full of
client meetings.  I took deep breaths and tried to remain calm.  Apparently,
the rusty knife didn’t like it when I got upset.  Now I knew why Leith had been
so relieved to get rid of the thing.

I
spent my whole day feeling like an outsider observing myself.  Each time I met
with a client I felt myself looking at their case from a different angle, and
wondering if anything I was doing was really going to help.  I kept questioning
myself- and questioning them.  What had led them to the point in their lives
when they needed our services?  Why were humans so needy, so vulnerable?

As
the day wore on, a new set of worries assailed me.  It was getting close to the
end of the day.  I was going to have to go home- where Leith was waiting for
me.  I had been so blissful yesterday- and this morning for that matter- but
now I kept wavering between anticipation and dread at seeing him again.

Una
met me on my walk home.  She perched on my shoulder and drummed her little feet
while she hummed something energetic.  It sounded like a military tune.  Maybe
she was trying to rally me for my homecoming.

*****

When
I got home, Leith was watching the news, as usual.  I plopped my purse on the
table and kicked off my shoes, then went to rummage through the fridge.  “Can
we have tacos tonight?”  I was really getting sick of fish.

Leith
didn’t respond, engrossed in whatever was on the news.  He waved me over and I
joined him on the couch.  I was afraid to see what he was watching.  Last time
it was a car bombing that he swore had been perpetrated by fey.  I hadn’t
believed him at then.  But now?  A special bulletin was running across the
screen.  I gaped at the perfect black and white sketch of Leith’s face that was
plastered on the screen.  The face on the screen was framed by wild, long hair,
and his dark eyes had a feral, sinister gleam to them- the eyes of a madman.

The
broadcast deemed him a dangerous criminal who had escaped from a mental
hospital and brutally murdered a young nurse.  I clenched my fists.  They
minimized Leith’s picture and the reporter came back on.  “Local authorities
report that they recently spoke with a young woman in Allen County who had
taken in a homeless man.  They now believe the man may be this individual.  The
man is unstable and dangerous.  He is said to be obsessed with folklore, and
maybe using a Scottish alias.  If the young woman in question is watching this
broadcast, you are urged to turn this man over to authorities immediately.”  He
went on about the crime hotline and what to do if you spotted Leith walking
down the street.

I
stared at the screen, feeling numb.  “Ada,”  Leith’s voice was wary.

I
turned to look at him, the words of the news anchor still fresh in my mind. 
The story so matched the suspicions I had when I first met him.  It was
unsettling, to say the least.  I swallowed and gave him a weak smile.  “Well,
I’m gonna go take a shower.  Can you start dinner?  If we are going out to the
woods tomorrow, I want to go to bed early.”

Leith
pressed his lips together and nodded.  He didn’t ask what I was thinking.

*****

We
got up early- as usual- and made our way to a wooded area about an hour away
from town.  I took up residence on a grassy hill overlooking the small stream
while Leith did his thing.  Leaning up against the rough trunk of a nearby tree,
I let my eyes settle closed. 

I
dreamed of water again, warm and clear.  I swam in lazy circles, happy and buoyant. 
Leith was there, and his hand never left mine.  I took a deep breath and dove
under the water.  I swam and swam, feeling like I could hold my breath
forever.  When my head broke the surface, I giggled like a little girl.  It was
then that I realized I had let go of Leith’s hand.  I looked around me, but
there was no sign of him anywhere. 

My
eyes fluttered open and I immediately looked for Leith.  He was no longer by
the stream.  I pushed myself to my feet.  “Leith,” I called lightly.  He was
probably just teasing me.

Smiling,
I made my way down to the stream.  He still didn’t answer, and the smile began
to fade.  It wasn’t like him to just leave me.  We had seen a small lake on our
hike in.  I turned and headed that way.  Maybe he had seen me sleeping and
decided to go explore.

I
parted the tall grasses, pushing my way through to the small clearing near the
lake.  A man sat perched on a fallen log by the water’s edge.  He had a small
pouch in his lap.  I watched as he reached inside, pulled out some breadcrumbs,
and tossed them to the wild ducks that circled impatiently. 

I
cleared my throat to announce my presence.  Um, excuse me.  Have you seen a
tall, dark haired man come by here?” 

He
didn’t turn to look at me, but patted the log next to him with a long, graceful
hand.  “I’ve not seen a man pass by, no.” 

I
went to him and clumsily sat on the log, almost tumbling down the little hill
and into the water in the process.  “How about a horse then- you know, scary
and carnivorous?”

He
chuckled and turned to regard me with a small smile tugging at the corner of
his delicate mouth.  His eyes were all the colors of the forest- hazel, green,
brown, blue, and grey- sparkling in the afternoon sun.  His long hair was the
color of tree bark, kind of a brownish gray color, but shiny like silk.  He was
beautiful.  Though he was broad shouldered and well proportioned, his head only
came up to my shoulder when I was sitting by his side.

“You
belong to the kelpie then?”  His voice was soft and lilting, like a woodwind
instrument, and carried a faint accent.

I
shook my head.  “I don’t belong to anyone.”

He
laughed.  “Oh, do you think not, lass?”

I
nodded emphatically.  “You’re fey, right?”  I said hesitantly.  “Is it okay to
ask you what you are?”

He
looked at me, considering.  “You have nothing to fear from me, at the moment,”
he said with a smile. 

 At
the moment, huh?

“Your
heart is conflicted,” he observed, turning his attention back to the ducks, who
had begun to quack loudly at the lack of food.

I
shrugged.  “In all the stories, fairies are tricky things- cute and mysterious,
but not to be trusted.  In all the old tales it was only the cunning and alert who
managed to escape some horrible fate when dealing with your kind.”  And he
hadn’t told me what he was.

He
shrugged, aping my gesture.  “You should hear the stories we have of humans. 
It would curdle your blood.  Humans are horrible creatures that kill, and rape,
and torture our kind.”

I
frowned as I watched a water bug skate across the surface of the pond.  Surely,
it was getting too cold for them.  “Alright, fine.  But your kind is actively
seeking to destroy mine, and I have no idea what side of that conflict he is
on.”

The
beautiful man upended his pouch, brushing away the last of the breadcrumbs. 
“Isn’t the problem really that you
don’t know what side of the battle
you
are on?”

I
shook my head.  “Of course not.  I’m on the humans’ side.”

He
pursed his lips, still gazing out across the lake.  “Are you?  That’s strange.”

I
bristled a bit at his words.  So maybe they hit home a little bit.  I wasn’t
going to admit it.

He
heaved a sigh, as if he were weighing a very difficult situation.  “What would
you do to save your kind?  If you knew humans were on the brink of extinction,
what would you be willing to do to save them?  How would you even know if they
were worth saving?”

I
frowned at him.  “How can you say that?  Of course they are worth saving! 
Every living thing is worth saving.”

He
shrugged and plucked a long blade of grass.  He regarded it with his strange
eyes as he twirled it between his thumb and forefinger.  “Think of the human
race.  Think of all the things your people have done, good and bad.  Think of
the wars, the killing, torturing each other, torturing other creatures,
destroying the earth, setting off atomic bombs, abusing children, abusing
animals, serial killers, rapists, Hitler, terrorists… isn’t it enough to make
your heart wither and die?”

I
took a breath.  Of course it was.  I had thought of these things already.  “But
there are good things too.  There’s love, selflessness, compassion, activists,
Mother Theresa, the Dali Lama.  The good balances the bad.” 
Didn’t it?

He
threw the blade of grass into the lake and watched it drift away.  “Do they?” 
His words echoed my thoughts.  “Or would the world truly be better off without
them?  If there were no hate, we wouldn’t need to love, if there was no cruelty
and suffering, we wouldn’t need compassion.  If humans did not destroy
everything they touched, we wouldn’t need activists.  We wouldn’t need Mother
Theresa or the Dali Lama.”

He
turned to look at me again.  “If you could erase all of the atrocities committed
during, say, the holocaust, what price would you pay?  Would you sacrifice all
of those who committed those acts?”

I
swallowed.  “I would.”

“Would
you sacrifice a few innocent people too?”

I
closed my eyes.  “Probably.”

“And
what if it wasn’t just that one occurrence?  Would you sacrifice a child- maybe
a hundred children- if it meant no one ever suffered again?”