Kelpie (Come Love a Fey) (24 page)

Leith
stared at her.  “It was your doing that Adhene’s father was in Hiroshima.  You
killed Uncle Anyon.”  Moreover, the fey had been responsible, at least in part,
for the murder of hundreds of thousands of people, most of them civilians.

She
nodded and leaned forward intently.  “You need to eliminate your cousin-
immediately.”

I
glanced between the two of them.  “Isn’t there some other way to fix this?” 
She was telling him to murder his only living relative.  How would that be any
different from what Adhene was doing?  And for the love of God, was it going to
involve a nuclear holocaust?

My
plea went unheard.  Leith looked at Mair, then at me, and back again.  “What
was the other part of the curse?”

I
stared at him stupidly.  “What?”

Mair
laughed.  “Her, of course.  Why would you go to a human in your confusion?  Why
not seek out your own kind?  You were meant to find her.”

Leith
snorted and I blushed furiously.  Not just
find
me.  He had been intent
on one thing.  Mair had wanted him to procreate and make more little horse
lords immediately upon awakening.  My jaw ached from gritting my teeth so hard.

I
crossed my arms and stared at the table.  “Thanks a hell of a lot,” I muttered
under my breath.  Anger was bubbling up.  I was a pawn for Leith, arranged by
this slippery woman.  I pressed a hand to my stomach.  What if she had been
successful?  I had just assumed since Leith wasn’t human, nothing would come of
our coupling.

Mair
sounded amused.  “She has served as a good shelter for you while you re-group…but
this is what humans are for, to serve the fey.”

I
sat up straight.  I was embarrassed at being so easily used, and it fueled my
anger.  “Like hell!”

Leith
gave me a quelling look.  “Mair, please don’t bait her,” he said tiredly.  As
if I was a child, or an idiot.

The
old woman shook her head at Leith and her voice took on a reprimanding note. 
“You haven’t told her about us.  She would not be so shocked if you had already
explained our history to her.  Or are you afraid it will scare her away?  If
she’s so weak, you don’t need her by your side.”

She
tapped her long fingernails on the table in agitation.  “You’ve grown soft in
your slumber, boy.  Where is the fey lord who led men to the wreckage of battle
and feasted on the flesh of those that dared to enter our domain?”

My
eyes darted between her and Leith.  The old woman was watching me intently. 
There was a sick feeling building in my gut, a sense that I had just made a
terrible, terrible mistake.

Leith’s
beautiful, alien eyes met mine for a moment, and there was nothing there for me
to read.  He had his mask firmly in place and all I saw were harsh lines and
severe angles.  He looked dark and wicked.  He didn’t dispute anything she had
just said.

I
slid my chair back from the table and grabbed my purse, feeling ill.  “Excuse
me.”

I
turned and made my way to the door.  The atmosphere in the bar felt a hell of a
lot more menacing, now that I wasn’t hiding in Leith’s shadow.  I kept my eyes
on the door, but I could feel the leering faces of the creatures I passed. 
Their otherness propelled me across the bar and out the door.

I
got to my car and pulled out my keys.  My hand shook, and I dropped them. 
“Damn it.”  I bent to retrieve the keys.  Standing, I turned to my door again, letting
out a shriek as a tall, dark figure materialized there. 

Leith
held up his hands in a gesture of peace.  “Ada, it’s only me.”

I
took a step back and slipped my keys into my palm, sharp edges facing out like
they teach you in self-defense classes.  “That’s what I was afraid of.”

He
dropped his hands, looking resigned.  “Mair has succeeded in driving you away
from me.”

I
stared up at him, on the verge of tears.  “Tell me she was lying.  Tell me that
stuff about wars and feasting on human flesh was all crap, and that half those
things in there didn’t want to eat me.  Tell me I am more to you than a…broodmare!”

He
crossed his arms.  “I would hope that I didn’t need to defend myself to you. 
You should know who I am.”

I
gestured at my car.  “Move your ass.  I’m going home.”

He
didn’t budge.  Anger was rolling off him in waves.  “You have got to be kidding
me.”

“Get
away from my car.  I’m going home.  Without you.  I never want to see your face
again.”  I reached down my shirt and pulled out the necklace he had given me. 
I tossed it at him and he caught it automatically, without even looking.

He
shook his head.  “Is your human heart really this fickle and weak?  I thought
there was more to you than this.  I believed you were different from the rest
of your narrow-minded species.”

I
shook my head, tears falling from my cheeks.  “I’m human, only human.  And
humans have only two uses, right?  You didn’t use me for food, so I must have
just been a really convenient fuck.  And you sit there and talk about humans as
if we were insects.  Do you even understand what your dear friend in there just
admitted to?”

He
pushed away from the car, leaving a dent in my door.  “You are just as blind
and ignorant as the Unseelie believe you to be.”

I
shoved past him.  “Stay away from me.”

He
whirled and disappeared into the dark.  “
Done
.”

I
jumped into the car and threw it in gear, pealing out of the parking lot like a
crazy person.  Tearing home, I hurried to my apartment.  The deadbolt slammed
home with a gratifying sound.  I stood just inside my door, staring blankly. 
Then I stooped and took off one shoe, then the other, chucking them at the wall
as hard as I could.  The dull thumps relieved some of my anger.  That just left
room for the tears to take over.

“You
are a fucking idiot,” I said to myself. 

It
was strange to come home to an empty apartment.  It was several moments before
I noticed that the lamp in the living room was on.  I clearly remembered
turning it off before we left.  A chill walked up my spine.  Someone had been
in here.

I
looked around to see if anything was missing, but all of my things were exactly
where I had left them.  The few belongings Leith possessed were gone.  Even his
toothbrush, which had taken up residence in the cup next to mine.  There was no
trace to prove he had even been here.

I
sank down on my bed, feeling numb.  In the time it had taken me to drive home,
he had managed to come here, to my
locked
apartment, and take all of his
things, effectively removing all trace of his presence.  I pulled open the
drawer of my nightstand where I kept the rusty dagger tucked away when it decided
to show itself.  If it was missing, that didn’t necessarily mean Leith had
taken it, I reminded myself.  It might have wandered off on its own. 

I
stared into the shadowy interior of the drawer.  The dagger wasn’t there.  I
reached inside and pulled out the shining Kelpie’s gem.  The necklace didn’t
have a mind of its own like the dagger.  Leith had placed it here.  I caressed
the warm jewel, and then tucked it back inside the drawer, ignoring the tears
that trickled down my cheeks.

*****

Leith
stood in the deep shadows of the big oak tree, and gazed up at Ada’s balcony. 
Her curvy figure was outlined in the light that spilled out of her apartment- a
perfect hourglass that just begged to be touched.  His sharp eyes were able to
make out her features as she stood gazing toward the forest, unable to see
him.  His eyes traced the lines of her face, memorizing them.  He wanted to go
to her, force her to stop being stubborn and admit that she loved him.  He was
angry and hurt that she didn’t trust him.  But he knew if he were to take her
in his arms, her words would mean nothing, her body would tell him the truth. 

He
exhaled, squashing the notion.  It was better this way.  Let her believe he was
a monster.  Let her live her life, far away from fey and magic…and the Unseelie. 
He closed his eyes, his heart clenching.  There was a flutter of wings and he
opened his eyes to see Una hovering before him.

“Leith!
 Did you come to get Ada?”  The little sprite’s lovely face was filled with
joy.

“No.”

Her
expression dropped.  “I know you’ve fought… but she wants you to come back. 
She’s been crying for days.”

He
shook his head.  “We need to return to Faerie,” he said firmly.  “It’s time for
me to confront Adhene.”

Una
hovered uncertainly, casting a glance over her shoulder toward the balcony
above.  “I just always assumed that you would take her with you when you went
home.”

He
had hoped for something similar himself- foolish as it was.  His eyes followed
the movements of her shadowy figure as Ada reached to pull the shades, blocking
her world from his sight.  “Our world isn’t safe for her,” he whispered. 

Una
landed on his shoulder, her wings drooping.  “Okay,” she said, resigned. 
“Let’s go.”

He
lifted a hand and scooped her off his shoulder like a bit of fluff from a fall
cattail.  “You’re staying here.”

She
looked at him indignantly.  “You’re going to battle!  You can’t leave me here.”

He
narrowed his eyes at her.  “You’ll do what I tell you to do.”

She
planted her hands on her tiny waist and marched across his palm and up the
slope of his thumb to stand glaring up at him defiantly, her wings trembling. 
“My clan has served yours for centuries.  Do you think just because I’m small,
I won’t be a fierce fighter?”

He
smiled down at her.  “You’re a bonnie fighter- all of your clan is.  Great
things come in small packages,” the corner of his mouth quirked and she rolled
her eyes. 

“By
leaving you here, I’m giving you the most important duty of all.”  He glanced
back up at the apartment.  “Guard my heart while I’m away.  It’s my most
vulnerable spot.” 

Una
regarded him from under her brows for a moment before lifting off his hand to
hover before him, her green wings iridescent in the soft moonlight.  “I’ll
guard it well,” she promised.  Then she darted away into the night.

Leith
heaved a heavy sigh.  “Goodbye
mo chridhe
.”  Then he stepped into the
space between worlds.

A
week passed,
and I heard nothing from Leith.  It was as if he had never existed.  If I
concentrated, I could still see through the illusions around me.  Therefore, I
didn’t concentrate.  I passed up the promotion.  I started messing up at work. 
I was no longer the top employee, and I didn’t much care. 

After
dinner, I took a cup of hot tea out on the balcony and stood staring at the
woods like a heartsick idiot.  This kind of sappy behavior was becoming a sick
habit for me.  There was a flicker of movement and Una came to perch on the
balcony.  She was carrying a length of yellow ribbon.  The pert sprite was with
me nearly every moment of every day.

“Ada,
I brought you a ribbon.”  She looked so proud of herself.

I
looked at her doubtfully.  “Uh…thanks?”

 “You
know how you’re supposed to tie a yellow ribbon around an oak tree for your
warrior?  Humans got the custom from the fey.”  She winked.  “But it only works
if it’s pixie silk.”

I
leaned against the railing and took a sip of my tea, enjoying the cool bite of
peppermint.  “And?”

“Well,
I brought you a ribbon.  Leith is going to battle, so you should put this on
your tree.”  She nodded at the big oak growing in the yard.

I
straightened and looked at her, beginning to pay attention.  “Leith is going to
battle?”

She
nodded and held out the ribbon.  The bundle of shiny yellow must weigh more
than she did.  “Yep.  He’s gone to find Adhene.”  She was breathless with
anticipation.  “The rest of the clan is meeting him in Underhill.”  She held up
the ribbon and grinned.  “See- it’s pixie silk.”

She
fluttered into the air and floated backward with her bundle.  “C’mon.  We’ll
make sure he comes home.”  She dropped the ribbon, and then flew down to
retrieve it.

*****

I
stood in front of the big tree uncertainly.  I didn’t want him to come back.  He
had betrayed me.  Lied to me about what he was.  Kept dangerous information
from me.  He was a monster.  They all were.  Then why were my hands were
trembling? 

Leith
openly admitted that his cousin was one of the strongest fey.  What if I never
saw him again?  That had been my intention, hadn’t it?  I told him to leave.  I
told him I never wanted to see him again.  What went on in Faerie was none of
my concern.  I had no right to care what kind of trouble he was getting himself
into over there.  And I had no right to put up this silly symbol implying that
I wanted him to come back to me.

I
stooped and picked up the yellow silk, my body acting without input from my
poor, confused brain.  My cell phone rang and I fished it out of my pocket,
seeing an unfamiliar number on the screen.  This late at night, it was probably
some sloshed idiot with the wrong number.  I thought about sending it to
voicemail, but I pressed the talk button instead.