Kelpie (Come Love a Fey) (28 page)

One
side of the room arched out into a circular window seat that was built into the
turret, just like bay window downstairs in the living room.  Something flew at
me, and I started.  Una landed on my shoulder in a shimmer of light. 

Bethany
turned my way in surprise, her whole face lighting up.  “Ada, you’re here!” 
She came to take my hands and pull me into the room.  “What do you think?”  She
gestured around her hopefully.

I
frowned.  “What do you mean?”

Una
giggled in my ear.  “This is your room.  Bethany fixed it up for you.”

I
rubbed my forehead and sank into a big armchair by the bed.  “It’s beautiful,
Bethany, but I’m not sleeping in here.”

Her
face fell and she came to sit on the bed.  I stared at her for a moment. 
Seeing her without her glamour was unsettling, but apparently, I couldn’t turn
it off anymore… now that I was in their world.  Her green face looked puzzled. 
“I thought for sure you’d like it.”  She bit her lip nervously.  “Kelpie will
be angry at me for screwing up.”

I
rolled my eyes.  “Fuck him.”

Bethany’s
mouth fell open and Una laughed so hard she left my shoulder.  She hovered
between us, holding her ribs. “I told you,” the little sprite said between
laughs.  Bethany frowned.

I
gestured wildly.  “You think I want to be here?”

“Of
course.  This is the place where he is,” Bethany said simply.

I
didn’t know what to say to that.  “I’m only here because the king ordered him
to bring me to Faerie.  I didn’t want to come here.  Leith forced me- he
abducted me!”

Bethany
still didn’t seem to understand what I was mad about.  Una landed on her
shoulder and tugged at her hair.  “Ada feels betrayed,” she said in a tiny
voice.  “Her feelings are just hurt right now.”  She shot a glance my way.  “Don’t
worry, she still loves him.  She’ll get over it.”

I
shook my head.  “Absolutely not.  I wish I had never saved his life.”  Both of
them gaped at me, and even Una looked pissed.  I wanted to take it back
immediately, but I stubbornly refused. 

Just
then, a young man came through a door off the side of the room.  I glanced at
Bethany in surprise.  Her affect brightened.  “Oh, there’s a bathroom and
another adjoining room.”  As if having my own bathroom would make it all
better.

The
man came in and waved to us.  “Hello,” he said in a light, almost feminine
voice.  He was shirtless, but wore some sort of light, flowing pants.  He had
horns, but his were tiny little peaks, not big curls like Bethany’s.  He had
hooves instead of feet. 

Una
darted up and swooped back and forth between us.  “Ada, this is Rin.”

He
held out a hand and I shook it automatically.  It was going to take a while to
get used to seeing all the fey without their glamour- not that I planned to be
here that long.  He looked like a teenager, but I reminded myself that he could
easily be three times my age. 

“I’m
pleased to meet you, mistress,” he said formally.  Then he laughed, a merry,
bubbling sound that was infectious. 

I
resisted the urge to smile, clamping my lips into a grim line.  This only
seemed to amuse him more.  “What is so funny?”

He
winked at me playfully.  “Oh, human hearts are wild things indeed.”

I
glanced at Bethany and she shrugged.  “He’s a fawn,” she said, as if that
explained everything.  “Do you have some things that need to be brought up?” 
She looked between Rin and me.  Apparently, he had been nominated as bellhop.

I
sat up a little, intending to tell him I could get my own stuff, not that I was
planning on staying.  “I’ll just…”

I
froze at the peculiar feeling of something hard and sharp sliding through my
hair.  It reached the end of my hair and then started over again, raking
through the thick waves.  Una snorted at the undoubtedly terrified expression
on my face.

Bethany
smiled at whatever was behind me.  “Oba, did you come to see Ada?”

Ever
so carefully, I stiffly turned my head to look over my shoulder.  A long, thin
arm led to a tall, stork-like creature with round, beady eyes.  There was a
tuft of grey feathers on its head that lifted as I watched.  It gave the
creature a surprised air.

The
arm moved and I saw the claws that had been raking through my hair.  Oba’s
hands were like giant bird feet.  As my eyes adjusted to what I was seeing, I
was able to tell she was female.  Her body was that of a slender woman, but it was
covered in delicate grey downy feathers. 

“Such
pretty hair,” she warbled.  She plucked at my shirt with a talon, exploring.

“Um,
thank you,” I said awkwardly.

I
turned back to Bethany.  “Why are all of you here?”

She
smiled.  “Word of your deed has spread throughout Faerie.  Adhene was a powerful
and well-known lord.  And so is Leith.”  She shrugged.  “Everyone will want to
see Leith’s human warrior.”  She shrugged.  “And of course we are all just so
happy to have The Kelpie back.  Everyone wants to be near him.”

Oba
tilted her head from side to side like a pigeon.  “I have never seen a human so
close.”

I
stood suddenly, causing Oba to take a step back in surprise.  Was she scared of
me?  
Careful,
I thought snidely,
crazy human might knife you too.
 I
left the room without a word and hurried down the stairs.  This was all too
much.

I
had seen an outside door in the kitchen.  I rushed there, thinking only of
getting out of that house.  I glanced behind me to make sure no one was
watching, and plowed right into Leith as he came through the door.

He
grabbed my shoulders to steady me, his big hands warm through my shirt.  I
pushed away from his bare chest, not wanting to throw myself into his arms. 
Absolutely
not
.  “Are you okay?”  He glanced back the way I’d come.

I
glared up at him defiantly.  “I’m not your pet!”

He
brushed his hair back from his forehead and I noticed it was wet.  There were
little drops of water still glittering on his wide shoulders.  “Of course not,”
he said calmly.  “What’s happened?”

“I….
there’s…”  I couldn’t put my feelings into words.  A motion behind Leith caught
my eye, and I noticed the pair of men standing just outside the door.  One was
blonde, and one had light brown hair.  They both had leaf green eyes.  Their
grace, their glowing beauty, and something about the way they held themselves-
as if they were listening to something I couldn’t hear- was identical to
Adhene.

I
took a step back.  The fear I had been trying so hard not to feel overpowered
my anger and I turned tail and ran back to the living room.  I sat on my box of
stuff and pulled my knees to my chin, trying to disappear.

The
hardwood floor creaked softly and Leith ghosted by me and flowed up the
stairs.  A few minutes later, Bethany and crew came down.  She patted me on the
shoulder in passing.  Una darted near to kiss my cheek.  Then they were gone.

Leith
crouched near me and brushed my hair out of my face.  I jerked away from him. 
“Piss off!”

He
laughed.  “I’m glad to hear it.  For a minute there I thought you were scared.”

I
uncurled myself and sat cross-legged, giving him a murderous glare.  “I want
the dagger back.”

Leith
sighed.  “Ada, there is nothing you can do about this.  I know you need time to
adjust, but… can you please just….”  He looked into my eyes.  Apparently,
whatever he saw there made him change his mind.  He shook his head.  “Never
mind.”

He
rose and headed for the stairs.  “I’ve sent everyone away.  They were just
curious.  We don’t bring humans over to our world very often, and they are
curious to know what makes you so special.  They don’t mean any harm.  They
want to welcome you- they just don’t know how.”

I
swallowed hard.  “And…the elves?”

He
sighed.  “They are distant relatives.  Their business was with me.  ”

That
was not comforting. 

I
curled up in
the center of the ridiculous big bed.  Tears leaked from my eyes without my
permission.  Before long, I was sobbing, shaking with the force of my emotion. 
I felt so lost and adrift.  I had no idea what to do from here.  The one person
who might have been able to guide me through this world had betrayed me.  There
was a knock at my door and I started, rubbing at my eyes.  I didn’t want anyone
to see me like this.

Leith’s
deep voice came from behind the dark wood.  “Ada, may I please come in?” 

I
grabbed one of the big pillows and covered my head, trying to drown it all
out.  I didn’t want any reminders of his presence right now.  I didn’t want to
hear that deep, rich voice, filled with concern and hurt.  “Go away!”  I didn’t
want him to see me crying my heart out like a frightened little girl. 

The
door creaked open and I heard his soft footsteps on the hardwood.  “I’ve
brought you a gift.”

The
pillow was lifted from my head, but I refused to look at him.  I squeezed my
eyes closed and covered my face with an arm.  “I don’t want any more of you
gifts
!”
 My tone was acid.  It sounded like a petulant teenager having a tantrum, and I
hated it.  I couldn’t look at him.

“Get
out.  Just stay away from me.”

He
stroked my hair, “Ada, please…”  I struck out at him, slapping his big hand
away. 

He
sighed and I felt a shift as he set something heavy on the end of the bed. 
“I’ll just leave it here for you.”

The
door shut and I was alone again.  Something moved on the bed and I sat up
suddenly, alarmed.  A soft head bumped my arm, and an energetic rumble broke
the silence that filled the room.  I scooped up the fat bundle of fluff and
held it tightly.  Cat let out a
mew
of surprise and I eased up, dropping
him into my lap.

I
laughed and stroked his fur, crying for a different reason now.  “Hello old
man,” I said fondly.  He went to knead the big bed, purring in contentment. 
“Make yourself at home,” I said dejectedly.  “Looks like we’re gonna be here a
while.”

I
brushed my hair behind my ear, trying not to think of the comforting touch that
had grazed it a moment before.

*****

I
pulled on my boots and made my way out the back door, easing it closed behind me. 
I hated that Leith was probably aware of every movement I made.  I took a deep
breath of the crisp fall air and I stood looking out over my garden.  I thought
of it as mine because it was obviously meant to resemble the human world. 
There were a handful of garden fey that resided in the area, and they could
usually be seen puttering around our backyard, tending to the beautifully
landscaped paths that led out to the open fields and woodlands beyond. 

I
couldn’t imagine the creatures placing the mums and sunflowers without being
told to do so.  I knew Leith had asked them to do it.  He had been incredibly
sensitive to my needs since coming here- and incredibly patient with me.  He
never said much, but I was constantly finding small things that had been
adjusted, or incorporated here and there, to make a human more comfortable.  At
times, I could almost believe we simply lived in an old house in the country,
and not in another world completely cut off from other humans.

I
sighed and made my way past the “human” part of the garden that was nearer to
the house.  I meandered among the wild flowers, many of them gone to seed. 
Finally, I found a little grouping of tree stumps that had been arranged like
seating at the edge of a pretty pool.  I had stopped trying to figure out what
the odd fish were.  Nothing that shade of electric blue was naturally occurring
in Michigan- at least not in the human world.  Their long whiskers trailed in
the water at their sides as they swam in lazy circles.

There
was a crunch of footsteps as someone approached through the fallen leaves
behind my perch.  I turned to find Mair making her way toward me from the
woods.  Without her glamour, and clad in a baggy, neutral colored dress and
shawl, she looked like the old beggar woman from countless fables.  I glanced
at the house, wondering what the old woman was doing sneaking in the back way. 
Apparently, she wasn’t here to see Leith.  I squared my shoulders and turned
back to the pool, letting her come to me.

Finally,
she came around the edge of the pool and took a seat on one of the stumps.  We
sat staring into the water without speaking for some time. 

“You
seem well,” she said, still looking at the pool.

I
shrugged.  “You mean since I’m only good for food or slavery, you mean?”

She
cackled merrily, and turned those little blueberry eyes on me.  “It seems you
have other uses.”  When I didn’t respond, she continued on, more seriously. 
“You can’t fault me for testing your spirit.”  She nodded back at the house. 
“That child is very important to me.  I couldn’t trust his life- or his heart-
to just anyone.”

I
snorted.  “Whatever.”