Page 110 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

I blink at the sudden influx of information, not understanding what he’s saying. Shaking my head, I try to work through his instructions.

“The kelpie?” I have vague memories, old memories, of people talking about kelpies and watery graves, but when I try to reach for them, they slip away. Strange.

“Nasty creature.” Stix shudders, and a couple of the other creatures behind us make noises of agreement. “But weed is deep, deep down in lake. Humans have little lungs, not able to make the swim.” Now that Stix has started talking, he seems to have become quite chatty, and I’m beginning to get used to his scratchy, whispery voice.

He continues to talk, telling me all about his life and that of his friends. I learn that these creatures are forest imps and believe the high elves treat them like lower class citizens. I sympathise with them, and although I fear for Vaeril, Stix is able to keep me entertained during our journey to the lake.

When we arrive, it takes my breath away. It’s beautiful here, with birds singing as they fly above us. The trees have thinned away, and the ground slopes down gently towards a large lake.There is a tall cliff on the other side of the pool, a waterfall cascading over the top of it.

“Cave.” Stix points towards the cliff and we start heading towards it. I want to sprint, to hurry and drag the elf there, but the imps keep up their slow and steady pace.

Eventually, we reach the waterfall and the imps carry Vaeril behind the curtain of water, disappearing from sight. I start to follow, but a tug at my skirt pulls my gaze from where Vaeril vanished to my chatty companion. “Make sure to tell the kelpie what I said, otherwise she’ll drown you,” he tells me happily.

Lovely, sounds promising,I think, as I take a deep breath, watching as the imps file out from behind the waterfall. A thought comes to me as they all start walking away, back towards the forest.

“How do I find her?”

Stix turns around from where he’s plodding away. “Call her. They are curious. Don’t get summoned often,” he responds with a shrug, walking backwards.

“Thank you, Stix, thank you so much,” I say graciously, knowing I wouldn’t have made it here without his help.

His whole face lights up like I’ve just made all his dreams come true. “Pleasure, friend.” He waves, continuing to walk backwards as if he’s being pulled to the forest—perhaps he is. Once he’s out of sight, I turn to head behind the falls when a gust of wind brushes past and whips around me, caressing me as it swirls until I’m inside a twisting circle of wind. I should be worried, but for some reason, I’m not.

“Welcome back, Alina,” a whispered voice calls, and as quickly as it appeared, the wind vanishes, leaving me out of breath and slightly elated.

Welcome back?Why did they call me Alina? That’s what Vaeril calls me, no one else knows that name, I muse, as I jog to the falls. Sure enough, when I get there, I see a thin gap betweenthe crashing water and the cliff face, and about halfway in, an opening that I assume is the cave.

Squeezing through the opening, I take a relieved breath when I see Vaeril lying at the back of the cave. I hurry over, take off my cloak, and ball it up, placing it under his head. His eyes suddenly shoot open, making me gasp as he reaches out for me.

“Clarissa—Alina?” His eyes dart around the cave and his brow glistens with sweat, and I know he’s not really seeing me as his eyes skim past me.

“I’m here,” I reply, taking hold of his hand. “I need to go find something that will help you—nos weed,” I explain, as I brush some of his hair from his forehead, untangling it with my fingers.

“No, the kelpies will get you.” He abruptly lurches up, and I have to push him back so he lies down, soothing him with my hands, stroking his arm.

“It’s okay, I’ll be back soon,” I promise, releasing his hand and wincing at his pained noise as I stand up and make my way to the entrance of the cave. I hate leaving him like this, the noises he’s making break my heart a little, but I will be hurting a whole lot more if he dies.

“No—”

Glancing over, I see he’s trying to push himself up, but he doesn’t have the energy. I steel myself and hurry along the edge of the rock until I’m past the falls.

Taking a deep breath, I walk alongside the lake, searching for a good place to do this. I don’t want to be too close to the cave in case this all goes wrong, but I want to have it in my sights so I can see if he tries to leave or if anyone else attempts to go in. I get the feeling I’m being watched, and a part of me is warning me not to get too close to the edge.

“Kelpie, I wish to talk to you,” I declare loudly. I’m not sure what I’m looking for, but when silence greets me, I wonder if I’vebeen duped. I lift my foot to take another step closer to the lake when the water suddenly ripples in the centre as two pointed black ears poke from the surface, followed by two glowing amber eyes. Instantly, I put my foot back down, standing my ground.

When it realises I’m not going to move any closer, it rises farther out of the water as it glides closer to the shore. Its upper torso is out of the water now, and I see that it looks like a horse, except this creature is angry. No, anger doesn’t cover the level of darkness this creature has. I can feel its rage as it watches me, and it speaks to that part of me that is always angry, the fury difficult to contain.

“I need nos weed, my friend is hurt,” I explain, but as its eyes narrow on me, I know it’s not going to help me. With a loud, screeching neigh, its front legs erupt from the water before it plunges down into the depths of the lake.

“No!” I shout and, in my desperation, I hurtle towards the silent lake. The only indication that the kelpie had ever been there are the ripples that brush up against the shore. Reaching the water’s edge, I fall to my knees. “She has returned!” I shout, my voice breaking.

I’m not sure what I expected to happen, but when the kelpie’s head pops up from the water only two feet away from me, I have to stifle my shout of surprise. It’s so close, I can see its rippling mane moving on a phantom breeze. A primal part of me is screaming to move back, to get as far away from the lake as I can, but as I lock eyes with the creature, I know it’s not going to hurt me.

Two sets of ripples have me looking past the kelpie to see two smaller ones have joined it, their jet-black heads bobbing from the water to stare at me with their glowing amber eyes.

“She has returned,” I say again, my voice ragged.

As if by some silent signal, the three of them dip their heads in my direction. One of the smaller creatures disappears underthe water, but it’s the big one I’m watching. Slowly, oh so slowly, he moves towards me, his body raising from the water the closer he gets. I don’t move, staying completely still. This close, its tall, towering over me where I kneel on the shore.

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