Page 70 of Whispered Warnings: Part One

Mael growls again, and they tense. Griff stops his forward movement. Smart man.

I lean forward slightly so I can stroke his neck, “It’s okay, they are friends, not foe, I promise. You can stand down.”

The effect my words have on him is immediate and switches from deadly killing creature to cute deadly creature who just wants pets.

“What the fuck is happening?” Evander asks.

“Erm Neith?” Doc questions but pauses before he says anything else because Mael snorts the second I stop petting him.

“Yes, Doc?” I reply with a grin, thoroughly enjoying how shocked they all are.

Doc clears his throat, “Do you maybe want to explain what is going on right now?”

I chuckle, “Sure. So, after I spoke to Wallace, I heard what sounded like something crying, so I checked it out. The kelpies lured me here and tried to drown and eat me, like they do. My sword appeared, while I was under the water fighting them off, which was fucking awesome by the way. The sword appearing, not me fighting them off. It let off this blast of magic, I guess itwas, and they all went away, but I noticed one trapped, and he sounded like he was in pain, and I couldn’t just leave him, so I helped him. Then I swam to the shore, the kelpies followed, and I got up onto the beach and they surrounded me, then just as I was running out of steam, Mael came to save me, and now we are friends. He likes cuddles.”

I smile and continue to stroke Mael’s neck as we both watch the guy’s expressions cycle through a range of different emotions, before all of them settle on disbelief apart from River who just looks really excited.

“Can I stroke him? I have never seen a kelpie this close,” River asks.

Reed crosses his arms over his chest, “No one has. The only way you see a kelpie this close is if it’s about to eat you.”

“I am not even sure how the fuck you have managed to tame a fucking kelpie,” Ransom mutters incredulously.

“I have never read or heard about a kelpie allowing anyone near it, let alone stroke it or sit on its back,” Raiden adds, the wheels in his head turning and I know that as soon as we get back to the house he’s going to be doing some research to see if this is an isolated event or not.

“Why did you get on its back anyway?” Doc asks.

I shrug, “I didn’t. He heard you guys approaching and, I think, decided that I was safer up here than I was down there because he sort of used his nose and actually, now that I’m thinking about it, must have used some sort of magic as well because he flipped me, so I landed on his back.”

River slowly approaches Mael, having gotten fed up with waiting for me to tell him that he could stroke the kelpie or not.

“So, he’s protective of you as well?” Griff asks. He adds, “I know that he growled at us, but moving you out of harm’s way is actively protecting you.”

“It’s definitely unusual,” Raiden adds. “River, be careful. Just because he is letting Neith interact with him doesn’t mean that he will be willing to let you do the same.”

River nods, and then does something that makes me like him even more, he asks Mael’s permission.

“Can I please stroke you?” he asks, holding his hand up but making no move to get any closer to him.

Mael moves closer and nuzzles his hand.

“He likes cuddles,” I say.

“I can’t believe what is happening right now,” Evander says. “Although, I shouldn’t be surprised, you always did have a way with supernatural creatures. Nothing quite as deadly as this though.”

“This is awesome,” River mutters. He steps back and inclines his head, “Thank you.”

“Wait, you said Mael?” Reed asks, “He told you his name?”

I shake my head, “I don’t know how to answer that question. I mean, he didn’t use words, and I don’t think he intended to tell me. I asked him, and he is intelligent enough to answer yes or no questions to an extent, but after I asked him his name, it sort of blazed through my mind. I asked him and he got really excited, so I don’t think he shared it with me. I don’t know how I knew it.”

“It must have something to do with your magic,” Evander suggests.

“It’s an odd way for magic to manifest itself,” Doc comments.

I raise my eyebrow and smirk, “Thanks for that. A woman always likes to be referred to as odd.”

“I didn’t mean that you were odd,” Doc replies with a smirk.

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