Page 81 of Rise of the Melody
I watched the water as the notes danced from my vocals and into the early evening air. I sang as the fog rolled in, blanketing the pond, my eyes peeled for any signs of water movement. I sang the song twice through. Then a third time.
I stopped long enough to listen to the silence of the water; only quiet whispers of bug life came from the trees at my back. Why wasn’t the kelpie taking the bait? The pond was big, but not big enough for it to be super deep for the creature to hide from my song.
I chose another song, something faster. I sang louder. I walked back and forth in front of the cage area, right up to the shore. I splashed some water. I shoved the bloodied rocks into the water with a big stick. And all the while I sang. I sang as the moon moved upward in the big, starry sky. I sang for hours. I sang until my throat hurt.
Thesquawkof a loud bird in the trees startled me, and I stopped singing. My head swiveled, trying to see if it was that eagle again, but I saw nothing but trees. I was exhausted and hungry. I put my hands on my knees, watching the water. A twig snapped behind me and I spun, my mouth open to either scream or sing, but any sound got stuck at the sight of Zar striding lazily toward me in the moonlight. My heart was in my throat, banging until I swallowed it back down and caught my breath.
“What the heck, Zar? You scared me half to death! What are youdoinghere?”
He ignored me, eyeing the cage. He reached out to touch it, yanking his hand back after a second. My eyes widened.
“The iron affects you?”
He gave an infuriating shrug. “Itwashere, but it’s clearly gone.”
“What, the kelpie? No crap.” I sighed and sat on a big rock, watching him as he stared at the pond. “How are you here?” I asked. “Didn’t you hear my singing?”
Another shrug. “Can’t give away all my secrets.”
I stared at him incredulously, trying to figure it out. “Why did you go to the island last night? It’s like you went there just to mess with us.”
“Aye.” A ghost of a grin passed his lips. “Boredom, I suppose.”
I rolled my eyes, fully annoyed, and threw a pebble into the water, watching the moonlight ripple. “Well, it wasn’t cool.”
“Did I interrupt your cuddles with my dear cousin?” He kicked a stick that went flying far into the lake.
I couldn’t decipher his tone. “Your cousin is a nice person,” I told him. “You shouldn’t try to make an enemy of him.”
He gave a dry laugh, staring out at the water. Trying to see it from Zar’s view, it was probably hard for him to look at Teague, who’d been living the life Zar had lost…raised by his father safe and sound on Earth. But that wasn’t Teague’s fault.
“When are you going to tell your dad you’re here?” I asked.
“When the time is right.”
I stared at him standing there, taking in the sizzle of his power.
“You could probably kill this thing on your own, couldn’t you?” Why didn’t he?
For a split second it looked like he was holding back a cocky grin. “And miss out on the opportunity to see you in action?”
I picked up a jagged rock and felt all the sharp edges and angles against my fingertips and palm. “I wanted to catch it tonight. As scared as I was, I feel kind of…disappointed that it’s not here.”
He finally looked at me—I could feel his eyes—but it was my turn to stare out.
I asked, “Why can’t you be touched?”
His face turned abruptly back to the water, then the ground as he dug up some rocks with the toe of his boot. He wasn’t going to answer. I sighed. Then, to my surprise, he spoke.
“I can, I suppose, but I dinnae prefer it.”
Okay. “So, you don’t like to be touched? But…why?”
“Always nebbin’,” he muttered. I had no idea what that meant, but it sounded bad, like he was calling me nosy. Maybe I was. Oh, well.
“Look, if you and I are going to work together in some capacity, it would be good to know each other a little better. That’s all I’m saying.”
He kicked rocks again.
