Child of Water

by Lela Grayce

  I was almost vibrating in my seat from excitement that my best friend was going to meet my new ones on our drive to the falls. I had admitted to her that I had a blossoming crush on Eian and while it might be too soon for anything more at this stage, he was being patient with me. That seemed to mollify her worry, at least for the moment. I had been coming to the falls for months now, but had never invited Kaelyn to accompany me. I was nervous to show her my haven and the friends I had made. They were becoming more and more important to me as time went by. The more conversations I had with Eian, the harder I fell for him. It was moving fast, but I had long since smothered that doubtful voice in my head. For the first time in a really long time, I was happy, and I didn’t care about any of the other stuff.

  After parking my car, I gave Kaelyn the grand tour of the area. Even though she had come to the falls many times before, it had never been with me and to my exact spot. My excitement was contagious, apparently. Kaelyn’s smile was wide and genuine as she watched me bounce around like a total spaz. At the beginning of the path down to my spot, Kaelyn’s shoe came untied. Laughing, she shooed me onward saying she’d catch up. I raced to my spot, removed my shoes, and made my way out into the shallow water until I was on the edge of the pool. I connected to water easily and reached out for Nuri, who was close and swimming to meet me.

  I turned around to see if Kaelyn had followed me yet. What I saw made my happy mood die as horror flooded my body. Brayson stood on the bank, leering at me with an excited gleam in his eye. Behind him were several football players, including Jonavan. My heart thundered at the sight of Kaelyn being held on the bank by Brayson’s friends, blood trickling from a gash to her head.

  “Come out of the water, Elara,” Brayson said, malice evident in his voice. “We need to talk.”

  Fear froze me. Fear for Kaelyn and for Nuri who was swimming his way to me now. Along with fear for myself. I was so terrified that my connection to water couldn’t even help calm me.

  Elara, what has happened? Nuri asked. I could feel him swimming faster.

  Don’t come here, Nuri. Turn around and go back. My inner voice was calm despite my roiling emotions.

  But you are terrified, Elara. I can feel it. What has happened? Nuri asked firmly and urgently.

  Brayson’s here and he has Kaelyn, I whispered, terror choking even my mental voice. She’s hurt. I couldn’t stand it if he hurt you, too, so please go back.

  Red-hot rage erupted inside my head, and a furious snarl came through the link, causing me to flinch at its intensity. Do not protect me, Elara. I am more than a match for this Brayson.

  I know that, but he could hurt Kaelyn more or me. For right now, he just wants to talk. Please go, Nuri, I begged him.

  “Don’t make me come in there to get you,” Brayson called from the bank. “You won’t like it if I do.”

  Swallowing, I began to take small, measured steps back toward the bank and closer to Brayson, all the while pleading and begging Nuri to stay away. Tears flooded my eyes, making everything blurry as I continued my slow careful trek in the shallow water.

  There are too many for you to handle on your own.

  Frustration comes from Nuri because he knows I’m right, I will go for help and come back.

  I gave him a mental nod as the bank drew closer. Be careful, Nuri.

  I was able to get out as Brayson lunged the remaining feet, impatient with my slow trek. He grabbed my arm, making me cry out as he wrenched it back and drug me from the water.

  Eian

  * * *

  The past several weeks spent with Elara had been amazing. Things were touch-and-go for a couple days with Nuri and Elara, but after I explained things to Nuri as best I could, it got better. Life had been easier since I could look forward to seeing Elara. She hadn’t been as guarded lately, and I thought I was getting close to finally breaking down the walls she had put up to protect herself. She was letting me in. Whether she knew it or not, I wasn’t sure. I could tell she liked me, and maybe she was even starting to fall for me. The truth was that I had fallen for her the first moment I laid eyes on her. I had seen with my own eyes as my soul, everything that I was, reached for her. Just the small connection that we shared had filled a void inside me that I hadn’t known was there. I was addicted to it now. I counted down the hours until I would see her again. I felt whole when I was around her. I was deeply in love with a blonde-haired, grey-eyed girl who held everything I was and everything I would become in her small hands.

  Grabbing my pack, I ran through a mental checklist of everything I needed. I was running behind and going to be late meeting Elara, but Nuri would be there and could keep her entertained until I arrived. I was glad that Nuri and Elara had become friends. Nuri definitely needed more friends, and they had become close over the past few weeks.

  Stuffing some extra bread and cheese into my pack, I made sure that the Earth clothes Nuri had gotten for me to wear during our meetings were still in there before swinging it onto my back and exiting my small hut. I saw Avva playing with a friend in front of a nearby hut. I caught her eye and waved to her. She waved back and blew me a kiss. I blew her one back and beamed at her heartfelt act. I had been doing my best to spend extra time with her and my parents. I made a point of going to see them every couple days and staying for dinner more often. I was pretty sure that my mother knew something was up, though. A few times, I saw her watching me with a curious expression on her face, so I would just smile at her and change the subject.

  Turning, I made my way toward the tree line, which was the straightest route to the underwater stone arch, a naturally-made portal between this world and Earth. It was what Nuri had used to get to Earth, but considering he was a supernatural creature and I was a human, we weren’t sure how the crossing would affect me. He had speculated and theorized, but we hadn’t gotten to the experimenting stage yet. We would need to soon, though. It was getting harder and harder for me to remain on my side when Elara was on the other. I longed to touch her beautiful face, run my fingers through her golden hair, hold her against me and see if she would fit perfectly like she did in my dreams. Most of all, I longed to kiss her full lips, to explore them with my own until I memorized them. It was my dream, both waking and sleeping.

  When I was only a couple of feet into the tree line, I heard a commotion back in the village. I paused to listen, then shrugged and continued on my normal path. A high-pitched horse neigh stopped me dead. I knew that cry. Last time I heard it, I was approaching a half-mad kelpie caught in a net. Without a second thought, I sprinted as fast as my legs would carry me back to the village. I followed the sounds of a struggle, dodging and pushing people out of my path.

  Pushing through a small gathered crowd, I watched in absolute horror as I saw Nuri in his horse form covered in sweat, nostrils flaring and eyes rolling in anger and fear. His lips were pulled back, his long fangs snapping at those near him, keeping them at a distance. Without hesitation, I lunged forward, putting my body between Nuri and my fellow spear-wielding villagers.

  “Stop!” I yelled loudly, putting my back to Nuri and facing the men. “Stop, please! He won’t hurt you. He won’t hurt anyone.”

  “That’s a kelpie, son. That’s what they do, hurt people or drag them off to drown,” an older man responded. “Now, get out of the way so we can put him down.”

  “No. Kelpies are not our enemies they were once ordered to drown humans as sacrifices to the gods. But just because they did something in the past that they had no control over, does not mean they continue to do so. They live peacefully, much like we do here, trying to stay hidden and protect themselves. They mean us no harm. Please lower your weapons.”

  “Eian, what are you doing? Drop your spears. That’s my son,” my dad’s voice boomed and all the men dropped their weapons instantly.

  “Does anyone have a bucket of water?” I asked, ignoring my dad’s question and the gathered soldiers. A small boy holding a bucket stepped forward hesitantly with his arms
extended.

  I grabbed the bucket’s handle hurriedly, careful not to spill. I approached Nuri, ignoring his allure, and placed the water by his front leg.

  “What are you doing?” my dad asked, his voice alarmed.

  I stepped back, facing Nuri, watching as he lifted his hoof and lowered it into the bucket of water. “Kelpies can only take their human forms if they are physically connected to water. There isn’t much around here, so he was forced to change into his horse form.”

  We all watched as Nuri began to change, slowly at first. He just seemed to flicker, then his form compressed in on itself, rearranging things. In less than a minute, he was standing on two legs, one foot awkwardly in the bucket.

  “How do you know so much about kelpies?” my dad asked curiously.

  “I know so much about kelpies, because I befriended one. Dad, I would like you to meet my friend Nuri,” I said, gesturing to the now two-legged, shirtless man standing where the horse used to be.

  “It’s nice to finally meet you, sir. I’ve heard a lot about you,” Nuri said, his exotic eyes studying the older version of myself. He held out his hand to my dad as if to shake it.

  After several heartbeats, my dad cautiously stepped forward and grasped Nuri’s offered hand with his own. Nuri maintained eye contact like I told him to and shook his grip, solid and firm. “You raised a good son. He saved my life once and has been a true friend. You should be very proud.”

  “His mother and I are extremely proud of the man he has become,” my dad replied, releasing his grip. “May I ask what you are doing here, Nuri?”

  “I have come, because I found the missing piece of Eian’s soul,” Nuri paused, watching my dad intently before turning to lock eyes with me. A furious fire burned in his eyes with barely-contained rage and my blood turned cold.

  “Elara,” I whispered my heart clenching in my chest making it hard to breath.

  “She has been grabbed. Her friend is hurt and bleeding.” Nuri raised a hand, stopping my outburst. “She was frightened for me. Their numbers are many and it was just me. She asked me to get help, so I ran here to get you.”

  My hands made fists without conscious thought. My right hand gripped around the glowing, light green spear that appeared at my demand. “Let’s go then,” I growled, equal parts angry at whomever would dare harm her and fearful for her safety.

  “I don’t understand,” my dad said, eyeing me and my glowing spear with a mixture of awe and fear.

  “No time to explain. I need to get to Earth now,” I said, rage boiling in my veins.

  “How can I help?” he asked.

  Shaking my head, I approached Nuri in his horse form once again and swung myself up onto his back. “If it’s who I think has her, it won’t be much of a fight.”

  Once I was settled, I grabbed a handful of his mane and nodded quickly to my dad as Nuri took off. Running faster than any land-born horse, we cleared the trees and he dove into the water, speeding toward the arch and to Elara on the other side.

  Chapter 9

  *~ Elara ~*

  * * *

  Brayson dragged me further onto the bank, my legs so weak from fear that I couldn’t get them to work. He threw me down with a sound of disgust coming from his throat. Brayson liked the fight, liked to overpower and conquer. I learned to fight back differently than what he wanted from me. I didn’t show fear or pain. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry, so I wiped my face with my sleeve and buried the pain deep down inside. I stood up, head high and glared at him with hatred.

  “What do you want, Brayson?” I asked, my voice sounding much stronger than I felt.

  “I’ve been watching you, Elara. I’m sure you’ve noticed.” His grin was wolfish as he peered at me. “I know you’ve noticed. Ever since you left, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. I want you back and I won’t take no for an answer.”

  “Will you accept a hell no?” The answer to my question was a slap across the face. My teeth cut into the side flesh of my cheek and coppery-tasting blood flooded my mouth.

  “Hey! What are you doing?” Jonavan’s thunderous voice yelled from somewhere behind me.

  “This doesn’t concern you, Calhoun,” Brayson sneered. “It never did.”

  “If you lay one more finger on her,” Kaelyn said, her voice soft yet audible to everyone, “I will break you, so hard that they won’t be able to put you back together.”

  Brayson rolled his eyes. “As if you were ever a threat,” Brayson spat, and at his head nod, one of the guys holding Kaelyn punched her in the abdomen. A grunt escaped Kaelyn’s throat, but she didn’t fall to her knees in pain. She simply took a couple of deep breaths and then straightened once again.

  Jonavan suddenly grabbed the guy who hit Kaelyn and punched him in the face. Blood splattered from his nose as he howled and covered his face. A scuffle broke out with more guys engaging in the fight. Jonavan was soon overwhelmed and beaten into submission.

  Brayson’s face twisted with glee as he turned to me. I stared at my two best friends, my heart breaking with guilt. This is all my fault, my stupid fault. Unbidden tears welled in my eyes and I blinked furiously to dispel them.

  “I saw so few tears from you when we were together,” Brayson whispered close to my ear, startling me. “It’s like you didn’t even care.”

  I shook my head. “You didn’t see many tears, because I went numb. I buried myself so I wouldn’t feel – until I realized that living life under someone’s thumb wasn’t living. It was existing, and that wasn’t the future I saw for myself.”

  “It’s not how I saw you living, either,” Brayson said, grabbing my hands gently. “If you only loved me more, we could have been happy together. We still can. Want to give us another shot? Say yes and I’ll let your friends go.”

  “I did love you with all I had and it was never good enough. Now you’re holding my friends hostage unless I say yes to being with you again?” I was beyond disgusted by this whole thing. “I’ll say this one more time, Brayson. NO! Now let my friends go and leave us alone.”

  Brayson squeezed my fingers painfully and his eyes bulged with fury at my words. “You aren’t in any position to be making demands, Elara.”

  “But I am,” a voice called out from behind Brayson.

  As Brayson shifted his body to the side to better see where the voice had come from, he gave me the perfect view of a man astride a horse that looked nothing like a normal horse, coming closer to the bank from the direction of the falls. The horse didn’t have fur. Instead, there were scales that shimmered hues of blue and green in the fading sunlight. Fins sprouted from the creature's knees, fanning out as it advanced. Turning its huge head, I saw that its eyes were a greenish-yellow, just like a certain kelpie I knew.

  “Nuri?” I whispered, awestruck as I took in his horse form. Nuri was beautiful and alluring in his human form, but this was something else entirely. I could feel the power pouring off him in waves.

  Distracted by the newcomers, Brayson must have dropped my hands. I realized this as I lifted them to my face in my surprise. Looking past the alluring presence of Nuri, I got a good look at the man astride his back. My heart leapt as I recognized Eian and I gasped involuntarily at seeing him here.

  “Eian.” I whispered taking several steps toward both of them, my heart in my throat. I watched as Eian threw his leg over Nuri’s back and jumped down into the shallow water. He was taller than I had originally thought. Broader, too, in the chest and shoulders. Seeing him through water these past few weeks must have distorted his size.

  “What the hell is this? Some sort of aquatic rodeo?” Brayson guffawed, securing his hold on my upper arm again. My small cry from the pain was covered by the laughter of the surrounding football players.

  Eian’s face was hard as he glared at Brayson. He said something to Nuri at his side as he started toward the bank and the horse snorted his nostrils, flaring as he followed a step or two behind. When they reached the bank,
they paused, eyes assessing the situation, missing nothing as they scanned the surrounding area and everyone in it. Both exuded menace and there was no doubt in my mind that these two would lay waste to the lot of football players gathered here and make it look easy.

  Hoping to prevent more beatings and bloodshed, I wrenched my arm from Brayson’s grasp hard. Once I was free, I ran toward Eian and Nuri’s position by the water. My plan was brought up short when a hand tangled a fist full of my hair, yanking me back so hard I stumbled and fell. On my knees, I sobbed and reached with both hands as I tried to loosen the grip on my hair.

  “Let her go,” Eian said with a steel voice, making me shiver.

  “What’s it to you?” Brayson spat. “This is none of your concern.”

  “This is very much my concern seeing as you have my girl by the hair,” Eian said heatedly as Nuri snapped his jaws, his fangs over three inches long.

  “Is that so?” Brayson sneered, shaking the hand imbedded in my hair. I tried to suppress the whimper, but it escaped anyway.

  “Yes. Now let her go.”

  Brayson laughed long and loud, “Can you count? You are hugely outnumbered. Now get out of here or you’ll regret it.”

  A deep, rumbling growl came from Nuri. Through my tangled hair, I could see his form shimmering and then he was suddenly in his human form standing in the water, shirtless and beautifully enticing. Everyone around us froze at the sudden change, every eye on Nuri as his allure turned all the way up. I had been on the receiving end of his allure and it packed a punch.

  Brayson’s fingers in my hair loosened and I scuttled out of his reach, watched closely by Nuri. His yellow-green eyes flashed in the waning light. Once I was clear, Eian stepped forward and Nuri followed, shimmering again back into his horse form.