by Pati Nagle
She raised the light toward where she thought the spring would be, but saw nothing.
Well, right. It’s gone.
So why the sign?
Stepping forward, she suddenly felt familiar with the place. The concrete box was gone, but the glen was the same. She swept her flashlight beam around it, noting the trees, bushes, and rocks. Then the beam glinted across something different.
Water. Lots of it.
Slowly shining her flash around, she saw that the center of the glen was filled with water. A pool of water, ringed with rocks the size of bowling balls.
Her brain registered a sound she’d been hearing. Trickling water.
She walked toward the pool, searching for the sound. There—off to the side—a little stream. It flowed between two of the rocks and off toward the path. Following it with the flashlight, she saw the beam light up a pretty little footbridge that crossed over the water.
Wow. This was nice.
A wish that Ohlan could see it made her close her eyes. She shut off the flashlight, waiting for her sight to adjust to the darkness.
She’d come back in daylight, just to see how the pool looked then, but it wouldn’t be prettier than now. Just different.
When she could see well enough, she walked over to the pool and sat on a rock. A point of light trembled on the water. Looking up, she saw a bright star shining down through the trees. Jupiter, probably.
She smiled and let out a sigh. This was better than the emptiness she’d pictured. She trailed her fingertips across the water, sending ripples across it, making Jupiter dance.
A hand reached up to clasp hers.
Gasping, she jerked her arm back, but the hand didn’t let go. It was glowing, she realized, even as a head rose up out of the water beside it.
“Holly.”
“Ohlan?”
She stared, unable to believe her eyes. He gazed back, anxious, longing.
“Are you still angry?”
With a small squeak she flung herself toward him. Felt her knees suddenly wet with cold water, then warmth wrapped around her along with Ohlan’s arms. They drifted to the middle of the pool. It couldn’t be more than a foot deep, yet Holly felt her legs dangling. She was dry again, even her knees.
“Am I dead?”
He laughed softly and smoothed back her hair. “No.”
“But you’re alive!”
“Yes.” His smile beamed. “And strong. It was the old pipes that weakened me. They were so corroded the spring couldn’t flow.”
Holly frowned, struggling to understand. “I thought destroying the spring would kill you!”
“They didn’t destroy the spring. Only the housing that was built for it. A spring is hard to kill.”
She dropped her head against his shoulder. Stupid! She’d been so stupid. All this time, all the tears …
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she whispered.
“You asked me not to come back. You said it hurt too much.”
Yeah—she remembered saying something like that. In a dream.
She remembered the pain, too. All of it. She felt it sliding away, flowing off with the trickling stream.
He kissed her cheek, and she shivered. Not with cold; with delight.
She turned her face to his, ready for a real kiss. He obliged, and the warmth of him washed the last of her sadness away.
About the Author
Pati Nagle was born and raised in the mountains of northern New Mexico. An avid student of music, history, and humans in general, she loves the outdoors but hides from the sun.
She writes in a variety of genres, but is most often drawn to fantasy or (as P.G. Nagle) historical fiction. Her stories have appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and in various other magazines and anthologies, including Elf Magic, which featured “Kind Hunter,” the story that sparked the ælven world. Her first ælven fantasy novel, The Betrayal, was released in 2009 by Del Rey Books. Its sequel, Heart of the Exiled, came out in January 2011. The third ælven book, Swords Over Fireshore, will come out in spring of 2012. Meanwhile, Immortal, an ælven novel with a contemporary setting, was released in June 2011.
Pati Nagle still lives in the mountains in New Mexico, with her husband and furry feline muse, where she loves to walk in the woods and look up at the stars.
www.patinagle.com
Other Books by Pati Nagle
Immortal
What do you do if the most gorgeous guy you’ve ever seen asks for your help?
No brainer. Len Whiting is smitten from the minute she sees the stranger’s amazing eyes. She agrees to help Caeran find the healer he’s been seeking in rural New Mexico. What Len doesn’t know is that neither Caeran nor the healer is human: they’re immortal ælven, and they’re locked in an ancient struggle with the vampires who are their kin. Len wants Caeran’s love, and wants to help the healer find a cure—but first they must cope with the bloodthirsty vampire who’s got his sights set on them all.
Read a sample of Immortal.
Blood of the Kindred Series
Before the human race evolved, the ælven were locked in a war with their kindred and foes, the blood-drinking alben...
The Betrayal
read a sample at aelven.com
Heart of the Exiled
read a sample at aelven.com
and coming soon…
Swords Over Fireshore
Read free samples of more of Pati Nagle’s work, along with fiction by over twenty more professional authors who are members of Book View Café
