A Kelpie of Rowan

Chapter 48

Rowan claps a hand to her bracelet. It allows her to open the passage herself, could she keep it open? She closes her eyes, trying to think of the pocket realm. She doesn't quite feel like she is travelling, but something is happening. She opens her eyes. She is floating in the middle of a loch, somewhere very far away from where she was. There are no lochs near her home. The water around her ripples and swirls around her.

Something brushes past her feet and Rowan flinches away. Her bubble of air has fallen away and she is immersed in the water once again. She treads, trying to move away from where she felt the movement. Something brushes against her again, closer now. It isn't brushing against her foot, it is brushing against her side. Rowan spins, trying to look all around her at once. The surface water ripples again and something breaks the water for a brief moment.

Rowan shivers, curling her arms around her. What faerie - Aos Sí - creature is she going to encounter this time? It breaks through the surface again and stays above the water long enough for her to realize it is a fin. She wants to break into a fast swim, but if these Aos Sí creatures are malevolent, that will make it worse for her. A small head pops through the surface and Rowan gasps. The creature is about a third of her size.

It has pale blue skin and a little teal crest on its head with a light dangling from it. The light is similar to what Rowan has heard anglerfish have. The creature's eyes are blue-green, as vivid as the sea. It smiles at her with a strangely childlike expression. A second creature breaks through the water beside it. This one has greyish skin with pale gold webbing between its fingers. It has fins as well; they run down the creature's spine and dip below the surface of the water. At the creature's waist, Rowan can see that the skin changes to a blue colour, spattered with teal scales. Its eyes are the same colour as the other one.

Rowan's voice wobbles. "What are you?"

The grey creature tilts its head and speaks in Scottish Gaelic. "Thig còmhla rinn." Come with us.

"How? Where are you going to take me?"

The creature just smiles and inclines its head. The other creature, the smaller one, moves forward and holds Rowan's face between its hands. It pushes her down, beneath the water. Rowan's eyes widen and she thrashes, trying to get free. But despite its small size, the creature is too strong. It forces her head under the water. Rowan instinctually holds her breath, but the creature isn't done with her yet.

Its hands tighten on her face and it leans forward, as if it was going to kiss her. Rowan tries to pull away, but she can't get free. Its mouth makes contact with her own and Rowan can feel the air being sucked from her lungs. Now that she has no oxygen, she is hit by an overwhelming urge to breathe. Rowan shakes her head, trying to get back to the surface. She needs to breathe, and she can't do it underwater. She needs air!

Her body betrays her, forcing her mouth open. Rowan inhales, choking on water. For a moment her lungs burn, filling with water. Then they are clear again. She takes a shaky breath and winces at the strange feeling of water sliding down her throat. The grey creature swims in front of her and Rowan can see that at its waist the creature has a blue tail. The other creature has let go of her and Rowan realises that it has its own tail as well, but it isn't a fishlike tail. It looks more like a sheet, or the end of a ghost like you see in movies.

"A bheil thu nas fheàrr? Faodaidh tu anail a tharraing?" Are you better now? You can breathe?

Rowan nods. "Yes. Where are we going?" Somehow, speaking to these creatures, her words automatically come out in Scottish Gaelic. Tha. Càit a bheil sinn a 'dol?

"Dhachaigh." Home.

"I don't understand. I don't live here. I live somewhere far away from here. How could we be going home?"

When the creature responds this time, she doesn't hear its words in both languages. Her mind translates instantly. "We aren't going to your home. We are taking you to ours."

"Who are you?"

The creature doesn't respond and Rowan clutches at her bracelet, thinking of Andrian. Where is he? Does he know she is okay? Does he know where she went? The creatures lead her deeper into the loch, down to the lakebed below. As they get closer, Rowan begins to make out features of the lakebed. It is silty, full of sediment, but there are expanses of bare rock scattered throughout.

The creatures lead her to one of them and the little one places its hand flat against the stone. A section of the stone moves aside, leaving a gap. The smaller creature swims inside and turns, beckoning to Rowan. She stays back, unsure. A little afraid, too, but she is hiding it. The larger creature nudges her back.

"Go. We mean no harm to you."

Rowan really hopes they are one of the Aos Sí that can't lie. Because otherwise, she is in serious trouble, even with her protection charms. She takes a deep breath and follows the smaller creature into the opening.
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What type of Aos Sí do you think they are? Will they hurt her? What do you think they want her to go with them for? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.