A Kelpie of Rowan

Chapter 15

The faerie man moves towards the kelpie, his steps slowing as if he is trying to appear unbothered. The kelpie looks up as the faerie nears, providing the perfect example of disinterested curiosity. When the man speaks, his voice is just as smooth as it had been when Rowan saw him at the brambles. The only difference here is that he isn't trying to glamour anyone into thinking he's kind, he's infusing the warmth into his voice itself.

"I'm looking for a thief, have you seen them?"

He stresses the word them, making the question become a threat. Rowan frowns. It doesn't look like the girl had stolen anything. Rowan shakes her head slightly, frowning. She still doesn't know why the girl felt so familiar to her. The kelpie tosses his head, shifting back into human form.

"I have seen no thief. What did they steal?"

If the kelpie could say that he hasn't seen a thief, then he must believe that she wasn't a thief. Unless . . . can kelpies lie? She glances over at Andrian and he leans over, understanding what she wants to ask.

"Kelpies are one of the few Aos Sí that are capable of lying, but it hurts to do so. Because of that, we only lie if it is vital that we do, and only if it is for a good reason. Truly good, not just that we think we need to."

Rowan nods and turns her attention back to the faerie man and the kelpie, just in time to hear the response to the kelpie's question. The man scowls.

"The thief stole a child, my child."

Rowan frowns. "The girl wasn't carrying anything-" Andrian gives her a sad look and she understands. The girl is pregnant. "Oh."

The kelpie frowns, shaking his head. "If the girl was running from you, for her safety or that of her child, it does not make her a thief. I will not help you find someone who is so afraid of you that she runs, despite your power."

The man's face darkens. "You won't help me? Then I curse you." He raises his hand and light crackles in his palm. It's golden and under most circumstances, Rowan would find it lovely, but there is something sinister about it, something that sends fear rushing through her. "I curse you and all of your kind. You are creatures of kindness, you exist to help those who need it, you see the truth at the very core of all creatures. So let that be your curse. You are forever bound to drown people, to coax them to touch you. And with that same touch, their fates are sealed, their deaths loom. With that one touch, they cannot release you until their death, they must helplessly watch as you drag them down into your beloved waters and drown them. By these words, you are cursed forevermore."

The kelpie stumbles back, his eyes wild and panicked. "You're that intent on finding her? Well then my last act of aid is to make it so you can never find her. You shall not sense her in the world or see her path. The only clue you may have is spilled blood."

Rowan's own eyes widen and she steps back into Andrian, pressing into his chest. She watches, a tear slipping down her cheek, as a flask of light burst out of the kelpie When Rowan can see again, he looks emaciated, dying. The world fades until Rowan is back in the room with the orb. Her voice is quiet and shaky.

"What happened to him?"

The elder sighs. "He returned here to our home, gave us the memory so we would know what the Seelie Lord had done, and then he died."

"Why did he die?"

"He expended all his magic to help the girl escape the lord and allow her to live without fear."

"Kelpies can do that?"

"No, but he had seelie blood and had some of their magic. That is what he used to save her."

Rowan nods, still frowning. Another tear slips down her cheek.

"Ro?"

She twists to look at Andrian. "I'll tell you later." He doesn't look appeased by that, but he nods anyway. Rowan turns back to the elder. "He didn't say anything about the curse being broken, especially not the individually broken part. So how-"

"We found the individually broken part out on our own, when one of us met our non-kelpie cridhe and then was no longer compelled to drown people. As for how the curse may be broken in its entirely, that we do not know. At a guess, I would say that the rules for how the curse could be broken were not created by the Lord, but by his child."

Rowan nods and steps away from the orb. "I think we should go now."

The elder laughs. "You're trying to avoid thanking me, aren't you?" Rowan flushes and nods. "Thanking kelpies won't put you in our power, don't worry. That only happens with the Seelie and Unseelie Courts."

"Then . . . Thank you for showing me the memory."

"You're welcome, Ro. And later . . . could you tell me what startled you so much in there?"

"I can when I figure it out."

He inclines his head and smiles.
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What do you think Rowan discovered? What do you think of the curse and the Kelpie sacrificing himself? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.