The horse snorted, then pranced before them, showing off his long mane.
"Oh, he's magnificent," Catriona breathed.
"Lass," Aggie whispered, her eyes as big as the moon overhead. "Is that a kelpie?"
"Nay! 'Tis but a beautiful horse. Someone's prized stallion who's escaped his stall. 'Haps he belongs to Laird MacElrath."
"And what do you think kelpies appear as? Bonny white horses. Look, his eyes glow evil green. 'Tis a kelpie, I vow. Come! He will eat you alive."
Aggie dragged Catriona away from the loch shore and toward a path. They ran a short distance.
"Are kelpies real?" Catriona paused and glanced back at the white horse that now calmly nibbled grass in the distance.
"Aye." Aggie caught her breath as they continued to walk. "Selkies are real. So why would kelpies be only a legend?"
"But selkies are nay a threat to people."
"'Tis how they differ. A kelpie will lure you onto his back with his beauty and friendliness, then he'll dive into the loch and eat you! Does nay matter to him if you're alive or drowned when he has his meal."
Catriona scowled at the images Aggie's words conjured. "But horses neither eat meat nor live in lochs."
"He's nay a horse, lass; he only looks like one! You cannot apply reason to the world of magic."
A stick snapped behind them. Catriona jerked around. The white horse stood close, watching them, his sleek coat glowing in the moonlight. His head held high, he sniffed the air and switched his tail. His breath fogged the chill night air.
"He's following us," Catriona whispered, now a bit uneasy because she hadn't heard him approach.
"Run!" Aggie grasped her sleeve and took off.
Catriona had no choice but to sprint alongside Aggie if she wanted to keep her sleeve. "We cannot outdistance a horse!"
"If 'twas only a horse, I would nay be running." Aggie huffed.
"I ken that. But he seems biddable."
"Kelpies are unpredictable. One minute, they can be sweet and charming, and the next, in a violent, killing rage."
She shot a quick glance back but didn't see him. "Wait." She slowed, then stopped, her eyes searching the darkness for his white form. A chill coursed down her back. "He's gone."
***
FROM AMONG THE TREES, Torr watched the two women and listened to their conversation about him. He didn't wish to frighten them. 'Twas evident the older woman had already figured out he was a kelpie, though the lass was skeptical.
Both women smelled of fear, especially the older woman. The scents of straw and cow dung also clung to their clothes.
Who were they, and why had they come to MacElrath clan lands? Able to easily see in the dim moonlight among the trees, he quietly followed them at a distance. His sensitive ears picked up almost every word. Mostly, they discussed finding Castle Dubhuisge, which the lass claimed to have visited in the past. Her name was never mentioned, and they'd given no hint of her identity. She called the older woman Aggie at times, but he didn't recall anyone with that name.
After an hour, 'twas apparent they were lost in the wood, for the moonlight through the tree canopy didn't provide enough light for human eyes. He would like to lead them to the castle, but he would only terrify them. And they wouldn't follow him, for a certainty.
As the moon waned in the sky and clouds drifted in, 'twas clear the two women were unable to see much. Deciding to wait until dawn, they huddled near a large tree. He hated that they might be cold. Though 'twas August, the air was cooler after the storm of the previous night.
***
"I'M LADY CATRIONA MACCAIN. We're here to see Sir Torrquil MacElrath," Cat told the guard through the fifteen-foot-tall iron portcullis of Castle Dubhuisge. Thank the heavens they'd finally found the castle just after dawn. Sunlight now illuminated the massive beige sandstone castle.
"Sir Torr does nay reside here." The guard wore a belted plaid and leather armor, his hand on a sheathed sword at his side.
Catriona's hopes fell. Surely, she hadn't come all this way for naught. "Where is he?"
