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ChapterTwenty-Two
SERRA
“What happened to you?”
His voice pulled me from my thoughts, whirling to find him watching me with curiosity on his little face. The wicked little bugger stared at me, his black eyes curious. Jesper sat on a stone wall leading into a grouping of hedges.
“What does it look like?”
My words had come out a bit more abrasive than I had intended, but I still haven't forgiven him for what he had done. Glancing back to the far side of the pond, at the foot bridge and all that had remained.
The stone and timbers were gone, lost to the bottom of the pond. The Goblin King had helped me out of the waters and left me on the banks of the other side. Despite the sun, I was freezing. The pond water had soaked me through, shivering slightly in the breeze. My hair and dress were drenched, dripping water on the ground where I stood. I was sure I smelled just as the pond water did, trying hard not to heave again. Twice now I had done so in the Goblin King’s presence.
“It looks like you decided to go for a swim. Not the wisest choice, a kelpie makes that pond her home. It’s a wonder she didn’t decide to eat you for dinner.” He chittered, scurrying across the tops of the rocks that made up the wall.
I felt the blood drain from my face, a kelpie?
I glanced back at the dark waters of the murky pond, so sure that I saw dark red eyes staring up at me. I knew from the few books we had that Kelpies were unique and dangerous aquatic creatures, they were considered to be vicious and evil. The folklore around them said they were shape shifting spirits, usually described as a horse-like creature, able to adopt a human form. They were known to lure the unwary to a watery death, dragging you down to the depths of whatever body of water it inhabited.
Yes, it was a good thing she chose not to make me her meal.
Glaring at him, “What do you want Jesper? Are you here to help or not this time? You already tricked me once.”
“I did no such thing!”
“You did, the Caves of Desire, Jesper?” I watched him as he wrung his little fingers together. His eyes darted around.
“It was the only way to cross.”
“Well, had you at least warned me, I could have made a different choice. But that’s beside the point, are you here to help me?”
“It depends, if I will help you again that is.”
“On what?”
“On whether or not you have more nuts. I cannot offer you my services if you do not have nuts.”
“I do not.” I remarked, lacing my words with sarcasm. “Sadly they all fell out and are at the bottom of the pond with the kelpie. You are more than welcome to go retrieve them if you’d like.”
His eyes grew wide as he bristled in annoyance. “Certainly not!”
I couldn’t help but laugh at him. While I had been mad at him before, he was a funny little creature. Unhelpful, aloof, and maddening, but he was endearing and rather cute. “Did you come here for any other reason, Jesper?”
“Well, I heard the crash and your scream. Decided I would investigate the situation. But you seem to be alright. Although-” He paused, a hand on his furry chin. His bobbed tail twitched as he asked. “I did see the Goblin King rush off rather quickly, would that have anything to do with you?”
“Why would you think that?” I asked, following him into the hedges. With the putrid smell of the kelpie’s pond, they were barely alive, mostly roots and branches.
He’d scurried down from the wall and ran ahead, stopping me from stepping on him. “He seemed agitated. What did you do?”
“Nothing. I didn’t do anything to him.”
“Well you obviously caused him some kind of grief. For him to run off in such a rush.” He said, following behind me. I could not stop, I still had ground to cover.
“If you know him so well, you tell me.”
He scoffed. His chitter reached my ears as he chased after me. “He’s as curious to me as you are, I'm afraid.”
I stopped, glancing down at him, “How do you mean?”
