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The lake is disturbed.
For years, this water has been a place of peace and solitude, a haven for the Lady. And while humans have ventured here many, many times, there has always been an understanding in place that they will not sully this water in any way.
Though there was a resort here decades ago, I saw to it that it closed and the humans left. Now, the ones who venture into the lake are the locals, the ones who are allowed to be here by reasoning of the agreement the humans and the folk made long ago.
But there is change on the wind, and I don’t like the scent of it.
First there was the man who came into the water recently. His soul was black, stained with the blood of innocents. He dared to bring iron into the lake, in the form of filthy human weapons. Humans like that are not to be tolerated.
I had no qualms about dragging him down to my domain, keeping him with me as the air left his lungs and the life left his eyes. When he was long dead, the water salty with his terror and the Lady satisfied with his unwilling gift, I let the body go, allowing it to be retrieved by his own kind. This was the Lady’s wish.
Before this incident, it had been years since I took a human life. But I sense that it may become necessary again soon.
There has been increased human activity here in recent weeks, and it’s up to me to find out what is happening. I had hoped killing the man would put an end to the situation, scare the humans away, but it did not.
In fact, things have become even worse.
The agreement has been repeatedly violated and the humans have polluted the lake.
As always, it’s my job to punish the ones who are responsible.
I tried to drown the one who followed the metal beast into the water, but the hybrid woman—the unusual one—saved him. I cannot find it within myself to harm her, not when she is partly one of us and still honors the old ways. Had she been willing to let him go, I would have taken him as a sacrifice to the Lady. But the woman was determined to save this single, useless human, and to have killed him would have been to kill her as well.
I do not harm innocents, so I let them both go.
But now I must do more; I must find out what is happening and how it will affect the lake and the agreement that the Lady made with the humans all those years ago. Much as I do not wish to, it is time to don my human form and mingle with them.
Perhaps I can appeal to the hybrid woman, the one who honors us. The one who has intrigued me from afar for years. If I cannot, the humans, even the innocent ones, are doomed.
I will be the last resort before the Lady takes action.
* * *
HAVEN
It took all day, but the workers finally got the little backhoe thing out of the water. Now it’s dusk and quiet has resumed at the lake. It’s almost an unnatural kind of quiet, lending credence to the name Lake Eerie. The trees are still, no leaves rustle. The insects aren’t singing, the wildlife isn’t afoot. There aren’t even waves on the water.
I prepare tonight’s bowl of sprite honey, and take it, along with Sabine’s instructions and magic powder, out on the Little Dock. According to the paper she sent, all I have to do is recite a simple spell while sprinkling the sparkly stuff into the water.
It’s my understanding that recitation of spells generally only works if someone is already a magic worker, like a witch. But Sabine infuses her spells with her own power, which means anyone can work them if they have the instructions. It’s a rare talent, which makes her spells valuable and highly sought after by those in the know. I don’t know precisely what she is—some sort of fae, I assume, based on her otherworldly beauty and magical power—but she’s a good friend and I trust her spells. If she says this will help the lake, I believe her.
“Let this lake be pristine and pure,
cleanse all that I can see.
Let this magic heal and cure
as I will, so mote it be.”
As spells go, it’s simple and straightforward. I open the vial and scatter the glittering powder into the water, per Sabine’s directions. The water glows slightly pink when the substance makes contact, but that’s all. There’s no further indication of success…or failure.
With a sigh, I set the bowl of honey in its place at the end of the dock and then return to my cabin. So far, this has been an inauspicious beginning to the reno.
I pour myself a glass of wine and settle on the couch with my laptop. It takes a few minutes of searching, but I find what I’m looking for: a photo of the town founding agreement. A charter of sorts, for Haven’s Hollow.
This area has always been a kind of nexus. Something about the place draws both humans and magical folk here. When my ancestors first arrived, the folk had already settled the area, but the two parties came to an agreement, largely arbitrated by the Lady, who was, at the time anyway, the most powerful thing residing here.
The folk agreed that humans would be allowed to settle and share the area, so long as they abided by a number of rules: protect the earth, the trees, and the water. Do not pollute. Do not overbuild. Do not overhunt or overfish. Respect the wildlife, both flora and fauna. Respect all those with whom you share this space. Observe the old rituals, such as leaving honey out for the sprites, salting doorways to prevent uninvited guests, and leaving a candle lit at night to light the path for the midnight creatures. Leave milk for the fairies and a whisk broom for the brownies.
