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"We have something we need to find. We can talk about it later," Mananan replied. He looked away from her for a moment. "Taran?"
"The wound is clean. Get her to drink this, and it will clear out any of the poisons that might still be there," Taranis replied, passing him a vial. "It'll help her sleep."
Mananan took it and offered it to her. "Better do as he says. I can't guarantee it will taste any good."
"I'll risk it," Ella replied and downed the liquid. It was sweet as honey and tasted like peaches. Heat bloomed in her chest and began to seep through her muscles. Her eyes went heavy. "Thanks Man…"
Ella drifted off to sleep, Mananan's heart still thumping steadily under her hand.
5
Mananan watched Ella's features melt into a dreamy peacefulness in her sleep. She really was a tiny nymph of a woman with her tumble of silvery shoulder-length hair that curled around her face. She had big eyes that were gray blue like the sea and nice lips that were still fever flushed. He knew he should let go of her little hand but was finding himself reluctant to do so.
Taranis finished cleaning her wound and healed it with a warm burst of magic. There wasn't much a dragon couldn't heal.
"She's going to be fine, Manan. You don't need to keep staring at her like she's going to stop breathing any second," Taranis said.
"She could've died because I didn't check her wounds properly." Mananan was horrified to hear a shake in his voice. He didn't get rattled easily, and this little nymph had him more worried than he'd been in centuries. He wanted to punch himself in the face for being such a fool.
Taranis patted his shoulder. "But she didn't because you came back. Better yet, you found yourself a seer. Kian can't find the altars in the ocean, but maybe she can. The gods are smiling on you, big brother. Take the blessing and don't be a whiney bitch about it."
Mananan checked Ella's healed leg. She would have the curving scar around her calf for the rest of her life. He noticed that it was a rather nice leg too that led up to a pair of pale blue panties with a sweet little bow on them. He grabbed the blanket off the other chair and covered her up. He didn't need that kind of distraction.
"She might be a bit disorientated when she wakes up. I can stay with her if you have things to do," Taranis said, a small grin on his face.
Mananan didn't like that idea one bit. "I'll do it. Stop smiling at me."
"I can't smile now?" Taranis looked down at Ella. "At least you saved a pretty one. Psychometry is rare and powerful. To be able to read people with the merest touch must be overwhelming for her."
"What's your point?" Mananan asked.
"My point is that she's isolated herself on purpose. She's not used to people. If you want her to help us, maybe don't start with 'You owe me.' I have a feeling she's had enough bullies in her life. Gifted people always do," Taranis replied.
Bayn returned from the kitchen and held out a jar of bloody slime and eggs to Taranis. "Here you are, uncle. Something to experiment on. The little fuckers are still alive in there."
Taranis held the jar up to the fading light. "Disgusting. Thank you, Bayn. Take me home so I can start on this straight away."
Bayn looked at Mananan. "Are you coming?"
He shook his head. "I'm on nurse duty."
"Don't freak her out when she wakes up," Bayn voiced the blunter version of Taranis's warning.
Mananan waved them off. "Go on. I'll call you if I need a way to get home or if I want any more unsolicited advice."
Once they were gone, Mananan walked around the little house, searching for clues about Ella. It wasn't snooping, he assured himself. He just wanted to know more about who he was dealing with.
There were photos on the mantle of Ella with an older woman who had her nose and eyes. Another of Ella as a child had him pausing. She would have been about seven and had dark brown hair. She was being held by a man with a wide smile, his other arm around a woman that was short like Ella. There was no denying that they were her parents.
What had him frowning was that in every picture after, she had white hair. He doubted she would have started dying her hair at seven. What had happened to her?
By the front door, he found a hand-painted sign advertising, 'Psychic readings and finding of lost things.' It was faded and chipped.
Maybe it had been her grandmother’s?
Mananan made sure Ella was still sleeping before he walked up the winding stairs of the lighthouse. The sunset was incredible from the top. The only sound was the crashing of the waves beneath.
Mananan didn't know what any of the complicated buttons or the computer did so he opened up a logbook. The most recent entry read:Lighthouse attacked by a kraken. Reported to Coast Guard.
