Chapter Twelve #2
“How many times have I told you that you don’t need to shout?” Winston says as he appears in front of us, with his finger in his ear and scowling.
“You know the imps gave me this necklace?” I ask and thrust it toward his face.
He nods, “Yes, and it’s still a mystery to me why they have it and why they gave it to you.”
“Well, it had a protection on it, and Flint lifted it, and now I remember, the creature appeared and helped me,” I explain, and then add more detail when he just stares at me like he’s not computing what the fuck I’m saying.
“That’s impossible,” he finally says.
“It’s really not because it’s turned up to help me twice. Once in the Choosing and then once at the kelpie lake when I lost time. Was it one of these creatures that Wallace fought?” I ask.
Winston shakes his head, “No, it wasn’t, and he would have told me if he had seen one of these creatures, they have long been extinct.”
Wallace suddenly appears, “I’m sorry, friend.
Until Neith mentioned it, I thought it was just a fragment of my imagination.
I was in pretty bad shape, as you know, and it just seemed too fantastical to believe that I was actually seeing it.
I only caught a glimpse of it, but it helped me fight off the threat until you arrived with back up, and then it just disappeared, and I thought I imagined the help. ”
Winston sighs but nods, “That’s understandable. Things are changing.”
I decide not to bother asking about that because it sounds incredibly foreboding, and quite frankly, I don’t want to know. Instead, I focus on Wallace.
“I’m so glad you’re okay. Thank you for snapping me out of the trance and protecting me,” I tell him.
“You are most welcome,” he replies. “We’re still not quite sure what happened or how the creature got through the wards in the first place.
I think that House is most definitely the best place for you, especially with the wards against the dead that you have added.
We’re still searching the grounds at the other house. ”
“You didn’t capture whatever it was that put Neith into a trance and stole time from her?” Raiden asks worriedly.
Winston and Wallace both shake their heads, both of them looking extremely unhappy about the admission.
“It disappeared, and we don’t know how. There were no breaches in the ward to say that it had gotten out, and it shouldn’t have been able to get through in the first place.
It has to still be on the land somewhere.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of it, and it’s taking us a while to a thorough search,” Winston explains, his arms crossed over his chest which makes him look far cuter than I’m sure he wants to be looking, but I’m pretty sure now is not the time to tell him that he looks cute, and I want to smoosh him.
That’s a word I’m sure of it.
“Let us know if you need a hand. I’m sure we could find it with all of us looking.” Raiden offers and then asks, “What is it anyway?”
“Thank you for the offer, however, you have more than enough to be concerning yourselves with. You don’t need to be worrying about this as well. We can handle it,” Winston replies.
Before either of us can reply or point out that he didn’t actually tell us what the threat was, they both disappear.
“Well, that was convenient,” Raiden mutters sarcastically.
I sigh, “But predictable. Come on, let’s go and find the kelpies. If the imps are here, then I’m reasonably certain that they’re going to be as well.”
“Good point.” Raiden agrees as we carry on trudging through the woods in a random direction. “Are we just going to ignore how worrying some of the things they just said are?”
I nod, “Yep. As Winston said, we have enough to be worrying about right now, and if he says that they’ve got it handled, then I’m going to trust that they’ve got it handled.”
Raiden nods, “Actually, that’s a really good point. They’re ancient spirit guides, I’m sure they’ve got it handled.”
“Exactly,” I agree. Although I have to admit that there is a small part of me that wonders if they do actually have it handled.
We carry on walking through the dense woods, and I have no idea if we’re even heading in vaguely the right direction.
You know what? Now that I’m thinking about it, I bet Ethel could have given me directions to the lake, or told me if there even is a lake or a pond or something on the grounds.
It’s too late to ask now. The weather is getting colder by the second, and those clouds are definitely threatening to start raining on us. By the time we get back to House and ask Ethel, the weather will have probably turned, and I will have thoroughly had enough of being out in the cold.
“We’re dumbasses,” Raiden says suddenly after another ten minutes of fruitless searching.
I raise my eyebrows and tease with mock indignance, “Speak for yourself, sir.”
He chuckles, “No. We’re searching for the kelpies, and they’re our kelpies. We can just whistle for them.”
My palm hits my forehead, “I take it back, we are definitely both dumbasses.”
He bursts out laughing, “I can’t believe you just actually face-palmed yourself.”
I shrug, “I felt it was deserved.”
I’ve also just felt the first drop of rain, and I don’t want to be out here for any longer than I have to be, especially since I want to read up on The Owner and get ready for the job tomorrow. It’s going to be a long day. So, without waiting for Raiden to stop laughing, I whistle for Mael.
The relief I feel when he appears in front of me, snorting, happy, and in one piece, is immense.
Raiden quickly calls Mavros, and they have a similar greeting to us.
Patting Mael’s neck, I say, “I’m so glad you’re okay. After you left, I got snuck in this time vacuum thingy, and I was worried that something had happened to you.” He nudges me, looking worried, “I’m fine, I promise. The spirit guides are taking care of it.”
“Did you move the lake here?” Raiden asks curiously, already sitting on Mavros.