chapter 3

He watched the wheeling eddies boil,

Till from their foam his dazzled eyes

Beheld the River Demon rise:

Sir Walter Scott

Kalum cursed as he bolted to the horse to catch her before she could hit the rocky ground, and causing more damage to her injuries. She landed in my arms and I pulled her closer to my chest "stubborn chit, well I won the bargain lass, wonder how much of a fuss you will make when you wake" I whispered in her ear. She smelled like a wild flower. Well a wet and dirty wild flower. I like it.

I straightened to stand just as Cat reared up and shoot into the forest brush as if hell hounds were on his tail. I turned to see what had him so spooked, and there out of the shadows walked a form into the moons ray.

I heard a deep raspy voice cut through the forests serein silence "give me the lass."

As I stepped closer, I sow it wasn't a man as I thought, its skin shinned blue with green spots that dusted its bare arms and legs, its body bulky with muscle, its face skeletal and thin with sharp edge shoulders, with powerful legs, its body wet as if it walked straight out of the loch.

It shook its kelp haired head causing water to spray the ground and growled "I said give me the lass!"

"What are you?" I asked kneeling down to gently place her on the ground before me, seemingly surrendering her.

The creature inhaled the cool air then growled "cursed fool! Don't you even know the scent of your own kin? Give her to me and you can return to your pathetic life."

A kelpie?

Kalum stood to step over her as to put him in between her and the blue demon.

What kind of kelpie is he to be blue?

Oh please son of oden tell me I'm not going to turn blue one day. That wasn't mentioned when I was cursed, but I can see that making the curse worse.

Damn witch.

Strange though, most of us lore creatures hide our existence from everyone with the exception of other lore demons that could be trusted and this wasn't one of those that I trusted.

"Kin are we? I don't know what you talk of. What is the lass to you?" I asked.

"Don't hide your race brother! Embrace it! We are far above humans. We are gods compared to them and soon they will worship us" it said as it pulled a dirk from its black kilt.

My brow rose "Gods are we? You're mad. Now I'm getting impatient what is she to you?" I asked again as I take off the weapons on my back and lay them against a tree trunk and moved forward slowly to draw his attention. My dirk hidden in my lower back but I needed him to keep talking so for now id settle for keeping his attention with questions.

"She belongs to our chieftain, I have been sent to retrieve her" it said licking its lips.

"Then your chief should have done a better job of keeping her, what kind of chief allows his men to beat a woman then leave her to die?" I asked.

It growled and slashed its blade in front of itself in warning "that is not your concern! Now ill not warn you again you pathetic excuse of a kelpie, give the lass over to me! Or suffer my blade!"

Kalum felt his eye twitch and felt a kink in his neck. Then...HIS voice came into my head "did this waste of flesh just call me pathetic?" I heard Kelps deep voice demand in my head.

No. Not now.

"Back off Kelp, I will take care of this; I don't want or need you to interfere!" I said in my head.

"Then kill him and get it over with!"

Great that's all I need another problem on top of the two I already have.

"Who wants the lass! Who's your loard?" I asked.

The blue kelpie lunges and aims for my gut. I jump to the side and dodge his blade but he turns and runs to me again so I flip back and kicking his jaw in the proses forcing him to fly back a few steps.

He grabs his neck and coughs up some blood that starts to run down his chin "grown attached to her in such a short time? She's only a means to an end to us, maybe you can have her when our chief is done with her but till then she will be coming with me! Don't make me kill you brother. There are very few of us in this world and I hate to kill another kelpie but you will not stand in my way of taking her!"

I smile smugly at him "attached? Well so far she's been a pain in the arse but even so she's not going with you and I have no problem killing anything that threatens someone under my protection. So come get her if you can."

The demons face twisted in rage "then die!" he jumps towards me but as I move to the side he flys past me turns and his knee plunges into my lower back.

Kalum forcefully hits the ground with a groan of pain.

He has the kelpie speed to, he must have not been using it before.

"He will pay with his head!" kelps voice rang in my head again as I push myself to my feet.

"No kelp. I can take care of him. Leave off" I mumbled to myself under my breath.

The demon must have heard me for it laughed, sped to stand in front of me, then raised its leg and kicked my chest shooting me back to ram my back against a tree "you dare call me mad! What's madder than a poor, weak kelpie that talks to himself. Don't worry brother I'll put u out of your misery!"

When he walked close I slowly reached back to my dirk. When I saw his foot I shoot off the tree with speed and slashed into his side as I passed him. He dropped his blade, cried out and grabbed his side in pain "you bastard!"

Suddenly I see my vison turning green, my mark burning and glowing, and then I felt my body twitch.

No! he is defeated I gutted him!

"My turn to have some fun with him" kelps voice sounded out of my mouth.

I grab my head as I feel my control leaving "no...."

"YES!"

*************************************************************************

Finally Freedom!

I cracked my neck to the side, it tended to feel stiff every time I took over.

I flexed my fingers and rolled my shoulders to ease the pressure.

Mmm Its been too long.

Kelp smiled as the sound of the painful winning of the blue kelpie broke the forests silence.

I turned and grinned at him, he gazed at me as if I had suddenly grown another head.

"Ready to play Brother!" I said and sped to him to kick him in the gut very much like his comrades did to the pretty lass. It groaned again but pushed up to its feet and sped away before kelps foot could connect again.

I see him sped over to lean on one of the surrounding trees "what the hell happened? Your eyes, voice even your presence have turned dark. What kind of freak are you?"

He grin at the blood pouring from its side through his fingers "Don't worry about my presence brother you should be worried about me putting YOU out of YOUR misery" before it could move kelp through the dirk into the kelpies leg to pin it to the trees bark.

As he yelled out I sped to him and grabbed him by the throat, he struggled to breath as he grabbed at my hand but in his weak state he couldn't pull my hand away so I lifted it higher and asked him "so tell me BROTHER is the thrill of the kill a kelpie trait or do I just enjoy it because I like to see weaker demons suffer?"

Then he grabs the blade from its leg and plunges it into the blue beasts gut.

I smiled as his eyes widened in fear, it gasped out "Bastard… he…will..fi..nd..he..r…"

Kelp brought him down closer to his face "who?"

"nuck…e…lav..ee… wi..ll…kill…yo..u" then after one last cough Its body went limp and fell out of my hand.

I stared at at the body " a nuckelavee…"

Id herd of a nuckelavee but I thought it was just a story made up by drunk travelers, but that��s what most humans think the same as kelpie. They say it's a skinless, half horse demon with breath that was thought to wilt crops and sicken livestock, and the creature was held responsible for hard, dry season's, but no one's ever seen even in the lore clans or if they had no one was talking about it.

Why do I care? I don't. Now about my second problem.

He turned around towards the girl and went to kneel next to her. He smiled at her small form lying helpless on the cold ground "I like my lasses firey. It makes them fun to tame."

I felt a pressure in my head as I heard Kalums voice "leave her be."

Kelp frowns slightly in confusion "She smells odd" he remarks.

I pick up her hand, turn it so her wrist is up and move it up to my nose and take a deep inhale in.

Oh I see.

Interesting.

"She smells tasty Kal. How about a small bite?" I ask as I kiss her wrist.

"KELP!"

Instantly I'm snapped backward to my back by a hard force to the chest, I laugh harder "I was done anyway." I said as I feel myself losing the hold of control.

He smiles "we will meet later flower."

**********************************************************************

Kalum shakes his head as he feels Kelps will fade and the control return to his body.

"Bastard" I murmur as I sit up.

"You should thank me; you weren't going to kill him. You have a weakness for demon creatures, even ones who want to kill you" kelp said in my head.

"I would have killed him but I needed more information about who is a threat to her because now they are a threat to me" I argued out loud into the darkness.

As I got to my feet I heard a faint laugh in my head "yes you are in danger of the imaginary Nuckelavee! Better watch your step."

"Be gone. You're not wanted."

"You know I'll always be here. Now go take care of the broken flower before she freezes" kelp ordered and I felt his presence leave me.

Kalum walked over to his weapons and reloaded them on his back. He looked at the dead body a distance away and shook his head "what have I gotten myself into with you lass" I said as I turned, and grabbed her up into my arms.

We had only walked a short distance when "This yours kal.?" a deep rumbling voice asked behind me.

I spun around and sow my friend moss holding Cats reins.

Moss was another Lore creature called a Ghillie Dhu, a type of faerie but unlike most of his kind he was the size of a large man. He lives in these woods outside the keep and watches over the clans women and children who venture into the forest. Kalum sow the grin on his face even though he was hard to see with all the moss and branches he wore to keep hidden from site.

"When I said you should catch yourself a woman I wasn't saying to hit one over the head and carry her away. I meant go talk to one and get to know her" he laughed as he walked closer to us.

Kalum smirked devilishly at him "well then you should have said so sooner, but now it's too late. Luckily I didn't have to hit her, my ugly looks once again make the lasses swoon, so I might as well use her now that I got her."

Moss arched a brow as he stopped in front of us "I hope your jesting" he said looking at her.

I looked down at her too and grinned at her pretty face "she was attacked at the Loch, she needs a healer so we are going to see Nanci."

He nodded "need my cart? You already have a horse. The lasses I presume."

"Nea, but I did have to kill two of her attackers at the loch and then another creature that was after her over there, I could use some help with their disposal" I said nodding towards the body.

He looked over at the body of the dead blue kelpie, but didn't ask "guess I should have gotten here a little sooner. Well if you're not picky I have some animal friends that are having a hard winter and could use some meat for their young."

"Sounds like the perfect disposal of men who go about kicking weakened females. Thank you Moss. If you let the horse go I'm sure he will follow us to the keep" I explained then narrowed my eyes as moss leaned forward to inhale her scent.

He lest Cats reins go, looked at me and grinned "she's a rare one, like me. Take very good care of her but be careful" he said then walked away and disappeared.

Kalum looked down at her with frown "special are you? Well with all the trouble you've caused me so far i hope you're grateful as well. Come Cat!" he yelled and started again up the hill towards home, not realizing a pair of unholy red eyes watched him walk away.