Kelpie Curse: A Feyland Urban Fantasy Tale (The Celtic Fey Book 2) Read Online Free
Author: Roz Marshall
delicate blue forget-me-nots which had tiny pea-green leaves. The pool drained to a wide stream that continued through the wood, with stepping stones over it taking the path on into the distance.
Now that she was closer to the waterfall, she could also hear a rhythmical knocking and whirring, which intermingled with the falling water. Could that be anything to do with the horse?
As Corinne moved towards the pool, the mechanical knocking sound stopped and a movement over by the waterfall caught her eye. She stopped in surprise. On a ledge beside the waterfall was a strange, hairy creature with the body of a man but the legs of a… goat?
C HAPTER 6
C ORINNE MUST HAVE made an involuntary noise because the strange creature's head jerked up, beady black eyes darting straight to where she stood in the line of trees flanking the stream. Corinne's left hand inched nervously towards the bow slung over her shoulder, as the creature jumped off the ledge and skipped around the edge of the pool until he stood in front of her.
"Good morrow, fair maid," he said in a reedy high-pitched voice with a hint of a lisp. "I'm Urisk. Who be you?"
Corinne took a half step backwards. "H—hello. My name is Corinne."
He smiled, showing small, slab-shaped teeth, but when he didn't say anything else or do anything threatening, she added, "I wonder if you could help me? I saw a white horse in the trees, and it led me here."
Urisk inclined his head questioningly.
"Have you seen it?" she asked.
The creature nodded sagely. "The water horse. Yes. He is very flighty. I am trying to catch him." His eyes narrowed. "Would you like to help me?"
Could this be another of Feyland's quests? The first time she'd played the game, she'd met a goblin who'd said in a sing-song voice, 'Only the pure can see the pure, only the pure will find him. Only with love will love be shown, only by love unbind him.' And after that, she'd found the unicorn. So she was probably due another quest by now. Maybe she had to help Urisk before she could hunt for the minstrel.
"Okay. What do you need me to do?"
"Follow me." Urisk jerked his head to the right and led her around the pool.
When Corinne stepped closer to the torrent falling off the cliff, a reviving mist of droplets peppered her skin. Motes of sunlight hitting the spray caused effervescent rainbows, which hung like will o' the wisps above the pool. That same spray sheened the rocks as Urisk led her onto the ledge at the base of the cliff and disappeared behind the waterfall.
Stepping carefully along the narrow ledge, her childhood fear of water had her hugging the cliff-face, well away from the scarily deep pool. Once behind the curtain of water, she moved slowly to let her eyes adjust. Inside, the cave was dark but not pitch-black. Faint dapples of light filtered through the waterfall; constantly moving to create a strange, underwater ambiance.
In a corner of the cave lay a nest of rough-woven blankets; a niche in the wall held wooden implements and crockery; a ledge was arrayed with baskets of what looked like herbs; and nearby, chunks of tree-trunk were arranged to provide a rustic table and stool. This must be where Urisk lived—and he was obviously house-proud, as the place was tidy and swept clean.
At the front sat a wooden spinning wheel with a pile of silvery material on the floor beside it and a skein of glistening thread wound onto its bobbin.
Urisk pointed a long, thin arm at the spinning wheel. "I need to fill my bobbin with silver thread before I can catch the water horse. Will you assist me, fair maid?"
-::-
Elphin hummed to himself as he hurried down the dirt path through the scree-filled lower slopes of Schiehallion, a woven willow basket over his arm and his cloak billowing behind him. High above, the snow-covered upper slopes of the conical-shaped mountain were wreathed in wispy white clouds; down here, the chill from Cailleach's cave was slowly lifting as the sun's rays warmed his leathery
Now that she was closer to the waterfall, she could also hear a rhythmical knocking and whirring, which intermingled with the falling water. Could that be anything to do with the horse?
As Corinne moved towards the pool, the mechanical knocking sound stopped and a movement over by the waterfall caught her eye. She stopped in surprise. On a ledge beside the waterfall was a strange, hairy creature with the body of a man but the legs of a… goat?
C HAPTER 6
C ORINNE MUST HAVE made an involuntary noise because the strange creature's head jerked up, beady black eyes darting straight to where she stood in the line of trees flanking the stream. Corinne's left hand inched nervously towards the bow slung over her shoulder, as the creature jumped off the ledge and skipped around the edge of the pool until he stood in front of her.
"Good morrow, fair maid," he said in a reedy high-pitched voice with a hint of a lisp. "I'm Urisk. Who be you?"
Corinne took a half step backwards. "H—hello. My name is Corinne."
He smiled, showing small, slab-shaped teeth, but when he didn't say anything else or do anything threatening, she added, "I wonder if you could help me? I saw a white horse in the trees, and it led me here."
Urisk inclined his head questioningly.
"Have you seen it?" she asked.
The creature nodded sagely. "The water horse. Yes. He is very flighty. I am trying to catch him." His eyes narrowed. "Would you like to help me?"
Could this be another of Feyland's quests? The first time she'd played the game, she'd met a goblin who'd said in a sing-song voice, 'Only the pure can see the pure, only the pure will find him. Only with love will love be shown, only by love unbind him.' And after that, she'd found the unicorn. So she was probably due another quest by now. Maybe she had to help Urisk before she could hunt for the minstrel.
"Okay. What do you need me to do?"
"Follow me." Urisk jerked his head to the right and led her around the pool.
When Corinne stepped closer to the torrent falling off the cliff, a reviving mist of droplets peppered her skin. Motes of sunlight hitting the spray caused effervescent rainbows, which hung like will o' the wisps above the pool. That same spray sheened the rocks as Urisk led her onto the ledge at the base of the cliff and disappeared behind the waterfall.
Stepping carefully along the narrow ledge, her childhood fear of water had her hugging the cliff-face, well away from the scarily deep pool. Once behind the curtain of water, she moved slowly to let her eyes adjust. Inside, the cave was dark but not pitch-black. Faint dapples of light filtered through the waterfall; constantly moving to create a strange, underwater ambiance.
In a corner of the cave lay a nest of rough-woven blankets; a niche in the wall held wooden implements and crockery; a ledge was arrayed with baskets of what looked like herbs; and nearby, chunks of tree-trunk were arranged to provide a rustic table and stool. This must be where Urisk lived—and he was obviously house-proud, as the place was tidy and swept clean.
At the front sat a wooden spinning wheel with a pile of silvery material on the floor beside it and a skein of glistening thread wound onto its bobbin.
Urisk pointed a long, thin arm at the spinning wheel. "I need to fill my bobbin with silver thread before I can catch the water horse. Will you assist me, fair maid?"
-::-
Elphin hummed to himself as he hurried down the dirt path through the scree-filled lower slopes of Schiehallion, a woven willow basket over his arm and his cloak billowing behind him. High above, the snow-covered upper slopes of the conical-shaped mountain were wreathed in wispy white clouds; down here, the chill from Cailleach's cave was slowly lifting as the sun's rays warmed his leathery
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