Kelpie Curse: A Feyland Urban Fantasy Tale (The Celtic Fey Book 2) Read Online Free Page A
Author: Roz Marshall
skin.
Clumps of purple heather began to line the track as the barren slopes of the mountain gave way to the more undulating terrain leading to the faerie wood. Yellow-sprigged gorse peppered the peaty ground, and a few yards later, a small blue bird with a white face hopped onto a nearby bush and cocked a head in Elphin's direction.
"Hello, my friend," he said. "Time for a duet?"
The bird gave a chirrup in reply, and with a flutter of tiny wings, he was joined by another white-faced bird, red this time.
"A trio!" he laughed, and cleared his throat. He began to sing a folk song he remembered from his studies at the Conservatory; a rhythmical tune with onomatopoeic lyrics, which evoked the sounds and cadences of tweed weaving in the Scottish islands.
As the tune filled the air, the little birds sang a counterpoint to his melody, hopping from bush to bush and then tree to tree as he strode along the path and into the faerie wood. As they travelled, other birds joined their chorus until he had a veritable choir in accompaniment as he reached the end of the final verse.
"Well sung, my friends." He opened his arms like a conductor in front of an audience, and gave a bow. "But now I need to attend to my task and collect some supplies. I will sing with you again very soon, I promise."
The rainbow-coloured flock cheeped their farewells as he turned to the stream that crossed the path in front of him, and eyed up the stepping stones. They looked sturdy enough to support his weight, and on the far side he spied some mallow root—one of Cailleach's favourite delicacies. Time to forget pleasure and think about work.
-::-
After an hour, the tips of Corinne's fingers were starting to burn from the effort of teasing the silk into a thread and feeding it into the spinning wheel. But more worrying was the fact that the pile of raw material had dwindled to nothing, and Urisk had disappeared without saying where he was going. He'd only offered the vague instruction that if she needed more silk, she should collect it from the webs in his cave.
His spotlessly immaculate cave.
How am I ever going to find a cobweb here? She stopped pushing the wooden foot pedals that turned the wheel. Flexing her cramped fingers, she stood up. Maybe outside? The sooner she finished Urisk's spinning, the sooner she'd be able to search for the minstrel.
Birdsong filled the air as she stepped out from under the waterfall and onto the ledge.
Spotting a figure on the stepping stones at the other side of the pool—Elphin, her friend from her last visit to Feyland—she raised an arm and waved to catch his attention.
But the sudden movement made her lose her footing on the slippery rock, and with a stab of panic she slid off the ledge and fell helplessly towards the icy depths of the pool. Plunging down, she had time for only a single, terror-filled gasp before the dark water closed like a coffin over her head.
C HAPTER 7
E LPHIN WAS NEGOTIATING the last stepping stone when there was a yelp of alarm followed by a large splash in the pool to his left. He knew who it was before he saw her, and was tearing off his cloak and boots before Corinne had breached the surface. But instead of swimming or floating, she flailed her arms and started to sink again. Without thought for his own safety, Elphin took a deep breath and dived into the pool, aiming for the spot where she had gone under.
The seemingly-still pool was far from it, underwater. Eddies and rills from the nearby waterfall disturbed the depths and caused the pondweed to ripple and flail like a forest in a hurricane. But the water was pure and clean, and Elphin caught a flash of Corinne's archer costume descending rapidly near the far bank.
With a couple of powerful strokes, he crossed the pool and lunged down to where a smear of green glimmered tantalisingly below him.
Corinne had stopped fighting now, and her body was limp as he grabbed her beneath the arms and kicked for the surface. Fear for her
Clumps of purple heather began to line the track as the barren slopes of the mountain gave way to the more undulating terrain leading to the faerie wood. Yellow-sprigged gorse peppered the peaty ground, and a few yards later, a small blue bird with a white face hopped onto a nearby bush and cocked a head in Elphin's direction.
"Hello, my friend," he said. "Time for a duet?"
The bird gave a chirrup in reply, and with a flutter of tiny wings, he was joined by another white-faced bird, red this time.
"A trio!" he laughed, and cleared his throat. He began to sing a folk song he remembered from his studies at the Conservatory; a rhythmical tune with onomatopoeic lyrics, which evoked the sounds and cadences of tweed weaving in the Scottish islands.
As the tune filled the air, the little birds sang a counterpoint to his melody, hopping from bush to bush and then tree to tree as he strode along the path and into the faerie wood. As they travelled, other birds joined their chorus until he had a veritable choir in accompaniment as he reached the end of the final verse.
"Well sung, my friends." He opened his arms like a conductor in front of an audience, and gave a bow. "But now I need to attend to my task and collect some supplies. I will sing with you again very soon, I promise."
The rainbow-coloured flock cheeped their farewells as he turned to the stream that crossed the path in front of him, and eyed up the stepping stones. They looked sturdy enough to support his weight, and on the far side he spied some mallow root—one of Cailleach's favourite delicacies. Time to forget pleasure and think about work.
-::-
After an hour, the tips of Corinne's fingers were starting to burn from the effort of teasing the silk into a thread and feeding it into the spinning wheel. But more worrying was the fact that the pile of raw material had dwindled to nothing, and Urisk had disappeared without saying where he was going. He'd only offered the vague instruction that if she needed more silk, she should collect it from the webs in his cave.
His spotlessly immaculate cave.
How am I ever going to find a cobweb here? She stopped pushing the wooden foot pedals that turned the wheel. Flexing her cramped fingers, she stood up. Maybe outside? The sooner she finished Urisk's spinning, the sooner she'd be able to search for the minstrel.
Birdsong filled the air as she stepped out from under the waterfall and onto the ledge.
Spotting a figure on the stepping stones at the other side of the pool—Elphin, her friend from her last visit to Feyland—she raised an arm and waved to catch his attention.
But the sudden movement made her lose her footing on the slippery rock, and with a stab of panic she slid off the ledge and fell helplessly towards the icy depths of the pool. Plunging down, she had time for only a single, terror-filled gasp before the dark water closed like a coffin over her head.
C HAPTER 7
E LPHIN WAS NEGOTIATING the last stepping stone when there was a yelp of alarm followed by a large splash in the pool to his left. He knew who it was before he saw her, and was tearing off his cloak and boots before Corinne had breached the surface. But instead of swimming or floating, she flailed her arms and started to sink again. Without thought for his own safety, Elphin took a deep breath and dived into the pool, aiming for the spot where she had gone under.
The seemingly-still pool was far from it, underwater. Eddies and rills from the nearby waterfall disturbed the depths and caused the pondweed to ripple and flail like a forest in a hurricane. But the water was pure and clean, and Elphin caught a flash of Corinne's archer costume descending rapidly near the far bank.
With a couple of powerful strokes, he crossed the pool and lunged down to where a smear of green glimmered tantalisingly below him.
Corinne had stopped fighting now, and her body was limp as he grabbed her beneath the arms and kicked for the surface. Fear for her
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