“Oh, no, Macey. I didn’t mean it like that.” Jared closed the small gap between them and pulled her into his arms, squeezing her tightly.
“I know you didn’t,” she responded, a morose note invading her voice. Whether he’d intended it or not, he’d put the thoughts into her head and there was no going back from that.
"You smell!" someone shouted, closer this time than the previous voice.
"Are they talking to us?" Macey asked Jared, turning around to try and spy whoever was moving through the mists.
"No idea. Maybe? It's a weird thing to say."
"No, they stink!" the first voice called from behind them.
It clearly seemed to be aimed at Macey and Jared.
"Are you the kludde?" she shouted, even though she really wanted to tell them that it was impolite to imply that they were smelly. But while the kludde didn't seem to care about first impressions, Macey did. They were in the kludde's territory now, and while Jared didn't seem to see them as much of a threat, the kelpie wasn't so sure about that.
"They positively reek," the second voice snickered, ignoring Macey's question. It sounded so close that Macey stretched out her hands and walked towards the sound, but there was nothing but mist in front of her.
"Come out so we can smell you!" she called in a burst of annoyance. "Then we can tell you if you stink as well."
Laughter sounded form all around her. There had to be at least ten or so people around them, but Macey couldn't see a single one.
"Glad that didn't make them angry," Jared whispered under his breath.
"Me too," Macey replied softly, her heart beating a little faster. She lifted her voice to speak to the unseen strangers. "We're here to talk to the kludde about changes you may have noticed. We're fighting the evil that is..."
"Maybe she fights it with her smell," one voice interrupted her with a giggle and a chorus of laughter surrounded them once more.
"There was an earthquake not far from here today," Macey tried again. "Things are happening, bad things. If you haven't noticed anything, then tell us and we'll leave. We only want to help."
This time, there wasn't any laughter.
"Get Teacher," someone to her left whispered and the sound of running feet followed.
"Teacher?" Jared asked quietly so only Macey could hear. "Is that their leader, perhaps?"
"Maybe. Let's wait and find out."
They didn't have to wait long, for a minute later, a figure materialised in the mist a dozen yards or so before them.
"What is going on?" a booming voice asked.
Macey was just about to repeat her story when one of the younger voices replied, "Strangers are here, Teacher. We played with them but then one of them mentioned something about an earthquake and evil things, and..."
"What do you mean, played with them? You're supposed to do your homework! Back to the classroom, now!"
There was shuffling all around them, indicating the kludde's departure. It was strange how Macey could see the Meer through the mist, but not the people they'd been talking to. Where they invisible?
"I apologise for my students," the deep voice said, suddenly right in front of them. But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.
"Are you a ghost?" Macey blurted before she could stop herself.
"I am whatever I want to be," the Teacher replied. A second later, a horse stood on the marshy ground, so close Macey could feel its warm breath on her cheeks.
"Or maybe a dog?"
The horse changed into a large Rottweiler faster than the eye could see.
"Or a tree?"
A tree grew from the ground - no, it materialised, sprang into existence. Macey rubbed her eyes. Was this really happening? When she shifted, it took time and energy, and a dose of pain. This person took fractions of a second to shift from a dog to a flipping tree!
The tree rustled its branches - yes, it was moving like it had full control over every single leaf crowning its majestic limbs - and bent down a little as if to look at the two intruders.
"Gnomes got your tongue?" he asked in amusement when neither Macey nor Jared said anything. "I'm the Teacher, and I am indeed a kludde. Now, tell me, why have you entered our domain? The children said something about earthquakes?"
Macey looked up at the tree, wondering where exactly to look. It seemed impolite not to look the kludde in the eye when talking to him, but there were no eyes, nor a face in general. She ended up looking at the spot where the lowest branch left the main trunk.
"We spent some time with Jerimiah of the local kabouter clan," the kelpie began. "According to him, there have been earthquakes in the south, and when we left, there was a small one affecting his home too. But that's not the only reason we're here."
The tree shook its leaves, probably to show that he was still listening, so Macey continued, more confident this time.
"We've been travelling both on Earth and other planes and have fought two evil creatures bent on gaining power, no matter the consequences. One of them was feeding off the Staran, and we managed to destroy it. The other is still at large."
She quickly gave him a roundup of the Mahoun and what they knew about him. "We think the Mahoun is planning to do something to the earth, or maybe already doing it. Those earthquakes could very well be part of his plan."
The tree gently moved from side to side as if he was deep in thought. "And why did you come here?"
This time, Jared responded. "The kabouters recommended we speak with you. Jerimiah said that the kludde have been behaving strangely recently, so we were wondering if you've felt the same evil approaching."
Suddenly, the bark of the tree began to glow and moments later, a man was standing in its place. His skin was like dark brown leather, thick and full of wrinkles, but his pale blue eyes looked surprisingly young. His hair was shaggy, hiding part of his face, yet even so, he had something imposing about him, and not just because he was two heads taller than Macey.
"Is this your real form?" she asked without thinking.
The man laughed. "What is your real form? Kelpie or human?"
She thought for a moment, then smiled. "Touche. I'm Macey and this is Jared."
"They call me Wilg when I'm not the Teacher," the kludde said in a grave voice, his laughter suddenly gone. "But I think I will need to be the Teacher for this." He sighed deeply. "Jerimiah is right. Something has been happening. At first, we thought nothing of it, then we thought it was a coincidence. For the past few weeks though, we've been more cautious - and now here you are, confirming our suspicions. In a way, I'm glad we now have a vague idea of what is the cause of the unrest."
Jared frowned and said what Macey was thinking. "What exactly has been happening?"
"Our young are having trouble shifting. Our old are getting weak and frail. The magic that connects us to the earth and sustains us is troubled, unpredictable. Even I, the chieftain of the kludde, am now feeling the effects."
"We are creatures of the earth. My tribe may live by the water, but in the end, we're bound to the earth. It gives us our unique abilities, the skill to change into whatever form we want. We're like clay that can be shaped into something new every time an artist touches it. Now, it's as if the earth has become too dry to take on new shapes without crumbling."
Macey shuddered at the thought of not being able to shift. It was a nightmare she'd had ever since she was a child, and it terrified her. She was both a human and a kelpie, and she would never want to have decide between one or the other.
"That must be terrible," she said, meaning every word. "Do you have any idea of what's causing it?"
The man shook his head. "I don't. We thought it was something in the ground that only affected us, but then a cousin from the earth kludde about a hundred kilometres from here sent word that they had the same problem. It's happening to all the kludde I know of."
"If it's the Mahoun, then there's not much we can do here," Jared sighed. "I doubt he's here physically; he's affecting too many a
reas at once. The earthquakes, the changes for the kludde, the strange energy I've felt when visiting the kabouters... It doesn't sound like it all has one single point of origin. He's attacking the earth in several ways at once, and the only way I can see us stopping this is confronting him directly."
"What I'm scared of is that this will never end," Macey said quietly. "Even if we defeat the Mahoun, there's so many more of these creatures out there. We don't know where they come from, we don't know how they spread, if they can breed and spread. Maybe all we're doing is blowing out individual candles when a giant wildfire is burning all around us."
Wilg looked at her sharply. "Did you say you killed one of them?"
Macey and Jared both nodded.
"Did one of you touch it?"
Again, Macey nodded. "I fought with it, before. It may have been in my head though, or maybe not, I'm not quite sure."
"Give me your hand."
What? Where was this going?
Gingerly, Macey stretched out her arm and the Teacher took her hand. His bark-like skin was rough but his grip was gentle.
"What are you doing?" Jared asked. She could feel the tension in him; he didn't like Wilg touching her. How was he fine with three other men being with her, but not with a kludde taking her hand? She was going to have a chat with him about that.
"Every death leaves a trace," the Teacher muttered, closing his eyes. Warmth spread through Macey's arm, an unnatural heat that was both uncomfortable and pleasant at the same time.
"The earth is like a library. Everything comes from her and everything ends up back in her arms. Every being has a connection to the earth, as faint as it may be. If I can isolate the trace, I will be able to search for its source."
That sounded complicated, and somehow, Macey doubted that Self-Doubt even had a physical form that could leave a residue on her. She was beginning to think that maybe those creatures weren't even from Earth. Maybe they were aliens? Spirits? Devils? Some kind of sentient magic?
Well, the important thing was that they needed to destroy them before they destroyed the world.
"You've been touched by something else," Wilg said suddenly.
"By several someones," Jared snickered quietly and Macey elbowed him until he quietened.
"It's a strange kind of energy. Something wild and untamed, yet it sits in you calmly."
Air. He had to mean Air.
"It's complicated," she hedged. "But it's not the enemy we're looking for."
The Teacher nodded. "I will move on then."
The heat on her skin increased and spread along her shoulder. What was the kludde doing to her?
She studied his face, which was much easier now that his eyes were closed. While Wilg's rough features were human, the smaller details weren't. His mouth was too wide, his nose too sharp. The wrinkles of his skin were thick and leathery, and looked so much like bark that she wanted to reach out and touch them. His bushy eyebrows almost connected in the middle, and the hair was so coarse that it reminded her of that of the elephant she'd once petted in a zoo.
The silence became uneasy as the two of them watched the kludde study her. Hopefully this wasn’t all for nothing and he’d be able to tell her more about what was going on.
“Your future can take many different paths, none of which have been defined yet,” Wilg said, a glazed look coming into his eyes.
“Helpful,” Jared muttered.
The kludde chuckled. “Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but with so many souls tied to hers, it isn’t surprising her future could go so many ways.”
“You can tell the future?” Macey asked, a little in awe of the creature in front of her.
“Not as such,” he admitted. “We can tell general information about the journey the traveller must take. It’s why we’re known for causing mischief. Often it isn’t actually intended to take traveller’s from their paths, but to put them back on the one they’ve strayed from.”
“Ah,” Jared said.
“And the multipath thing? Is that why the children seemed so…”
“Overexcited with you? Yes,” Wilg confirmed. “It’s rare we get travellers with more than one path at all. And even then they only have two, it confused them for a moment.”
“So this really could go on forever.” She didn’t want to feel the defeat welling up inside her, but she also couldn’t ignore it. How could she carry on when her entire life was going to be a series of battles she may or may not win.
“Or you could die,” the kludde countered. “A couple of the more visible paths suggested that could be your end.”
“Everyone has to die,” Macey said, her voice shaking with nerves. She didn’t want to accept that she’d end up that way earlier than anticipated. She had a lot more living to do first. Maybe even a family of her own to start. Though she’d need to talk to her men about that. No way was she having a child with each of them. They were going to have to share whatever offspring came along. Then again, would Flint’s fire even mix with her water?
“Yes, they’ll mix fine,” Wilg interrupted.
“What? How?”
“We’re touching. I can’t read your thoughts, but the paths coming from you change as you think. From the ones becoming the strongest, I can make a good guess at what you’re thinking.”
“Creepy,” Jared muttered, giving Macey a conspiratorial grin first. “So what was she thinking?”
“About the best way to castrate incubi,” the kludde said with a surprisingly straight face.
Macey muffled a giggle, not wanting to give the game away just yet. Jared’s hands flew to his crotch, protecting his cock from the non-existent threat.
“What would happen if I chopped it off?” she asked him.
“You don’t want to know.” The tone his voice took was enough to warn her off the subject. Maybe she’d ask Cam when she returned to the others. It seemed like the kind of thing he’d know. Until then, she’d just have to help Jared avoid any cock threatening situations.
“Would it grow back?” she wondered, growing more intrigued by the second. As well as more amused, but that was mostly due to the bewildered look on Jared’s face.
“I don’t know, and I’m not going to cut it off to find out.”
“Pity.”
“Will you help us down the right path?” Jared asked the kludde, successfully steering conversation away from his genitals for probably the first time in his entire life.
“Yes, but to do so, I’ll need you to trust me,” Wilg said, his hand still clasped around Macey’s. “Will you?”
“Yes.” Her answer came without hesitation, which surprised her. She hadn’t thought she’d trust strangers so easily, especially with Mahoun and the others existing with the sole intention of destruction.
Eleven
Macey shivered as she took in the weird stones surrounding them. At first, they’d seemed haphazardly placed, but the more she looked, the more logically they seemed to have been positioned. And they gave her an uneasy feeling.
“These are ancient,” Jared observed.
“Very,” the kludde responded. “It’s said they’re filled with magic from the very beginning of time, though there’s no real evidence to support that. Even so, they have a magic no being I’ve ever met has the power of wielding. We’re supposed to use them when someone needs guidance.”
“Supposed?” Macey enquired.
“Well, not many people have ever known they could ask for it. And if they did, then they didn’t do anything about it. Our kind has a bad reputation. Much like your own, I believe.”
Macey nodded. It had been devastating to learn how the humans viewed kelpies. It was true that they weren’t the most beautiful of creatures, but they were majestic in their own right. And they wouldn’t hurt anyone. At least, not on purpose they wouldn’t.
“What are we supposed to do?” she asked.
“He isn’t supposed to do anything. He needs to stand outside the stones,” Wilg said, nodding towards Jare
d.
“No way,” the incubus responded. “I’m not leaving her to whatever weird ceremony you’re going to perform.”
“Jared,” Macey cautioned.
“Please, this will only work if she’s the only one within the stones with me. Or else your path will confuse matters.”
“Path?” Macey asked. “He only has one?” She frowned, unsure what to make of that. Why would Jared only have the one path when she had many? As Wardens, surely they should have the same amount.
“Yes and no,” the kludde replied. “He has many, but they are faint and following his main one, which is linked to you. Are you ready?”
Macey stared at the strange creature, confused by all that was going on. Despite that, she knew this could be a way in which she actually managed to progress on her quest to rid the world of Mahoun and his friends. Which always made things worth doing.
“Okay then. Jared, out of the circle.”
“Macey…”
“Jared, now. I’m not spending my whole life chasing who knows what, to who knows where. I want answers and a direction that can take me where I really want to go. I want a life with you all, and we can’t have that if we’re always off saving the world.”
He opened his mouth to speak but closed it again seconds later. With a confused look on his face and a reluctance which could rival that of the Pope’s going into a brothel, he stepped away and to the other side of the surrounding stones.
“Good, we can begin,” the klude announced, rubbing his hands together with what appeared to be glee. Never a good sign if anyone asked Macey. It normally meant someone evil had worked on a plan and it was all coming together. At least in the films and books she’d encountered, the good guys still managed to save the day.
“What do you want me to do?” she asked, nerves tainting her question. She hated being so vulnerable, but knew it was a necessity.
“Just close your eyes and relax. Don’t say anything else. You’ll feel my presence within you, but remember I can’t read your thoughts, only the paths you are able to take.”
She nodded and did as he instructed. The world went black and she scrunched her hands into fists before releasing them again. This was uncomfortable to say the least. Hopefully they could be done with it quickly and she would be left to get on with whatever path he selected for her to walk.
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