James looked at me, determination in his eyes.“We can’t just ride on. We need to get her off that ice,”he said, jumping down from the horse and tying it to a small sapling near the loch’s edge. I nodded and watched as he took a slow, careful step out onto the ice, testing its strength.
“James, do you think it wise to go out there?”I called to him as a crack sounded out from the pressure of his foot.
“I’ll be fine. We need to get her back toward the shore before the ice gives way. It’s very thin. I will try to safely coax her back,”James reassured me. As I watched him progress slowly to the girl, a sinking feeling came over me. Something was not right. Where had this child come from? There were no crofts in sight. Then, striking me like a bolt of lightning, the story Gran had told me of the kelpie came rushing back.
“James, no!”I screamed just as he reached the child. He turned back and looked at me, but it was too late. The child vanished at the very moment the ice gave way below his feet, and he plummeted into the depths of the frigid waters of Loch Ness. The fear in his eyes was the last thing I saw as he disappeared into its darkness.
Chapter Fifty
Song of the Fae
“
N
o!”I screamed out, my voice echoing off the ice. I leaned forward and quickly untied the horse. With my hurt leg, there was no way I could walk out to where James had fallen through. But if I managed to get the horse to a safe point on the ice, I could dismount and crawl the rest of the way.
Without hesitation, I urged the horse toward the spot where James had gone beneath the ice. Wary of the icy surface, the horse pulled back, but I laid my hand on its neck and whispered words of comfort into its ear. It cautiously approached the hole where James had disappeared. Once we were closer yet still far enough back where the horse’s weight would not break through, I dismounted, slipped off my bag, and crawled over the icy surface. I plunged my arms into the freezing water in a desperate attempt to find him.
“James!”I screamed, but the only response was my own voice echoing off the loch’s frozen waters. The sting of a thousand needles pierced my skin before it succumbed to the numbing cold, but I pressed on in my frantic attempt to find James. Driving my arms deeper, my hands brushed against something warm and smooth. I tried to grasp it, but it proved too large for my hands to encircle. Startled, I withdrew my arms and moved away from the hole.
It was then that I saw it—the creature emerging from the depths. Its smooth scales glimmered in the sunlight like tiny green gems as its giant head broke the surface. It was not a kelpie but some other mystical creature of old, reminiscent of a dragon. I held back a scream as it surfaced, and there atop its large body was James. The horse, catching sight of the monstrous creature, bolted off the ice and down the trail toward the woodland, leaving me stranded.
Fear held me tightly in its grip as the creature perched in the water, delivering James to me. As the creature guided his body over to me on the ice, I grabbed him, pulling him close. Turning, the enormous creature looked at me one last time before disappearing back under the water.
I quickly pulled James away from the icy hole, only to find my worst fear realized. He was not breathing. His skin was gray, and his lips were a pale shade of blue. I screamed his name, pounding on his chest for him to wake, but he did not stir. I laid my head on his chest, hoping that I might hear the beating of his gentle heart, but it was as silent as a cold winter night. Tears streamed down my face as I sat there feeling utterly helpless, wishing that Gran were there to guide me. It was then I remembered her book resting in the satchel and I reached for it on the ice beside me. I flipped page after page until I found the spell I had been searching for:“Bringing one back from death’s grip.”I read the incantation aloud,“As death holds its grip fast, bring one back with this spell I cast. From behind the veil back to this realm, guide this vessel from its helm. From the darkness back to the light, aid this battle and win the fight.”
Nothing happened. My eyes skimmed over the spell again, unable to understand what I was doing wrong. I knew I had magic within my blood, but I had no idea how to harness and use it to do my bidding. I repeated the verse again, pouring every ounce of energy I had into the words, but still his body lay cold next to me. Tears spilled from my eyes as I held him, his cold skin in harsh contrast against mine.
Just as I was about to recite the spell again, I was interrupted by music on the wind—a haunting melody that initially sounded like a lullaby. It grew louder, and I looked around, but there was no one in sight.
“Show yourself!”I yelled into the wind.
Just as quickly as the song had sounded, a woman appeared from nowhere, standing only feet from me. Young and beautiful, she wore clothing unsuited for the cold weather, a long flowing dress made of fine silk. Her long blonde hair was braided, with flowers woven through the cascading plait. I did not know if she was a goddess of old, a witch, or one of the Fae that wandered the land, and in that moment I did not care.
“Poor child, tell me of your woes?”she asked as if she did not see the body of my dead lover before me.
“My love has drowned in the loch. We had just found each other, and now I have lost him,”I cried, tears streaming down my face and landing softly on the icy snow below me.
“Do not cry, child, for I can reunite you with him. All I need from you is that bracelet upon your wrist,”she said in a voice as soft as silk.
I looked down at the shiny silver of Gran’s bracelet peeking out from the cuff of my sleeve. Without hesitation, I pulled it from my wrist and handed it to the woman. Her smile widened as she took it, tucking it into a pocket of her dress. Bending down, she laid her hand on James’s chest and looked over at me.“He loved you very deeply. I see many, many happy times you two will spend together,”she said, smiling at me as if he were not lying there dead at her feet.
“Do you wish for your love to continue?”she asked, her gray eyes looking deep within me asif to find the answer without waiting for my reply.
“Yes,”I said between my sobs.
She bent down, taking my hand in hers, and with her other, she grabbed James’s cold, lifeless one. She closed her eyes, and I followed suit, and then she began to sing.
“In shadows of frost, love entwined,
A dance of souls, through time confined.
In each dance, a mirrored hue,
Yet frosty waters claim their due.
To shatter chains, to cease the waltz,
