Page 6

Neith

“I s everyone ready to head home?” Evander asks.

“Actually, I didn’t get a chance to ask Sully those questions,” I say, making everyone pause and turn back around since they were already heading out of the door.

“What questions?” Sully asks.

“I have a couple, actually. The first is about kelpies,” I start, and Sully’s eyebrows dip into a frown. I quickly tell him about Mael, and the kelpies trying to drown me and how the guys all seem to have a personal kelpie too. The more I talk, the higher Sully’s eyes raise on his forehead.

“Okay, let me get this straight,” Sully starts to asks, “you saved a kelpie that was trying to kill you and it gave you its name, but seemed surprised you knew it, and then you saved the herd from Scavengers and now the same thing has happened with your men?”

I choose to ignore the fact that he called them my men because, erm, what?

“Yeah,” I reply. “Oh, and when I got on him outside the house, well, when he launched me onto his back again, he had a bridle on. It was really pretty and studded with gemstones, too.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Sully replies, his shocked expression turning into a broad smile.

“What?”

“They have bonded to you. The entire herd will now be bonded to you until they or you die. It’s an incredibly rare bond, and in fact, only those who . . .” Sully’s sentence cuts off, and his eyes darken with anger as he growls, “Seriously, I can’t fucking tell them that!”

It’s silent for a moment until I say, “It’s okay, Sully. I know there are things that you can’t tell me, and I know that you would if you could. Just see what you can tell us?”

Sully’s expression softens, “You know, we are all extremely lucky that you are the person that you are, because if I had lost you because of what I couldn’t tell you, then heads would have fucking rolled. Consequences be damned.”

I grin, “Thanks, Sully, that means a lot.”

“Okay, so offer violence on Neith’s behalf and it makes her go all gooey,” Doc mutters behind me, and I glance over my shoulder, he winks, “I’m just taking notes.”

I chuckle and turn back to face a smiling Sully.

“Okay, so they are now bonded to you and that is a really big deal. The whole herd will come when called, but you can also call your individual kelpies. The ones that have given you their name. They are a force to be reckoned with, and were always supposed to be bonded,” he looks at Evander, “I’m surprised that you all moved onto a property that has a herd of kelpies, most people avoid them like the plague, for understandable reasons.”

Evander shakes his head, “We didn’t know that they were there. Otherwise, we would have warned Neith, and this whole thing probably wouldn’t have happened.”

Sully’s big, bushy eyebrows rise again, “Oh, so they sought you out then. I’m not surprised they have, but I am surprised that it’s happened this early. I’m not sure whether that’s a good or a bad thing.”

“I would ask you to elaborate, but I have a feeling that you won’t be able to,” Griff says.

Sully shakes his head, “I’m surprised I got that out. Let me see, what else can I tell you.” He pauses a second, “Oh, to a certain extent, you will be able to power-share with them and them with you. Not to the extent that they will be able to access all of your magic or that you will be able to turn into kelpies, but enough so that you can work coherently and consistently as a team. Having them on your side makes you formidable.”

“Wow, that’s pretty fucking cool,” I reply.

“Do we need to do anything to take care of them?” Raiden asks.

I honestly hadn’t even thought about it and now I feel bad that it didn’t occur to me to ask whether we needed to do anything.

Sully shakes his head, “Not in the sense of needing to house them or feed them or anything like that. They are independent in that way, and they are not pets, so you don’t need to treat them as such.”

“Okay, so what do we need to do?” River asks.

“Strengthen the bond between you,” Sully says. “The stronger the bond, the more likely they are to come when called and to assist you in situations that require it. They still have free will, and whether they help you or not is their choice. You are off to a really good start because you all came to their aid and prevented the Scavengers from killing them, but if you now ignore them, then if you were to call on them. They won’t come.”

“I don’t think any of us planned to ignore them. They are amazing creatures,” Ransom says.

Sully nods, “They are. Mine got trapped back in Trieneliea. I miss her. If you build your relationship properly with them and put the time and effort in, then you should notice a change in their coats. I would imagine that they are dull and murky at the moment?” We nod in confirmation, and he continues, “Thought so, well the stronger your bond gets, the brighter their colors will get, and not just the ones that have given you their names but the whole herd.”

“Wow. That’s amazing,” I say. He looked so sad when he mentioned his, that I decide not to press him for information, I’ll do that another time. I do think that it’s really interesting that he said it was extremely rare, and yet he had one. Instead, I ask a different question, “You keep asking if we called them. How exactly do we do that?”

Sully grins, “You whistle. It’s the same call that anyone bonded to kelpie is taught, but when you repeat it, it will automatically change ever so slightly so that it only calls your kelpie. No one else but you can call your kelpie.”

“So, even if someone else were to use your whistle to call your kelpie, it wouldn’t work?” I clarify because it seems important.

Sully nods, “Exactly. Now you said that you had more than one question?”

I nod, “Yeah, so there was a breach in the wards that Ransom had up, and he fixed it, and then I fell into it, and there was this big burst of power that was mine and made the wards super strong.”

Instead of looking shocked Sully just shakes his head, “A breach huh, clever.”

“What?” I ask.

Sully shakes his head, “Nothing, never mind. What was your question?”

I frown but figure it’s another one of those things that I can’t know or that I have misunderstood him, so I carry on. “My question is that now that it is obvious that I do have some kind of magic, could I take the real test that determines whether a person is a supernatural or not. Surely, if I did, then it would tell us what I am, too?”

Sully suddenly becomes shifty, “Yeah, maybe. It’s definitely something to think about,” he starts to herd us toward the door and the guys, and I share a look. “Well, it’s getting late. I will see you guys’ next week for the next poker game.”

The door to his office slams behind us.

“Well, that was really weird,” I mutter.

“That was incredibly odd,” Doc agrees. “Come on, let’s head back to the house. I’m ready for bed.”

“You know who you should ask about the supe test?” Raiden starts.

“Who?” I ask as we move through the pub and out the front doors. I wave to the bouncers.

“Ty, he has access to the test. They store it at SID because it’s a lot safer than trying to store it at the academy,” Raiden replies.

“Of course,” I reply. “It only occurred to me earlier as something that I could do. Ty and Sully know each other really well though, so if Sully is being cagey about it then chances are that Ty will be too.”

River shrugs, “Maybe, but there is no harm in asking. You can ask him when we go in on Monday.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that,” I reply, climbing out of the van at the guys place. “Good idea. I’ll do that. I guess if he says no, too, or rather gets super cagey like Sully did, then I will just have to wait or take matters into my own hands.”

“Why does that sound like you are going to cause an amazing amount of trouble?” Evander asks, his eyebrow raised.

I smirk, “Probably because you still know me fairly well, and some things haven’t changed.”

“Neith,” Evander starts.

I interrupt with another smile, “Hey, Reed wanted to talk to you all.”

Evander frowns slightly knowing that I am changing the subject deliberately, but he still turns to Reed and asks, “You did?”

Reed chuckles, “Yeah, I did actually. Let’s talk in the front room.”

The guys all look incredibly curious as we head into the front room and take seats. Reed stays standing up, facing us all and frowning.

“What’s up? Did something happen? I saw you talking to Draith,” Evander asks.

“No, well kind of,” Reed starts. He takes a breath and then begins to explain, “So, Draith told me a couple of things that I didn’t know.”

“Okay?” Griff prompts when Reed doesn’t start talking.

“He said that demons and dragons have had a long-standing relationship and that in Trieneliea, I would have been trained to fight from the back of them.”

“Wow, that is really fucking cool,” River grins.

“That’s not all. He said that he could feel my magic, and it must be exhausting to have it locked down all the time. He said if I ever wanted to set it free, I could come and hang out at the keep, and that it would take a couple of hours for the dragons to adjust to my magic, but like it did with you guys, they would get used to it.”

“Wait, what?” Doc asks with a frown.

“I think he means that if I completely let my magic free, with no barrier then you guys would get used to it pretty quickly and I wouldn’t have to keep it on lock down all the time,” Reed replies, somewhat cautiously as if he is unsure how the guys will react.

“No fucking way,” Griff reacts first, one of his rare big smiles crossing his features and making him look even more handsome.

River starts bouncing, “Come on then. Let the magic free.”

“I hate that you have to be so in control all the time. If we can get used to it like Draith said, then that would be amazing and definitely something worth doing,” Doc adds, his smile genuinely happy for Reed.

“It makes sense actually,” Raiden starts. “Your magic has been free a lot more recently, and we have all handled it better.”

“He’s right,” Ransom agrees. “Think about when we were in the clearing, your magic pinned us to the floor, but as soon as you realized and had stopped yelling at Neith, you pulled it back, and before that, it was completely free, and we were all fine. It wasn’t until Neith pissed you off that you let out a blast of power that sent us to the floor.”

“Really?” Reed asks in confusion.

Evander nods, “Shit, yeah, you’re right.” He grins, “Come on, man, let your magic out. We’ll deal with it.”

“Now?” Reed asks, his eyes widening slightly.

“There’s no reason to wait, is there?” Doc asks.

Reed shrugs, “I guess not.”

“I don’t think we’re going to react how you think we will. I mean, you have already exposed us to your power today, remember?” Van asks.

“Okay,” Reed says. “All at once or gradually?”

The guys all just share a look, communicating in a way that only people who have been friends for a really long time can. I stay out of it since his power isn’t going to affect me either way.

“Well, you do tend to release it in a blast, or because of a strong emotion,” Evander starts, “Maybe this time, if you do it gradually then it will give us a chance to get used to it and it won’t be such a big hit at once. Like I said you have already hit us with a big blast today, so that should help too, if Draith is right.”

“I would be inclined to believe Draith. He is really fucking old and comes from Trieneliea. He knows how it used to work there, and it would make a lot of sense that demons wouldn’t have had to keep such a tight lock on their magic at all times there,” I say.

Reed thinks about it for a moment and then nods. He doesn’t say anything else as he slowly starts releasing his magic. He keeps his gaze on the others, watching them for any signs of discomfort until his full power is finally released.

“Well?” he asks.

I think that it’s a good thing that they are all still upright and haven’t been flattened by his power, so I’m hoping that Draith was right and Reed is finally going to be able to be completely himself while he is at home, at least.

I can’t even begin how exhausting it must be for him to have to keep that much power leashed all of the time.

“I’m good,” River says as he stands up to prove that he is actually okay.

Raiden does the same with a huge smile, “Me too.”

All of the guys stand up to prove that they are okay and that they can.

Reed’s eyes are wide, “Really, you are honestly not affected?”

“At first, I began to feel that heavy feeling that I usually get when you release your magic, but it soon lessened instead of becoming heavier,” Doc explains.

“Yeah, I felt the same. I thought I was going to get flattened for a moment, but it didn’t get any worse and just slowly dissipated,” Griff adds.

“I think releasing it slower helped a lot,” Raiden adds, “we didn’t get blasted with power straight away. We were able to build up to it.”

“I think if you were to keep your magic unrestrained at home from now on, that we would eventually be able to deal with it when you suddenly make a big blast of power as well,” Ransom replies.

“I agree,” Doc replies. “If we keep exposing ourselves to it, then we will be better equipped to deal with it.”

“I can’t believe it,” Reed says with a smile.

“Just think how different it could have been at home for you if we had known sooner,” Raiden says with a frown. “I’m sorry man, I should have done some more research into it.”

Reed smiles, “Don’t be ridiculous. We didn’t think to do more research into it because I have always been told that it isn’t possible.”

“What?” I ask.

Reed’s eyebrows dip in confusion, “Well, my parents have always told me that there is nothing that I can do about it and that I have to keep a tight hold on my magic at all times.”

I frown, “But that doesn’t make sense, you said that they came over from Trieneliea, so they know the customs. They know that demons are supposed to work with dragons, and if they know that, then they know that dragons and certain other supernaturals who are strong enough, like the guys, can handle you completely unrestrained.”

“That is definitely a concerning point,” Doc frowns.

“I don’t understand why they would tell me otherwise?” Reed frowns.

“Do you talk to your parents a lot?” I ask.

He shakes his head, “No, I haven’t spoken to them for nearly two decades.”

My eyes widen, “What?”

“We just stopped talking,” he shrugs.

I can tell from his body language and everything that it really isn’t a big deal to him, so I don’t push it any further.

I wonder if maybe it’s a demon thing, and they stop talking to their young when they reach a certain age.

“We can come back to that at a later point if we need to, for now let's just celebrate that you don’t have to hide at home anymore,” Evander says.

Reed’s expression clears, and his smile graces his expression again, “Yeah, that’s true. I would rather not talk to them if I can help it.”

“Understandable,” Raiden replies.

We all talk for a bit longer, Reed reveling in the fact that he doesn’t have to keep his magic controlled. Eventually, I can’t stop yawning, and I have to excuse myself to get some sleep.

“If you still want to see the library and do some research tomorrow, then we could go straight there after lunch if you would like?” Raiden says as I get up.

I nod, “Absolutely. I want to look up several things, including the kelpies now. I’m wondering if the information that Sully couldn’t tell us is in one of the books that you have.”

“That’s a really good idea, it could be. The library is very well stocked,” Griff agrees. “Just because Sully couldn’t tell us doesn’t mean that the information isn’t available elsewhere.”

“Do you want to join us?” Raiden asks.

“Yeah, if that’s okay? I would like to learn more about the kelpies,” Griff replies.

Griff and Raiden look at me.

I shrug and admit, “If I’m being completely honest with you, as soon as I get my nose in a book, I’m not likely to be much company. I get hyper-focused and lose massive amounts of time.”

Raiden grins, “I’m exactly the same.”

Griff chuckles, “In that case, I should probably be there just to remind you two that you need to eat and drink.”

Raiden and I wince, making the guys laugh at our expressions.

River smirks as he says, “Yeah, I think that’s probably a good idea.”

“Alright. Well, I need sleep. It’s been a damn long day,” I say.

“Night, Neith,” the guys all somehow manage to say together, making me smile.