The Ring and the Bridle

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This entire novel is available on Amazon, both in kindle and paperback. I am posting an excerpt to generate interest in the sequel to this work. Installments will come every two weeks or so.

WARNINGS: Themes of sexual slavery, and extreme violence.

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With a splash the ring was swallowed into the dark abyss that lay beneath the glassy surface of Lake Santos. The young man tried to leap after the treasure, his arm extended and fingers grasping futilely. There was an expression of horror on his face as the gold band sparkled in the midday sun in its flight before it disappeared.

He had brought it out of its velvet box only for a minute. Only to show his younger sister the garnet stone he meant to have polished when they reached town. With trembling fingers, he had exposed it to the light and laid it on his palm. Perhaps his fear of telling her why he had the sacred band had caused the jolt that had propelled it from his hand. It had fallen in an arch from his palm, over the side of the old bridge, and drowned in the water below.

“Matt! It’s not worth it!” his sister roared as she grabbed onto the back of his jacket as he tried to stand on the uneven wall. He slipped out of the jacket, leaving her to hold it with a smoldering glare as he quickly slipped off his sneakers. He turned to her with a pleading expression.

“Edie, it’s Mom’s ring!” he explained, and her eyebrows rose in surprise at his removing the relic from its vault in the broom closet.

“The water is cold and dark, you’ll never find it!” she argued but could only watch helplessly as he stood erect and then dove into the depths below.

“I’ll be counting your time!” she warned, and with small, shallow breaths counted exactly 120 seconds as she anxiously shifted her weight from leg to leg.

She bit her lip between each whisper of a number, and pulled on the still warm leather of his jacket. At the two minute mark it was thrown into the dirt of the decayed road. For a reason she could not but later label a premonition, she remembered the small silver switch-blade in her pocket that had been given as a gift from her brother. It usually only provided comfort but today it may save. It was unsheathed and the handle was delicately placed in her mouth. Then Edie stripped herself of her own jacket and shoes and followed her brother’s dive.

A sharp rain of spikes and pricks cut into her skin as she broke the water’s surface. She gasped, and the torrent of bubbles briefly obscured her vision. When she propelled herself further down however she saw Matthew’s writhing form. Trailing lines of bubbles erupted from his frenzied movements. Struggling but unable to move it was obvious he had become caught upon something. With frantic and cutting motions she descended into the darkness that lingered at the bottom of the lake. Something was wrapped about his foot. It was obscured however in the waving weeds. The knife was drawn from her mouth. With a vicious strike she tried to cut into the mass around his ankle. The water made her movement sluggish however and the blow landed a few inches away from its intended target by Matthew’s twisting ankle.

The first thing she realized was that whatever she had just jammed her blade into was not an aquatic plant. It was too soft, and the blade easily removed from the mass. Second, the veritable screech that vivisected the depths and followed by a volley of bubbles indicated she had just unwittingly harmed an animal. Matthew was freed however, and he kicked his foot free. Terrified beyond all measure she quickly followed his desperate rise to the surface. The trail of blood following his wake was quickly dispersed into a muddy red haze by the chopping motions of their legs.

The surface seemed more distant before, as if there was a great barrier between her and the distant sky. She reached towards life and feeling her brother begin to struggle besides her she grasped his arm and forced him towards the surface. She focused all her energy, desire, and determination at that distant point. There was a feeling of a tear and she pushed through to rend it open to the sky above.

The air was painful to take in after that first break, but the terrified siblings swam for the shore with the desperation of life. Bodies exhausted from their brief brush with death they forced themselves to crawl over the sharp rocks that lined the surf. Small cuts on their hands supplemented the blood already in the water. Throwing herself upon the dirt she coughed and slowly turned on her side to face him.

“Did you scream when I cut you?” she gasped between hacking water from her aching lungs and pushing the bedraggled hair from her face.

“You didn’t cut me.” He panted, gagging on a piece of Fairy Weed as he pulled it from his throat. Matthew glanced at her, “why do you think you did?”

“I…” she groaned as she rolled onto her back, wincing at the dull ache pulsating in her chest. “I heard a scream and saw blood.”

“I heard the scream, but I didn’t see any blood. That may have just been mud.”

“Yeah,” Edie sighed and chased away the thought of something trying to drown her brother. What a silly thing to think!

The scream however…

“I didn’t even get the ring back!” Matthew suddenly remembered He glowered at the water as he forced himself to sit up.

“Just leave it Matt; I swear I will kick your balls into your throat if you try to get the damned thing back!” She snarled as she also sat up, staring him down. He looked away, but his voice was bitter and unyielding when he spoke again.

“It’s Mom’s ring though! I can’t just-“A sound skin to a horse’s death scream interrupted his statement. He gasped as he stared at the upset water that should have been calming by now. He flinched when his sister grabbed him, her body violently shivering as they both watched the unnatural action of the water.

“Fuck, we’re leaving! Something is surfacing!” she said in a rushed whisper, pulling on him to get him to stand. He didn’t resist as he stared at what had cried out at his escape.

With unsteady legs they began to run. They made an awkward scramble up the hillock that surrounded the shore.

“What the hell was that?” Edie gasped after she had led her brother back onto the main road and a considerable distance from the bridge where their jackets and shoes were left to enjoy the mild sun of the Californian spring. “Shit, what makes that noise! It sounded like a horse getting its head cut off!”

“I don’t know, heard a rumor once someone long ago had let alligators loose into the Via Verde River. Maybe it’s true?” He suggested quietly as he pulled away from her to lean on a tree. Edie frowned; she didn’t think even an alligator could possibly have made such an unearthly noise.

“Maybe,” she allowed. Though as she had no real experience with crocodilians, she was happy however to try to rationalize the inexplicable encounter in whatever way she could.

He sighed and reached down to pat her hair.

“Might be a good time to pick up a dictionary of wildlife, huh?” he asked sardonically.

“Especially as I left my knife there, could have gotten a blood sample,” she sniffed.

“You think you discovered some new species?” he laughed as he walked down the road. She shrugged, hugging her arms around her waist.

“Yep, a Matthew-eating crocodile.”

“Alligator. Crocs couldn’t live in a lake,” Matthew sniffed.

“No there’s freshwater ones, and they’re bigger.” For something to surface like that. She felt a cold hand caress her spine at the memory. She glanced back and while she saw nothing on the road, and certainly a crocodile or alligator would not have come this far, her lingering adrenalin left her with the impression she was being watched.

“What should I tell Pops?” Matt asked quietly about the ring.

“Don’t.” Was Edie’s firm reply and it wasn’t questioned. She looked down at their dripping clothes, and no shoes on their feet!

She groaned, “If anyone came down this road right now they think we were escapees from some psycho-killer cult.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t get to the bookstore.” Matthew glanced down at her.

“It’s totally fine.” Edie waved her hand, she had long since forgotten all about her project in her horticulture course. She recalled after a few seconds what had inspired his nearly fatal dive.

“Why were you getting Mom’s ring cleaned anyway?” She asked, her arms tightening around her chest as she saw his shoulders tense as he strode ahead of her. His steps didn’t falter however.

“I…was hoping to give it to Kelly.” He said softly and looked at his feet. He glanced over his shoulder at her. She was standing on her tip toes, frozen in mid-breath with wide eyes, which glimmered with…tears? He frowned and turned completely around, raising a hand to soothe her. He nearly fell over when she lunged at him, enclosing his waist in a hug as her face fell onto his chest.

“Oh Matt…I’m so happy for you!” she whispered, and he relaxed after he had steadied his stance.

The young doctor had become like a softly shinning sun, showering Matthew in a warm light. The woman was beautiful, accomplished, and had a very kind and patient nature. She was a woman that should have a large family, for she could cover a legion with her love.

Edie had at first been wary of the relationship as there was such a large divide between their social situations. Kelly was the daughter of a successful entrepreneur and brought up in wealth. Edie and Matthew were of the working class and more over of mixed heritage. Kelly’s mother had been born in the foothill community of Orangeblossom like theirs had been but had been raised in marriage to the higher climes of Los Olivos with its secluded upper class and the lushness of Palisade Beach.

Love bloomed however in any difficult place. Edie could see the change in her brother’s smile that had once existed for her alone. He shared it now to the world. Edie had always wished for him to be happy and now he seemed to have found it. She wanted him to have everything he deserved, and Matthew of all people deserved a pretty, intelligent, and loving wife.

“Edie,” he sighed softly. He patted her head and she tried to not flinch as he accidentally pulled at a knot. “I’m glad to hear that. It’ll mean a big change for us both.”

“I know,” she stepped back. She had been a little jealous of Kelly at first because she had known if she replaced her in Matthew’s heart, things would change. She had forced such bitter feelings away however reminding herself she was no longer a spoiled and petty child.

“But I’ll make it.” She reassured him. She smiled at him and he gave a small smile back after taking in her determined expression. The smile felt almost painted on, but she would one day make it true.

“Well, let’s get home Edie, I’m afraid I’ll have to think of a way to buy a new ring.” Matthew sighed but looked back at his sister. “I never said thank you, I guess I was just too exhausted before. But really you saved me back there, from whatever that was.”

Edie looked down at her muddy and raw feet, “Don’t mention it.”

She glanced up to where a black curl clung to her brother’s cheek and suffocated the urge to push it behind his ear lest the hopeful expression leave his face.

#

Edie’s great-aunt, Mindy Mandau, had inherited her father’s orange orchards. In response to the changing economic landscape of the region the daughter had reduced the orchards that had once spread for dozens of acres to two three acre lots and the rest of her land had become open pastures for beef cattle. The Double M Ranch was the encapsulation of a dream and the shared legacy of Mindy and her deceased husband.

The doe goat, and the small flock of chickens and turkeys were to add a few more options for potential buyers and the family’s own table. The geese were for guarding the yard and to keep the orchards clean and fertilized. The dogs were to guard the cattle, the cats to catch mice, and the peacocks to guard the flocks from hawks and ravens and be a general nuisance to all who came near.

Matthew and Edie rented the backhouse of their aunt’s ranch at a small fee. It was a cozy two-bedroom cottage that was sealed from all drafts despite its age and was of a lovely old farmhouse design. It was only a few meters walk from the main house as well and the space between the two homes served as the barnyard of the farm portion of their aunt’s enterprise.

The niece and nephew were to help with this great microcosm of order. Along with the two other ranch hands, who were a married couple. La-La took care of the housework and Tom helped the siblings with the day to day ranch chores and work.

The day after their dip in Lake Santos Edie left the backhouse after a small breakfast as she did most mornings. She and Matthew both worked in town. Matthew however had an even earlier shift at the auto shop than hers at the café, and she found herself walking alone. She had not wanted to sacrifice that extra hour of sleep after a restless night.

The town of Orangeblossom laid in the greater Santos basin. It caught what rainfall became trapped against the mountains. It was a fertile farming area with vineyards and orchards lining gentle hills. The freeway was far enough away to not be heard, but close enough that the great cities of Southern California were all accessible within an hour’s drive. It was “quaint” in a word. It was a place that may be stopped at for gas or a bite to eat on the way out to the desert or the mountains, or, more often, on the way to Los Olivos, the resort town that laid only about fifteen miles away in a beautiful mountain valley.

The Via Verde River ran to the west of the town, chasing the natural topography towards the ocean. Its wellhead was in Lake Santos, the body of water perched against the mountains, and it dominated the eastern half of the basin. The path everyone simply called “by the old bridge” took the traveler over the narrowest point of the lake and made Edie’s own journey to town twenty minutes shorter than if she simply followed the highway from her aunt’s ranch. Matthew used it as well, and she wondered as she pushed aside a low-lying branch to get on the old dirt path, if the same sight had greeted him.

The lake was as calm as ever with only limpid ripples marring its surface. It mirrored the desolate sky and was now akin to an obsidian surface rather than its usual green or even blue reflection on brighter days. Edie wiped her nose, and chased away the thought that she had never seen the lake look so dark, certainly she had, there had been days like this before and she had lived here for a little less than two years now. She approached the path and blamed the terror of yesterday for coloring her thoughts.

As she walked down the bridge she began to feel as if she was being watched. As if something was following behind her, stalking her. She turned to find herself alone on the bridge, on the road, and in the expansive landscape all around her. She stood completely still and only an errant bird song and the movement of the water below reached her. She raised a hand to her forehead in consternation. What was wrong with her? When she lowered her hand she saw a horse standing by the lakeshore.

The horse was black, standing with his elegant head raised, ears pricked forward. At first, she thought of the Spanish pacing horses that the Montesano family up the road bred. It was a heavy horse with long, strong legs. When the animal turned to show her his flank however, she realized even with the heavy arch of his neck this was not a stepping horse. The rump was too flat, the shoulder too low. In fact she had never seen a horse like this before.

He was a magnificent animal, and she found herself walking towards him. Who had lost such a wondrous stallion? The horse nickered, completely friendly. She raised a hand to touch the mane, full of water weeds.

Wet. The horse was soaking, like it had been drenched. In the lake? Edie’s eyes moved away, and the horse stepped forward, offering his soft muzzle. Her hand wavered. No, something was wrong. Why was this horse here? Why was it wet from head to hoof? Horses didn’t dive. Why was its right eye cloudy? Like it had been scratched, or ulcerated? The thing that had been trying to surface yesterday had sounded like….

A cold fear she could not fathom gripped her heart, and she turned away. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the horse lunge and she began to run. She sprinted up the road and didn’t dare to look back. She couldn’t hear any hoof beats following her, she couldn’t hear anything at all, yet she would not look back.

She didn’t stop in her mad dash until she nearly collapsed at the doorstep of the café. She panted and swallowed a sob. Why did she feel as if she had just met her death? She groaned and shivered. Was she going mad? She had seen nothing! Heard nothing! Had she really been that frightened of a horse? What was wrong with her!

Yet the horrid feeling remained.

“Edie? Edie!” She grimaced at the concern in Sarah’s voice. Her friend had no doubt seen her inexplicable paroxysm through the I window. She shivered and wiped her nose and eyes as Sarah’s blue eyes went wide with concern.

“Hey Sarah. I went for a dunk in the lake yesterday. Matthew fell in and I had to pull him out, I think I’m still a little upset by it. You know I just die if anything happened to him,” Edie babbled, and it was only half a lie. Perhaps that was the true nature of the cold feeling clawing at her innards.

“It’s okay Edie, don’t cry about it. There’s no reason to be upset if he’s all right.” The red-haired girl soothed, gently pulling on Edie to get her inside. “You showed up ten minutes early, come in and have a drink before you clock in.”

“Yeah, we were completely soaked. Chilled to the bone,” She laughed a little and Sarah smiled as she opened the door.

“Oh, but you did get lucky then.” Sarah said as Edie sat down at the bar after peeling off her sweater and hat. She raised an eyebrow at Sarah’s words. “People disappear around there a lot I hear.”

“From drowning?” Edie asked as she watched Sarah’s small and animated hands fly over the back counter. Her friend was a cute girl, but Edie felt like her small and graceful hands that were deceptively strong were her most appealing feature. Others however would cite her heavy breasts that also bounced above the counters.

“No, they just, go missing,” Sarah shrugged helplessly as she set down a coffee before her friend. “Sort of an urban legend I suppose, or maybe a rural one out here, but, well, I heard it’s aliens or some sort of monster hangs out around that area and just scoops people up, y’know? No one really sees anything. My mother said her friend went up there when she was a kid, and no one ever saw her ever again. That’s why yours truly is not allowed to go over that bridge.” “What about a black horse?’ Edie asked before she could stop herself.

“Nope, never heard that one.” Sarah blinked. “Why?”

“No reason,” Edie sighed and decided to change the subject. “Are we still on for Merryland this weekend?

“Oh yes!” Sarah excitedly clapped her hands and her curls followed the bouncing of her head, augmenting her delight. They fell into planning the last details of their planned outing and Edie forgot the encounter at the lake. The coffee invigorated her however and by the beginning of her shift she was laughing with Sarah as usual and graciously assisting her usual round of morning customers. The noxious feeling was forgotten in the tide of gossip, chatter, and jokes that swelled in her workplace during a rush.

The morning was not done with its surprises yet, however.

After Edie had returned from the kitchen with an order, she was informed by her other co-worker Stan that she had been asked for. Three people sitting in a booth were pointed out to her. Edie paused as she looked the trio over. It was a white man who was probably only a little bit older than herself, an older black woman wearing a blue hijab, and a young Arab man with a baseball cap pulled low over his head. They were certainly no one Edie had ever seen before and that made her feel slightly anxious. She approached them however with a small smile as she would any other customers.

“Yes?” she asked.

“You are the girl who fell into Lake Santos yesterday, Edie Moreno?” The woman asked pointedly, and Edie felt her confusion grow. How could they have possibly known about that when only Matt, Sarah, and she knew?

“Yes.” She confirmed, albeit a little guardedly.

“We would like to speak to you,” the white man told her, peering at her through oversized sunglasses. Edie frowned and wondered if the man was not suffering from a hang-over as the shades of the window before the booth had been pulled down.

“Is this something important?” Edie asked and was assured this was so by the woman and the white man. The other man kept his eyes down towards the table as if afraid to look up at her. Edie exhaled; well could things get anymore strange?

“Well my lunch break is in an hour, we can talk then.” She informed them and raised her writing pad. “So, you better order something or Ms. Takahashi will kick you out.”

To her surprise the strangers all ordered coffee and waited the hour for her break. As she tried to not stare at them, she tried to come up with some idea why they were here. The only thing she could think of was her father, a man she had little contact with and had no true idea what was going on in his life. But what would that have to do with the lake? She was mystified and asked Sarah to watch the group for her to see if they were in turn watching her.

“Nope and nope. All the woman and the red head do is talk quietly and the other guy just stares at his food,” Sarah reported five minutes later. “You really want to talk to these people?” “I feel like I have to,” Edie confessed.

“Why?” Sarah asked and Edie could only helplessly wave her hand, uncertain herself if it was because she was too kind to turn down even a madman’s request or if she herself was the crazy one.

The hour came and after making it clear they were to remain in this public place to have their chat, and though this was met with some dislike by the woman, Edie took her place alongside the red headed man. The other man finally looked up at her and she was taken aback by the amber hue of his eyes. They almost seemed to shine even in the subdued light leaking in from the closed shades. She looked away with a thought that was why he had kept his gaze downward but why should he try to hide them? Hazel was a natural human eye color and perhaps they only looked so bright against his skin tone. She was seeing shadows where there were none once again.

“Let’s start with an introduction, shall we?” the woman said crisply. She indicated herself, “I am Hala Nejem, and this is my assistant Yusuf.”

She pointed at the amber eyed man and he nodded at Edie. Nejem pointed at the man besides Edie, “and this is Ulysses MacGregor, he is a friend of mine and someone who has a vested interested in all of this.”

“All of what?” Edie began to ask but Nejem held up a hand for silence.

“I am a wise woman. I am someone who can see spirits and intercede with them on humanity’s behalf.”

Edie deflated slightly; had she just been tricked into a business pitch for a tarot reading?

Nejem frowned at her doubtful look. ”So, you don’t have Sight then.” “Have what?” Edie asked.

“That ability to see spirits.” Nejem put her elbows on the table and folded her hands in a gesture of meditation. “This makes things more difficult.” “Listen if you’re saying you want to read my palm or look into a crystal ball to see the future I’m really not interested,” Edie began to stand up.

“I am not some side-show charlatan!” Nejem snapped and at the true offense in her voice

Edie paused. The woman narrowed her eyes at her. “And the only future I am concerned about is yours if that kelpie continues to hunt you.”

“What?” Edie cried. Her eyes met with Sarah’s from across the room. The young woman remained behind the counter as she was manning the cash register but Edie knew if she needed help her friend would give it.

“Hala. This isn’t the way to go about this, you’re only confusing her.” MacGregor spoke and he made a gesture for Edie to sit back down. “Maybe we should start from the beginning.”

“How far back would you like to go?” Nejem deadpanned and MacGregor paused. He seemed to shrug as Edie slowly sat back down.

“Okay. Lass. Y’see, faeries and the like are real.” He began tenuously and grimaced at

Edie’s incredulous scowl. “Just let me finish! You are like me; you can’t see those sorts of things unless it’s wearing what is called a glamour. A disguise to say, that conceals the true form. Now what lives in Lake Santos is what’s called a kelpie and he can appear in two ways, as a young man with water weeds in his hair, or as a black horse.”

“Black horse.” Edie repeated in a daze and Nejem crowed.

“She has seen him.”

That declaration shook Edie out of her frightened reverie. “No! I just saw a horse! It was probably my neighbor’s!”

Edie shook her head.

“And that’s supposed to be a kind of faerie? Aren’t faeries, y’know,..” She made a small flying motion with both of her hands, “usually little people with wings?”

“They can be, but fae have many forms, as do other spirits,” Nejem informed her. Edie stared at her for a few seconds and then found herself laughing at the absurdity of all of this.

“You are shitting me!” She giggled. “This is some kind of a joke-!”

Nejem and MacGregor glanced at each other at in an apparent and horrified loss of words, and Yusuf spoke up for the first time. His voice was gentle. His English was spoken as a second language, accented with traces of a language Edie couldn’t identify, unlike MacGregor’s Scottish or even Nejem’s strange mixture of British and maybe French.

“Child, it is no joke. That waterhorse intends to kill you. Would you not listen to save your own life?” he softly pleaded.

“Kill me, why?” Edie cried.

“Because you broke the seal on the lake.” MacGregor sighed into his fourth cup of coffee. “It’s damaged now and he would kill you for spite.”

“Seal? I broke nothing that day,” she argued. “All I did was--!”

I saved Matt. She felt that same horrid feeling from earlier come over her, like her soul was being torn.

“You also stabbed him in the eye.” MacGregor sighed.

“What?!” Edie was startled. He grimly nodded at her.

“Lucky for you both fae can usually heal up rapidly but he’ll have a cloudy right eye for a while.”

“Oh no, no! I would never, I would never hurt anyone!” Even as she gasped however, she remembered how sickeningly easy it had been to draw the blade back because it had hit something soft. She clasped her hands to her cheeks as nausea swept through her.

“Don’t feel bad, you only protected your life.” MacGregor soothed her. “It’s probably why you’re both still alive.”

Edie was not comforted, however. As she winced Nejem finished.

“You leapt into the lake and were able to escape. Some have found themselves in that water over the years, but none of the rest of them were able to break past the barrier to escape.”

Edie raised her hands to her mouth recalling that ardent urge to save her brother’s life. Is that how…? No, no, no what was she thinking?! Getting this caught up in a story that couldn’t be true?! These people were just fucking with her! They had probably seen what had happened and were getting off on tormenting a young girl. There were plenty of sadists in this world.

“I think I’ve had enough.” Edie stood up.

“She doesn’t believe us,” Yusuf groaned and the sincere alarm in his voice gave her pause.

“It’s a bitter pill to swallow.” Nejem sighed and removed something from her purse. She offered Edie what looked like a necklace with a small blade tied onto it.

“That’s iron; draw an X with it onto any surface and the kelpie won’t be able to pass it,”

Nejem informed her. “You may not believe us, but carry it with you, it may save your life.”

“My phone number,” MacGregor handed a piece of paper to her. She took both, if only out of politeness. She would throw them both away the second they left.

“Also, have you spoken to Regan Seele yet?” MacGregor asked. Kelly’s brother? What did he have to do with this?

“No?” MacGregor looked relieved at her answer.

“Well then lass, give me a jingle if you need anything.” He beamed and Edie nodded at him in wary confusion. She sat at the counter to finish out the rest of her lunch and avoided their gazes as they left.

“What in the hell was that all about?” Sarah asked after they had left and were a few feet out the door. Edie felt the charm and piece of paper in her pocket. Despite hating herself for believing any of that nonsense, she didn’t throw them away.

“No idea really. Something about the lake being haunted and not going there.” Edie shrugged. She sighed and ran her hands through her hair. “Another day, another crazy.”

“Especially around here,” Sarah snorted. Orangeblossom, like most small towns in the area, had a high rate of drug users. And said population was always happy to indulge a bystander in their chemical induced madness. Edie nodded and decided to not go into further detail, as bewildered as she had been by the entire encounter. She could have easily believed if sadism was not in play then simple insanity was. Yet that gnawing feeling remained and stayed her hand from disposing of the relics of the conversation.

#

With the feeling of foreboding devouring her innards Edie left her work in the early evening. She recalled again and again how it had been her desire to save Matthew’s life that had been the catalyst for escaping the lake. The thought of his life in danger scared her deeply, perhaps the only thing that frightened her more than the thought of growing distant from him.

She sighed as she imagined life with her new in-laws. Edie had inadvertently brought Matthew and Kelly together by attempting to have a drunken fist fight with the woman’s stepfather about a year before at a church charity function. As Matthew had held her back he had apologized vehemently to Kelly and her older brother. The brother had left in a sort of disgust but Kelly had lingered on, listening to Edie’s feeble cries of regret.

Kelly was forgiving, her older brother and heir of the family was indifferent. Michael Seele’s second wife and his stepdaughter were resentful. Edie had been far too frightened of the widow to apologize to her and when her husband had suddenly died a few months later she had become terrified of the prospect.

But with the pending marriage, for what woman would refuse her brother, Edie knew she was going to have to confront her intractable and cowardly behavior. She knew the reason why she had let the situation fester was only childish pettiness. She had not wanted to hear a rebuke from someone who didn’t love her. In rehab they had recommended letters as being acceptable devices of apology. Edie wondered if typing such a letter would be rude, but her handwriting was mediocre.

Lost in such consuming thoughts of self-pity Edie was incognizant of the path shifting from dirt to worn adobe. She lifted a hand to steady herself against the side of the bridge, and this caused her head to finally rise. Had she come down here purposely? To confront madness? Or had she been so distracted she had come down the path entirely on routine?

The horse was waiting for her. He stood as he had before, with his head up, ears pricked forward, clearly watching her. His coat was drenched, his mane and tail were tangled with waterweeds. Did the specter have all these traits before or were the words from the man in the café now guiding her madness?

His right eye was opaque. A dark cloud upon an obsidian surface. She swallowed, Because I….she shook her head so hard her neck hurt. No! She would never hurt anyone or anything! Those people had been playing with her! The horse could have easily scratched his eye on a branch or even a piece of hay! It happened all the time!

Maybe I need to schedule another appointment with Dr. Jong. She thought of her psychiatrist, far away in her office in Fullerton. Perhaps she would give Edie some antipsychotics or tell her she just needed more sleep. She inhaled and took a step forward.

She just wanted to see if the horse was real or not. Before she had been too frightened to touch him. Now however she felt she had to see if he was a manifestation of her sublimated stress. If there would be flesh or bone beneath her hand or smoke and mirrors. The horse bowed his head, softly snorting as she walked up to him. She slowly lowered her shaking hand down. His flesh was cool and sleek, but alive. Edie gave a shaky laugh. So, she was not insane! This horse was real!

“Hey, hey boy, where did you come from? Oh, you’re so lovely.” She whispered in delight that this enchanting creature was so friendly. She moved her hand to rub her palm between his eyes and chuckled as the horse sank his head lower, offering his shapely ears to be rubbed too.

What had she been so afraid of? This was nothing but an ordinary horse. He must have somehow gotten out of someone’s pasture. She stepped back, and saw no shred of restraint upon him, no tack, not even a halter.

“I have no way to get you home boy.” She frowned. She would not like to leave him alone. He surely belonged to someone. As she pondered this quandary the horse suddenly bowed down to his knees. Edie stepped back in surprise as she had never seen a horse make such a gesture.

“You, you want me to ride you?” She hesitated, but perhaps the horse had been trained for such riding. She had certainly heard of such a thing at least. She raised her hands to grasp the wet mane when she was suddenly pulled back.

“Stop! He’ll kill you!” A voice roared into her ear. Edie was lifted off the ground and set onto the back of a white horse. She looked up at the rider. He was a young man with thick black hair and large brown eyes. He was no one she knew. Edie was seated precariously on the horse’s withers between the rider and the horse’s neck. She grasped the horse’s mane to give her balance to elbow the young man in the chest.

“What in the hell do you think you are doing?!” Edie demanded. “Let me go!”

“Stop! You’re going to make us both fall off!” He cried as Edie struggled to get out from between the reigns.

“Exactly!” Edie snapped as the horse reared back in confusion at the jarring pull on the reigns. Edie fell off, half from effort and half from loss of balance. She landed on her back; the wind was knocked out of her. She quickly rolled away from the startled horse as the young man struggled to regain control of his mount. Edie found her back against the legs of the black horse. To her absolute surprise the horse seemed to be watching the other horse and rider instead of becoming excited by the display.

Feeling her against him he nickered again, lowering his head to her. She raised her hand to stroke his muzzle again, a little loss as to what to do next.

“No, get away from him! You don’t understand-!” The young man cried when he had wheeled his horse around.

“Stay away!” Edie warned as she stood up. She now had an idea to ride the black horse away from her attacker.

“He’ll kill you! He means to drown you in the lake!” The rider argued.

Edie turned away and grabbed two fistfuls of mane, the horse bowed again to allow her to easily mount him.

“No!” the rider cried and suddenly tossed something. It looked like a small, double sided blade. It spun through the air and lanced across the horse’s neck. The horse screamed and reared. His mane fell back to reveal a slender but long gash from the blade. Edie fell back and in horror looked up to see the creature’s mouth was lined with hideous fangs.

That is not a horse! She realized and scrambled backwards. The beast slammed down his hooves and turned his gaping maw on her. The scream, just like the one from the day this monster had almost killed Matthew, echoed down to her bones through her quaking flesh. It crystallized in her blood and carried frigid horror to every nerve ending. She didn’t doubt in that moment this faerie wanted to kill her.

Oh god, oh god why aren’t you a little naked woman! She screamed in her mind at the impossible sight before her.

The young man grabbed her again and this time she took the seat behind his back. With her arms around his waist they fled across the plain from the monster. Edie couldn’t see the kelpie, but she could hear him following them. The ground rumbled and small bushes were torn apart, young trees were snapped in two. The faerie could hide himself but not the destruction he caused.

“Wait! I have a charm! If I draw an X into the ground he won’t be able to cross it!” She cried into the rider’s ear. He glanced over his shoulder at her.

“I will distract him while you carve the ‘X’.” he informed her. Edie held tightly onto him until they came to a small wash that was half full due to a recent rainfall. He let Edie down on the other side of the wash and made a wide arc to lure the kelpie into the slowly flowing water.

That way the faerie’s movement could be detected even if he were invisible.

Edie dropped down to the dirt as she heard the clamorous splash of water that indicated their pursuer had caught up with them. She began carving a line of X’s across the ground with the charm. She tried to not look up, to not become distracted by how she was certain that young man had no weapon to defend himself with save his mount’s speed. Yet there was a cry, and she raised her head to see her defender apparently kick out from atop his horse’s back and connect with something solid.

“I carved the X!” She screamed. Her attempt to save the young man worked, the kelpie apparently turned from him and by the furious wake of water was coming for her instead. She stood still, waiting for him to come. She knotted her fists as the cool water washed over her, and death never came.

The young man circled back around. He urged his mount to leap over the line of carvings to not disturb the barrier. He gathered Edie up again to sit in front of him as they left the kelpie in the wash.

“Good! That is so good!” The young man laughed and Edie couldn’t help but to join in his rejoicing with her own small chuckle. They galloped a few more hundred feet in their dizzy victory. He eventually slowed his horse but neither one of them stopped smiling.

“Hey, where do you live? I’ll take you home.” He said to her.

“Oh, ah,” Edie glanced around to get her bearings. They were skimming along the foothills of the mountains, in the open country that lined the eastern side of the basin. She gave him the directions and he turned west towards the Double M Ranch.

“I am Jai Darzi,” The prince introduced himself. He beamed at her and Edie felt her cheeks warm, just now becoming aware of how handsome he really was with his thick, wavy locks and warm brown eyes. His chest filled out his long-sleeved white shirt nicely and his satin vest made him look very smart. He looked like he didn’t belong in Orangeblossom, or anywhere on the fragile earth. He looked like a fairytale prince in his gentle splendor. She was glad he was not a cowboy as his English saddle gave her a comfortable place to sit. Though she awkwardly didn’t know quite where to put her hands after she had released him from the hold, she had kept on him during the gallop.

“And this is Isolde.” He informed her. Edie looked down and realized the horse was a stout warmblood. Jai was very strong indeed if he had been able to lift her up a sixteen-hand horse.

“I was sent to protect you, Edie.” He told her. She looked up at him in surprise, but perhaps she shouldn’t have been. It seemed like every stranger she met now already knew her name.

“By who?”

“My master.”

“Master?” Edie frowned.

“It’s a…complex relationship.” Jai gave his easy smile again. “He is Regan Seele.”

“Regan Seele?” Edie repeated. Hadn’t the Scot asked her if she had spoken to him?

“What does he have to do with all of this?”

“He would like to protect your life.” Jai bowed his head. “If you would speak to him he could give you probably all the answers you need.”

Edie digested the information. Regan Seele was a rather unapproachable figure. He owned nearly all the property in Los Olivos, the inheritance from the late Michael Seele, his father. The only time he had ever appeared in Orangeblossom was at that charity event, and likely at the urging of his sister who worked in the community. He had looked at Edie like she was an annoying insect, she couldn’t imagine that man wishing to save her life.

Yet there was apparently a lot going on here she didn’t understand.

“Okay.” She agreed.

“Great.” Jai grinned and Edie felt her blood warm. They stopped too soon, and Jai let her down at the front gate of the ranch. Her legs felt numb but after a few staggering steps she regained her feeling. She lingered by Jai’s stirrup, however.

“Ah, would you like to come in or dinner? You could rest Isolde in the barn.” She offered. He sadly shook his head and reached into his pocket.

“I’m afraid I cannot. I am already engaged for the evening.” He handed her a card and it was Regan’s business one, with a cell phone number and a title as CEO of Seele Enterprises. “But when you speak with Regan, I’ll see you again, I promise.”

He reached down and touched his fingers to her cheek. “And who gave you that charm, by the way?”

“An old woman. She said her name was Hala Nejem.” Edie breathed.

“Ah, well, I am glad she gave it to you. Use it and know you are protected.” Edie nodded and he drew his hand away. It was only as he rode off into the sunset that Edie put away the card in her hand. She went into the front house and told no one of her encounter with a beast and a prince. The piece of paper with MacGregor’s number, the card, and the charm laid heavily in her pants pocket. The only proofs she had that today had not been a complex fantasy.

And that she had found herself in the middle of something terrible and engulfing.