Daisy Blooms - Azriel

Chapter 15

"Run! Nesta, run!" I yell, diving down to try to grab her.

Nesta stumbled away so fast she landed on her backside, the mossy ground cushioning the impact. A face broke through the black water where her reflection had been.

It was whiter than bone and humanoid. Male. Bit by bit, inch by inch, the head rose above the black water, obsidian hair drifting in the water around the creature, so silken it might as well have been the surface.

Then his arms slid from the water.

In stiff, jolting movements they jerked onto the moss, white and thin, ending in fingers as long as her forearm. Fingers that dug into the grass, revealing four joints and dagger-sharp nails. They cracked and popped as he stretched and dug them into the grass, grappling for purchase. Nesta's breath sawed out of her, terror a roaring in her mind as she crawled backward.

He heaved himself out of the water, revealing a bony torso, his black hair dragging behind him like a net.

She lurched back again as he slowly lifted his head. That too-wide mouth parted. Twin rows of rotted teeth, jagged as shards of glass, filled his mouth as he smiled.

Nesta's bladder loosened. I could smell it.

He scented it, saw it, and that mouth widened further, fingers twitching as they hauled more and more of him from the water. His narrow, bare hips-

He pushed himself onto his arms as he slid a long, white leg from the blackness. Another. And then he knelt on all fours, smiling at her.

She couldn't move. Couldn't do anything but stare into that white face, the black eyes as dark as the bog, the twitching, too-long fingers and that mouth, those eel's teeth-

He spoke then, and it was not a language I recognized. His voice rasped, deep and hoarse, full of terrible hunger and cruel amusement.

His head cocked sodden black hair sloshing with the movement, full of what seemed to be bog weeds. He spoke again, and it was like rock grating on rock-his tone more demanding.

Kelpie. This was a kelpie, and he will kill her. I'm still flying down to her, trying to get to her.

The kelpies head twitched. His smile grew again. He sees me coming and smiles up at me before he lunged and yanked her towards him. Nesta grabbed handfuls of grass to try to hold on. The kelpie towed her along as he slithered back into the frigid water.

And dragged her under the surface. I wasn't quick enough to get to her.

I start looking around to find something to get her out with. I can't dive in and grab her because my wings wouldn't work when they get wet and I would end up caught just like Nesta.

I can't see Nesta under the surface any more. I can't have her grab anything to get her out anymore because I can't see her. She's running out of time. I'm just going have to jump in and fight the Kelpie off. Nesta has no weapons on her to fight back. I should be fine even with the wet wings if I could get to the bank after I get her.

I go to jump in when something pierces my wings and pins me to the ground. I look over and see a giant spider who has one of their many legs impaled into my wing. Their beady black eyes staring at me.

I grab my sword and chop off their leg, then get up and I still have the spiders leg sticking through my wing. I rip it out and see dozens of other human sized spiders surrounding me.

I go to fly off, but I can't fly well with my wing and they have built a canopy of webs around me.

I start hacking away at the spiders, but there are just too many. I go to chop another spider when one jumps on me from behind and stabs through my other wing.