A Kelpie of Rowan

Chapter 17

He isn't wrong. The moment he says those words, Rowan can hear the faint sounds of the distant water. Despite not wanting to leave the lovely pocket realm, Rowan can't help but grin at the sight of the river. The water is calm, as still as glass, but only near the shore. In the middle of the river the water rages, surging past them in a blink of an eye. Andrian crouches down at the edge of the water and pulls the shards of the golden stone from his pocket.

He places them onto the silty bottom of the riverbank and steps back. As they watch the river move around them, their edges soften and smooth themselves. Rowan is stunned. This is a process that would normally take years and years to accomplish, but she's seeing it happen in seconds. How can it be happening?

Andrian glances up at her and grins. "The pocket realm can manipulate time, remember?" Rowan nods. "It can manipulate it locally, too, especially here at the river. Because I don't want the stones to disappear into the bottom, the realm is keeping them at the surface while they smoothen out. And speaking of the stones . . ."

He sticks his hand into the water to scoop them up. When he places them on the dry bank of the river, Rowan kneels to examine them. They are the size of her smallest fingernail now, smooth and polished. If anything, that makes the gold in them stand out even more than they did before. She glances up from the golden stones to see Andrian stick his hand into the water once more, this time emerging with his fist tightly closed around something.

Rowan shifts towards him, careful not to disturb the gold stones from their position in the sand. Andrian's fingers slowly uncurl to reveal a blue stone. It looks like Lapis Lazuli, but different at the same time. Instead of streaks of color among the blue, it has silver speckling. Rowan extends a finger to touch it, but Andrian clicks his tongue.

"Not yet. Let me finish this first."

Rowan nods and pulls her hand back. She sits back on her heels as Andrian pulls several other items from out of his pockets. Tiny black stones, larger silver ones, hair-thin silver wire, and a thin cord that looks like liquid fire, the ends bound with charcoal black threads. Rowan doesn't understand what Andrain's going to do with all of these, but she stays silent. He makes a spiral motion in the air, pointing in Rowan's direction. She gets the hint, he wants her to turn around.

Rowan doesn't really think it's necessary but she shrugs and twists to look out at the water. She can't hear anything he's doing behind her, the river is the only sound in her ears. She waits patiently, watching the water flow past them, watching it part around boulders that weren't there before and then disappear a moment later. This river is many rivers at once, always changing. At last, Rowan feels a tap on her shoulder and hears Andrian murmur in her ear.

"You can turn around now."

She spins instantaneously, eager to discover what he had been doing. Sitting on the ground is a bracelet. At the center of it is the blue stone, silver wire binding its edges to the rest of the bracelet. It is ringed by the tiny black stones, their inky darkness making the blue all the more vibrant. The rest of the bracelet is made up of the gold and silver stones, spiraling around each other over and over again. Rowan reaches out a hand to the bracelet, then pauses. She glances over at Andrian.

"May I?"

He grins, chuckling. "Go ahead."

Rowan picks up the bracelet and turns it over in her hand, examining it. Every time the blue stone comes back into sight, she has to force herself to look away from it. She finally caves, touching it with a finger.

"What is this?"

"The blue stone?" Rowan nods. "We call it a river stone. It's similar to lapis lazuli, except a river stone is created by water and magic, not by natural processes. It will allow you to pass between this realm and your realm without me, and you can control the time that passes in your realm while you are here."

"So the bracelet doesn't just exist to be pretty?"

Andrian looks scandalized by that thought. "Of course not! The gold stones will warn me if you're in danger, and the cord and the black stones will allow us to mentally communicate across long distances."

"And what about the silver stones?"

Andrian flushes. "Okay, those ones are meant to be pretty."

Rowan laughs and pecks him on the cheek. His face turns even brighter red, causing her to laugh again.

"I suppose I have to go now?"

He nods. "You have things to do back in your world. I'll see you tomorrow, your time."

Rowan smiles, her cheeks pink. "You'll have to show me how to use the river stone to travel, though."

Andrian laughs. "I suppose I do. Really, you just have to think about where you want to go, and when. You won't have to dive to pass through, either. Just walk or swim."

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Andrian."

He smiles and makes a shooing motion at her. Rowan stifles a laugh and steps into the river, letting the cool water wrap around her as she slides the bracelet onto her wrist. Nothing happens until the water is up to her neck, she's just walking into the river. Then the water ripples towards her and closes over her head.
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What do you think of the bracelet? The enchantments in it? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.