Page 12 of A Touch of Iron
I frowned. “What?”
He shrugged. “Become whoever you want to be.”
“How can I do that when I don’t even have my powers, much less walk in my own shoes without bleeding all over the place and attracting Kelpies?” I grumbled.
Creed laughed. “Well of course you can’t walk in those sandals; you’re wearing them without socks.” He rolled his eyes again and bent down to pick up my sandals. “Come on. I’ll take you home.” He crouched down in front of me and patted his back. “Climb on.”
I experienced a jarring sensation as I stared at his broad back. My vision dimmed and shadows of a memory clouded my head. I tried to chase after them, but they skittered away before I could grasp them.
“I’m getting old here,” he smarted.
Shaking the cobwebs out of my head, I hurried and climbed onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his mid-section. He held my legs loosely and walked back down the path I’d taken, heading back to my cottage.
“So, is Calypso going to train you to be an air elemental?” Creed asked conversationally.
I nodded. “That’s what she said. I don’t know when she plans to start, though. I had hoped to go to the village and find her, but I guess I made a wrong turn somewhere.”
“Hm, it’s the opposite direction, on your right,” he offered. “But you don’t need to go to the village to look for her. I’m sure she’ll come to you.”
“I guess I’m just anxious,” I mumbled. “Hey – can I ask you a question?”
He shrugged, the muscles in his shoulders flexing. “Sure.”
“Why do you live here if you’re a fire elemental?”
He chuckled. “Good question. But that’s an answer for another time.”
“Seriously?” I choked out. “You probably know everything about me, and I know squat about you.”
He laughed. “Possibly. But I like to keep an air of mystery.”
“That just makes me more suspicious,” I retorted. “It makes me think you’re not as good as you claim to be.”
Creed stopped walking and tensed beneath me. “When did I ever claim to be good?”
I sucked in a breath. He hadn’t. That was my assumption. For all I knew, he was my mortal enemy and I’d just fallen into his trap. I really hated not having a memory. Being ignorant of the world around you made you do stupid things.
When I didn’t answer, Creed started walking again. We continued in silence until my cottage came into view.
Calypso was waiting for me in my front yard, her face tensed with worry. The instant she saw us, she sighed in relief and rushed over just as Creed placed my bare feet on the grass. He handed me my sandals with a smirk.
“There you are! I was worried sick!” Calypso took in my harried state. “Where did you go?”
I chuckled. “Well, I was trying to find the village, but instead I found a Kelpie.”
Her eyes widened and she glanced at Creed.
“You’re welcome,” he said without waiting for a thank you. “She shouldn’t be roaming the mountain on her own. She might have … another accident.”
“Right …” Calypso murmured, looking away sheepishly.
“I think I’ll be fine once I regain my air elemental magic,” I offered. “At least then I’ll be able to defend myself.”
“Of course,” Calypso agreed. “We’ll start training today.”
“Great!” I said excitedly. “Are we going into the village?” I started toward the trail that forked to the right when Calypso shouted.
“No!” she exclaimed, then cleared her throat. “I mean, no,” she said more calmly. “We’ll train here.”
