Page 88 of Rise of the Melody
He shouted over his shoulder at us, “Look at his feet!”
I squinted, and as I stared, I heard a loudclompwith every one of his odd footfalls. My body exploded with shock.
“He has hooves!” Teague shouted. “It’s the kelpie!”
Absolute fear clutched me as we continued to chase him up the road, away from the town center and onto a back road that went up the mountain toward the national park land. We chased it for what felt like forever. My legs burned and my chest was heaving with each labored breath.
“Teague!” I shouted. “Stop! Take off my cuff!”
I needed them to get away and let me sing! I could capture it!
“No!” Teague shouted. “You guys go back! Call my uncle.”
Oh, my great gods, we’d run over a mile now, at least.
“Guys,” Clare called out from far behind. “I can’t keep up!”
“Stop and call the mayor,” I yelled back at her.
I heard her panting as she stopped. Up ahead we were nearing the park gates with a Closed sign. The man-kelpie leaped into the air to jump over the gate arm, and mid-jump his clothing exploded as he changed shape into a massive, sleek black horse holding the woman by her waist in its mouth. Her body was flopping in a way that was unnatural. And in that very moment, Chrystamos ripped off his shirt and also leapt into the air, shifting in a dazzling metamorphosis into his massive cat form.
It all happened so fast. The kelpie stopped and tossed the woman’s body upward to catch her more fully, and violently shook her. I screamed and ran faster as Chrys jumped onto the kelpie’s back and bit hard into its neck with his sharp, elongated canines. The kelpie swished his head, muscles rippling, and flung Chrys like a rag doll into a tree, ripping a shred of furry skin off its own neck in the process. Dread and disbelief drenched me as Shani yelled out and ran to him.
In an unreal moment, I watched Nora climb a tree faster than a wild animal, and blend like a chameleon into the bark and leaves.
Teague kept a distance as the kelpie turned in the middle of the road to face us, the bloody, unmoving woman still hanging from his mouth. The creature was no horse. It was much larger than any Earthly equine. It was like a giant horse on growth hormones and steroids with rabies. Its eyes were ringed in red with a silvery white at the centers. Its ears pointed to sharp tips. Its large nostrils flared with each huff.
“Teague,” I whispered under my breath. “Pleasetake off my cuff. Let me help!” I held out my arm, but he didn’t look over.
“There’s no time,” he said. “I got this.” He lifted his hand, sending out a blast that only pushed the kelpie back a few inches. The creature flung the woman aside and tossed his head angrily, showing wickedly sharp teeth and letting out a heinous, deepneigh.
I pulled at my cuff and said the Gaelic words. I felt it shudder, but it wouldn’t open.
“Move!” Teague shouted at me, and the kelpie charged.
I darted to the side as Teague yelled and shot his palm toward the ground. I followed his lead and mentally pushed my magic toward the ground along with him, imagining that we were hitting the road with something solid, like a giant sledgehammer. It was as if a meteor had struck the path, shaking our foundation. Asphalt and dirt crunched upward, the road lifting and folding, sending the kelpie skittering down to its knees, falling heavily to its side. I looked up at the tree branches that shook over top of the kelpie and watched as a branch cracked and came crashing down, but the kelpie rolled just in time to avoid the hit. I heard Nora curse loudly from above.
At that very moment, a massive bird swooped down from the trees, straight at the discombobulated kelpie, and…oh my gods…the kelpie went nuts when it landed on its head.
It was the eagle! The freaking bird lifted into the air, something bloody dangling from its yellow tallons. It had dug in and plucked out one of the kelpie’s eyes.
The horse creature made a horrible sound like razors in my ears as he climbed to his feet and rose on his hind legs, kicking the air in a rage before sprinting away from us, down the road and into the trees.
“The hell was that? An eagle?” Teague asked, out of breath.
I shook my head, in astonishment, and looked around. The eagle was gone now.
“Check on Chrystamos,” I told Teague, as I ran to the woman’s body.
My stomach turned when I saw the gaping wound in her gut. She lay in a puddle of blood. With a shaking hand, I felt under her jaw on her throat. A sob shook me. I’d never seen someone injured like this before. Her insides were on the outside and I couldn’t disassociate myself like I did while seeing fake stuff on television. This was a real person. I let the sob come out, feeling like I might choke on it.
“She’s dead,” I said. I looked at her face, a frozen mask of pain. Maybe mid-twenties. Was she that woman’s daughter, the one who was screaming for someone to help? She had no idea what had grabbed her outside of the pub. No human would have had the strength to run that fast while holding a person under his arm. Oh, gods, I felt so bad for them. Five minutes ago, she’d been strolling along on her way to dinner.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered to her.
I pressed my wrist to my mouth.
An engine roared close by, and tires squealed as a vehicle came up the road. Clare jumped out of the back before the car even stopped. She screamed when she saw Chrys’s cat form on the ground.
