The Kelpie's Curse (book #1 in the Kelpie's Entrapment trilogy)

Day 1 pt. 4

...

Kaloria had just sent Ainslie to grab them a couple more ales when she realized that she hadn't seen Renestrae in quite awhile. How could she not have noticed Ren slipping away. As the unofficial group mediator, she always noticed things. It must have been because of Ainslie's accent, she decided. She had hardly focused on anything else since they had arrived at the dilapidated castle.

"Evelyn!" she called as she spotted her and Shawn, she believed he said his name was, walking over to the corner she and Ainslie had retreated to. "Have you seen Ren lately? I don't think I've seen her for awhile."

"Maybe she's finally getting laid," Evelyn said, then she promptly started hiccupping.

"Evelyn, I know you're buzzed but let's think about this for a minute. Ren said that she wasn't going to drink tonight, so what are the odds of her sleeping with someone she doesn't know?"

"Oh, that's right. Ren wouldn't do that," Evelyn answered in a sing-song voice.

Just as she was about to ask further questions, Ainslie reappeared with his brother in tow. "Kali, have ye seen yer friend? Alec says he's been lookin' fer her awhile now."

"I don't-"

"She went down over there," Evelyn said pointing to the far left side of the room where the wall was missing.

Kaloria could suddenly feel a headache coming on and wasn't sure if she was happy or disappointed that she'd been so distracted by Ainslie that she hadn't consumed enough alcohol to be on Evelyn's level. "Evelyn why didn't you say that earlier? And did you see her go down there by herself?"

"I just thought of it, Kali, and yeah, she was alone. Why?"

Just like that, her headache turned into a full-blown migraine named Evelyn. "Because, Evelyn this is a big castle with lots of rooms and corridors and how great is Renestrae's sense of direction?"

"Alec, go find yer date," Ainslie demanded, looking ready to kill.

"But-"

"Dinnae. Ye were her date, so it was yer responsibility tae talk tae her and watch out fer th' lass, nae leave her so bored tha' she got herself lost. Now go find her!"

"I'm sorry, love. I dinnae know what has gotten into him. He's usually much more responsible than tha'."

Kaloria couldn't help but laugh a bit at that. "It's alright. I really wouldn't worry. You see, Renestrae is very good at taking care of herself. She's got her bow with her, and the girl's a deadly shot, but..."

He smiled. "The lass' sense of direction is so bad she could be down there fer th' duration of yer stay in Scotland."

Kaloria giggled. "Exactly, now what were you saying about the castle?"

"Och yes, well th' thing is naebody really knows much about it."

"What do you mean nobody knows? Surely there must be some record of it."

Ainslie smiled, "Ye would think tha' but from wha' anyone can tell th' castle was already here when th' town was created."

Kali smiled excitedly as her amber eyes connected with his moss green ones, this sounded like just the mystery she could sink her teeth into. She was just about to ask to hear more about the castle when his eyes darted towards the dance floor.

"I think Shawn has given yer friend a wee bit too much tae drink."