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

Day 7 pt. 3

About thirty minutes and one mile after sneaking out of her room Renestrae was just thinking that maybe this morning would be different and there wouldn't any terrifying surprises waiting for her when she got that prickly feeling on the back of her neck that told her she was being watched. She turned around quickly, her eyes scanning the area around her for any sign of life. After several moments of finding nothing out of the ordinary, she shook her head and continued walking.

Get a grip, you'll never make it into town before they get up if you keep being so paranoid.

Unfortunately not only did the feeling persist but there was a nagging thought in the back of her mind screaming at her to run. After another five minutes of walking, self-doubts began creeping in. There was a killer on the loose, so maybe walking into town at five o'clock in the morning wasn't the best idea she'd ever had. Maybe she shouldn't have been so impatient.

Renestrae shook her head again to dispel those thoughts. Doubting herself wasn't going to do her a lick of good. The more the murders seemed to follow that myth the more she needed answers and there was just no way she could explain any of this to Evelyn without sounding irrational. No, it was probably best just to stick with her plan and-

Renestrae grabbed an arrow from her quiver and notched it into her bow as she spun around after hearing the distinct sound of a twig snapping behind her. She nearly laughed when she noticed the black stallion standing several yards away in the empty field to her left. Great, now she was getting spooked by a horse. If Sebastian ever heard about this she'd be on her death bed before he let her live it down. She was just about to put her trusted weapon away and continue her walk into town when she noticed the water dripping from the horse's mane.

It can be recognized by it's ever dripping mane.

The blood drained from her face and fear wrapped around her heart as she remembered what the book from Dageus' library had said about the creature. She brought her bow back up and pulled the string back as she aimed for the horse. Rationality said that this was not what she thought it was but her instincts were screaming something completely different, her instincts begged her to shoot now while she still had the upper hand. However just when she would have given into that urge the horse snorted then galloped away in the opposite direction.

"Well, that was just strange," Renestrae muttered as she put her weapon away and turned to continue her trip. However this time instead of walking she jogged down the empty stretch of road. That moment of fear did nothing more than renew her determination to get to the bottom of this and the faster she could make it into town the better.

When she finally made it into town and to the library Renestrae was pleased to discover that she had made it about fifteen minutes ahead of schedule, however, she would have had to be blind not to notice the many angry and distrustful stares that seemed to be shot her way. More than anything she wanted to scream at these people that the murders had nothing to do with her, that she was completely innocent. Unfortunately, she had a pretty good feeling that all that would do was cause more suspicion to be thrown her way.

She quickly counted back from ten then dropped her bow and arrows off at the librarian's desk, all the while ignoring the man's suspicious stare, then started walking towards the section she figured would be most likely to yield some answers when she heard someone say her name.

"Renestrae?"

Renestrae turned around just in time, as a bubbly red-head with mismatched eyes was suddenly embracing her. "Sorcha, what are you doing here?" she asked, momentarily stunned. She'd have to keep in mind that Sorcha was a hugger.

"I felt terrible for leaving ye to brave that stuffy event with only Mr. Grumpy for company, Lord knows the man probably rejected at least half of the women there, so when I heard that my cousin had business to see to in Fearchar I decided to tag along."