the Kelpie threat? Had she delivered them this corpse intentionally, to help them continue to fight against the threat? Or was it an instinct for self-preservation — did she sense that the villagers were coming after her?
Whatever it was, Helen thought as Niall returned with a roll of some kind of canvas to protect the Kelpie’s body from damage, she was fiercely grateful to the Monster. They headed up to the castle together to collect a couple of horses with which to drag the Kelpie into town to show the villagers. And for the first time in a long time, Helen found herself feeling sincerely optimistic about the future of this investigation.
Now all they had to do was hunt down the rest of the Kelpies. And with the villagers on side, that would be a whole lot easier.
Chapter 37
By the time they were riding into town, the sun was well in the sky. She had sensed Niall’s impatience that morning — all the fishermen had insisted on getting a good look at the dead Kelpie, as had many of the castle folk — word had spread quickly that one of the creatures that had been stalking the village had been captured. Thankfully, they’d managed to keep little Eamon away from the dead Kelpie — Anna had offered to take him for the day to stop him from getting too curious about the monster. For all his bravery, Niall was still worried about the little boy getting nightmares from the Kelpie. Thinking of the story he’d told about the man with the missing hand, Helen couldn’t help but agree with a delicate shudder — she had a suspicion the Kelpie would be making more than a few appearances in her own nightmares, too. But better her than Eamon. Adults were much better at handling bad dreams than children were.
Still, despite the slow start, she could sense the good mood Niall was in, and it was infectious. She found herself smiling broadly at the countryside they were riding through, at the beautiful scenery they were seeing, the feel of the fresh breeze against her skin, the warmth of the horse beneath her… for all that both horses were a little bit wary of the cargo they were dragging behind them. Both of them had demonstrated an uncharacteristic reluctance and nervousness when they were being tethered to the Kelpie’s corpse, seeming to sense the danger of the creature even in death. She reached down to stroke her horse’s neck soothingly, receiving a huff from it in response. Niall was smiling at her, but when she looked up to meet his eyes curiously he cleared his throat and looked back up at the road. What had that meant?
“What will we do once the villagers are convinced?” she asked as they rode, more to break the silence than anything.
Niall grinned. “Well, for a start we’ll get them armed with iron and give them a more active role in keeping their flocks safe. If these things are as susceptible to iron as my little test this morning indicates, then they ought to be easy enough to kill. We’ll still need more information, of course, on the size of the herd and the like…” He heaved a sigh. “We need more information on the creatures in general, if I’m honest.”
“Maggie did say she’d give it some thought,” Helen pointed out, thinking back to what the old woman had said when they’d last visited her. “Could we go back and visit, see if she’s remembered anything? I wouldn’t mind asking if there’s something special we can get for the Monster as a treat, too,” she added with a chuckle.
“Oh, aye. She’s more than earned a reward,” Niall agreed.
“I remember Nancy told me she once lured her out of the water with a whole roast chicken. We could try that.”
“Aye, if you can talk Blair into surrendering a whole bird at this time of year, with so many mouths to feed,” Niall shrugged. “I’m sure the fishermen are spoiling her rotten with fish, too. At least a dozen of them said they’d be splitting their catch. Maybe we should limit her treats so she’s still peckish enough to want Kelpie for dessert.”
Helen laughed as they rode into town. The morning was well underway, and passersby gave Niall, Helen and their mysterious bundle more than a few curious looks as they rode past. Niall steered them up toward the church, where there was a big clear area — a kind