shivered now as she considered the fact that he had told her to get on
the kelpie and ride. “Are those kelpie things common here?”
Beck shook his head. “No, but they are very famous.”
“So anyone who lives here would know not to ride one.” Meg was
starting to believe that little red man had it out for her.
“Well, they are Fae creatures. This is what we refer to as a neutral
plane. That means there wasn’t a civilization here when we found it.
Fae creatures have wandered off and on the place for centuries. Some
100
Sophie Oak
stayed. I suppose there are plenty of beings on the plane that might
not understand what a kelpie is.”
“So he might not have known.” He might have been confused.
Meg had a hard time believing that. He’d seemed to know the forest
very well.
“Who might not have known?” Beck’s voice had gone positively
glacial. “Did you meet someone in the woods?”
Meg realized she might have been better off keeping her mouth
shut. “It was a man, a little man. He seemed old. He said he could
take me to my home plane.”
Beck stopped the horse and looked down at her, his expression a
mask of horror. “You met a Planeswalker? Oh, goddess, Meggie, that
was a demon. What did you promise him?”
Meg shook her head vigorously. “Nothing. I told him I wanted to
get back to you, and he pointed me to the kelpie. That was a demon? I
thought they’d be bigger. I also thought they would have more style. I
guess red is kind of their color, though.”
Beck let out a long breath of air. “He was a short man, dressed in
red from head to toe?” Meg nodded. “It was Far Darrig, love. He’s a
trickster. It’s his mission to trick travelers. He can read your mind, so