Mistfall (17 page)

John’s chuckled softly as he caught up with
me. “Your first taste of freedom and you’re only sticking your toes
in?” he joked, standing behind me.

“Don’t even think about it,” I warned
half-heartedly. I turned my head and opened my eyes to look at him.
There was a glint in his eye and mischief was written all over his
lips. I would have backed away, but the only place to go was in the
pond, so I retracted my feet from the water and stood, preparing
myself for the inevitable.

“Wait!” I shrieked as he reached for me.
“Just wait a second!”

“Why? You’re going in regardless,” he
threatened while picking me up.

I magicked a plain, nondescript bikini onto
myself. If I was going to get wet I wasn’t going to do it in jeans.
I also traded his clothes for a pair of matching swim trunks. I
wrapped my arms around his neck and grinned. “Okay, go.”

I held my breath as John jumped in. The water
was pleasantly warm, no post-immersion cold shock to be had.
Letting go of John, I swam down to the bottom of the pond to
explore. You won’t find mermaids or other exotic aquatic beings in
a pond. That doesn’t mean the pond dwellers weren’t interesting in
their own right.

Kappas, ugly little mud creatures, were tying
the weeds together, like a net, in hopes of trapping some unlucky
soul. The Ashrays, usually mistaken for ghosts of the deep, were
just waking up. Ashrays liked to frequent sunken ships to scare and
play tricks on divers.

When I surfaced, John was talking to the
pond’s resident Marid. If you remember, Marids are water dwelling
jinn. I swam over to be polite and make an introduction.

I can’t stand my watery cousins. Vapid and
vain, they were useless as a life preserver on land. If you’re
dinner just so happened to reside in their home, it was necessary
to placate them. Marids would boil a lake just to spite a person
for not praising them enough.

The woman’s skin was pale, as life in the
water did not permit for a tan. Her hair was a bluish-green, like
water. She was also naked as the day she was created. Marids tended
to believe they were perfection and that there was no need to cover
us such exquisite bodies. She was beautiful, yes, but she could do
with a little covering up.

“And who is this?” the aquatic airhead asked
John.

John put his arm around me proudly.
I
guess he’s missed me too.
“Lady Siobhan, this is Vio…I mean
Mags,” he introduced me. “Mags, this is Lady Siobhan, mistress of
Galway pond.”

I mustered all my patience, knowing how this
conversation would go. “It’s a pleasure Lady Siobhan,” I said,
nodding in deference to her. “Your pond is the most beautiful in
the entire world.”

Her smile at my flattery quickly faded to a
look of pensiveness. “Are you sure of that?” she asked. “I have
heard that my sister, Victoria, has a lake much grander than my
quaint pond.”

John took hold of my submerged forearm,
squeezing it painfully in a reminder to hold it together. I
suppressed the urge to roll my eyes, took a calming breath, and
laid it on thick.

“Of course I’m sure,” I assured her. “I’ve
seen the dwelling of your sister. It smells of industrial waste and
sewage. Rotten seaweed coats the beaches in a thick slime that will
never wash away. Her lake doesn’t even have a proper beast.”

None of this was true. As a rule, I steer
clear of Marids. I didn’t know her sister or where the lake was,
let alone know of its condition. I could only hope she didn’t
venture far from her watery abode to know the difference.

Siobhan looked forlorn. Her bright and
translucent seaweed-green eyes were darkened by something I had
said. That is just one of the many problems with Marids. They’ll
find fault in any compliment you give them.

“Oh that is true,” Siobhan sighed. “Very well
said as well, but I’m afraid my pond too lacks a beast.”

Even with the distance of time between us,
John still was able to pick up that I was quickly becoming
frustrated. He jumped in, saving me from saying something that
would hamper our efforts.

“Lady Siobhan, your home is so magnificent
that a beast isn’t necessary,” he placated her.

Once again, her lips formed a smile as she
was pleased with John’s explanation.

“Besides,” he added, “where would you put
one?”

Siobhan straightened herself up, putting on
airs of one hindered by responsibility. “Yes, my responsibilities
would only double if I had a beast to look after,” she stated. “I
already have my hands full with the residents I already have.” She
paused then waiting for another compliment.

John’s shoulders sagged a bit and I put my
hand over my face. How much more B.S. would we have to shovel?
I’d rather starve than keep this up.

“Lady Siobhan,” I said exhaustedly, “surely
one such as you could surely handle the responsibility with your
usual poise and grace. I believe you may be underestimating your
greatness.”

“You’re right,” she admitted exuberantly in
her high and mighty voice. “I don’t need a beast. But if I did, I
would handle it spectacularly.” Her naked and voluptuous chest
puffed out as her head pointed to the sky while she imagined her
fantasy kingdom in which she ruled supreme.

John took her overjoyed manner as his cue.
“We should probably be going now Mags.”

He had caught me off guard. “Oh!” I squeaked.
“Oh yes, we have taken up too much of Lady Siobhan’s time.
Certainly it would be in bad taste to ask her the favor we came
here for now.”

I would’ve thanked John but the charade was
far from over. Turning towards the pier, we both began to swim
away. She was vain enough to fall for John’s bluff. Unfortunately
for my patience, it meant more incessant flattery.

“A favor?” she asked, her voice only slightly
raised as we had only swam a short distance away from her.

John grinned, pleased with his manipulation
of the situation, and turned back to her, with me in tow.

John stood upright upon reaching Siobhan. His
chest glistened in the waning light as rivulets of water made their
way down his body. I wasn’t too focused on whatever John was saying
as I found myself jealous of those drops of water.

“Would we be asking too much, requesting a
favor from you?” he asked the Marid.

“No, no, no,” she protested. “I’m a busy
woman, it’s true, but I’m sure I could find the time to help you
out.”

John elbowed me in the side to speak, aware
my attention was focused on him. “You are too generous,” I spat out
quickly.

John gave me a look out of the corner of his
eye that was amused, but said nothing of my train of thought.

“Generous indeed,” he told Siobhan. “We
simply ask to fish in your pond for our dinner.”

She frowned. Again it was something we said
to cause her displeasure. “No, that won’t do.”

John and I looked at each other in confusion.
His hand now tightened its grip on my arm to the point of pain. I
winced but said nothing to him about it. He knew me too well, but
had forgotten what a weapon my mouth could be.

I parted my lips to tell Siobhan what I
thought of her and where she could shove her precious pond, but she
beat me to the punch, speaking first.

“I could only imagine what others would say
if they learned I was such a terrible hostess. Worry not; I shall
not let my good name be besmirched.” She paused a moment and stared
at me. “My dear, why are you imitating a fish?” she asked.

My mouth still happened to be open. “My
apologies,” I grumbled.

“No need for that, but try not to do that in
the future,” she lectured me. “A homely face such as yours does not
benefit from a slack jaw.” Siobhan then grinned from ear to ear.
“Oh look at me, always helping the less fortunate!”

If John held my arm any tighter he was going
to break it. Tears were forming in my eyes from the pain. I wanted
to leap across the water that divided us and choke her to death.
John, knowing this, gripped my side with his free hand, firmly
keeping me in place. I looked up at him scowling, but he was not to
be swayed. We would have to see this through if we were to eat. I
might not care about starvation, but there were others to think
about.

“Your kindness knows no bounds,” I gritted
through my teeth.

“You are fortunate you came to my pond,” she
replied loftily. “Others would not have been so gracious.” She then
dismissed us with a wave. “Go, enjoy your swim. There will be a
parcel waiting for you on the pier when you are done.”

“Thank you,” John and I replied.

Siobhan turned to swim away, but not before
asking us one last question. “You will sing my praises, won’t
you?”

“You have my word, I will tell everyone what
I think of you,” I promised.

“Good day madam,” John excused us and dragged
me away.

Siobhan returned to the depths of the pond
after that. I took her leaving as opportunity to punch John in the
shoulder with my free hand.

“What was that for?” he asked, looking at me
crossly.

“You’re hurting me.”

“Oh please,” he scoffed. “I know your body
well enough to know what it can and can’t handle and how it
responds to me.”

My eyes were wide with surprise. “Excuse
me?”

“We used to train together Violet,” he said
flippantly.

“5 years ago,” I pointed out. “How in Hades
would you know what I can and can’t handle now? And while we’re at
it, what’s this crap about knowing how I respond to you?”

If I could describe the shade of red that
John’s face turned, I would choose tomato. I didn’t understand his
embarrassment at first, but then it dawned on me.

“You son of a bitch!” I yelled, yanking my
arm out of his grasp. Hands fully free, I splashed him in the face.
“The Dreamweavers weren’t the only ones trolling in my mind for
information, were they?”

I didn’t wait to hear his answer, just swam
away. He called after me, but I ignored his pleadings. I had heard
enough. All this time I had fantasized of what would have happened
if John and I had stayed together. There’s a reason they call it
fantasy. In reality I was just chasing rainbows.

“I can explain,” he offered as he caught up
with me.

I turned around, next to the pier and put my
finger in his face. “No John. You don’t get to talk your way out of
this.” I pointed to my head. “What’s in here is private. You didn’t
need that information to find me. What possible reason could you
have for mining that out of my head?”

John reached for me and I instinctively threw
a punch in return that never landed. He held my wrist firmly in his
hand as I tried fighting against him. I was hurt, angry, and
unfocused. It made me no match for him. He managed to get both his
hands on my shoulders and pushed me against the pier, holding me in
place.

“Stop,” he demanded forcefully. “I can hold
you to this pier all day if I have to, but you are going to listen
to me. If you’re still angry with me after I’m done then you can
storm off.”

The fire burning in those neon green eyes
told me he was serious. He was right. He could hold me here all
day. His take no crap attitude while holding me down had me finding
the situation slightly erotic. I was still mad as hell and wouldn’t
yield a single inch, but the sex kitten inside me with the raging
libido had other ideas. Image after image of John and me in
compromising positions sprinted through my head at light speed.

I was starting to wonder what was wrong with
me. Twice now a good looking Elf had made me hot and bothered. I
did the math and realized that it had been a year since the last
relationship I had deemed worthwhile to progress to the bedroom. I
shot that sex-crazed kitten awakening in my head. Now was not the
time and she had nine lives.

If I wanted to get loose and rid of John, I’d
have to calm down and quit struggling. Reluctantly, I quit
fighting, for the moment. I shot him a glare that said “proceed but
be careful.” I wouldn’t hesitate to knee him in the balls.

“I needed to know how you’d respond to my
presence in your dreams,” he defended. “It’s been a long time since
I last saw you.”

“That still doesn’t…” I was unable to finish
my sentence. John had put his hand over my mouth to silence me.

He shook his head at me and smiled. “You’re
so stubborn. Please just let me talk.”

I arched an eyebrow at him, unable to do
anything else.

“It’s not like I could control the
information I saw,” he pointed out. “You don’t select a file like
it’s a computer.”

John looked down and flushed slightly at what
he said next. “I do have to admit, I’m happy I’m not the only one
who feels this way after all this time?.” He peeked up through his
lashes at me, hope in his eyes at my response.

There was a loud meowing in my head as sex
kitten number two appeared and overrode my rationality. I pushed
his hand away from my mouth. “What exactly is it that you feel?” I
asked breathlessly.

My heart had stopped. It was on tenterhooks
waiting for John’s response to begin beating again. I didn’t wait
long. He wrapped one arm against my waist, pulling me close as his
other held my neck.

“I love you Violet, just like I always have.”
With that he tilted my head back and kissed me.

His kiss wasn’t soft or sweet. It was five
years of pent up love and lust all rolled into one and it was
slamming into me like a car crashing into a wall. My legs would
have given out if I had been standing on land.

My anger tempered by his proclamation of
love, I reached my arms around John’s neck and closed the molecules
width of distance between us. Though I didn’t agree to the journey,
I was pleased with the destination. I made a mental note to make
him promise not to pick through my brain ever again.