CHAPTER ONE
Mama was a cowboy. Okay, technically she was a cowgirl, but that's beside the point. She grew up in the South, with a capital S. Her childhood was full of Bible-thumping, cattle, and hay. There wasn't much room for school, especially since she was a girl. Her job was to help around the farmhouse, milk the cows, get married, and have a brood of kids who would grow up to work the farm too.
But, like I said, Mama was a cowboy. She wore pants and rode horses. She skipped church to nurse a sick calf. She could milk the damned cows, cook, and clean, but she didn't have to like it. Her parents tried to set her straight, but Mama would sneak out to play with the colts in the paddock instead of sewing with her girlfriends. She would go out to the movies or even drive to a club in the neighboring city with friends who had never heard that girls only ever wore full skirts.
There were girls like Mama who cropped up in farm families from time to time, and the general consensus was she'd grow out of it soon. It was childhood rebellion, and it would fade.
Then I appeared. No, not like magic-poof, suddenly there was a baby in Mama's arms. At first her Sunday dresses were a bit too tight, then her jeans wouldn't button. Babies were fine in the South, so long as there was a husband to go along with them. Mama didn't even have a man offering to court her, let alone a boyfriend or a fiancé. She had met a drifter, someone who came with the cows from Texas and was gone a few days later. There were men who thought Mama was beautiful despite her prickly personality and the baby growing inside, and they offered for her hand, thinking she couldn't say no. Her parents were relieved-they could cover up the baby mistake with a quick wedding-but Mama always said no.
Her parents turned her out. Mama said she thought they were planning to set up a wedding anyway, so when she crawled back to them in desperation they could tuck her firmly under their thumbs and end her rebellion forever. Instead, Mama hopped on the first train heading north and never looked back.
She worked as a waitress, saving every dime, until labor pains made her supervisor call an ambulance. Her tips were huge that day, enough that when she got out of the hospital, she could finally afford to buy an old farm left unoccupied for the last decade. The forest on part of the land was haunted, the locals told her, and people kept disappearing. No one would buy it; the bank practically gave it away to Mama for free.
I was a quiet baby, so her supervisor let her keep me behind the counter when she returned to work. Her money mostly went to diapers, but every once in a while she'd call in a contractor. The barn got fixed up first, then the fences around the massive home paddock. She put a new roof on the farmhouse and replaced some rotting wood around the foundation. Eventually she bought two retired racehorses.
The horses themselves weren't anything special. They hadn't won stakes races, and their Thoroughbred pedigree wasn't anything to laud, but they were good-looking horses all the same. Mama knew horses, and when she got some foals out of them, she taught the babies how to run.
Mama's horses won stakes races. She cut her hours at the restaurant to spend more time training her colts and fillies. She bought more pedigree horses and built a second paddock so the stud stallions wouldn't fight over their mares. Then she built a third paddock just for training.
I was ten years old by then, and Mama had an amazing reputation as a trainer and breeder. Owners would bring their Thoroughbreds to her for training. She quit her job at the restaurant and built a second barn with an indoor training ring. The barn was so large, she could run the horses inside in bad weather. I was glad, because it meant I didn't have to clear the snow from the paddocks in the winter.
I was almost fourteen when it all ended. We were driving back from the racetrack with two horses in the trailer behind our truck. Mama never saw the drunk driver that hit us. He came whipping around a curve in the road, well over the double yellow line. When I woke up, I was in the hospital. Mama was in the bed next to me.
The weight of the horses in the trailer had saved our lives. We hadn't gone over the ridge and our car hadn't flipped because the trailer had prevented it. Mama had broken ribs and a broken hip. I had severe compound fractures in my legs. The drunk driver was dead.
I turned fourteen in the hospital. Mama traveled between the farm and the hospital for weeks after she was released. It was almost a year before she could properly sit a horse, but she never had the strength in her legs to control a bucking yearling like she used to. Me, I was lucky I could even stand.
I had braces for my legs and crutches for my arms. I couldn't carry hay or oats to a horse, let alone ride them. Mama had been teaching me everything she knew, but now it was all she could do to take care of her own horses and me.
The trainers and their Thoroughbreds went away, as did the money from Mama's colts and fillies winning stakes races every racing season. Mama got her job back at the restaurant so we could keep the few horses she still owned. I was home with my schoolwork and nothing else to do with my time. I was way behind in school, so Mama was trying to homeschool me and catch me up with my grade. She hadn't finished high school, but she insisted I would.
I was bored as anything and very depressed about my life. I was relearning to walk with the pins in my legs and with the crutches. My only escape during the day was struggling through a walk down one of the flat riding paths. Back when I could ride a horse down those paths, I wasn't allowed to go into the woods or near the lake. Those were Mama's rules, and I was supposed to follow them or she'd ground me. But the lake was so serene as I limped toward it, and I needed a break anyway.
That was when I met Blue, the crazy horse reading over my shoulder who doesn't know how to respect a private diary. Of course, he tried to kill me then. I think now might be my turn to return the favor.
Rin put his pencil down and turned his head to glare at Blue, who was shamelessly reading over his shoulder. Blue looked totally unrepentant, and he grinned when he caught Rin's glare.
Blue was…blue. It was the best way to describe him. His hair was blue, his eyes were blue, and his lips were faintly blue, too. His hair was very long, brushing his knees when he was standing, but the color was an even shade of navy that no mere dye could reproduce. At the moment, he had his hair pulled back into a braid that showed off the pointed tips of his ears and his wide eyes.
You writing anything fun? Blue asked. He didn't speak using sounds; rather, his voice appeared inside Rin's head. Mama couldn't hear Blue, but she was usually busy with the demon horse these days and had long ago given up trying to figure Blue out.
"I'm writing personal things," Rin replied, letting his glare intensify to emphasize his point. He was only writing to get his thoughts in order, but it was still supposed to be private.
Oh, fun. Blue reached out to yank Rin's diary off the table and pull it close so he could read it better.
"Hey!" Rin snapped. He grabbed his diary back and clutched it to his chest—as if that would stop Blue from reading it later.
Share.
Rin shook his head violently, holding the diary tighter in his hands.
Share, Blue insisted again. He stepped forward, looming over Rin as ominously as he could with a playful smile on his face.
"No way," Rin replied. He shot to his feet, carefully dodging around Blue and running out of his bedroom. He clambered down the stairs into the kitchen and rushed out the back door into the yard.
Blue let him run, damn him. The fact that Rin could run at all was thanks to hours and hours of exhausting physical therapy. It was hard work that Rin knew Blue respected above everything else, so he always let Rin run unfettered. Rin was around the house and halfway across the expansive yard when Blue shot by him at a speed Rin wouldn't have been able to match even without a permanent injury. Blue's long legs stretched out over the hard-packed dirt with ease. He got to the end of the yard and doubled back to circle around Rin, prancing and hopping as his eyes danced with excitement.
Do I get to see?
"Nope."
Wanna see. Wanna see.
"Ugh, Blue, no!" Rin groaned.
Pleeeeaaaasssseeee? I asked nicely! Blue looked so pitiful, Rin almost relented. His eyes were large and puppy-like and his lower lip was turned in a pout and shaking slightly. Rin's grip on his diary loosened. It wasn't as if he were writing about something Blue didn't already know. Half of what he was planning to write down, Blue had been present for. Still, a diary was a private thing.
Before Rin could make a decision, a scream echoed out of the barn. It was equine and full of aggression and rage, followed by a violent bang and Mama's voice shouting. The journal tumbled from his nerveless fingers as he spun on one heel and sprinted toward the barn.
Blue dashed through the wide barn doors well ahead of Rin. Rin hurried into the dim interior seconds later. Blue had one hand held out toward Demon's nose and was snorting and neighing emphatically in response to whatever Demon was saying.
Demon was an enormous horse, standing a full seventeen hands, and was dark black in color. His paperwork said he was a blue roan, but his coat had darkened with age to the extent that the white hairs in his coat were hard to see. At the moment, his teeth were bared and his tail was high. He snorted and pawed at the hay-covered ground in his stall, but he at least wasn't rearing or trying to kick Blue.
Mama was standing deeper into the barn. She was scowling and her arms were crossed. She didn't look hurt, and this wasn't the first time Demon had acted up, but she also didn't look particularly happy. Rin let Blue deal with Demon as he hurried to Mama's side.
The far side of Demon's stall had a hoof-sized hole in the wood. Mama was glaring at the hole with a good bit of exasperation in her eyes. That would have to be patched and sanded. Demon was aptly named, but he had been with them for over two years. Usually that was more than enough time for Mama to at least begin gentling an angry horse.
Demon lifted a back hoof and lightly struck the wood next to the hole. Blue snarled, the first sound he had made that didn't sound horse-like. Demon's tail lowered slightly, from attack position to alert to a threat position. Blue wasn't someone to be trifled with, no matter how much Demon thought he was the herd leader here.
"Well, damn," Mama sighed, her heavy Southern twang filling the barn. "Blue, when you've finished threatening that beast into submission, throw him out in the empty paddock." She looked at the hole in the stall again and shook her head. "Rin, come help me get some wood to patch this mess up." She stomped out of the barn, and Rin followed. Blue had Demon under control for the moment.
Demon was an act of desperation on the part of Mama and his annoyed owner, Wesley of Wesley and Solomon Stables. Demon was a stakes winner, but he was also an asshole. If he felt like running, no horse in the field could keep up with him. If he didn't feel like running, no jockey could stay on his back. Rin had heard Wesley had run out of jockeys who would even try. Demon's injury count outweighed the lure of prize money. Racehorses were high-strung in general—Rin knew that all too well—but Demon was in a dangerous class of his own. Mr. Wesley had decided to retire Demon and pair him up with some gentle mares in the hope that Demon's foals would be tenable.
A full dossier had arrived with Demon and Rin had read it. The short of it was no other owner had been willing to put their mares to Demon, so Wesley had tried with some of his own, but Demon savaged the mares instead of mating with them. Wesley could have tried tranquilizing Demon and using artificial insemination, but by this point Demon's reputation as a sire was also ruined. If he wanted a willing buyer for one of Demon's foals, or a jockey willing to ride one, Rin knew Wesley would need to deal with Demon's attitude first. As a last resort, Wesley had turned to Mama. She had gentled two of his horses before, had a good reputation among owners and trainers, so having her name attached to Demon's would solve the negative perceptions issue, and he'd hoped Mama could get some foals from Demon when no one else could.
Plus, Wesley knew about the problems Mama had been having just keeping the roof over their heads. It grated on Rin to admit this, but it would cost Wesley less to take advantage of Mama's desperation than any of the more expensive or time-consuming options. He had sent Demon to Mama and had then probably chosen to forget about the beast except for when he had to write the check to pay for Demon's boarding. Mama couldn't handle the expense of that without Wesley's money, especially considering she already had two horses of her own to take care of and they definitely weren't cheap.
Demon was the first horse Mama had taken in since the accident and he had been slowly destroying the barn for the last two years. There was enough money tied up with the endeavor that Mama could start rebuilding her business. Except, even she couldn't get Demon to behave. Without Blue, she would have lost Demon months ago.
Wesley was angry that it had taken so long and even Mama hadn't gotten a foal out of Demon yet, and his irate phone calls were now coming weekly instead of monthly. Still, Rin knew Wesley didn't want anything to do with Demon any longer. He didn't want Demon back; he just wanted a foal with Demon's racing abilities with as little of his own effort involved with that process. Two years was nothing to wait for a foal, although heading into three or four was getting a bit ridiculous, given what Mama had been capable of in the past. They had to figure Demon out now so they could get that needed foal and the money that went with it. Rin's summer job only brought in enough money to help out; rehabilitating Demon was the only way they would finally be able to dig themselves out of the hole they were in and really start rebuilding the business.
There were some two-by-fours in one of the sheds in the yard. To really fix the stall, they would need to pull out the destroyed bits of wood and properly replace the whole back side of the stall with new, but there was no way they could afford that right now. A quick patch would have to do until they finally got some money coming in again. Or Rin could quit his summer job and get a full-time one, but the last time he suggested that, he'd just made Mama frown—the kind of frown that said she was holding back tears so he wouldn't see just how badly she hated that she couldn't provide for her family. He hadn't dared bring it up again, but if things kept going the way they were, he wouldn't have a choice soon.
He collected his dropped diary on the way to grab some nails and a hammer while Mama got the wood. Rin took a few extra seconds alone in the shed as he collected his supplies to push those dark thoughts to the back of his mind. When he walked back into the yard, his own unhappy frown was gone. Demon was galloping around the paddock, neighing angrily at the top of his lungs. Blue was leaning on the fence watching him, but he turned and trotted over to Rin when Rin returned to the yard with his tools.
Not a happy horse. Blue was frowning over his shoulder at the still-bugling Demon, but then he shrugged and turned away. I'm going swimming. Wanna come?
Rin couldn't hide a smile. Even Demon acting up couldn't change the fact that Blue really loved swimming. It was early summer and warm; swimming didn't sound bad at all. "Let me finish patching that hole first," Rin replied.
Blue paced excitedly at Rin's side as Rin headed back into the barn. Mama was already measuring a couple pieces of wood to see what would fit over the hole. Once she gentled Demon, she would be able to afford to do more than just patch up the messes. She would also be able to pay off all those damned red notices she thought she could hide from him. Every cent of the money that would come in from Demon was already allocated, but getting Demon back on track would hopefully bring in more business, and those checks would keep coming.
Mama looked up when Rin reached her side and added the hammer and a box of nails to the pile on the floor. Her eyes switched to Blue, who was hopping impatiently behind Rin, and she grinned.
"Go swim, you scamps," she said with a laugh. "I can finish this on my own."
Blue squealed, a happy horse sound, and spun around to run out of the barn.
"Thanks, Mama," Rin said. He paused to double-check that she was telling the truth. Her smile widened and she waved him on. Rin hurried out of the barn after Blue, who was waiting in the middle of the yard. As Rin watched, Blue's human form shimmered, and a second later, a gigantic blue horse stood in the yard. He wasn't blue like Demon was; instead he was a darker, dun-colored blue. Of course, that was only if Rin described Blue using modern horse identifications. There wasn't any white or black in Blue's coat at all, which made his coloring technically impossible.
But Blue wasn't exactly a normal horse.
There were two small, pointed horns next to his perky ears, which were longer and pointier than on a normal horse. Blue neighed in impatience as Rin headed toward him, and Rin saw the pair of sharp canines in Blue's mouth.
Come on! Swimming time!
Rin laughed and picked up the pace to reach Blue, tossing his diary safely onto the front porch of the house as he went past. He put one hand high on Blue's shoulder and felt a shiver of magic run through his fingers. He pulled on his hand experimentally and couldn't move it away from Blue. Blue's magic was designed to keep even the most unwilling victims on his back. Rin pushed on his hand to get leverage and managed to swing one leg up onto Blue's high back. Without the extra-sticky magic holding his hand in place, Rin didn't think he would have had the strength in his legs to actually get on at all. Blue jumped a little, and Rin's hand came unstuck as his body was jostled into place. The shiver of magic came back, this time in his thighs as he bent forward to take a double handful of Blue's mane.
"Let's go!"
Blue laughed happily in Rin's head as he reared in the air with a loud whinny. His front feet hit the ground, and they were off. Some of the old riding trails on their property were quickly becoming overgrown from disuse, but the path to the lake was clear.
Rin didn't need powerful leg muscles to stay on Blue's back. He didn't have to move with Blue's steps to shift his weight appropriately. In fact, it was nothing like riding a real horse, which was good because Rin's bad legs wouldn't let him. Blue's magic had returned his ability to ride, which was amazing. He didn't quite dare try it with other horses. Truthfully, Blue was the only horse Rin wanted to ride these days, but his legs also shook in remembered pain just at the idea of putting them through the rigors of riding a real horse.
They reached the lake quickly. Blue ran right into the water without stopping. Rin floated free from Blue's back as the magic released and Blue dove deep. Rin swam back to shore to take off his soaked boots. The sand quickly seeped into places it shouldn't as he fought with wet shoelaces and then got his shirt off.
Blue beached himself next to Rin, soaking him again with a wave of water. You coming? Blue asked, sounding reproachful that Rin had gotten out of the water. His front hooves had gained four short, webbed claws. His back legs had vanished entirely, replaced by what Rin could best describe as a lightly furred mermaid's tail. Blue was scary but beautiful in his most natural form. Luckily, he'd decided not to eat Rin.
Rin shucked his pants, keeping just his boxers on, and rushed into the water. Blue bugled and rushed after him, pouncing with a laugh when Rin spluttered. Rin pounced back, shoving Blue underwater. Blue dove, whapping Rin with his tail as he went.
Blue's laughter followed Rin as he swam farther out to the lake, relaxing under the warm sun in the cool water while Blue frolicked below him.
*~*~*
It was only a short half-mile to the lake. I had walked that far in slow progress on the special treadmill at physical therapy, and I didn't see any reason why I couldn't do that on my own. Not that I was actually planning to go to the lake specifically. It was just a good landmark to turn around at. Mama would yell endlessly if I went near the lake, especially since there was no way I could swim with my destroyed legs and the braces on them.
It was harder to walk on the uneven ground of the pockmarked path than on a flat treadmill. I managed to avoid the worst of the hoof-scarred holes in the ground from all the horses I had ridden down the same path just a few months before the accident. If I had tripped and fallen, I'm not certain I could have gotten back up without help.
I had fixed my gaze on the lake as I walked. My legs felt like wet noodles before I was even halfway there, which to be honest, was a slight improvement over blinding pain. I was still walking. That was all that mattered to me in that moment.
I still don't know how I actually made it to the lake. Looking back on that walk and the terrible condition my body was in, I know it shouldn't have been possible. But at the same time, my life was in shambles around me. I couldn't go back to school to hang out with my friends; they were all a grade ahead of me and starting to think about preparing for college or getting jobs, while I was stuck in bed most of the day. I couldn't ride horses any longer, which I had loved. I couldn't even help Mama take care of the horses! She would come home every night after a long day waitressing and still have to feed and exercise the horses while I sat around and watched.
A strange sort of desperation filled me during that walk to the lake. I would get to the lake and prove my body wasn't useless, that I was getting better and stronger, and soon enough I could return to how my life should have been before the accident. I could do at least that much with myself.
When I reached the small beach, I collapsed, with no strength left in my legs. Moments later, I passed out.
The path I had been following continued to the left, turning sharply away from the lake and the forest that borders the far bank. The lake itself has always been calm and serene, almost too inviting, but I had always been on an excitable horse before and had never had the chance to sit on the beach and relax. Besides, Mama always said I should stay away from the lake.
When I woke, there was a horse staring at me. Wanna swim? it asked me, as if there wasn't even a tiny chance I would disagree.
I saw the snack lying on the beach. I wanted to eat him.
Blue! Stay out of my diary!
But you were delicious looking! Except, when I left the water you were covered in metal. Too scrawny too. I thought I could at least eat some bone marrow.
Mama will have dinner ready soon, Blue. Stop drooling on the pages! Why are we even writing to each other like this?
"Damn it, Blue," Rin whined. He shut his diary with a thump to cover up the fact that he was feeling silly for having a written conversation with Blue when they were sitting next to each other on his bed.
Still not much meat, Blue grumbled. He pinched Rin's arm contemplatively, studying the flesh between his fingers with a frown. Not good eating, but you're definitely still delicious.
"Should I be worried you're going to take a bite out of me in my sleep?" Rin asked, only half joking. When Blue's stomach growled, he couldn't help worrying just a bit.
Blue grinned, his smile wide and pointy. His eyes showed only mirth, but as always, it wasn't a concrete answer.
One day eat, one day not eat. He shrugged. Depends on what Mama's got for dinner. And that wasn't reassuring at all. Blue's widening smile told Rin that Blue was well aware of his ambiguity and loving it. At the very least, Rin was pretty certain Blue would only eat him in an absolute emergency.
"Boys, come set the table please," Mama's voice sounded up the stairs.
Rin tucked his diary away on a bookshelf and followed Blue out of his room and down the stairs. Mama was standing in front of the stove tending two pans, one full of oil and sizzling french-fries, the other filled with hamburger patties frying away. The outdoor grill was out of propane again, and until Mama's paycheck from the restaurant, they couldn't afford to fill it. Burgers on the stove weren't bad, though.
She's cooking the meat again, Blue grumbled. He made a whining sound in his throat as he padded over to stare over Mama's shoulder at the burgers in the pan.
"Look in the fridge, Blue," Mama said without looking up. She was smiling slightly as she stirred the fries. Rin reached around her to grab three plates from the cabinet over the stove while Blue hurried over to the fridge. He yanked it open and stuck his head inside. He squealed a moment later as he pulled out a plate covered in plastic wrap, then spun around the kitchen with the plate in his hands, still squealing. He plunked the plate down at his spot at the table and ripped the plastic wrap off.
There were two large hamburger patties on his plate. The meat was still raw, and it was mixed with something green that had been shredded into small pieces. Since the food was for Blue, Rin thought it was safe to assume Mama had added cucumber.
"Wait for the rest of us," Mama admonished just seconds before Blue's fingers were about to close around one of the patties. Blue whined again, but he sank into his chair, where he could stare hungrily at his plate. Rin put two plates in front of the other two chairs and put the third away. Then he got out cups and silverware, which he added to the table without Blue's help.
Once dinner was ready and they were all sitting at the table, Mama turned to Blue. "Thank you for waiting," she said. Blue looked up from staring at his plate to look at her. He licked his lips and whined in question.
Hungry. Wanna eat.
"Let's eat," Mama finished, her smile widening at Blue. Blue immediately grabbed one of the patties in his hands and ripped a large chunk off with his sharp teeth. Rin filled his plate with a cooked burger on a bun, some fries, ketchup, and a small handful of sliced cucumbers from a bowl Mama had added to the table when Blue wasn't looking. Mama took her own food, including the cucumbers, and then plunked the mostly full bowl next to Blue's plate.
Blue looked up, let out another happy squeal, and promptly added a layer of sliced cucumbers to the top of his red and dripping raw hamburger. Rin had long ago learned not to watch Blue eat.
"The farrier is coming tomorrow morning," Mama said once they had slowed down enough to speak without food in their mouths. "I'm not sedating Demon, so hopefully that beast doesn't need his hooves checked, but I'll need Mary and Tildie brought from the far paddock first thing in the morning."
Yet another expense they couldn't afford not to take if they wanted their horses to be healthy. Instead of mentioning that, Rin asked, "Can we leave the mares so close to Demon?"
"I'm going to get him in the barn and get that all locked up so he won't be able to see or smell them until after the farrier is gone," Mama said.
Blue looked up from where he was piling more cucumbers onto his second burger. I'll help, he offered.
"Blue says he'll help," Rin repeated, so Mama could hear.
*~*~*
The snack was breathing, so at least the meat wasn't spoiled yet. I could see that through the water. One rip of my claws and the snack would be mine. It wasn't moving much either. An injured snack was easier to catch! It wouldn't be satisfying, though. The best snacks took a ride into the water with me first. Maybe I should wait for this snack to wake up?
But he looked so delicious! I wanted to eat now.
I crawled up the sand to the snack's side and gave it a good sniff. It smelled tired and hurt, like perfect pickings, and oh so delicious. I wanted to eat it right away.
Then the eyes opened. They were blue, my favorite color, and they focused right on me. I called on my glamour. I am a very pretty horse, yes I am. You want to get on my back, yes you do. So I can drown you and eat your waterlogged flesh. That sounds fun, right?
I couldn't help asking, Wanna swim, as if the snack could actually hear me. Snacks couldn't hear my voice. That's why they're snacks!
But this snack answered.
"I can't swim right now. Why is there a loose horse around here anyway?" He sounded halfway to screaming from pain, but also too tired to let it out. I could eat him now and he'd never know he had woken up. But he could hear me.
Why no swimming? I asked. Getting him onto my back and into the water would still be best.
He twitched one of his legs and I looked down to see.
Back then, all I could see were the ugly silver metal rods and hinges locked around his knees and lower legs. The skin was red and abraded looking, with scarred holes where stitches had been removed and puckered marks where bone had recently poked through.
The metal would burn me if I tried to get it off on my own. Normally, a touch of glamour would get a snack to take off all the burning parts, but this snack was different. He wasn't listening to my magic and instead was listening to my actual voice. I sat at his side for a few seconds, totally indecisive. I could still kill him and eat him, even though I would have to avoid his legs. He would be a very good snack. But he was so different from anyone else who had wandered near my lake. I actually didn't want to eat him.
He passed out again while I was thinking. His breathing was hitched with pain and there were lines between his brows. He shouldn't be lying on a beach, so far from his own home.
I shifted into a more human form and gathered him in my arms. He was too light for someone his size and his broken legs hung limply to the side, but it wasn't difficult to follow the path back to the farmhouse.
Rin stirred awake in bed and wondered why there was light reflecting on the wall in front of him. He rolled over and saw his small desk lamp was on. It was just bright enough to irritate him. He hadn't left it on when he'd gone to bed, and since the other person who slept in his bed was missing, it was easy enough to guess what was going on.
When he sat up, he found Blue sitting in the desk chair with Rin's diary open in front of him.
"Blue," Rin groaned. Somehow the damned kelpie had gotten hooked on Rin's diary, to the extent that he was skipping sleep to play with it. It honestly wasn't worth fighting over any more. "Come to bed. We have a lot to do in the morning."
Blue put down his pencil and closed the journal before shutting out the light and returning to bed. He climbed under the covers and draped his body over Rin's. He was warm and heavy, but it was as comfortable as curling up with a toasty quilt to Rin. He wrapped his arms around Blue and drifted back to sleep to the sound of Blue's happy rumbling purr in his ear.
The alarm clock sounded a few hours later. Rin groaned and opened his eyes. The sun was just beginning to shine through his bedroom window as dawn took over from night. It was early, but there were mares to feed and Demon to wrangle.
Blue was grumbling to himself, still mostly asleep. His face was buried in Rin's shoulder. Rin could feel Blue's sharp teeth gently gnawing on his skin. Blue did that a lot, like a baby chewing on his pacifier when he was getting hungry. He somehow managed to never break the skin, so Rin didn't complain. It was just Blue.
Rin had originally thought that, from his coloring and his love of water, Blue would feel cold and clammy, but the exact opposite was true. Blue was a warm and welcome weight lying on top of him, even when he bit a little too hard.
Blue growled lightly under his breath when Rin shifted. His tongue licked a long stripe over Rin's shoulder and he wiggled his hips. His weight pushing Rin into the bed sent a shiver down Rin's spine and a heat that settled even lower.
Blue's tongue dragged up the side of Rin's neck, which made Rin shiver and twitch his hips so his growing bulge could press against Blue. Blue growled again at Rin's movement, and his arms tightened around Rin's body.
Silly snack, Blue's sleep-roughened voice sounded inside Rin's head. Shall we try another kind of eating?
Blue sat up slightly and there was nothing innocent about the look in his eyes as he took in Rin lying below him. Blue shifted slightly over Rin, and suddenly their hips were aligned. Blue's hardness pressed deliciously against Rin's, sending a shiver of want up Rin's spine. Blue leaned down slowly, until his face was just inches above Rin's. He grinned, flashing his pointed teeth, before licking across Rin's lips with another swipe of his tongue.
Yum.
Rin's lips were wet and it was gross, but his body was responding all the same. He wanted a proper kiss, though. Rin reached out to cup Blue's head in both hands, drawing him gently downward again. This time there was no tongue or teeth. Just lips pressed against lips, and the heavy emotion swirling between them.
"Hey, you miscreants!" Mama yelled through the door, banging on it forcefully and making them both jump in surprise. "Time for breakfast. Get up or don't get fed."
Blue whined and huffed out a snort through his nose. I'm going to eat her.
"You will not," Rin grumbled back. Mama had effectively banished all the ardor in the room. Blue rolled off Rin and flipped the covers back. He was only wearing a pair of thin navy pajama pants. They didn't leave much to the imagination and highlighted the blue hair of his happy trail for Rin to drool over. Blue wandered off in the direction of the bathroom, which gave Rin a few moments to catch his breath.
Blue was a force to be reckoned with. That was for certain. It was only a matter of time before kissing and bodies pressed together became more. Rin was looking forward to it, of course, but he was also afraid. What would it mean for their relationship? It had taken long enough to get Blue to come into the house and to trust him. Being intimate could ruin all of that—could destroy their friendship if it went bad—and as much as Rin loved Blue, he didn't know if he was ready to take that chance.
Rin climbed out of bed and headed to his dresser to pull out a fresh pair of jeans and a shirt. When Blue wandered back in a few minutes later, naked with his hair dripping water all over the floor, Rin averted his eyes and hurried to the bathroom for his own shower. Blue's body was perfectly proportioned, and he had no shame. He also didn't understand why Rin didn't share that shamelessness. It was just something Rin had gotten used to about Blue, but Blue naked with water droplets dripping down his leanly muscled body was still an image that imprinted itself on Rin's brain.
Blue's voice humming happily in Rin's head didn't help Rin's erection fade in the least either as he walked down the hall with his clothes held awkwardly in front of his crotch. He locked the bathroom door behind him to keep Blue and Mama from wandering inside and left his clothes by the door. It didn't take him long once he had himself in hand. The water was warm in the shower from Blue's recent use, and Rin let the spray pound on his back as his fist pumped. He stifled his gasps in his arm, but he still heard Blue's humming change to an interested whinny. The sound sent Rin over the edge. He shot hard, hitting the floor of the tub and letting the water wash it all away.
After panting for a few long minutes to catch his breath, Rin grabbed the soap and got clean. Blue's humming faded once Rin was done. He dried off and got dressed before leaving the bathroom to dump his pajamas in the laundry bag in his room.
Blue was sitting on the bed, looking petulant. You never let me join you, he grumbled with a pout.
"We'll get there, Blue," Rin replied truthfully. One morning Mama wouldn't interrupt.
Blue's frown almost immediately turned into a knowing grin. There were the times when Blue seemed to be much older than Rin despite the fact that he looked like he was in his early twenties. Right now, with that grin on his face, Blue looked like he had much more experience at this than Rin did. Rin didn't know how long kelpies lived, but it was very possible that Rin wasn't Blue's first romantic relationship.
Rin bent and pressed his lips against Blue's. He knew what he was promising and sealing with a kiss, and he was okay with that.
"It's getting cold!" Mama yelled up the stairs.
Rin grimaced and pulled away. "I guess we should go eat?"
Fluffy squawker eggs! Blue agreed happily. He had only seen a live chicken once, but he had called them that ever since. Rin grinned and led the way to the kitchen.
*~*~*
Ever since the day I woke up on my couch after dreaming about a beautiful blue horse who wanted to eat me, I felt like someone was watching me. Most of the time it wasn't a problem. Mama was usually around whenever I went outside. She was with the horses, of course, but she always kept an eye on me as I made slow progress through the yard. Every day showed slight improvement in my walking ability, but winter was coming and the doctors had already warned me repeatedly that slipping on ice could set back my recovery drastically. I wanted to be as sure on my feet as possible before the weather turned, so I could avoid that problem.
During the day, Mama was at work at the restaurant and I was left to my own ends like usual. My memories of walking to the lake were shaky. I knew I had gotten there, but I had no idea how I had gotten back home. I did know just how badly my legs had ached and trembled for days afterward, which kept me from trying that adventure again. I stayed in the yard when Mama wasn't home, practicing putting my feet down properly so I would build muscle and muscle memory.
The eyes watching me were constant whenever I stepped outside. In a strange way, it was comforting to know someone was watching over me, but it still made the hair on the back of my neck lift in fear. Sometimes the stare felt dangerously hungry, and other times innocently curious.
I thought about telling Mama about it, but then I would have to explain walking to the lake. I was still young enough to be afraid of her punishment--just a few months past turning sixteen--and didn't want to admit I'd broken her rules. Besides, what could she do about a water horse that was stalking me?
I spent a lot more time than I ordinarily would have indoors working on my schoolwork that fall, but even that didn't keep the eyes away. The days began to cool and the leaves in the forest in the distance turned colors and every day there was someone unseen looking in the windows at me, blinking curiously at everything I was doing.
Mama was happy I was starting to actually catch up to my grade level, although I still finished high school at the kitchen table without ever returning to a classroom. I didn't care so much about my schoolwork at that point in my life; I was too depressed about being hurt to care about much at all. I wanted to be out there helping Mama with the horses, not stuck inside. However, for the first time since the accident I found myself interested in something. The mystery of a horse who could talk and wanted to watch me struggle over math problems day after day was strange enough that it pulled me out of my permanent funk. At least, I hoped it was that horse. I'm sure Mama was happy to see me finally smile again, although at the time she didn't know why.
One cool fall day, I zipped up my coat and took my homework outside to the porch. Whoever was watching me had plenty of opportunity to do something awful to me. I was a sitting duck, since I couldn't run and no one was home during the day to hear me scream, yet I was only observed. I honestly felt safe enough in the open, even as those eyes continued to watch my every move.
I was wearing my winter coat and heavy pants to keep the metal braces on my legs from freezing by the time I finally met Blue. The yard had iced over during a light snowfall just after breakfast. Mama had gotten the chains on her car tires so she could head to work, and I decided to take my walk early before the weather changed for the worse. Not my brightest idea.
Two feet into the yard, and I went flying. Arms pinwheeling, me yelping and sliding across the ice. I was in for a hard and painful fall, and with Mama gone I would've had to figure out a way to get myself back into the house before I froze and died. I doubt all of that ran through my mind at the time, but it was true nonetheless. Except instead of me hitting the ground, Blue caught me. His arms wrapped around me and he pulled me to his warm chest to steady me. I looked at his startled face, as if he were as surprised by his actions as I was, and knew I was safe.
Was I pretty?
"Damn it, Blue," Rin groaned, looking at Blue's handwriting in the margin next to his last journal entry. He had just wanted to quickly read through what he had written so he didn't skip anything when he started writing. Apparently Blue had already helped himself to Rin's private journal. Again.
Rin looked at the three short words Blue had written, sighed, and scrawled Yes underneath. Blue was a damned conceited kelpie, but he was pretty. There was no denying that. His big blue eyes, the horns sticking out of his blue hair, and the long and pointed ears had all pegged him as something other than human that first day, but despite that, Rin remembered that moment with just as much lust as when Blue had been walking around naked earlier that morning. It was love at first sight, at least once Rin had stopped being shocked by a mystical creature holding him safely and gently guiding him back to the dry porch where he could collect his footing again. That Blue had disappeared for a week afterward before creeping back as if he couldn't help himself hadn't mattered to Rin in the least.
Blue was bugling outside, a noise that sounded more like cattle than horse—although Rin would never, ever tell Blue that—so Rin moved to the window to look out. Mary and Tildie were still in the paddock. Mama had gone to work before moving them back to the far pasture to give them a little time to relax after having their hooves filed down. Maryquitecontrary and Till the Cows Come Home had been their prospective racing names before the accident. They had never gotten the chance to race and had never stepped foot onto a track to prove their mettle, but they were good breeding stock all the same. Mama had high hopes for them both. Blue was talking to them over the fence. Mary was doing her best to ignore him, hence his bugling, but Tildie seemed interested.
Rin had to agree with Tildie. He abandoned his diary at the desk and hurried downstairs.
I had never touched a human before. Okay, I had eaten plenty of them. Their bones are nice and crunchy and the muscles aren't as stringy as some of the other critters I had eaten. They were much better than fish. Fish is slimy.
All right, I'll admit I touched one human. I had carried him back home when he collapsed on my beach. But this human, this snack, was different. I had been spying and watching since then. He couldn't walk; he was the injured member of the herd and good pickings, yet he didn't hide or cower. Instead he sat outside and read from lots of different books while the cold came.
I wasn't going to eat him. I don't know when I decided that, but my tummy didn't rumble whenever I was around him.
Snow fell, and ice. And he went sliding across the ground. I don't remember moving, but then he was in my arms.