Art by

The long rode ran along the loch, silver and blue with the half full moon that rose heavy in the air and promised for a crisp cold night. It was picturesque and beautiful while I hunched my shoulders and tried to burrow my nose against my chest. It could almost remind me of home, save for the dull lonely ache that was a constant part of me. Ireland was nothing like I imagined it and I had started my day regretting the commission that had brought me on the damned ship here. There were no others like me, not even the familiar sight of a coyote or bobcat, they were all critters that I was used to seeing in the trading towns near the coast. Even the wolves weren’t the sort I knew, they were too skinny by half and all seemed to be the same shade of reddish-grey. I had never been to a country so far away from my own home, so far away from everything I had ever known.

My ship had been chartered by a company, but required being refitted and that meant that they had cast all of us loose with our pay. Most of my shipmates had immediately found other work, but I was left adrift. I was too native for most to want to hire, there was still a bit of nervousness applied to American species’ and my buckskin pants and vest often made them think of me as some sort of savage. I could wear pants with the best of them, but they were too uncomfortable for me to tolerate for more than a day or two. My old leather pants were worn and fit me perfectly, with just enough looseness at the groin that I didn’t feel as if my sheath were going to be rubbed off. And then there was my name, sure Jonathan was a normal name, but Lost Hoof was not a normal last name. It marked me again as different.

I had been forced away from the coast and inland so I could find a village that was willing to hire me on with the strength of my back more than on my reputation. The town was mostly a mish mash of people, positioned right near a loch that boasted fine fishing and it was there was able to work enough to get some coin. Fishing boats always needed laborers and I wasn’t the sort that would try to steal away a fish or two for dinner. But it was a lonely life, and I had been here too long, and the shipping company had not contacted me and any attempts to find answers only gave me vague promises of rehiring once the damned vessel was refitted. I’d begun to doubt that it would ever happen. I might be here forever, hunched over some small dingy and bringing in net after net of smelly fish.

Tonight the road home from the pub was deserted, not even the sound of carts could be heard or the distant laughter off the loch where men were drinking late into the evening. The town was dark, the only lights that he could see were the strange flickering lights of grinning pumpkins that had been brought out early in the evening. It had been like a strange ritual as every shop owner and villager had come out with the carved gourds, the flames flickering within their depths as they placed them out on by one. They had formed a ring around the village, wrapping around like a barrier of gape toothed smiling faces and leering demons. It wasn’t my first experience with local superstition, when I asked I was only told that it had to do with keeping the monsters at bay. Monsters! It was ludicrous, but it had made my drinking that much better to listen to the old stories. Even if most of them had to do with the town’s ‘pet’ monster the kelpie.

I’d heard that legend already, nearly a hundred times on the lake when I went out for the fish. The master on the vessel would always throw a fresh bit of liver or heart into the lake and make a sign to ward off evil. Apparently there was some sort of demon in the lake that would prey on the unwary so they tried to placate him by offering him food. It was an old superstition, like my old shaman who used to leave out fresh meat on the first winter to keep the snow wolves at bay. I tolerated it, but it seemed an accepted belief around the loch that there was a monster hiding in the water waiting to bring them down. My employer loved to tell stories of those that had gone missing, or about the old tavern that had shut down after it had born its name. They were good chilling tales, but I knew from my time in other parts of the world that there were always stories and monsters. This was no different.

The beast was said to take the guise of a horse at the edge of the lake, crying in a haunting voice to lure others to him. I’d heard it said that he was dappled and grey, but also dark as night, haunted creatures that would take the flesh of the living to satiate their unnatural hungers. The only way to avoid it was to hope they could be bribed or to avoid the loch entirely. When there were stormy nights I had always heard people talk about the kelpie kicking up his heels, the rough water rippling away from them. And that didn’t even bring into the story of a creature that stalked the wild woods, nameless, faceless and terrifying. I often wondered if all of the stories were made up from spotting sly colts that wanted to cause a bit of trouble. It would be easy enough to prey on a traveler at night, cause a fuss and send them bolting to the village with stories of horror on their tongues.

I was nearing the edge of the shore, just close enough that I could see the glittering edge of silver moonlight catching on the water when I heard the sound of something stirring against the waves. It was a faint splashing sound that was familiar. It was almost like listening to water lapping against a small boat, but it lacked the echoing sound of wood being hit. I paused in my walk, my ears were going cold in the night air so I held them back while my arms were wrapped around my chest. The days were comfortable, but at night it went so cold as to make me wonder that there wasn’t a rim of ice on the water as I paused and twitched my ears up. I was grateful for the distraction, the beer had worn itself off in the first mile of my walk and now I was just shivering and miserable. I was starting to rapidly regret not taking up the offer of a room in the inn.

The splashing sound happened again as I looked at the mottled edge of the lake, seeing the hint of movement as the waves rippled from where they had been disturbed. As I studied the ripples, a saw a curve breech the water before disappearing again and dismissed the fish that was hunting near the shore. It didn’t matter how cold it was, there were always one or two fish on the hunt for easy food. With a sigh I forced myself to go on, the half fool moon lit my way, but it only made me feel colder as the light showed every puff of breath that came from my nose. The edges of fog started to slide through the trees as I picked up my pace in the hope that it would warm me up.

“You might try a coat if you truly wished to be warm.” A soft voice reached me as I started to reach a good pace, bringing my walk to a halt. “Or perhaps you should have stayed warm indoors.”

As I swung around I found myself nearly nose to nose with an equine that was sprawled out on a massive branch that had fallen from a tree and was perched at a sharp angle. He was wearing little more than some sort of kilt that the darkness hid, while his arms were crossed just beneath his chin while he watched me with a lazy looking smile on his supple lips. It was hard to tell in the light what color he was, some light color with a moon dappled back. I blinked for a few moments as the horse lifted his head and offered me a tight lipped smile, as content looking as a cat beneath the sunlight no matter his bare upper body and the cold air. His eyes were strangely bright in the silver moonlight, a hint of bright green reflected towards me.

“I could tell you the same.” I retorted and rubbed my arms a little bit, the equine tilted his head a little bit, studying me. “Are you waiting on someone from the village?”

“From the village?” His voice was strangely warm as he turned his head from me and looked up the road. “No, I have no interest in the village tonight. I am waiting for someone, though, yes. Not yet, but soon.”

“Ah… well, a cold wait for you.” I glanced towards my own path and the warmth of my shed. “I’m sure it won’t be long.”

“And you, this road is deserted at night, you know. I don’t often see anyone walking it.” The equine sat up slowly and I blinked a bit in shock as his mane seemed to ripple with a life of its own. He sat up on the log, taller than I was, but certainly not any sort of drafter.

“I’m just heading back to my shed..” I dipped my antlers towards the loch. “I’ll be off now, I need a good lie in after the tavern. Do have a good wait.”

“The loch… Ahh! You must be the American sailor.” The equine slipped off the branch and landed with a lash of his tail, the long edges seemed to coil around his legs.

“Yes, I guess I’m famous.” I tried to smile amiably, my eyes, though, fell towards the edges of his tail that seemed to coil in twist in the darkness. “But I must be off, a good evening to you.”

I made a bow, attempting to be polite, but I watched keenly as the edges of the tail suddenly coiled around his lower leg. They weren’t driven by a breeze or bit of wind, they moved of their own volition in a way that made the fur along the line of my neck bristle. As I turned away I heard the sound of his hooves on the gravel as he stepped behind me, bringing a cold chill down my spine as I fought to keep my ears up and cheerful.

“I’ve never seen an American.” The equine spoke amiably as he stepped in pace with me, and the moonlight showed a ripple of green spilling down his mane. “Come now, let me have a look at you.”

“I’d really rather not!” I spoke and tried to not let the nervousness come into my voice as he came closer to me, almost crowding me. Something damp flicked out and curled around my leg, just above the knee and made me jerk forward, the left lifting up high.

“Not so rangy as our own stags.” The equine spoke softly while a hand dropped down on my shoulder, the fingers curled there while I tried to duck away. “I do like the exotic.”

I moved down, desperately trying to feel what was wrapped around my leg while the equine came in closer. The scent of the loch was stronger here, I was familiar with it after working on the water and with the fisherman, but it was only a distraction as I found the damp strand that was wrapped around my calf. In the attempt to pull it free was greeted with another strand curling around my fingers and wrist as I tried to dislodge it. Another hand moved to run along my back, tracing down the length of my spine as I struggled with the strands gripping me. They were sliding out towards my upper legs and wrapped higher on my wrist as I tried to struggle to free myself from them. The press of the body ran against me as the scent of the loch grew stronger and sharper, it filled my senses as I stumbled upright and nearly came nose to nose with the strange equine.

The eyes were green, as green as the sea when one came to the deepest part of the ocean and there was a glow around the edges as the soft thick equine lips brushed against my narrow muzzle. A tendril curled out from the curve of the horse’s neck, part of the mane reached towards me and flicked along the underside of my jaw so my breath came out in a fearful hiss. It wasn’t just a brush of seaweed or damp plants that were catching against me, it was the mane and tail that were reaching out as if they were alive. I could feel the hairs wrapping up along the bridge of my muzzle before I threw my weight backwards. The last pleasant feeling of being drunk was gone, there was no room for exhaustion or thinking of the cold, there was only the fearful scent of metallic blood that filled my muzzle when the creature curled his lips back in a smile, showing horrifying fangs.

“Let me go..” My voice was trembling as hands slid along my chest, the nails scraped right against my chest as another tendril twisted along the edge of my jaw and more were spreading around my lower body.

“Leather, I haven’t seen leather before on these locals.” He murmured softly, as tenderly as a lover while I struggled to get my fingers beneath the tendrils that were wrapped around me, but there were always more. “Are you frightened, stag? You came seeking me and you have found me…”

“I didn’t come seeking you!” I tried to scramble backwards, but the hold was absolute, the arms slid around me and ran along the curve of my sides. “I came seeking my bed!”

“Past the barrier of the village, past the light, you stumble into the dark along my loch…” The equine…. No the kelpie, reached out and nipped my muzzle with sharp fangs that caught against my lips and made me stiffen. “You came for me, even if you didn’t know it, your hooves brought you to my resting place.”

I tried to writhe away, but the coiling of the tail twisted around me, they pulled along the upper curve of my thighs and tugged at my legs as I struggled to get away. My breathing came out in short hot bursts while he pulled me closer, his muzzle dipping down until the heat of the tongue curled and stroked right along my neck. It was a sensual touch, the smooth tongue caressing and curling up towards my jaw line before the fangs nipped me. The scent of the water flooded me, no hint of male musk, but deep still water and the scent of growing sea weed and salt that tickled the edge of my nostrils. A tremor rolled down the line of my spine while the teeth raked through my fur and the grip of the tendrils twisted harder against my upper thigh.

The long edges reached down, pressing and searching as my leg was pulled upwards and I intimately felt the form pressing against me. He was slick and wet, but warm, almost hot as he brushed along my chest and stomach. The loose fabric that covered his lower belly pressed up closer, rolling until I could feel a bulge nudging against the loose leather of my breeches. The weight of it rolled up and down as my leg was forced up higher and the hands glided down towards curve of my ass. The teeth suddenly nipped along my neck, the sharp fangs hooked at the thick soft fur of my neck and dug down against the skin. A high pitched bleat erupted from my throat as I tore backwards, kicking with one hoof the moment the fangs dug into my neck, tearing through the skin so that hot crimson blood welled up around them. The more I struggled, the harder the arms and tendrils clung around me.

The fingers clawed up my back, raking along the muscles while the heat of the tongue worked over the wounds, the kelpie’s mane spinning out to coil around my muzzle. The long strands clamped down and worked along my jaws until all I could do was cry out in mute terror as the teeth raked along my neck again. The hips rolled forward, the weight pushed up higher along my belly, teasing over the hidden swell of my sheath while I started to pant in short shallow bursts. My leg was forced up and around the hips, curling as the tail tendrils continued to spread wider. Every story I had ever heard about the loch and the monster went through my mind as he pushed me back against one of the sprawling oak trees, pinning me in place.

“Lovely, sweet and wild..” The kelpie licked his lips, sweeping his tongue upwards so that he licked over one hooked fang. “Just as I-“

Whatever he was about to say was lost as a sound erupted from along the loch, a high pitched cry, almost a scream that rose up and up in the air. My ears went back and I froze in place, my tail flagged up in alarm as the wild cry broke through the foggy night air. It wasn’t a wolf howling, nor a dog, nor any creature I could imagine, it belled out while the kelpie went still against me. I could feel the tension in him, the surge of heat that began in his loins where he was pressed against me before he let out a trembling breath. There was no fear in his eyes, but a brightness that repulsed and confused me as he leaned closer and ran his tongue sensuously along the edge of my lips so I licked them automatically. I tasted the familiar bite of salt water before the tendrils began to slide away from me. My arms freed and the long tendrils slipped from my muzzle so I could stumble backwards with my hands up.

“Get away from me!” The cry rose up again, a near scream that made me stumble back before the kelpie struck out with lightning speed.

The teeth sank into my forearm, a brutal bite that clamped down and sank the fangs into my muscle as I yanked my arms away. Hot blood was running down my neck, joined by the heat spilling down my arm to splatter to the ground at my hooves. The kelpie stood there, blood glistening on his fangs before he made a show of licking them, curling his tongue along the edge of one fang and then the other, his throat working to swallow down the taste of me. I couldn’t put thoughts together, my mind was hammering with terror as I stumbled a few more paces back and the scream rose again, an unearthly cry so near that I clapped my hands over my ears as it rose and died again. Something cold brushed by me, a glimpse of darkness so black that it was like a shadow peeling away from the forest.

“Would you hunt without me, sweet moonlight?” The shadow murmured, his voice painfully deep before bright red pupils slid towards me and the form resolved itself.

Another equine, but just as the kelpie was like no earthly horse, I found myself staring at a stallion that had no right being alive. He was dark black, his outline only half seen beneath the moon as he stalked towards the kelpie. The brush of his mane was cut stiff and short, like a roman soldier of old, and the head was broad and large with a heavy muzzle that was a sharp contrast to the smaller kelpie. His eyes slid over me before the lips peeled back to show teeth that would have been the envy of any wolf, but it was to the kelpie he went. The pale form sliding an arm around him intimately as their noses touched, a parody of romance given monstrous shape as the dark stallion ran his tongue over the kelpie’s lips to taste my blood.

I was frozen, I wanted to run, but I couldn’t move as the pair circled one another. The dark stallion let out a baritone growl, a rumble that almost shook the earth as his hands slipped along the paler hide, marking him with the darkness of his skin. His short bobbed tail flicked back and forth, barely a contrast against his breeches. They matched each other, two stallions who darted their heads in to nip and test each other for weaknesses, but there was a pattern to it. Almost a dance as they became a bit of the silver moonlight and a matching shadow, the clatter of fang on fang ringing as they struck. The stallion bit the kelpie, a hard strike that made him tense and hiss out, but he didn’t draw away, he leaned into it. My body shook as the scent of more blood entered the air, coating each breath as I tried to will myself into movement.

“Only to mark our prey, my shadow, to entertain myself before you were freed from the bonds of the earth.” The kelpie murmured and turned his eyes back towards me. That was it, that was enough, I needed to get out of here. “A buck from a far off land, exotic and tasting of strange places.”

Run run run run… The scream of my ancestors tore through me, long dead creatures that had known the hot breath of a predator at their hooves and the fear of their flesh being torn by savage fangs. His legs trembled in place as the dark stallion gave him a long look, the nostrils flaring to show a hint of dark red within their depths.

“What is your name, buck?” He spoke with a flick of his tongue over his lips while I scrambled backwards, breaking my frozen state while I became aware of both of them watching me, their eyes alien and eager.

“L-Lost…” I stammered, my heart pounding faster as my mind flickered towards the village and the safety of their leering pumpkins. I could make it to the village, I could get away… I had to get away..

“Yes, yes you are…” The kelpie flashed a smile and took a step towards me as I scrambled backwards, the pair of them moving in time like a matched set. Light and dark.

“The village is too far away, my lost one..” The dark stallion rumbled and narrowed his eyes. “You have stumbled in dark places, where there is no hope, no salvation, only an end…”

“But it could be a pleasurable one.” The kelpie licked a fang while I scrambled away, stumbling near the edge of the dish. “It has been too long since I have had deer.”

“Too long indeed….”