Page 26 - THE BOOK 11 12 2020 8 pm FINAL_Neat

just in time for me to see the boy with the rod slip under

the water,
dragged down by the creature we fight.

He doesn’t reappear,
but the kelpie does.

This time it is the red-haired boy who
charges, throwing his stone at the kelpie’s face.

Again, the blow hits.

This time though,
I know that the blood will burn.

I spin and try to run, frantic, but
my legs feel as thick and unwieldy as

blocks of wood,
and nothing seems to work right.

Again, the blood washes over me,

and again my skin is raked
by little claws that burn instead of cut.

The boy with red hair falls
to the ground,

pounded by churning hooves.

This time, though,
I am not scared. I am angry.

I rush at the monster,
leap, and

smash the stone right into

the kelpie’s head.
It sways, and

like a fallen tree, sinks dead into the river.
As it falls, bright ruby drops

spray from its wounds.
I don’t run. I can’t run.

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