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“…which is how she freed herself,” Holmes finished. “At that point, she only had to cross a small field before one of the farmers noticed her.”
I shook my head in amazement, ignoring the dwarf siblings moving their play further away from our path. Holmes had been called to the west side of London to search for a young girl kidnapped from her bed. We had been hours away from finding her when she rescued herself and led the locals back to her prison, and by the time we arrived, those same locals had nearly lynched her kidnapper. We had found ourselves with the rare duty of rescuing the criminal.
The blackguard had survived to see trial, thanks to Holmes, but I rather doubted he would see much more than that.
“What do—”
My pocket abruptly warmed to interrupt my question, and I frowned. What could Nicolas want at this time of day?
Nothing. Instead of the dull glow of a new message, my amulet released the warm, rhythmic pulse of a nearby magical—one that tried to hide from me. One hand kept Holmes beside me as I turned a slow circle, attention split between the gem and our surroundings.
“Wat—”
I shushed him. The strengthening pulse suggested an intent-based concealment, which occasionally meant an ambush, and neither of us wanted him to give some malicious magical a loud target. Where was—
There. The pulse became a steady glow when I faced the fountain, and identifying the source removed some of the warning from the alert. Perhaps they did not intend to attack.
Perhaps they needed help. Terrified eyes peeked at me over the rim, then quickly disappeared. A firm nudge put Holmes directly behind me.
“We mean you no harm.”
A quiet snort answered the promise, then sloshing water tracked the being’s progress across the fountain. I barely glimpsed a familiar outline before algae flowed back into place.
“You are a nykur.”
“What is a nicker?”
Holmes’ confusion became a low murmur as movement abruptly stilled, then one small eye peeked at me once more. Nicolas had once confirmed that “nykur” was a local spelling of the nickering sound nykur shared with their land-bound look-alikes, but we could discuss that later. I waved him off as the moving water let me glimpse the flowing mane of a tiny water horse.
“Rather young, too” I continued, “by your size. You’re a long way from the river, though. Are you lost?”
The nykur checked my location, then scurried to the other side of the fountain. Only then did a burst of magic reveal a young human face.
A very young human. If this nykur’s human form looked only two or three, her parent should be somewhere nearby. Several seconds studied me before she braved a question.
“River?” The faintest hint of a burbling stream threaded the word.
“That way,” I replied, pointing south, “but it’s a very long way. The canal is closer. You would have to navigate the locks, though.”
“Lock?”
Probably too young for that, I decided. A glance kept Holmes in place as I gradually moved closer.
“Where is your mama? Papa?”
“Mama river,” the young one answered, her small voice sounding more and more like a tinkling stream with every word. “Went…look. Two-legs. Losted.”
She had discovered her human form, I easily translated, started to explore, and gotten lost. That could explain why she sheltered in a fountain. Nykur could not leave the water for long.
That also meant that her mother probably searched the riverbanks. She would never trace her child this far north, so I could not simply wait with the young one.
“I can help you get to the river,” I offered, “if you will let me. You would have to stay in your human form, but I can get us to the river in a few minutes.”
More like thirty, but any child that young would have no concept of numbers. I would simply have to occupy her for the duration.
She stared at me for several seconds, probably running through any stories her mother had shared about avoiding humans, but the fear of being alone finally outweighed the wariness of a stranger. The contents of my pockets sheltered in Holmes’ pockets before a clean patch of water drenched my jacket, and I wrapped the tiny nykur in the wet fabric while Holmes went to flag down a cab.
Now to find a frantic mother without the mother turning me into supper for touching her child.