Dear Readers,

I know I promised to have this up sooner, but I decided I didn't like the ending, so I changed it three times before I finally gave up and decided it was okay (odd...three is Nikola's favorite number). But, here it is at last, on March 21st (a number which is divisible by three--no, I did not plan any of this). Obviously, this is for the Teslen Monthly Fic Challenge; this month's prompt is "Lucky." I hope you enjoy. There ARE a few things you need to know BEFORE you read the fic, though, so please DON'T SKIP THIS:

1) This story is loosely based on the ancient Celtic legend of "Sinend and the Well of Knowledge." Sinend, a goddess in Celtic mythology, traveled to Connla's Well in Fairyland. There, she hoped to gain from the well's waters inspiration for and knowledge of science and poetry. Unfortunately, she made a mistake in performing the required rituals, and the waters grew angry and drowned her. Her body later washed up on the shore of a river, and this river is now known as the river Shannon, having acquired its name from the ill-fated goddess. (Paraphrased from Celtic Myths and Legends, by T.W. Rolleston).

2) A water sprite, in Celtic and other mythology, is an elemental spirit which takes the form of a woman and lives in the water.

3) "Loch" is a term for "lake," usually used in Scotland, but which also has roots in Old Irish.

4) A kelpie, in Celtic mythology, is a malicious underwater spirit that takes the form of a horse. Usually, stories of kelpies involve one galloping to the surface to lure young children to touch it or ride it. Unfortunately, a kelpie's skin is adhesive, so once the children would touch it, they would essentially be stuck, allowing the kelpie to gallop back underwater with the them so it could devour them later.

5) Ireland in this story refers to the Republic of Ireland, which is its own nation and I am assuming should have its own Sanctuary, as opposed to Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K. and would be affiliated with the U.K. Sanctuary.

6) Cliodna was originally the name of the Irish goddess of the sea.

7) "Faileas" is the Gaelic word for "shadow" or "reflection."

So, again, I hope you enjoy! Thanks for waiting so long.

Best regards from a Bookworm (and obsessive Tesla fan),

Miss Pookamonga ;p


Her Lucky Charm

She peered down into the inky depths of the underground lake, as if by doing so she would somehow be able to discern what lay beneath its glassy onyx surface. The Head of House in Ireland, a woman by the name of Cliodna Kearney, had alerted Helen about the possible appearance of a supposedly extinct species of water sprite in Loch Faileas just a week before, and naturally, Helen had jumped at the chance to investigate the matter for herself. But despite the fact that she and her team had been surveying the area for three days, there had not yet been one single sign of the presence of the elusive creatures.

"Hey, Magnus? Could you quit leaning over the boat like that? It's kind of freaking me out."

Helen snapped up from her position to flash her anxious protégé a reassuring smile. "I do have my diving gear readily available, Will."

A nervous chuckle escaped Will's mouth as he pulled back on the oars. Clio had warned them not to use a motorboat to avoid scaring any of the sprites…and any other undiscovered abnormals, for that matter. "Still…you said yourself that this place is more dangerous than Loch Ness and just as freaky as the Amazon River at night. I mean…who's to say some random abnormal we've never seen before isn't going to suddenly jump out of the water and grab you before you have the chance to react?"

Helen shook her head with a lighthearted laugh. "I can assure you, I've had worse things happen."

"Still…"

"Will, I appreciate your concern. But you really don't have to expend your energy worrying about me. I haven't been in a hunt I can't handle yet."

Will sighed as he heaved backward on the oars again. "All right, but if the Creature from the Black Lagoon comes out to get you, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to rescue you."

Helen smirked. "I'll keep that in mind."

Another eerie silence settled over the two, broken only by the echo of the soft sloshing of the water against the boat's oars. To be perfectly honest, although she was visibly keeping her cool for Will's sake, the lack of noise unnerved Helen to no end—and she had never been too comfortable in underground caverns to begin with. This cavern in particular was perhaps the most frightening of any she had ventured into—even more so than the labyrinth beneath Bhalasaam. The darkness was so thick that not even the light from the lanterns Nikola had specially designed for the expedition could each illuminate anything beyond a five-foot radius. So they were, in essence, traveling blind. It was as if the darkness was an entity in itself, a formless black creature slowly creeping towards its helpless prey, awaiting the perfect moment to engulf its prize catch and ensnare it in an inescapable prison of eternal night. Apprehension, fear of the unknown and unseen, hovered in the frigid air with the load of deadweight, threatening to crush anything in its presence. Helen had experienced the feeling far too often, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Doc?"

The static scratch of her walkie startled Helen out of her unpleasant thoughts. "Henry? Is that you?" she answered, lifting the device to her mouth.

"Yeah. Where are you?"

Helen paused a moment. "We're probably close by; I think I can hear your echo. If you dim your light, can you see ours at all?"

There were some muffled noises on the other end that Helen assumed were coming from Henry fiddling with his lantern before the answer finally came. "Yeah. Okay, we're coming over."

"Got it."

A wave of relief swept over Helen a few minutes later when the other boat finally pulled alongside hers. In this place that could have easily been mistaken for the pit of Hell itself, it was a great comfort to be as close to as many people as possible.

"Well?"

Kate shook her head, her hair sprinkling a few water droplets onto her wetsuit. "Magneto and I took a dive a bit earlier, but we didn't see anything. Those things are pretty damn good at hiding, if they're really even still here."

At the mention of her team's "term of endearment," as they called it, for Nikola, Helen lifted her eyes to meet those of the brilliant scientist. Even in the dim light she could detect the sense of defeat weighing upon his damp face. She knew that he was mentally blaming himself for their current situation—if only he hadn't "allowed" himself to be de-vamped in that apartment all those months ago, then he would still have his superhuman vision and they might have caught something by now. Instinctively, Helen shot him a tiny smile of sympathy before the look vanished from his face completely, masked once again by that characteristic smirk.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Helen," he said smoothly, flashing his teeth for effect. "Seeing as it's our third day at this attempt, I predict we'll find something soon enough. Three is my lucky number you know." He winked.

They all had to laugh at that. If anyone could lighten the mood in a place that seemed opposed to the existence of light itself, it would be Nikola. Once again, Helen was secretly glad she had asked him to come along, despite the risks the mission posed because of his…well, she didn't want to think about that right now.

"It's a good thing we brought you along then," Helen teased.

"Yeah. Like our own personal good luck charm," added Kate with a smirk of her own.

At that, Nikola's face suddenly contorted into a frown. "I may bring about good fortune more often than not, but I refuse to be referred to as a petty trinket," he snapped angrily.

"You might as well be," Kate continued, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "I mean, magnets are the kind of thing sold in souvenir shops—"

Nikola shot her an icy glare.

"All right, all right," Helen interrupted, unable to keep the grin from spreading across her face. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Henry covering his mouth to stifle a laugh. "Back to business. We've been at it for quite a while—as much as I hate to stop, we should probably head out for today."

After a chorus of nods and mumbles of agreement, the group set off towards the shore—the location of which was only discernable through the use of Nikola, who had thus far mastered his abilities to the point of becoming somewhat of a human compass. He guided them east until they approached the rocky bank which Helen had cleverly marked with yet another one of his lanterns to remember it by.

They had almost finished packing up their various supplies when a sudden splash echoed across the darkened walls of the cavern, startling the team into momentary silence.

"What was that?" asked Henry finally, his voice quavering just the slightest bit. Despite being a werewolf, he wasn't particularly fond of caves either.

"I'm not sure," Helen answered quietly, a flicker of hope suddenly igniting in her chest. Nikola's earlier jest all of a sudden transformed into a tangible reality in her mind, and picking up one of the lanterns in her hand, she slowly began drifting towards the source of the noise.

"Helen," Nikola warned loudly, his stern voice bouncing menacingly off the rocks. He knew that expression all too well. The prior fear had almost completely dissipated, having been replaced by that look of curiosity and rapture at the possibility of scientific discovery.

She didn't even pause to look back at him. "I'm just going to check…" Helen stretched out her arm, allowing the lantern beam to spread out over the water as her feet reached the shoreline.

Splash.

Helen whipped her head to the right, just in time to catch a glimpse of something disturbing the water's surface before disappearing beneath the glassy sheet of night once more. At that, she spun around and made a dash for her pack and hurriedly began digging out her diving gear.

"You're not seriously going—"

"Will, this might be the only chance we've got," Helen interrupted, hastily pulling on her flippers. "They hardly ever break the surface." She was beaming now. It was almost as if the stifling darkness that had been plaguing her emotions earlier now no longer existed.

"Well, you are not going into that godforsaken lake alone," Nikola snapped.

"Of course not—you're coming with me." She practically thrust Nikola's gear, which she had somehow already retrieved from his own pack, into his unsuspecting arms.

"What about us?" Kate asked, her own voice a mixture of eagerness and apprehension.

"I hate to brag, but Nikola's the best swimmer out of all of us—" here he smirked in spite of the urgency of the situation, earning a glare from Helen, "—you three stay here while we take a look. If anything goes wrong, get a hold of Clio right away."

"Gotcha," replied Henry with a nod. He turned to Kate. "Don't worry. You'll get to see it once they get it out."

"If they do," Kate half-muttered, a bit disappointed that she wasn't going along for the hunt.

Meanwhile, Helen was eagerly making her way into the water, with Nikola in tow. She was buzzing with anticipation, her nerves firing and a heat of thrill flaring up in her body despite the almost arctic chill of the surrounding lake. She had been dying for this moment for what had seemed like ages—it wasn't every day she got the chance to possibly see a species that had long been thought to be extinct, and every minute of the week she had spent waiting to finally capture this rare type of water sprite had been one of impatient agony. Forgetting her uneasiness with the dark, dead silence of her surroundings, Helen didn't waste a moment to plunge beneath the black surface into the lake's shadowy depths, beginning at once to search fervently for the creature.

Helen was vaguely aware of the muffled splash of Nikola submerging behind her, and of the beam of his headlight glinting off the silver tint of her oxygen tank, but she hardly paid attention. Her entire self was caught in the spell of exploration, her mind focused only on her pursuit. As the bitingly cold water slowly swallowed her up in its blackened cloud, so too did the thrill of the chase swallow Helen's spirit, drawing her further into its depths. She began to paddle faster, descending farther into the watery night, scouring the empty darkness for any sign of her prize abnormal.

Nothing.

Nothing but tiny particles of sediment drifting past the beam of her headlight like little white stars glowing in the sable gloom of the lake's deadened waters.

Frustration began mounting in her gut, and, clenching her teeth, Helen pressed on with more urgency, ignoring the sharp tingling of her frigid skin and the growing weariness of her tightened muscles. After a while of swimming almost aimlessly, she forgot that Nikola was even behind her, and impatience drove her forward with abandon, leading her deeper, deeper down into the aquatic abyss.

She had no sense of how long she had been underwater. Nothing existed now except the possible presence of the sprite and her pursuit of it. Time was not of the essence. The cold did not matter. Nor did the darkness, nor did the foreboding silence, nor did the isolation. She swam on without realizing how far or how deep she was venturing, the only thoughts in her mind being of the glory of the moment in which she would finally come face-to-face with this long sought-after creature.

And then, she saw it.

A tiny, almost indistinguishable flicker of movement a few feet in front of her.

Without thinking, Helen immediately surged forward, pushing against the water with all the strength and speed she could muster. There it was again, to the left of her. Then the right. Then the left again. Helen zigzagged in rhythm with the creature, all the while kicking relentlessly at the water to propel herself forward. Closer, she was definitely closer. She could barely make out a blurred outline in the farthest reaches of her light beam now. The outline grew larger and larger as she zipped even nearer to it. It began to slow down. She slowed so as not to overtake it and frighten it away. It stilled. She kicked herself forward even more slowly, the waters once again falling deathly silent. Forward, inching even closer—there, she was almost alongside it—

And then her light went out.

In a split second Helen was plunged into total darkness. A flurry of red, yellow, and orange impressions floated across her vision as her eyes scrambled to adjust to the sudden lack of light. And then, everything was black. There was literally nothing. Nothing but a dimensionless, shapeless, endless void of black enveloping her, closing in on her slowly, pressing against her, drowning her, crushing her, swallowing her in a beastly cloud of pure darkness. Helen suddenly became aware of that crippling fear once again, and as the darkness flooded in around her, the fear wound itself taut around her chest, clenching its tendrils tightly and squeezing the air out of her lungs. And the silence, broken only by the hammering of her heart and the now short breaths of oxygen, seeped into her pores, causing a shiver of terror to ripple through her suddenly frozen body. For the first time since she had taken the dive, Helen was aware of her isolation, and that had completely paralyzed her. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move, she couldn't do anything. She was all alone, without any light, and with barely enough air.

A small wave of relief washed over her, however, when she suddenly spied Nikola's headlight emerging as a white blur in the distance. But the moment was short-lived, and the realization of just how far away the light was invited the fear and terror to close back around her. Had she really swum that far away from him? Helen silently cursed herself for allowing herself to become so utterly distracted by her pursuit of the sprite that she had temporarily disregarded her own safety. What had come over her?

And then, she saw it again.

Despite the now complete darkness, save for Nikola's light, Helen detected the sudden flash of movement beside her. And once again, she cast her fears and better judgment aside, entirely overcome by that spell, that thrill, that insatiable desire to fulfill her mission. She lunged forward.

Her fingers came in contact with something.

They were gloved, but nevertheless she could feel something smooth, like the skin of a dolphin or whale, beneath her fingertips. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart jumped up as well, lodging itself somewhere nearby. She was touching it. Touching this creature that was supposed to have long ago vanished from the earth. Here it was, the moment of glory she had been aching to experience.

The creature moved.

Helen was surprised when she found herself suddenly being dragged forward along with the abnormal before it drew to a stop again. She made a move to draw her hand away—

—but suddenly found, to her horror, that it was stuck.

And in that single moment, the terrifying realization struck her like a blow to the head.

This wasn't a sprite at all.

Too late, her eyes found the faded outline of a long, angular head in front of her, and it turned slowly to reveal a vicious red eye gleaming devilishly at her through the pervading darkness. And the body—it was a form not much unlike that of a horse—

The kelpie dove.

Helen was helpless as the equine-like beast plunged downward, mercilessly dragging her in its wake. In a matter of seconds, it had accelerated so quickly that the force of the water striking upward at her face knocked her mouthpiece ajar, cutting her off from her air supply. Helen opened and closed her mouth in a panic, attempting to grab at the mouthpiece with her teeth, but the kelpie began to dive even faster, causing the water to whip the mouthpiece even farther away. Her lungs clenched in desperate need of air, and Helen frantically kicked and writhed against the sharp stinging of the frigid water lashing at her exhausted body. She couldn't last much longer. The pressure of the water was building, crushing her bones inward; she couldn't hold her breath any longer; her eyes were suddenly drooping; her muscles were suddenly becoming heavier and heavier; everything was suddenly swaying back and forth, back and forth, more slowly and even more slowly; there were strange, colorful things swimming and swirling in circles just inches from her face…

And then, she felt a sharp jerk backward and she was being lifted up, up towards a strangely familiar light…

A blast of cold air slammed into her face and she vaguely felt her chest heave and her throat cough violently. Why were there white spots dancing around in the air? Why was it so hard for her to keep her eyes open? She was so tired, so very tired…all she wanted to do was curl up and close her eyes and drift into a peaceful sleep…

"HELEN!" A man's voice screamed her name, but it sounded like a distant echo. Why was he so far away? She could feel someone's arm wrapped around her, pulling her tightly to a body, but why did his voice sound so detached? Where was he? And who was he? She could have sworn she recognized that voice…

"DAMN IT, HELEN, LISTEN TO ME! WAKE UP!"

She hit something hard, but she was so exhausted that she didn't have the strength to even grimace in pain. She felt her upper body sway backward, onto something not as hard…but she couldn't figure out what it was. Then there were faces. Odd blurs, four of them, hovering over her, and they seemed to all be screaming out her name. And now she was being shaken. Something was pushing at her chest. It hurt so much—why were they doing this to her? What did they want? Why did they keep screaming her name like that? She was so confused…she just wanted to sleep…

"Dear GOD—HELEN, PLEASE—" It was that man. He was leaning over her, screaming the loudest of them all, although his voice still sounded like a muffled echo. He was swearing in another language, one that sounded so familiar but one she couldn't quite remember. His hands were pressing down on her chest. Then his mouth was on hers, breathing air into her throat …

And she suddenly remembered.

Rome. "Kiss me and I'll save your life…"

Nikola.

Helen's chest suddenly heaved once again, and she coughed once more, hacking and spewing water out of her mouth until the much needed air could sweep into her lungs. Nikola. Nikola had saved her…

And then he was pulling her upward, up against his chest. Cradling her head, rocking her back and forth and…sobbing? Uttering in that strange language again, murmuring "thank God, thank God, thank God," like it was his mantra. She could hear his heart pounding against his ribcage, pounding so hard that she was afraid it would burst through his skin. His arms were locked around her, crushing her to him.

"Ni…Nik…" She tried to say his name. But for some reason her lips wouldn't let her.

He cupped her face in his hands and pulled her head away from his chest. Even in her blurred vision she could see his eyes. She had never seen them look like that before. There was no twinkle, no spark—just fear, terror, horror—it was all over his face but deepest in his eyes, and it frightened her so much that she let out a whimper and slumped against him again, tears stinging her own eyes.

"Helen!" She heard him call again, but this time his voice was even more distant than before. She could hardly feel the shaking now. Everything was numb. She was so tired…

And then everything went black.

Helen blinked.

She opened her eyes to find herself lying on a bed in an infirmary of some sort, with about five thick blankets draped overtop her body. The room was lit, but only by a dim lamp somewhere nearby. She guessed then, that it must be evening, wherever she was. How had she gotten here anyway? And what on earth had happened to her? Her head felt incredibly heavy…

Then it all came flooding back.

The search for the sprites. The dive. The kelpie. Drowning … Nikola saving her life.

At the memory of him, Helen suddenly jumped up in bed, although she couldn't quite figure out why. But before she could move any farther, a strong hand landed on her shoulder and gently pushed her back onto her pillow.

"Now, now, we don't want you doin' that," a gentle, accented voice cooed. Helen turned her head and found herself face-to-face with a smiling Clio Kearney.

"Clio!"

The fellow scientist and doctor let out a soft chuckle. "Good mornin', Sleepin' Beauty," she joked, her grey-green eyes twinkling beneath a mop of bright red curls.

Helen could only survey the room dazedly once again before fully coming to her senses. "Dear God…"

Clio laughed again. "How're you feelin'?"

Helen took a moment to stretch and flex her joints, checking to see if she could feel them all. Surprisingly, although her muscles felt like lead, she couldn't sense any pain bothering her.

"Seems like I'm in working order, doctor." She grinned up at her friend.

"Good, good," Clio replied with another bright smile, patting Helen gently on the shoulder. "I expected as much, seein' as you've had three whole days to rest up."

At that, Helen's jaw dropped and her eyes widened considerably. "Three—"

Clio chortled in amusement at the expression on Helen's face. "Oh, yes, darlin', it's been that long. Have to admit I was a bit jealous—it's been years since I got sleep as good as that."

Helen was still reeling from the news. She had been unconscious for three days? Just from that diving mishap? "And I've been here all this time?"

Clio nodded, still grinning. "Yes, you have. That obnoxious team of yours—I swear, I've never heard people whine and wail so much in my life—got you out of that cave in record time and my people picked you all up and brought you back here. Ever since, you've been out cold, layin' in here." She paused for a moment before adding, with nod towards the opposite side of the bed, "Oh, and so has he. Been sittin' in that chair for three days straight."

Helen averted her eyes from Clio's face and gasped rather loudly when they met the sight of a slumbering Nikola, slumped against a chair with his neck hanging awkwardly to the side.

"Nikola…" she breathed in shock. She had never seen him like that before.

"Been a right bit of a nuisance, that one has," Clio continued, but in a softer tone, as if sensing Helen's change of emotion. "The poor man planted himself in that chair and refused to leave. Said he wasn't goin' anywhere until you woke up. We tried to get him to eat and sleep in a proper bed, but he wouldn't have any of it. Had to bring him his meals and watch him like a hawk to make sure he ate everythin', and then after he fell asleep, somebody always had to come in and give him a blanket or some pillows to make him more comfortable, because he wouldn't leave to even get those. He's a dedicated one, that man. Wish I was as lucky to have one like him."

Helen just stared in awe at the exhausted, haggard, and disheveled form of the man she knew so well, her mind mulling over Clio's words. Three days. Nikola Tesla had been by her side for three whole days, and hadn't left, neglecting his own well-being to keep constant watch over her. First, he had risked his own life to save hers…and now this? A lump began forming in Helen's throat, and she felt hot tears welling up in her eyes. He had put everything on the line for her, and now here he still was, although he had finally been drained of all his strength. And he wouldn't have needed to do any of this if she hadn't been so reckless…

A pang of guilt struck her heart, and she reached out a hand to gently clasp one of his in an attempt to comfort him in his sleep. His skin was like ice, deathly cold, and she could feel him shivering. "Oh, Nikola…"

At the light touch of her and the soft sound of her voice, Nikola suddenly stirred and opened his eyes, lifting his head as he did so. For a moment he merely stared blankly at Helen's face, as if not believing in the reality of the sight before him. Then, when it seemed he was finally convinced that she was truly awake, he groggily blinked those bright blue eyes, laced with surprise and concern, and croaked in a voice that was barely audible, "Helen…"

Helen's throat surged at the weariness in his voice, and against her control, the tears began trickling down her cheeks. He sounded so weak…

"Well, I'll leave you two then," Clio murmured to the distracted pair with a knowing smile, before exiting the infirmary. Entirely lost in each other's gaze, neither Helen nor Nikola seemed to notice her sudden absence.

"You're awake." The relief that flooded into his eyes was unmistakable.

"Yes, yes I am," Helen sniffed at his suddenly vulnerable expression, lifting a hand to cradle his sunken cheek. "Thanks to you."

A tiny grin suddenly curled at the edges of his lips. "I told you three was my lucky number."

Helen choked out a half-sob, half-laugh. "Oh, Nikola…" After all he'd put himself through, the one thing he could think to say had to be some kind of cheeky joke.

His grin widened a bit more, before his face suddenly grew serious. Helen frowned, worried at the abrupt change of emotion. "Nikola?"

He didn't say anything for a moment—he only stared intently into her eyes, furrowing his brow as if concentrating on something important. Then, after what seemed like a long time, he finally spoke.

"Don't make me do that again." His voice was quiet, but the firmness was still there, lying beneath his whisper.

Helen gulped back more tears. "I promise I'll try," she whispered back, her gaze softening.

Nikola only nodded, then closed his eyes leaned forward so their foreheads could touch.

And it was in that moment that Helen realized something.

He really was her lucky charm after all.

FINIS