The following night, the group gathered on the north shore of Lake Ontario, outside the city limits of Port Hope. The three regular agents were heavily geared, each with shotguns and two side-arms each. Locke and Kate were nowhere to be seen, and the sun was about to set. Abe inwardly worried, hoping and yet dreading that he had pushed him away, after all that they had been through. Hellboy and Liz noticed something up with Abe, but didn't push, keeping an eye on the banks of the river nearby with the support agents that had travelled with them.
They all jumped, guns ready as two figures stepped through the brush behind them shortly after sunset, no footfalls or sounds of rustling foliage betraying their movements. Locke chuckled, raising a finger to his lips, Kate behind him as they stepped into the moonlight.
"Sorry about that. Got a bit peckish on the way." He smirked, earning himself a light punch in the arm from Kate. He moved to look at the riverbank that the group had been watching, frowning. "Kidding, had to meet the twins to get my supplies. Anything yet?"
"No. Not even a ripple." One of the agents remarked, sounding bored. Locke frowned, sniffing the air.
"They're there. Waiting." Locke said, grinning. "Bait. Damn."
"Whoa, no way. I am not sitting to be waterhorse bait." Kate growled, crossing her arms.
"Kelpie, daemonoid, not waterhorse. Nessie is a waterhorse. Besides, we'll be right here. Or are you wimping out on me?" Locke replied, grinning at her.
"No."
"I'll do it." Locke and Kate both looked at Liz, shocked. Red and Abe had similar reactions, both blinking comically as their fellow agents snickered.
"No way. I won't-" Locke straightened and arched back when Liz moved to raise a single finger, flame flicking from the tip.
"My choice. I've got the best chance to hurt them if they get me before you get them. Besides, they go after children don't they?" She said, lowering her hand, the flame dissipating. Hellboy was about to protest, then stopped when Abe raised a hand.
"Point. Lead on then Sparky." Locke grinned toothily, Liz smirking in reply, turning and heading through the bush to the lakeshore they had been monitoring. The agents lined up along the forest edge, watching as Liz walked out into the moonlight, heading for the edge of the lake. Hellboy made move to go after her, Locke stopping him and motioning to the water when he saw figures, equine figures, slowly rise out from the water. Three at first, well away from her, circled around to cut off her exit. Then two more, and more, and again, until at least twenty, each with grayish-green to blue or black hides, manes and tails of long silvery sinewy hair matted with muck, seaweed and reeds, wicked talons instead of hooves and lightly torn fins hiding gills along the sides of their strong necks, stood around Liz. She stood, unconcerned, watching as the last rose from the water. She stood easily twice as tall at the shoulder as any of her kin, had a hide of silver and looked more like a unicorn of myth than one of the demonic Kelpies surrounding her.
"You are brave, child of eve, to come before us so fearlessly. Now that you have seen us, I'm afraid I must not allow you to leave." The Kelpie matriarch said quietly, taking a step onto the land. Her followers padded forward, growling hungrily and peeling back their lips to bare their jagged mismatched teeth, flaring their fins menacingly. Locke kept the others back for a long moment, Hellboy about to strike him for holding him back when Liz was so obviously in danger.
"Wait for it. Let them think they're in control here." Locke ordered, glaring at Hellboy who was nearly about to toss him aside. As he made move to swing his right arm at Locke, Liz summoned up her inner flame, which surrounded her almost happily, engulfing the nearest Kelpies and igniting their slimy coats. Their shrieks sent shivers up even Hellboy's spine, and it took a long minute before anyone made move to assist Liz. Abe was surprised that he was the first to recover from the cries of the dying Kelpies, and opened fire at those closest to him. His training long ago with weapons came in handy, the instinctual shoot once and move on to the next target taking effect as he began mowing down the demonic creatures.
Hellboy was the next to enter the fight, Locke following shortly, grinning as he watched Abe disable and kill the Kelpies that broke away from Liz to engage the rest. The Kelpie Matriarch let out a howl of her own, rearing up and stomping her hoof-like talons. Nothing happened immediately, but Locke and Abe both felt the air growing heavier, a thick fog hanging in the air as they continued. Liz's flame marked her location easily, but the fog blanketed the Kelpies and made ranged weapons near useless. Locke cursed, knowing that the kelpies were a type of water element creature, but didn't know that the elder kelpies could control water to a degree. He stopped, about to use his Vampiric abilities, stopping and violently shaking his head when he felt the blood-haze begin to take him, shaking himself pointedly and instead kneeling down to trace several summoning runes in the sandy earth.
"Lady of the wilds, den mother of the ancient felidae, your cub and his kin are in danger. Come to his aid and eliminate this threat! Ahkia!" Locke chanted, a summoning circle appearing beneath his feet, flaring once before a deep ethereal roar cut through the fog, and a massive sabre-cat appeared, her armour shining off the low light in the area. She bowed to him before turning and easily swatting aside a kelpie that charged forward. Her claws left deep furrows in its oily hide, and easily severed a major artery in its neck, blood spurting out and spreading across the sand like oil.
"Thank you Denmother." Locke said, moving to stand next to the great feline who let out a deep rumbling purr before gathering herself and letting out a challenging roar. This roar seemed to force back the power of the kelpies, the fog moving in a sudden wave to recede to the banks of the water.
Though brief, the fog cover had enabled the kelpie Matriarch to rise out of the water, her massive hoof-like talons digging into the earth, her weight belying her appearance. She wore the appearance of a beautiful mare, but her eyes and teeth hinted at otherwise. She snarled, letting out a fierce and echoing roar of her own, in response to Ahkia. Her herd lay dead, through flame, gunfire, or simply having their skulls and ribs caved in, they had been slain, and she was furious.
"The humans have fouled the ancient waters of my home, have polluted the soil and sky, and yet you side with them!?" She howled, stomping once. Ahkia snarled, arching her back and baring her fangs.
"I speak for my denmother and many like-minded superstitials when I say that Humanity has the right to choose their fate! Certainly, I was human once, but I've lived nearly as long as otherwise. I know your views, but you know of the flaw humanity has! That is in their nature..." Locke pleaded. He knew how rare kelpies and other aquatic 'paranormal' creatures had become, and did not wish to harm the great matriarch standing before him. He cautiously moved to stand closer to her, trustingly, as he spoke, lightly opening his wings. Ahkia growled warningly, not wanting her supposed cub harmed. The kelpie matriarch regarded him calmly, looking from him, to his group, then back to him.
"You speak truth, yet the flaw of humanity is making it harder and harder for our kind to continue to thrive! It is in our nature to devour their hapless members who so willingly come to our shores, is it not?" She narrowed her large eyes, lowering her head to look in Locke's green eyes evenly.
"And that is why we are here, sadly, we cannot condone this. The balance has been shredded, and I and my companions are here to see that the balance is returned."
"Balance!? You speak to me, of balance?" She hissed, throwing her head back and letting out a wailing cry akin to mocking laughter before glaring back at him. "It is your precious humans that upset the balance! And if you will hunt me and my kin, then I shall show you your folly!" She snarled, her glamour spell dissipating, the brilliant shimmering hide and mane giving way to a crown and mane of fins, putrid and rotting slimy hide, a wickedly toothed maw and two sickly green-gold eyes. Locke realized too late that she would launch herself at him, letting out a shriek of his own, sounding akin to an Owl, as the wicked maw closed over one shoulder and wing as she swiftly moved to drown him in the lake.
"Locke! Shit, Abe, get in there!" Hellboy cried, moving to follow and stopping at the water's edge, Ahkia doing much the same, beginning to pace in the shallows. Abe stood, frozen a moment. Had he just lost another who had gotten into his heart?
He shook himself, running forward, discarding his dry land gear and plunging into the lake. He wasn't certain what compelled him, despite his fear and knowledge that the Kelpie had more than likely killed him already with her wicked teeth and talons, but held on to that hope, swimming frantically. It didn't take much, as he could see light from the moon penetrating the deep water that allowed him to discern figures below and ahead of him, fighting for survival. One was the massive Kelpie matriarch, the other looked strangely like Locke, but was much bulkier, had a wickedly toothed maw of its own, and horns adorning its head. Not to mention a tail and the index fingers and thumb on each of its hands were much larger and ended in wickedly long onyx talons. Each bled from many wounds, but Abe could make out the bleeding initial bite-marks on the strangely humanoid creature. The Kelpie growled, then fixed her large eye on Abe, grinned evilly, and whipped around, moving swiftly through the water.
*ABE! Flee* Resounded a voice in his mind, sounding strangely like Locke. The other creature swam after the kelpie, raking its talons through her hide and attempting to latch onto her, only ending up with patches of rotten flesh and water weeds. Abe spun around, attempting to flee, twisting enough to just barely dodge the Kelpies' maw when she caught up to him. His quick thinking and instincts caused him to latch onto one of her fins with a hand, and withdrew his pocket knife with the other. The Kelpie thrashed, pawing desperately to knock Abe off, her fins meant to protect her fragile and sensitive gills.
Meanwhile, the other creature swam up to engage her also, punching the talons of one hand through her ear-fin and pulled, causing her to screech in agony and flare her fins. The other humanoid, grinning, noticed the spastic movements of the gills on the side of her neck, diving down to sink its teeth and talons into the soft and exposed flesh. Abe, sensing this and feeling the agony of the great Kelpie matriarch increase, spun around and stabbed the gills repeatedly, drawing thick greenish-blue oozing blood that hung in globs in the water before sinking slowly. The matriarch, sensing her end to be forthcoming, struggled more strongly, trying to paw at her two attackers with her massive talon-like hooves, wanting to take at least one of them down with her.
Abe, noticing a distinctive lessening of the Kelpies' thrashing, and seeing more and more of the oozing blood in the water, released his hold and swam away from the Kelpie. He watched her eyes slowly dim and her body become limp, sinking to the bottom of the lake. He scanned the area, frowning to himself, where had Locke gone? And what or who was that other creature?
*Abe... I'm here...* Came the voice again, beckoning Abe to turn in the initial direction he had fled from. He could make out the figure he had seen before, large feathered wings, horns, talons and tail, as it slowly faded into Locke's normal appearance. He was limp, slowly sinking toward the bottom of the lake, the water having seeped into his wings and clothes, and he was bleeding quite profusely, making it further difficult for him to attempt to swim.
Abe panicked, quickly darting through the water and grabbing Locke gingerly, swimming straight up to get him air. They breached the surface, Locke weighing heavily upon him, and still limp, unresponsive.
"Stay with me Locke, stay with me." Abe begged, swimming as best he could with Locke only barely holding onto him, his wings weighing them both down.