by Janis Mackay
The whirr turned to a hiss. He yelled out. He fell to the ground.
Aquella gasped and stumbled back. The scary teenager was lying in front of her, face down in the sand, wriggling from side to side and yelling, with what looked like a fishing line wrapped around his ankles.
Quick. Behind the gorse bush. Hurry.
Aquella glanced up at the large gorse bush that grew by the beach path. Astounded, she saw the yellow bush shake. With pounding heart and aching legs she fled to the shaking bush. As soon as she was there she dived into the gap Fin had made.
I can’t – believe – you actually did – that. Even in selkie-speech she sounded exhausted.
Lucky for you Dad’s teaching me how to cast a fishing line. Fin grinned and with a sharp stone cut the line. Shame is, I’ve lost Dad’s best weight. Fin picked up the rod.
The haar was so thick now that the teenager tangled in the line was swallowed up in a white cloud. Do you think he was looking for the kist in the cave?
No, he’s on the hunt for aliens. He wants to write a story, or something like that. He took my photo!
Come on – before he untangles himself. Let’s get home.
As they ran Aquella, between pants and gasps, told Magnus Fin how the teenager had jeered and called her fish girl. Fin’s face clouded with worry. “He’s some kind of a spy,” Aquella went on. “He might be the pa-pizza man Tarkin was talking about!”
They had reached the garden when Aquella pulled Fin towards her. “Hey, Fin, that scary teenager made me forget; Lorelie came to see me!”
“Who’s Lorelie?”
“She was my good friend when I lived under the sea. She taught me many things. She told me how troubled Neptune is, how strange it is under the water. They’re really worried.”
Fin twisted his moon-stone around his neck. “Did he see her? The stranger on the beach – did he see Lorelie?”
Aquella shrugged. “I don’t know. But listen to me, Fin. Lorelie and I were held prisoner together in the false king’s palace. We were the monster’s favourite singers. For hours and hours we had to sing – ridiculous songs about how he would be king of the land. During those long hours we saw many things. Aquella switched to selkie-speech. We saw how the great white shark, the monster’s bodyguard, kept a set of keys and never let them out of his sight. Perhaps the key to the Seudan was among them; he boasted that it was. Perhaps it’s in the palace by his body.
The great white shark? Fin lingered at the front door. He remembered the awful shark and how, as soon as its master was blinded and writhing in agony, it had made a desperate dive to try and claim stolen treasure for itself. Magnus Fin remembered seeing the shark being crushed in the great banqueting hall.
So that’s where the key was: rusting away beside the rotten carcass of the great white shark amongst the ruins of the monster’s palace, deep at the bottom of the sea.
She also said she had good news. Aquella pushed open the cottage door, and shrugged. But I don’t know what it is.
Chapter 19
Back in the Rugged Coast, Billy made a few notes:
Fish girl woddels and was born on beech. Spoke to the sea. Magic powers – out of the air she lassooed me. Billy Mole is close to uncovering the biggest secret ever – alien fish folk are alive and capabel of gr8 evil, hurting innosent folk like me. Mrs Anderson is weird too. And there’s weird stuff on the beach. They’re all weird.
Billy was propped up on his bed with his sore ankle resting on a pillow. He had a bruise on his elbow, a bruise on his knee and a bruise on his hip. He chewed the end of his pen then made a start on his article.
In the far north are aliens discovered by journalist Billy Mole. They go about in disgise as humans, but I wasn’t fooled. They got funny webbed feet and glinty evil eyes and they can fool you cos they are kinda pretty. But they r a danger 2 humans. They tried 2 get me drowned and bound me with a fishing line. They no there secret is out – exposed by Billy Mole. And Billy Mole says get back 2 the sea where they came from in the first place and quit pretending that they’re “land people”.
Billy Mole sat back, pleased with himself. What a great story. The spell checker would sort out any mistakes. Billy read it over a few times then frowned. The big man would want a bit more than this. Apart from a few words from the fish girl Billy didn’t exactly have the exclusive interview yet. He stretched down to rub his sore ankle and his knee and his hip and his elbow. If he was honest he didn’t really want to come face to face with the fish girl again. How she had managed to trap him like that he didn’t know. She probably had alien powers!
But Magnus Fin – now that’s who he wanted to interview. He wanted a photo of the famous eyes. They’d look good in the magazine. And it would be handy to see the parents. Likely they’d be weird too.
Billy looked at his watch. It was six o’clock. He peered out of the window. It wasn’t raining. He would saunter down to the house Mrs Anderson had pointed out. With a bit of luck and a bit of cunning, he’d scoop that exclusive interview, add it to his story, email it down to the big man then hop on the next train south.
Billy paced up and down the bedroom, trying to cook up a cunning story for the aliens down by the sea. When an idea finally came to him he tried it out on the mirror. “Good evening,” he said in his poshest voice, “you are so not going to believe this but, yes, your address was picked in a prize draw. You and your family are the winners of an all-expenses-paid holiday in sunny Spain. Congratulations! I simply need a few details…”
Billy grinned at the mirror. He turned up his collar, squared his shoulders and narrowed his eyes. Then he rubbed his thumb against his fingers. “The big time’s coming, Billy boy,” he crooned, strutting out of the room and through the small house. Then Billy Mole was off, scurrying through the village and down to the sea, his cunning story perfecting itself in his mind.
Barbara’s face lit up. She flung her hands to her cheeks. “Really? Oh, I don’t believe it! A holiday? Oh, how fantastic. How wonderful!”
Billy Mole smiled his sickliest smile. His cunning plan was working a treat. This woman, though, looked perfectly normal – pretty even. Not like a fish at all. Billy glanced over her shoulder. Not seeing anyone around, he carried on with his prepared speech.
“And so, if I could just step inside for a moment or two and take some details, then that dream holiday is yours.”
Aquella was out at her band practice. Magnus Fin was upstairs in his room, looking through his treasures. When he heard the voice downstairs he froze. Quickly he got down on his hands and knees and pressed his ear to the floor, the jagged carpet grazing his cheek. “Magnus Fin,” he heard, “your son – I’ll need a few words with him. You are going to love sunny Spain. So, where is he – your son?”
Fin couldn’t believe it. What a cheek! How dare the snooping teenager come to his house? Tarkin had been right about paparazzi. Magnus Fin had to get away. He couldn’t risk being caught, for the sake of all the selkies. They’d be captured – put on display – a laughing stock! And to Fin’s disbelief his mum seemed to be falling right into the trap.
The mumbling voice went on, “And of course you’ll get spending money, yeah, shed loads of it.”
“Oh! My husband will be so delighted. He’s up helping with the lambs at the moment. He works so hard, but as soon as he gets in I’ll tell him. I can’t wait. Who would ever guess we would win something? We, of all people. Oh dear, I feel like crying!”
“Yeah, anyway, back to Magnus Fin. Could you go and get him? Bet he’s never been abroad before.”
“Oh, you’re right there, poor laddie. He’s hardly been anywhere. No, it hasn’t been easy for him. Just wait and I’ll call him. Oh goodness, he’ll be thrilled.”
From upstairs Magnus Fin heard his mother’s footsteps patter across the living-room floor and hurry down the hallway. He heard her shout up the stairs, “Magnus! Come on down. Oh son, quick, you are not going to believe this!”
He shot a glance at his bedroom window. Wi
thout a sound he got to his feet and tiptoed over to it. Willing the window not to squeak he pushed it open. A rush of cool air hit him. He gulped. He had never tried jumping from his window before. It was high up. He clambered onto the stool beside the window.
“Magnus? Come on down.”
The hum of the sea reached Magnus Fin’s ears. He grabbed the side of the window and stepped onto the windowsill. He’d have to act fast. His stomach churned.
“Are you there, son?”
Fin’s mind raced. He would have to jump, then run to the sea, then warn the selkies. They were being hounded, they really were, and they had to be careful. They would have to flee to Sule Skerrie. They couldn’t come ashore any more and leave their seal skins lying about. They’d be in the newspapers, then bus loads of tourists would come hoping to catch a glimpse of them. The magic would be ruined.
Trembling and stooping, Fin manoeuvred himself onto the outside ledge. Once he was out there he stood tall and looked down. He felt sick. Better not look down. He inched along the ledge. He heard his mother coming up the stairs. There was nothing else for it. He had to jump. If he bent his knees and rolled the instant he hit the ground he’d be OK. He hoped so.
The bedroom door swung open. His mother was in his room. “Magnus?”
Sweat ran into his eyes. His pressed the palms of his hands back against the window pane. The glass felt cold and damp. His heart thumped.
“Magnus Fin? Are you in here?”
He jumped. He felt a rush of air past his ears. He felt the whack as his moon-stone hit under his chin. He landed on the grass with a thud, instantly letting his knees collapse. He curled into a ball and rolled over. For a second he lay on the ground, stunned with the shock to his body.
In the house he heard a chair being scraped over the floor, then someone thumping on the living-room window.
“Oi!”
Fin staggered to his feet and ran.
A moment later Barbara appeared back in the living room, shrugging and shaking her head. “He’s not there. Perhaps this is his basketball night. I can’t remember. I’m so sorry. You’ve set my mind in a whirl with this holiday news. I still can’t believe it!”
Billy Mole tried not to look in a desperate hurry. He side-stepped to the door. “No probs, I’ll come back when your husband’s home. I’ll need his signature. Thanks anyway. See you later. Bye.”
Barbara was still shaking her head when Billy Mole hurried out of the house, ran down the garden and raced off along the beach path.
Magnus Fin had never run so fast. He crashed over bracken and sped along the beach path. Thorns caught at his jeans. Sticky willies clung to him. A pheasant squawked and flew up in his face. Fin glanced back over his shoulder. Was the stranger following him? He couldn’t see him, but could hear the distant cries of, “Oi! Fish boy!”
Panting hard Magnus Fin reached the skerries and leapt from rock to rock. He heard footsteps snap behind him. “Oi, you! Come ’ere!” Fin saw a white flash of light. Then another. The stranger was taking photographs.
Fin ran on, making for the cave. He kicked off his shoes as he ran. Thoughts clawed at his brain. What if this stranger told their story? What if television cameras came up here? Then what? Would the selkies be sold off? Or gaped at in a zoo? Fin had to warn them. The stranger may have caught Aquella, but he wasn’t going to catch Magnus Fin.
By this time he was nearly at the cave. He knew what he needed to do when he got there, and he grasped his moon-stone for the courage to do it.
Magnus Fin disappeared into the darkness of the cave. Quickly he checked on the box, hidden under a tangle of dried seaweed. It was still there, safe from prying eyes. Then he tugged his red hoodie over his head, pulled off his jeans and scaled the rock, his strong webbed feet finding footholds. In moments he was at the top and felt on the ledge for his seal skin. His hand fell upon the warm fur. This soft fur felt like a part of him. It was – it was his seal skin. The bat that had been using it as a bed flew off. Fin shook out his seal skin, shimmied down to the sandy floor then gazed at the black pelt.
Outside he could hear the stranger stumbling over the rocks. “Do it, Fin,” he coaxed himself. “Step into in and let the change happen. There’s no time to lose. Quick!” And he did.
“Just you wait, fish boy. I’m going to get your weird story. What a scoop! I didn’t come a thousand miles for nothing you know!”
Magnus Fin hauled himself over the smooth pebbles. They shifted and crunched down under his strong seal body. With his front flippers he pushed himself forward. He was almost at the shore. Fin turned his seal face to see the stranger stumble on the beach. He could see him properly now. He only looked about sixteen and, Fin was sure by the way the boy staggered over the stones, he had never been on a beach before.
With one almighty push Magnus Fin slipped into the North Sea, flipped back his tail fins and swam away. While back on the beach, at the mouth of the cave, Billy Mole shouted into the gaping darkness, “Hey, fish boy! I know you’re in there! Come on out and talk to me. The secret’s out.”
Of course, Magnus Fin wasn’t in there, but on the sandy floor of the cave his clothes were.
“You can’t fool me.” Billy Mole took a hesitant step into the cave. “It’s only an interview I’m after. Like, what’s the fuss? Don’t you get it? You’re gonna be a celebrity!” He took another step. It smelt damp. He didn’t like it. He forced himself to take one more step, stood on a shell, smashed it and at the same time a bat swooped down and brushed his face. Billy screamed and staggered back. “Hey, no tricks, fish boy.” Billy was back at the mouth of the cave. “I’ll wait here.” Billy sat on a stone and waited. He amused himself by placing an empty can on a rock and trying to hit it. Still Magnus Fin didn’t appear.
Only after Billy Mole grew bored with hitting the can and sitting on the stone did he force himself to take another look inside the cave. That’s when he found the red hoodie and the jeans. The boy he’d been chasing had been wearing a red hoodie and jeans. Billy kicked the wall of the cave. He peered out to sea and finally had to admit to himself that Magnus Fin had given him the slip.
“So, fish boy went for a swim, did he?” Billy scratched his head and shuddered at the thought of ice-cold water. There was no way Billy Mole was going to dive into that shark-infested ocean and get mauled to death. “I’ll wait right here,” he yelled to the sea ahead of him. “Cos Billy Mole’s gonna get you, fish boy! One way or the other, Billy Mole’s gonna get your secret! Then Billy Mole here’s gonna tell the world!”
Chapter 20
It took Magnus Fin a while to feel comfortable. He had only worn his seal skin once before – when he went all the way to Sule Skerrie with medicine for Miranda last autumn. It hadn’t been easy to take the seal skin off afterwards. He thought he’d never find his way back to being a boy. Because of that he’d been scared to put his seal skin on again, and for months it lay gathering dust in the cave.
Fin swam on into the deep water. Miranda was right; the sea felt lost. At times deep currents dragged him then pushed him on. Even the fish that glided by seemed confused. Magnus Fin turned and twisted. He flipped a somersault, trying to shake off the gloomy mood of the sea. A salmon darted past. In a flash Fin bared his sharp teeth, flicked his powerful tail fins and was after it.
The salmon was fast, but Magnus Fin was faster. He closed his jaws over the fish, snapped down and crunched into the bones. He chewed and swallowed, tossing away the bony skeleton. Magnus Fin felt the salty goodness of the meat flood his body. He was animal – alert, strong and brave.
Fin rose to the surface and lifted his black shiny head from the water. He focused on the distant shore where, sitting on a rock, flinging stones, was the scary teenager. Except he didn’t look so scary any more. In fact, now that Magnus Fin was a seal, the teenager didn’t look scary at all. Fin heard him yell, “Come on out and talk to me, fish boy! I’m waiting.”
Fin lowered his head, turned and plunged down through the
water. Wait as long as you like, thought Fin, twisting in and out between thick arms of seaweed, fish boy isn’t there!
The sight of sea anemones, luminescent jellyfish with tentacles as long as spaghetti, side-scuttling crabs and shoals of needle-like fish mesmerised Magnus Fin. He could gaze at them for ever, and for a while he did, until he remembered why he had risked wearing his seal skin. The selkie secret! Suddenly he was filled with a sense of urgency. He had to protect it! He had to warn his selkie family not to come to the beach. The paparazzi were after them!
He circled slowly, trying to sense the whereabouts of the selkies. He lifted his nose up then down, right then left. The small band of selkies, led by his grandmother Miranda, lived in this very bay in the far north of Scotland. This had been their home for generations, but perhaps not for much longer if the teenager got his way. The sea boomed. Huge kelp fronds swayed beneath him. They tickled his belly as he nosed forwards, exploring the world with his whiskers. Below him, a blue lobster scuttled under a rock. Magnus Fin dipped downwards, swishing his tail fins back and forth. The deep ocean was a hazy blur of dark shapes and shadows. He swam on until he thought he could hear a creature singing. Fin followed the muffled sound. As he glided onwards the sound grew louder. His selkie family were close, for only a selkie could sing like that.
Deeper he swam, through dark kelp forests and over sprawling mossy boulders, until he came to a cavern pitted with barnacles. The song was loud and clear now. If this scary teenager succeeded in telling the world the secret of the selkies then there would be no more songs like this. Weighed down by an awful sadness Fin flicked his hind fins from side to side, splaying his flippers to slow down.
As he reached the inner chamber of the cavern Fin paused. At the same moment the singing came to an end and everything was silent, even the booming of the distant waves against the rocks grew quiet. Then splashing yelps and claps erupted. Quickly now Fin swam on, pushing his nose through a swirling curtain of seaweed. He blinked. His whiskers brushed up against decorations of shells and sea grass. In front of him a party of seals tumbled and twisted. The seals, Fin realised, were dancing! He had swum right into a selkie party!