"They created the Wardens to do the job they're supposed to do themselves, didn't they?" Amber asked.
One glance over at her friend showed just how uncomfortable she was. She was nestled into Izban's shoulder, his arm wrapped tightly around her. But it was her tail that gave everything away. It was curled up in Amber's lap, switching slightly as she stroked it.
No. Amber was particularly uncomfortable with what was happening.
Macey didn't blame her. She couldn't say she was a fan of how complicated things had become. And she'd be even less so if she'd been kidnapped from school, locked up, and then instantly thrown into this situation, like Amber had. In fact, they all deserved a decent rest when all of this was over.
"I think so," Luch responded. "But I'm not sure. For the first hundred years or so, I did exactly what I was told. And then something changed. I'm still not sure what it was, but I think someone else tried to tamper with the Staran, and I got caught out. It sucked, but there was very little I could do. It was shortly after that when the gods decided I wasn't enough. They created the Seven Wardens and tasked me to watch over them."
"But?" Macey prompted. She could hear that it existed just from the mouse's tone. She just hoped Luch would actually tell them what she meant, and not just keep them in the dark like she had been.
"I'm not sure. That first set of Wardens did everything they were supposed to do, when they were supposed to do it. But something didn't quite work out. The same happened for the second set, and the third..." she trailed off, then shrugged. "You get the picture."
"Basically, you're saying that even when the Wardens know what to do, it ends up going wrong?" Jared asked.
"Not wrong, wrong. What they do works, otherwise the Staran would have disappeared years ago. But it's not stabilised everything quite the way it should," Bradaigh answered.
"Is that because the issue is bigger than the Staran themselves?"
"Yes and no," Luch answered.
"The Seven Wardens job is to stabilise the Staran. And yes, before you ask, I will tell you how to go about doing that," Luch said, holding up a hand to stop Flint from speaking.
It wasn't Flint Macey was concerned about though. Cam had been suspiciously quiet through the entire conversation, causing worry to build within her. He was normally so aware of everything that was going on, and the fact that he wasn't, was somewhat concerning.
"Why do I feel like there's another but coming?" Jared joked.
"There is. I don't think your job as Wardens is going to just include the Staran. I think you need to stabilise something far, far bigger than that." Luch worried her hands together, as if she was nervous to admit whatever it was.
"Let's guess," Macey started. "All we have to do is save the world?"
Luch gave a dry laugh. "Something like that, yes."
"How about we focus on one problem at a time?" Cam said gravely. He looked as exhausted as Macey felt. "Can we fix the Staran first and then worry about the rest of the world later?"
"I'm afraid you won't be able to repair the Staran entirely without looking at the bigger picture. They would only destabilise again," Luch replied with a sad smile.
"But how long will we be able to continue travelling on the Staran? We already need one of the wraiths," Jared protested. "What if we repair them and then fix whatever else needs to be fixed immediately afterwards? Would that work?"
Bradaigh nodded thoughtfully. "It should, yes. The Staran won't destabilise that quickly. How long do they still have, love?"
"No more than three weeks. I can feel the end coming ever closer. There's not much time left."
"How do we do it?" Cam asked, directing his question at Luch. "How long will it take?"
Luch sighed. "When I said that I'd tell you how to do it, I meant I'd tell you what I assume. It's all a rough guess, if you will, but usually my guesses turn out to be right."
"I can vouch for that," Bradaigh said with a chuckle. "She's almost always right."
"Almost?!"
He cleared his throat. "Ehm... always?"
"Good. Now, as you know, the origin of the Staran is here on St Kilda. The problem is that it's hidden deep beneath the island. Back when I was guarding them, it was a cave that could be accessed through a long tunnel when the tide was out. But since then, the sea has claimed the cave and it's now permanently underwater. Which means that only one of you will be able to go there. Two, if you count Air as Macey's stowaway."
"No way. Macey is not going there on her own," Flint protested immediately. "The water is dangerous."
Macey put an arm on his shoulders, soothing him. "The water isn't dangerous to me. I've grown up underwater, I've spent more years there than above ground. Don't worry about me, I've always wanted to explore a proper sea cave."
She turned to Luch. "What will await me down there? What do I need to do?"
"The Staran is fueled by a jewel filled with the energy the gods provided for it," the woman explained. "It was supposed to be enough for thousands of years, so I doubt it's been depleted. Maybe there's something blocking its access. If it's something you can't fix yourself, just swim back up and we'll talk it through."
That sounded easy enough. Water was her element and she wasn't afraid of it. The cave didn't sound very scary either. If there was only a jewel down there, it couldn't be much of a threat. Unless there were selkies... Bradaigh had said that they frequented these waters. All Macey could hope was that she'd be able to avoid a confrontation with them.
"Good, let's do this," Macey announced, unwilling to lose any more time. The quicker they could get this over with, the quicker they'd be able to get some rest. And there was still a chat to be had with Nessie.
* * *
Luch led them back down to the beach and along a path that led to a high cliff. She pointed towards the sea.
"The entrance is about fifty metres that way. I hope it hasn't collapsed when it was flooded, but it should be fine. The tunnel itself will be narrow, so be sure to stay clear of the sharp rocks on the ceiling. It usually took me around ten minutes to reach the large cave in the centre. There you'll find the jewel. I hope."
Macey stripped, prompting Flint to growl at Izban and Bradaigh to turn around. She waded into the cold water until it reached her shoulders, shivering at the same time as rejoicing in the feel of the waves surrounding her body. Finally, she was going to be able to swim again. It had been too long.
She turned back to the others who were waiting on the beach. Jared gave her a cheery thumbs up and she laughed before shifting in one fluid motion. Once her gills developed on her neck, she let herself drop into the water, breathing in deep. She always felt like she got more oxygen underwater than up above. Her gills seemed more effective than her human lungs.
With a strong stride of her tail, she swam in the direction Luch had shown her. The ocean floor beneath her slowly turned from rocks and sand to a lively home. Tiny fish were zipping past her while large algae gently stroked her skin as she swam past them.
After so long without shifting, this was heavenly. She whinnied in delight and almost forgot she had a task to do. She could have swum here for hours, if she'd had the time to do so. It was a beautiful world underwater, and the water was so much clearer here than in her loch back home. Intense pinks, greens and oranges were offset by the rich turquoise water. She couldn't take her eyes off the ocean floor and all the plants and fish living there.
Macey almost missed the cave entrance; it was that hidden beneath a dense kelp forest and carpets of iridescent jewel anemones, literally hundreds of thousands clinging onto the cliff faces and boulders. She smiled at the beauty of it.
With her front hooves, she pulled apart the kelp and squeezed inside. The stone tunnel was darker than the sea outside, but still light enough to see. The walls were covered with incredibly dense thickets of hydroids, who themselves provided shelter for what must have been literally millions of tiny shrimps. The ground was smooth, probably worn down by the effec
t of the waves reaching in and out during the tides.
Macey made a mental note to explore all the caves beneath St Kilda one day. She was sure there were more than just this one, and if even half of them were as beautiful, she wanted to see them.
She took her time, taking in the shimmering tunnel walls and the algae covering the ground. The kelp was only growing outside where it got some sunlight filtering through the water, but there was none of that in here.
Far too soon though, the tunnel widened and opened into a large cavern. The water temperature changed as soon as she exited the tunnel. Warm water surrounded her, making her feel as if she'd entered a giant bathtub. She shook her body, letting the warmth penetrate her scales. So comfy...
Kelpies didn't mind cold water, but she could certainly appreciate how lovely warm water could be.
The sea didn't fill the entire cavern, so to make it easier to survey the place, Macey took a deep breath and lifted her head above water. She almost gasped when she took in the sight in front of her.
At the end of the cave, a stone pedestal rose from the water, and on it was the largest crystal she'd ever seen. It was egg-shaped but almost as tall as a kelpie foal. And it was glittering in hundreds of colours.
She dived back underwater, deciding that she'd have to shift again to be able to inspect the crystal. She'd be naked, but who was going to see her down here anyway? The sponges and shrimps didn't seem to care.
St. Kilda
Chapter 14
She wasn't sure if it was just sheer exhaustion, or if shifting was actually getting easier. But this time, it didn't hurt as much as it had in the past.
Now in human form, she was glad for the warmth of the water, and the way it was enveloping her, making her feel kind of safe and secure, probably for the first time in weeks. Macey knew it was just an illusion, but she was going to enjoy it nonetheless.
The currents pushed against Macey as she walked through it. This was a definite drawback of being in her human form. What wasn't, was the way her eyesight worked. Her kelpie eyes were designed to see the underwater tones, and that meant they couldn't see quite so well above the surface. But now, as a human, she could see everything so clearly. The colours coming from the crystal glittered against the walls, showering the cave in a rainbow of light.
It was bouncing off the water too, which only added to the atmosphere around her.
Macey really wished her men could see this and didn't quite understand why they couldn't. All they'd need would be an enchantment like the storm kelpies had around their heads, and they'd be able to breathe underwater and join her here.
The only answer must have been magic. Only one person could enter, because that was all the gods had decided could.
Macey scoffed. The gods indeed. She couldn't even work out where they fit in. Or why everyone was so convinced they didn't exist, when they actually did. Or had. She wasn't all that clear on that one.
Shaking her head to clear it of any errant thoughts, Macey refocused on the task at hand, striding forward through the water, finding it easier going as it became shallower, the soft waves lapping against her ankles.
The rock floor of the cave was slightly scratchy against her bare feet, but she ignored it. That was really the least of her problems. Her legs burned as she climbed the naturally occurring steps, each one taking her closer to the crystal at the top.
Talia? she called in her head, hoping Air would hear her and respond, but knowing that wasn't likely to be the case. Air had explained that wasn't how it worked, but so far, Macey hadn't seen any of the other Warden's powers manifest in herself.
As she suspected, there was no response from the Warden. Macey guessed she was doing this alone then.
She reached the top of the staircase and found herself level with the pedestal. Reverently, she walked towards it, unsure what to do with herself.
The lights dancing off it only grew brighter as she approached, and she remembered something her Aunt had said when she was younger. She'd called them fairy lights. Dancing against the walls and doors of the palace underwater. It was even more spectacular here. Probably because light behaved differently above the surface of the water.
Macey frowned. Where even was the light coming from? She looked upwards, eager to know the answer, and was relieved to find a small chimney-like hole above her head. That explained the air too. She wasn't likely to suffocate down here, though with her ability to shift, that wasn't really a possibility anyway.
Not sure if it was what she was supposed to do, Macey reached out and placed her hands on the stone. It lit up far more brightly than it had before, and something opened up in her mind.
Images fluttered past her now closed eyes, showing Macey the journeys of the other past Wardens, as well as other creatures who lived around and about these parts. It was a wonder to behold. There was so much culture in this one spot, and she gained a new understanding of the world.
But not of the Staran. She could feel them screaming out to her, and wanting to be healed, but not knowing how. She could even sense them trying to repair the damage that had been done to them.
Tears pooled in Macey's eyes as she felt the pain they had been going through. And it wasn't just the past few months of pain, but years. Decades. Centuries even. This problem was going a lot further back than anyone had even realised.
No wonder the Wardens hadn't managed to fix the Staran. They were acting as more of a band aid than a cure. And therein lay the problem. No one had looked into it. Maybe no one had even be able to sense it. That would make some kind of warped sense, considering the past Wardens had been humans.
That must be the link if her own set were all supernatural. Hope welled up within her. Maybe this meant they really did stand a chance at fixing things. Or maybe not. Maybe they were doomed like every other set of Wardens before them.
Macey dug around inside the connection between her and the crystal, searching for whatever it was that was blocking the Staran from healing themselves.
Finding what appeared to be a rotten part of the line, she mentally followed it, picking up pieces of the healthy Staran and trying to use them to knit everything back together at the same time. Nothing seemed to hold though, leaving it unraveling behind her and leaving the Staran in the same mess as they were before, but thankfully not worse.
Why was this happening? Luch had implied that Macey would know what to do when she was faced with the Staran themselves. Yet, here she was, and she was as confused as ever.
She continued following them down the apparently rotten path, not finding much more to do, but feeling this was her best choice.
After a few moments, something black and foreboding formed in her way, and somehow, she knew this was what was causing all the issues. All she had to do now was work out how to undo it.
Stealing herself mentally, Macey began to poke at the dark mass, turning it around in her head to try and locate its weak points.
Or she did, until a tremor beneath her feet tore her from her task. She steadied herself against the pedestal, while glancing around frantically and trying to ignore the panic welling up inside her.
There was nothing to be seen. No cracks in the walls, no intruder, not even a ripple in the water. She put her hands back on the crystal. It was vibrating slightly. Had it done that before? No, she was sure it hadn't. She reached out for the Staran again and the black mass. As soon as she got close to it, the ground started to shake again. This time, she didn't let go of the stone. She was beginning to realise that the shaking wasn't physical. It was in her mind.
Something was fighting back. But Macey had been fighting off the Voice for weeks, if not months. She was experienced in mental fights by now. This shouldn't scare her. It was only another challenge, nothing more. She reached out again, continuing her scan for the black mass's weak spots, but as soon as she seemed to have found something, the thing wobbled and changed its shape. It was continuously turning and twisting, reforming every second or so. How w
as she supposed to deal with this? She was sure this was the reason for the Staran's disease. A parasite, embedded deep within them.
"How do I get you out of there?" she whispered to herself, struggling to get a grip on it. It was too slippery and slimy. "And how did you get there in the first place?"
At least now she knew what was wrong with the Staran. It was rather easy to see.
She prodded the black blob with her mental fingers. Suddenly, black sparks shot up, forming a line leading out through the hole in the cave ceiling. A moment later, they'd disappeared, but a suspicion was forming in Macey. She prodded it again, and as before, tiny black flecks sparked. It was as if the mass was sending out a call for help. As if it was connected to others of its kind.
Macey focused on the blob again, but this time, she expanded her senses, exploring its surface.
Yes, there it was! A tiny black string, reaching up into the air, disappearing through the hole. She tried following it with her mind but didn't get very far. Still, it was progress.
Now she knew why healing the Staran wouldn't be enough. Even if this blob disappeared, there were others out there. And maybe they'd be able to infect the Staran once again. They needed to find the root of this strange dark power.
But she didn't want to leave here without having at least tried healing them. Otherwise travelling on them would get harder and harder with every day that passed and this black mass was allowed to eat the Staran up from the inside.
Somehow, Macey knew that this wasn't going to be a physical battle. No, this was what had been foretold: she was going to fight a mental battle, one within herself. Maybe now was the time to feel a little scared, but she was too determined to let fear get in the way.
She took a deep breath and plunged herself into the Staran, head first. Her body stayed behind but her mind flew along the misty stream of power that was the Staran. Lives and memories flashed past her, far more intense than the short glimpse she'd been given earlier. They were too fast to understand, though, no more than whispers and echoes racing past at an astonishing speed.
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