"Kind of," Jared interjected.
Cam sighed. "Kind of. we managed to destroy Self-Doubt, which fills me with hope that we might be able to deal with the Mahoun as well."
"In the prophecy, it says that Air will appear 'when the end is near'," Macey said deep in thought. "We now have Air. Does that mean this is only the calm before the storm? Is everything about to go pear shaped?"
Flint pulled her closer to him. "Even if the apocalypse is about to happen, we'll be together. We'll get through this."
Izban laughed mirthlessly. "There won't be an apocalypse. Don't make this sound worse than it is."
"You didn't see what I saw," Amber said quietly, pulling everyone's attention to her. "The Mahoun showed me things, terrible things. I think he wanted to weaken me by showing me how resistance was futile, how he was going to destroy the world. Back then, I didn't care much, I was too focussed on staying alive, but now that I've been away from him for a while, the images are coming back to me." She shuddered and her eyes darkened. "He's planning to do something to the ground, to the earth. I saw crops dying, cattle starving. He's not going to attack magic users this time. He's targeting humans."
"Not just humans," Jared said thoughtfully. "If the earth is sick, animals die. First the land animals, then the birds, the fish. Everything is connected and if the balance is disturbed, everyone is at risk. We may not realise it, but we're dependent on the humans and their resources." He got up, his fists clenched. "I need to go to Earth, check what's happening. If he's already started, I may be able to feel it, but not from here. We're too far removed from the human plane."
Cam turned to Amber, taking on the rule as the leader once more. "Do you know why the Mahoun is doing this? What is he trying to achieve?"
"I've asked myself that for a long time," she answered, her voice a little shakily. "But now I think he has no choice but to do evil. He took on the persona of the devil, and everyone expects the devil to cause death and destruction. The Voice, whatever creature he may be, is now fulfilling that role, finding ways to kill. Maybe he feeds on death like Self-Doubt did of the people travelling on the Staran. The problem is, people also think that the devil is immortal and invincible. I'm wondering if that might make it true."
"Nobody is invincible," Macey said more confidently than she felt. "We've defeated Self-Doubt itself, so we'll deal with the Voice just the same."
"Luch died for us to kill the Staran creature," Izban reminded her. "Who needs to die this time?"
"We'll find a way. Nobody is going to die. We're all coming out of this alive."
Rónán suddenly leant forwards. Macey had almost forgotten that the selkie was sitting next to her; he'd been unusually quiet.
"There's a selkie legend about the devil. We don't call him the Mahoun, but I assume it's the same one. In the stories, there is a way to kill him."
"How?" Macey asked, holding her breath in anticipation.
Indecision warred over Rónán’s face, as if he didn’t want to tell them at all. Hurt swelled within Macey. After what they’d shared, she’d have thought he’d trust her more. Apparently not. She should have known better than to trust a selkie…
“It’s how to explain it, Macey,” Rónán interrupted her inward berating. “Not that I don’t trust you with the information.”
She scowled. “Right.”
Rónán sighed.
“Let him speak,” Flint said, leaning over to run a soothing hand over her back. She calmed her breathing, appreciating the support.
“Some of it is pure fiction. Like the idea that the devil is a giant orca…”
“An orca? Really?” Jared scoffed.
“I said that bit was pure fiction,” Rónán reminded him, staying surprisingly calm given the accusation. “What seems more likely is that the devil takes on a different form depending on what you fear the most.”
“Surely having your skin stolen would be the number one selkie fear?” Cam asked, curiosity tinging every word.
“Being eaten comes a close second,” Rónán deadpanned.
“Not if Macey’s doing the eating.” Jared gave her a playful wink.
Macey stifled a giggle and forced a serious look back onto her face. Rónán hadn’t missed the gesture though and smiled at her with a knowing glint in his eye.
“Later,” he mouthed.
Heat flooded through her at the thought and she became flustered.
“The story,” Izban prompted, his voice betraying how annoyed he was by the flirting.
Rónán cleared his throat. “Sorry, yes. So for me the devil would take the form of an orca, for Flint, perhaps a being made of water…”
“You realise our girlfriend is a water being?”
“Believe it or not, I had noticed,” Rónán answered. “But she’s not made of water. The devil will become whatever it has to in order to defeat you. There’s even a rumour it can turn what you are against you. Whether that’s burning a flame, breaking up the earth…”
“Or drowning in the water,” Macey added softly. She tried not to think about her own experience drowning. To say it was unpleasant was an understatement.
“Exactly. It’s a dangerous foe.”
“Which is all well and good, but none of that gives us a way to actually defeat it,” Jared pointed out, leaning back in his chair and seeming far too relaxed for the conversation. That was just him though. Macey knew him well enough by now to know he was just a chilled out person.
“By mastering more than one element.”
Stunned silence greeted Rónán’s revelation as it sank into the Wardens.
“You mean like Macey and Air?” Amber asked after a moment.
“No. Though I suspect that may help,” Rónán replied. “More like what you did in the cave. You combined your powers.”
“So why can’t we just do that again?” Flint asked, cocking his head to the side in an adorably sexy way. Despite the fact she’d only been with Rónán a short time ago, Macey found her mind drifting towards what she could be doing with her other men…
“I don’t think that’s what Rónán is saying,” Cam said, speaking for the first time since they’d arrived back with the others. “I think he’s saying each of us needs to be able to control the other six elements.”
“Pretty much,” he acknowledged.
“How are we supposed to do that?” A forlorn feeling filled Macey. She wouldn’t even know where to start controlling lightning like Amber, and she’d channelled the other woman’s powers before. She had no chance with the rest of them.
“I’m not sure,” Rónán admitted. “It’s all just a folk tale. But after meeting the Wardens, it’s difficult not to believe in them anymore. I’ve seen more than enough proof that your legend is real.”
Each of them nodded in turn, except for Izban who sat there glaring.
“Why should we learn?” he demanded. “Put ourselves in danger to defeat something that may or may not exist?”
“Izban!” Amber scolded.
“He does have a valid question,” Macey said, trying her best to keep her tone unassuming and them all out of the zone of anger. “But I do have a question for you.”
The Ice Warden met her gaze. There was as little warmth as his title suggested in his eyes but Macey wasn’t about to let that stop her. He would become a part of the team, or she’d do her best to replace him. The main thing stopping her working on that right away was that it would make her friend sad.
“Mahoun hurt Amber. Are you really going to let him just get on with whatever he’s doing after that?”
The two Wardens stared off at each other, neither of them saying a word. The tension in the air grew thicker by the moment and Macey wanted to break it more than anything. But she knew if she did that there was a chance they’d lose Izban and she didn’t know whether Amber would follow him or not. She hoped not, her friend had a good sense of right and wrong. But then again, she also loved Izban. If it was Macey in her place then she’d side wit
h her men on anything. Even if they were being stubborn assholes.
“You win,” Izban muttered eventually, tearing his eyes away.
Relief surged through Macey. For now, he was on her side. Though she wasn’t sure if that’d always be the case. Hopefully they wouldn’t need a moment like this again.
“Thank you,” Amber mouthed at her.
Macey gave the other woman a weak smile. At least she knew where the beithir’s loyalties lay. She wanted to stand by the Wardens.
“Right, so back to square one. How do we learn to control all of the elements?” Macey asked the assembly.
“I’m not sure,” Rónán answered. “That’s as much as I know about the legend. It specified controlling each of the seven elements and that was the key to defeating the devil, nothing more than that.”
“Wait, just one person controlling all the elements?” Cam specified.
“I guess.” Rónán shrugged. “But why one and not seven?”
“Because there’s only one person here with tattoos of all seven elements,” Cam replied.
Six sets of eyes turned to Macey and she gulped.
By the waves, she was in trouble.
Malan, the Prophet
Chapter 6
Making plans had been easy. Putting them into practice, not so much. Just because Macey had the markings didn't mean that she knew how to use them. For all she knew, she needed a spell or magic word to activate them.
It was Jared's idea to seek out Malan again. So far, the prophet had been quite helpful, mostly, so chances were that he had some advice for them now. Which meant that they were on the road again - well, the Staran. Izban and Amber stayed back at the house to look through the library, hoping to find something about the markings. It was probably a waste of time, but Macey was quite glad to be alone with her men again. It was like back when they'd started their strange journey. Except that now, they also had Rónán with them.
"Do you think he'll have waffles this time?" Jared whispered to her as they stepped into the mists, and Macey laughed out loud, drawing the looks of the other guys.
"Waffles," she explained, and they all nodded sagely. It had become more than just a running joke. It was something binding them all together. How romantic, the search for waffles. Maybe getting them would be a disappointment, an anticlimax. Sometimes the quest was more exciting than the treasure, after all.
Travelling the Staran felt strange this time, like they were calmer somehow. Maybe that was how it was supposed to feel, not as stomach-upsetting as it had been in the past while Self-Doubt was still eating away at them.
As soon as they stepped out of the mist, Malan's bodiless head was staring at them. He hovered over a bench outside his little cottage, as if he was sitting on it. It looked ridiculous, but Macey knew better than to laugh. She quickly looked around, wondering if there was some sort of view the prophet was enjoying, but their surroundings were just as foggy as ever. What a weirdo.
"I've been awaiting you," Malan said without wasting time on greetings. "You're late."
"Late for what?" Cam asked, vocalising what Macey was just about to ask.
"Dinner. I had to eat it all by myself."
Macey and Jared exchanged a worried look.
"What did you have?" Macey asked tentatively.
"Waffles, of course."
The look of devastation on Jared's face was priceless, and Macey couldn't help but laugh, despite her own feelings of disappointment. Maybe Malan was just teasing them. She couldn't imagine him eating anyway; how was he supposed to get the food to his mouth without a body? There was no stomach either, nor all the other essential parts to process a meal. No, it had to have been a joke.
Malan hovered into the house, the door opening as if by magic. Who was she kidding, of course it was magic.
They followed him into the kitchen - why did he need a kitchen in the first place? - where he stopped and looked at them all with a serious expression, enhanced by his drawn together eyebrows, as bushy as ever.
"As I said, you're late. I can see the magic leaking from you, Macey, and you'd be well advised to get it under control before it's too late."
"What?" was all Macey could come up with.
"Have you had any extreme things happen to you recently? Has your magic spiralled out of control?" His tone was dripping with sarcasm, as if he was fully aware of what had occurred in the pool.
"Well, yes, but Rónán said-"
"Oh yes, the selkie." Malan turned in the air until he was staring right at Rónán. "You've got it wrong, boy."
Rónán frowned, but kept his composure. Macey admired that - and she was totally going to call him 'boy' later on to tease him.
"How do you even know what I said?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "And what exactly am I wrong about?"
"You think the Great Orca is a legend. Well, he isn't. At least, not anymore."
It took Macey a moment to understand. "Wait, the orca that's supposed to represent the devil in Selkie legend?"
"Exactly that. But like every legend that many people believe in, it has created a vacuum in the shape of the being they've immortalised in their tale. Now, a creature is inhabiting that space and has become the Great Orca."
"Just like the Mahoun and Self-Doubt?" Macey asked.
"Exactly like them. It's yet another of their siblings. Right now, it's swimming towards the home of the selkies. If you want to save your kind, Rónán, you better head there now."
Malan's expression had changed, becoming almost sad, regretful. "I had a selkie friend once... never mind. I'd suggest you go there before you try taking on the Mahoun or someone else. The Great Orca will only grow in strength the more people see him and start believing in him. Once he's destroyed the selkies, he will go after the na fir ghorma next, and then the kelpies. You need to hurry."
"Do we have time?" Cam asked. "We're thinking the Mahoun is planning to do something to the earth, poisoning it. We can't let that happen either."
Malan nodded in his bodiless way. "I suggest you split up. Jared and Flint might want to travel to Earth, maybe taking the other two Wardens with them. Cam, Macey and Rónán can deal with the Orca."
"Who made you the one giving us orders?" Flint asked heatedly, but one look from Macey shut him up.
"He's right, Flint. You don't want to fight a water being, and we need Jared on Earth. This way, we all do what we're best suited to. We'll join you as soon as we've defeated the Orca."
"No, the sea is exactly where I'm needed," Flint replied angrily. "My fire will be much more effective against him than your water."
Macey frowned, remembering their earlier conversation.
“I agree. I think I need to go with Jared,” she said.
“Why?” her incubus demanded. “Don’t get me wrong, I always want you with me. But…”
“I don’t know,” Macey replied. “I just know that when I think about it, I know going with Jared is the right idea.”
“I don’t think…” Cam started.
“That ignoring her is a good idea?” Malan interrupted, a crooked smile on his transparent face.
Macey tried not to get too freaked out by the man’s face. But he was weird and she didn’t know how to properly deal with him.
“Maybe not,” Cam admitted.
“See,” Macey said, sticking out her tongue in a surprisingly childish mood. After so long in captivity and being in high stress situations, she could take a moment to regress a little. It wasn’t like it was going to scare off any of her men. She was pretty sure they were with her for good.
“I’m not exactly going to complain,” Jared said with an impish grin. “Maybe while we’re at it, we can give me a top up.” He winked.
“It’s settled then.” Malan announced. “Flint, Rónán and Cam will head for the sea and the Great Orca, while Macey and Jared head beneath the earth to check everything is running smoothly. And all in time for a spot of tea.”
Macey gaped at the prophet. How was
he even going to drink it? It baffled her every time he mentioned food and drink. He seemed to be so obsessed with it, yet there was no way for him to even ingest it.
“You don’t want to know,” Cam whispered in her ear.
“What?” she returned.
“How he eats and drinks. You don’t want to know.”
She nodded once, accepting his words as true.
“So what’s the plan?” she asked her men, ignoring the floating prophet. “I mean, we need one of you who can travel the Staran to take us to earth, right?” She looked between Flint and Cam, wondering which of them would respond to her first.
Jared laughed heartily. “Oh little kelpie, we don’t need the Staran to get where we’re going.”
“We don’t?”
“Not at all.”
Chapter 7
After a hug with Flint, Cam and Rónán – all of them took a long time to let her go – Jared led her outside, into what could be described as the prophet’s front garden. She grinned when she saw the bench once again. Malan was so strange that it was almost endearing.
“Why are you smiling?” Jared enquired.
Macey shrugged. “Just… Malan.”
He winked. “Yes, he’s rather special. He can be terrifying though if you’re not on his side. He’s fought in wars before, and yes, I know how weird that is. His powers are legendary, even considering his lack of a body. I guess it makes him less easy to hit in battle.”
He walked a few more steps away from the house and kneeled on the misty ground. Macey couldn’t even spot what they were walking on, but she assumed it was Earth, judging from the way Jared’s eyes began to glow in magical delight. He didn’t have the chance to use his magic often, less so than the other guys. His powers were too volatile, too damaging.
When nothing happened after half a minute of him kneeling on the ground, his hands touching the earth, Macey asked, “What are you doing exactly?”
“Shhhh.”
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