"Of a kind. I believe there's some sìth blood in my family line. But I was born human. I'm more known for my predictions for Queen Medb."
"It's a long way from Ireland," Luch said, studying her nails with an amused glint in her eye.
"Isn't it a long way from where you truly live, little mouse?"
Luch looked up sharply. Macey had no idea what that was about, but let it lie for now. She didn't want to cause any tension between her and her new ally.
"The Staran and the Wardens are hardly just confined to Scotland. People the world over are at risk if they're destroyed. Ireland really isn't that far to come. Plus, they're not exactly my biggest fans over there."
"What did you do?" Macey asked, intrigued.
"Predicted blood and destruction. People always like to know the warnings, but when they don't listen, and you're right, they hate you for it."
"I'm sorry," Macey responded.
"That can't have been easy," Amber added, her tail twitching where she'd placed it over her lap. Macey had an odd urge to reach out and touch it, but only so she could see how it felt. She wondered if it'd be the same as Amber's scales in shifted form, or if it'd be softer, like skin.
"Crimson-red from blood they are; I behold them bathed in red, " Luch recited softly. "Did you really say that or is that just the legend?"
Fedelm laughed. "I can't even remember. It's a long time ago. And it's not why I'm here now. Malan knew you'd come here, but he didn't know when." She sighs. "He's never been good at predicting times. I've been waiting here for week, and-"
"Wait, I've been gone for weeks?" Macey interrupted, her voice shrill. "That can't be right, it's not been that long. Maybe two weeks at most, right?"
She looked questioningly at Amber, but the beithir only shrugged. "I could have been there for years and I wouldn't know. He twists your mind and memories until you can no longer tell apart present, past and future."
Fedelm nodded sagely. "Time passes differently in different places. I believe it's been two months since you were taken. It's been incredibly boring, there's nothing to do in this village. Your aunt and the pub quizzes are the only entertainment, and those are not even every evening. I'll be glad to get away from here." She huffed. "I wish Malan would have done this himself, but he doesn't blend in as nicely as I do."
Amber snickered and even Luch laughed loudly, much louder than a mouse should be able to.
Fedelm pointed down at her translucent body. "This is much better than being a floating head, right?"
Macey nodded quickly, hoping the woman would get to the point. Knowing she'd been away for so long, she was beginning to panic a little, and was hoping Fedelm would be able to distract her. Give them some good news, even.
"Anyway, Malan would like you to know that it's no longer safe to travel on the Staran without a wraith or ghost. Even the na fir ghorma no longer have access to them. If you'd try to travel on them, it would likely tear you apart. Which means you'll have to wait for your men to come to you. How do you feel about several weeks of pub quizzes?"
Macey stared at her in shock. "Wait, we're stuck here?"
"Yup," the prophet said simply. "Maybe use the time to figure out how to save the world? You better hurry up, the Staran are getting worse by the day. And I believe you still have your seventh Warden to find."
Anger bubbled up in Macey. Fedelm made it sound so easy, as if all Macey had to do was put in a bit more effort. By the waves, she'd been held prisoner for several weeks, of course she hadn't had the time to do anything about the situation. Besides, all she had to go on was a vague prophecy. This really seemed hopeless. How can you fix something without knowing what's wrong?
"We're working on it," Amber said diplomatically, a lot calmer than Macey felt. "I don't suppose you know where our men... ehm, friends are?"
"I do, actually. They're my next stop... I just have to decide how quickly to start looking for them."
Macey frowned. "What's stopping you?"
A silver sheen crept over Fedelm's cheeks. Was the ghost blushing?
"Well, I've always wanted to meet the famous Nessie, but so far, she's been ignoring me. If you could introduce me, I'm sure I could find your men a lot quicker."
"That's blackmail!"
The woman chuckled. "No, it's curiosity. Come on, it's only a few extra hours. I promise I'll bring your men to you straight after. Deal?"
Macey looked at Amber, who shrugged in bewilderment.
The kelpie sighed. "Let's hope my aunt arrives soon."
Luckily, they only needed to wait for an hour before Nessie arrived. They used the time to have some food and warm themselves by the fire. Somehow, Macey could still feel the cold of their long flight in her bones.
Fedelm had taken on an even more translucent shape and had reassured them that none of the humans would be able to see them. Not everyone here knew about Nessie and the supernatural world, and they wanted to keep it that way.
The ghost seemed to be enjoying their company immensely and was quizzing them about their love lives. Somehow, Macey felt as if she was back at school among gossiping teenage girls.
"So how did you meet your boy?" Fedelm asked Amber and the beithir smiled in embarrassment.
"He was a teacher, no, he pretended to be a teacher at my school."
"To woo you? Oh, how romantic!" The ghost clapped her hands excitedly.
Amber laughed. "No, he was actually on a mission to find some items that were hidden at the school. I ended up helping him find them and then... well, we kind of destroyed them."
Fedelm looked just as confused as Macey felt. "Wait, you found something and then destroyed it? That doesn't make sense."
"It's a long story," the beithir sighed. "It turned out that Izban's grandfather wanted them to make himself immortal. We didn't think that was a good idea, so we decided to stop him."
"Did it work?"
"I was taken by Mahoun before I could find out. I hope so, although I'm sure an immortal mage is the least of our worries."
"Damn right," a deep, sultry voice said behind them and Macey turned around in delight.
"Auntie Nessie!"
She hugged her aunt before the old kelpie took a seat between Macey and Amber.
Fedelm seemed frozen in awe, her eyes fixed on Nessie, her silver blush darkening her face.
"I've not seen you in a while, Macey dear," Aunt Nessie said while absentmindedly motioning for the bartender to bring her a drink. She was well known in here, they all knew what the old lady liked.
Macey had to stop herself from blurting out that it didn't feel all that long to her, having had a strange vision sent by a megalomaniac Voice. She didn't want to scare her aunt.
"How are you?" she asked instead, but her aunt tsked.
"Stop the small talk, that's not your style. Why are you here?"
Macey grinned. Her aunt's frankness was refreshing.
"Have you noticed anything strange recently? Like... ehm... wrongness?"
"Macey, just tell me what's going on."
The younger kelpie grimaced. "Basically, the world is ending and I'm part of a prophecy to prevent it from happening. But I'm not quite sure what to do and nobody is telling me and my men aren't here and I was a prisoner and..."
Her voice broke and a lone tear forced its way down Macey's cheek.
"Oh, my darling," Nessie huffed and took her niece into her arms. "Are you sure you're not overreacting?"
Amber cleared her throat. "No, she isn't. And I'm Amber, by the way, and this is Fedelm."
"Goodness me, where are my manners," Nessie exclaimed, before smirking. "Oh, that's right, I don't have any. Lovely to meet you nonetheless."
"And this is Luch," Macey added, lifting her head up slightly as the sobs calmed.
The look on her Aunt's face was hard to define, all Macey knew was that she didn't like it. Aunt Nessie's face verged on distaste, and even if Macey was wary of the mouse, she'd proved herself to be more of a friend than a foe
, and she didn't want to chase her away, particularly after her trick with the barrier. If they got into any other tight spots, then Luch was likely to be able to get them out.
"I am Nessie," her Aunt said, somewhat stiffly.
"And I am Luch," the mouse replied, a lot more jovially, as if making fun of the older woman. Macey would say it was a bad idea, but she really wasn't sure which of the two women was the most powerful. But she wasn't going to bring that up. Even if she had been able to get it out through the now drying tears.
"Pleasure." Aunt Nessie's voice dripped with sarcasm. If it had been one of her men being that way, then Macey would have told them off for being so rude. But when it came to Aunt Nessie, she was a little more hesitant. The woman was formidable, and in the Loch, she technically outranked her still. While the kelpies had a monarchy, there was some preference given towards power. One that meant Macey was well aware of the faction that wanted her on the throne over her brothers. She chose to ignore them. Causing dissent within the royal family was never the answer.
"I'll go get your men now," Fedelm said, floating nervously from side to side.
"Thank you," Macey replied, pushing herself away from the comfort of her Aunt's embrace. The emotion of the moment had been too much for her. But if she was going to lead the Wardens in their quest to save the world, then she needed to be strong. Which meant acting like the Princess she wanted to be, not the scared woman she really was at that moment.
"Men?" Aunt Nessie raised an eyebrow. "Is there something you need to tell me, Macey?" There was a slight accusation in her tone, as if Macey should have spilled the beans about her love life the moment her Aunt had entered the room.
Her cheeks heated and she wrung her hands together. She didn't really want to have this conversation. But it wasn't looking like there were many ways for her to avoid it.
"Yes, Auntie. Men. Three to be precise. Well, four. But one of them is Amber's."
"And the rest are yours?" Aunt Nessie asked, speaking over Amber's weak protest.
Macey didn't understand why the beithir was still denying what was between her and the Ice Warden. Even without seeing them together, she could tell just how enamored they were with one another. Thankfully, there was nothing like constant danger to bring people together. She'd be very surprised if the two of them weren't together by the end of their mission.
If they survived that was.
"Yes. Unless Cat-Man is still with them. Though I doubt he'll have stayed around for months while they searched for us."
"I'll take that as my cue to leave," Fedelm announced, before disappearing into a puff of mist. Macey shuddered. She was really beginning to hate the mists.
"Cat-Man?" It was Amber questioning this time, though she sounded at least intrigued rather than like she was looking down on anyone.
"A cat-sìth who was travelling with us. His sister died saving Izban."
"What?" the beithir demanded, her green eyes almost glowing in the dim light. "Izban nearly died?" Amber's tail swished back and forth violently.
Macey wanted to remind her to calm down, and that if she wasn't careful, her tail would break something. But the last thing she wanted was for the beithir to shift completely and end up destroying the whole pub.
"You have three men?" Luch asked, drawing the attention of the other three women.
She was leaning back over a chair, an amused smile on her face.
"Yes," Macey answered simply.
"Sounds fun," Luch responded. "But Amber, your man isn't dead. He was just in danger. And I should point out, we're all currently in danger anyway. It's not like you didn't nearly die a couple of times yourself."
Amber deflated, the mouse's words sinking in and making sense to her.
"I suppose." She pouted, clearly not happy.
"Izban was fine when I saw him, which was after the cu-sìth died," Macey said, hoping it offered some comfort to the other woman.
"That was months ago though."
"I know." Macey sighed. "I'm worried about them too."
"Nothing bad can have happened to them, right?" She sounded on the edge of tears. Not that Macey could blame her given the earlier sobs.
"I don't know," she admitted honestly. Maybe that wasn't the best choice this time, but she couldn't bring herself to lie.
“Sweetheart, why are hanging out with three men?” Aunt Nessie picked up the earlier thread of conversation again, making Macey increasingly uncomfortable. Her aunt using modern language like ‘hanging out’ was never a good sign.
“Have you ever heard of the prophecy of the Wardens?” she asked tentatively and her aunt nodded.
“Of course, hasn’t everybody?”
“So, you know how there are seven Wardens who have to save the world… well, it turns out that I’m one of them. Amber is another.”
Nessie looked at her in excitement.
“Are you sure?”
“I have the marks to prove it.”
"How many do you have, Macey?" Aunt Nessie asked, breaking through the emotion.
"Four. Earth, Fire, Wind and Lightning," she replied instantly, listing them in her head. She still found it odd she didn't have her own mark but figured that might just come last.
"And you definitely still have them all?"
Macey looked at Amber, who'd checked out her back earlier to describe what the new one looked like.
"Yes, they're all there," she replied in Macey's stead.
"And you've never had the other three?"
Macey shook her head.
"Then I think it's safe to say the four people whose marks you bear are safe. I do believe they'd fade if the person died."
Panic began to fill Macey at the thought. She hated the idea of any of them in danger and knowing that their marks would fade too was almost too much.
"But that means they're okay?" she asked hastily.
"I believe so. Though I can't speak for Ice or Air. I'm assuming you're Water?" Aunt Nessie leaned back, lost in thought.
"The guys seemed to think so, yes."
"Have you considered that you might not be?" Aunt Nessie asked, leaving everyone in stunned silence.
"Well, what else would I be?" Macey asked slowly. "I know for sure that Izban is ice, and I very much doubt I'm Air."
"Amber, dear," Nessie suddenly turned to the beithir. "Do you have any marks?"
The young woman shook her head. "No, but then, Izban and I haven't... we only just met."
"Wait, how did Macey get your mark then? Are you into women?" Nessie's eyes widened.
Macey snorted. "I didn't sleep with Amber. She tried to kill me."
Nessie seemed confused. "Why would she do that?"
"Long story. The same person who was holding me prisoner forced her to attack me. It wasn't her fault, really."
"But it gave you a mark?" Nessie asked, still frowning.
"Yes, it did. Amber says it's the same size as that of my men... I mean the other Wardens. It's as if there's no difference between her bond to me and theirs."
"Except that I don't want to jump you," Amber laughed. Suddenly, Macey regretted telling her about what she and the guys had been up to. It was a bit embarrassing now, come to think of it.
"No, I'm glad you don't. Three people are definitely enough for me."
Aunt Nessie tsked. "I don't know how you do it, girl. Your uncle was unbearable most of the time, and imagining three of him... no thanks."
Macey had never met her uncle, he had died before she was even born. A fishing accident involving a sharp hook and an ignorant human.
Nessie had been on her own for a long time, and secretly, Macey was sure that she enjoyed it. She could hang out with the local fishermen all day, have some fun with tourists and spend her money on whatever she wanted. Not that she hadn't done that when her husband was still alive, but at least now, there was nobody to explain herself to when she bought yet another Nessie plush animal. Her whole house was full of them; she loved the irony of Nessie b
uying tacky Nessies.
"Anyway, why would you doubt that I'm Water?"
"Repeat the prophecy for me, dearie," Nessie asked and Macey did as she asked. She knew it by heart by now, anyway.
“Fire and Wind,
brothers in arms,
lost in the mist.
Earth will join,
Always hungry,
Only sated by meeting the fourth.
Water will run, circling Fire,
then Wind and Earth.
Lightning is trapped,
Ice will break the chains.
Finally, Air is waiting,
only to appear
when the end is near.”
Nessie ran a hand through her white hair. "I assume Fire and Wind are two of your men?"
Macey nodded. "Yes, and Earth. That's Jared. And I'm sure about all of their elements. Amber is Lightning, again, no doubt about that, and Izban is Ice. Leaves Water and Air. And it says Air won't appear until the end, but I've been here all along. No, I'm sure I'm Water, everything else doesn't make any sense."
"Water will run, circling Fire, then Wind and Earth," Nessie repeated. "Have you circled them?"
Macey blushed. In a way, she guessed she had. She'd claimed them as hers; they were her three men.
"I suppose so."
"Then you must be Water," Aunt Nessie said emphatically.
Luch chuckled. "Didn't she say that from the beginning? Why all the doubting?"
Nessie shot an angry look at the mouse. "I had a thought, a theory, but it seems I was mistaken. But I'm sure my niece is grateful to have talked through it all."
Macey hastened to nod in agreement. It was always good to be on her aunt's side. And as she still didn't know who or what Luch was, it was doubly good.
Then she remembered that there was a second prophecy that Amber didn't know about yet.
"When the cu-sìth died, she said something that sounded like yet another prophecy."
Nessie took a large sip from the ale the bartender had brought her a while ago. "Go on."
Macey tried remembering. She wasn't as sure about the exact wording as she had been about the other one.
“For my last act upon this earth,
Before I head to my rebirth,
I bequeath upon to thee,
Into the Mists (Seven Wardens Book 2) Page 6