Magnus Fin and the Moonlight Mission

by Janis Mackay

  He dived into his pocket and fished out the sand glass he’d found first thing that morning. “Wee present for you, Tark,” he said, handing it to him.

  “Hey – sand glass. Cool!” Tarkin looked through it, just as Magnus Fin had done. Maybe it was the unexpected gift, or something he saw magnified through it, but suddenly Tarkin brightened up. He pocketed the glass carefully then swung his rucksack through the air.

  “Come on, M F,” he said. “If you’re gonna save the seals, T here’s gonna help you. That’s what friends are for. Come on, buddy, race you to school!”

  Chapter 6

  Magnus Fin was quiet in school all that day. They were doing the ancient Egyptians which he really liked, but today he couldn’t concentrate. Tarkin saved him three times. They had a code for passing answers, which Sargent hadn’t cracked yet. It wasn’t that Magnus Fin was slow. It was just that his mind was often on other subjects, like things under the sea. He sat up and listened, though, when Mr Sargent spoke about tombs and pharaohs and lost cities beneath the waves.

  “There are many sunken cities in the world,” the teacher said, sweeping his arm across the map, most of which was coloured blue, meaning ocean. “Lost continents even.” Fin’s eyes grew wide as pancakes. For the first time that day he forgot about the three dead seals and the underwater journey that lay ahead. Sunken cities! Wow! Sunken continents!

  “Like Atlantis?” Retha asked.

  “Well done, Retha, clever girl. Exactly. Like Atlantis.”

  Tarkin glanced across at Magnus Fin. It was rare for Fin to put his hand up in class, but he did. “Are there any up here?” he asked, his mind now brimming with sunken palaces, churches, underwater streets and watery houses.

  “Good question, bo— I mean Magnus – um Fin. Divers, it seems, don’t like cold northern turbulent waters. Lots of sunken cities have been discovered in the sea off the coasts of India and Egypt, but very little research has been done up here. Too blooming cold. Ha-ha!”

  Magnus Fin went back to his dreaming after that, but the thought of finding an underwater city comforted him. Just think of all the treasures he’d find down there! They’d have to flit to a bigger house. He’d need a huge room for all that treasure …

  “Fin!”

  Then maybe he’d find a sunken harbour of ships as well.

  “Psst! Magnus Fin!”

  School was over. The bell had rung. The classroom was empty apart from Magnus Fin sitting there staring into space. Tarkin had his jacket on and his new stripy scarf tied round his neck. He was prodding Magnus Fin and eating a banana. “Come on, Fin. You don’t want the janitor to lock you in.”

  Fin shook himself awake and scrambled to his feet. “Race you down the brae,” he said, and dashed out of the classroom, leaving Tarkin staring after him with a half-eaten banana in his hand.

  Fin was fast today, faster even than long-legged Tarkin. As he raced pell-mell down the brae, images of sunken cities, dead seals, sunken ships and swaying forests of seaweed played like a film in his head. Tarkin was gaining on him. Fin ran faster, his arms pumping furiously back and forth. What kind of help, he wondered, was Tarkin planning? Should he tell Aquella? Should he tell his dad? And would Miranda be there to meet him when he opened the door to the sea?

  “Gotcha!” Tarkin caught up with him. He was panting hard and fumbling in his pocket. “You dropped something,” he said, thrusting a small white and orange stone into Fin’s hand, “and I bet it’ll come in handy for this mission you’ve got ahead of you.”

  Fin stared down at his open palm. In it lay his moon-stone: the stone his father had given him when he first went under the sea to help the selkies. It was his bravery stone that he always wore around his neck. He couldn’t believe that today of all days the lace it dangled from had broken. He curled his fingers around the moon-stone and smiled broadly at his friend.

  “You’ve helped me already, Tark.” Fin’s green eye shone as he felt strength and excitement pour into him. “Thanks a million.”

  “No worries, man,” Tarkin said, panting and flicking strands of hair out of his eyes. “I’m happy to help.”

  “Well, you could come and wait for me if you want, tonight when I go under the sea? You could sit on the rocks. And bring some of that toffee your mum’s always buying you. It would feel better under the sea if I had your mum’s toffee to think about.”

  Tarkin grinned. “Sure, buddy, I’ll be there. I’ll stuff my pockets full of toffees. And I’ll bring the torch, and a blanket. Hey, I’m in on the moonlight mission. How cool is that?”

  “But, Tarkin,” Fin said, pocketing the precious moon-stone and biting his lip, “don’t try and swim after me. Please don’t do that. Do you promise?”

  Tarkin put his hand to his heart and solemnly promised. “Course not, buddy,” he said, winking. Then the two boys walked along the harbour road to the bridge. Tarkin started chanting one of the Native American protection spells he had learned back home, and Magnus Fin hoped it really would protect him.

  “See ya soon,” Tarkin said when they parted at the bridge.

  Fin glanced at his watch then waved. The tide would be fully out in two and a half hours time. Walking back along the track to the cottage he felt dizzy with excitement. It had been dangerous the first time he had gone under the sea. He gulped remembering just how scary it had been. Fin felt the excitement tighten into fear. “You have to go,” he said to himself, “and it’ll be fine.” But he still felt anxious.

  So he thought of the three dead seals. He thought of the letters M F written on the rocks. He thought of his beautiful grandmother Miranda. He was being called, and he, Magnus Fin, would go.

  Chapter 7

  At five o’clock Magnus Fin pulled on his wetsuit. Unusually the cottage down by the sea was empty. His mother worked in the jewellers in town. Perhaps, thought Magnus, she’d missed the bus. His father was still up at the farm bringing the cows in for the winter and the last of the hay inside. Aquella, whose music teacher had discovered she had a good singing voice and could play the clarsach, was at her band practice. In any case, Fin had decided it would be easier not to tell Aquella exactly when he was going. It was hard enough for her being a selkie with no seal skin, learning to be a land girl, sleeping in a bed and walking on pavements. She didn’t need more to worry about.

  So Fin was alone, and feeling more nervous by the minute. Dressed in his wetsuit he sat at the kitchen table and ate one of those pasta dinners you heat up and eat all by yourself. He wasn’t hungry, but it might be a long time before he would eat again, and the pasta would give him warmth and energy.

  He had tied his moon-stone to a new leather lace and it now hung around his neck. He glanced out of the window. In twenty minutes it would be low tide, and already it was dark. As he played with his food he spoke to himself, trying to pump himself up with courage. “You’ll be fine, Magnus Fin. You’re half selkie, half human. You’re half child, half man. Sliochan Nan Ronnie or something like that – that’s you – special! Something’s up under the sea and you’re being called.”

  Suddenly from outside he heard three short whoops. That could only be Tarkin. Fin looked around the room, wishing he could find a sudden surge of excitement. The fire was out. The clock ticked loudly. Seconds dragged. Time, Fin knew, moved differently under the sea. A minute on land could feel like a day under the sea. How long, he wondered, would he be gone this time? Slowly Fin got up and with a sense of dread left the cottage and went out into the night.

  All the excitement was in Tarkin. “Wow! Cool wetsuit man. You look like a real diver.”

  Fin scowled. “I am.”

  “Well, let’s go, diver! We’ve got eleven minutes.” Tarkin was hopping from foot to foot.

  “We?”

  “OK, OK, you.”

  Tarkin had brought a torch, a blanket, a flask of hot chocolate, a thick towel, plus his pockets were stuffed with toffees. His enthusiasm was contagious and soon Magnus Fin’s gloomy mood lifted and he w
as jogging along beside Tarkin.

  “You think of everything, Tark,” Fin said, running in the path of light from Tarkin’s torch.

  “Yeah, I know. Oh, man, I am just so excited.”

  Magnus Fin was beginning to feel the same, but even so, as they clambered over the rocks Fin wished that he was the one holding the torch and Tarkin the one wearing the wetsuit. Why couldn’t it be him sitting on the rock chanting protection spells and stuffing himself with toffee while Tarkin went under the sea?

  “Boy oh boy, we’re here,” Tarkin shouted, “with half a minute to go. I’ll do the countdown. Get ready, M F.”

  Magnus Fin kicked off his trainers, curled his toes over the edge of the black rock and stared down into the dark, swirling water.

  Tarkin wrapped himself in a fleecy blanket and got comfortable on top of the rock. He put his flask and a small pile of toffees by his side then started to shout, “Ten! Nine! Eight!”

  Magnus Fin took a deep breath. The moon glinted like coins on the black water.

  “Seven! Six! Five!” Tarkin shone his torch down onto the water.

  Fin thought of the three dead seals. He thought of the writing on the rocks. He thought of his grandmother.

  “Four! Three! Two!” Tarkin’s voice was rising with excitement.

  Fin thought about himself – half a selkie – called under the water. He bent his knees and swung his arms back. This was it. It was now or never.

  “One! Jump!”

  Fin didn’t move. His knees quaked. He bit his lip. It looked so dark down there, and cold.

  “JUMP!” Tarkin yelled. “Jump or I’ll push you!”

  Magnus Fin jumped, splashing into the freezing sea. His hand groped through the water to find the shell handle of the door that led to the selkie’s underwater world. Grasping it, he pulled and immediately felt himself being sucked through, into a flash of bright emerald-green light. The light was blinding, the sound that filled his ears rushing. His lungs felt fit to burst.

  Then a change came over him, and Magnus Fin could breathe under the sea. And though the beam of light from Tarkin’s torch penetrated downwards through the water, it was nothing to the light that shone out from the blue pupils of Magnus Fin’s eyes. He blinked, and brilliant silvery beams of light stretched through the sea.

  He kicked and dived deeper. A thrill shot through his whole body. I’m home again, he thought, I’m home under the sea! And the fear that had weighed on him all day was gone.

  Through the swirling water Fin spied a tiny crab. It was clinging to the other side of the rock door and appeared to be waiting for him. For a second the crab looked up at Fin then scuttled off, across the rock and through the water, its small legs paddling frantically like oars. A shudder of recognition ran through Fin as he pushed himself away from the black rock. Was this the crab he had last seen heading into the debris of the monster’s awful crumbling palace?

  The crab stopped paddling and turned around. That’s right, he said, answering Fin’s thoughts. We meet again.

  Perhaps it was the memory of how brave this crab had been during his last mission, but Fin instantly trusted it.

  For such a tiny thing it moved fast. Fin kicked his feet and stretched his arms wide, gliding forward. The crab darted in and out between fronds of seaweed. Sometimes the crab shot a glance behind to make sure Magnus Fin was following. He was. He didn’t know what else to do. Fin had forgotten how easily he moved through the water. What a sense of freedom he felt to be deep under the sea again. Forests of algae and seaweed waved to him like long lost friends. The fish that swam past seemed to flick their tails in welcome. His selkie heart thrilled. As Magnus Fin swam on and gazed around him, he wondered why he had felt afraid of this wonderful watery world.

  This is the best place ever, Fin thought, gliding onwards, kicking his feet and smiling from ear to ear.

  Chapter 8

  Still following the sometimes scuttling, sometimes paddling crab, Magnus Fin dived deeper. Now he found himself swimming through a long valley. Just like on the land, so under the sea there were rocks, mountains, forests and valleys. On the sandy floor of this valley a forest of kelp swayed to and fro with the tide. Fin swam above it, brushing the seaweed tips with his feet. He felt how the current rocked him from side to side. It was no good trying to resist it. Quickly he learnt to move with the rhythm of the water, like the fish that were now staring at him, or darting past, or tickling his feet.

  The crab that Fin had been following for a long time or a short time, he couldn’t tell which, stopped and crawled under a clam shell. Wherever Fin was being led, he had now arrived. With his heart thudding loudly he swept his bright eye-lights through the dark water. Tall craggy rocks, covered with barnacles, surrounded him. Great ancient faces, or so it seemed, stared at him. He was in an underwater world of cliffs, craters and canyons. Ahead of him loomed a huge circular rock. The crab had brought Fin to this place for a reason – but what was it? He didn’t know whether to swim on or tread water and wait for something to happen.

  Booming, sighing and slapping sounds surrounded him, echoing on and on. From somewhere a muffled banging noise like a bass drum thundered. Fin twisted his body round, looking behind and above as he did so, but where the sounds came from he couldn’t tell. He circled his arms and kicked his feet. Why did the crab have to leave him like that? The banging went on. It sent shivers through Fin’s whole body. Something was bound to happen soon.

  I’ve come, he called out in his selkie thoughts. M F, that’s me. I’m here. I came.

  Still nothing. At least the crab is close by, Fin thought. That gave him some comfort, but when he scanned the valley floor the clam shell had vanished. He groaned and grasped his moon-stone. That helped to still his thudding heart. He circled his feet, glancing first at one rock face, than another, not noticing the brown liquid that stained the water and snaked around him.

  Through the water Fin imagined he could see a face, like a great Native American chief, beckoning him from the huge round rock. Not knowing where else to go, Fin swam towards the stern face. Only then did he smell the stench. He twisted round. Some foul-smelling creature was nearby. He looked up, down. But nothing was there, nothing but rocks and water. Even the face had vanished. Fin stared at the rock. Thick brown droplets oozed into the sea.

  Magnus Fin felt his eyes smart. He rubbed them and felt thick slime smear the back of his hands. He could see now that this brown sludge, whatever it was, dripped from a tiny crack in the rock. As it dripped it polluted the sea. And – Fin covered his mouth and nose – it stank! He swam forwards, wanting and not wanting to explore, afraid of what he might find. Fin curled his fingers around his moon-stone. Don’t turn back now, he thought, spurring himself on.

  Up close, he could see that this rock was weeping thick brown tears. What he had imagined as the eye of an American chief was a hole in the rock from which the tears were seeping.

  Fin’s eyes were still smarting and for a second his torch-lights dimmed. He blinked and shook his head, struggling to keep his eyes open. Not only his eyes hurt but so did his ears. A dull repetitive banging hammered in his head, as though something or someone was pounding the sea with a battering ram.

  Was the thudding noise coming from inside his head or behind this weeping rock? Fighting a splitting headache, Magnus Fin dug his fingers into the crevices and hoisted himself level with the hole in the rock. The banging noise ceased. He pressed his face up to the crack and forced himself to peer through.

  A green eye peered back at him! It was the most menacing eye he had ever seen. A bolt of panic shot through him. He wanted to cry out. Fin kicked backwards away from the ghastly staring thing.

  His courage drained away. In a panic he thrashed his arms and legs wildly through the water, wanting only to swim as far away as possible. His eyes stung. Half blindly he lashed out. Why had the mysterious little crab led him to such a place? And where was the crab now?

  Fin thought of Tarkin, sitting waiting
on the black rock. He wanted to be back on the land. This world was too frightening, full of strange creatures. And the smell was terrible!

  Quick! Hold on to me. It was Miranda.

  Fin reached up and grabbed hold of her tail fins. Above him the water spun like a whirlpool and Fin was tossed up in the churning currents. In seconds the weeping rock was far behind. Fin, clutching on for dear life, was whisked away at great speed in and out of coves, caverns and past giant cliffs. A deep whooshing sound almost deafened him. The swaying kelp forests below blurred with the sheer speed of Miranda’s swimming.

  Only when they reached the far end of the oceanic canyon, where the rock formations opened out into vast sandy plains, did Miranda slow down. She twisted her head now to look into her grandson’s eyes. He was flushed and shaking.

  Why did you come here, Fin? she asked, not unkindly but with concern in her voice.

  Magnus Fin released his hold on Miranda’s tail fins and floated in the water beside her. But, I – I thought you called me? I saw the writing on the rocks, and …

  I didn’t call you, Fin. Not now. Now is not a good time for you to be here.

  Magnus Fin looked quizzically at his grandmother, this great silvery seal with glittering green eyes. She was the strong mother of the selkies, known as the bright one.

  But why? Miranda, what’s wrong?

  She shook her head sadly. It’s nothing, Fin. The sickness has come to us, that’s all. It’ll pass like all things pass. The crab should mind his own business. Now tell me, how is Aquella? And how is my son Ragnor? How is life up there on the land, Magnus Fin? As she questioned him Miranda nudged Fin forward and pushed him swiftly upwards through the water.

  Aquella’s fine. She says to tell you she likes school. She’s in a girl’s band you know. Dad works on a farm. You’d never know he was a selkie now.

  Good, Fin, that’s good. And you? You have a best friend now?