“Okay, fine, you’ve been sixty percent angry since I got here.”
Flint laughed, moving closer still so that their bodies were almost touching. “Who counts angry in percentages?” he asked, his voice low and rumbly and tempting. It soothed out some of her anger, and despite herself, she began to calm down, the magic bubbling through her blood almost vanishing completely.
“I do,” she insisted, pouting at him.
“It’s adorable.”
“It is not,” she said, putting her hands on her hips and attempting to look stern. Though that was well and truly undermined by the effect his closeness was having on her. Really, all she wanted was to press her body against his and let him kiss her. Maybe Jared’s magic had taken hold of her again, that could explain why she was suddenly thinking with parts a lot lower down than her brain. Stupid men, distracting her with their sexiness.
“Oh, it is Macey.” He cupped her cheek in his hand in a surprisingly gentle gesture, before leaning down and pressing a swift kiss to her lips. He pulled back, his eyes meeting hers, and while she could see the desire burning within them, she knew he wouldn’t go any further right now. He’d decided on the next step, and she suspected that nothing she could say or do would change that.
“Let me just break this sexual tension by saying that we should really leave if we want to see Malan today,” Jared said and Macey was tempted to strangle him. Not just because he mentioned sexual tension. Also because he was right.
“How do we get there?” she asked, stepping out of the circle and rummaging through the clothes Flint must have brought with him. What did someone wear when they went to visit a ghost? Black? Or would that be too morbid?
“The Staran, if they let us leave,” Cam explained, looking a little doubtful. If it hadn’t let him leave earlier, it might not now. But this time, it was important.
Macey put on a black hoodie over her top - just to be on the safe side - and slipped on her boots. “I’m ready. Shall we go?”
She strode out of the room, the guys’ chuckles following her. She didn’t quite understand what they found so funny, but they were guys, so she didn’t even try to. They rarely made sense; it had been the same thing underwater. The number of times she had struggled to grasp why her brothers did things... no, she didn’t want to think about her brothers. They were either victims, or evil bastards, and somehow nobody could tell her which option was correct. Maybe the dead guy could tell them. Malan.
She waited by the door until the three men joined her. Flint was wearing a big backpack. When he saw her questioning glance, he shrugged. “Malan likes gifts, and he likely won’t talk if we don’t bring him anything.”
“Are you all ready? We might run into trouble,” Cam said. Jared grinned and opened his jacket wide, exposing a row of throwing stars attached to the lining. Flint produced a silver lighter from his breast pocket and flicked it on, smiling at the flame.
“Why do you need a lighter?” Macey asked, and he winked.
“Because it looks cool.”
She rolled her eyes and turned to Cam. “Do I need anything? And if you ask if I have a trident, I’m going to kill you, slowly.”
“I wasn’t going to ask that... But I’m sure you’d look hot with it,” he smirked and left the house, disappearing into the mists.
She followed, flanked by the other two guys. The fog was thick, almost touchable. Macey had never seen anything like it before - if she ignored the night of her kidnapping. It was unnatural, no, it was supernatural.
“It’s just a two-minute walk to the Staran,” Cam called from in front of her, but it came as a whisper, the mist swallowing every sound. Following his voice, she walked slowly, careful not to trip. She couldn’t even see her feet, but it felt like she was walking on gravel.
“How about a stopover on Earth?” Jared shouted. “Malan likes those Belgian waffles, we should probably get him some.”
“I want some too!” Flint chimed in. Macey noticed how hungry she was. Waffles sounded like a great idea. Much more appealing than walking through this strange mist.
She bumped into Cam with a yelp. Why couldn’t he have warned her that he stopped walking? That wasn’t an unreasonable request in this weather, was it?
“We’re here,” he explained, taking her hand.
She looked around, but all she could see was fog. This spot wasn’t any less misty than the last couple hundred yards.
“How do you know?” she asked and he sighed.
“I don’t know. Jared’s been asking me for years, but I... just know. Same as Flint. We can always feel where the doorways to the Staran are. And this one here is a good one. That’s probably why they built the house here.”
She frowned. “They? Isn’t it your house?”
“Oh no, it’s been here for millenia. No idea who built it originally. It changes over time, and sometimes new rooms appear when we need them. Our entertainment room only appeared two years ago, but I guess the game consoles weren’t as good before that.”
“So your house is magical?”
“I guess.” He shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal, while Macey was having trouble getting her head around it. A house that added new rooms. Maybe she could ask it for a hot tub? Or a painting studio? She’d always loved to paint, even though the techniques underwater were very different from those humans used.
“You need to hold onto me and don’t let go no matter what happens,” Cam explained. “Flint will take Jared.”
“But I wanted to take Macey!” Flint complained. “She’s much more fun than Earth guy.”
“Then you should have claimed her first,” Cam snarled, his humour suddenly gone. Macey stared at him wide-eyed, not quite sure whether he was only talking about travelling through the Mists. It didn’t seem like it... and in her mind, she had already claimed them. Not just Cam. All of them. They were hers. She grimaced at the thought of anyone else taking them. No way. She just hoped the other three elements wouldn’t turn out to be girls. Unless they weren’t into men, of course.
“Could we get out of this mist?” She tried to diffuse the tension. “This stuff is getting my clothes wet.”
Cam pulled her close and wrapped her into his arms. She didn’t mind travelling through the Staran. They should do this more often. She liked being in his arms, warm and cosy. Although it would be more fun if they weren’t wearing as many clothes...
“Ready?” Cam called and the others all confirmed.
Macey was getting a little jitterish. The last time Cam had transported her on the Staran, she’d been unconscious. Would it hurt? Be uncomfortable?
A tight squeeze was all the warning she got before they plunged into nothingness.
Darkness.
No, not darkness.
Nothing.
No light.
No dark.
No shadows.
Just her and Cam, their bodies united, being thrown through the universe.
It was hard to focus, but she tried to think about however Cam would know where to stop. Where to get out of this vacuum. If they could get out of it. Maybe it had all gone terribly wrong? Maybe this wasn’t the Staran?
A pain around her navel area made her scream as they were pulled backwards as if ropes were attached to their bellies. Suddenly there was darkness, and pain, so much pain, agony, never-ending agon-
Solid ground appeared beneath their feet and they stumbled forwards before collapsing on the ground. Shaking from top to feet, Macey looked around. They were in the Mists again. She couldn’t see the house, so wasn’t sure if they’d returned to the place they’d started from.
“Guess we still can’t get to Earth,” Cam groaned, releasing her from his grip. A second later, Jared and Flint appeared out of nowhere, falling before they could get their balance. “And neither can they.”
Na Fir Ghorma (Blue Men of the Minch)
Chapter 8
“What the fuck are those?” she half-screamed, staring at the blue man-shaped t
hings that seemed to be staring at the four of them.
“They’re na fir ghorma,” Cam replied, his voice shaking ever so slightly. So that wasn’t good. Not in the slightest.
“Storm kelpies? I’m telling you, those aren’t kelpies.” She took an involuntary step backwards, colliding with someone’s chest. Jared’s she guessed, he wasn’t as warm as Flint was, and Cam was stood to her right.
“I don’t think the na fir ghorma are actual kelpies, Macey,” Jared added.
“No shit.” She looked the blue men up and down. They were certainly odd looking, and they did appear as if they came from the water. They even had webbed hands which would’ve made swimming easy. But then, what the heck were they doing here?
“So what do they do?” Flint asked, and she whipped her head around to look at him, shocked that he didn’t know. Even in the short time she’d known him, he’d been the most knowledgeable of the three of them.
“Erm, call storms, I think,” Cam stuttered. If storms were all they had to worry about, she didn’t know why he was so shaken.
“And?” she prompted.
“No one is really sure, they’re supposedly descended from fallen angels.”
Macey snorted. “Angels don’t exist.”
“You sound very certain about that for someone who’s something that shouldn’t exist too,” Jared pointed out.
“Not true. Kelpies are obviously real. Gods, heaven, and angels are not.” She pulled away from him.
“How do you really know that though?” Jared questioned.
“I just do,” she snapped, the magic already bubbling up inside her.
“Question is, what are they doing here?” Cam asked quietly, almost as if talking to himself.
“Walking towards us,” Macey deadpanned, trying not to sound too concerned, despite the hoard of blueness coming their way with gormless expressions on their faces. They kind of reminded her of the zombies in the stupid horror films her brothers had made her watch.
“I don’t mean that, I mean why are they away from the Minch.” He tapped his chin as if lost in thought. She did have to question why he thought now was a good time to start thinking about these things. Maybe later, once they’d decided what to do about them, and had done it, he could muse on the reasons behind it.
“The Minch being...”
“Oh you’re such a loch kelpie,” Cam teased, his expression lightening for a moment. Macey growled. All kelpies lived in lochs, there was no need for him to make it sound like he was some kind of lesser being because of it. Seeming to sense her anger, Cam held up his hands. “Meant nothing by it, Mace. The Minch is a straight of sea between the Hebrides and the Highlands.” She nodded, remembering where he meant from the map of Scotland she’d studied shortly after coming to land.
“Which answers none of the pressing questions. Like where are we? Why the fuck are there blue men making their way towards us? Or, you know, what are we going to do about it?” Flint sounded half-amused, half-serious, for which Macey was glad, and not just because it seemed to relax Cam a bit. He definitely seemed less on edge than before.
“Well I suspect we’re in the Staran above the Minch,” Cam suggested.
“So they’re supposed to be here then?” Jared asked.
“Erm...I’m going to go with no,” Cam said, looking towards the men again. Macey followed his gaze before sucking in a worried breath. That didn’t bode well at all. Several of the na fir ghorma had opened their mouths about three times as wide as they should be able to, which was freaky to say the least, a little terrifying at worst. Even from afar she could see sharp teeth protruding from their extended jaws. Scary. Especially given the clouds that seemed to be swirling above them. Which was odd in itself. Why were there clouds above the mists? That wasn’t normal she was sure.
“What do they want from us?” Macey stammered slightly, inwardly hating that she was showing such weakness in front of the three of them.
“How should I know, I haven’t exactly gone up and had a chat with them.” She was a little taken aback by Cam’s sarcasm. He’d never come across like that before. Her initial instinct was to snap at him, but really, that wasn’t going to get them anywhere.
“Can Flint burn them away?”
“Burn them?” the man in question asked.
“Yes, burn them. You can create flames, right?” He nodded in response to her question and lifted a hand, a small ball of orange flames hovering above it.
“I can, but that’s not exactly how attacking a water being works.”
“Oh.” Well, that was her out of ideas. Or was it? “What about another water being?” she asked cautiously.
“I honestly don’t know,” Cam answered. “But considering they’re getting closer by the second, I’d suggest we stop talking about it and actually do something.” Despite knowing that now really wasn’t the time, she found herself admiring this side of Cam. This Cam was a leader, which was an interesting switch considering it had been Flint who took the lead the most in the house.
“Okay,” she admitted, and widened her stance, noting that the three men joined her in a line, Flint to her left, Jared to her right, and Cam next to him. She wasn’t exactly sure what they were going to do, but just standing there as a united front was enough for her.
“Can you even use magic again?” Jared asked.
“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “But I guess we’re about to find out.” She concentrated on the water that bubbled in her blood and began to draw it to the surface. As she did, a chill wind began to whip around her, and one glance to her right and Cam’s outstretched hands confirmed her suspicions that it was him calling it.
Strands of green hair flickered in front of her eyes. By the waves, she really should have thought to tie her hair back. Rule 101 of getting into a fight: make sure hair was tied back. It was a rookie error really.
We are not here to fight.
A voice suddenly whispered in Macey’s head, faint as the wind. She looked at her companions and their startled expressions confirmed that they had heard it too.
“They certainly look like they’re about to attack,” she mumbled under her breath. “Do you think it’s a ploy to lower our guard?”
“No idea, but it would be wrong to attack them now. Let’s stay vigilant, but we won’t be the ones to start a fight,” Cam whispered back.
Macey nodded and waved at the blue men. One of them - a large guy with a massive sapphire mane - stepped forward and imitated her gesture.
“What do you want?” she shouted, hoping they could hear her through the mist. It had become a little less foggy now, and she was able to make out more and more detail of their strange surroundings. They seemed to be standing on a frozen loch, or river, or... some frozen body of water. A thin layer of frost covered the ice, forming strange patterns that looked like they weren’t just random.
We need help.
“Join the club,” Flint sighed.
“Maybe they can help us get waffles if we help them in return?” Jared asked hopefully and Macey had to hide a grin. This maybe wasn’t the best time for Jared’s sense of humour.
“How can we help?” she shouted, having taken on the role of negotiator. She was used to it; letting her help in resolving arguments had been one of her father’s strategies. People were more likely to give an innocent looking girl what she wanted than a king.
The Storms are in uproar. They told us to find the Seven Wardens. We asked the Staran to take us to them. Now we’re here. But there are only four of you.
Macey grimaced. Yes, they were working on that. Not that she fully believed in the whole Warden thingy. It was a little too far-fetched, even for a kelpie.
“How can the Wardens help you?” she asked.
The blue men’s leader did something like a shrug, but it didn’t quite work. It was clear they weren’t used to being out of the water.
The Storms will know. You need to come with us.
“Sorry, we’re kind of
busy right now!” Flint shouted before she could reply. “I don’t trust them,” he whispered. “It’s all too much of a coincidence that they found us here. We need to get to Malan, he will have some answers. I hope.”
“What if he doesn’t?” Macey asked.
“Then we can visit the na fir ghorma?” He smiled sheepishly, seeing the flaw in his argument. They had no idea how to get to the blue men, nor where exactly they lived. The Minch was a large area.
“We will come with you!” Macey called to the groan of the guys.
“Who put you in charge?” Jared complained. “I wanted waffles.”
“Are there any other princesses amongst us? No? See, I’m the only one. I outrank you.”
“I’m not a kelpie,” he began to argue, but she cut him off by walking towards the blue men.
“Do you promise us safe passage?” she asked, feeling very important. This was like something that happened in books.
Of course. You will each have to hold hands with us. The Staran won’t let you enter our kingdom otherwise.
“Oh, you’ve got a monarchy as well?” She was beginning to see similarities between the two kelpie kinds.
Yes. I am Muahwa, the Crown Prince. Take my hand.
She looked at his outstretched, webbed, slightly slimy hand. By the waves, she hadn’t expected to touch a merman when she woke up this morning. Although he might eat her if he knew she was calling him that. What else were those giant mouths for if not to eat people? They seemed to talk with their minds only; none of them had uttered a single word since they’d appeared.
Nodding at her companions to do the same, she put her hand in his, surprised at the warmth of his skin. They each chose a blue man to touch... okay, that sounded strange. Creepy.
Ready?
Before she could nod, they were pulled into the nothingness of the Staran once more.
The nothingness happened again. Though at least this time she was ready for it. Almost. The painful tug in her stomach didn’t happen this time either, which confirmed that they’d been pulled out of the Staran early last time. Or at least, it did in Macey’s mind; Cam and Flint may end up feeling different.
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