Beneath the Earth Read online

  “Night, Amber,” Macey called.

  “Night,” the beithir answered, already only half paying attention as she looked around for her mage. Macey smiled to herself. She was grateful her friend had someone of her own to take care of and take care of her. Despite Izban’s somewhat sour disposition, he was good to Amber.

  “So…Cara?” Macey prodded once they were out of earshot.

  Rónán sighed. “Where to even start with her,” he muttered. “She’s one of the leaders’ daughters.”

  “One of?”

  “Yes, he has six. She’s the youngest and the most spoiled. Though the others are almost as bad. You’d have thought he’d have stopped after the first one.”

  Macey laughed. “Not a fan of the family?”

  “Not at all. They look down on just about any selkie who is born beneath them. Which is pretty much all of us.”

  “So why was she draping herself all over you like a monkey in a banana tree?”

  Rónán gave her a confused look. “A monkey?”

  “You know, clinging to you as if you were the last selkie alive and you were her only chance to repopulate the earth with seal shifters.”

  Rónán stared at her, slightly shocked. “You realise seal shifters and selkies are two very different species, right?”

  “They are? Huh.” She hadn’t given it much thought, if she was honest. She’d never really had to. “Okay, sorry. Repopulate with selkies then.”

  Rónán’s next sigh was when Macey realised he was just trying to avoid her question, so she waited for him to go on. “Because to her, that’s what I am. Not all selkies have magic like me, but that didn’t used to be the case. Hundreds of years ago, all selkies had magic. But our bloodlines have become somewhat tainted over the years…”

  “By humans?” Macey interrupted.

  “Yes, by humans. And other races, I suspect, but I have no real proof of those. Anyway, our bloodlines became polluted and now there’s less of us born with the ability to actually use magic. Everyone else is just stuck with the shifting side of things, and even that isn’t quite like yours.”

  “Not like mine how?” she prompted, but he ignored her.

  “Cara decided years ago that the best solution to her lack of magic was to mate with me and have children. I doubt she could gain power directly with that plan, but I think she’d be able to make a good grab for it in her children’s names.” He shrugged.

  “This is about power?” Macey’s jaw dropped open, not wanting to believe what she was hearing.

  “Isn’t everything? Isn’t what Mahoun and the others are doing just the same?”

  “I suppose so.” She frowned. She’d never really thought about it like that. Or maybe she had and just couldn’t remember. “Sorry, I’m tired. My brain is a little slow right now.”

  “We’re almost home,” he reassured her, his arms supporting her shoulders.

  “Home?”

  “My house. It’s not very big, but the bed is large enough for the two of us. Three, even, if one of the others wants to join us, but you look like all you want is sleep.”

  Macey nodded. “Yeah, I’d like to be horizontal now.”

  The house turned out to be a thatched little hut with a high roof that made it look a bit like a tent. Rónán really hadn’t lied when he’d said that it wasn’t big.

  “Where are the others going to sleep?” Macey muttered as Rónán unlocked the door for them.

  “Several selkies have offered their hospitality. You saved them, so they’ll look after them, don’t worry.”

  “Good.” She nodded and let Rónán push her forwards into the house. It was one big room that was separated into smaller areas by wooden screens. Everything had a rather rustic look, and not a single wall was straight.

  “Driftwood,” Rónán explained before she could even ask. “No trees here, so we take what we can from the ocean. The roof is partly thatched with kelp.”

  “Bed?”

  He chuckled. “Behind the screen on your left.”

  Compared to the rest of the hut, the bed was rather large. Macey sat on the edge and let herself fall backwards, half asleep already.

  She muttered thanks when Rónán began to take off her shoes, but she was fast asleep before he’d managed to undress her.

  Fifteen

  “Do you have it back?”

  “Not yet, mother. I’m working on it.”

  “You shouldn’t be here without it. It’s a disgrace.”

  Slowly, Macey woke to the sound of voices. The sun was warming her face, and judging from its position, it had to be at least late morning.

  “You’ll never find a girl without your skin,” the unfamiliar woman said in the distance. Her voice was shrill and unpleasant, and Macey was tempted to throw some water magic at her to shut her up.

  “I’ve found one already, mother, and she-“

  “A kelpie.” The woman’s voice quivered with disgust. “Of course one of those would accept a selkie man without his skin. No standards, those kelpies. They probably whore around with anyone.”

  “Mother!” Rónán admonished her loudly. “She saved us all. She killed the Orca. You’d likely not even be here if she hadn’t come to help, so please, just keep your opinions to yourself.”

  The woman muttered something Macey couldn’t understand, but apparently, Rónán had heard it.

  “Out,” he said harshly. “And never say that again in my presence.”

  “I’m ashamed of you, son.”

  “Well, that’s mutual,” Rónán seethed. “Now go before Macey wakes up.”

  The door slammed shut and Macey decided it was time to stop pretending to be asleep.

  “What the waves was that about?” she asked with a yawn. Rónán turned around to her and was by her side in a flash.

  “Feeling better?”

  Macey nodded. “Aye, I’m a lot less tired. Is your mother always this… ehm…”

  “Spiteful?” He sighed and sat down on the bed. “Yes, she is. She’s become a lot worse since my father left her. It’s one of the reasons I don’t spend much time here. I can’t deal with her accusations and prejudice.”

  “We can’t choose our parents.” Macey put a hand on Rónán’s arm. “You’ve turned out remarkably well though.”

  He chuckled deeply. “I take after my dad. He’s very different from her. No idea how they ever got together, but I’m glad he left. She terrorised him, belittled him no matter what he did. He’s a lot happier now that they’re separated.”

  “Does he live in this settlement too?”

  “No, he’s moved away. He’s… how shall I say this… He’s turned his back on the selkie ways and is now living with a human woman. Usually it’s selkie women who leave us and live with human men, but occasionally, it happens to selkie men too. I think my father’s happy though. His new wife is lovely, even though she tries to ignore all existence of the supernatural. She likes to find excuses for things she can’t explain.”

  Macey laughed. “I wonder what she’d say if she saw me shift.”

  Rónán joined her laugh. “She’d probably faint. Or go to a therapist because she’d think that she was experiencing hallucinations. She’s a bit strange, but nice.”

  Macey tried not to think of her own strange family situation. Her mother who maybe wasn’t her mother at all, and her aunt who may be her mother. It was confusing. She really needed to seek out Nessie soon to find out what the truth was.

  To distract herself, she asked, “What did your mother mean at the beginning? About you not having your skin?”

  Rónán sighed. “Our shifting magic is different from yours. When we shift from selkie to human, we step out of our seal skin. It isn’t as gross as it sounds, by the way. Once we’re fully human, the skin shrinks until it’s small enough to be worn as a pendant. Some wear it on their belts, some as a necklace. Without it, we can’t shift back to selkie.”

  Macey’s eyes widened. “And you don’t have your s
kin anymore?”

  His shoulders drooped. “It was stolen about a year ago. They attacked me in the dark of night and ripped my necklace off. I still don’t know who did it, but I assume it was other selkies. I’m not the most popular person here because I don’t always want to stick to our traditional ways. I tried to find it, or find out who took it, but I’ve not had any success. Luckily, I have enough magic to dive underwater for almost as long as I could in selkie form, so it’s not inhibited me as much as they probably hoped. Still, it’s like a part of me is missing.”

  That, Macey could understand. If she couldn’t shift… waves, she’d go crazy.

  “Izban,” she suddenly said, speaking at the same time as having the idea. “He can do spells to find things. He had a tracking spell once that he used to follow Amber when she was kidnapped.”

  Rónán frowned. “He doesn’t seem to like me much. Do you think he’d do that for me?”

  Macey laughed. “I don’t think Izban likes anyone besides himself and Amber. But I know exactly how to bribe him.”

  Izban and Amber were sitting outside a hut that looked exactly like Rónán’s, snuggled against each other. They looked very cute together and Macey hated to disturb them, but Rónán needed the mage’s help. She couldn’t believe that the selkie hadn’t been able to shift for a year now. She’d probably be dead by now, but he didn’t seem to be affected at all. Yet another difference between the selkies and kelpies.

  “Good morning,” she greeted them and Amber flashed her a wide smile. “I never got to thank you two for coming to help.”

  In a way, she had talked to Amber about it, but not to Izban, and he was the one she was trying to charm.

  “We wouldn’t have been able to defeat the Orca without you. Especially you, Izban.”

  Okay, maybe that was a little bit over the top. Izban seemed to have noticed that too, for he started to scowl.

  “What do you want?”

  Amber elbowed her boyfriend. “Be polite,” she hissed and he had the decency to look a little guilty.

  “Good morning,” he corrected himself, the scowl still on his face though. “What brings you here?”

  Amber elbowed him again and he winced. “What? I said good morning!”

  “It’s the way you said it,” the beithir explained patiently, sounding as if she’d had that conversation many times before. “You need to be polite to others and then they’ll be polite to you.”

  Macey tried to hide a grin. Those two were behaving like an old couple.

  Izban sighed. “Good morning, it’s lovely to see you. Please, sit down.”

  Amber laughed. “See, much better.”

  Rónán and Macey sat down on a wobbly bench beside them.

  “How did you sleep?” the selkie asked, playing along with the small talk game.

  “Lovely, thank you.” Amber smiled cheekily. “The bed was very soft.”

  Izban winced again, this time from embarrassment. “It was,” he muttered. “Is it okay now to ask why they’re here?”

  “I need your help,” Rónán said before Macey could prolong the awkward conversation any further. “I’ve been told you can find things with your magic. Something of mine was stolen and I need it back.”

  “Can’t you just go to the selkie police or whatever you people have?”

  “We don’t have a police,” Rónán explained patiently. “We have a Council of Elders who would judge and punish the culprits, but I don’t know who actually stole it, so they’re not much use to me.”

  “I’m sure Izban is going to…” Amber began, but her boyfriend cut her off.

  “Tracking spells are difficult and time-consuming. You’ll need to find yourself another mage.”

  That’s what Macey had feared, but luckily, she had a secret weapon. One she’d hoped she wouldn’t have to use. She leaned over to Izban and whispered, “In the visions I was shown by the kludde, I saw you betray us. Maybe it’s a future that’ll never happen, maybe you’ll stay loyal, but if you don’t help Rónán, I will tell Amber.”

  She retreated, feeling increasingly guilty at how she was blackmailing the mage. He stared at her, his eyes full of emotion that she couldn’t interpret. Was he angry at her? Would he snap?

  She still hadn’t figured Izban out. He was so nice and gentle with Amber, but to the rest of them, he was cold and rude. He was an enigma that she really wanted to solve… some day. Right now, there wasn’t time, so had to resort to cruder methods, like blackmail.

  The mage met her eyes and she held his gaze. He was probably trying to see if she was bluffing. Well, she wasn’t. This was about one of her men’s happiness, and maybe even health, so she’d do whatever it took to set things right.

  After what seemed like an eternity, he turned, breaking eye contact.

  “Alright. Tell me what’s missing.”

  Macey let Rónán do the explaining. Amber gasped when the selkie told them how he hadn’t been able to shift in almost a year. As a shifter herself, she had to find that as terrible to imagine as Macey did.

  “You need to help him,” the beithir said as soon as Rónán had finished. “He’s done so much for us, now it’s our turn.”

  Izban stared into space for a moment, before turning to the selkie. “I need some of your hair.”

  Without hesitation, Rónán ripped out a few hairs and handed them to the mage. “Anything else? If I need to give you some of my fingernails for you to find my skin, I’ll do that too.”

  Izban cringed. “No thanks, I don’t need any other body parts. The hair will suffice.”

  Selkie Woman

  Sixteen

  “Are you sure this is going to work?” Rónán whispered to Macey as they watched Izban.

  The mage had been in what appeared to be a trance like state and ignoring the rest of them.

  “I don’t really know. I haven’t known him anywhere near long enough to be able to tell when things are going well or not.” She shrugged, hoping to drive the point home. She could ask Amber, but the beithir was sat staring dreamily at her mage as if he could do no wrong.

  Macey knew differently. His betrayal was coming and she had to make sure it had as little impact as possible. There was a chance it wasn’t even going to come to pass. If what the kludde had said about the different paths was true. Even the one that had come true hadn’t exactly passed like the vision suggested it would.

  “Are you okay?” Rónán asked.

  “Yes,” she answered a little too quickly.

  He raised an eyebrow. “You can talk to me, anytime you want. I know you haven’t known me as long as the others, but...”

  “But nothing,” she protested. “You’re as important to me as they are, even if I’ve known you for less time.” She believed every word too. Before coming to land, she’d hardly believed in love, never mind true love. And even when she had spent some time on land, she’d still thought it was some odd notion humans had taken to in their stories and fables. But she wasn’t so sure anymore. She knew how her men made her feel. And how much she wanted to be around them. None of them were more important than the others. It just didn’t work like that.

  “Then talk to me,” he prompted.

  Macey glanced at Izban, making sure he was still in his trance. “In Belgium, Jared and I met a kludde.” She looked at him impatiently until he nodded to let her know he knew what that was. “One of the visions I had was of Izban betraying us.”

  “Ah, I see.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes. You saw a vision and became convinced it would come to pass, even though it might not.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “I’ve fallen for that one myself. While I was travelling in Ireland, I came across a battlefield. I can’t even remember who was fighting, probably some faeries of some kind. That lot are always at each other’s throats.” He waved his hand in dismissal, as if accepting what he was saying wasn’t all that important. “Before the battle came, a crow circled overhead and crie
d out a prophecy about a death. Of one of the leaders no doubt. Knowing how it would turn out, the faerie on that side changed tactics and the person in question survived.”

  “A crow?” she mused. It seemed unlikely it was just a crow. If it was speaking and prophesying, then maybe it was more like Luch had been. Though the mouse shifter had been the first ever Warden and it seemed unlikely that there’d been two of them.

  “Yes. I know it seems silly to think it was just a crow given the true state of the world, but…”

  “No, I believe you. It could easily have been a talking crow.” The words should have sounded mocking but actually didn’t. Such was the advantage of having supernatural boyfriends. It wasn’t like they’d misinterpret something she said and take offense.

  “Exactly. But you shouldn’t put too much stock in visions and prophecies. Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect?”

  Macey shook her head, wondering what butterflies had to do with anything. As far as she could tell, they served no real purpose other than to look pretty and spread pollen about.

  “It suggests that even something as small as the beat of a butterfly’s wings is enough to change the future.”

  “Ah.” She thought for a moment. “So by using Izban’s betrayal against him now, I’ve probably changed how things will play out.”

  “It seems likely. If he knows you’re watching his every move, it’ll mean he either doesn’t do it, or finds even sneakier ways to go about what he’s going to do.”

  “I’m not sure which of those is the better option,” Macey replied.

  “I guess that’s all going to depend on why he was going to betray you,” Rónán pointed out. “Maybe he has good reason to do it. Or maybe it’s Amber’s life on the line. Can you honestly say you wouldn’t betray someone to save one of us? Or that we wouldn’t to save you?”

  As much as she wanted to deny it, she knew she probably couldn’t. There was too much between them. She’d do anything for them, even if it meant hurting someone else in the process. An uneasy feeling settled over her. That wasn’t a pleasant thing to admit to anyone.