Page 62 of The Dark, Dead, Deep

Shay shrugged.

Rainn squeezed my hand before letting go. “I can try and scent the path?”

“Do it.” Shay slipped the scale into his pocket.

Rainn pressed his hand against the chain on his hip, and I watched as he gripped his coat and slung it over his shoulders. As soon as he whipped it over his body, there was no longer a man but a silver speckled seal with long-lashed black eyes. The animal blinked before wriggling forward, slicing through the water with enviable speed. It nudged the blood-stained sand before swimming further down the path.

Shay, Tor, and I rushed after the seal as he became a glittering bullet, spurned on by the scent of the blood. Searching for something that our senses were too dull to understand.

I tried to ignore the adrenaline surging through my body, but it was clear that my heart wasn’t receiving the memo. I wanted a weapon. Something sharp.

The seal found a small opening off the path, something we would have missed entirely if the tiny animal hadn’t scented it. Though Rainn continued forward, exploring the narrow secret passage, the rest of us drew to an abrupt stop so quickly that the silt on the lake bed kicked up and formed a cloud.

It looked like a spider’s web at first, the kind that lived on the surface, shimmering with morning dew. Hundreds of glittering strings were woven on the path, forming a web no fae could pass through.

I inhaled sharply as recognition dawned. The emotion was so clear on my face that the others immediately recognized my thoughts.

“What is this?” Tor waved a hand towards the wires.

“My uncle.” My voice sounded strange, like a fist around my throat. “He weaves the draw wires. It’s part of his magic.”

“These wires belong to the king of the undine?” Tor’s face was blank, and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. “What magic does he imbue in the draw wires?”

I allowed my hands to rise and drop in a futile gesture. “I don’t know. The Undine Court wears jewelry from the king’s weavings. It’s a fashion statement.”

“Are you sure this is the same wire?” Shay asked. “It could be a sea spider.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know,” I admitted, though the water told me otherwise. The wires were poison, and though I couldn’t see it with my naked eye, they were dripping dangerous magic into the water. Enough that I was worried about how close we were standing.

A moment later, Rainn darted back through the assault course of wires, wriggling and twisting his body as if he had taken the path every morning of his life for years. When he was clear of the wires, the selkie took off his coat and shifted back to a man.

“Cormac is through there.” Rainn was pale.

“Is he alright?” Shay asked.

Rainn shook his head, and his silver hair shifted with the movement. “He’s trapped in the wires.”

Shay frowned as he studied Rainn’s face, but Tormalugh spoke first.

“What else?” the kelpie asked delicately.

“What?” Rainn blinked as if being dragged from his thoughts.

“You only make that face when you are struggling with your words. Take a moment. But we need to know what else is waiting for us there.” Tor’s voice was deep, commanding, but patient.

Rainn glanced back at the path. “There are hundreds of people down there. Tangled in the wires.”

I felt their shock as it rippled through the other two Sídhe.

“Undine?” Shay demanded.

“No. Merfolk. Selkie. Even a dozen kelpie.” Rainn’s nose scrunched.

“What else aren’t you telling us?” Shay stepped forward.

“They’re all dead.” Rainn exhaled. “All of them.”

“That’s impossible.” Tor crossed his arms over his chest. “The dead turn to foam.”

---