Page 38 of Beneath the Earth (Seven Wardens 3)

The vision of the whirlpool flashed through Macey’s mind. Maybe that was the answer. If she managed to create a ‘hole’ in the water so the Orca couldn’t escape, the others might be able to kill it. But would she be strong eno

ugh? Her powers had increased, but creating a whirlpool like in the vision seemed way too difficult. If she failed, she might sink the boat.

Another selkie head broke the surface and said something to Rónán.

“It’s coming,” he warned the others. “Prepare yourselves, it’s almost below us.”

Macey looked around, hoping to spot the Orca before it reached the boat. A dark shadow appeared to her right, far bigger than she’d expected.

“Holy waves,” she muttered, before raising the alarm. “Over here!”

The others turned to face the shadow that was rising quickly to the surface. It was too fast, too big. It was going to hit the boat.

“Brace yourselves!” Macey shouted and clutched the railing just in time. The Orca’s head crashed into the boat’s side and the sound of splintering wood filled the air. There were screams behind her, but she didn’t have time to turn around before she was thrown into the sea, the piece of railing she was still holding flying along with her.

She broke the water’s surface and before she could react, the shift came over her. She had no choice in the matter; one moment she was human, the next kelpie. She’d never shifted this quickly before. It should have scared her, but there wasn’t time. Her men were in danger.

She focussed on finding them. Not many people knew that the antenna on her head was her seventh sense, a way to locate warm bodies in the water. Maybe it had evolved as a way to find other kelpies in large bodies of water, or prey – it didn’t matter.

She sensed all four of them, three of them struggling in the water, one swimming confidently. That had to be Rónán. He didn’t need any help, so she focused on the other three.

Two of them were close together, but the other one was drifting off, sinking further with every untrained swim stroke. Her antenna sense couldn’t tell her who it was, but he needed help, no doubt about that.

She swam to him as fast as she could, but before she could reach him, her senses alerted her to another presence. Something big was approaching her from behind.

The Orca.

She turned and stared right into its open maw, rows of sharp teeth waiting to rip her apart. It was massive, far bigger than even a blue whale, and its eyes were glinting red with cruelty and hunger.

This was not a being that could be bargained with.

She hissed and turned, swimming away from it as fast as she could, hoping she could draw it away from her men. She hissed sharply while swimming, the kelpie version of a war cry.

The Orca was much faster than her though, no matter how quickly she swam. She pushed some magic into the water around her, propelling her through the water. Now she was able to match the Orca’s speed, but she knew that she was using up a lot of power this way. She needed to confront him soon, before her energy ran out. But how was she supposed to fight this monster on her own?

The image of the whirlpool flashed through her mind again. There had to be a reason why she’d been shown that vision. Maybe she should just try to create something like it. But once she did, she wouldn’t have the energy to fight it. She needed her guys.

Macey changed direction again, swimming back to where the boat had been destroyed. She pushed herself to swim even faster, to get some distance between herself and the Orca.

When she got closer, her antenna sense told her that there were other people swimming with her men. Each of them was held by at least two selkies who were helping them stay afloat. She’d never thought that she’d ever be indebted to a selkie, but right now, she was prepared to hug and kiss them all and promise them half her loch kingdom. Not that it was hers to give away, but it was the thought that counted.

If only she could communicate with them to tell them what she was planning. She’d told Jared of her vision though, so hopefully he’d be able to figure it out.

Once she’d reached a safe distance, she stopped. In the vision, she’d had been human, not kelpie, but there was no time to shift, and her water magic was a little stronger in her kelpie form anyway.

She took a deep breath, her gills filtering the oxygen out of the cold ocean water.

The Orca was almost upon her again. Time to weave some magic.

She whinnied and expelled her magic, letting it form a small tornado that gripped the water and carried it with it, condensing it, then lifting it into the air as if she was trying to empty out the sea. Slowly, a funnel began to form like a spear of air penetrating the water.

Her body shook with effort, but she kept pouring her magic into the whirlpool that was roaring before her. The Orca was fighting against the current, struggling not to be pushed into the hole in the ocean that Macey had created.

It wasn’t strong enough. One moment, only its head was poking into the air, then the whole body was in the centre of the column of water, held there by… by what, exactly? Was it Air or perhaps Cam’s wind magic? She didn’t have the strength to look and see, but all that mattered was that the Orca was out of the water and in reach.

A ball of fire shot through the air and landed on the Orca’s black skin, but it dissipated as soon as it touched the skin. There was no mark on the Orca, no trace of a wound. Flint threw more fire at the whale; balls, lances, rains of sparks. None of it seemed to injure the Orca.

Sweat was forming on Macey’s scales, carried away by the water. She wasn’t going to be able to keep this up much longer.

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