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"But how long will we be able to continue travelling on the Staran? We already need one of the wraiths," Jared protested. "What if we repair them and then fix whatever else needs to be fixed immediately afterwards? Would that work?"
Bradaigh nodded thoughtfully. "It should, yes. The Staran won't destabilise that quickly. How long do they still have, love?"
"No more than three weeks. I can feel the end coming ever closer. There's not much time left."
"How do we do it?" Cam asked, directing his question at Luch. "How long will it take?"
Luch sighed. "When I said that I'd tell you how to do it, I meant I'd tell you what I assume. It's all a rough guess, if you will, but usually my guesses turn out to be right."
"I can vouch for that," Bradaigh said with a chuckle. "She's almost always right."
"Almost?!"
He cleared his throat. "Ehm... always?"
"Good. Now, as you know, the origin of the Staran is here on St Kilda. The problem is that it's hidden deep beneath the island. Back when I was guarding them, it was a cave that could be accessed through a long tunnel when the tide was out. But since then, the sea has claimed the cave and it's now permanently underwater. Which means that only one of you will be able to go there. Two, if you count Air as Macey's stowaway."
"No way. Macey is not going there on her own," Flint protested immediately. "The water is dangerous."
Macey put an arm on his shoulders, soothing him. "The water isn't dangerous to me. I've grown up underwater, I've spent more years there than above ground. Don't worry about me, I've always wanted to explore a proper sea cave."
She turned to Luch. "What will await me down there? What do I need to do?"
"The Staran is fueled by a jewel filled with the energy the gods provided for it," the woman explained. "It was supposed to be enough for thousands of years, so I doubt it's been depleted. Maybe there's something blocking its access. If it's something you can't fix yourself, just swim back up and we'll talk it through."
That sounded easy enough. Water was her element and she wasn't afraid of it. The cave didn't sound very scary either. If there was only a jewel down there, it couldn't be much of a threat. Unless there were selkies... Bradaigh had said that they frequented these waters. All Macey could hope was that she'd be able to avoid a confrontation with them.
"Good, let's do this," Macey announced, unwilling to lose any more time. The quicker they could get this over with, the quicker they'd be able to get some rest. And there was still a chat to be had with Nessie.
* * *
Luch led them back down to the beach and along a path that led to a high cliff. She pointed towards the sea.
"The entrance is about fifty metres that way. I hope it hasn't collapsed when it was flooded, but it should be fine. The tunnel itself will be narrow, so be sure to stay clear of the sharp rocks on the ceiling. It usually took me around ten minutes to reach the large cave in the centre. There you'll find the jewel. I hope."
Macey stripped, prompting Flint to growl at Izban and Bradaigh to turn around. She waded into the cold water until it reached her shoulders, shivering at the same time as rejoicing in the feel of the waves surrounding her body. Finally, she was going to be able to swim again. It had been too long.
She turned back to the others who were waiting on the beach. Jared gave her a cheery thumbs up and she laughed before shifting in one fluid motion. Once her gills developed on her neck, she let herself drop into the water, breathing in deep. She always felt like she got more oxygen underwater than up above. Her gills seemed more effective than her human lungs.
With a strong stride of her tail, she swam in the direction Luch had shown her. The ocean floor beneath her slowly turned from rocks and sand to a lively home. Tiny fish were zipping past her while large algae gently stroked her skin as she swam past them.
After so long without shifting, this was heavenly. She whinnied in delight and almost fo
rgot she had a task to do. She could have swum here for hours, if she'd had the time to do so. It was a beautiful world underwater, and the water was so much clearer here than in her loch back home. Intense pinks, greens and oranges were offset by the rich turquoise water. She couldn't take her eyes off the ocean floor and all the plants and fish living there.
Macey almost missed the cave entrance; it was that hidden beneath a dense kelp forest and carpets of iridescent jewel anemones, literally hundreds of thousands clinging onto the cliff faces and boulders. She smiled at the beauty of it.
With her front hooves, she pulled apart the kelp and squeezed inside. The stone tunnel was darker than the sea outside, but still light enough to see. The walls were covered with incredibly dense thickets of hydroids, who themselves provided shelter for what must have been literally millions of tiny shrimps. The ground was smooth, probably worn down by the effect of the waves reaching in and out during the tides.
Macey made a mental note to explore all the caves beneath St Kilda one day. She was sure there were more than just this one, and if even half of them were as beautiful, she wanted to see them.
She took her time, taking in the shimmering tunnel walls and the algae covering the ground. The kelp was only growing outside where it got some sunlight filtering through the water, but there was none of that in here.
Far too soon though, the tunnel widened and opened into a large cavern. The water temperature changed as soon as she exited the tunnel. Warm water surrounded her, making her feel as if she'd entered a giant bathtub. She shook her body, letting the warmth penetrate her scales. So comfy...
Kelpies didn't mind cold water, but she could certainly appreciate how lovely warm water could be.
The sea didn't fill the entire cavern, so to make it easier to survey the place, Macey took a deep breath and lifted her head above water. She almost gasped when she took in the sight in front of her.
