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At the end of the cave, a stone pedestal rose from the water, and on it was the largest crystal she'd ever seen. It was egg-shaped but almost as tall as a kelpie foal. And it was glittering in hundreds of colours.
She dived back underwater, deciding that she'd have to shift again to be able to inspect the crystal. She'd be naked, but who was going to see her down here anyway? The sponges and shrimps didn't seem to care.
St. Kilda
14
She wasn't sure if it was just sheer exhaustion, or if shifting was actually getting easier. But this time, it didn't hurt as much as it had in the past.
Now in human form, she was glad for the warmth of the water, and the way it was enveloping her, making her feel kind of safe and secure, probably for the first time in weeks. Macey knew it was just an illusion, but she was going to enjoy it nonetheless.
The currents pushed against Macey as she walked through it. This was a definite drawback of being in her human form. What wasn't, was the way her eyesight worked. Her kelpie eyes were designed to see the underwater tones, and that meant they couldn't see quite so well above the surface. But now, as a human, she could see everything so clearly. The colours coming from the crystal glittered against the walls, showering the cave in a rainbow of light.
It was bouncing off the water too, which only added to the atmosphere around her.
Macey really wished her men could see this and didn't quite understand why they couldn't. All they'd need would be an enchantment like the storm kelpies had around their heads, and they'd be able to breathe underwater and join her here.
The only answer must have been magic. Only one person could enter, because that was all the gods had decided could.
Macey scoffed. The gods indeed. She couldn't even work out where they fit in. Or why everyone was so convinced they didn't exist, when they actually did. Or had. She wasn't all that clear on that one.
Shaking her head to clear it of any errant thoughts, Macey refocused on the task at hand, striding forward through the water, finding it easier going as it became shallower, the soft waves lapping against her ankles.
The rock floor of the cave was slightly scratchy against her bare feet, but she ignored it. That was really the least of her problems. Her legs burned as she climbed the naturally occurring steps, each one taking her closer to the crystal at the top.
Talia? she called in her head, hoping Air would hear her and respond, but knowing that wasn't likely to be the case. Air had explained that wasn't how it worked, but so far, Macey hadn't seen any of the other Warden's powers manifest in herself.
As she suspected, there was no response from the Warden. Macey guessed she was doing this alone then.
She reached the top of the staircase and found herself level with the pedestal. Reverently, she walked towards it, unsure what to do with herself.
The lights dancing off it only grew brighter as she approached, and she remembered something her Aunt had said when she was younger. She'd called them fairy lights. Dancing against the walls and doors of the palace underwater. It was even more spectacular here. Probably because light behaved differently above the surface of the water.
Macey frowned. Where even was the light coming from? She looked upwards, eager to know the answer, and was relieved to find a small chimney-like hole above her head. That explained the air too. She wasn't likely to suffocate down here, though with her ability to shift, that wasn't really a possibility anyway.
Not sure if it was what she was supposed to do, Macey reached out and placed her hands on the stone. It lit up far more brightly than it had before, and something opened up in her mind.
Images fluttered past her now closed eyes, showing Macey the journeys of the other past Wardens, as well as other creatures who lived around and about these parts. It was a wonder to behold. There was so much culture in this one spot, and she gained a new understanding of the world.
But not of the Staran. She could feel them screaming out to her, and wanting to be healed, but not knowing how. She could even sense them trying to repair the damage that had been done to them.
Tears pooled in Macey's eyes as she felt the pain they had been going through. And it wasn't just the past few months of pain, but years. Decades. Centuries even. This problem was going a lot further back than anyone had even realised.
No wonder the Wardens hadn't managed to fix the Staran. They were acting as more of a band aid than a cure. And therein lay the problem. No one had looked into it. Maybe no one had even be able to sense it. That would make some kind of warped sense, considering the past Wardens had been humans.
That must be the link if her own set were all supernatural. Hope welled up within her. Maybe this meant they really did stand a chance at fixing things. Or maybe not. Maybe they were doomed like every other set of Wardens before them.
Macey dug around inside the connection between her and the crystal, searching for whatever it was that was blocking the Staran from healing themselves.
Finding what appeared to be a rotten part of the line, she mentally followed it, picking up pieces of the healthy Staran and trying to use them to knit everything back together at the same time. Nothing seemed to hold though, leaving it unraveling behind her and leaving the Staran in the same mess as they were before, but thankfully not worse.
Why was this happening? Luch had implied that Macey would know what to do when she was faced with the Staran themselves. Yet, here she was, and she was as confused as ever.
She continued following them down the apparently rotten path, not finding much more to do, but feeling this was her best choice.
After a few moments, something black and foreboding formed in her way, and somehow, she knew this was what was causing all the issues. All she had to do now was work out how to undo it.
Stealing herself mentally, Macey began to poke at the dark mass, turning it around in her head to try and locate its weak points.
