Chapter EIGHTEEN
Silver
Alona is seething as we ready ourselves to fly back to Loch Ness. I’m in agreement with her. I was ready to force the answer to the riddle out of Marley and go after Murrey and the Druid there and then, but Freddy told us that plan would surely get us all captured and then he herded us out of the market. Fae were showing up with bells, letting everyone know that curfew would soon be in place. We had to return to Blue, but I wasn’t going to waste a moment.
“We rest tomorrow. Then we plan. And then we go.”
Alona looks settled by my words. Marley says nothing.
“Freddy,” I lean down as Blue is about to take off. My Siren friend looks up at the three of us. “Come with us. Who knows if it’s safe for you here.”
He hesitates. “Doesn’t really sound like a Siren is welcome at Loch Ness.”
“They’re not,” mutters Alona.
“You are,” I tell him emphatically. “You’re my friend. You’re welcome.”
For a moment, it looks as if he might say yes. “I have work to do here. I need to be there to help Erica and the Hidden Folk. They need supplies, the ones who
are hiding.”
I nod in understanding. “Okay. But we’ll be back. Soon.”
He reaches up to squeeze my wrist. “You’re not wearing your beret.”
“Oh,” I’m jarred by his words. “I forgot to put it on. I’ve been… busy.”
Blue chooses that moment to fly. She takes off and I’m still looking down at Freddy, until he is out of sight.
I hadn’t even realised that my beret was gone.
I can feel both Alona and Marley peering at me throughout the flight, but I say nothing. I suddenly realise how tired I am. Days of irregular sleep because of our sneaking out now creeping up on me. As Blue begins her descent into Loch Ness, I can picture my bed in the tower, and I can’t wait to crawl inside of it and pretend that none of this is really happening.
“Look!” shrieks Alona, jolting me out of my reverie. She’s pointing to the bank of the loch as Blue begins to land upon the water. “It’s him!”
Marley and I instantly grab hold of the Dryad before she can splash through the cold water, towards what looks like her maker upon the dry land.
“It’s not him,” I tell her, hugging her from behind. “Look. Watch.”
I can feel her desperation to run to the doppelganger, but she obeys me. She stills and we all watch the man on the bank. He looks back for a moment and then transforms. Into Aunt Opal, then Aunt Leanna, then me. I grimace and let go of Alona.
“See. It’s a weird shapeshifter.”
“And this is what Portia wants?” she whispers, staring at it. “This is the ghost everyone has been seeing. That’s what she wants?”
“She’s collecting powerful Hidden Folk for her personal guard,” I sigh.
“It looked just like him,” Alona breathes. “Now it looks just like you.”
I stare into my own eyes and then the creature shifts once more. As if it has somehow scanned my brain, my memory, it turns into Mum. I clench my fists.
Then it turns into Grandpa.
The snarl that comes out of my mouth feels animalistic. No one is strong enough to hold me back as I reach down for a stone and hurl it.
“Don’t you dare wear his face!” I scream, throwing another. It does not even flinch. Instead, it throws them back. It misses me, but the retaliation makes me even more furious. I blast some magic towards it. A spell hits it directly in the face and it staggers backwards a little.
“Ramya, stop,” Marley says.
I reach down to pick up another stone, but my weak ankles lose their footing and I collapse onto the ground. I swear and can feel spluttering, angry sobs threatening to break loose.
So, I let them out. The creature vanishes at the sound and Blue, still standing in the water behind us, lets out a low moan.
“I hate this,” I choke out. “I hate feeling useless.”
“You’re not useless,” Alona says gently. “Your magic is the reason the Fae and Portia are afraid to seize you. You’re lucky.”
“I don’t feel lucky. They’ve locked up my friend to get to me. They know that every minute I’m not trying to break him out, I’m feeling guilty. Knowing that he’s in there because they’re trying to lure me out.”
I punch the stones and dirt beneath my tightly closed fists. I punch until it hurts.
“You’ll injure yourself,” Alona says, kneeling next to me. She holds one of my hands and steadies it. I can’t look at her; I feel like an electric wire that has sparked too brightly.
“We need to plan a rescue. Now.” I look up at Marley. “What did that fortune teller mean? The king’s throne. What is that?”
Marley casts a glance at where the creature stood and then considers the question. “I was thinking about that as we were flying back. Maybe Arthur’s Seat?”
Arthur’s Seat, the dormant volcano overlooking the city. Now a popular sight for tourists, hillwalkers, and school geology trips. I frown.
