Seven Wardens: Books 5-7

Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Nessie was sat on a cloud swinging her legs back and forth when Macey found her. Not lost then, but not exactly doing anything sane either. Though that shouldn't surprise her. None of this was fully sane and she couldn't expect this day to be any different from the rest.

"Why are you making blood cakes, dear?" Nessie asked.

Macey jumped. She hadn't realised the older kelpie even knew she was there.

"Blood cakes?" Macey squeaked.

"Yes. In the kitchen with one of your men. You were making blood cakes."

"No, we...one of my men? Luc isn't one of mine."

"Isn't he?" Nessie looked over her shoulder and arched an eyebrow, making Macey very aware of how the two of them had been acting with one another. She wasn't as oblivious to Luc's presence in the house as she wanted to be, yet she was desperate for him not to leave.

"No." She sat next to the other kelpie and dangled her legs over the cloud, enjoying the weightless sensation more than she expected to.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"Have you become a clairvoyant now, too?" Macey joked.

"I wish. Then maybe I could have stopped some of this."

The grief dripping from the kelpie's words had guilt welling up within Macey. She'd been so angry for the lies she'd almost forgotten Nessie had lost someone too. Her nephews had betrayed her as much as Macey's brothers had.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. We should have told you who you really were. Your father should never have blocked your powers. If he had, maybe none of this would have happened."

"Why did he block my powers?" It had bothered Macey ever since she'd realised how detrimental it was to her health. The whole thing had been completely out of character for her Dad. He'd never have done anything to stop them protecting themselves before.

"We didn't like the idea of you going on land in the first place. We worried about the Warden powers drawing bad things to you."

"You were right on that front," Macey muttered.

"And so wrong at the same time. When they came, you weren't able to defend yourself."

"I managed once I found a little help." What she wouldn't give for those early days back. When there was nothing more than trying to figure out her magic and no pressure to save the entire world. She'd even take on the lampads again if it meant she could shed some of the responsibilities she'd gained.

"I'm glad you found them," Nessie said. "That you have people to love you as much as they do."

"Thank you. I'm glad too," Macey responded.

"How are you feeling?" The question came out as a whisper, almost like Nessie didn't really want to know but felt she had to ask.

"Tired," she answered honestly. "I've felt like it's been one thing after another and it never stops. I want to help everyone. I really do, but I don't think I have what it takes. Not really."

"It doesn't matter. You're the one who took up the mantle, you have to see it through now."

"I know." She stared into the distance, trying not to think about it too much. "My anger is making it difficult though."

"Your anger?"

"It controls me. Anything can trigger it. I nearly burned Malan's house to the ground. I drained the Loch..."

"That wasn't the first time?" Nessie's eyes widened.

"No. It wasn't. I don't know what's happening to me."

Nessie tapped her chin, deep in thought. "Kelpies weren't always the peaceful people we are now, Macey. There's a chance it's some of the ancient urges coming out in you."

"Ancient urges?" she repeated, not understanding what Nessie was suggesting.

The older kelpie sighed. "When I was your age, I set out on my own quest, determined to find myself as a person. I travelled all over the world meeting all kinds of people."

"Like I did?" Macey briefly wondered whether she'd experienced relationships like hers too.

"Almost exactly like you. With less of the responsibility and more of the fun."

"That sounds good," Macey responded.

"It was," Nessie answered. "But in some ways, I feel that a situation like yours would have created a better person than I turned into. As soon as I got pregnant, I abandoned the people who loved me and ran home to my people. I shouldn't have done that. When I went to try and find them again..." she trailed off with tears in her eyes.

Not knowing what else to do, Macey rested her hand on the other woman's leg.

"I'm sorry, it's hard for me to remember my mistakes. Some of them sting more than others."

Macey nodded, understanding exactly what she meant. While her men had been about to do damage control, she wasn't naive enough to think that her mistakes hadn't rippled out to affect others. Amber's distress over Izban being bait in their siege against the Mahoun was one example of that. Which reminded her that she should send a message to the beithir. They'd need the other two Wardens back from their holiday before they took on the Mahoun's siblings.

"While I was travelling, I met so many different people. The selkies, the seelie, even a ceasg..."

"Was she as useless as the one we met?" Macey muttered, the ceasg's refusal to help with their big fight.

"I wouldn't say useless but my understanding is that they're restricted and cursed, maybe even more so than the rest of us."

"That's sad."

"It's just life," Nessie said. "All of us come with blessings and curses. It's what you do with them that matters."

"And my anger is my curse?"

Nessie chuckled. "Not as much as you seem to think it is. When put to use correctly, your anger can be a tool. Don't let it rule you, Macey."

"You were telling me about ancient urges?" she reminded the other woman, not wanting to focus too much on her own shortcomings.

"Ah, so I was. Forgive me, the past always makes me talkative. Where was I? Oh yes, meeting all kinds of creatures. One of the most interesting peoples I encountered was on the far coast, by the sea."

Macey was on the edge of her cloud, unable to hold back the excitement of the story. Hopefully, it would also give her some answers she'd been craving. Even if it didn't, it had still distracted her from the rage and grief for a while.

"I met some kelpies."

"In the sea?"

"Yes."

"Were they storm kelpies?" Macey's eyes widened as she remembered the blue men but she was certain they weren't related.

"No. Kelpies like you and me. Well, like me. I'm not sure there are any kelpies like you."

A blush rose to Macey's cheeks at the compliment. "I didn't think there were any kelpies living in the sea," she prompted.

"Neither did I, but there was no mistaking what they were. They invited me into their home and showed me their ways. They weren't anything like ours. They ate meat, they chased boats just to scare the fishermen..."

"You did that yourself," Macey pointed out.

"Yes, in a Loch where it was safe for them if they fell in, not in the dangerous sea. Never mistake the ocean for what it is, Macey. It is a vicious mistress who will turn on you in a second."

Macey shivered as she recalled her own adventures with the sea, not doubting Nessie's words for a moment.

"The sea kelpies were violent. Angry. Their emotions were wild. We were born of the same line ultimately. I think some of the rage of the sea lives in you."

"What?"

"You're the Water Warden, Macey. The sea is part of that. Just as much as the Lochs, rivers, and rains. The sea is part of you and that comes with her beauty and her rage."

Nessie fell quiet for a moment, then she looked up and grinned. "You never told me why you're making blood cakes. Are you trying to gain a fairy lover?"

Macey shook her head. "No. We're going to catch some monsters."

By the time they returned to the house, it was close to nightfall. Nessie offered to help with baking the rest of the blood cakes. Now that they knew that the recipe seemed to work, they were going to have to make more. Macey refused to try one. They actually looked quite appetising, almost like gingerbread, but just the thought of eating her own blood and that of her men made her feel queasy. It was bad enough that some of the dark creatures they were trying to attract would eat the cakes. Hopefully, they wouldn't gain any kind of power over the Wardens. She never knew with blood... it was an ancient kind of magic that was rarely practised nowadays.

Luc had disappeared without saying where he was planning to go, so the two women were alone in the house. Macey made a mental note to talk to Luc about walking off without telling her where he was going. If he wanted to be part of the team, he needed to be less secretive. And a whole lot less cryptic.

Her men hadn't returned yet. She hoped they were busy getting waffles, not just weird magic ingredients for their ritual. Although sage sounded a lot more harmless than the blood cakes she was baking right now.

"You have to admit, they smell delicious," Nessie said with a wide smile as she took the new batch of cakes from the oven. "Perfect colouring, too. Mary Berry would be impressed."

"I don't think you'll find any blood recipes in her cookbooks," Macey replied drily.

"No, she's a bit conservative. How many more cakes do we need to make?"

Macey checked their blood supplies in the fridge. "I think we have enough ingredients for two more tins. Let's make those just in case; we don't actually know how many we're going to need. The kludde didn't give us a lot of information."

"I met a kludde once," Nessie said dreamily. "He was very tall with very barky skin."

Macey snickered. "Barky?"

Her mother shrugged. "Not sure there's a better word for skin that's hard as rock and one inch thick. He was such a gentleman though. I've always had a soft spot for green hair."

Macey pushed the thought of her aunt, no, her mother ogling a kludde out of her mind. That thought was going to lead to imagining the Teacher giving birth, and that really was going to make her brain explode.

"What are you going to do with the cakes once we're done?" Nessie asked.

"We're going to put them outside during the Blue Moon tomorrow night. Hopefully, that will attract at least some of the beings we hunt. We're going to try and destroy them. If we're lucky, we might find out more about them as well, to figure out how to deal with them in the future."

Nessie frowned. "Am I right in thinking that so far, you've only ever faced one of the creatures at once? And that you needed all of your Wardens to defeat them?"

"Yes." Macey sighed. "I'm hoping that the ones who will be called here by the blood cakes will be weaker ones. We knew about both the Mahoun and Self-Doubt because they'd caused a lot of damage already. At the moment, we're not aware of any other beings as strong as them, so hopefully, the ones we're facing tomorrow will be easier to defeat."

"And if not?" Nessie had stopped kneading the dough and was looking intently at Macey. The younger kelpie was tempted to look away, but that would mean admitting to her own insecurities. "What if they're going to overwhelm you?"

Macey shrugged more nonchalantly than she felt. "Then we're going to fight as hard as we can. I'm going to let my anger take over and use it as a weapon just like you suggested. We're going to prevail. We have to. That's why we were chosen for this role."

Nessie smiled and opened her arms, inviting Macey in for a hug. "Spoken like a true Warden. I may not have been able to tell you, but I'm incredibly proud of you, Macey. Not just because you're my daughter. You're one of the most important people in this country right now, even though almost nobody knows that. You're helping to keep everyone safe." Macey blushed and she was glad that she was able to hide her face as she stepped into Nessie's embrace.

"I'm just doing what I need to do," she muttered.

"Nonsense," Nessie admonished her. "You're going above and beyond. I can see why some kelpies would like you to be their Queen. And we need to talk about that soon. Right now, the Council of the Elders has taken over the day to day kelpie business, but we need a ruler again soon."

"What about you?" Macey asked, surprised that she hadn't asked that before. "Everyone knows and admires you. You'd be perfect."

Nessie chuckled. "They don't admire me, they fear me. Besides, I'm old. We need a young King or Queen who can introduce change. We've been stuck in our Loch for too long. We let our traditions dictate us rather than define us. Things need to change before we start going backwards rather than forwards."

Macey was surprised by the passion in the older woman's voice. She couldn't remember Nessie ever taking much interest in politics. On the contrary, she was known as someone who would always say what she wanted and didn't care a wet fart for diplomacy.

"The situation has become simpler now, though," Macey said. "I'm not actually the King's daughter, which means I have no right to the throne. My brothers are the only ones eligible, so all that needs to be decided is who of them is going to be King."

Nessie stepped back, looking a little sad. "If only that was true, Macey. I think you need to take a closer look at your family tree. You're of Royal blood, too. Actually, you have a stronger claim to the throne than Bruce and Jerry. Of course, the two of us are the only ones who know. The King and his wife-"

"My mum," Macey interrupted and Nessie cringed as if she'd been slapped.

"Yes, the woman who brought you up because I couldn't," Nessie whispered. "They knew. It was one of the reasons we decided that they would bring you up as their daughter. So that you would get the best possible education as well as political experience. You're younger than Bruce and Jerry, but if people knew who your real parents were, then they would accept that your claim is the stronger one."

"But why?" Macey asked. "Why is mine stronger?"

Nessie smiled sadly. "Because my mother was the Empress of Kelpies."