A Shift in Fins by Maddox Grey

Author:Maddox Grey [Grey, Maddox]
Language: eng
Format: epub

Chapter Six

“I don’t see or sense anything,” Kaysea said in frustration. “We’ve been searching for over an hour now. Maybe we should just return to the tavern and watch the Tuatha.”

I plucked a stock of grass and wound it around my finger, causing the seeds at the tip of it to fall off. “I think that’s our best option at this point.” I said, echoing Kaysea’s frustration. I’d really been hoping we’d be able to find the kelpie and skedaddle out of town with the Tuatha none the wiser.

Kaysea turned to head back into town and I trailed after her, my eyes still roaming the landscape, looking for any hints as to where the kelpie might be. Just as I was turning my head to look in a different direction, I saw Kaysea veer off course before stepping back to the original path she’d been on. I stopped in my tracks, trying to figure out why that bothered me so much. We weren’t on the main road because we’d been searching in the tall grasses, but there hadn’t been anything in Kaysea’s path to cause her to step around like that.

“What’s wrong?” Kaysea asked when she realized I’d stopped moving.

“I think something is here,” I said slowly, before stepping towards the area she’d walked around. At my approach, I found myself stepping to the side exactly as she did, without even realizing it at first. I forced myself to stop and concentrate, but every time I tried to take a step towards that patch of grass, my feet moved in the opposite direction.

Kaysea stepped to my side. “A keep away spell,” she whispered.

I nodded. Keep away spells were common magic in the human realm. The fae and daemons used them to keep humans out of their towns or houses in that realm. The spells ranged in complication, but at their most basic level, they sent out a physic command to stay away. Humans were usually completely unaware of them, but if you had any amount of magic, it was possible to break them once you realized what was happening. You just had to have a strong enough will to push through the impulse to walk away.

At the end of the day, I was a cat, and stubbornness was my nature.

I concentrated on the spell, feeling that command to walk away wash over me in waves. As soon as one wave would pass, I took a step forward, then I waited for the next wave.

Step. Wait. Step. Wait.

Finally, the impulse slid away, and I found myself standing on flattened grass. Kaysea made it through a second later, drops of sweat beading down her forehead. “They glamoured the spots as well,” she murmured. “This has to be it, but where is the kelpie?”

I tilted my head and studied the ground. The tall grass stocks had been pushed down, creating mounds of grass. It looked like a bed. Slowly, I knelt down onto my knees and started pulling the grass back. The faint smell of seaweed grew stronger.

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