Chapter 4
“Hang on!” Marina put her hand out over the water, and the boat lurched forward, but it only moved a few feet before we were lifted out of the water, as if something had breached right below us.
Something big, alive, and, knowing our luck, hungry.
I gripped the edge of the boat as the creature – strike that, creatures – came into view, water sliding off their slick, dark bodies so it looked like the water had taken physical form.
They were the size of a pair of semi-trucks, and their necks rose well above us, water dripping off them sounding like rain as it hit the surface of the loch.
What was attached to their necks was the most concerning part, though – crocodilian mouths with hundreds of gleaming, hooked teeth.
I mean, if crocodiles had mouths that spanned nearly ten feet.
Bright yellow, predatory eyes locked onto us, and I clenched a fist, searching desperately for some kind of rune to send them flying.
“Nobody do anything stupid,” I muttered.
A whimper came from one of the others, but I couldn’t look away from the two massive creatures. Call me crazy, but I didn’t think we could stop these two if they decided we were dinner.
At least I didn’t want to try our luck against them, if we didn’t have to.
I lifted both hands slowly, as if I were about to negotiate a hostage situation. “We’re just trying to get to Heathermoor. New students. We aren’t out here fishing or anything.”
The two creatures looked at one another, and the one on the left opened its mouth. I waited, still as a statue, for some loud bellow or war cry. Instead, it horked a stream of water at us as if it were a cat puking up a hairball.
The fluid hit me with a warm splat that slid down my face and the front of my jacket – thicker than water.
I winced but didn’t look away from the big creature, blinking through the strange slime.
I didn’t want to say it out loud, but it was exactly what I thought the Loch Ness monster would look like.
“Gross,” Fable whispered.
The Nessie closest to me snorted again and its huge eyes locked onto Gary as the beast let out a long, low breath.
Gary twisted around to stare at me, his eyes wide, his mouth hanging open. “What did you say?”
“I didn’t say anything.” I frowned at him as he whipped around fast enough that I was surprised he didn’t fall over the edge of the boat and right into the water.
He cleared his throat. “Um. I can hear you, ma’am. And, like, we really are trying to get to Heathermoor. Sorry about the “gross” comment. Just . . . you caught us by surprise.”
The creature on the left tipped its – pardon me, her – head and then slowly lowered herself so she was eye to eye with Gary.
Hecate herself would have peed her pants with a Nessie that close, but Gary held firm, and I gave him all the credit in the world for not freaking out.
He nodded his head. “Yes, I know it’s late for arrival. We caught the first train we could and then there was a vampire, a . . . baobhan sith . . . it almost got me and Ross.”
There was a pause and Ellie tugged on Gary’s shirt. “What are they saying?”
He waved his hand like he was trying to fly away. “They don’t think we’ll be let in, that the gates are closed and locked after dark.”
“Is there another way in?” I paused. “Ma’am?”
They considered my question long enough, bumping each other’s heads gently and scrunching those reptilian lips over and over, that I began to give up hope.
Gary swallowed hard and lifted his hand as if he were asking permission to speak. “We’re . . . we’re trying to save the world.”
I clenched my teeth together because I wasn’t sure we wanted anyone knowing who we were and why we were here. Did I trust Gary to give them this if he thought it was a good idea?
Damn it. I did trust him. I kept my mouth shut and let him do his thing, which was, I realized, his Quirk showing up.
Gary could talk to monsters – or maybe all animals?
The thought rocked me to my toes. What an amazing Quirk!
Hopefully the two Nessies were good at keeping secrets and no one else had Gary’s Quirk.
Because he went on to tell them about what had happened with Tarquinius, and how he’d wanted to split us up, and how we’d made a run for it here for more training, and that we were all House Phoenix.
“Like, I don’t know what else to tell you. Except that’s the whole truth.” Gary slumped. “We just need to get into Heathermoor.”
Mrs. Nessie looked across at what I assumed was her mate, Mr. Nessie.
She let out a soft rumbling deep in her throat which rippled down her body and into the water, the vibrations running through the boat so that I could feel it shaking right down to my bones.
Waves rolled away from her and us as our boat was slowly lowered back into the water.
The two Nessies swam next to us and our boat started to move again, away from the front gate.
“Gary, are they really helping us?” Caterina asked, her voice low. “For real?”
He grinned over at her, then looked at me. “Yeah, they totally get it. I mean . . . I’ve always had a soft spot for critters, like, all kinds, but this is cool, man. I could hear what they were saying, clear as I can hear you right now!”
Mrs. Nessie looked back and I think she grinned at him, though it was hard to tell with the size of her mouth.
“Ah, thanks Nanala. It’s the coolest Quirk. I’m stoked.” Gary blushed and ducked his head.
“What did she say?” I leaned forward and put my hand on Gary’s hand.
That his heart is pure, he loves his friends and that is why his Quirk arrived when it did. He wished to save his friends.
I jerked back from Gary and stared up at Nanala. Why the hell had I just heard that, too? Sweat popped up across my brow despite the icy cold wind coming across the loch.
“She just said that I’ve got a knack for speaking to animals,” Gary said.
Which was not exactly what Nanala had said, but I wasn’t going to point out that when I’d touched his hand, I’d heard her too. Had to be part of his Quirk.
Had to be.
Nanala continued to swim, but she kept looking back at me, as if . . . as if she knew I’d heard her.
The two Nessies escorted us around to the western side of the island and pushed us toward a small cove.
“They say there is an entrance here, and we’ll be able to get onto the grounds. Dormitories and some of the doyens’ houses are on this side of the island. Lots of empty ones.” Gary lifted a hand to our new friends. “Thanks, guys, you’re awesome!”
Nanala ducked her head and butted her nose at Gary, like an oversized dog.
Once we were on shore, we turned to see our guides slowly lowering into the water and a thought hit me like an unexpected left hook.
“Gary, ask them about the kraken coin. Maybe they can point us in the right direction.”
I could feel Calypso squirming in my pocket, and I reached in and gripped the locket in my fist, preventing her from screeching something at the Nessies that would offend them and make them less likely to help.
Nanala swam back to shore. Her head dropped and she didn’t put her nose to Gary, but to me. Her head took up my entire vision like sitting in the front row of the theater, and the urge to lean back was strong, but I resisted.
I half thought that she would smell like fish, but there was no smell really of any sort that was off putting. Just fresh water and ozone.
I clutched the locket hard enough that I was surprised I didn’t dent it. “Do you . . . know anything about a coin with a kraken on the face of it? We’re on a quest for that . . . on top of saving the world. We were sent to Heathermoor to start our search.”
Her huge eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and her breath huffed out of her, more water and mucus splattering the front of my shirt and chin.
“Please don’t eat me,” I whispered.
That would be a terrible end. I couldn’t think of many worse.
Another huff, then she slid back into the water.
Gary stepped up next to me and watched his new friends disappear under the surface, hardly a ripple around them. “They only came out because of the Horned King’s wild magic, so maybe it was good we showed up when we did.”
I took a deep, shuddering breath and relaxed my hold on the locket, but Calypso remained quiet.
“What did they say about the kraken coin?”
Gary winced as if he didn’t want to translate. I almost wished I’d been able to hear her myself. Almost. “That if that’s what we’re looking for, we’ll never save the world, because we’ll all be dead. Those that seek the coin die.”
I stared out across the water, wishing that there had been something else with their warning.
Even a laugh would have been good, because, at least then, I could have brushed it off, but the solemn look in Nanala’s eyes, the silence in their departure .
. . neither left me feeling like they were joking.
A laugh did cut the air, just not from anyone I cared to share a joke with.
It burst out of my pocket, and I jerked my hand free, flipping Calypso’s locket up into the air as she howled.
“Oh, this is going to be so fun! I can’t wait to see where it’s hidden!
Death and danger everywhere, for everyone! Such a good time!”
The locket hit the ground, and I stared down at it, half wishing that I could kick it into the water. Because, while Calypso might think this was going to be fun, I knew the truth. And by the look in my friends’ eyes, they did too.
Fun was not going to be on the docket – pain, frustration, fear . . . those three were most assuredly going to be on the list.
I scooped up the locket, snapped it shut on Calypso’s laughter, and settled my backpack straps better across my shoulders. “We gotta get over the wall, then find Liam’s place. One thing at a time.”
A shiver rolled through me and Marina shot me a look.
“Let me get that for you,” she said with a wink before raising a hand and moving her fingers into a rune that she pointed at my still wet boots and jeans.
Droplets of water sprang out before pattering against the ground around me.