She couldn’t believe she was about to go through the Staran again. To feel the nothingness. But this was the only way they had to get to Malan apparently. She felt the waves singing in her blood, a sure sign that the fearsaidh was right, her magic had already started unlocking. All she needed to do to finish unlocking it was to bind with the other Wardens. Well, that wasn’t happening. Not if her life depended on it. But even so, she was pleased that she knew it was possible to get access to her powers again. It made her feel a lot more in control of herself.

“I still say we should stop off and get some waffles,” Jared murmured under his breath. Macey threw him a dirty look over her shoulder. And not the kind of dirty look he’d want either. No. He lost the right to any of those the moment he claimed her and made a fucking tattoo appear on her back. Sure, he claimed he had no idea how it happened, but somehow, she didn’t believe him. Or didn’t want to believe him. If she did, she’d likely have to accept the stupid Warden thing too. And she wasn’t prepared to do that yet. Not until she’d heard it from Flint’s prophet.

“We don’t have time to stop for waffles,” Cam reasoned. She was surprised by how calm he sounded, and not at all like they were responsible for some serious saving. Actually, she kind of liked how assured he was. There was no doubt he’d do what needed to be done. There was something about the voice that heated her up in places she really shouldn’t be thinking about right now.

“Maybe Malan will have some,” Jared added. Macey rolled her eyes, thankful that none of them could see her from where they were stood behind.

“I doubt ghostly prophets stock the kitchen,” Flint said, amusement lingering just below the surface. Macey didn’t turn to look at him. If she did, she’d probably see the smirk that was surely on Jared’s face, and then she’d melt. And forget to be mad at him. Come to think of it, she was kind of melting a little already. Damn incubus.

“How would you know? Are you a ghostly prophet? He loves waffles.”

“I find it highly unlikely that he makes them himself.” Flint’s voice cracked, and Macey almost stifled the giggle she’d been suppressing.

“Ah, so you’re not too mad at me then, little kelpie.” Her giggle ended, and something very different to amusement flooded through her. Especially as Jared’s voice sounded closer than it had before. A lot closer.

Strong arms circled her, and without meaning to, she leaned back into him, enjoying the closeness.

“No, I suppose not,” she grumbled.

“I really didn’t know what was happening, I swear it.” She twisted her head to the left so that she was looking at him, and noticed the overwhelming earnestness in his eyes.

“I know,” she half-whispered. His expression changed before her eyes as a large grin spread across his face. He leaned in and kissed her quickly, not lingering for a second. Much to her disappointment.

“I’m glad.”

“Right, now that’s sorted. Shall we?” Flint asked, waving his hand towards the Staran in front of them. Macey nodded, untangling herself from Jared’s arms, and making her way towards him. She wrapped her arms around Flint’s waist, wishing it was her legs instead. Looking up at him, she saw the soft smile on his lips. He was clearly feeling a lot better than while they’d been under water. For that she was glad.

“Ready when you are,” she said.

“Oh, I’m always ready for you.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her, and Macey’s skin flushed just thinking of all the things he would do. She decided she needed some alone time with him soon.

“Let’s get going, Flame-Man.”

“I see you’ve finally arrived,” an echoey voice greeted them as Macey’s feet touched the ground, and she pulled away from Flint. While weird, at least this voice wasn’t just in her head. She’d had enough of those kinds of voices after the encounter in her bedroom and with the storm kelpies.

She turned in the direction of the voice, before stumbling back slightly in shock, narrowly avoiding falling only through the steadying hand Flint placed on her elbow. A head floated in front of them. An honest-to-the-seas head. It was a little bigger than a normal head, maybe about the size of Macey’s chest, with a long flowing beard and hair. Oh and had she mentioned the lack of body? Or the fact that it was white and ever so slightly translucent?

“Malan,” Cam acknowledged, taking a step forward.

“Camdan, good to see you again.”

“Again?” Cam frowned, and Macey wanted to take a step towards him and offer support. But that meant going closer to the head. No, Malan, she shouldn’t keep thinking about him as just a head. That would be rude when she knew his name.

“For me, yes. I watch all of the new Wardens. Macey, Flint, Jared,” he acknowledged them one by one with a nod. Which was impressive in the circumstances.

“New?” Macey squeaked.

“Well, yes. You didn’t think you were the first Wardens, did you?”

“I’m not even sure I’m any Warden,” she muttered.

“Oh, you are, little Kelpie Princess. But you’re not the first. Nor even the second. Nor will you be the last. Though I suspect you may last longer than the previous ones. Humans can be so fragile, even when blessed with eternal life.” Malan sighed wistfully, as if it was of no great importance that he’d just announced other Wardens had died.

Macey wanted to take a step back, to get as far away from the prophet as possible. But something was telling her that she needed to hear this. That, actually, even if she didn’t want to accept it, this was her fate, and she’d probably better get used to it.

“I’m not human,” Macey said defiantly, refusing to let the head-prophet see how insecure she felt in his presence. “I’m kelpie.”

“Yes, you are. The Fates have decided to mix it up a bit. Good. It was getting boring.”

She stared at him, unable to hide her disbelief. How could he be so nonchalant? He was talking about other Wardens dying, for waves’ sake.

Malan sighed. “If you’d seen as many people pass through my doors only to die a few decades later as I have, you’d be the same, little kelpie. Now ask your questions, chop chop. And no, Jared, I don’t have waffles.”

The big question Macey wanted to ask was ‘what happened to the rest of your body’, but she’d been raised to be more polite than that.

“What exactly are Wardens?” Macey asked and Malan’s stern glance turned to the guys.

“You’ve not told her?”

“Ehm, we don’t know a lot ourselves,” Jared defended himself.

“There are seven of you, one for each element. Some generations of Wardens don’t have to do much except existing to keep the balance. But sometimes, like in your case, you have to come together to heal the worlds. So no pressure.” He grinned. “Next question.”

“Who is hurting the Staran?” Cam asked and Malan sighed again.

“Wrong question. Next.”

Cam looked confused. “Why are they hurting them?”

“Wrong.”

Macey grimaced. “Are the Staran actually being hurt?”

“Clever girl.” Malan’s head bobbed around in approval, giving her a slight sense of vertigo. She still wanted to find out why he only had a head. Even ghosts deserved a full body.

He didn’t seem to be in the mood to expand, so she frowned, trying to figure out what he was not telling them. “If the Staran are not being hurt and are deteriorating nonetheless, they must either be ill or hurting themselves.” She paused. “I’m talking about it like it’s a living thing... is that correct?”

Malan did something that looked like a smile. “They’re not hurting themselves.”

“Then they’re ill. What is making them ill?” She was starting to feel a little silly now. Was she going to ask next whether the mist was suffering from the flu? Maybe a chest infection? Waves, this was weird.

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Because you don’t want to?” Cam barged in, more annoyance lacing his voice than Macey would have liked.

“Because I do not know. I can tell you what’s wrong with them, but not what is causing it. That is the Wardens’ task to find out.”

“And how the hell are we supposed to do that?” Macey put her hand on Cam’s arm, trying to calm him down a little. Not that she wasn’t asking the same questions in her head. Just... his anger was making Malan’s head more translucent. She had a feeling that he could disappear whenever he wanted. And they needed answers before he did that.

“First, you need to find the other Wardens. You are only strong when you’re all together. Seven elements, seven Wardens, seven problems. The Staran are strong, they couldn’t be hurt by just one thing. It’s a multitude of factors coming together and combined they are stronger than they would be on their own. There is not much time left. Soon, nobody will be able to travel on the Staran, and the worlds will drift apart. We can’t let that happen.”

“We? I thought it was us who had to do all the work?” Jared quipped, a smirk on his lips. Much better than Cam’s anger, Macey decided. She was going to reward him with a kiss later on.

“I won’t be coming with you, little incubus. I’m bound to this place, but I will be able to monitor you from afar. The Mahoun isn’t the only one who’s got eyes and ears everywhere. And just because I don’t enter your pretty head, doesn’t mean that I can’t.”

“The Mahoun? Entering my head? What?” Macey was confused.

“It’s what he calls himself. The devil. Don’t think that’s what he is, but his past and future are shrouded in mist. All I can see is the present, and he is preparing. He wants the Staran to fail. He knows the Wardens will be the only ones who can thwart him, so he’s hunting you, even now. One of you is already in his clutches, and another one will be soon.”

“Oh, you mean the Voice?” Macey exclaimed, her head hurting at the memory. It all started to make sense now. Well, a little bit, at least.

Malan chuckled. “He wouldn’t like that name. He’s used to be called the Terrifying, the Monster, the Devil, not the Voice. Bit boring, if you ask me.”

Macey grimaced. “He hurt me.”

Malan turned serious. “He did. And he will do it again. He’s doing it to one of the Seven just now. But before you can go find the others, you four need to bond. You need to be strong together or you will be torn apart. You need your magic, Macey, or you won’t have a chance. And you know how to unlock it.”

He actually winked. Macey shuddered a little. That was creepy. He knew that she was going to have to have sex with the remaining two guys. And while she didn’t have a problem with the actual act - waves, she was feeling the arousal coming even at this moment - but this weird ghost head knowing... yuck. Who knew how detailed his visions were. Did that make him a pervert?

Flint noticed her unease and put an arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him, savouring the warmth of his body.

“Where shall we go now? If we can’t find the others yet and don’t know how to heal the Staran, what is our task?”

Besides having sex, Macey added in her mind. She didn’t think that was the only thing they could do. That was tempting, but quite unproductive.

“You must visit the Sìth. The na fir ghorma are right about them being connected to the Staran, but not how they think. They have been the Staran’s guardians for millennia, but they are having trouble keeping it working. They can use your help... or maybe you can use theirs.”