The Talking Scout and the Siren's Song

Chapter 5

The Talking Scout and the Siren's Song

The pale hands vanished beneath the waves.

For a moment, nobody moved.

The little cove was silent except for the hiss of the sea sliding over the stones.

Noah stood in front of Liam, breathing hard. Bran shook herself behind them, spraying cold water everywhere.

"Ugh!" Rory cried, wiping his face. "Thank you, Bran. I was almost dry for three seconds."

Bran gave a low, happy huff.

"Those hands were Merfolk," Chloe whispered.

Noah stared at the dark water.

"They know we're here."

The blue kite fluttered above Liam's head. Its golden symbol flashed once, then pointed towards the cliffs.

At the back of the cove, a black cave opened in the white rock.

From inside came a soft sound.

Singing.

It was far away at first, almost like the wind humming through a shell.

Áine stepped closer.

"That's beautiful."

Noah grabbed her sleeve.

"Nobody goes near the singing."

"Good advice!" snapped a sharp voice from above them. "Pity you lot didn't think of it before landing on Rathlin like a sack of potatoes."

Everyone froze.

Slowly, they looked up.

On a ledge above their heads stood a puffin.

But not an ordinary puffin.

This puffin was wearing a tiny brown leather flying cap, strapped under his chin. He had bright orange feet, a bright orange beak, and the most annoyed expression Noah had ever seen on a bird.

Rory blinked.

"Did that puffin just talk?"

The puffin clicked his beak.

"Yes, the puffin just talked. Try to keep up."

Áine's face lit up.

"Oh my goodness. A talking puffin!"

The puffin puffed out his chest.

"Not just a talking puffin. Pip the Puffin. High-sky scout of Rathlin. Brave watcher of the cliffs. Master of the wind. Terror of careless crabs."

Áine clasped her hands together.

"Can we keep him?"

Pip nearly fell off the ledge.

"Keep me?" he squawked. "Keep me? I am not a pet, young lady! I am a scout. A hero. A feathered professional!"

Áine grinned.

"He's tiny and bossy. I love him."

"I heard that," Pip snapped.

Noah narrowed his eyes.

"Who are you really?"

Pip gave an offended flap of his wings.

"I told you. Pip the Puffin. High-sky scout of Rathlin. Brave watcher of the cliffs. Master of the wind. Terror of careless crabs."

"That doesn't mean we should trust you," Noah said.

Pip sighed.

"Finn said you would say that."

The children went still.

Áine stepped forward.

"You know Finn?"

"Know him?" Pip puffed out his chest. "I have carried messages for that great lump of a giant since before your granny's granny's granny was a twinkle in the mist."

Noah still looked doubtful.

Pip pointed his beak at Liam's kite.

"He said five children would come with the sky-sign. He said the youngest would carry it. He said Bran would bring you across the hidden road, and you would arrive wet, frightened, and asking far too many questions."

Rory blinked.

"That is annoyingly accurate."

Liam looked up at Noah.

"He knows about Bran."

Noah glanced at the blue kite, then at Pip.

Finally, he nodded.

"Fine. We'll listen. But if this is a trick..."

Pip clicked his beak.

"If it were a trick, boy, I'd have chosen a warmer cave."

The singing from the cave grew a little louder.

Pip's eyes sharpened.

"No time for nonsense," he said. "The Merfolk have taken the blue stone deep into the caves. If it stays there too long, the sea-roads will start to break."

"The sea-roads?" Noah asked.

"The hidden paths beneath the waves," Pip said. "The ones Bran brought you across. They are part of the same old stone as the Giant's Causeway. If the blue stone is not returned, the underwater columns will crack first."

"And then?" Chloe asked.

Pip's voice dropped.

"Then the cracks will spread. Through the caves. Through the cliffs. Maybe even through the Causeway itself."

Liam hugged the kite reel tighter.

"Where is the stone?"

Pip pointed one wing towards the cliffs.

"Somewhere inside. Where fresh water falls into salt water. That's where the Merfolk hide things they don't want anyone else to find."

Rory frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"It means," Pip said, flapping his wings, "follow me and try not to fall into anything."

He shot into the mouth of the sea cave.

Noah grabbed Liam's hand.

"Everyone stays together," he said firmly. "No running ahead. No exploring. No touching strange glowing things."

Liam looked down at the blue kite reel in his hands.

The golden symbol flashed once.

"I think the kite heard you," he whispered.

"Good," said Noah. "Then it can behave itself."

They followed Pip into the cave.

At first, the tunnel was wide enough for all of them to walk together. The walls were white and damp. Water dripped from the ceiling. Their footsteps echoed strangely around them.

Then the cave split into two passages.

One sloped upwards into a narrow crack in the rock.

The other dipped down towards the sound of rushing water.

Pip landed on a stone between them.

"Up," he said. "The blue stone will be higher in the caves."

The kite tugged sharply in Liam's hands.

Not up.

Down.

Liam gasped.

Noah tightened his grip on him.

"No."

The kite tugged again.

Harder this time.

The golden symbol flashed bright enough to light the walls.

"Noah," Liam said, frightened now. "It's pulling."

Before Noah could answer, the whole cave shook.

A deep BOOM rolled through the stone.

The tide surged somewhere below them.

Then a rush of cold seawater burst up through the lower passage.

"Back!" Noah shouted.

But the water hit the cave floor and swept around their ankles.

Chloe slipped.

Rory grabbed her arm.

Áine caught Rory's jacket.

Liam's kite string snapped tight.

The blue kite shot down the lower tunnel like a fishhook pulling through the dark.

"Liam!" Noah yelled.

He held onto Liam with both hands, but the wet stone beneath them was slick.

Liam slid forward.

Noah lunged after him.

Chloe grabbed Noah's hoodie.

For one terrible second, all three of them were dragged towards the lower passage.

Then the cave cracked above them.

A shower of stones crashed down between the children.

Noah yanked Chloe backwards just in time.

But Liam was on the other side.

"Liam!" Noah shouted.

"I'm okay!" Liam's small voice echoed from below. "I think!"

The blue glow of the kite vanished around the bend.

Noah slammed his hands against the pile of fallen stones.

"Move! Help me move them!"

He and Chloe pulled at the rocks, but they were too heavy.

On the other side, Liam coughed.

"I can see water," he called. "And lights."

"Noah!" Áine shouted from the upper passage. "The floor's cracking here too!"

Pip fluttered wildly above them.

"Up! Up now, unless you want the whole cave on your heads!"

"No," Noah said. "I'm not leaving him."

Another BOOM shook the cave.

More stones fell.

Liam's voice came again, smaller this time.

"Noah, the kite's pulling me. I can't stop it."

Noah's face went white.

"Stay where you are!"

"I'm trying!"

Then Liam was gone.

The lower tunnel fell silent except for dripping water.

Noah turned on Pip.

"Find him."

Pip's feathers flattened.

"I can't fly through stone, boy."

"Then find another way!"

Pip looked up the higher passage.

"There is one," he said. "But we have to move."

Noah looked at the blocked tunnel. His jaw tightened.

"Fine. Áine, Rory - follow Pip. If you find the stone, shout. Chloe, you're with me. We're finding Liam."

Áine nodded, suddenly serious.

Rory swallowed.

"I hate this plan."

"So do I," Noah said. "Go."

Pip shot upwards through the narrow crack.

Áine and Rory scrambled after him.

Noah and Chloe turned towards another lower passage, listening for Liam's voice.

Far below them, Liam stumbled out of the tunnel and into a hidden rock pool.

The water was still and clear, as if the wild sea outside could not reach it.

The blue kite floated above the pool.

Its golden symbol pulsed gently.

"Liam?" Noah's voice echoed faintly from somewhere far away.

Liam hugged the kite reel to his chest.

"I'm here!" he called.

But the cave swallowed his words.

Then the water opened.

A girl rose from the pool.

She looked about Áine's age. Her hair was green like seaweed in sunlight, and beneath the water a silver tail flicked back and forth.

Liam froze.

The girl looked at the blue kite.

"The sky-sign," she whispered.

Liam hugged the wooden reel against his chest.

"You're one of the Merfolk."

"Yes," said the girl. "My name is Mara."

"I'm Liam," he said. "Are you going to pull me under?"

Mara shook her head.

"No. You don't look like an enemy."

Liam frowned.

"I'm not. I'm only five."

Mara smiled, but her eyes were sad.

"The elders said the children from the sky-sign would be dangerous. But the kite would not choose a cruel hand."

Liam looked down at the glowing symbol.

"Finn said you stole the blue stone."

Mara's smile faded.

"The elders took it because our deep caves are growing cold. The little Merfolk are freezing."

Liam's face softened.

"Babies?"

Mara nodded.

"They think the stone will save us. But it belongs in the cliff machine. If it stays here, the sea-roads will break and the cold will spread."

"Then you have to give it back."

"I know," Mara whispered. "But frightened grown-ups do not always listen."

A distant voice echoed through the cave.

"Liam!"

"Noah!" Liam shouted back.

But the cave swallowed his voice.

Mara leaned closer.

"Listen carefully. The blue stone is hidden where the fresh water falls into the salty pool. That is where the song is strongest."

"The Merfolk song?"

Mara nodded.

"It makes people forget. Tell your family to cover their ears and keep away from the water."

Liam clutched the kite reel.

"I have to warn them."

Mara glanced behind her.

The water began to ripple.

"They're coming."

"Who?"

"The elders."

From deep below the pool came a soft, beautiful singing.

Mara slipped backwards into the water.

"Run, Liam of the sky-sign."

And this time, Liam did.

High above the hidden pool, Áine and Rory followed Pip through the narrow upper caves.

The little puffin hopped from rock to rock, never waiting more than three seconds.

"Hurry up!" he called. "I've seen snails with more urgency."

"We are climbing through a cave," Rory panted. "Not strolling through a playground."

Áine pulled herself onto a ledge.

"You complain a lot for someone who wanted an adventure."

"I wanted an interesting adventure," Rory said. "Not a falling-off-a-cliff adventure."

Pip disappeared through a narrow gap.

Áine followed.

Rory squeezed in after her.

The passage opened into a huge cave.

Áine stopped so suddenly Rory bumped into her.

"Ow," she said.

"You stopped!"

"I know. Look."

The cave was beautiful.

Blue light shimmered on the walls. A stream of fresh water spilled down from the rock above and splashed into a deep green pool below.

And from the pool came the singing.

It was soft.

Sweet.

Gentle.

It seemed to curl around Rory's thoughts.

His eyes went blank.

Áine turned.

"Rory?"

He did not answer.

He stepped towards the water.

"Rory, stop."

He took another step.

Pale shapes moved beneath the surface.

Hands reached up.

Webbed fingers spread wide.

Áine's heart jumped.

"Rory!"

He walked straight towards the edge.

Then Áine remembered.

Granny's stories.

The Merfolk's song steals your thoughts. If you hear it, cover your ears.

Áine leapt forward.

She clapped both hands over Rory's ears and pulled him backwards.

Rory blinked.

The blank look vanished.

He fell onto the stone floor with a gasp.

"What happened?"

"You nearly walked into the water!"

"I did not."

Áine pointed.

Rory looked.

Long pale fingers slipped back beneath the green surface.

His face went white.

"I did."

"Keep your ears covered," Áine said.

Rory clamped both hands over his ears.

Pip landed beside them, looking unusually serious.

"Good save, purple coat."

Áine looked across the cave.

Her eyes widened.

"There."

On the far side of the pool, where the fresh stream splashed into the salt water, something bright blue was glowing inside a cage of sharp stones.

The blue stone.

It pulsed like a tiny heart.

Rory stared at it through the gaps between his fingers.

"We found it."

The singing grew louder.

The water began to churn.

Shadows moved below the surface.

More hands appeared.

The ledge around the pool was narrow, wet and slippery.

And the blue stone was waiting on the other side.