The Blue Tether

"Liam!"

Noah's voice burst through the cave.

He and Chloe scrambled around the wet limestone corner and splashed into the edge of the rock pool.

Liam spun round.

"Noah!"

Noah ran to him and grabbed him in both arms.

"Don't you ever disappear like that again."

"I didn't disappear," Liam said, muffled against Noah's jumper. "The kite pulled me."

Noah held him at arm's length.

"Are you hurt?"

Liam shook his head.

"I talked to Mara."

Chloe looked at the empty water.

"Who's Mara?"

"A Merfolk girl," Liam said. "She has a shiny tail. But she's nice."

Noah stared at him.

"Liam..."

"She is," Liam insisted. "She said the old Merfolk took the blue stone because their nursery caves were growing cold and dark. They thought the stone would save them."

Before Noah could answer, running footsteps echoed from the tunnel above.

Rory and Áine appeared, panting hard, with Pip flapping behind them.

"We found it!" Áine gasped.

"The blue stone?" Noah asked.

Rory nodded. His face was pale.

"It's in a huge cave above us. There's a stream of fresh water falling into a salty pool, and the stone is glowing inside a cage of sharp rocks."

"That's what Mara said," Liam told him. "Where fresh water falls into the salty pool."

Rory blinked.

"Well, she was right."

"But we can't reach it," Áine said. "The Merfolk are in the water."

"And the singing is dangerous," Rory added. "I heard it and nearly walked straight into the pool."

Áine folded her arms.

"I saved you."

Rory swallowed.

"Yes. You did."

Noah looked from Liam to Rory.

"So we know where the stone is, but we can't go near the water and we can't listen to the song."

"That is a small problem," Pip said.

Rory looked at him.

"It is a very large problem."

Chloe hugged her arms around herself.

"And the Merfolk aren't just monsters. They're trying to save their little ones."

Everyone went quiet.

For a moment, only the water dripped in the cave.

Then Pip hopped onto a pale rock and looked down at his orange feet.

His feathers seemed flatter than usual.

"There's something else," he said.

Noah looked at him.

"What?"

Pip clicked his beak once.

This time, he did not sound bossy at all.

"The Merfolk didn't take the stone by themselves."

Rory frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"We helped them," Pip said quietly.

Áine stared.

"The puffins?"

Pip nodded.

"The Merfolk elders told us their nursery caves were growing cold. They said the blue stone would save their little ones. They couldn't reach the high cracks above the old machine, but we could."

Noah's eyes narrowed.

"So the puffins stole it?"

"We thought we were helping!" Pip snapped.

Then his voice dropped again.

"At first, the stone glowed. The Merfolk cheered. We thought we had done something brave. But then the sea-road began to crack. The caves started shaking. Some of our nesting ledges crumbled into the sea."

Chloe looked at him gently.

"That's why you're helping us."

Pip looked away.

"Finn didn't send me because I'm clever," he muttered. "He sent me because I helped make the mess."

Liam hugged the kite reel tighter.

"Then you're helping fix it."

Pip blinked at him.

For once, he had nothing sharp to say.

Then Rory's eyes moved to the wooden reel in Liam's hands.

And the blue kite tucked beneath his arm.

"The kite," Rory whispered.

Liam held it tighter.

"What about it?"

Rory stepped closer.

"The string is long."

Noah frowned.

"So?"

"So we don't have to climb down to the stone," Rory said, his voice speeding up. "We can lower the kite frame from above."

Áine stared at him.

"Say that in normal words."

Rory grabbed the kite gently from Liam.

"We use this."

He pointed to the wooden frame inside the blue fabric.

"If we fold the fabric back, this crossbar can hook around the stone. Then we pull it up with the string."

Liam looked worried.

"Will it hurt the kite?"

"Only a little," Rory said.

The golden symbol on the blue fabric flashed once.

Liam smiled.

"I think it wants to help."

Noah looked at the kite.

Then at Rory.

"Could it work?"

Rory nodded.

"If we don't drop it."

"Helpful," said Áine.

"There's another problem," Rory said. "Whoever lowers the kite hook will need both hands. They won't be able to cover their ears."

Noah understood at once.

"Then someone else covers them."

"Exactly."

Pip clicked his beak.

"Children with a plan. Terrifying."

A few minutes later, they crept back into the great cave.

The sight made them stop.

The cavern was huge.

Blue light shimmered over the wet stone walls. A stream of clear fresh water poured from high above and splashed into a deep green pool below.

On the far side, inside a cage of sharp rocks, the blue stone pulsed brightly.

The singing floated over the water.

Soft.

Sweet.

Beautiful.

Dangerous.

Noah felt it tug at his thoughts.

He clapped his hands over his ears.

"Remember," he said loudly. "Do not listen."

They moved onto the narrow ledge.

Rory knelt at the edge with Liam's kite reel.

Noah crouched behind him and pressed both hands over Rory's ears.

Áine stood beside them, ready to help pull the line.

Chloe kept one hand over each of her own ears.

Liam stood behind Noah, gripping his jumper.

Pip perched above them on a rock, suddenly very quiet.

Rory looked back at Noah.

Noah nodded.

Slowly, Rory lowered the kite frame over the ledge.

Down it went.

The blue fabric fluttered.

The wooden crossbar swung gently beneath it.

The singing grew louder.

Below them, pale faces turned in the water.

The Merfolk saw the line.

The song broke.

Hands shot up from the pool.

Webbed fingers snapped at the string.

"Careful," Áine whispered, though Rory could not hear her.

The wooden frame swung left.

A Merfolk hand missed it by inches.

Rory's face tightened.

He lowered it again.

The hook slipped between two sharp rocks.

The blue stone pulsed.

Rory twisted the line.

The wooden crossbar caught under the stone.

His eyes widened.

He had it.

But he could not hear anyone.

Noah saw the hook catch.

He squeezed Rory's shoulder hard.

That was the signal.

Rory pulled.

Nothing happened.

He pulled harder.

Áine grabbed the string too.

"Come on," she hissed.

Together, they yanked.

With a bright flash, the stone popped free.

The whole cave changed.

The warm blue light vanished from the water.

The air turned icy cold.

The Merfolk's song became a terrible scream.

Liam covered his ears.

Chloe cried out.

Noah pulled Rory back from the edge.

"Run!"

Rory reeled in the line as fast as he could.

The blue stone swung up from the pool, dripping water and blazing with light.

Áine caught it in both hands.

"It's warm!"

"Keep moving!" Noah shouted.

The pool exploded behind them.

Merfolk climbed from the water, their wet hands gripping the rocks. Their eyes flashed with anger and fear.

"They think we're stealing it!" Chloe cried.

"We're returning it!" Noah shouted.

"Tell them that!" Rory yelled.

"I'm a little busy!"

They raced into the tunnel, the blue stone glowing in Áine's arms.

Pip shot ahead.

"This way, you damp disasters!"

The tunnel twisted left.

Then right.

Then it opened onto a lower passage.

Noah could see grey daylight ahead.

"The beach!" he shouted.

Then something burst from the rock in front of them.

Water exploded across the tunnel.

A tall Merfolk elder rose from a hidden pool, blocking the way. He had dark seaweed wrapped around his shoulders and a sharp coral spear in his hand.

Behind the children, more Merfolk were coming.

Noah stopped so suddenly that Chloe crashed into him.

The elder pointed the spear at the blue stone.

"Give it back," he hissed.

Áine held the stone tighter.

Liam stepped half behind Noah.

Noah raised both hands.

"We're not trying to hurt you."

The elder's eyes burned.

"You take our light. You leave our little ones in the dark."

"We have to return it," Chloe said. "If we don't, the sea-roads will break."

"Lies," the elder snapped.

"They're not lying."

The voice came from the pool behind him.

Mara rose from the water.

Her green hair clung to her face, and her silver tail flashed in the blue light.

"Mara," Liam whispered.

The elder turned sharply.

"Move aside."

Mara did not move.

"The stone does not belong here," she said. Her voice shook, but she kept speaking. "It only looked like it was helping. The glow is already fading."

The elder gripped his spear.

"It warmed the nursery caves."

"For a little while," Mara said. "But now the cracks are spreading. The caves are shaking. The sea-roads are breaking. We cannot save our little ones by breaking the whole coast."

The elder stared at her.

For the first time, he looked frightened.

Pip fluttered down onto a rock.

"It's true," he said quietly.

The elder's dark eyes moved to him.

Pip swallowed.

"I helped take it. I thought it would save them. But I've seen the columns cracking. I've seen puffin ledges fall into the sea. We were wrong."

The tunnel went silent.

Water dripped from the roof.

The blue stone pulsed in Áine's arms.

Mara looked at Liam.

Then she looked back at the elder.

"Let them return it."

For a moment, nobody moved.

Then a roar echoed from deeper in the cave.

More Merfolk were coming.

Mara's eyes widened.

"Go!" she shouted.

Noah grabbed Liam's hand.

"Run!"

They squeezed past the elder.

Áine clutched the stone.

Rory ducked under the spear.

Chloe nearly slipped, but Noah caught her sleeve.

Pip flew above their heads, shouting, "Left! Left! No, your other left!"

They burst out of the cave and onto the grey shingle beach.

Cold Atlantic air slapped their faces.

Bran was waiting in the surf.

The great hound barked so loudly that the cliffs shook.

"Load up!" Noah yelled.

Finn's hound lowered herself just enough for them to climb.

Noah lifted Liam first.

Then Chloe.

Then Rory.

Áine scrambled up with the blue stone held tight against her chest.

Behind them, the Merfolk guards poured from the cave mouth.

Their singing rose again.

This time it was not soft.

It was wild.

Angry.

Noah climbed onto Bran's back and grabbed her thick fur.

"Go, Bran!"

Bran sprang forward.

The beach vanished beneath them.

The sea-road flashed blue under the waves.

And behind them, from the mouth of the cave, Mara watched in silence as the children carried the stone back towards the Causeway.