The House Of Gaian

was almost out of sight, then stopped, reluctant to go too much farther. From her vantage point, she saw the Fae ships leaving the harbor, heading for the neck of water between the coast and a spur of the island. That spur kept her from seeing the ships running toward the island. So she waited, her hands clenched, her heart pounding. Waited for that first sighting of a sail. When she was younger, how often she’d waited on the home docks in the same way, watching the Una River until she saw the sails and knew her father or brothers were coming home. Now the only brother left to wait for was Mihail.
    Birds screamed. Looking up from the sea, she noticed the flocks of gulls circling and swirling. Sea hawks flew above them, around them. Were they really birds or were there Fae among them, guiding the birds that answered to their particular gifts?
    She saw the sails now—and her blood turned to ice.
    A handful of ships. Sweet Selkie ran ahead of the smaller ships, but the warships had closed the distance.
    As she watched, flames appeared on one side of the smallest ship. Moments later, fire bloomed on the deck, spreading to the mast and sails.
    The sails of the warship closest to Sweet Selkie burst into flames. Yes ! Someone on that ship had the gift of fire and was fighting back.
    Fighting back.
    Jenny stared at the warships. “No,” she whispered. “No. You accuse us of being evil and take our land.
    You take away our way of life, and then you take our lives.” Her voice rose as she watched the burning ship flounder and roll. “You’ve taken our homes, our families, everything we held dear. Now take our grief, take our rage, take our pain .”
    She drew on the branch of water, filled herself with the power. Then, charging that power with all the feelings raging in her heart, she gave it to the sea.
     
    The sea went insane.
    One moment, Ubel was watching the burning ship roll to its death and the people on board leap into the sea in an effort to escape. One moment, the guards not manning the catapult were shooting the gulls that flew around the ship, Fae spies for the witches. One moment, the enemy was almost in his grasp.
    And the next moment, the sea went insane. Walls of dark water rose out of nowhere, curled into foaming white fists, and smashed down on his warships. Waves rose as high as cliffs, with a ship teetering on the crest before it rolled and smashed to the base of the wave, only to have the wave arch and dive back into the sea, taking the ship with it.
    Ubel clung to the rail with all his strength, listening to his men screaming as the box of clay pots broke and liquid fire spilled out over the deck and the men trying to cling to anything they could hold onto. They screamed as the fire washed over them. They screamed as they were pitched into the merciless sea.
    The sky suddenly turned dark. Looking up, Ubel realized his ship was caught in a tunnel made by two waves coming together at the crests.
    Then the tunnel collapsed, and there was nothing but the sea. Nothing at all.
     
    * * *
     
    “Jenny! Jenny ! Mother’s mercy, what have you done ?” Rough hands gripped her arms and spun her away from the sea. She stared into Murtagh’s face, seeing fury and fear—seeing him, but feeling only the sea.
    “Jenny! Ground the power now! Ground it, Jenny!”
    She bared her teeth. “They kill us and kill us and kill us. But they will kill no more of us. No more! ”
    He was breathing deeply, roughly, as if he struggled to complete a ferocious task. “That’s right,” he said, his voice straining for calm. “They’ll kill no more.”
    His eyes were dark and intense as he stared into hers. His voice smoothed out, a balm to raw emotions.
    “You defended your people, and you defended them well. Now help me, Jenny. Help me get them to safe harbor. My ships can’t reach them until you calm the sea. Help me, Jenny. Help me get your brother to safe harbor.”
    “Safe harbor,” she whispered, unable to look away from his eyes.
    “Yes. Safe harbor. Calm your heart, Jenny. Calm the sea.”
    Safe harbor. Help the selkies get Mihail and the others to safe harbor.
    She closed her eyes, but Murtagh’s voice still washed over her. She breathed in the power she’d given to the sea, and breathed it out again, flowing on the path of that soothing voice. Calm the heart. Calm the sea.
    “That’s good, Jenny. That’s good.”

    She opened her eyes. She saw relief in his eyes now—and still a hint of fear