Page 52 of Broken Veil
The gate is open.
I am with Naida and Godrik. The fae woman is speaking to the river fae.
Not the grindylows?
The grindylows should not be here. The wild fae are quite angry that the Morrígan called them, and they appear willing to speak to the serpent.
Carys walked back toward the edge of the river. The embankment was high next to the locks where the land sloped down to the left. She saw Naida and Godrik like specters through the fog, and somewhere in the distance, she heard Laura singing a low song.
Frida appeared beside her, and Carys nearly jumped out of her skin.
“Your friend is gifted with elemental magic.”
“Yes, she’s a pauwau inwe of her people.” Carys kept her eyes on the water, hoping that Cadell could speak to the giant snake. Hoping that the water fae would be irritated enough by the Morrígan to guide the giant serpent to the lock. “Kind of a Brightlands diplomat to the Shadowlands.”
“What an excellent idea.” Frida put her hand on a large black wheel. “I’ve switched it to manual operation, so one of you can close it when the creature is inside. Good luck.”
Carys’s eyes went wide when she saw the giant black wheel mounted on the ground. It looked like it would take two grown men to even budge it.
“Wait, you want me to…” She looked around, but Frida had already disappeared.
Who did she know with the strength of two grown men? “Godrik!”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Carys ran down the grassy verge and listened for anything that sounded like the wolf. “Godrik?”
The ground dipped, and Carys nearly tripped into the water, which would have been a very bad thing because the green-skinned grindylows were now crawling up the banks.
Naida had stepped back, speaking to some small glowing thing that hovered around her. Laura was backing away, her arms up and holding the fog as she chanted. Duncan and Lachlan were swiping at the scaly creatures with black-stained blades, trying to hold them back.
Cadell was pacing on the edge of the river, staring into the fog and occasionally punting a grindylow’s head like a football anytime one got too close.
“You called for me?” Godrik appeared from the fog, holding what appeared to be a massive anchor. He was eyeing the grindylows. “These little bastards are stubborn.”
“I need you to close the lock gate when the snake is inside.”
He frowned. “I know nothing of your Brightlands technology, Lady Carys.”
“Can you turn a really big, heavy wheel?”
Godrik flexed his shoulders, and Carys was reminded of a bear. “Yes. I can do that.”
“Good, then come with me.”
Cadell, is he moving?
He is quite confused, but the water fae will try to guide him into the lock.
Does the Morrígan understand what is going on?
She only sees through his eyes, and he is still thinking this is a way upriver that will avoid the rocks and metal of the human weir. He knows that going over it will be painful.
Good.
“Laura!” she shouted.
A moment later, she heard a response.
