Magnus Fin and the Moonlight Mission by Janis Mackay Read Free Book Online Page A

to Miranda?”
    Ragnor blinked. “Everyone said to take a mate from the great Atlantic selkies was madness. It was well known they were reckless. They fished in the very waters the whalers and trawlermen fished. They bit through their nets. They taunted killer whales then outwitted them. But Miranda followed her heart. Her mate was the strongest of the great Atlantic selkies. Together they travelled to the Arctic and back and many adventures they had, your grandmother and grandfather. Often Miranda told me about my father. How brave he was. How he was known in all the northern waters as the fearless one. How he could leap a twenty-foot wave and sing with a rich, deep voice that, once heard, you’d never forget. Except …” Ragnor paused, “… I never heard him. Miranda found him dead the day I was born. It was the sickness.”
    Fin thought about his grandfather, a great Atlantic selkie. He imagined this magnificent creature leaping high waves and swimming beside Miranda.
    Ragnor turned to look at his son. “His name was Fin.”
    For a while, nothing more was said. Fin gazed out at the field.
    “So now you’ve heard the story, son. You know why Miranda wants to protect you. It’s a terrible thing, this sickness. The selkies have long been persecuted, but when the sickness comes there is no one to fight, no one to hide from. We don’t even know what causes it.”
    Fin nodded. If anything, his father’s story had made him even more determined to go back under the sea to try and help his selkie family. He was sure now that hehad been summoned for a reason; the brown sludge and the green eye flashed before his eyes. He didn’t want any more members of his family to die from this terrible sickness.
    Ragnor knew that look in his son’s eyes. He placed a hand on his shoulder. “The truth is, son, life would be easier for you if you forgot the sea. Much easier. But, if you still want to go, then go.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “Take your moon-stone with you and heed your instinct.” He put his hand to his belly as though that’s where instinct came from.
    Solemnly Fin nodded.
    After that, nothing more was said on the subject. They ate cheddar cheese and chutney sandwiches and after lunch they brought in the last of the hay, piling it high in the byre. Sometimes they laughed. Sometimes they were silent. Fin felt the strength of his father and of the land seep into him.
     
    Before Magnus Fin went upstairs to get ready for bed that night his mother had been extra loving and given him a long hug. He felt warm and happy inside. Now he was back at the mirror brushing his teeth, looking for bravery in his face and finding it this time.
    His toothbrush caught on something. The white toothpaste turned red and Magnus Fin spat out his last baby tooth. He held it between his thumb and forefinger, washed his mouth out, then winked at himself with his brown eye. If ever he needed a good omen for this mission that lay ahead of him, here it was.
    Granny May up in John O’Groats was always going on about the tooth fairy. She said the last tooth to fallwas the most special. Pure magic, that’s what she called it. Only the other week she’d seen Fin wobble his last tooth. She’d laughed and told him he could wish on a last tooth and that wish would surely come true.
    Well, Miranda, Fin’s other granny, was as magical as any tooth fairy. Miranda often gave him gifts, tossing him treasures on the incoming tide. He would give her something this time: a baby tooth from her grandson. And not just any baby tooth, but his last one! That might help the sickness. Didn’t Granny May say this tooth could cure all ills? Fin held the tooth between his thumb and forefinger and brought it close up to the mirror. Perhaps it was the light from the candle flickering by the glass, but that small sharp tooth gleamed like a nugget of gold.
    Magnus Fin lay his head down on his pillow that night and smiled. Underneath it lay his lucky tooth and