Magnus Fin and the Ocean Quest (15 page)

BOOK: Magnus Fin and the Ocean Quest
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He glanced over his shoulder to the sea. The seals had gone. Normally they stayed close by, tumbling over in the water, or simply staring at him with their large kind eyes. Where were they?

Fin looked over his shoulder and scanned the beach. Not even a dog walker was out this early.

You’re brave now, remember that, he said to himself, standing up straight. And it’s only a silly mark on the stone. A rusty nail on a piece of driftwood tossed on a high wave could have made
that mark.

Magnus Fin looked around for driftwood but, save for a tangle of seaweed and a plastic bottle, nothing else had been brought in by the tide.

He peered out over the bay. It was a crinkly kind of sea and, apart from the swishing sound of the waves breaking over the skerries, it was quiet. Most of the sea birds had flown south for the winter. Only the oystercatchers patrolling the shoreline and a few gulls bobbing on the waves remained. And they couldn’t write the letter M on his rock, could they?

He tried to shake off the mood. He bent down and rubbed his hand over the M to erase it, but the harder he rubbed the stronger it became.

“Don’t be daft, Fin – it’s nothing,” he said to himself out loud. Then he said it again, even louder, “Nothing at all!”

Shouting like that made him feel braver. He remembered the way he had bawled out for joy just a short while ago. He tried whooping again but it didn’t sound the same, and the oystercatcher didn’t bother answering.

Magnus Fin jumped down, landing on a shelf of rock below. Now his heart really did thump wildly. Scrawled upon the ledge of rock, the letter F stared up at him.

M. F.

He bent closer. And gulped. Jeepers creepers, there were more! Loads of tiny scrawled initials. The rock was shouting with Ms and Fs! Fin felt his knees turn to jelly.

Something, or someone, was trying to contact him.

Also by Janis Mackay

(available in paperback and eBook)

Magnus Fin and the Moonlight Mission

 

On his eleventh birthday, schoolboy Magnus Fin found out that he was half selkie – part human, part seal. Although he looks like a boy and lives on land, he can breathe underwater.

In the exciting sequel to
Magnus Fin and the Ocean Quest
, Magnus Fin finds dead seals washed up on the beach and knows his selkie family needs his help. But what’s causing the selkies’ sickness and the terrible stench beneath the waves? And who is the green-eye poisoner? Can Magnus Fin find out the truth before it’s too late?

 

Magnus Fin and the Selkie Secret

 

When a rusty metal chest is flung ashore in a storm, Magnus Fin’s problems are just beginning. He injures his hand on the strange box and his sealskin starts to show through. Soon rumours start to spread.

Deep in the ocean, the great sea god Neptune has problems of his own. His treasures of wisdom have been stolen, and his memory and powers are fading fast. Can Magnus Fin restore order under the sea and keep his family’s selkie secret?

The third thrilling underwater adventure in the
Magnus Fin
series.

Kelpies is an imprint of Floris Books

First published in 2011 by Floris Books
© 2009 Janis Mackay

Janis Mackay has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the Author of this Work.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without the prior permission of Floris Books, 15 Harrison Gardens, Edinburgh www.florisbooks.co.uk

British Library CIP Data available
ISBN 978–086315–890–2

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