Keefe and Kealan did not look happy at that, but they seemed to be coming around.

"If he's responsible for this..." Keefe muttered.

"He'll pay for his crimes," Kealan finished his brother's words.

Duncan nodded. "I'm calling in some backup. We have to find him. Now." Duncan pulled out his magically protected cell phone-which still worked, amazingly enough-and dialed the FID department. He quickly told his boss that he needed at least one extra FID to check the nearby areas of the UK, looking for a merrow-banshee crossbreed.

"He could be anywhere. Fact is, because he's a mixed merrow, his underwater time is limited. Just like a banshee," Keefe said when Duncan ended the call.

"What do you mean?" Duncan asked as he put the phone away.

"Well, you know-mixed breeds are weaker than full-blooded mythicals. Most of the time, they can't stand the deep water pressure for long periods of time. At least, not without working on it."

"And neither can Cara." Duncan glanced at his meter on his arm again. "And she has how long?"

"I don't think she can stay under more than, what, a day?" Keefe said to Kealan.

"Maybe two. No more than that, though. I know Norton's been slowly building up his tolerance of the depths for the last few years."

"Doesn't he keep residence here?" Keefe asked.

Kealan nodded. "Over on the far side of the second ring, near the miners. I'm not sure where he keeps residence on Avalon, though. Maybe at his mother's?"

"Tell me where, and I'll send the coordinates to the FID," Duncan said. "Someone needs to go check his residence here."

Keefe gave him a general location, and Duncan texted the info to the FID headquarters while Kealan sent someone to check Norton's home in the Merrow Kingdom.

Frustration began to boil in Duncan.

He should have been done with this by now, been able to whip up a tracking spell-after all, they had Cara's bracelet and breathing device. It should have been nothing to find her.

Yet he couldn't use his magic. He was stuck here, running around, hoping to find some clue, and all the while, the clock was ticking, and she was going to die if they couldn't get her out of here to release the scream.

"We have to find Cara." He slammed the table.

"Hey, we get it. Calm down. We'll find her."

"I can't calm down. Don't you get it? Not only will Cara's scream cause untold amounts of damage to this kingdom if it's not released properly, who knows what the death toll will be? Including hers. She's tied to your kingdom. Yours. Which means, she's here because someone is going to die. The longer we take to find her, the worse it will be."

"But there's no reason-the oceanographers haven't sent out any warnings about coming shifts or storms."

The food that had tasted so yummy before sank in his gut. "Then it's murder that's coming. And it will succeed."

"We need to find proof that this is actually happening first," Keefe said.

"Isn't her presence here enough?" Duncan asked.

"We can't find her. How do you know she's not released her cry and is topside right now, enjoying a day in the sun and surf?" Keefe crossed his arms.

"This." Duncan held up his arm, where the meter had been strapped to his forearm. "See, it's orange now. Which means she's getting close. She's likely in a great deal of pain right now, having to hold it back."

"What could make her hold it back?"

"Magic," Duncan spat out. "The one thing you're not supposed to use down here. But someone's using it. I would bet my wings on it."

"It can't be done. You've seen what your magic tries to do down here. No one can be using it."

"Or they've found some way around the magical blocks." Duncan put his hand on his hip.

And felt his FID phone.

Wait.

"That's it," Duncan said. "This still works." He held up the phone again. "Its magical properties were established outside of the kingdom. But I can't create any magic down here to find Cara, because of the block."

"Which means if someone created something magical outside and brought it in, they'd be able to use it under here..." Keefe said.

"Exactly," Duncan said, grinning.

"Yeah, assuming that's all true, then what does that do for us?" Kealan asked. "I mean, how do we track something magical if you can't make a spell down here?"

"I can't create a tracking spell down here, but I can create some magic and bring it back to do the work."

"You think that'll work?" Keefe asked.

"Only one way to tell." Duncan waved his wand and felt the rush of magic hit him as he disappeared from the Merrow Kingdom.

In a blink, he was on the shores of Avalon, near where he'd entered the water before.

He yanked off his breather and took in a breath of crisp, clean air, and for a moment let the sunshine bathe him in its warmth.

Sunlight invigorated him. Warmed him to the core-he hadn't realized how cold he'd been in the waters until the rays of light hit him in earnest.

But because Mother Nature was a bitch, a gust of wind slammed into him, chilling him again.

He stumbled and took a few steps around. "Okay, I gotta get on with this." In his mind's eye, he could see Cara. And he hoped she wasn't suffering.

If his idea worked, he should be able to enchant something that belonged to Cara, and it would lead him straight to her when he went back down.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out her little red bracelet and held it up. It shimmered and shined in the sunlight, bright fire-engine red. He materialized his wand and waved the green sparkles over her bracelet.

"Find her. Find Cara."

The little bracelet twitched in his hand, but before it could take off, he clenched it in his fist. He popped his breather back into his mouth and waved his wand to return him to the Merrow Kingdom.

At least that spell worked, Duncan mused as the magic wrapped around him. In a blink, he was back underwater, just outside the royal palace.

As soon as he appeared, three Brothers charged forward, all surrounding him with spears drawn.

"Wait, wait..." Duncan said, holding up a hand.

"Who are you?"

"Where are you from?" They jabbed at him with their spears.

"I'm Duncan Molar, with the FID. I'm here to find Cara, the missing banshee!"

His words must have given them pause, because one hesitated.

"I've been working with Keefe and Kealan," Duncan said. Cara's little bracelet jerked in his hand.

One of the merrow glanced at the others. "Wait," he said.

"He's fine," came Kealan's voice.

Keefe was right behind him. "That was fast."

The two princes pushed between the other merrow, and the guards put down their spears. Keefe glanced at the guards and they began to back off.

"Did you get it made?" Kealan asked.

Duncan held up his hand and the bracelet twitched again. It had turned a muddy brown color, with his green magic enchanting it.

"So do it."

"Find Cara," Duncan said as he let go of the bracelet.

The little bracelet darted through the water, made it about five yards, and slammed into the outer wall of the Merrow Kingdom. From there, it sank to the sea floor, sparking and sputtering just like Duncan's magic had earlier.

"That worked well," Kealan said.

"Shut up," Duncan said. He swam over to the wall and put his hand on it. "What's on the other side here?"

"Nothing," Keefe said. He grabbed Duncan's arm, and they swam to the top of the wall and down the other side.

Duncan cursed when he saw the other side of the wall, because Keefe was absolutely right. There was nothing there.

Just the sea floor.

"Perfect," Duncan thought. "That was a waste of magic."

Kealan appeared behind him, the bracelet in his hand. "Here, you might need this. Rather, Cara will when we find her."

Duncan's shoulders slumped, what hope he had disappearing as he took the little red bracelet. He glanced at the meter on his arm.

Orange red.

Less than two hours.

"Do you really think we will?"

Neither brother said anything.

Chapter Eight.

"Evacuation?" the Merrow King bellowed.

"It is the only way to be sure," Duncan said. He knew this wasn't going to go well, but what other option did they have?

The meter moved faster and faster toward the point of no return. He'd discussed this particular course of action with the princes while en route to the king's chambers, and they both agreed that this might be the best way to save the kingdom.

Considering the magic he'd tried to use wouldn't lead him to Cara like he wanted, what other choice did they have? Something bad was coming, and Cara was at the heart of it. He knew the king wouldn't like the idea of evacuating, but until either they found Cara or her scream erupted, it was the only way to secure the merrow people.

The Merrow Kingdom was at risk.

"We cannot be sure we can find her in time," Kealan told the king.

"The damage could be extensive," Keefe replied.

"We have teams looking for her now, yes?" the king asked. He rose from the dais-like chair he'd been resting on, and his tail flicked as he headed toward a long window.

Just barely, Duncan could make out the inner circles, where the magical dome sheltered the central buildings.

Duncan nodded. "If she was merely injured, or even distracted, we would have found her hours ago." The image came to mind of her, bound and gagged in the cave. "Someone has purposely taken her, Your Majesty. The little we have discovered so far shows nefarious intent."

"Who could do this?" the king asked. "Why?"

"We don't know for certain," Kealan said. "Only that it is coming, and time is running short."

"You have an idea?" the king asked.

Duncan nodded. "We have a possible suspect, Your Majesty. However, we need to secure the kingdom and you, of course."

"You are FID. You should be able to find her."

"Without magic, my abilities are limited," Duncan said.

"So use your magic," the king said, picking up his small triton.

Duncan blinked. "My magic won't work here. We've tried-"