The Magic Shell: Seven Kingdoms Tale Part 1 By S.E. Smith Acknowledgments I would like to thank my husband Steve for believing in me and being proud enough of me to give me the courage to follow my dream. I would also like to give a special thank you to my sister and best friend Linda, who not only encouraged me to write but who also read the manuscript. Also to my other friends who believe in me: Julie, Jackie, Lisa, Sally, Elizabeth (Beth) and Narelle. The girls that keep me going! —S. E. Smith Paranormal Romance THE MAGIC SHELL: SEVEN KINGDOMS TALE Part 1 Copyright © 2016 by S. E. Smith First E-Book Published January 2016 Cover Design by Melody Simmons ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission from the author. All characters, places, and events in this book are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations are strictly coincidental. Summary: The Sea Witch, determined to keep her identity a secret, gives a magical shell to the one human who could use the knowledge against her, setting in motion a journey that will change his life forever. ISBN: (Paperback) ISBN: (eBook) Published in the United States by Montana Publishing. {1. Paranormal Romance. – Fiction. 2. Fantasy Romance 3. Paranormal – Fiction. 4. Romance – Fiction.} www.montanapublishinghouse.com Synopsis Ross Galloway is ready for a new life away from Yachats, Oregon. His plans are falling into place; all he needs is a little more money to make that happen. He finally gets his break when he discovers something out of this world on one of his dives – a real live mermaid. He soon discovers it isn’t as easy as he thought it would be to cash in on his discovery, especially after his ‘mermaid’ gives him a magic shell. The spell placed upon the shell soon pulls him overboard while he is fishing and has him fighting for his life. Waking on a strange beach, Ross soon discovers that his wish to leave Yachats has come true. Instead of the warm sunny beaches of Hawaii, though, he finds himself in a magical world where islands float high in the air. Gem is an Elemental, a powerful species that can control the elements around them. Frozen, she desperately waits for someone who can help her and her people escape the horrible spell cast by the evil Sea Witch, Magna, before her home disappears forever. She fears no one will be able to save them, until the strange, but tender touch of an unusual male brings her back to life. Now, they are in a race to break the spell before it is too late. Can an unlikely hero and a lone girl survive the traps set by the Sea Witch before the new moon or will the Isle of Elements fall back to the ocean below and disappear beneath the waves before they can reach the King and Queen? Table of Contents Chapter 1 ........................................................................... 6 Chapter 2 ........................................................................... 9 Chapter 3 ......................................................................... 16 Chapter 4 ......................................................................... 23 About the Author .......................................................... 31 Chapter 1 Off the coast of Yachats, Oregon: Ross Galloway stared out at the sea. He needed time to think. He hated to admit it, but at the moment he felt lost; a feeling that didn’t sit well with him. He patted his pocket for his cigarettes before he released a soft curse. He sure picked a hell of a time to quit smoking. If he hadn’t been on the old fishing trawler alone, he might have considered downing a few bottles of beer, but that luxury would have to wait until he got back to shore. He didn’t do to the extreme. He was too afraid of ending up like his old man to drink more than two beers. Alcohol did strange things to certain people. Some could drink it and never feel a thing. Others could have one beer and be under the table. There were those that became more affectionate when they were drunk; then there were the ones like his dad… they just became meaner than they already were. With a sigh, he carefully picked his way to the back of his fishing trawler. He needed to check the nets to make sure they weren’t tangled. He climbed up to double check the top lines, as well. It looked like one of the lines was twisted. The last thing he wanted was to take a chance on it getting caught when he pulled the nets back in. It would be a bitch to fix, especially if the sea became rough as it tended to do The Magic Shell: Part 1~ 7 ~ at the worst possible moment. He saw the problem and quickly untwisted the line. Holding onto the rope, he stared out at the shimmering water. It wouldn’t stay clear and sunny like this for long. By mid-afternoon, the cold, moist air coming in off the water would hit the warmer surface of the land and a fog would roll across in a thick blanket that was almost impossible to see through. He drew in a deep breath, held it for several long seconds, before releasing it again. He knew that most of his feelings of restlessness came from recent events. There had been a rash of disappearances over the last couple of years. He had known Mike Hallbrook, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Detective that had disappeared a few months back. They had played pool and drank beer down at the local pub. There wasn’t a hell of a lot else to do around the area except fishing and hiking. Hell, he had even known Carly Tate and Jenny Ackerly. It was kind-of hard not to know everyone when you lived in a town the size of Yachats, Oregon. The restless feeling that had been building had come to a head with his mother’s death a month ago, leaving him feeling like he was in a vacuum as he tried to deal with his grief and all of the paperwork involved with her estate. It had left little time to do anything else, including fishing. If the death of his last living relative hadn’t been enough to make him question his life, seeing a real- life mermaid had. For a moment, he let his mind drift to that strange day just a few short months ago. A soft ~ 8 ~ S. E. Smith snort escaped him. At thirty, he had seen some strange things in his life, but nothing had prepared him for his encounter with a truly mythical creature. Shaking his head, he reached into his pocket for the shell Magna had given him that day at the restaurant. He had forgotten about it. It must have been mixed with the change he picked up and put into his pocket this morning before daybreak. Clutching it in his hand, he thought about the strange woman. Ross jerked, shaking his head when the world shifted around him. His eyes widened when the rope he was holding suddenly vanished and the trawler rocked, throwing him off balance and over the side. With a loud curse, he felt the icy cold water surround him. Ah, hell, I don’t want to die like this, Ross thought as he felt his body being pulled down into the inky blackness. Chapter 2 Desperation clawed at him as he struggled upwards. He was thankful that he had kept fit over the years, even if he did smoke. Fishing was hard on the body if you weren’t in shape. He had learned that valuable lesson from watching his father struggle to do some of the simplest things before dropping dead of a heart attack at forty-nine. He watched as the small bubbles escaping him floated upward. Kicking his feet, he struck upward, following them. He caught a glimmer of light that gave him the added determination not to give up. I’m going to live, damn it, he thought to himself as he felt his body rapidly rising to the surface. He ignored the added weight of his clothes and boots. He would need them to help retain as much heat as he could. The last thing he wanted was to freeze to death before he got to shore. In the back of his mind, he thought it strange that the cold wasn’t bothering him as much as he thought it should have. The only thing he could think of was that he was already slipping into hypothermia and just didn’t realize it. He broke the surface of the water, gasping the fragrant air into his burning lungs. He turned in a slow circle, looking for his trawler with a frown. Since when had it gotten so blasted late? He glanced ~ 10 ~ S. E. Smith upward and was stunned to see a myriad of stars shining above him. Ross scissored his legs and arms to keep his body afloat as he glanced around again for his boat. All he saw was empty seas. Fear swept through him. What the hell was going on? Swallowing, he glanced upward again and the feeling of fear turned to terror. “This isn’t right,” he muttered, staring up at the unusual formation of stars that looked so close that he felt like he could almost reach up and touch them.