Shade and the Crystal Orb — Marilyn Peake

Crystal orbs are tricky things. They can be windows into the future or nothing more than smoke and mirrors.During the first semester of her senior year at Ocean View College, Shade takes a class on the kelpies and begins researching their situation. This group of magical beings is confined to a very small area of the Earth: the lochs and pools of Scotland. The Blue Men of the Minch or storm kelpies are confined to an even smaller area: the stretch of water between the northern Outer Hebrides and mainland Scotland. The kelpies are considered dangerous. Having the power to control weather, they've been blamed for storms and shipwrecks. Shade wonders if they've been falsely accused and turned into scapegoats.At the beginning of their second semester senior year, Shade and her friend Li Zhang receive financial grants to go over to Scotland to complete a research project on the kelpies. While there, they meet a number of these magical beings. Things take a dangerous turn when Shade and Li get swept up in a situation among the kelpies and two other magical groups, the Fin Folk and asrai. When Shade and Li meet Nessie the Loch Ness Monster, things take twists and turns that forever change the lives of everyone at Ocean View College.SHADE AND THE CRYSTAL ORB is Book #6 in a YA Paranormal Mystery / YA Urban Fantasy series. This is the final novel in the main storyline of the SHADE series.