With that, he turned and swam, pulling me along behind him. All thoughts of my mom and the kraken and Mandy were dragged away by this - my second capture in one day. I let myself be pulled along. What choice did I have? No strength left to fight, this time.
The reef stretched and curved, a lunar landscape dotted with ornamental gardens. Deep brown plants lined rocky chasms. Round boulderlike chunks of coral clung to every surface; thick green spongy tubes waved and pointed threateningly as we pa.s.sed over them. I glanced at the merman as we swam. He had a thin gray tail with silver rings pierced along one side. Wild blond hair waved over his shoulders; a chain made of bones hung around his neck.
We came to a cave with green and blue weeds hanging down from the top of its mouth in a curtain. Crystals were embedded in the rock all around the entrance.
"In here." He pushed me forward.
"Where are we?"
"You"ll see."
Inside, the cave ballooned out into an enormous dome. Crystals, jewels, and gold lined the route. Mosaics filled with gems of every color swirled along the seabed: a round body, swirling arms . . .
"Where are we?" I gasped. "Who are you?"
"You"ll find out soon enough," he replied. We"d reached a building. It looked like a castle, or a ruin of a castle. Half-collapsed turrets were filled with diamonds; crumbling walls held pale jewels in cl.u.s.ters around their base. A giant archway for a door, a marble pillar on either side. As we came closer, I could see something embossed onto each pillar. A golden sea horse.
I knew this archway! I"d seen it before, or another one very much like it, when I was taken to Neptune"s courtroom. "This is one of Neptune"s palaces, isn"t it?" I asked, shuddering as I realized we were swimming over a mosaic shaped like a ma.s.s of tentacles.
The merman didn"t reply.
Through the arch, a chandelier hung from a high ceiling, jangling with the water"s rocking. That confirmed my fear. Neptune had found me.
We ducked low to swim through a smaller arch, adorned, like the others, with elaborate jewels. A wooden door lay ahead. The merman paused to neaten his hair. Then he turned a shiny bra.s.s handle and nudged me inside.
We were in a small room. A stone desk embedded with sh.e.l.ls took up half the s.p.a.ce. Conches and oyster sh.e.l.ls lay scattered on its surface. Next to it, an old merman turned as we came into the room. He had a scraggly beard and dark eyes that stared at me, holding me still.
"What"s this you"ve found, Kyle?" the merman asked in a deep grumble. As he spoke, he stroked something lying very, very still by his side. It looked like a giant snake. Greeny yellow with purple teddy bear eyes, its gills slowly opening and closing as its mouth did the same, it swayed its head gently around to face me. A moray eel!
I opened and closed my mouth too, rigid with fear. Nothing came out.
"She was trespa.s.sing, sir," Kyle answered briskly.
"Untie her. She won"t try leaving here in a hurry, if she has any sense." The old merman smiled at his pet. It leered back, stretching up almost as tall as him.
Kyle clenched his sharp jaw into a scowl as he pulled at the fishing line. I rubbed my wrists. "Tell us how you got here," he demanded.
"I don"t know!" I said, tearing my eyes away from the eel. "I don"t even know where I am. I had an accident, got lost, and you found me." Then, trying to control the quiver in my voice, I added, "Can I go home?"
"Home?" The old merman leaned toward me. The eel rolled its neck down into a spiral and closed its eyes. "And where would that be?"
I looked away from him. "Allpoints Island."
The two of them exchanged a look. What was it? Shock?
"Allpoints Island?" Kyle blurted out. "So you know about -"
"Kyle!" the old merman snapped. "I"ll handle this."
"Of course. Sorry." Kyle drew back, bowing slightly.
Pausing briefly to pat the moray, the old merman swam toward me. "Now then," he said in a voice as slimy as the eel, "I don"t believe we"ve been introduced. I"m Nathiel. And you are . . . ?"
"Why should I tell you who I am?" I said, my heart bashing against my chest. "Why won"t you let me go? What are you going to do with me?"
Nathiel laughed and turned away. "Questions, questions. Where shall we start, Kyle?"
Kyle shuffled his tail, pulling on his necklace. "Um . . ."
Nathiel waved him away. "Very well, little girl. I"ll tell you who we are. Seeing as you"ve been kind enough to drop in. We are your biggest fear . . . or your greatest protectors. Depending on how you view your situation at this moment."
"You"re not my biggest fear," I said, my heart thumping. "My biggest fear is much worse than you!"
"Oh yes?" Nathiel swam back toward me, no trace of kindness or favor on his face. He twitched his head and the eel rose up, uncoiling itself to slither along behind him. I flinched as it stretched almost up to my face.
"Do you know how powerful we are?" Nathiel asked in a quiet, biting voice. I shook my head quickly, without taking my eyes off the eel. "We are Neptune"s chosen ones, his elite force, the only ones he trusts with his most prized possession." Nathiel edged an inch closer to me, his cold eyes shining into mine. "We, little visitor, are the kraken keepers."
A million questions jammed into my mind. "The kraken keepers? But if you"re - but it"s -"
Nathiel laughed, a throaty sound that echoed around the room. The eel slowly stretched up. It was about three times taller than me. Please don"t open your mouth, please don"t open your mouth, I prayed silently as its jaw twitched.
With another click of Nathiel"s fingers, the eel slithered to the back of the room, folding itself once more into a perfect coil.
"Now," Nathiel said, "that"s my side of the introductions. I think it"s time we heard a little more about you. You see, we know quite a bit about Allpoints Island, don"t we, Kyle?"
Kyle swam forward. Copying Nathiel"s sneer, he replied, "Neptune tells us everything."
"That"s right. So, for example, he tells us about merfolk who break his laws." Nathiel swam farther forward. "Merfolk who go meddling in places they shouldn"t," he added, edging closer still, his nostrils flaring. "Merfolk who WAKE his beloved KRAKEN!" he shouted.
"But, I - how did you know?" I cried. My body was shaking. Water frothed around my tail. I tried to make it lie still.
Kyle stared at Nathiel. "Yes. How did you?"
"I didn"t know!" Nathiel replied. "Swam right into it, didn"t she? Come on, Kyle. What do you get if you add the kraken on the loose, an island full of merfolk who know nothing about it, and a scared merchild clearly running away from trouble? It"s a simple case of mathematics."
"So we"ve found her?" Kyle said.
"We"ve done good work." Nathiel patted Kyle"s arm. "Neptune will be very pleased with us. Very pleased indeed."
"Neptune? You"re going to tell him?" My voice quivered.
"Of course! That is the whole point. Don"t you realize the danger we are all in, you foolish girl?"
"But Neptune! He"ll be furious with me."
"You think we give a fin about that?" Kyle snapped. "We need you. All of us. There"s more than just yourself to consider."
"What do you mean? What use am I to you?"
Nathiel shook his head. "Kyle, I"ve had enough of this whining. I think it"s time we got the boss in."
"The boss? Neptune? He"s coming here?" I squeaked.
"Not Neptune, no. One of his most trusted aides." Nathiel picked up a conch. Turning away from me, he spoke softly into it. I couldn"t hear what he said. I quickly scanned the room, looking for an escape. My eyes met the eel"s. Try it, they seemed to say. I shivered back against the wall.
"He"ll be along very shortly." Nathiel put the conch down and tidied some sh.e.l.ls on his desk.
A moment later, the door opened. I squeezed my eyes shut in terror. Someone was swimming toward me. I bit my lip as hard as I could, forcing tears away.
"Well, what have we here, then?" a voice said. A creepy voice.
A very familiar voice.
My eyes snapped open to see a crooked smile, an odd pair of eyes: one green, one blue. A scruffy-looking merman who wasn"t all he seemed. Here he was again, all the way from Brightport.
It couldn"t be! The so-called lighthouse keeper. Mom"s so-called friend who was anything but that in reality.
"h.e.l.lo, Emily," said Mr. Beeston.
He turned to the others. "Good work, both of you," he said, snapping something around my wrists. Handcuffs made from lobster"s legs! They bit and scratched at me.
Then he pushed me toward the door. "I"ll take over now," he said before turning back to give me another of his lopsided smiles. "It"s time we were reacquainted."
How could they let this happen? Twice! I can"t believe my parents! My dad. It"s all his fault. I can"t believe I agreed to this nightmare vacation in the first place.
We"re hanging on to our useless, broken boat, lying across it, gripping onto ropes. Only problem is, it"s upside down! How long before it sinks and we totally end our vacation in style? I grab the rope tighter as the swells carry us up and down. My stomach seesaws with them.
Are we through that, that whatever it was, that great big sheet of gla.s.s in the middle of the ocean?
And the other thing.
I refuse to think about it. It didn"t happen. Mom and Dad haven"t mentioned it. I must have imagined it. Delirious, that"s what I am. It was probably just the waves. Or a vision, because I"d seen it before. Yes. That"s it. Definitely. A mirage.
There"s nothing to worry about. I"m just cracking up.
"Maureen, Mandy - look!" Dad lets go of the rope with one hand and points out to sea.
It"s a ship. Coming toward us!
"Wave! Both of you! Splash your feet!" Dad yells. For the first time in our lives, Mom and I do what he says without arguing.
The ship"s coming closer and closer. Have they seen us? They must have! There"s nothing except us moving for miles all around. We"re kicking and yelling, every atom of hope screaming out of us.
"I can"t splash anymore, Dad. My legs are killing me." I stop kicking for a moment while I catch my breath. The ship"s stopped moving. They haven"t seen us, after all. That"s it. There"s nothing we can do now. The realization slams into my mind like a block of ice: we"re going to die.
But then I notice something attached to the ship.
"Look!"
They"re lowering a lifeboat into the water! It"s coming to get us.
We"ve been saved!
Mr. Beeston unhooked the lobster claws from my wrists and pulled out a couple of jelly-like cushions. He motioned for me to sit down on one of them while settling himself on the other. I"d hardly ever seen him as a merman. He was half-human and half-merperson like me, the only other one I"d met. He looked just as creepy either way, with his crooked teeth and his crooked smile and the odd-colored eyes that stared at you from the corners.
We were in a bubble-shaped room. It felt like the inside of a huge round sh.e.l.l. No windows, just one small hole divided by thick metal bars. Tiny c.h.i.n.ks of light threw pencil-thin beams across the darkness. A black damselfish with fluorescent purple spots and a bright yellow tail weaved between the rays.
I tried to stay calm. My mind wouldn"t stop racing, though. What were they going to do with me? Would anyone find me? Dad? Shona? Were they looking for me? And what about Mom and Millie? My heart ached at the thought of them on that ship. They"d be miles away by now.
"What are you doing here?" I asked in a daze. Among the millions of questions racing around in my head, it was the only one I could seem to form into words.
"Surprised to see me?" he asked, his voice slipping across the room like slime.
"Of course I"m surprised to see you! Who"s taking care of the lighthouse in Brightport?"
"The lighthouse?" Mr. Beeston laughed. "Emily, why would I be taking care of a lighthouse?"
"It"s what you do!"
"The lighthouse was a cover. You know that."
"Oh, yes. Of course," I said numbly. I"d found out before we left Brightport that Mr. Beeston was one of Neptune"s agents and that he"d been spying on us to make sure we never found out about Dad. Well, it didn"t work, did it? I found my dad. I"d beaten Mr. Beeston once. Maybe I could do it again. "But that still doesn"t explain -"
"I was promoted," Mr. Beeston said, a crooked grin twitching at the side of his mouth. "For my bravery and good work."
"Good work?" I spluttered. "Is that what you call turning me and Mom over to Neptune? You were supposed to be our friend. We could have been thrown in prison, like my dad." I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my fingernails tightly into my palms. I wasn"t going to cry. He wasn"t having that satisfaction.
Mr. Beeston flicked his tail nervously. "I - well, Emily, I did my duty. And look, I was needed here. They"re working on rebuilding this palace, and there"s a lot to do, monitoring activity in the area and keeping a gill open for any kraken-related incidents." He narrowed his eyes at me accusingly.
"So what are you going to do with me?"
"Do with you? It"s not about what I want to do with you. It"s about what you need to do for us."
"What d"you mean?"
Mr. Beeston shuffled forward in his cushion. I shuffled backward in mine. He tightened his lips. "I am still an agent of Neptune"s, you know," he said sharply. "One of the highest ranking of all, now. And if I tell you that you are going to do something, you will do it. You don"t question my authority."
I folded my arms, anxiously flicking my tail while I waited for him to continue.
"We are all in grave danger. The kraken is on the loose. It has to be calmed and brought back to Neptune."
"But what"s that got to do with me?"
He held my eyes for a long time before replying.
"You, Emily, are the only one who can do it."
Someone was banging on the outside of the sh.e.l.l. Mr. Beeston opened the porthole-shaped door we"d come through. Kyle surged into the room on a sudden wave. It flung me against the wall.