Frankie slapped a twenty dollar bill on the counter. "Eleven snow cones, please."
"What!" Judy screeched, leaning across her counter. "Cheaters!!!"
Evelina leapt into action, feeling grateful but at the same time a little green with jealousy. Not that she had a right to be, unless Frankie had sent the necklace, in which case, what was he doing with a jeep load of girls. But, if he hadn"t sent the necklace, it was none of her business, in which case she was a jealous fool. And since she didn"t have the courage to ask, at the very least, she was a terrible coward.
Any way you sliced it.
It was a mess.
Oh grow up, Evelina, she scolded herself. Frankie Holler isn"t the only fish in the sea.
The trouble was, he was the only one she wanted.
"Time!" Abby announced.
The crowd at the Coconut Shack erupted with cheers.
They"d done it!
They"d won!
Thanks to a lot of hard work and, Frankie and Cliff rolling up in the nick of time.
"Thanks, Robinson!" Abby punched Cliff on the arm.
"Is that all I get?" Cliff cracked a boyish smile. "You can"t expect me to keep saving you without a reward."
"He"s got a point." Evelina spread her hands toward the half naked girls. "I"m sure it took some effort to talk these ladies into the jeep."
Tally gave a nervous giggle.
Abby wasn"t one for flaunting her affection in public.
She looked at Cliff, then the girls, then turned and laid a kiss on him so long and deep the place went dead silent, then started to whoop and cheer. Either she decided to make her claim on Cliff clear in order to scare off the compet.i.tion, or she finally decided to show her love.
Evelina suspected it was a little of both.
Whatever the reason, Cliff was grinning from ear to ear.
"Wow!" Abby pulled herself onto the raft anch.o.r.ed out from the island, flying their emerald flag. "It"s like a chariot race on water."
Evelina scrambled up behind her to take in the spectacle.
Teams of warlocks whizzed by on giant tortoise sh.e.l.ls, pulled by leaping dolphins. Reins of thick vines, stretched between the two drivers and their four dolphins like curling kite tails. It looked like a wild race.
Evelina scanned the course for Frankie.
"Amazing!" Tally heaved herself out of the water, huffing and puffing. "They"re traveling at warp speed."
"It"s a poker run." Evelina scanned the diagram on the flag pole. "Looks like they race to each check point around the cove, where they get a card. The best hand wins."
Tally pulled the collection of cards out of the clam sh.e.l.l at the bottom of the poll, fanning them out in her hands.
They were all face cards. There were eight in total, which meant teams had to circle the course twice.
Evelina pointed at the four warlocks paddling out to the finish line, to the right of them on surf boards. "A new tribe member must take over half way through-like a relay race."
Abby appeared perplexed, if not a little annoyed. "Speed isn"t a factor? What good is that?"
"Yes it is." Evelina pointed at the finish line on the diagram-two rafts with white lifeguard towers on top, where the warlocks" councilors stood with binoculars trained on the action. "Look. There"s a one-minute hourgla.s.s above the tower. They have to finish in time to even qualify. Then the first tribe to the finish line receives an extra card."
"Which gives them a greater chance at a better..." Tally"s jaw dropped in mid-sentence, then she clamped her mouth shut, "Hand." She pointed down at the water, looking as though she might pee her pants. "Did you see that?"
Evelina"s gaze followed her finger.
A dark shadow pa.s.sed under the raft.
Evelina"s breath hitched in her throat.
"What is it?" Abby shielded her eyes with her hand. "Looks huge."
"A big fish, I guess." Tally gave a nervous laugh. "There"s lots of them out here."
"That wasn"t any fish," Abby patrolled from one corner of the raft to the other, eyeing the rippling water.
Evelina forced a bright smile. "Well, whatever it was, it"s gone."
A glint of silver flashed on a wave a few feet out.
Icy fingers crawled up Evelina"s spine.
Only one thing had that unearthly glow.
The Reef Hag.
If she was out there, she was keeping a low profile.
Biding her time-like a snake in the gra.s.s.
Waiting for a chance to strike.
This time, she was out for Lake of the Isle blood. They were the strongest team with the most players. If the Swamp Hogs wanted to win, they needed to take them out first.
Evelina sucked in a long fortifying breath.
Well, they"d just have to be on their toes-look sharp.
Everyone knew about the Reef Hag.
If she struck, they"d just have to act quickly.
Right now Lake of the Isles was in the lead.
As if to prove it, their chariot flew up to the raft.
Abby held out the cards face down for the driver to pick one.
He plucked one from her hand, then was off like a streak, sending out a buffeting wake that rocked the raft up and down, threatening to yank the anchor from the ocean floor.
The Swamp Hogs chariot was hot on their heels.
Oceana glided in next.
White Water pulled up the rear.
A few minutes later they were switching drivers at the lifeguard towers.
"This is it!" Abby roared with glee. "The final round!"
Frankie zoomed up to the raft on a Water Jet. "Just checking in," he said, flashing a blinding smile.
Something took wing in Evelina"s belly.
Abby gave a snort. "Another rough security a.s.signment?"
"Somebody"s got to do it." Frankie winked.
"Yeah?" Abby stuck her hands on her hips. "You guys get all the cushie jobs. Where"s Robinson? Handing out sunscreen? Burping babies?"
Tally giggled, then seeing the lack of amus.e.m.e.nt on Frankie"s face clammed up.
"He"s over there." Frankie pointed to the raft in the distance, half way around the course. "Well, gotta go." He gave a mock salute. "Keep your eyes peeled. A Reef Hag"s been spotted out there."
Evelina"s gaze locked with his.
So she"d been right.
It was the Reef Hag she saw in the water earlier.
She wasn"t the only one to have seen her.
Frankie took off in a spray of white foam, sending up a rooster tail behind him.
The Lake of the Isles chariot glided up to the raft.
Abby fanned out the cards.
It zoomed off.
Something black slithered out of the water, enveloping the rear of the chariot like an oil spill.
Holy c.r.a.p!
Evelina stared in horror.
Abby pointed. "They"re being pulled under."
Evelina looked around frantically, but security was too far off. "We"ve got to do something!"
"We can"t interfere!" Tally"s eyes widened in panic, "Or we risk expulsion!"
Frustration built in Evelina"s chest.
The novices were being pulled under.
They were about to sink.
It was her tribe.
Evelina dove into the water.
She made a wild grab for the Reef Hag, and to her shock, managed to snag the tail. Or was it a wing. It was difficult to tell. The top was all hag-the bottom all purple squid creature from h.e.l.l.
She pulled and yanked, but the Reef Hag clung to the chariot.
Evelina jerked harder, determined not to give up.
She"d learned her lesson with half-baked spells. She couldn"t afford to make a mistake. Until she had more experience, better to go with good old fashioned muscle.
The chariot swerved and dipped, flying around the course.
The novices driving it appeared terrified.
The Reef Hag spun her head around and hissed in Evelina"s face, exposing crocodile teeth.
Evelina drew back so fast, her grip slipped.
The chariot hit a wake throwing her forward.
She grabbed the Reef Hag by the hair of the head with both hands.
The Reef Hag gave a wild screech.
Apparently she had a very sensitive scalp.
The chariot hit another wave.