by Liz Kessler
“She wants to go home,” I said.
Dad glanced at me. “We are home, little ’un,” he said with a quick laugh. Then he turned to Mom. “Aren’t we?”
Before she could answer, Archie broke in. “There’s something else,” he said. “I didn’t know how to ask, but maybe this is a good time.”
Dad turned to him. “What is it?”
“Neptune wants a team. If there’s going to be trouble, he needs more than just one of us there. Beeston is a good choice for keeping Shiprock under control, and his contacts make him ideal for getting information on the Brightport side of things, especially using the lighthouse keeper cover again.”
Mr. Beeston shuffled and flattened his hair down. Before he could launch into another Oscar acceptance speech, Archie added, “I put your name forward as his assistant.”
“Me?” Dad asked. “Neptune would put me in a position of responsibility, after — well, after where I’ve been?”
Dad’s not a criminal or anything, but he was sent to prison for marrying my mom. Intermarriage between merpeople and humans used to be highly illegal. But not anymore. In fact, Neptune had now decided that he wanted to bridge the gap between humans and merpeople — and he’d decided we were the ones to help him.
He’d told us we had to bring the two worlds together, get humans and merpeople to live in peace. And that was another thing: how could we change the world so that humans and merpeople lived in peace together if we were living out here in the one bit of the world where they already did? Everything was pointing to the same conclusion: we had to go back to Brightport.
Archie was still talking to Dad. “Neptune doesn’t hold on to the past,” he was saying. “He knows you are loyal and dependable.”
“And married to a human,” Dad said.
“Exactly. That’s the whole point. One of you to find out more about what’s going on with the Brightport folks and one of you keeping an eye on things in Shiprock. Between you two and Beeston, we might just be able to avert a major disaster for the entire town.”
“You’re not asking me to spy on my old friends, are you?” Mom asked.
“Not at all! Beeston and Jake will do most of the work. Just keep your eyes and ears open, in case you hear anything that the others miss — anything that could be a problem for the mer community at Shiprock. If anyone else needs to be rehoused, we’d rather they know in advance, so they can get all their belongings and move of their own accord, rather than wake up one morning to a bulldozer in their front cave.”
“Do you think that could really happen?” Mom asked.
“Absolutely. And I’ll tell you something else: if another house is destroyed, merfolk there will really start to panic. Neptune doesn’t like being in a position like this, where he has no control over what’s going on. He’s not used to it. If these plans cause more problems, he might decide to exhibit his power by ordering a full-scale evacuation — and most merfolk are desperate to avoid that.”
Dad looked up at Mom. “What do you think?”
Mom chewed slowly on a thumbnail. “I think we’ve been told to find ways to bring the human and mer worlds together,” she said. “If the human world is doing something that could threaten merpeople, then it’s our duty to stop that from happening.”
Dad reached up and took her hand. “I agree,” he said. “This could be our first chance to start putting into practice the instructions that Neptune gave us.”
“Exactly. That’s what Neptune said, too.”
Dad looked at Archie. “What do you mean? What did he say?”
“That it was time you got on with your task. He said to tell you this was an opportunity to prove to him that he picked the right family for the job. He said it would be your first test.”
Dad puffed his chest out and nodded firmly. “That’s decided it, then,” he said. “We don’t have a choice.”
I felt a bubble of excitement rise through my body, tickling my insides and snaking up through my throat. “We’re going back to Brightport?” I asked, then held my breath while I waited for their answer.
Mom and Dad looked at each other and nodded. Then Mom turned to me. “Yes, darling,” she said with the first smile I’d seen on her face in days. “We’re going home.”
It was only once we’d decided to go back to Brightport that I realized just how much I’d been missing it. It was as if a part of me had known all along that I wanted to go home, but I’d tried to ignore it because I didn’t think it was a possibility. Now that I knew it was definitely happening, I couldn’t wait to get going.
I just had two problems: Shona and Aaron.
Shona was my best friend. I met her when I first discovered that I became a mermaid when I went in water. We’d been best friends ever since, and she and her parents had come to Allpoints Island at the same time as us. The idea of leaving her behind — well, it was unthinkable.
I’d only met Aaron recently. He was a semi-mer like me. Apart from Mr. Beeston, he was the only one I’d ever met — and Mr. Beeston didn’t count, as far as I was concerned. Aaron and his mom used to live in a spooky castle out in the middle of the ocean. It was after Aaron and I overturned Neptune’s curses by bringing his old wedding rings together that Neptune told us we had to try to bring the two worlds closer, which we hadn’t gotten around to doing yet.
But hopefully we were going to start once we got back to Brightport.
The only problem was, I couldn’t imagine doing anything if I didn’t have Shona with me, never mind passing an important test set by Neptune! She’d shared every adventure I’d had so far. And Aaron — well, I don’t know if it was because of us both being semi-mers or because of what we’d been through together, but I couldn’t imagine leaving him behind, either.
I swam around in the downstairs part of the boat, back and forth from bow to stern, trying to think. What was I going to do? Five minutes ago, I’d been giddy with excitement at the prospect of going home; now I felt I was being torn in two.
I was about to let the miserable half win when a familiar voice called from outside the boat. I swam over to the porthole. Shona! She’d cheer me up; she always did.
Except that the look on her face made me think this time might be different.
“Shona, what is it?” I asked as she swam into the boat, a couple of silver fish swimming in with her, their sides glinting in the sunlight like shiny new coins.
“Oh, Emily! We just had some news from Archie.”
“About Brightport?” I asked. So she’d already heard that we were leaving. That explained her miserable face.
Her eyes widened. “How do you know so soon?”
“He’s just been here. He told us all about what’s going on there and —”
“Oh, Emily, I’m going to miss you so much!”
“I know,” I said. “Me too. But we’ll be able to keep in touch, won’t we? We’ll find a way.”
Shona nodded as she gulped back a tear. “I hope so. I just hate the thought of being so far away from you.”
“I hate it, too.” I tried to think of something positive to say. I couldn’t bear seeing Shona so unhappy. “Maybe you’ll be able to visit us in Shiprock sometime.”
Shona frowned. “Huh? What do you mean?”
“Well, you know. Maybe you could come to visit. I mean, I know it’s thousands of miles away from here, but —”
“Emily, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you! That’s what I’m so upset about — we’re going back to Shiprock!”
I gaped at Shona. “You’re going back? But —”
“Archie dropped off a letter for us from my auntie Corella. She says that there’s been a disturbance of some sort. I don’t know what it is exactly, but she’s really worried about her home. She says they all are. Mom says we have to go back. Oh, Em, I’m going to miss you so much!”
I grinned. “No you’re not!” I said.
“What d’you mean? How can you say that?”
I flicked my t
ail and swam a full circle around her. Then, grabbing her hands, I burst out laughing. “Because we’re going, too!”
Shona stared at me. “Really?” she asked. “You’re not pulling my tail?”
“Promise!”
Shona squeezed my hands. “Emily, that’s sooooooo swishy!” she said, swimming up and down in a bouncy dance. “I’m so happy! Are you?”
“Totally!” I said. And I almost completely meant it. There was only one problem now, only one thing stopping me from being as happy as Shona was about her news. I still had to leave Aaron behind.
“Dad says we should be ready to leave by the end of the week.”
Aaron and I were sitting out on our front deck in the sunshine. Dad was out with Archie and Mr. Beeston getting our travel plans finalized. Mom and Aaron’s mom had become really good friends since we’d all been back here, and they’d gone out for a walk on the beach.
I stole a quick glance at Aaron. He was looking out to sea and hadn’t responded yet.
“Which means that by next week we’ll be gone,” I went on. Still no response. “For good,” I added, in case he hadn’t quite gotten what I was telling him: that from next week on, we’d probably never see each other again.
He turned to me and smiled. “OK,” he said.
OK? That was it? So he had understood what I was saying — he just wasn’t bothered.
Fine, then. Neither was I.
“So maybe I’ll see you again before then, and maybe I won’t,” I said casually. “Anyway, have a nice life, if not,” I added, getting up to go. I’m not sure where I thought I was going. I think I was hoping he’d call me back before I had to worry about that.
Which, thankfully, he did.
“Emily!” Aaron grinned up at me and patted the deck beside him. “Sit down.”
I sat down and folded my arms.
“I was just teasing you,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“Acting like I’m not bothered about you leaving.”
I shrugged.
“I mean, to tell the truth, I’m not bothered,” he went on.
I rolled my eyes and shrugged again. “Me neither,” I said. “I was only letting you know to be polite.”
Aaron burst out laughing. “Emily! Don’t you get it? The reason I’m not bothered is because we’re coming too!”
I stared at him, forcing my face not to register any response in case he was teasing me again.
“Honestly,” he said, reading my mind in that way that usually only Shona does.
I unfolded my arms, unshrugged my shoulders, and realized I was smiling. “How come?” I asked.
“Your mom came over last night and told us your plans, and Mom and I decided on the spot that we’re coming with you.”
“But why?” I asked. “Aren’t you happy here?”
“Of course we are!” Aaron said. “How could anyone not be happy here? Just —” He stopped. His pale cheeks showed a hint of pink.
“Just what?” I asked.
“Well, you know . . .” he said, turning away to pick at a loose bit of wood on the deck. “After everything you’ve done for us. For my mom, really. She’d be lost without your mom.”
“Oh,” I said. So it was only his mom who wanted to come with us.
“And anyway,” he mumbled, “it wouldn’t be the same here without you.”
I grinned. “Really?”
He looked up and grinned back. “Really!”
I got up from the deck and skipped over to the jetty. “Come on,” I said, stepping into the sea. My toes tingled instantly, tickling all the way up my legs as my tail started to spring into life. “Let’s go tell Shona!”
“Make sure you visit soon, won’t you?” Mom said, gulping back a tear. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
Millie blew her nose loudly into a huge hankie, then stuffed it back into her pocket. She’d decided to stay at Allpoints Island to be with Archie. She said two weeks apart had been more than enough, and she wasn’t doing it again. If he was needed here, then she needed to be here with him. It was quite sweet, really. “I’ll visit so often you’ll be sick of me,” she said with an attempt at a smile. Her lips wobbled, and smudgy mascara lines wriggled down her cheeks.
“We could never be sick of you!” Mom said.
Millie squeezed Mom’s hand one more time, then she reached out for me. “Come on you, give me a big hug.” She folded me into her arms and gripped me so hard, I thought I was going to suffocate.
Just then, Dad called from the water. He and Mr. Beeston were going to swim alongside us to begin with, just till we got out of the bay and through the edge of the Bermuda Triangle. After that, Archie had arranged for a group of Neptune’s dolphins to take us all back with Fortuna.
Archie was untying the ropes now. He was coming along for the first part, too. He gave Millie a kiss and gently wiped her cheek with his hand — getting mascara all over his palm. “I’ll be back soon,” he said.
And then we were off. Out on the open sea again. Heading home to Brightport.
I didn’t know what to expect as we approached Brightport. Half of me imagined it would have changed completely. The other half expected everything to be exactly as we’d left it. It had been more than six months since we’d left, and so much had happened in between. It was hard to believe we were really going to be back there at all.
But we were. I could see the town come into view in the distance as the dolphins pulled us toward the bay: the harbor where Mom and I used to live on our boat, The King of the Sea; the line of shops and guesthouses along the promenade; the pier with the amusement arcade that Mandy Rushton’s parents owned at the end of it.
Mandy Rushton. I hadn’t thought about her for a while, and I couldn’t hold back a queasy feeling in my stomach when I thought of her now. She’d bullied and taunted me for years. But when she ended up at Allpoints Island earlier this year, we became friends again, like we had been when we first knew each other. The only problem was, Neptune had put a memory drug on her and her parents when they left the island, because of all the things they’d seen. Now I didn’t know if she’d remember that we were friends again or if that memory had been wiped away, along with the mermaids and the sea monster.
I’d find out soon enough.
Aaron joined me on the deck. “What’s that?” he asked, pointing a little farther around the bay at an enormous tangle of hoops in the sky. I’d never seen it before, but Archie had told us about it.
“It’s the kraken,” I said.
Aaron’s eyes widened.
“Not the actual kraken itself, obviously.” I laughed. “It’s a roller-coaster ride, part of the new theme park Mandy’s parents built.”
“Cool!” Aaron said with a self-conscious glance at me. He’d picked up words like cool and swishy from Shona and me — except he hadn’t quite mastered the art of sounding natural when he used them. Having lived in a castle cut off from the entire world for his whole life, there were still things that he had never done before, like get excited about stupid things with other kids, or go on roller-coaster rides. So he didn’t quite have the language for them yet.
Just then, Dad poked his head out from the water. He and Mr. Beeston were pulling us into the bay. We all agreed it would be less conspicuous than a whole load of magical dolphins dragging a big, weird-looking yacht behind them. We didn’t want to attract too much attention before we’d even arrived.
“Nearly there now,” he called up to me. “Go tell your mom to get ready to land. We’ll be mooring on one of the far jetties off the pier — near where you used to live on King.”
With one last glance at the approaching coastline, I hurried indoors. Butterflies were chasing each other around and around in my stomach now. What would be in store for us here? Would things work out or would it be a massive disaster?
There was no turning back now. One way or another, we were about to find out.
“Well, Jake wants her to go to
Shiprock School of course, but I think she should go back to Brightport High.” Mom was pouring cups of tea for herself and Aaron’s mom as the two of them discussed the ins and outs of our new life.
Aaron and I were playing chess at the table. He’d taught it to me recently. He’d spent years learning but never had anyone to play against. He was winning. He always did — except occasionally, when he pretended not to notice a really good move so he could let me win.
He and his mom were staying in one of the cottages on the beachfront. They were converted fishermen’s huts, so they were all quite tiny and smelled like haddock, but they cost a fortune to rent in high season. Mr. Beeston had had a word with one of his old fisherman contacts and managed to get it cheap for a few weeks, just till the season began.
“I don’t know what to do about Aaron,” his mom replied. “I mean, mer-school would make sense in a way, but then it might be nice for him to get a chance to mix with normal boys his age, too.”
She glanced over at us. “I mean, human boys,” she added quickly.
Aaron put down the bishop he’d been holding. I was quite glad, actually, as I think he’d been about to take my queen with it. “Has anyone thought to ask us what we want?” he said, echoing the question that had been in my mind the whole time they’d been talking.
“It’s us who’ll have to go there,” I added, “so shouldn’t we have some say?”
“Of course you’ll have some say,” Mom replied a bit sharply. “But we’re the ones who will have to make the final decision.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because we’re your parents,” Mom snapped. Maybe I was embarrassing her by arguing with her in front of Aaron and his mom, but I didn’t care. It was my life they were talking about, mine and Aaron’s, and it wasn’t fair that they got to make all the decisions.