Emily Windsnap and the Land of the Midnight Sun

by Liz Kessler

  Suddenly, another guard appeared from nowhere. He must have been hiding out of sight in the tunnel’s dark shadows. “Yeah, I got that message, too,” he said. “Already searched them.”

  The guards looked up at him. “You got the message?” one of them asked. He eyed the new guard suspiciously. “We never saw you there.”

  The new guard pointed to his ear. It looked as though he had something stuck inside it. An earpiece — maybe a microphone. Was he getting orders directly from Njord? I dreaded to think what instructions he would be given next. “Perhaps you haven’t got one of these,” he said pointedly to the other guards.

  They looked at each other. They didn’t seem happy.

  “I’ve told you, I’ve already searched them,” the new guard said impatiently. “They’ve got nothing. If they ever had a third crystal, they certainly haven’t got it anymore.”

  “But they’ve got to have one. Njord still isn’t free. His neck has melted enough that he can move his head around, his tail is flapping like crazy, and his arms have melted, too, but his body is still stuck. He needs a third crystal. We can’t go back without one.”

  “In that case, you’d better find it quickly. If they ever had another one, my guess is they dropped it when you were bringing them here. Search the tunnel. I’m sure you’ll find it soon and get yourself back in Njord’s good graces.”

  The two guards exchanged a quick look. Then, with a shrug, they turned and swam off. As soon as they had rounded the corner, the new guard came toward us and pulled a chain of keys from around his neck. As he approached the door, I noticed he was younger than he’d sounded. He only looked a couple of years older than us — maybe fourteen or fifteen. He was quite tall and very thin, with deep-blue eyes, a shiny green tail, and hair so blond it was almost white. Shona was staring at him — and blushing. He glanced at her and allowed himself a brief smile.

  “Come on,” he said, rattling a key in the lock. “We haven’t got long. Even a pair of idiots like those two won’t take long to figure out I was lying and come back to search you.” He rattled the key a bit more. “I’m Seth,” he added.

  “You were lying?” I asked. “You didn’t get orders directly from Njord?”

  Seth pulled the black thing out of his ear and held it out to show us. It was a small pebble! “What, with this?” he asked, a hint of a smile on his face. “No, I didn’t get my orders directly from Njord.”

  “Why are you doing this?” Shona asked, flicking her hair to the side as she spoke. Was she flirting with him? At a time like this?

  Seth held out a hand to help her out of the cell door. Not that she needed it. She had been swimming perfectly well on her own for her entire life. I swam out behind her and joined them in the tunnel.

  “Because of what I saw,” he said. He nodded at me. “I saw you talking to the narwhal.”

  Oh, great. He must have thought I was completely bonkers, swimming around talking to a strange sea creature who didn’t show any signs of talking back.

  “Hmm,” I said.

  Seth looked at me seriously. “No one can do that,” he whispered. “No one . . . except Neptune.”

  “Neptune?” I blurted out. “But . . . but . . .”

  He glanced around furtively. “Listen, we haven’t got long,” he said. “I’ll tell you all you need to know to keep you safe. And then you have to get out of here as quickly as you can.”

  He pulled us into a thin crack in the wall of the tunnel. It must have been where he’d been hiding when the guards had turned up.

  “Neptune and Njord used to rule the seas together, many hundreds of years ago,” Seth began, “but things were never easy between them.”

  That didn’t surprise me. I knew how changeable Neptune’s moods could be — and from what I’d seen, Njord’s were just as unpredictable.

  “They both had spies. Njord had his in Neptune’s camp; Neptune had his in Njord’s. The spies would work their way into the highest positions possible — and report back to their real leaders.”

  “You’re a spy for Neptune!” Shona breathed.

  Seth nodded. “Or, at least, I was — before the big freeze. I’ve been stuck here, turned to ice and frozen in time, along with everyone and everything else around me for, well, I don’t know how long.” He dragged his eyes away from Shona and smiled at me. “You released us,” he said. “Your crystal set us free.”

  “And the narwhal?” I asked.

  “The narwhal was Neptune’s special pet. His most treasured, most loyal follower. Only Neptune’s powers were strong enough to communicate with him — to do what I just witnessed you doing.”

  I looked down, embarrassed.

  “Which means that either Neptune or the narwhal knows you are to be trusted,” Seth went on. “In which case, I have no hesitation in putting my trust in you as well.”

  “So, what now?” I asked.

  “We have to get you out of here before the guards come back. I will show you a secret exit. You must take the narwhal with you and keep him safe.”

  “How exactly are we going to do that?” I said.

  Seth shook his head. “You’ll have to figure something out. We haven’t got time to think about it now. All I know is that you have to get the narwhal back to Neptune. If the narwhal is reunited with Neptune, I believe that Neptune will understand and remember — and come back to us.”

  “I don’t get it,” Shona said.

  “You don’t have to — and I haven’t got time to explain further. Listen.”

  Voices, coming closer. The guards were on their way back. We’d run out of time already!

  “Come on.” Seth grabbed Shona’s hand and pulled her deeper into the crevice. They disappeared into the darkness and I followed behind. Silently, we swam through the secret hairline crack in the mountain, down and down into the dark, silent depths.

  After we’d been swimming for a while, and left the voices far behind, Seth stopped and turned to face us. “I have to leave you here.”

  My eyes had gotten a tiny bit used to the darkness and I looked around to see where “here” actually was. We were still swimming through the crack, but it had now opened up into a round clearing.

  Above the clearing, dark rocks formed an arched roof. Below, there was a dark well.

  I couldn’t see the bottom of it. It looked like the kind of thing you’d dare someone to swim down — if you had a really sick sense of humor. Who would want to swim into a pitch-black well that plunged vertically down the middle of a mountain and was only a tiny bit wider than your own body?

  “You have to swim down there,” Seth said, pointing into the well. I might have guessed.

  “Many years ago, the bottom of this well was the meeting place for Neptune’s spies. There are only a handful of us who know of it. Wait down there for the narwhal. He will come. Once he is with you, follow the tunnel. It will lead you out.”

  “What about you?” Shona asked. “Will you be OK?”

  “I’ll be fine. I’ve kept myself safe before; I’ll do it again. As long as Njord doesn’t receive another crystal, he won’t get free. But now that he’s melted even more than before, you must be careful. He’ll get more and more angry.”

  “Which means the sea will get more and more rough?” I asked.

  “Exactly. You’ve felt the storms from his rage already. They will get worse.”

  I looked down into the dark — and tried not to think about it. “Come on,” I said to Shona. “Let’s go.”

  “Good luck,” Seth called to us.

  “Thanks for everything,” Shona called back.

  And then we flipped our bodies over, spun our tails hard, and headed down into the murky depths.

  The narwhal was already waiting for us at the bottom of the well.

  I’m happy to see you again.

  “I’m happy to see you, too,” I said, smiling at him and realizing I meant it. I looked at his freckled face. How could I have thought he was scary? He was anything b
ut scary. He was . . . cute.

  Are you ready?

  “We’re ready,” I said.

  Follow me.

  The narwhal swam to the edge of the well. For a moment, nothing happened. And then the wall began to crumble, right around the spot where the spear was touching it. It was as if the narwhal were drilling a hole right through the wall with his spear!

  The wall sparked and sparkled, and dust fell into the water all around us. A moment later, the narwhal moved away, to reveal a perfect hole, just big enough for the three of us to swim through.

  After you.

  I swam into the hole. Shona swam into it behind me. Then the narwhal followed and turned back around again, pointing his spear into the hole. We watched as the sparks flew and fizzed again — and the hole closed up!

  “How did he do that with his spear?” Shona asked.

  I’m sure the narwhal smiled. I couldn’t see it — just kind of felt it happen.

  You do not get to be Neptune’s most loyal pet without having a few tricks to call on.

  “He used Neptune’s magic!” I explained.

  Oh, and, please, it is a tusk, not a spear.

  “OK. Sorry.”

  Now, let’s get out of here.

  The secret tunnel on the other side of the hole was much wider than the one we’d been in earlier. And we were finally swimming back up. For the first time in hours, it actually felt as if we might get out of this mountain alive.

  We swam and swam until, finally, we saw a tiny light ahead of us.

  Spurred on by the hope of getting out, we swam faster, on and on, until we came to a jagged archway in the rock. Beyond it, the sun fanned its rays across the opening, shining so brightly I had to close my eyes as I swam.

  And then we were out. We’d done it. We were back in the blue water of the fjord and the bright, bright light of the sun. I turned to look back at the mountain. Overhead, a large eagle circled its peak. It looked like the one that had swooped down at me when I’d been here with Aaron. Its wings were silhouetted against the sun as it flew around the mountain. It seemed to be looking for something.

  I was about to point it out when the vibrations began.

  The flat, calm water of the fjord creased into a corrugated mass of lumps and bumps — all heading our way. I guessed that the guards had told Njord they couldn’t find another crystal — and this was his response.

  “Dive!” Shona yelled.

  The three of us darted down under the water, away from the worst of the swell. Even so, it still caught my tail and spun me around in a triple somersault, the likes of which I’d never quite managed to pull off on my own.

  Come. Climb on. I will take you.

  I clambered aboard the narwhal’s back and called to Shona. “Come on. The narwhal says he’ll take us back to the ship.”

  Shona climbed onto the narwhal’s back behind me.

  I held on to his tusk and prepared myself for a bumpy ride.

  We were back at the ship in a fraction of the time it had taken us to swim to the mountain earlier. Luckily, it was still in the harbor — although, as we approached, we heard two loud blasts of the horn, which signaled that it was about to leave.

  “We have to hurry,” I said. “The boat usually leaves five minutes after the horn has sounded.”

  “What about me?” Shona asked.

  I will take care of her. We will follow the boat. We will never be far from you. Now, go.

  “The narwhal will look after you,” I told her.

  And with that, I climbed off the narwhal’s back, gave Shona a last hug, and swam like crazy to get to the harbor in time to sneak back onto the ship.

  “Decided to go for a dip, did you?” the steward at the door asked, laughing as she pointed to my wet hair.

  “Hah, ha-ha,” I said, forcing myself to sound as genuine as I possibly could.

  “Turn you to ice in about five minutes flat, that would,” the steward said, still smiling broadly.

  “Yes, I’m sure it would, ha-ha,” I said and walked off down the corridor as calmly and casually as I could.

  Ding dong ding! An announcement came over the loudspeakers. “Ladies and gentlemen, we regret to inform you that we shall not be leaving the port today, after all. The captain has checked the weather situation, and, unfortunately, it has taken another turn for the worse, with severe storms raging beyond the harbor. We will be staying in port for another day, while the storm passes. We do apologize, but this decision is for your own safety. We will provide extra entertainment and free excursions while we are docked. Once again, we are sorry for any inconvenience.”

  I heard a few groans from disappointed families around me in the lounge. I didn’t know whether to cheer or cry. Shona and the narwhal would be nearby, but, on the downside, we had to wait at least another day before getting away from Njord’s mountain — and I had no idea how much trouble we would all be in once he unleashed the full extent of his anger.

  Aaron and I sat huddled around a table in the quietest corner of the lower deck’s lounge. There were only a few others in there. Most of the guests had taken advantage of the offer of a free trip to a local fish farm.

  A young couple was sitting in a window seat, arms wrapped around each other, looking out at the view; a family of four was playing a game of cards that looked complicated and loud. No one was paying any attention to us.

  “So what’s the next step?” Aaron asked after I’d filled him in on everything that had happened.

  “Get the narwhal back to Neptune, I guess. But don’t ask me how.”

  “We need to call him.”

  “But we don’t have either of our phones!”

  Aaron rubbed his chin while he thought. “Maybe we could use Mr. Beeston’s.”

  “And risk telling Neptune that not only have we lost both of our phones, but I gave mine away!”

  “Well, let’s at least tell Mr. Beeston,” he said. “If the narwhal was Neptune’s most loyal pet, Mr. Beeston will almost certainly know something about it. He might have some idea of how we can return it to Neptune.”

  “Him, not it,” I said automatically — surprising myself with a feeling of affection as I thought about the narwhal.

  “Him, then,” Aaron corrected himself. He thought for a moment. “And what about the rest of it? The things that Njord told you, and what the guard said, too? If that’s all true, we’re no nearer to figuring out what’s going on here than we were before.”

  “I know. I mean, if Njord’s telling the truth, and it was Neptune who turned him to ice, the last thing Neptune’s going to want is for Njord to be brought back to life!”

  “And we still don’t know why Neptune has no memory of any of it,” Aaron said.

  We fell silent. Neither of us had any answers to the hundreds of questions floating around.

  “There you are!” Millie’s voice boomed across the lounge. She marched toward us, Mr. Beeston following behind her. “We’ve been looking for you all day.”

  “Well, not exactly all day,” Mr. Beeston corrected her. “Remember, I did tell you that Emily and Aaron had been invited to play with a friend’s family today.”

  Millie smiled. “Yes, of course, how silly of me to forget,” she said, pointedly folding her arms. “Now, just remind me, what was the friend’s name again?”

  I froze for a second. Then quickly blurted, “Sharon!”

  At the exact same moment, Aaron said, “Andrew!”

  And just to top it off, Mr. Beeston announced, “Lorraine.”

  Millie tightened her folded arms and frowned as she looked around at the three of us. “Just as I thought,” she said. “You’re all lying. So, which one of you would like to begin the explanations?”

  I looked at Mr. Beeston, and then at Aaron. They both looked back at me, their faces saying the same thing that I was thinking: how the heck do we get out of this?

  And then I decided how we’d get out of it. We’d tell the truth. It wasn’t as if we had a lot t
o lose.

  “Millie, I think you should sit down,” I said, pulling out a couple of chairs for her and Mr. Beeston. “I’m going to tell you everything.”

  “You’re serious?” Millie stared at me.

  “Deadly serious,” I said.

  She looked at the others. “And you both knew about it?”

  Aaron and Mr. Beeston both nodded sheepishly.

  She sucked on her teeth. “I don’t know what to say. I feel like such a fool for being taken in like this. I bet you’ve had a big laugh behind my back, haven’t you?”

  “Millie, do we look like we’re laughing?” I asked. “We were given a task by Neptune, and we were told not to tell a single soul. Even Mr. Beeston didn’t know half of what we’ve just told you.”

  “It’s true,” Mr. Beeston said. “I was told I was to chaperone them; it’s only now that I have been told the full extent of their mission.”

  Millie stared at me for ages. Eventually, her face softened. “All right,” she said. “I understand. You poor things, carrying such a huge responsibility on your young shoulders.” Then she pushed her chair back and stood up.

  “Where are you going?” I asked.

  “I’m going to call Archie,” she said. “He’ll know what we should do.”

  Aaron and I exchanged a quick look. Should we say something? Aaron gave me a quick nod.

  “I don’t think you should call Archie,” I said.

  “Why ever not?”

  “We don’t think he can be trusted,” Aaron said.

  I held my breath while Millie stared, openmouthed, at Aaron.

  “What in the name of the goddess makes you thin —”

  “He was sneaking around on your boat,” I said.

  “And remember how he reacted when he heard about our trip?” Aaron added.

  Millie glared at us both. “Is that it?” she said. “Two tiny misunderstandings and you want to write him off?”