by Unknown
‘I haven’t seen Kes yet,’ Jack said quietly. ‘But he’s there, you can be sure of it. I think you can tell Arhans that it’s safe for him to come to the surface now.’
Lizzy’s stomach began to churn. But it wasn’t seasickness. Going to the rail, she looked out to where the dolphins were, then raised her hand and waved. Almost at once Arhans turned in the water and swam back towards the boat. Within moments she was gliding alongside, and Lizzy saw her dark, expressive eyes gazing up.
‘Arhans!’ She leaned over the rail. ‘Tell Kes it’s clear now – he can come up!’
Arhans whistled, the sound carrying even over the noises of the sea and the Regard’s throbbing engine. Then with a graceful flick of her tail she dived and vanished. Lizzy waited, trying not to count the seconds, then Arhans appeared again, with Kes beside her.
‘Lizzy!’ he shouted, waving eagerly. ‘We’re nearly at the gateway – are you ready?’
‘Yes!’ Lizzy called.
‘Come on, then!’
‘Hold on.’ Jack put a hand on Lizzy’s arm. ‘Wait till the boat slows down.’ Again he looked at Mr Treleaven at the wheel, and as if there were some kind of telepathy between them, the skipper reached to the engine controls. The throbbing rhythm changed and quietened, and Lizzy felt the deck vibrate under her feet as the trawler began to lose way. The churning white wash lessened, and Jack touched her arm again.
‘All right. Be careful, both of you – and good luck!’
Lizzy was already pulling off her clothes, revealing the wetsuit underneath. She touched the locket, which hung round her neck with the silver pearl safe inside, and her heart began to thump as she thought about what she and Kes must now do. They were so far from land; the sea looked so huge and deep… a sudden surge of panic hit her and she thought, I can’t do it! I’m too scared!
She turned to Jack. ‘I wish you were coming too!’
‘So do I.’ His face was very serious. ‘But I can’t. We don’t want Taran to find out that I’ve come back. Besides, I’m only an ordinary human, remember. It was Queen Kara’s magic that allowed me to live under the sea for a while, like you and Kes. But the magic wore off a long time ago, and only someone with the Queen’s power could make it work again.’ He smiled sadly. ‘I can’t imagine Taran being kind enough to do that, can you?’
Slowly Lizzy nodded, and with a great effort squashed her feelings down. She and Kes had to do this alone. And she couldn’t let fear get the better of her. For Morvyr’s sake…
She hugged Jack quickly but tightly. Then she climbed on to the rail, took a deep breath as she balanced there for a moment and dived into the sea.
Jack watched as Lizzy cleaved into the water and vanished. Arhans had dived too, but Kes was still bobbing on the surface. He grinned bravely as Jack gave him a thumbs-up sign, then he too disappeared under the water. Jack stared at the place where they had been, until a voice called to him.
‘Jack.’ Mr Treleaven had opened the window of the wheelhouse and was leaning out. ‘Better get the trawl ready. Got to keep up appearances, eh?’
Jack shook off his uneasy thoughts. ‘Right, Jeff,’ he said. And with a last glance at the sea he started towards the stern of the boat.
Chapter Eight
The sea was stunningly cold. Lizzy was unprepared for it, and gasped with shock as she plunged downward through the blue-green water. Then she felt Kes’s hand on her arm, and turned to see him swimming beside her.
‘It’s – it’s icy!’ she stammered, bubbles streaming from her mouth.
‘I know,’ said Kes. ‘It’s because we’re so far from land. Can you stand it? Are you all right?’
‘Y-yes… I think so. It’s just my head and hands, where the wetsuit doesn’t cover me…’ She shuddered, treading water. ‘I’ll warm up once we s-start swimming properly.’
The dolphins had gathered round them now, and Arhans nudged Lizzy with her blunt snout as though to reassure her.
‘We haven’t got far to go,’ Kes said. ‘Come on – let’s get going, before I lose my nerve!’
Grasping her hand, he towed her away through the water with a powerful flick of his tail, the dolphins swimming alongside. Lizzy still wasn’t quite used to seeing her brother in his merboy form. And stranger still was the thought that, if only she could find a way to turn the forgotten key in her mind, she too could change her shape and be like him. She had tried so hard, but she couldn’t make it happen. Right now, to have speed and stamina like Kes’s would have given her a lot more confidence.
She tried not to think about that as they surged on through the sea. The currents out here were hugely powerful; Lizzy could feel them pulling at her and was thankful that Kes had a tight hold of her hand. He was leading her down as well as onwards; the light from above was almost gone and they were swimming nearly blind. But Arhans knew exactly where they were going, and before long Lizzy saw the dim outlines of a reef looming in the near-darkness ahead.
The rocks reared up like the fangs of a weird sea monster as they drew closer. Seaweed grew thickly on them, and all kinds of living things scurried among the weed. Lizzy thought she saw a strange, blue-black creature shifting in a crevice, but the dolphins guided her and Kes away from it to a place where the fangs gave way to a large, bowl-shaped hollow in the rock. Arhans nosed at it with her snout, then whistled, and Kes said, ‘She says this is it. The silver gateway.’
Lizzy stared dubiously. ‘It looks like just any ordinary rock. Is she sure this is the right place?’
‘Arhans wouldn’t have got it wrong.’
‘But how do we open it?’
‘I don’t know.’ Kes shivered. ‘All Taran told me was that we have to bring the pearl here. Maybe – oh!’
His words broke off in a gasp of shock as a huge black shape loomed out of the darkness. Lizzy stifled a scream as she recognized the long, sinuous body of Tullor, the giant conger eel. The dolphins reacted furiously, but before they could do anything Tullor snarled, ‘Get back! I am on Her Majesty’s business, and you will not dare to touch me!’ He turned his cold, evil eyes on Lizzy and Kes, and his mouth gaped open, showing savage teeth in his version of a smile. ‘I am here to take you to Queen Taran. Send your interfering friends away – and hurry! Her Majesty does not like to be kept waiting!’
Arhans chittered angrily, but Kes held up a hand to silence her. ‘It’s all right, Arhans. Lizzy and I have got to do this on our own. You’d better go.’ He smiled at the dolphin, trying to look and sound braver than he felt. ‘We’ll be back soon.’
Arhans and her friends weren’t happy, but they didn’t argue. Slowly they backed away, then as one they turned and streaked off. As they vanished into the dark, Tullor hissed with satisfaction.
‘You are a sensible boy, Kesson. And you, Tegenn.’ He looked at Lizzy in a way that made her shudder. ‘It pleases me to meet you again. And it will please the Queen even more – if you have brought the silver pearl.’
Mustering her courage, Lizzy forced herself to look steadily at him. ‘I’ve brought it,’ she said.
‘Good. Then do exactly as I tell you, and I will take you to Her Majesty.’ Tullor swam to the dip in the rock and looked back at them. ‘Come here,’ he commanded.
Lizzy felt Kes’s hand squeeze hers as they followed Tullor and drifted above the hollow.
‘Take the pearl from its hiding-place, and hold it towards the gateway,’ said the eel.
Lizzy hesitated, but Kes said, ‘Do it, Lizzy. He won’t try to trick us. He’s too scared of the Queen.’
Tullor showed his teeth angrily but Lizzy was reassured. She opened the locket that hung round her neck, then gently stroked the inside surface. The secret compartment sprang open, and silvery light spilled through her fingers.
Tullor’s eyes glittered greedily. ‘Yes! ’ he growled. ‘Hold it over the gate! Quickly!’
Grasping the pearl, Lizzy stretched out her hand until it was directly above the rock bowl. Immediately an answering silver ligh
t came to life at the bottom of the bowl. It merged with the light from the pearl, turning the undersea gloom to brilliance and making Kes and Lizzy look like ghosts. Then suddenly Lizzy felt a squirming sensation under her clenched fingers, as if she were holding something alive.
‘Kes, the pearl – it’s trying to escape!’
‘Hold on to it!’ Kes said urgently. ‘Whatever happens, don’t let go!’
The light was so bright now that Lizzy had to shield her eyes with her free hand. The brightness began to swirl and twist, until it became a silver whirlpool. It caught hold of Lizzy, Kes and Tullor, spinning them round – then Lizzy felt herself being wrenched away and down, turning and turning, arms flailing as she was pulled towards the hollow.
This had happened to Kes before and he knew what to expect, but for Lizzy the plunge into the gateway was terrifying. She knew she was screaming, but she couldn’t hear her voice above the rush and roar as they all hurtled through the magical tunnel. The terror went on and on until she thought it would last forever. Then suddenly, in an explosion of water, the three of them surfaced in the rainbow cave.
‘Aaaahhhh…’ Lizzy’s last cry of fear faded away into utter silence as she found herself bobbing in the water of the pool. Stunned, she stared around, trying to take in her first sight of the cave with its strange mirrors and shifting rainbows of light. But she was so shocked that nothing made any sense.
‘Lizzy!’ Kes swam to her. ‘Lizzy, are you all right?’
She gulped, and struggled to get her breath back. ‘Y-yes… I think so… What happened?’
‘We’ve come through the gateway.’
Above them, a voice said, ‘Indeed you have.’
Lizzy jumped as if she’d been stung. In the first confusion of their arrival she had not noticed the rock couch at the pool’s far edge. Now, though, she looked up and gasped.
Taran was reclining in her usual place on the couch, looking more regal than ever. Her seaweed cloak shimmered with tiny mother-of-pearl shells, and the golden circlet was on her head. She was every inch the Queen, and Lizzy was overawed.
Taran saw her expression and laughed. ‘Welcome back, Kesson,’ she said with mock sweetness. ‘And this, I presume, is Tegenn?’
‘She’s called Lizzy now,’ Kes said. Tullor hissed a warning, and hastily he added, ‘Your Majesty.’
‘Is she?’ Taran smiled. ‘How very human. But then she isn’t really one of us any more.’ Her green eyes glinted as she turned her gaze on Lizzy. ‘Are you, my dear?’
Lizzy swallowed but didn’t reply, and the Queen’s smile faded a little.
‘When I speak to you, Tegenn – or Lizzy, if you prefer – I expect to be answered. Mermaid, or human? Which are you?’
Angrily Kes thought, She’s playing a game, trying to frighten Lizzy just for fun. But Lizzy had gathered her courage, and said in a voice that only quavered a little, ‘I think I’m both, Your Majesty.’
‘Both? Well, perhaps. But I see very little of the mermaid about you. Though…’ She put her head on one side and studied Lizzy carefully. ‘You do look a bit like your mother. Not as pretty. But then, compared to me, even Morvyr is plain and dull, don’t you agree?’
Lizzy’s heart was pounding. ‘You are… very beautiful, Your Majesty.’
That pleased Taran and she laughed again. ‘Your sister has better manners than you, Kesson! However, I did not summon you here to find out how polite you are. You have the silver pearl. I know, because only the silver pearl can open the gateway through which you have just come. Where is the pearl, Lizzy?’
Lizzy hesitated, then slowly raised her clenched hand. ‘It’s here… Your Majesty.’
‘Show me!’
Slowly and reluctantly Lizzy opened her fingers to reveal the pearl. Taran’s green eyes lit hungrily and she gave a great sigh, leaning forward and staring as if she could hardly believe what she was seeing. Tullor hissed, and at once the Queen’s gaze snapped to him.
‘Leave us!’ she commanded. ‘I will call you when I want you again.’
The eel dipped his head obediently. ‘As Your Majesty wills,’ he said, and with a last spiteful glare at Lizzy and Kes he slid under the water and disappeared.
Taran looked at the pearl again. A smile spread across her face and she laughed softly. ‘Come here, Lizzy. Give the pearl to me.’
Lizzy started to swim towards the rock – then paused. Could they trust Taran to keep her promise and set Morvyr free? She had to have some reassurance.
She said, ‘I want to see our mother first.’
Taran blinked. ‘What?’
‘I want to see our mother.’ Kes pinched her warningly but Lizzy took no notice. With Tullor gone she felt more confident, and she bravely held Taran’s angry stare. ‘It’s only fair.’
‘Fair?’ said Taran. ‘Fair? It would be perfectly fair if I imprisoned your mother for the rest of her life for stealing the pearl from me in the first place!’
‘She didn’t – ow!’ Kes had pinched her really hard this time, and Lizzy gave a yelp of pain.
Before she could recover, Kes said hurriedly, ‘Please, Your Majesty, don’t be angry with Lizzy! She didn’t mean to be rude, and she’s very, very sorry. Aren’t you, Lizzy?’ He gave her a third pinch and added humbly, ‘It’s just that she’s worried about Mother. We both are.’
The trick worked. Taran hesitated, then her angry expression was replaced by a disdainful smile.
‘Very well,’ she said. ‘I will overlook it this once. And because I am generous and merciful, you may see your mother before you give me the pearl. In fact, she’s very close by, and I expect she’s been watching and listening.’ Turning round, she raised one hand and pointed at the indigo mirror. ‘There she is.’
The water behind the mirror swirled and became translucent. There inside the mirror was Morvyr. When Kes had last seen her there she had been under a sleeping spell, drifting in the water and unaware of anything. Now, though, she was awake. Her face and hands were pressed against the mirror’s surface and her grey eyes were wide as she stared out at Kes and Lizzy.
‘Mother!’ Lizzy cried. Morvyr’s mouth was working but no sound came through, and in dismay Lizzy looked at Taran.
‘You can’t hear her,’ said the Queen, ‘though she can hear you. When I have the pearl, I will let her go. Now, give it to me!’
Morvyr started to shake her head wildly. She was calling out, and Lizzy saw her lips forming the word ‘No!’ over and over again.
‘I’m sorry, Mother,’ she called back. ‘But you’re more important to us than the pearl! I must give it to the Queen!’
She swam to the rock where Taran sat, and held out her hand. Again the silver pearl seemed to squirm, as if it, too, were protesting. Smiling broadly, Taran plucked it from her and held it up.
‘Ahhh!’ Her sigh of satisfaction echoed through the cave. ‘After all these years… at last the silver pearl has been restored to its rightful owner!’
Chapter Nine
Behind the mirror, Morvyr burst into tears. Lizzy was nearly crying too. She felt like a complete traitor for going against her mother’s wishes and giving the pearl to Taran. But there was simply no other choice.
Kes swam to the rock to join her, and put a comforting arm round her shoulders. ‘It’s all right,’ he said. ‘What else could you have done? Mother will understand.’ He looked up at Taran, who was holding the pearl in one hand and stroking it with the other. ‘Please, Your Majesty, will you set Mother free now?’
‘What?’ Taran had lost interest in the twins and looked annoyed at Kes’s interruption. Then her expression became more pleasant. ‘Well, of course I will, Kesson. I promised, didn’t I? A Queen always keeps her promises. Besides, what could I possibly want with her now?’
A sweet smile had appeared on her face as she spoke, and Lizzy felt a shiver go through her. She didn’t trust this. What could I possibly want with her now… Lizzy knew the answer to that question. This sudden kindness was a sha
m, for there was only one reason why Taran was going to let them all go. She hoped that they would lead her to the black pearl.
Taran turned towards the indigo mirror again and made a careless gesture with one hand. The mirror’s surface trembled, then in an instant it dissolved, sending an explosion of water cascading outwards with a noise like a huge wave crashing on a shore. Morvyr was flung out with it; twisting helplessly in the air, she bounced off the rock ledge before plunging into the pool in a flurry of flailing arms, tail and hair.
‘Mother!’ Gasping as the splash of her landing nearly overwhelmed him, Kes swam to her with Lizzy right behind him. Morvyr surfaced, and the twins flung their arms round her.
‘Mother, oh, Mother!’
‘Are you hurt?’
‘I’m – I’m all right…’ Morvyr righted herself and stared dazedly at them. Her eyes still brimmed with tears. ‘Oh, children, what have you done?’
‘We’re sorry, Mother, but we had to!’ said Kes pleadingly. ‘The Queen said if we didn’t give her the pearl, we’d never see you again!’
All three of them were trying to hug each other at once, but Taran’s voice made them stop and turn.
‘What a touching reunion!’ the Queen drawled mockingly. ‘But, Morvyr, you should be thanking your children, not scolding them. After all, they saved your life.’
Morvyr’s eyes blazed but she tried to hide her anger. ‘Then I do thank them for that, Your Majesty. But not for the way they were made to do it!’
Taran laughed. ‘Unlike you, they are sensible enough not to try to defy me. And now that I have the eighth pearl my power is greater than ever. You are no more use to me, so you may all go free. I will send you back through the silver gateway… but before I do I am sure you would like to see the pearl restored to its proper place.’
Her smile was triumphant as she removed the golden circlet from her head. Holding up the silver pearl, she touched it to one of the two empty settings, and began to whisper a chant that echoed softly through the cave: