Real Mermaids 2 - Don't Hold Their Breath (5 page)

Okay! We go-rshh. Ready?
Reese asked, swimming ahead.

Was I ready? If I looked back to the beach, I was fine, despite the swaying jellyfish, mossy rocks, and swirling sand; but out into the ocean was a sea of random fish, plunging cormorants, then nothingness.

But this could be my one and only chance to find Mom.

As
ready
as
I'll ever be.
I waved to Luke one last time and swam to catch up as Reese raced ahead.

For a chubby mer, the guy was surprisingly fast.

We didn't have to go very far to find Reese's uncle—just a short swim across the length of the Toulouse Point Beach to the mouth of the boat canal leading up to Talisman Lake, as a matter of fact. That's when it became pretty obvious I was about to run into some old pals if I wasn't careful.

I hung back, darting from one swaying clump of seaweed to another, trying to keep the canal sentries in my sights without being seen. I couldn't tell for sure, but they looked like the same sentries I had had to escape from with my mom and Serena a few weeks before.

Reese swam back to see why I wasn't following quite so closely anymore.

Uncle. Uncle Alzear.
Reese motioned to one of the two mermen patrolling the mouth of the canal.

A
sentry? Your uncle is a sentry?

Yes, uncle.
Reese searched my face.
Find
mother?

Yes. Yes, I want to find my mother, but it would probably be better if they didn't see me.
I looked down at the T-shirt I was still wearing compared to everyone else's bare chest. Surely, that would be a dead giveaway that I wasn't from around there. Reese seemed to understand.
Ask
your
uncle—could you ask him if he knows anything about a tidal pool?

Reese squinted.
Tidal
pool?

Yes,
I replied, making a sweeping motion with my arms to try to explain.
Water
pool. Tides. In and out.

Reese nodded and grasped the strap of his satchel, then swam up to the mouth of the canal. The sentries swam up to meet him, holding their spears across their chests. Uncle Alzear put a hand on Reese's shoulder while the other one yelled at him.

Restricted. You cannot be here!

I flinched at the sound of his piercing ring but tried to stay hidden while peering through a clump of swaying seaweed. Uncle Alzear put his hand up to stop the other sentry, then spoke quietly in Reese's ear. Reese shook his head as if to say he wouldn't go, then turned to the other sentry. He offered him several things from his satchel but none seemed to be of any interest. Finally, Reese unclasped my watch from his wrist and held it out to him.

Geesh, that was a forty-dollar Timex,
I muttered.

The sentry smiled with all four of his teeth, attached the watch to his spear, then swam back up the canal, but not before glancing back to flash Uncle Alzear a warning look.

Reese and his uncle spoke, but their backs were turned, so it was hard to tell what they were saying. Uncle Alzear shook his head a lot but Reese persisted. Finally, Reese motioned in my direction. I ducked behind a large clump of swaying kelp to avoid being seen. By the time I had the nerve to risk a peek a few minutes later, Reese was swimming to my side.

Are
you
crazy? He could have seen me,
I whispered in a low ring once he slipped behind the kelp with me, hidden from view.

Reese fiddled with the closure of his satchel.
Did
not
see
you.

So, what did he say? Does he know about the tidal pool?
I asked. But from the smile on Reese's face, I could tell the answer was yes. I put a hand to my mouth. Could it be? Was I that much closer to finding Mom?
Where? Where is it?

Reese glanced around to get his bearings, then turned to the western coastline, past the canal and away from Toulouse Point.

Can
you
take
me
there? How far is it?
I asked, trying to keep my tone low despite my growing excitement.

Reese let out a series of rings, none of which I could understand.

Whoa. Slow down. What are you saying?

Reese fumbled around in his satchel and pulled out a Happy Meal toy still in its packaging, pointing to the large M emblazoned on the plastic packaging.

I turned the toy over and examined it. Seawater had seeped into the package but the blue plastic figurine inside was still intact. I recognized it from a movie I'd seen advertised the spring before.

There was only one McDonald's anywhere near Port Toulouse. I looked at Reese and raised an eyebrow.
The
McDonald's by the mall?

Reese pointed at the toy again, as if he figured I hadn't understood.

No, no—I get it. Okay, the mall it is. Let's go!

Go-rshh.
Reese stuffed the toy back in his satchel and smiled, then took my hand to head westward.

I glanced over my shoulder and quickly turned away when I saw Uncle Alzear watching us swim off, his spear held loosely by his side.

•••

We swam for miles—nautical miles, which I was sure were ten times farther than actual miles.

The thought of Mom kept me going despite how big and scary the ocean seemed compared to Talisman Lake. The whole saltwater experience had its pluses, though. I could see better, hear better, and actually understood what Reese was saying more and more as he gave me a guided ocean tour. We stuck to the coast, where the kelp was thicker to hide me from view, and swam along the ocean floor, around outcroppings of rock covered with mosses and crawling shellfish. I saw a humongous green lobster the size of a preschooler snatch a passing mackerel in its massive claw.

Note to self: Stay away from scary, snapping lobsters.

We followed a school of mackerel for a while, which was kind of cool, until I realized the floaty bits swirling behind them were probably chunks of uneaten flesh or digested food, and I got totally grossed out and gagged at the thought of breathing in that stuff.

My tail ached and my arms were about to fall off by the time Reese slowed down long enough for me to catch up. I spotted the big golden McDonald's arches off in the distance.

Holy
Chicken
McNuggets. We actually made it. We—

But before I could finish my sentence, something whizzed by my head.

Reese pushed me out of the way.
Stay
down!

What
the
heck
was
that?
We ducked behind an outcropping of rock covered with swaying seaweed.
Who's after us?

Not
sure.
Reese parted the seaweed with one hand so we could get a better look. The projectiles kept whizzing by us but missed us by a mile, judging by the streams of bubbles a dozen feet away.

Either
they're not shooting at us or they have really bad aim,
I rang in a low tone.

Seconds later, a
PING
sounded through the water. The shooting stopped.

You're late!
A deep mer-voice rang from a couple dozen feet away. I peeked around the rock. A large grizzly looking merman brandishing a spear swam to meet a small elderly mermaid.

Yeah, well, tell that to your goon friends,
the mermaid replied.
They
wrecked
my
stall
back
at
the
market
looking
for
contraband. It will take me days to get it back in order.

It's Renata,
Reese whispered.
With
food.

Renata held out a package wrapped in seaweed to Grizzly while another sentry hung back by a large underwater metal culvert by the shore, which was probably where the projectile had hit to cause the sound. Could they be guarding the entry to the tidal pool, keeping the Webbed Ones in and the rubberneckers out? My breath quickened as I thought of the possibility. What if we were finally about to discover Mom, but they caught us before we could get to her?

The merman by the culvert called out to Renata with a friendly wave.
Any
squid
today, Renata?

Got
some
right
here
for
you, Omarlin!
She searched in her sleigh-like cart and tried to swim toward the culvert to bring it to him, but Grizzly blocked her with his spear.

You
know
the
rules.
He took the squid from her and piled it on top of the package she'd already given him.
I'll take it from here.
He turned to go.

What? No tip?
Renata rang after him. But Grizzly ignored her, swam back to the culvert, and disappeared inside. Omarlin smiled weakly and waved, then disappeared into the darkness of the culvert too.

Renata rang out a bunch of sentences, which I was pretty sure were mer-curse words, and stooped over to arrange the rest of the packages in her cart.

My stomach cramped with anticipation and worry.

This
is
it,
I whispered to Reese.
This
must
be
the
entrance
to
the
tidal
pool. Only problem is how do we get in?

But just then, another rumble gurgled from my stomach. All the excitement had set Bridget's lunchtime cheesy nachos into motion. Roiling, gurgling, cramping. This couldn't be happening. Not now!

No matter how hard I tried to control it, a mixture of nerves, fear, jalapenos, and bad timing all came together in a stomach-rumbling, gas-producing…
mwuuurppppp.

A huge burp bubble escaped from my mouth and traveled past my face, up and over the rock and seaweed where we were hiding.

Excuse
me,
I whispered.

Reese flashed me an odd, approving smile. I couldn't help it. An uncontrollable urge to giggle took over me just like it always did whenever Cori and I were at a really serious school assembly. It started as a jittery feeling in my chest and escaped as a massive underwater snort. If Renata hadn't seen my burp bubble, I was sure this would blow our cover. I poked my head around the rock to check.

Who's there?
Renata scanned the waters around her and slipped out a slingshot-looking weapon from between the packages in her cart.

What
do
we
do
now?
I whispered.

Reese said nothing but rifled through his satchel. I peeked in and counted four flip-flops, a waterlogged cell phone, and about six gold chains.

Where
did
you
get
all
this
stuff?
I picked out an ID wallet and wondered what poor sap had lost it. Bridget Lavoie according to the expired driver's license. Bridget's Diner–Bridget? I stifled another laugh. I bet my boss would never guess her ID had been stolen by an underwater kleptomaniac.

Reese took the wallet back from me and stashed it in his satchel. He hesitated for a moment, looking like he wondered whether he could trust me.
Beach. From tides,
he said carefully.

I
said, who's there?
Renata said once again, this time more forcefully.

You
stay
here,
Reese whispered to me and pulled out one of the flip-flops.
She
likes
these.

Renata turned as Reese slipped out from our hiding spot.
Stay
hidden!
she hissed, glancing over her shoulder to the culvert to make sure no one was looking.

Reese swam slickly to another clump of kelp nearby while Renata busied herself, packing items into her cart, keeping her back to the culvert.

You
can't be here,
she said in a low ring.

What
is
this
place?
Reese asked from his new hiding place.
Is
this
the
tidal
pool?

Renata stared at the clump of kelp and quickly turned back to her work.
You
do
not
know
what
you
are
asking.

I stayed behind my rock, quite sure I didn't want anyone popping out of the culvert and skewering us with their spears, but I had to know.

How
do
we
get
through
there?
I called out to her.

Renata scanned the waters around her.
Who
have
you
brought
with
you?

Reese slipped out from his hiding place and looked my way, shaking his head slightly to signal me to stay hidden.