“Yes,” said Kathleen, tossing back her long curls. “I am the youngest of us all. We live in a cave up in the cliffs.”
“Cool,” said Annie. “Is your cave like the Cave of the Spider Queen?”
“No, no,” said Kathleen. “It is much more cheerful than Morag’s cave.”
“So that’s her name,” said Annie. “I’m worried that she might be lonely.”
“Ah, do not worry,” said Kathleen. “Morag has many friends—bats, crabs, starfish. But it is kind of you to be concerned about her.” She smiled at Annie.
Kathleen’s friendly manner finally gave Jack the courage to speak. He cleared his throat. “The Water Knight was really cool, too,” he said.
“The Water Knight?” said Kathleen.
“Yeah,” he said, “the guy who carried us across the first cove.”
Kathleen looked puzzled.
“His horse had a fish’s tail!” said Annie.
“How strange,” said Kathleen. “I often swim in that cove, but I’ve never seen or heard of such a knight.”
“Have you lived here a long time?” asked Annie.
“Always,” said Kathleen.
“Kathleen is a selkie,” said Teddy.
“A selkie?” said Jack and Annie together.
“Yes,” said Kathleen, laughing.
“You’re in Merlin’s rhyme!” said Annie. “It says, Swim with a selkie clothed in green.”
“Merlin’s rhyme?” asked Teddy.
“Merlin gave us a rhyme to help us find the Sword of Light,” said Jack.
The smile left Kathleen’s face. Her beautiful eyes darkened. “You have come in search of the Sword of Light?” she said. “Oh, dear ….”
“What’s wrong?” said Jack.
“Many have passed through here seeking the Sword of Light,” said Kathleen. “But as soon as anyone enters the cove beyond the Jellyfish Cave, terrible winter storms seem to burst out of nowhere. Even in summer, the storms have icy winds and rain. No seekers of the sword have ever survived these gales.”
“Have you ever been to the cove beyond the Jellyfish Cave?” asked Jack.
Kathleen shook her head. “My older sisters have always forbidden me to go there,” she said. “In fact, no selkie has ever dared swim into the Cove of the Stormy Coast.”
“Cove of the Stormy Coast?” said Annie. “That’s the next line in Merlin’s rhyme! Enter the Cove of the Stormy Coast!”
“What is Merlin’s rhyme?” asked Teddy.
“Here,” said Jack. “Look.”
He handed the seashell to Teddy.
The boy sorcerer quickly read Merlin’s message and rhyme. Then he looked at the sky. “The sun moves on,” he said. “Let us make haste! We must find the sword before nightfall! Or someday Arthur will meet his doom!”
“Wait a minute,” said Annie. She looked at Kathleen. “The rhyme says we’re supposed to swim with you. Will you come with us?”
Kathleen looked at them for a long moment. Then she stood up and tossed back her curls. Her eyes were bright. “I have always wanted to explore that cove,” she said.
“Hurray!” said Teddy. “You will be the first selkie to do so! A grand adventure awaits us all! Onward!”
“Hold on,” said Jack. “What about that Jellyfish Cave?”
“You need not worry about the jellyfish,” said Kathleen. “They cannot harm us.”
“They cannot?” said Jack.
“No,” said the selkie, “not if we all change into seals.”
“Seals?” asked Annie.
Jack looked at Teddy. “Did she say ‘change into seals’?” he asked.
“Indeed!” said Teddy. “That’s what selkies do. They are people on land and seals in the sea.”
“You’re a seal?” Jack asked Kathleen.
“Sometimes,” said the selkie, smiling.
Jack just stared at her. He couldn’t believe the beautiful girl was sometimes a seal.
“Whenever I come ashore and dry off in the sun, my seal skin falls away,” said Kathleen. “Then I am as human as—well, as I am right now.”
“Oh, I get it!” said Annie. “You were one of the seals we met in the water!”
“Of course,” said Kathleen, “and Teddy was the other.”
Jack looked at Teddy. “Y-you?” he stammered. “How … ?”
Teddy grinned. “I am a magician, remember?” he said.
Kathleen laughed. “Yes, but this time, ’twas my magic that did the work,” she said. She pointed to two shiny gray skins lying on the sand. “I gave him a seal skin and spoke a selkie spell.”
“You turned Teddy into a seal?” asked Jack.
“Aye,” said Kathleen, “and I shall do the same for you. I am sure my sisters will not mind if we borrow two more of their skins.” The selkie started toward a large pile of rocks.
Teddy watched Kathleen go, then looked back at Jack and Annie. “She has powerful magic indeed,” he said.
“No kidding,” said Annie.
Jack was speechless. He couldn’t believe he and Annie were about to become seals.
Kathleen came out from behind the rocks carrying two shiny skins. “Take these,” she said, handing them to Jack and Annie. The skins looked like scuba divers’ wet suits with hoods.
“Pull them on over your clothes,” said Kathleen. “Like this.” She and Teddy picked up their own seal skins from the sand and began pulling them on. Jack and Annie did the same.
Jack stretched the skin up over his legs and shorts, then over his arms and T-shirt. He felt as if he were wearing a thick layer of rubber.
“Before we cover our heads and faces, we must wade into the water,” said Kathleen. “Follow me.”
Jack waded clumsily into the water with the others. This is crazy, he thought. You can’t become a seal just by putting on a seal costume.
Kathleen stopped them when they were waist deep. “Slip on your hoods,” she said. “I will say a few words in selkie language. Then we shall all dive in.”
Teddy grinned at Jack and Annie. “We have flown together through the sky,” he said. “Now we shall swim together in the deep, eh?”
Jack nodded, but he still didn’t believe this could possibly work.
“Quickly!” said Kathleen. “Cover your heads and faces! Dive as soon as I’ve spoken the spell!”
Jack pulled on his hood. He stretched it down over his forehead, then over his face—his glasses, nose, and chin. He couldn’t see or talk. He wanted to rip the hood off, but Kathleen’s voice stopped him:
An-ca-da-tro-a-day-mee!
Ba-mi-hu-no-nay-hah-nee!
Jack heard one splash—then two more. He quickly dove into the sea.
As soon as the seawater covered his head and body, Jack felt the seal skin melt into his own. His chest expanded to the size of a barrel! His arms and legs vanished and flippers took their place!
Jack shot through the water like a torpedo.
When he moved his front flippers, he turned right or left. When he moved his back flippers, he zoomed forward.
Jack rolled and swerved in and out of schools of fish and jungles of sea grass. He dove down to the murky depths of the cove. Then he shot back up to the surface. In his smooth seal body, he could swim ten times faster than he ever had in his human body! And he could see and hear perfectly!
Jack rose and fell and rose and fell through the deep. Two seals appeared beside him. Bubbles came from their mouths. They made gurgling, clicking sounds. Jack could understand exactly what their seal sounds meant.
Hey, Jack! It’s me!
’Tis me, too!
Hi, guys! Jack called to Annie and Teddy. He heard trilling sounds on his other side. He saw a third seal. It was Kathleen, swimming gracefully toward him.
Hello, Jack!
Hello, Kathleen! Jack clicked back to her.
He wanted to tell the selkie how much fun he was having. But when he opened his mouth, a school of tiny fish swam down his throat. Before he knew
it, Jack had swallowed all the fish whole! But he didn’t mind. He laughed a seal laugh full of bubbles.
Onward, Kathleen! clicked Teddy. Lead us to the Jellyfish Cave!
The four seals paddled with ease through the sunlit waters of the Selkie Cove and into the Jellyfish Cave. The water in the cave was cold and murky. But in his seal body, Jack was warm; and with his seal eyes, he could see clearly.
As they swam farther and farther into the cave, the jellyfish began to appear. At first there were just a few. Then there were hundreds … then thousands … pink jellyfish, purple jellyfish, orange and chocolate-colored jellyfish … jellyfish as big as umbrellas and as small as pennies … jellyfish shaped like bells, saucers, parachutes, mushrooms, cannonballs … jellyfish as bright as candle flames and jellyfish as clear as glass.
Some of the jellyfish pulsed in and out as they swam. Others silently drifted by, their long stinging tentacles trailing behind them. As Jack swam among the jellyfish, he wasn’t afraid at all. His tough seal skin protected him completely.
Finally Kathleen led Jack, Annie, and Teddy through a narrow passage of the cave and into the milky-green waters of the third cove.
The four seals poked their heads above the surface of the water and took deep gulps of air. Jack’s whiskers twitched as he looked around the Cove of the Stormy Coast.
The cove was completely silent. It was lit with a hazy, warm light. The water was flat calm, without a single ripple. Circling the cove were strange green hills that shimmered in the afternoon light. Snowcapped mountains loomed above the hills. Jack could see the tree with the magic tree house on a distant sea cliff.
Climb onto those rocks and dry off! Kathleen barked.
They all swam to a small rocky island in the middle of the cove. Jack hoisted his blubbery, tear-shaped body out of the water. He flopped beside the others and puffed and groaned. The seal body that had felt so graceful underwater now felt heavy and awkward.
Jack’s skin began to feel tighter and tighter in the sunlight. Almost before he knew it, the skin had slipped from his body like old wrapping paper. He was human again—lying on the rock in his shorts and T-shirt. He sat up and pushed his glasses into place.
“That was great!” said Annie.
Jack looked at her. The same magic had happened to Annie and the others. They were all human again.
“Yeah, it was,” Jack said happily. He looked around. “And I don’t see any signs of a winter storm here.”
“No, but still, I do not like the looks of this place,” said Teddy. The boy sorcerer frowned as he peered around at the cove. “It gives me the quivers.”
Jack glanced anxiously at Teddy. If Teddy was afraid, something must be wrong. Teddy never acted as if he were afraid of anything.
“Well, the day wears on,” Teddy said, looking up at the sinking sun. “Let us hurry ashore to find the sword, so we can leave this cove as quickly as possible.”
“I fear our search may be difficult,” said Kathleen. “Look.”
A dense gray fog was rolling down from the mountains. As they watched, the fog hid the sea cliff where their tree house had landed. Within moments, the fog had completely covered the green hills. Then it swept over the windless waters of the cove.
“Oh, dear,” said Kathleen. “The Cloak of the Old Gray Ghost is upon us.”
“The Cloak of the Old Gray Ghost?” asked Annie.
“Aye, that’s what we selkies call a very thick fog,” said Kathleen.
“And that’s a line in Merlin’s rhyme!” said Annie. “Dive ’neath the Cloak of the Old Gray Ghost!”
Jack breathed a sigh of relief. “Gray Ghost” wasn’t a ghost at all! It was just another name for fog. “So I guess we just go ashore and look for the sword under the fog somewhere,” he said.
“The rhyme says we dive,” said Teddy. “So perhaps we do not go ashore at all.”
“Oh, right,” said Jack. “Does that mean we get to turn back into seals?” Shivering in the cold fog, he was eager to slip back into his warm, protective seal body.
“I fear we cannot all be seals,” Kathleen said, “for how could we grasp a heavy sword with our flippers?”
“You and Teddy be the seals, then, and look for the sword,” said Annie. “Jack and I can swim down and grab it after you show us where it is.”
Jack was about to say he’d rather be a seal. But before he could speak, Teddy piped up. “Excellent plan!” he said.
“Indeed,” said Kathleen. “Your friends are very brave.” She turned and smiled warmly at Jack.
“Uh, sure, no problem,” he said.
“Let us make haste,” said Teddy. Hidden by the fog, he and Kathleen pulled their seal skins back on. A moment later, Jack heard Teddy call out, “Farewell, friends!” Then Kathleen spoke her selkie spell. Her words were followed by two splashes.
“What do we do now?” Jack asked.
“We wait for them to find the sword,” said Annie.
“I hope they hurry,” said Jack, shivering.
“Me too,” said Annie.
They listened for the barking of the seals. They listened and listened … .
“I wonder what time it is,” said Annie.
“Impossible to tell,” said Jack.
“They’d better—”
“Shh!” said Jack.
He heard a faint seal bark, then another and another. But in the thick fog, he couldn’t tell where the barks were coming from. “Where are they?” he said.
“I think they’re over there!” said Annie.
Splash! Annie had jumped in. Jack couldn’t see her in the fog.
“Annie, where are you?” he shouted.
“Here!” Annie yelled through the ghostly mist. “Come on!”
Jack put his glasses down on the rocks. Then he slowly lowered himself into the water. As he started after Annie, his human body felt thin and frail compared to his powerful seal body. He couldn’t swim nearly as fast. He couldn’t hold his breath underwater for nearly as long. And he was freezing cold.
The seal barks grew louder and louder. Barrh! Barrh!
Jack didn’t see their two friends until he nearly bumped into them. Teddy and Kathleen were swimming in a tight circle, barking excitedly.
“Did you find the sword?” Annie shouted at them. “Is it here?”
The seals barked and dove under the water. Jack and Annie took deep breaths and followed.
The seals swam quickly to the sandy bottom of the cove. They circled a shimmering object sticking out of the sand.
It was the golden handle of a sword.
Annie pointed to the sword handle. Jack nodded. But he was running out of air. He swam back up to the surface. Annie followed him.
Their heads bobbed above the water, and they gasped. “Did you see it?” cried Annie. “The handle of the sword?”
“Yes! The blade must be buried in the sand!” said Jack.
“We have to pull it out!” said Annie. “And we have to hurry!”
“Right!” said Jack.
He and Annie took giant gulps of air. Then they swam back down to the bottom of the cove. Jack got to the sword first. He grabbed the handle and pulled. The sword didn’t budge. He pulled again. The sword still didn’t move.
Annie grabbed one side of the handle. She and Jack pulled together. Jack felt the sword move a tiny bit. His lungs felt like they were about to burst.
Gripping his side of the handle with both hands, Jack pulled with all his might. Suddenly the flashing blade slipped out of the sand!
Jack and Annie carried the sword up through the water as fast as they could. They burst into the air, clinging to the Sword of Light and gasping for air.
“We got it!” Jack called to Kathleen and Teddy.
The seals circled around them, splashing and barking joyfully.
Barrh! Barrh!
“Lead us to the rocks!” Annie shouted.
Jack and Annie each held on to the sword’s handle with one hand. Paddling with the
ir free hands, they dragged the sword after the seals.
As they swam, the fog began to lift, and the sky turned from gray to blue. By the time they reached the rocky island, light from the late-afternoon sun was again glinting off the strange green shoreline.
“Hold the sword while I get out!” Jack shouted to Annie.
Jack climbed onto the rocky island. He took the sword from Annie, then carefully pulled it up onto the rocks and laid it on its side.
Annie climbed out of the water. Nearby, Teddy and Kathleen poked up their seal heads. They were all silent as they stared in wonder at the sword.
“Wow,” breathed Annie.
Jack nodded. The mighty sword reflected the burning light of the setting sun. Its blade glowed as if it, too, were on fire.
“Now what do we do?” Jack said.
“We have to get the sword to Merlin fast,” said Annie. “The sun’s about to go down.”
“Right,” said Jack. “Before nightfall. Right.”
Suddenly Teddy and Kathleen barked a warning. Jack and Annie looked up.
The water had begun to ripple. The ripples started at the edge of the cove and swelled toward the center. Waves crashed against the small rocky island, sending up great showers of spray.
“What’s going on?” said Jack.
“Maybe a bad storm’s coming!” said Annie.
Barrh! Barrh! Kathleen and Teddy tried to haul themselves onto the rock, but the waves pushed them away.
“We’ve got to help them!” said Annie. She and Jack tried to help the seals out of the rough water. Their hands slipped over the sleek seal skin, and they nearly toppled into the water themselves.
The waves kept rolling and splashing. Barrh! Barrh! The two seals were swept away from the rocky island.
“Look!” cried Annie. “The land is moving!”
Jack looked at the strange green shoreline surrounding the cove. It was moving! It shifted from side to side, then slithered forward!
A great roaring noise rocked the cove. A monstrous head rose above the surface of the water.
The green hills were not hills at all. They were the coils of a giant sea serpent’s body!
Summer of the Sea Serpent Page 3
