by Jaclyn Weist
The second match began, and things were normal for the first few minutes. We were tied, and I had the ball when a small clurichaun—like a leprechaun, but smaller and more annoying—ran onto the court. Since the whistle wasn’t blown, I assumed no one else could see him.
“Lemme help!” he cried. He stood next to me as I went to serve. He snapped his fingers, and the ball that would’ve been a “floater” shot across the court and hit just inside the boundary on the other side. I’d love to say I had such a great serve, but I knew otherwise.
The ball came back to me, and I served again with help from the clurichaun. I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to pick him up and shake him, but I couldn’t. Everyone was watching me, not seeing a little clurichaun standing next to me, so grabbing him would look … odd. I couldn’t even ask him not to help without creating a scene.
I served again, and this time the ball flew and hit the back wall. Well, that was one way to stop him. I moved forward and got ready for the other team to serve.
“Let me help!”
“Go away,” I whispered. “Got it!” I yelled to my teammates, and dove for the ball. I passed it to the setter and watched Hannah spike it down. We moved into the next position, and a fairy flew down just above my head.
“Welcome to our land, Megan. We will help you.” She flicked some pixie dust as the ball came toward me, and it suddenly dropped in front of Melissa. She dove for it, but missed.
“That wasn’t helping,” I muttered.
The fairy huffed and disappeared. It probably made her mad, but I needed to win this game.
The clurichaun tried to help again, but paled when he saw the glower on Eoin’s face. The clurichaun gulped, and disappeared as well. I gave a quick thumbs-up to Eoin, and concentrated on the game.
We barely won the set by four points before moving on to the next one. Ethan had disappeared sometime during the last set, and that worried me more than having him here. Between serves, I made sure Mom was okay. She would smile and wave, and I’d relax for long enough to make the next play.
It was a tough match, but we finally won by two points. Eoin waved and disappeared as I ran over to do a cheer for France’s team. I was anxious to leave the gym before anything else happened. I needed to talk to Eoin in our hotel room where no one could hear us.
I grabbed my water bottle and waited for Mom to come down to the court. She gripped her purse a little tighter than normal, but she had a huge grin on her face.
“Great game, Megan. You guys were fantastic.” She gave me a half hug.
“Thanks. They were good. I didn’t know if we’d win.”
Mom leaned close to me. “Well, with all that ‘help,’ I was a little worried too.”
I shook my head. “No kidding.”
We followed Coach Peterson out to the bus and listened to the rest of the team chattering excitedly about the game. I answered when the girls talked to me, but otherwise, I watched out the window. Something out there was after me, and I really hated not knowing what it was.
I pulled out my phone and found Beth’s number.
Hey, did Eoin find you? I haven’t heard anything.
I sent the same text to Jared and waited. It was killing me not to be able to talk to Jared after my game. We’d always go get ice cream afterward. Mom patted me on the knee and turned back to talk to Shelby’s mom.
Beth replied first.
Eoin came last night and told us his mom was gone. You okay?
Someone’s after me. I’d hoped you could get here to help out somehow.
When is someone *not* after you? We tried summoning Henry, but nothing happened.
My stomach clenched. So it wasn’t just Eoin who couldn’t find him. I didn’t like this one little bit. I texted her back.
Okay. Wish you were here.
Me too. Be smart.
I grinned. I’m always smart. Is Jared okay?
He’s fine. His phone is messed up.
I breathed a sigh of relief. It’s not like I’d thought something bad had happened to him, but not hearing from him had been a little worrying.
That stinks. Can you tell him I miss him?
There was a pause. Of course. And ew.
I laughed to myself. Beth loved to pretend to be grossed out by us.
Thanks. Better go.
See ya.
MEGAN
We pulled up to the hotel and climbed out. I still hadn’t heard from Jared, but he was probably at work. His uncle had him working full days now that school was out.
“Hey, Megan. Coach wants us down at the pool for some team exercise thing,” Hannah told me.
“Okay. I’ll be right down.” Eoin suddenly appeared right behind Hannah and shook his head frantically. “Er, you know, I’m actually pretty tired. Jet lag and all that. Can you let Coach know?” He wouldn’t like that, but if Eoin was this insistent, something had to be going on.
Hannah sighed. “Okay, what is it?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, confused.
“You’re too quiet. And you keep ditching us. Plus, it’s not like you not to be there for a practice.” She folded her arms, eyebrows raised.
I bit my lip. “You’re right. I’m just … homesick. I’ll be down.” I pasted on a smile. The homesickness part was true.
Brittany’s face lit up. “Great! And hey, we all miss home.”
“Yeah, I just need to keep busy.” I ignored Eoin on the way up to our room. I was tired of being careful. I wanted to know what was happening before I agreed to stay away.
Mom unlocked the door, and we went inside. “Swimming will be good to get your mind off things. And your team needs you.”
“It does sound good. I didn’t even realize the hotel had a pool.” I pulled out my suit and headed for the bathroom, but Eoin stood in front of it.
“You’re not going anywhere.” He stomped his foot.
I sighed. “Why?”
Eoin pulled off his hat and played with the brim. “The mermaids. They’re not leaving.”
My eyes grew wide. “Mermaids? Seriously?”
“Yes. I thought I’d sent them back to Atlantis, but a couple managed to find you. And, well, they’re not too fond of you.”
“I’m not too fond of them either, but … um, where are they?”
“I’m worried they’re in the pool. They need a water source.”
“Of course. I’ll take my chances. I have to go, or I’ll get in trouble.” I pushed past him and locked the door to the bathroom so I could change.
Mom and Eoin were still talking when I came out a few minutes later.
“I’m going swimming.” I threw my clothes in my bag.
Eoin grumbled under his breath. “I know. But I don’t like it.” He pointed at me. “If I say it’s time to come upstairs, you’d better do it. Okay?”
“Yes, sir.” I mock saluted and grabbed a towel. “Are you coming, Mom?”
“I think I will.” She grabbed her suit and went in to change.
“Why do the mermaids hate me?” I asked.
Eoin shrugged. “They say it’s because of when you hurt them in the battle, but I find that hard to believe. No one was seriously injured. Mermaids are fickle, and will usually do their own thing. But if they feel threatened, they get nasty. It’s possible someone lied about you.”
“Awesome. I find out that Atlantis exists, and the next thing I know, the mermaids are out to get me.” I grabbed shorts and a towel just as Mom came out of the bathroom.
We headed down to the pool where the rest of the team was already swimming. I dipped my toe in, and smiled at how warm it felt. Perfect.
“Oh, there you are, Megan. We thought you’d fallen asleep.” Brinley swam over to me.
“Nope. I just had to find my suit.” I did a quick check for mermaids, then climbed in.
“Ah. Living out of suitcases can be a pain.” She ducked her head under the water and took off swimming.
Coach came over. “There you are. I want y
ou to swim ten laps, and then we’ll play a game.”
“Got it.” I started with a front crawl and enjoyed the rhythmic movements as I glided through the water. It allowed me to think without someone expecting me to socialize. I was perfectly social at home—with Beth and Jared, at least. And with them a world away, I didn’t know what to do with myself.
I switched between a few different swimming styles every two laps, then leaned against the side of the pool to catch my breath. The other girls finished a few laps before me and were starting a game of Marco Polo.
I won each time, even when I wasn’t trying to use my luck. When I was the only who hadn’t been “it,” I gave in and offered to be next.
“How do you keep doing that?” Shelby asked.
“Luck.” I smiled and swam over to the side of the pool, then closed my eyes. I heard giggles and splashes before I started. “Marco!”
“Polo!” the girls yelled in unison. The game was on.
I listened for the nearest girl as I called out again.
“Polo!” Shelby’s voice was nearby, so I dove forward and grabbed her. Shelby squealed.
I opened my eyes and laughed. “Okay, I got you. I’m going to head back to my room.” I knew my crazy luck was starting to show itself, and by the look on my mom’s face, I could tell she agreed.
“Oh, no, you don’t. That was too easy.” Brinley studied me closely. “How do you keep winning?”
The other girls glanced between us. Great—what was I supposed to say?
“She was right there.” Their expressions didn’t change, and I finally sighed. “Fine. Let’s do it again. Then you can see that I wasn’t looking.”
The girls scrambled out of the way, and I backed up into the corner again. I pushed my luck down, not wanting to use it for the game. Sometimes, having it was a pain to have. It got me in trouble when I’d done nothing wrong.
“Marco!” I shouted.
The girls shouted back just as I was yanked under.
“I was hoping you would do that.” The voice was garbled from speaking underwater.
I turned to see a mermaid grinning at me maliciously. Oh, no. I splashed to the top to catch my breath and called out “Marco” again. I needed the girls to stay distracted while I got rid of the mermaid.
It was the same mermaid who had shown up in my room, and she didn’t look like she’d be letting go any time soon.
I pulled hard on my luck, trying to make her hands slippery enough for me to escape, but we were underwater. I needed another breath. I kicked back, hoping I could connect with her head. I felt contact with flesh and pushed off.
“Marco,” I shouted. Thankfully, the other girls were still swimming around and hadn’t noticed. Mom had, though. She was standing on the side of the pool, ready to jump in. I shook my head and shouted “Eoin!” before being dragged back under.
Kicking the mermaid had only made her angrier. She now had a knife, and I was pretty sure she wasn’t afraid to use it. But why was she taking the chance of exposing herself to my friends? It made no sense. I pulled even harder on my luck, and suddenly noticed the circulation vent at the bottom of the pool. I yanked on the vent with my luck as I dragged myself toward it. She need to be right over it to get sucked in without taking me with her.
She swiped at me with her knife and nicked my arm before I could get away. I gasped and choked on the water, and had to go back up to the surface to breathe.
By that time I had too much on my plate to worry about what any of the girls thought. The blood spreading in the water was kind of a hint that something was wrong. Mom threw a safety ring.
I finally got the vent pulled out, and kicked hard to get away from her grip. Her tail was sucked in, and she cursed at me as I fought to get away.
“How dare you?” she shrieked, followed by what I guessed was cursing in Atlantian. By the way her eyes flashed, it wasn’t very nice. “You’ll pay for this!”
“Yeah, well good luck with getting out of there. Those pipes aren’t used to something quite so big.” I climbed out of the pool and watched the water go down around her.
I looked up and realized, first, that the pool room was empty, and second, that there was a strong stench that hadn’t been there before. I gagged and turned to Mom, who stood there holding a lifeguard pole. “Where is everyone?”
Mom tore her gaze away from the mermaid and looked up at me. “Eoin let off a stink bomb. It cleared the pool pretty quickly. Everyone wanted to wait for you, but I told them I’d stick around.” Her eyes widened. “You’re bleeding!”
I looked down and put my hand over the cut. “She got me with her knife.”
Mom inspected it. “It doesn’t look too deep, but we should get it checked.” She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my arm.
“I’m fine, Mom. Ugh, except for that smell. Man, that is nasty.” I looked around. “Where is Eoin, anyway?”
Mom shook her head. “I don’t know. He said he’d take care of this. He felt pretty bad she snuck in here. We should leave soon, though. I’m not thinking the hotel is going to like the fact that their pool was drained.”
“Oh, right.” I grabbed my towel and started drying off. My head ached from the screeching mermaid and the leftover stench from Eoin’s bomb. I’d never live this down.
I heard a pop, and Eoin stood in front of me with one of the best-looking guys I’d ever seen. Blond hair that fell perfectly over his green eyes, toned body, and that smile … My eyes widened, and I was completely speechless.
“Megan, this is Cam. He’s one of the guards in Atlantis. Now, if you’ll pick your jaw up off the floor, we can get the mermaid back home.”
My face grew hot, and I shook myself out of the stupor. “Right.” I held out my hand. “I’m Megan.”
“It’s nice to meet you. We’ve heard a lot about you.” His smile just made his face even more amazing.
“Y—you have?” They knew about me in Atlantis? Wow.
“Well, you’ve caused quite a stir down in my city with your … battles. Besides, no one can have that much luck and not be known throughout the world.” The admiration in his eyes was enough to make me melt.
“Huh. I mean—thank you for coming. Do you need help?” Seriously. I needed to snap out of it. Jared was at home waiting for me, and here I was, drooling over someone I didn’t know.
“Nope, I’ve got it.” He turned and held out his hand. A ball of light appeared and shot toward the mermaid, who sat in the vent up to her waist. She was pulled out and set next to him. He placed a pair of handcuffs on her that looked like they’d been made of glass. “She won’t be bothering you again. Please let us know if there’s anything else we can do for you.”
He grinned one more time, then twisted something on his watch, making him and the mermaid disappear. Wow. I could use one of those.
I stared at the spot Cam had just left.
“Hello?” Mom chuckled and patted me on the shoulder.
“Right. Um, okay.” I shook my head, trying to clear it. He was Atlantian. I just talked to an Atlantian.
Now that the mermaid was no longer stuck, the pool began draining again. There was no way I wanted to climb in to put the vent cover back on, and I had no idea how to get it refilled. Eoin appeared next to me, staring down at the water.
“Think you can fix that?” I asked.
Eoin shrugged. “Only one way to find out.” He snapped his fingers, and the pool stopped draining.
“Thanks. Think you could fill it back up?” I looked around. “I’m surprised no one has come in to see what’s going on.”
“They were going to, but I froze them for a bit.” He snapped his fingers, and the pool was suddenly filled to the top.
“Wow. Impressive.” I dipped my foot in. It was colder than what it had been before, and it smelled like the ocean. “Um, Eoin? Did you use ocean water?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“It’ll ruin the pipes. You need fresh water.”
“Oh. Fi
ne.” The water disappeared and was replaced with clean water. This time, it was warm.
“Perfect. Let’s go back.” I grabbed my shoes and towel, and we headed toward the door.
Mom opened it and peeked out. “Eoin, you might want to restart time.”
“Oh, right.” Eoin waved his hand, to start time again, and we moved out of the way as the employees rushed into the room, speaking frantically in French.
Mom and I hurried off, trying to keep straight faces. It was harder in the elevator when there was nothing to distract us. We waited until we were inside our own room before we started laughing.
“Did you see their expressions?” Mom asked, wiping her eyes.
“Yeah. That was awesome.” My smile turned to soberness as my mind ran over the fight with the mermaid. “Guess we should’ve listened to Eoin, huh?”
“Probably.” She sat on her bed. “Maybe we should leave. I don’t like everyone coming after you.”
“No, please. I’ll be more careful. If he tells me to stay away from something, I will. I promise. Don’t make us leave.” The thought of missing out on the tour was upsetting. I’d waited for months to come, and I wasn’t about to let mermaids and leprechauns get in my way.
Mom sighed. “Fine. Just don’t make me regret it.”
“I won’t.” I gathered up my stuff and went into the bathroom to change and get ready for bed. When I came back, Mom and Eoin were talking in hushed tones.
“What’s going on?” I climbed on the bed.
“Cam said I was to stay with you no matter what,” Eoin said.
I couldn’t help the blush that came at the mention of Cam. “It’s not like you haven’t been with me since we got here. What else did he say?”
Eoin sighed. “Forget about him. Atlantians are essentially gods. That giddiness you’re feeling right now is just from being in his presence. I shouldn’t have let him come, but he wanted to meet you.”
I blinked. “Right. Um, I knew that. Why does he want you to stay with me? Do the mermaids plan to attack again?”
Eoin jumped off the bed and started pacing. “Not just the mermaids. Something is making the creatures want to come after you, and we haven’t figure out what it is. There are still many who are willing to protect you with their lives—like the clurichauns at the volleyball game today. That means you’ll probably have the same thing happen in your other games.”
