I am afraid to open my mouth in case I swallow a gallon of water and drown. But I do it. I open my lips in a little circle and take a tiny breath in. I do not choke.
“It works!” I say, amazed. I have no idea how it works, but it is working. I am breathing and talking underwater. No scuba equipment necessary.
I thought I would sink to the bottom, but I’m not. I’m just floating. It’s like I’m in one of those gravity-less spaceships and I can go up or down or anywhere I want.
We swim farther into the deep.
There are brightly colored fish swimming in all directions. A family of turtles meanders by us. And coral is everywhere. It looks like pipe cleaners gently blowing in the wind. Yellow, red, orange, blue, green. The water doesn’t even feel cold anymore, just like a really nice bath.
Jonah is having the time of his life. He’s laughing, somersaulting. He’s even yodeling. Does he really have to let every sea creature know we’re here?
“Can you try to be quiet?” I ask him, as a neon fish that’s shaped like a trumpet smashes its nose against my knee. It does not seem to like me.
“Why? This is awesome.”
“Jonah! This is serious business! You’ve been acting like a two-year-old since we got here!”
“You’ve been acting like a forty-year-old!” he snaps back. “This is supposed to be fun.”
“No, it isn’t!” I yell back as the trumpet fish goes after my big toe. “We’re helping Lana.”
“Why can’t helping Lana be fun?”
“Because … because … You’re impossible,” I say, and turn my back on him. “Let’s go to the sea witch and get this over with.” We have to stay on schedule. We have to see the sea witch. But first we have to find the sea witch.
I pull the map up to my eyes. Unfortunately, the map has disintegrated in the water.
“Crumbs!” I yell.
Jonah turns back to me. “What’s wrong?”
“Unlike us, the map was not waterproof.”
He bites his lower lip. “I think I remember the way. Follow me.”
“You think, or you know?”
He shrugs. “I think.”
“Time is ticking, Jonah!”
“Well,” he says, swimming forward, “then we’d better get kicking.”
I nervously follow Jonah through seaweed, around coral, and over a cave. I feel bad for snapping at him, but honestly, he doesn’t take anything seriously.
By now the water has started to get dark. Really dark. I press the light on my watch to illuminate our path and pray that the batteries don’t die.
We swim for what feels like at least another hour.
I could really use a snack. That sushi potion was just not enough. I wish I’d had time to pack a picnic lunch from the wedding buffet. I’m going to miss that lemon meringue pie.
At the end of the cave, Jonah turns left and points.
“That’s it,” he says.
I shine my light up ahead. I have no doubt that he’s right. If someone asked me to design a sea witch’s house, this is what I’d create.
The walls are gray stone and covered in black sea-sludge. The path to the doorway is surrounded by barracudas and floating fish skeletons. There’s a low moaning sound all around us. Jonah slows down and takes my hand.
“Maybe we should find a doorbell or something. The sea witch might not be the type of person who likes to be surprised.” I see a big knocker in the shape of a human skull. With a trembling hand, I bang the knocker against the door.
Slowly the door creeps open.
“Come in,” we hear. The voice is definitely female, but low and raspy.
We swim through the entranceway, terrified.
There she sits in the middle of the room. Well, not sits. Lies sideways on a black couch. She is not what I expected at all. She’s beautiful. She’s a mermaid just like Lana, but her tail is dark purple instead of green and orange. She’s younger than I expected, too — she looks about my mom’s age. She has black, waist-length hair.
Beside the couch is a large gray pot. No, it’s not a pot. It’s a cauldron. It’s made of stone, and bubbles are steaming out of it. It looks like a hot tub — but a really, really scary one. I do not want to go anywhere near that cauldron if I can help it. I take a step back.
“Who are you?” the sea witch drawls. Her voice is smoky. It makes me want to move closer, but I resist.
“I’m-I’m-I’m Abby,” I stutter. “And this is my brother, Jonah.”
“Hello,” she says. “I’m Nelly.”
I nod. “We’re here on behalf of Lana. I’m her —” I pause. “I’m her lawyer.”
The sea witch cackles. “Her lawyer? Lana has a lawyer?”
I nod. “And I’m here to negotiate a deal.”
“How are you even down here? Did you take the underwater potion?”
We nod.
Nelly laughs again. “Well, you’d better start negotiating before your time runs out.”
“Right.” I nervously clear my throat. It’s been about two hours, which means we have ten hours left. We can convince her to help us in ten hours, can’t we? “We would like you to reverse the spell you put on Lana,” I say, my voice trembling.
She raises a perfectly arched eyebrow. “Which one?”
I half smile. “All of them?”
“Let’s see,” Nelly says. “There’s the spell that changed her tail into legs. There’s the spell that took away her voice. Then there’s the spell that says that if the prince marries anyone else, she’ll die before the next sunrise, which is at six oh five A.M.”
“All of them would be good,” I say. “But the dying one is definitely our priority.”
“Reversing spells isn’t cheap. What will you give me?”
I clear my throat. “What do you want?” Oops. This may have been a tiny oversight on my part. I came to negotiate with the sea witch but I didn’t bring anything to trade. Never mind being a failed maid of honor — I’m a failed lawyer, too.
Nelly eyes Jonah. “The boy?”
Jonah scoots into my side.
“Um, no.” Even though we’re kind of in a fight, she still can’t have my brother. “Is there anything else you want?”
She looks me over. “What is that on your wrist?”
I look down. “You want my watch? I can give you my watch.” Not that I really want to give away my watch, but of course I’ll do it to save Lana’s life. I’m not sure how we’ll find our way back to the shore without any light, though. I guess I’ll worry about that problem later.
The sea witch nods. “Here’s my offer. You give me the watch.”
“Okay,” I say. Maybe this won’t be so hard after all.
“And in return for the watch, I’ll give you a knife. You’ll use the knife to stab the prince in the heart. Then I’ll undo all the spells. Lana can go back to her life as a mermaid.”
Is she kidding me?
“Um, that’s not going to work, either,” I say. “I am not going to kill someone.” Sure, the prince is a bit of a jerk, but that doesn’t mean I want him dead. And that definitely doesn’t mean that I would ever consider killing him. I want to be a lawyer, not need a lawyer. “Can’t I just give you the watch, and you’ll reverse the spells?”
She snorts. “Reverse all the spells for one measly watch? No. One of you stabs the prince, or nothing. You know what? I don’t even want a watch. The girl and I had a deal. She’s the one who wasn’t satisfied with her life even though she had everything. She had family who loved her! She was a princess! She was beautiful! But no, no, no, she wanted to give it all up to be human. She’s a jerk! Just like her father!”
“But she wasn’t happy!” I say. “She risked everything for a different life. She’s not a jerk. She’s … she’s … brave! And you’re a coward. You just hide in your cave and steal from people. You want everyone to be as miserable as you are.”
Nelly blinks. And then blinks again. “Unless you have something better than
a watch to trade, then we’re done here.”
Now what are we supposed to do? Wait. “Why is Lana’s dad a jerk?” I wonder.
She ignores my question and instead says, “I guess we’re done. Samuel! My dear Samuel! Show these children the door!”
My dear Samuel? “Don’t tell me she has a boyfriend,” I say.
But no. Just then a shark — an actual shark — swims up to us with a menacing look on its face.
I’m not that surprised her only companion is a shark — no person could love someone that mean.
“We’re getting out of here,” I say, and pull Jonah straight out of the house.
By the time we reach the black water, my heart is beating about three thousand miles a minute.
“That didn’t go well,” Jonah says.
“No, it didn’t,” I say, leaning against something soft and squishy that I hope won’t eat me. I try to catch my breath. “Now what?”
“I can think of one person who might help us,” Jonah says.
“Who?”
“The Sea King.”
I nod. “It’s time to find Lana’s dad.”
I remember that, in the movie, the king offers to trade places with the Little Mermaid,” Jonah explains as we start swimming again. “Maybe he’ll want to do that now.”
My heart clenches. “So the king dies instead of Lana? We don’t want that, either!”
“Hopefully he’ll have a better idea than that,” Jonah says. “But we have to find him and ask. Don’t you think our parents would want to know if we were facing a life-or-death situation?”
“We face life-and-death situations every time we go into the mirror!” I say.
“True,” Jonah says. “But still.”
“Okay,” I say. Maybe the king can force the witch to recant her spell. Or maybe he’ll have something to trade. Clearly he knows the sea witch — she called him a jerk.
So we’re going to talk to him. But first we have to find him. Which we can’t seem to do. We swim and swim, but we keep passing the same cave.
We’re lost. We’re very, very lost.
And there’s something really freaky about being lost underwater in the dark. Beige coral reef sways in the wind and looks like fingers trying to grab us. Silvery fish appear to have teeth.
I light up my watch. It says six thirty, which means it must be around midnight here. How much longer can we swim in circles?
“We know you,” a voice says.
“Did you say something?” Jonah asks.
“No,” I say. “I thought it was you.” A chill creeps down my spine. “Hello?” I say timidly. “Is someone there?”
“Yes,” another voice says.
“We are,” says a third voice.
We’re surrounded.
“Who are you?” I ask, and aim my watch light at the voices. The light reveals a mermaid. No — five mermaids. All with green-and-orange swishing tails. The tops they’re wearing look familiar, but I can’t figure out from where.
“We’re Lana’s sisters,” the one in the middle says. She has short, butter-colored hair and she’s wearing a white sweater. “We’ve been spying on her, but we can’t get too close to the shore. Is Lana okay?”
“Not exactly,” I say, before explaining the whole story.
“We have to go talk to my dad!” one sister wearing a purple hoodie cries. “He has to help.”
“We were trying to find him,” I say. “Isn’t it the middle of the night? What were you guys doing?”
“We were at a party,” another one says, giving the necklace she’s wearing an anxious twirl. Her brown hair is tied back in a tight braid and she’s wearing a light-green shirt with a collar. “It’s past curfew, though — we’re definitely going to get in trouble.”
“It’s worth it for Lana,” the mermaid in the hoodie says. “Follow me!”
We follow her through a winding path, past schools of striped and speckled fish, sparkly red coral, and even a twenty-foot-long shipwreck that’s jammed into a bunch of rocks.
Two of the sisters swim by me, both wearing what look a lot like pajama tops.
Familiar pajama tops.
I glance at all the sisters. Purple hoodie. Green shirt. White sweater. Wait a sec.
“Those are my clothes!” I exclaim. “You found my suitcase!”
They spin around. “That was yours?” the one in the hoodie asks.
“Yes!” I say. “I thought I lost it.”
“You did lose it,” the one with the braid mutters. “Finder’s keepers.” She looks like the youngest of the bunch.
“Sasha,” the one with the short hair and white sweater scolds. “We’ll give them back their stuff.” She looks like the oldest.
“Can we keep the wood paddles and the ball?” the one in my hoodie asks. “We made up a whole game with them where we hit the ball back and forth.”
“That’s how you’re supposed to play,” Jonah says. “It’s called Kadima.”
“We love Kadima,” she says.
“Me too!” Jonah says. “We should play if we have time.”
“There’s no time for Kadima!” the oldest sister and I both yell. We look at each other and smile.
Soon we get to what appears to be a town. It’s pretty empty because it’s the middle of the night, but there’s one restaurant still open.
“Where are we?” I ask.
“That’s Salties,” one of the sisters tells me. “It’s the nicest restaurant on the Main Canal.”
A few mermaids and mermen are sitting outside, enjoying the night. Instead of being pitch-black, like I expected, there are little sparkling lights lining the canal.
“Where do the lights come from?” I ask the oldest sister.
“Bioluminescence,” she says. “Underwater life that glows in the dark.”
Everyone looks at us curiously as we swim past — we are the only ones without tails — but we don’t stop to sightsee.
Finally we spot what has to be the castle.
It’s just as nice, if not nicer, than Prince Mortimer’s palace. It’s made of stone and cliffs and covered in protective coral.
“Let’s go straight to Dad’s room,” the oldest says. “Follow me!”
No need for stairs in this palace. We swim right up into the king’s windowless room. Not much security here.
“Dad! Dad!” the oldest one cries, swimming over to his bed.
“What’s wrong, girls?” the king asks, opening his eyes.
He has dark hair that’s gray at the temples. He also has one of those chins with a cleft in it.
He spots us. “Why did you bring humans?”
“They’re friends of Lana’s. And Lana needs our help.”
Quickly I spill out the whole story. “… So you see,” I say once I’ve finished, “we didn’t know who else to go to. Do you have anything the sea witch would want? Or could you command her to reverse the spell? Maybe threaten to put her in ocean prison?”
The king looks shocked, yet I notice a determined glint in his eye. “Poor Lana! We must save her at once. Girls! Collect all the family jewels. The necklaces! The rings! All of Mom’s old stuff!”
“Not the jewelry!” one of the sisters cries. “It’s all we have left of Mom!”
“Your mom would want us to use it.” The king throws off his covers. “Everyone, follow me.”
It’s not the most inviting décor,” I say as I push a floating fish skeleton out of the way and knock on the door. I glance at my watch. We have to move fast. We’ve been underwater for almost nine-and-a-half hours. We still need two hours to get back to the beach.
“Go away!” Nelly yells from inside. “Didn’t I tell you to stop bothering me?”
The door swings open and the sea witch has a scowl on her face. But suddenly her expression changes. Softens. She blinks. And then blinks again. She’s looking above my head and I turn to see that she’s staring at the king.
And he’s staring at her.
“What do
you want?” she asks.
The king blushes.
“Nelly,” I say, “the king is here to offer you jewelry. If you’ll save his daughter.”
“Right!” the king says, snapping out of his trance. “May we come in?”
Nelly tears her eyes away from the king and checks out our whole group. “All of you?”
“Yes,” I say. I put my hands on my hips and clench them into fists, hoping I look defiant.
“I guess.” Nelly sweeps her arm to the side in an exaggerated gesture of welcome, and all eight of us float-march in.
“I haven’t seen you in years,” the king says.
“No, you haven’t,” Nelly says, tight-lipped.
“How do you know each other?” I ask.
“We went to elementary school together,” the king says.
“We certainly did,” Nelly says, crossing her arms and slapping her tail against the ground. “How could I forget? You used to call me a horrible name.”
The king’s eyes widen in surprise. “What are you talking about? I called you Jelly Nelly!”
She scowls. “Exactly. Jelly Nelly. Because I reminded you of a jellyfish.”
“So why is that horrible?” the king asks, his forehead wrinkling.
“Because jellyfish are annoying and poisonous,” Nelly spits out.
I’d have to agree. Jellyfish are kind of the mosquitoes of the sea.
The king shakes his head. “Jellyfish are smart. And beautiful. And fascinating.”
“They are not,” Nelly says, but her voice wavers.
“They are so,” he says. “I called you Jelly Nelly because I had a crush on you.”
Nelly blushes. “You did?”
“You did?” we all echo.
Now it’s the king’s turn to blush.
Nelly makes a strange sound. Was it a giggle? She clears her throat. “Oh. I just assumed …” Her voice trails off. “I had no idea.” She wraps a strand of her dark hair around her finger. She giggles again. Is Nelly flirting? Does the sea witch like the king?
“Well, now you know,” he says. He’s all flushed. “It’s nice to see you again.” Oh. My. Goodness. Does he still like the witch?
But then he shakes his head. “No. It’s not nice. You have to help my daughter.”
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