Mr. Beeston’s mouth twitched into a crooked smile. “Do you mean . . . ?”
“Who else could I trust with such an important task?”
Neptune looked around at us all. “The rest of you will return to your lives. The kraken keepers will join you at Allpoints Island and you’ll live together. The Triangle shall be sealed when I have left. Now, back to your island, everybody, and try to keep out of trouble this time.”
The ship was almost out of sight, a silhouette slowly gliding along the horizon.
Dad put an arm around me as Shona caught up with us, linking an arm in mine. Mom and Millie smiled at me from inside the lifeboat.
“Hang on,” Mom said. Then she pulled her
dress off. She had her swimsuit on underneath. Pinching her nose, she jumped into the sea and swam over to join me and Dad.
“I’ve been practicing,” she explained simply as we stared.
Dad kissed her, then turned back to me with a wide grin. “Come on then, little ’un.” He nodded toward Allpoints Island as he pulled me close. “Ready to go home?”
Home. I thought about our bay, about
Fortuna,
Barracuda Point, the Grand Caves, mermaid school, the million things I hadn’t yet discovered about Allpoints Island — and everyone waiting for us. Althea and Marina, and all my other new friends.
“Yes, I’m ready,” I said eventually. Then I turned to Shona and smiled. “We’ve got a party to go to.”
The Brightport Times — March 25
LOCAL HEROES SAVE BRIGHTPORT PIER
The Brightport Town Council voted today to retain and modernize the town’s historic pier. The decision came after local residents Jack and Maureen Rushton made a substantial donation from a recent windfall.
The Rushtons came into the money due to their stunning photographs of a raging sea monster on the open ocean. The photographs have been sold to newspapers across the world.
The photographs were taken while the couple was on vacation with Mermaid Tours. Bizarrely, they have no recollection of their vacation. “We were as surprised as anyone when we got the pictures developed,” Mrs. Rushton said.
The Rushtons plan to expand their amusement arcade on the pier and are currently in negotiations with planners about a theme park, which they will open later this year. The star ride will be a massive roller coaster with a multitude of twists and turns along tentaclelike tracks.
The ride is to be called the Kraken.
Acknowledgments
Once again, I can’t claim to have done this all on my own. Lots of people have been involved in the process. I would especially like to thank:
Jeanette, Andrew, Alex, and Amber, for two incredible weeks in Bermuda;
Ben and Sam, for the day out on the pirate ship (even if it didn’t go anywhere);
Fiz, for sharing so many special moments, and crying at most of them;
Kirsty, for being so proud and excited, and so good at sharing champagne;
Fiona and the fab team at Orion Children’s Books, for being so behind Emily;
Sarah, for all the beautiful artwork;
my family, and lots of other friends, for all sorts of help along the way.
With extra special thanks to:
Kath, for 100 percent spot-on editorial feedback and for sharing the agony of second-book syndrome;
Lee, for again being a complete inspiration and a central part of helping this book to take shape;
Catherine, for doing all the right things for Emily and for me, and doing them with patience, friendship, care, and skill;
and Judith, for being such a thorough and brilliant editor that all my writer friends are jealous.
It’s midnight, and as light as day.
A full moon shines down on the ocean, making the waves dance as they skirt the edges of the tiny island, lapping on jagged rocks and stony beaches.
A chariot glides through the sea, tracing a circle around the island. Solid gold and adorned with jewels on every side, the chariot is pulled by dolphins, each decorated with a row of diamonds and pearls along its back and head.
Inside the chariot sits the king of all the oceans: Neptune, grander than ever, a chain of sparkling jewels around his neck, his gold crown glinting above his white hair, his trident by his side. His green eyes shine in the moonlight as he looks across at the island. He is waiting for his bride to appear from the castle that stands above the rocks, half hidden by mist, its dark windows gleaming in the bright night sky.
“Go around again!” he demands, his voice booming like thunder. His words send ripples
bouncing away from the chariot. The dolphins draw another circle around the island.
And then she is there, smiling as she steps toward the water’s edge, her eyes meeting his, their gaze so fierce it almost brings the space between them to life. A bridge between their two worlds.
A small flock of starlings approaches the water as she does, circling the air above her head like a feathered crown. Twisting her head to smile up at them, she holds out a hand. Instantly, one of the birds breaks off from the circle and flies down toward her open palm. Hovering almost motionless in the air, it drops something from its claw into her palm. A diamond ring. As the woman closes her hand around the ring, the starling rejoins the other birds and they fly away into the night, slinking across the sky like a giant writhing snake.
“I give you this diamond to represent my love, as great as the earth itself, as firm as the ground on which I stand.” The woman flicks back shiny black hair as she reaches out toward the chariot to place the ring on Neptune’s finger.
A twist of the trident, and a dolphin swims forward. As it bows down to Neptune, it reveals a pearl ring, perfectly balanced on its brow. Neptune takes the ring. Holding it out in his palm, he speaks softly. “And with this pearl, I offer you the sea, my world, as boundless and everlasting as my love for you.” He slides the ring onto her finger. “This is a most enchanted moment. A full moon at midnight on the spring equinox. This will not happen for another five hundred years. It is almost as rare as our love.”
She smiles at him, her white dress wet at the bottom where she stands in the sea by his chariot.
Holding his trident in the air, Neptune continues. “These rings may only ever be worn by two folk in love — one from the sea, one from land — or by a child of such a pair. As long as they are so worn, no one can remove them.”
“No one can even touch them,” the woman says.
Neptune laughs. “No one can even touch them,” he says. Then he holds his other hand up, palm facing the woman. She does the same and their arms form an arch, the rings touching as they clasp hands. A hundred stars crackle in the sky above them, bursting into color like fireworks. “When the rings touch like this,” Neptune continues, “they will undo any act born of hatred or anger. Only love shall reign,” he says.
“Only love,” she repeats.
Then he spreads his arms out in front of him. “At this moment, night and day are equal, and now, so too are earth and sea. For as long as we wear these rings, the symbols of our marriage, there will always be peace and harmony between the two worlds.”
With a final wave of his trident, Neptune reaches out to help the woman into the chariot. Hand in hand, they sit close together, her long dress flowing to one side of the chariot, his jewel-encrusted tail lying over the other side.
The dolphins lift the reins and the chariot glides silently off, taking its royal owners away to begin their married life together.