Dragon's Breath (9 page)

Eleven

I'll take you to see my mother," said Pearl, "but I can't guarantee that she'll help you."

"I understand," I said. "I can't make promises for my mother, either."

"My sisters have already moved to another ocean to get away from her. I'm sorry I overreacted at Coral's, but I couldn't bear hearing my friends talk about Mother. It's just that she's always doing things You'll see what I mean when you meet her."

As we swam, I began to envy Pearl's lack of confining clothes. Blue and green scales covered her from the waist down, while shells and some kind of sea foam dressed her upper body. A string of seed pearls woven into her hair kept it under control. Unhampered by tralling fabric or constricting laces, Pearl's movements were so fluid, they appeared effortless. I was fascinated by the way her tail moved up and down and by how quickly it could propel her through the water. My clumsy attempts at swimming were as exhausting as they were slow.

After crossing the bare ocean floor, we entered a kind of forest composed of a great stand of seaweed swaying in the current. Alleyways opened and closed with the movement of the plants, confusing the way.

"We're getting close," Pearl told us after some time. "I'll help you however I can, but you're going to have to do whatever my mother says if you want that hair. Tell her that you've come to ask a favor of her. She'll give you a task to perform. Once you've completed it, you should ask for the hair."

"I'm sure we can handle it," said Eadric, resting his hand on my shoulder. I was still annoyed with him for the way he'd acted in Coral's castle, so I shook off his hand and swam after Pearl, leaving him to follow as best he could.

The seaweed parted, revealing the hulk of a round-bellied ship lying on its side. A gaping hole exposed the heavy planking and allowed us easy access. Pearl led us through the dimly lit interior, stopping here and there to point out handholds that we should avoid or rotten sections of flooring that would crumble if touched. Brightly colored fish darted out of our way, while a long, snakelike creature with a flattened tail wiggled past. What light there was slanted through holes in the hull at strange angles. I tried to picture where we were in the ship.

Entering a short passageway, we reached a large cabin that appeared to be someone's living quarters. My eyes were drawn to an opening in the opposite wall where a wide window must have provided the captain with a wonderful view of the ship's wake. A high-backed chair sat facing the window, angled so that anyone sitting there could watch the creatures swimming by.

"What do you want, Pearl?" asked a voice from the chair, and I realized that someone was in the room with us.

"Some friends of mine have come to see you, Mother," said the mermaid, motioning for us to stay back. "They have a favor to ask."

An old sea witch rose from the chair and floated toward us. Her hair was indeed so fine as to be almost transparent. Her scales, which reached her collarbone, were a dark shade of green. Her nose was thin and pointed; her pale green skin was taut, as if she defied wrinkles to appear. Yet it was her eyes that made me stop and stare. They were terrifying, so dark and lifeless that they seemed to be two black holes.

"A favor?" said the sea witch. "You mean they didn't come here just to gawk?"

"A favor, yes, that's right," I said, embarrassed that I'd been caught staring.

Something inside a sea chest growled. Snatching a long pole from where it leaned against the wall, Nastia Nautica rapped the chest until the growling stopped. When the sea witch turned to me, I shrank back from those terrible eyes. "Before you can ask a favor, you must earn the right. Bring me the giant pearl that the ancient sea monster guards before the sun sets this day and I will grant your favor. However, if you don't succeed, I will cut off your heads and feed them to the sharks." Raising her arm, the sea witch pointed at a wall where a long-bladed knife rested on two curving hooks. I gulped and backed away.

Pearl's mouth dropped open when she heard her mother's threat, but her amazement quickly turned into anger. "A beheading, Mother? Isn't that a little severe?"

"Not if they want a favor."

"But they're friends of mine. You can't threaten to cut off my friends' heads!"

"I can do whatever I want to, my dear. This is my home, and they came here to ask something of me."

"You're always saying, 'Pearl, why don't you ever introduce me to your friends?' This is why, Mother! This is exactly why I never bring my friends around! I like my friends the way they are—with their heads still attached!"

Eadric took my arm and pulled me to the side. "Maybe we'd better go," he whispered. "We don't want to get in the middle of a family argument."

I nodded. "We can come back later."

"Believe what you want, daughter. Your friends will have to get that pearl from the sea monster or I'm using my carving knife!"

We fled the cabin without waiting to hear the end of their argument. The moment we were outside the wreck, Eadric turned to me and said, "Emma, we're going home. That sea witch is crazy. No hair is worth losing your head! I'm sure your aunt wouldn't want you to take any unreasonable risks, and I'd call this unreasonable."

Getting the hair was going to be far more dangerous than I'd expected. If Grassina knew what the old sea witch had threatened to do, she would have whisked us away in an instant, but she wasn't there and I couldn't forget the look of fear in my mother's eyes and the worry on my father's face.

"I can't give up now, Eadric. You can go home, but if I don't get that hair, Grassina won't be able to turn Haywood back and she won't be in any condition to help my father. If Greater Greensward goes to war without any magic on its side, East Aridia will win, my father will lose his western land and I'll have to marry Jorge. I am going to get that hair with or without your help!"

"Huh," grunted Eadric. "If you put it that way... We should hurry if we're going to find that pearl before sunset."

Suddenly, someone raced through the gap in the wall. I thought it was Nastia Nautica coming to cut off our heads without giving us a chance, but I was wrong. It was Pearl.

"I wanted to tell you where to find the sea monster. It never occurs to my mother to give directions. The seaweed thins out on this side of the ship. Swim straight ahead until you're in the clear. Follow the first reef you come to. It will look like a ridge made of coral. When you reach a gap in the reef, turn right. Look for the biggest cave and you'll find the sea monster. It's one of the old species that you don't see very often anymore. The Old Wizard of the Sea cast a spell on it so it would guard the pearl until he came back. It's been there for as long as anyone can remember. Do you have all that?"

"Sure," said Eadric, tapping his forehead. "I've got a mind like a wolf trap."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for your help, Pearl."

Pearl shrugged. "Any friend of Coral's is a friend of mine. I should keep an eye on Mother and make sure she doesn't pull any of her tricks. See you when you get back."

Twelve

The seaweed thinned after only a few yards. We spotted the reef right away, a great colony of coral that must have been growing for many years. The pinks, greens, yellows and oranges were as beautiful as any flower garden, the branching towers more intricate than any castle ever built. We passed sea fans like those that had decorated Coral's table and fish so brilliantly colored they could rival the most exotic birds. More than once I noticed eyes watching us from niches and tails disappearing into crannies.

The reef curved like the arc of a giant circle, seeming to go on forever, but we finally reached the gap Coral had mentioned. A sunken island lay ahead, its base riddled with caves, its top worn away by the scouring waves. Even from a distance, we could tell which cave was the largest because the others were small nooks in comparison. Jagged rocks guarded both the ceiling and the floor of the wide entrance.

Swimming toward the cave, we searched for some sign of the sea monster. There was nothing that might indicate that a monster lived there, no pile of bones, no scarring of the ocean floor, no ominous growl or glint of hungry eyes. Instead, yellow and turquoise fish darted through the entrance, flashing here and there as they changed direction. I followed Eadric into the cave; the rocks were sharp, snagging my skirt and tearing it. Smaller rocks, equally jagged and dangerous, protruded from the ground beside the larger ones. I tried not to touch the floor, for it looked odd—red, soft and squishy like a strange kind of coral that grew sideways rather than up. The cave was fairly large, nearly twelve feet across, but there was no sign of the pearl. There was a narrow opening at the back of the cave, however, and I had the awful feeling that there was where we'd have to go.

Eadric agreed. "Let me go first," he said. "I've dealt with more monsters than you have."

"What are you talking about? You don't know any more about sea monsters than I do."

"Monsters are monsters, no matter where you find them." Eadric peered into the opening and waved me back. "There's a passage here. You'd better stay behind. It's so dark I can't see a thing."

"Wait a minute. It's too cramped for a witches' light, but I have a candle I can use." Fumbling in my pouch, I took out the candle stub that Grassina had given me. "Let me think about this for a minute. I've never tried to light a candle underwater before."

Since it was such an unusual situation, I was sure I had never read a spell that would fit. I concentrated, picturing what I wanted and trying to think of the words that would get it for me. Eadric had started to fidget by the time I finally said,

Little candle burning bright,
Make the day out of the night.
On the land or in the sea
keep your wick aflame for me.

With a muffled hiss, the candle lit itself, although its light wasn't nearly as bright as it would have been on land. "Will this do?" I asked, handing it to Eadric.

"As long as it doesn't go out," he said. "Who knows

what we'll find in there?"

I followed Eadric as closely as I could, trying not to bump into him. Being near him made me feel a little safer, although I was still so nervous that I jumped at the slightest thing. When a fish swam past and its tail brushed my cheek, I shrieked and grabbed Eadric's arm, certain that the monster had found us.

"What is it?" Eadric asked, whirling around with his dagger in his hand.

I felt my face grow warm. "Nothing. Never mind. It was just a fish."

"Huh," he grunted, shaking his head. Feeling like a fool who jumps on a chair when she sees a mouse, I resolved to be braver next time, no matter what I saw.

As the passage narrowed even more, Eadric's body blocked most of the light, but I could see that the walls were ridged and kind of squishy. Something wasn't right.

When the passage widened into a small chamber, Eadric paused to look around. "Do you see anything?" I asked as he held the candle high.

"No monster, but I think I see the pearl. That thing is huge!"

"Let me look," I said, trying to see past him.

Caught in a swirl of seaweed on the floor of the chamber, the pearl was enormous. It was almost the same size as my head, yet perfectly round and pure white. Handing me the candle, Eadric bent down and reached for the pearl. When he tried to pick it up, he couldn't budge it. "Something is holding it," he said.

Eadric braced himself to try again and was able to lift the pearl a few inches. "Maybe if I help," I said, wrapping my arms around his waist and adding my strength to his.

The pearl came away from the floor, inch by inch, until whatever had been holding it suddenly let go and we flew backward, hitting the opposite wall with a splat. Slimy globs dripped from the pearl, coating Eadric's hands. When we stood, we saw a depression where the pearl had been attached. Glistening with an oily sheen, a liquid heavier than water bubbled from the depression until it overflowed onto the floor.

I felt a tremor beneath my feet. "Eadric," I said, but he was too engrossed in the pearl to notice. Another tremor, stronger than the first, made Eadric look up in surprise.

"What was that?" demanded a familiar voice. I glanced down and saw the little green crab climbing up from the folds of my hem. "You forgot about me already, didn't you? I know it's because I'm so little. If I were as big as one of my brothers, you'd never forget that I was around. My brother Clawson—"

The next tremor was enough to make me stagger.

"What are you waiting for?" asked the little crab. "Get out of here while you still can! I'm a little dizzy, but it looks to me like those walls are moving in."

"Eadric," I said, "we've got to go!"

He put his hand on the small of my back and propelled me toward the passage. "You go first."

With the little crab tickling my arm as he crawled into my sleeve, I dove toward the opening. We had gone only a few feet when the walls pressed close enough to brush my shoulders, and Eadric had to turn sideways to move at all. My heart was pounding, but I kept going, determined not to panic in front of Eadric.

The walls continued to close in until they were squeezing me. Many years ago, one of the ghosts in the dungeon had died by being buried alive under a collapsed wall, and he had described it to me in horrible detail. I had had nightmares about it for weeks. I felt like I was living one of those nightmares now.

I squirmed, forcing my way between the walls. The pressure would have been tremendous if the walls hadn't been so soft. I dug my fingers into their surface, dragging myself forward while they squeezed the breath out of me. Suddenly I reached the end, popping out of the passage like a seed from a grape. When I turned to help Eadric, his arm and shoulder were already emerging, but the pearl held in the crook of his arm seemed to be in the way. I wrapped my fingers around the pearl and braced my feet against the wall. Tugging as hard as I could, I pulled the pearl free. A moment later, Eadric slipped out. We were back in the larger cave and all I wanted to do was leave, so I was horrified when I saw that the opening had disappeared. The ceiling was lower, and the jagged rocks now met, blocking our way. I set my feet down but regretted it immediately, since the floor started to writhe and take shape beneath me. It wasn't a floor at all, but a giant pink sluglike creature that rose up and slapped me against the back wall. Stunned, I drifted helplessly.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Eadric wrestling the monster in a dim half-light. I shuddered when something moved across my arm. It was Shelton, brandishing the fish-headed pin that he had pulled from my sleeve. "What is he thinking?" grumbled the crab, waving his eyestalks at Eadric. "You can't fight a sea monster that way!" Pushing away from me, the little crab swam toward the monster while holding the pin with his big front claw. Shouting, "Leave him alone, you ruffian!" he jabbed the pin into the fleshy slug.

The slug retreated momentarily, then reared up once again and slapped Eadric, spinning him around until he slammed into the wall. I flailed my arms, trying to stay out of the monster's way.

"Take this!" yelled Shelton, plunging the pin into the slug again. A moment later, Eadric had his dagger in his hand and was slashing at the flapping, squirming monster.

The candle was lost somewhere in the cave, but the rocks blocking the entrance allowed a small amount of light to enter. I was watching Eadric and Shelton, wishing that I had a weapon as well, when I noticed that the monster always stayed in the front of the cave, making it more vulnerable to attack. It was almost as if it was anchored in place. I studied the monster, following its silhouette to the floor of the cave and gasped. The monster
was
attached to the ground, but that wasn't all. Its soft pink body
became
the ground and led all the way back to ... I couldn't believe how blind I'd been. If I hadn't expected to find a sea monster hiding in a cave, I might have realized the truth sooner, but to have gone so long without knowing ...

"Eadric," I shouted. "That's not the sea monster. We're
inside
the sea monster. The thing you're fighting is just its tongue!"

"Its tongue?" he shouted, backing away while droplets of the monster's blood formed a haze around his dagger.

"We have to get out of here! The monster is trying to push us back down its throat. It's trying to swallow us! Those rocks must be its teeth."

Shelton paddled furiously toward me, grabbing hold of my shoulder. His wiggling eyestalks tickled my ear. "We're in for it now!" wailed Shelton. "This reminds me of the time—"

"Emma," said Eadric, "please do something about that crab before I forget how nice I'm supposed to be."

"I think we have something else to worry about now," I said.

Although the tongue had retreated under Eadric's assault, its tip was probing the sides of the cavelike mouth. We tried to swim away, but it wouldn't be long before the tongue found us and drove us back.

The monster growled, a deafening sound that hurt my ears and shook me until my bones rattled, but I wasn't going to let it stop me. It was up to me to come up with a spell, whether Eadric liked it or not. I evaded the tongue while I tried to think of the right words. Somehow, knowing what kind of creature we were dealing with made it a little less scary. "All right, monster," I said at last. "Your people-eating days are over."

Teach this monster, let him know,
That he cannot treat us so!
Where his gums are strong and firm,
Make his teeth loose, make them squirm.

Make them loose until they jiggle,
Make them looser till they wiggle.
So we're not killed while in our youth,
Make him Lose each great big tooth.

There was a craclding sound, and one by one, the monster's oversized teeth came loose, although the smaller row beside it was untouched. It wasn't dramatic, but it was effective just the same.

"Now you've got it!" shouted the crab. Two more teeth wiggled in the monster's gums, tumbling to the floor of its mouth. As one tooth after another sagged and fell out of his jaw, the sea monster opened his mouth and howled. Propelled by the blast rushing from the monster's throat, we tumbled head over heels out of its mouth and past the coral reef before hitting the ocean floor.

I rolled to a stop yards away from Eadric. Dizzy and shaken, I staggered to my feet and asked him, "Are you all right?"

Eadric rubbed his shoulder and winced. "Uh-huh. How about you? I thought you were too frightened to be of much use in there, but you were actually pretty brave."

"Not brave, just desperate."

Eadric shrugged. "Sometimes there isn't much difference between the two. So how about a kiss? I think we should celebrate."

"Celebrate what?"

"After what we just went through? Being alive, for one; getting the pearl, for another. And what about your second successful spur-of-the-moment spell?"

"I'll feel more like celebrating after we give this to Nastia Nautica and get a hair from her," I said, tapping the pearl. Something tugged at my sleeve, and I looked down to see the little crab swinging from the fabric, his eyestalks crossed and his legs shaking. I dumped the pearl in Eadric's lap. "How are you?" I asked the crab. When I realized that he was still holding the pin like a tiny sword, I took it away and tucked it in my pouch.

"Nothing wrong with me!" Shelton said as I set him more firmly on my shoulder. "I have felt better, though. Why, just the other day I was saying to my brother—"

"Tell us later," Eadric interrupted. "We'd better get moving. That monster could be anywhere. Look!" he said, pointing back the way we had come.

The monster was gone, and I wondered what had happened to it until I noticed a mottled gray shape curled between the sunken island and the coral reef. It had a blunt head, short grasping arms, a tall, curved back fin and a long, pronged tail. Knowing the size of the head gave us a better idea how big the sea monster really was; it was enormous and could easily have wrapped itself around Aunt Grassina's tower.

The creature moaned, a strange wavering sound that left my bones vibrating. Keeping near the ground in the hope that we wouldn't be observed, Eadric and I swam to the coral reef, staying as close to it as we dared. With the water growing dark around us, I knew that dusk was approaching and we would have to hurry if we were to get the pearl to the witch in time.