Katie and the Snow Babies (2 page)

The mermaids hugged each other and got ready to dive into the icy waves, where the beluga whales still circled like sleek white ships.

“How will you get there, mermaids?” asked Benjy, looking up at his friends. “Walrus Point is far away.”

“We'll just have to swim,” shrugged Jess, “even if it takes a long time.” With a ripple of her strong turquoise tail, she slipped into the water next to him. Katie and the others followed her.

“But you need to find the diamonds soon, or it will be too late,” said Benjy, a frown creasing his smooth little face. “Can't we help them, Dad?”

Benjy's father swam closer to the mermaids.

“I'm afraid we are weak after being trapped for so long.” He sighed. “We need to rest here and get our strength back. But we have a friend who might be able to help you.”

The belugas made their eerie cry, and they were soon answered by a deep, echoing call. The clear blue water suddenly heaved, as though a powerful boat was cutting through the waves. In a few moments, a gigantic humpback whale raised his magnificent head above the surface of the sparkling sea.

“It's our friend Monty!” cried Benjy in delight. “He'll take you anywhere you want to go, mermaids!”

“Oh, ho, ho, it's mermaid business, is
it?” said Monty with a wide smile. “Just hop on my back, little ones, and we'll be off right away. All aboard the Whale Express!”

Katie and her friends could hardly believe their amazing luck. Monty was a strong, tireless whale who could carry them all the way to Walrus Point much faster than they could ever swim.

“Thank you so much!” cried the mermaids. They clung on tightly to Monty as the huge whale plunged away from the snowy shore.

“Good-bye, Benjy!” they called. “We'll bring the snow diamonds home very soon—we promise.”

After what seemed like many hours of surging through the icy sea, Monty called
out cheerfully, “Here we are, mermaids. We've arrived!”

Katie and the others slid gracefully from Monty's broad back and rippled their tails in the clear waves. They gazed around and admired the frosty icebergs that towered above them like carved mountains, glinting with dusky purple shadows.

“This really is a wild and lonely part of Ice Kingdom,” said Katie. She checked that her shining mermaid harp was
hanging safely at her side, then added, “Where should we look for the walrus folk?”

“You need to swim toward the ice edge,” answered Monty. “You will soon see them there. I will wait for you in these deep waters. It's time for the Whale Express to take a nap!”

And it was time for the Sisters of the Sea to search for the second snow diamond …

The mermaids thanked Monty and promised to return as quickly as they could. Then Katie swished her glistening tail and swam with her friends past the looming, craggy icebergs. Very soon, they reached the ice edge. It was a long, white, frosty shore, where the flat frozen plains met the sea. At the far end of the shore, jutting out into the water, was a bluff
made of tumbled blocks of ice. A few seabirds wheeled above the broken cliffs in the bright, cold sky.

“That bluff must be Walrus Point, where the walrus folk gather,” said Jess.

“Wait!” called Katie as Jess and the others began to surge toward it. “Let's sit on the edge of the ice for a moment and decide what to say to them. The walrus folk can be very quick-tempered sometimes. We don't want to upset them.”

With a twist of their tails, the young friends pulled themselves out of the water and sat on the sparkling snow.

“I'm a bit worried about meeting the walruses,” confessed Megan. “Their long tusks sometimes look a bit scary.” She carefully tucked her pet fairy shrimp,
Sammy, deeper into her cozy pocket. Sammy had been given special powers by a stardust sprinkle, which meant that he could breathe out of water and follow the mermaids everywhere. But Megan didn't want him to be squashed by a rough, tough walrus.

“Don't worry,” said Amber. “If we are polite and respectful, I'm sure we won't have any problems. But tell Sammy to keep out of sight until we're sure that they are friendly.”

“I hope we're right that the ‘lords of the sea' in the clue really are the walrus folk, now that we have come all this way,” said Becky.

“And that the ‘kings of the ice' are the polar bears,” added Jess.

“I'm sure we are right about that, but ‘diamonds falling from the sky' is just silly!” interrupted Poppy. “I think Mantora must be completely crazy.”

“No, she isn't,” said Amber, gravely shaking her golden curls. “Mantora might enjoy taunting us with her fiendish clues, but she is deadly serious about hiding the snow diamonds away forever, so that Ice Kingdom will melt.”

“And you must take our quest seriously as well, Poppy,” said Katie with a small sigh.

“I know, I know,” said Poppy breezily. “You don't need to give me a lecture. I want to find the diamonds just as much as you do.”

As the mermaids were talking, they didn't notice a large blue shadow creeping across the ice behind them …

“We're all on the same side in this battle,” urged Megan. “We should put our energy into solving Mantora's clue, not arguing!”

The dusky shadow grew nearer …

“You're right,” said Katie. “So what could the clue mean? Whoever heard of a snow diamond falling from the sky?”

For a moment the mermaids were silent, puzzling over the strange riddle.

The shadow stopped moving.

“Perhaps … this may be wrong, of course.” Becky hesitated. “But what about a shooting star? They are as bright and beautiful as a diamond, and they seem to fall through the sky.”

“Well, it's a start,” replied Katie slowly. “Let's find the walruses and ask them if there have been any shooting stars here lately.”

“And remember,” added Amber, “we must ask nicely. Don't be rude, Poppy!”

“I'm not frightened of any old walrus,” Poppy boasted. “Or of any ‘kings of the ice' either. So there!”

The blue shadow suddenly quivered into life. The mermaids heard a deep growl behind them.

“Not afraid of the kings of the ice?”
thundered a wild, rasping voice. “Oh, but you should be afraid. Very afraid!”

Katie and her friends whipped around in horror and saw a terrifying sight. A huge, shaggy polar bear was rearing up on its paws behind them. He really was the king of the ice, and he was getting ready to pounce …

“Stop!” gasped Katie with trembling lips. “Don't hurt my friends!”

The enormous polar bear dropped back onto all four paws and stared at the mermaids clutching onto one another. He sniffed and snorted and then … he smiled.

“Of course I won't hurt you,” he said apologetically. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Finn.”

At that moment, a plump ball of white fluff poked his head around Finn's heavy legs and grinned at the mermaids. It was a baby polar bear.

“And don't forget me,” he squeaked.

“Mermaids,” said Finn with a low bow. “Meet my son, Max.”

“But … but … ,” wondered Katie, “why did you frighten us like that, Finn?”

“To show you how easy it is for careless talk to be overheard,” replied the father polar bear with a deep rumble in his throat. “I could have been Mantora creeping up on you, and then where would you have been?”