The Mermaid's Mirror (13 page)

But she also told me it takes some people years to develop the kind of instinct I already have,
Lena reminded herself.
I'm a natural.

Today the surfing was secondary. Lena had come here to look for the mermaid.

Lena splashed into the surf, letting a few small waves surge past her before she set Max's board down in the water. Then she lay down on the board and started paddling.

After a couple of minutes, she realized she was farther down the shoreline from where she had started. She would be busy enough just paddling parallel to the rip tide. She kept up a steady butterfly motion with her arms, pulling herself and the board through the water. A wave broke a few yards in front of her, and a froth of tumbling white water rushed toward her. Lena clutched the rails of the board and turned turtle.

For the next several minutes, Lena battled the punishing breakers, which seemed intent on throwing her back onto the shore. She had to turn turtle over and over as the waves towered above her, far too big to jump. Twice she rolled too late, and the waves crashed on top of her, tossing her violently around under water. She was more aware of the ocean's power than ever before, and of her own insignificance. "This isn't a swimming pool," she heard Ani's voice in her head again.

When she paused to get her bearings, she saw that she had been dragged closer to the Boneyard. One more smashing wave, coupled with a bad rip, and she would be scraping across the reef.
Maybe Pem was right about the helmet,
she thought.

Gritting her teeth, Lena whipped her arms as fast as she could, the surfboard slicing through the water, carrying her closer and closer to the next swell. With a giant intake of breath, she rolled with the board once again. The wave passed overhead ... and then she was on the other side of the breaking waves.

Lena lay on her belly, resting and catching her breath.

A sleek head popped up in the water nearby.

Her heart leaped. Then she saw it was a sea otter. She rested her cheek on the deck of the surfboard, waiting for her heart to quit hammering, and trying to stay still.

The otter floated on its back, apparently unconcerned about Lena's presence. It had a flat rock on its chest, and it used its agile little paws to smash a clam against the rock. Lena watched, giddy at being so close to the wild animal. After its meal, the sea otter blinked at her and slid smoothly beneath the surface of the water.

Magic,
thought Lena.
It feels magic out here. She has to be here.

But the ocean remained empty, a huge, shifting blue and gray tapestry. No other living creatures appeared.

The sun will be going down soon,
she thought.
I should catch at least one wave. I can paddle back out after.

She couldn't bear to think that the mermaid was not here. Not yet.

A nice big swell was forming, and Lena began to paddle quickly, using butterfly strokes as the wave rose up. She popped up at the last minute, and then she was flying, racing through the dark blue barrel, faster than she had ever gone. This wasn't so much like riding on the back of a dolphin as it was falling off a house.

The lip of the wave began to crash just behind her, then the walls of white water caught up to her, and she was flung under water with what felt like an avalanche of ocean on top of her. She felt her leash snap, then she was tumbling, waiting to see which way was up.

Ani should have been here to see this wipeout,
she thought. After what seemed like a full minute but was probably only a few seconds, she was able to orient herself as to which way was up. She swam toward the surface, hands above her head as Ani had taught her, in case she came up under her board.

She broke the surface and took what felt like the biggest breath she had ever taken. She could see Max's surfboard near the shore. But she'd hardly had time to take a second breath when the next wave was rushing toward her. She ducked. This time the wave surged harmlessly over her instead of picking her up and smashing her beneath. She broke the surface again and began to swim for shore.

Exhausted, she picked up Max's board and trudged onto the sand.

"You got nads, girl," said dreads-guy. "Either that, or you're just plain baked."

The weak sun would be setting any minute. And she had broken her leash.
So that's it,
she thought.
I can't go back out without a leash.

But this is why I came,
another part of her protested.

Lena turned her face to the water again. She felt oddly unafraid as she walked back into the sea.

"What the hell!" cried someone.

"Hey!"

Ignoring the calls, she lay down on the board and paddled out. Her arms were trembling with exhaustion, and it felt like she was pulling them through thick mud, trying to stay in one place. She struggled past waves as high as a two-story house, turtle-rolling several times to let the waves break over her.

Finally, she made it to the main point break. She barely had time to turn her board around before another big wave was rising up behind her.

Legs shaking, Lena hurried to pop up. She had just steadied her feet on the board when she found herself racing through the barrel again.

She maintained her balance on the board as long as possible, feeling the lip of the wave curl ever closer to her head. Then it was breaking over her ... and she was wiping out.

The houseful of water seemed to push her down endlessly. Lena did not panic; she knew that she would surface eventually.
You can hold your breath a long time,
she told herself, Ani's words reassuring in her mind. Sure enough, the churning waves shot Lena waist-high out of the water, but she barely had time to take a breath before she was being sucked down under again. She felt her body being driven deeply into the underwater hole once more.

You can hold your breath a long time,
she told herself again, more desperately this time. She felt that she should have been washed out closer to the shore by now and was scared to see that she was still in the same spot when she finally did surface.

This is it,
she realized suddenly.
I'm in the Cauldron.

Then she was sucked beneath the waves again. The waters churned, tossing her back and forth beneath the surface like a rag doll in a washing machine.

Pem was right,
she thought, as a terrible weariness came over her limbs.
I should never have come.

She was too tired to struggle to the surface again. She was not even sure which direction was up. She knew she should try to remain relaxed in order to surface. Now it felt strangely comforting to relax and allow the boiling waters to toss her. Black dots danced at the edge of her vision.

I wonder if I'm going to die,
she thought, but there was no longer a sense of panic to the idea.
This is where Dad almost died.

At that moment, Lena felt something touch her arm, then a hard object was pushed into her hand. She clamped her fingers around it automatically.

Before she even had time to wonder about the object, Lena felt two small hands grasp her beneath the arms and pull her out of the deadly grip of the Cauldron.

Lena coughed and gasped, sucking in lungfuls of precious air.

As she dragged herself up onto the sand, she saw that the man with the beard was hurrying to her side. The other three surfers watched in the background.

"Are you okay?" he asked, leaning over her.

She nodded, unable to speak. All she could do was keep breathing—she would never take air for granted again.

"I thought we'd lost you!" said the man, his voice shaking. "I didn't think you were going to make it out of that hole."

Lena stared up at him, trying to catch her breath. She wanted to open her hand and look at what she was holding—what
someone
had shoved into her hand—but she didn't want this guy to see. She turned to look back at the ocean. The sun was setting, bleeding orange and pink and gray, and the waves were turning darker every minute.

"Who's out there?" she panted.

"No one.
You
were the only one out there."

She glanced up and saw a guy her age standing a little farther up the beach. Max's board had been pulled out of the water and was sitting on the sand. The other two surfers were leaving. The show was over.

Lena looked out at the ocean again and saw a dark head bob above the surface of the waves. She squinted into the setting sun.

It was the mermaid.

Lena splashed into the water.

"Hey!" the man yelled.

The dark head disappeared in the waves as suddenly as if it had never been there. Lena stared hard. "Don't go!" she cried.

"What are you doing?" the man called after Lena. "You can't go back out there, it's getting dark."

"Leave me alone!" yelled Lena, struggling through the surf, scanning the waves.
It was the mermaid who pulled me out of the Cauldron.

"Listen," said the man. "Maybe you don't know—the sharks come into the shallows to feed at dusk."

They won't hurt me,
she thought. Then the shock of that idea froze her in place.
Why did I think that?
She fell to her knees, exhausted and shivering, eyes straining to see the mermaid.
Oh, God, please don't go.
Tears mixed with the salt spray on her face.

"Erik!" called the man.

"Yeah, Dad?"

"Call 911. There's something wrong with this girl."

"No!" moaned Lena. "There's nothing wrong with me. Why can't you just leave me alone?" The water lapped around her.

"Sorry, but you're shaking and crying, so something is wrong."

Eyes fixed on the waves, Lena clutched the hard metal object. There was no sign of a head now. She struggled to her feet, suddenly so weak she thought she might fall. The idea of just lying down in the waves and letting them take her was very tempting.

"Whoa," said the man. "Let me help." He tried to take her arm, but she pulled away from him. "We've got to get you warmed up," he continued. "Where's your stuff?"

She gestured numbly at her duffel bag, and walked in that direction.

"Do you have a ride home? Someone you can call?"

"Um," said Lena, teeth chattering. "Yes. I'll be fine. Thanks."

"Why are you on your own? You should
never
surf alone ... especially not Magic's. What if we hadn't been here?"

Shut up, shut up,
thought Lena.
Just go away.
Turning her back to the bearded man, Lena opened her palm to see what she was holding.

It was a gold key.

Lena whirled to face the darkening sea. The sun was giving off its last fiery rays, and she had to shield her eyes against its brightness. Then she saw the silhouette of a head in the water and a glimpse of white face in the darkness.

Lena made a small sound in her throat.
She's real.

Lena stared out at the face in the water. She was not imagining this. She was not crazy. A mermaid lived out there. She had saved Lena's life.

And she had given her a key.

Blinking against the setting sun, Lena lifted her hand.

A slim white arm rose out of the water in response, then there was a small splash as the mermaid disappeared, leaving behind the empty ocean.

"My friends are going to pick me up at the highway," Lena lied.

"Fine. We'll wait with you until they get here." The bearded man was relentless. He seemed prepared to stay glued to her side until she proved she had a ride home.

"No!" said Lena. "Thanks for your help. I'm fine now, okay? If my friends don't show up, I can walk. I live nearby." The thought of trudging home in the dark on noodle-weak legs, carrying a heavy surfboard, seemed impossible. But there was no way she was going to accept a ride home from a stranger.

That would be dangerous,
she thought wryly.
And I'm all about safety.
A choked laugh escaped her throat.

The man studied her intently. "Why don't you call them?" he persisted. "Or did you have a prearranged time?"

Tears leaked from Lena's eyes. She just wanted to go home, and this guy ... this guy was so damn
concerned
about her, she was afraid he was going to follow her home to make sure she was okay. And once he knew where she lived, he might try to talk to her parents—he might tell them she'd been alone at Magic's.

"Look," she said, trying to project a sane, trustworthy vibe. "Thanks. But I
told
you I'm fine. I don't need any help."

"No,
you
look," answered the man, rather fiercely. "You almost drowned out there! You've been through a traumatic experience. You're shivering, you're laughing and crying, and your behavior is erratic. I'm a parent and a doctor, and I am
not
leaving you alone in this condition. Either you call your friends, so that I can see you're going to be okay, or you let us take you home. It's extremely important that you get warm as soon as possible."

Lena didn't answer, just reached for her duffel bag. She slid the key into an interior pocket, zipping it closed. Then she pulled out her cell and dialed Pem, walking a few feet away.

"Leen?" answered Pem.

"I need you to come get me."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," said Lena. "I mean ... it's a long story. Please, can you and Max come get me? Please."

"I thought you didn't want him to..." Pem trailed off. Lena knew she meant that Max wasn't supposed to find out she had surfed at Magic's.

"I know, but I ... i need a ride, and I don't want to call Kai."

"You'reat—?"

"Yes. You might as well tell him I'm at Magic's. I don't have the energy to walk anywhere else. I'll meet you at the highway."

"We'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Thanks." Lena clicked off the phone and put it back in her duffel bag. She pulled out a big towel and wrapped it around her shoulders. "They're coming," she said to the bearded man.

"We'll wait with you," he answered with maddening courtesy.