The kraken wastrying to crush us.
Panic coursedthrough my veins and suddenly, the sword felt like a toothpick inmy hand for all the good it could do. Then something occurred to meand I lit up with excitement as I turned to Finn. He looked back atme with a hopeless expression.
“Finn!” Iyelled. “The cannons!”
His solemn facemorphed into an eager grin and his long legs bound for a ladderhatch where I watched him dive down and disappear.
“Standback!” I told everyone. Henry held me in both arms. “Braceyourselves!”
Within aminute, the ship kicked back with the hefty explosion of a cannonfrom down below. The octopus shrieked, and blood splattered up overthe railing. Another cannon fired. More blood flew up like gruesomered fireworks filling the sky and rained down on us. The taste ofsalt and iron filled my senses. The remaining tentacles retracted,like beaten flesh being dragged across a bloody floor, and themonster’s head ducked down out of sight.
The fourof us stood still, waiting to see if it came back. Our chestsheaved with rapid breaths. Blood and the sea hung from our bodies.My hands tingled with an aftershock of vibrations and my fingers buckled inpain around the hilt of my sword.
Finn emergedfrom down below. “Aye!” he said. “I think I got the beast.”
The bow of theship entered the wide opening at the end of the cavern and I lookedback the way we came. The narrow tunnel of water was now stainedwith blood. Like a sickening red oil spill, it seeped up from belowthe surface and spread. But that was it. No sign of the kraken.
“We didit,” I said but it was barely a whisper. So, I repeated, louder,and looked to my friends. “We did it!” I glanced down at the gemthat hung from my neck and it pulsated harder. Brighter. Like itlonged to be returned.
What I thoughthad been a grotto was actually a massive ocean pool, big enough tofit a hundred ships, and encircled by a series of small rockyislands. We’d only saw a sliver of it until then.
“Myword,” Gus muttered in awe, mouth gaping as we all staredincredulously at the scene before us.
Stunning,naturally sculpted cliffs jut from the family of islands, pointinginwardly to the body of water where we sat idle. Moors of green andblue rode over the hillsides and cascaded down into pools ofradiant gardens. Neon waterfalls rushed over the cliffs and filledthe paradise with living color.
The water thatsurrounded our ship became peppered with ripples of leapingcreatures; mermaids, large fish, and something that reared the headof a horse but ended with a thick black serpent’s tail as itplunged back into the water.
Henry took myhand, his body still tight from exhaustion as his chest rose andfell with labored breaths. I cradled my head against his shoulder,trying to ignite a sense of calmness in both of us. My headpounded, and I let it fall heavy against him. My weary eyesthreatened to stay closed. When I pried them open, a gasp seepedfrom my mouth.
“What isit?” Henry asked.
“Look,” Ireplied with a whisper of awe.
Two brightspecks swirled above our heads, leaving behind tiny trails of blueand green light. We watched them as they danced in the air. Onecame to a halt and I held out my open palm where the petitecreature sat. Gently, I brought it closer to my face and admiredthe frail but beautiful body; long, crooked arms, big black eyeslike that of a bug. With the tiniest of grins, the fairy’s mouthspread open, revealing a set of pointed teeth.
“Awil-o-the-wisp,” Henryspoke. “They seem to have a fondness for you.”
I smiledand lifted my hand to the air where the fairy took flight anddisappeared into thedistance with its friend. Finn ran back and forth from side toside, leaning over and catching glances at everything he could.Like a child in a candystore, his grin was wide. “Christ! I cannae believe it! Thebloody Realm of Monsters. This be the stuff of legends, ye know? Places like this justdinnae exist.”
I shrugged.“And yet, here we are.”
He came overand cupped my shoulder proudly. “And ye swung that sword like yeactually knew what ye were doin’.”
Grinning, Ireplied. “I had a good teacher.”
“Here,”Henry spoke as his hand released its hold on mine and his fingerstugged at the rope around me. “Let me get you out ofthis.”
When the knothad loosened, and the rope fell at my feet, his arms slid around mytorso and held me tightly. I fell into his warm embrace and let outa breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding on to. After months atsea, everything that happened on the island, and then the battlewith the kraken, exhaustion began to set in. I was running onempty. Had been for a while, I just didn’t have the will to acceptit.
“So, howdo we find the sirens?” Lottie asked.
I peered downat the green heart that hung at my chest. It still emanated abright green glow but stopped pulsating. “I’m not sure,” I told herand then plucked the string from my neck. “But I’m tired. I don’thave it in me to wait around.”
I walkedover to the side of the ship and poked my head over the edge,searching the water below and hoping that a siren would justmagically appear. My mind scrambled to remember everything Benjaminhad told me. But Icouldn’t recall anything about summoning the sea creatures. Iconsidered tossing the heart into the water, thinking maybe thatwould catch their attention. But then, what if it sank to thebottom and I lost all hope of freeing my friend? I was beginning tolose patience with it all. I had Maria to worry about and my motherto save. A feat that frazzled my brain just thinking of theimpossibility of it all.
Dangling thegem over the side, I waved it around impatiently. “Hey! I have yourdamn heart! Come and get it!”
“I don’tthink it works like that, Dianna,” Henry said as he approached mefrom the side. I
