“Hurry up. Come with me,” Enrique said, pulling her toward the back of the library.
They wound their way down rows and rows of shelves. The farther back they went, the dimmer the light grew and the dustier the stacks became. Shelly sneezed twice in quick succession. That area of the library looked like it got little traffic, like nobody had touched the shelves in ages. Enrique came to a halt in front of another door marked by a bronze placard:
TRITON BAY HISTORICAL ARCHIVES
“This is it,” Enrique said, swiping the ID card in the scanner.
The door beeped and unlocked. The lights inside were off, but the second they entered, a sensor triggered them to flicker on. Shelly felt a tickle in her nose and the urge to sneeze again. This room smelled even more like dust and decaying paper. It smelled ancient. The books in there appeared far older than the books in the main library. Tables were positioned around the room, displaying under thick glass books that featured old maps of Triton Bay. She ran her fingers over the glass, taking in the beautiful images. They looked hand-drawn and -inked.
She followed Enrique over to a bank of computers labeled DIGITAL ARCHIVES. The prompt demanded a username and password. Shelly frowned at the blinking cursor. “How’re we going to log in?”
Enrique arched his eyebrow, then sat down at the computer. His fingers flew over the keyboard. He typed in his brother’s first initial and last name, then entered a password.
“Here goes nothing,” he said, hitting RETURN.
They both held their breath.
A second later, the password screen dissolved, revealing a search prompt.
She looked at him, impressed. “You can hack into a computer?”
“Ha, I wish!” he said with a smirk. “Miguel uses the same password for everything.”
“Brothers,” she said with a nod. “Can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em.”
They turned their attention to the monitor. Enrique typed in some search terms—sea witch, Triton Bay, myth, sailors. The search icon spun. A few seconds later, results flooded the screen, spanning down the monitor. Shelly scanned them quickly. Her heart lurched when she saw the title of one of the archived documents:
THE SEA WITCH AND THE TRIDENT
“Click on that one,” she said, pointing to it. Enrique did.
It appeared to be an old Triton Bay fairy tale. They both scanned the story, reading the flowing handwritten text that had been archived in the online database. Shelly read it aloud.
“ ‘Once upon a time, a powerful trident belonged to King Triton. It granted him the power to control the ocean and all the creatures in it. Whoever possessed the trident would automatically become the most powerful creature in the sea and could also wreak havoc on the world above if they so chose. That’s why the sea witch would do anything to get it. One night, she tried to kill King Triton and take the trident from him. But he vanquished her in a great sea battle, diminishing her power. The king knew that the sea witch couldn’t be trusted, so he used the trident to place a powerful spell on her that confined her to Triton Bay. Thus, the bay became her prison, where she would live out the rest of her days.’ ”
“There we have it,” said Enrique.
Shelly nodded at the monitor. “Look, there’s more.”
Enrique read: “ ‘But the king was still unsatisfied. He put a spell on the trident to protect it from falling into the wrong hands and hid it somewhere safe. According to the legends, nobody knew exactly where it was hidden.’ ”
“Until now,” Shelly said, looking up from the computer.
Enrique thought for a moment. “It makes sense, right? The sea witch can’t leave the bay. The aquarium is on dry land. So she can’t get the trident.”
“Hiding the trident in plain sight is perfect camouflage,” Shelly said.
“Yup, it’s brilliant,” he agreed. “Everyone just thinks it’s a fake aquarium prop.”
“So is this why the sea witch wants the trident?” she said, tapping the screen. “To break the curse and escape from the bay?”
“Maybe, but it could be more sinister than that.” He pointed to a line in the story. “If she gets the trident, then she’ll be able to control the ocean and all the creatures in it. Think about what the sea witch could do with that kind of power. You said yourself you don’t trust her.”
“You’re right. It could be devastating. . . .” Her voice trailed off. The words made them both feel afraid. She rolled up her sleeves, revealing her silvery-green scales. “But what am I supposed to do? I’m turning into a fish. This is the only way to get her to reverse the curse.”
Enrique looked uneasy. Suddenly, the lights flickered. They both looked around. The wind whipped up outside the windows, and lightning strobed in the sky, bolting down and striking the sea. The lights in the library flickered again, as if they’d go out at any moment.
Shelly’s phone went off, making them both jump. She pulled it out and showed Enrique:
NEW MESSAGE FROM: ATTINA THIS STORM IS GETTING WORSE! THERE’S SOMETHING STRANGE GLOWING IN THE WATER! PLEASE HURRY!!!
“This doesn’t sound good,” Shelly muttered softly. With trepidation, she approached the window and pressed her hands to the glass. Below their cliffside perch, the waves in the bay churned and surged unnaturally. Thick gray clouds swirled and gathered overhead, pulsing with lightning. One bolt struck the water with a brilliant flash. The lights in the room kept flickering.
Suddenly, something smacked the glass right by her head.
Shelly leaped back from the window.
Her heart thudded against her chest like a drum while her breathing sped up, making her gills flare under her scarf. The object bounced off the glass. It was a plastic cup.
Just like the one she had thrown in the ocean.
More plastic cups, bottles, and straws started pelting the glass. The storm wasn’t natural—it was raining plastic trash all over the campus. How was that possible? Ursula.
Feeling another jolt of fear, Shelly backed away
