Nerissa smiled and nodded, “That’s right, you’re supposed to be here.”
“You inhibit the power to control the sea,” said an unfamiliar voice, “of course you belong here.”
Cordelia turned to see a rather plump, eccentric character with blue, coiffed hair standing beside her. He was well dressed and wore a large brass key on a chain around his wide neck.
“Forgive me,” he said, “I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Wade Bo, Keeper of Books.” He held out a hand embellished with jeweled rings.
“Cordelia,” she said, shaking Wade’s hand.
“I have books on every subject imaginable, though some are off limits to novices. If you need help finding anything you only have to ask.”
Cordelia smiled and Wade bowed before walking away.
“You’ll get used to him,” said Lana.
Cordelia opened one of the books Lana had given her and studied the contents page. She was intrigued by the chapters on dolphin etiquette and whistle complexity.
“Do you really communicate with dolphins?” asked Cordelia.
Her three friends exchanged sideways glances. Being several years ahead in their learning it seemed odd that a fellow mermaid wouldn’t know something as obvious as that. They simply smiled and nodded. In this moment, none of them could possibly conceive just how brilliant Cordelia would become.
FIVE
THE DUGGERNA REEF
When lessons ended the next day, Cordelia grabbed her books and bathing suit and walked along the cliff top to the pools on the Duggerna Reef, a place she liked to explore with Flynn. The view of the reef below brought mixed feelings, heartache at the loss of Flynn but also a strange comfort in familiar territory – a welcome break from her new surroundings. It’s where she’d grown up; a place her heart was incredibly fond of. It was her sanctuary. A love-hate relationship began to form in her mind, she hated the reef for taking the only person she had ever loved but equally she loved it because it made her feel alive. Cordelia continued to walk along the cliff top, the wet, spongy grass beneath her feet and the wind stinging her cheeks. The tide was on its way out and slowly exposed the rocks that shaped the pools.
It wasn’t long before Cordelia was striding across the rocks, navigating her way with ease; anyone less familiar would have needed to tread more carefully but Cordelia knew the reef better than she knew herself. While she had strayed away from the lighthouse, Cordelia knew she’d be safe here. The other students preferred to practise their skills further around the coast, out of sight from prying eyes in the bay, but Cordelia knew she’d have the pools to herself which was far more appealing than practising her diving technique in front of her classmates, or anyone else for that matter. The town folk rarely ventured this far out of town, even if it was within sight on a clear day. Such fear had been drummed into people about the dangers of the cliffs and the rock pools that some were unaware of the reef’s existence, others refused to talk about it and many kept it a secret well hidden from their children. Besides, sea bathing was still a relatively new fashion amongst Cordelia’s human neighbours and bathing machines were far better suited to the beach where prudes could wade into the ocean discreetly.
Cordelia bypassed the first pool in favour of the second. It was deeper, more secluded and of the three pools it had the best diving rock, a large black rock which sat boldly, towering over the water. Barnacles crunched beneath her feet as she hopped from one rock to another and the water continued to flow out of the pools and into the open Atlantic.
Blind to the dark forces at work near by, Cordelia made her way around to the western side of the rock. From here it was only the water that separated Cordelia from America. ‘Only the water?’ Cordelia realised the error of her thoughts. There was an entire Kingdom between these two lands, or so she was led to believe. She changed into her bathing suit and sat down to study her reading material. ‘Merfolk and Sirens – A Beginner’s Guide’ had a whole chapter on diving techniques, that’s where she’d begin. She could catch up on the rest later in her chamber.
Cordelia studied the diagrams carefully until she had the technique firmly in her mind. Standing on a ledge where she was sheltered from the wind by the mighty rock, Cordelia scanned her surroundings. To her left in the distance were the bay and the town, the houses a mere speck on the horizon. In front of her were rock pools and beyond them, a peat bog and grassy rolling fields that led to the cliff tops which wound their way around the coast towards the lighthouse. To the right were the open waters of the wild Atlantic and behind her, the reef stretched across the mouth of the bay towards George’s Head. There didn’t appear to be a soul in sight. A blanket of moody grey clouds covered the sky and the cliff tops were cloaked in their shadows. Beyond the reef, the silver sea looked mesmerizing and as she glanced down, she saw not a pool but a mirror. Cordelia gazed at her reflection, her bright sapphire eyes looking back. The water in the pool was perfectly still, not a ripple in sight. The soft sea mist crept across the rocks like white smoke but Cordelia was undeterred. She was determined to perfect her diving technique, the sooner the better. Cordelia assumed the position for a forward dive and leapt. Before she hit the mirrored water, Cordelia saw a great pair of feathered wings in her reflection. They were positioned so perfectly, they could have been her own. Cordelia cut through the water like a knife and quickly turned on the bottom of the pool to look up at the surface. Through the water, Cordelia could see a raven perched on top of the black
