"Sir," he said breathlessly. "I've had a sighting. It's coming closer. The sea - it's getting rough."

"Thank you, Kyle. Good work," Mr. Beeston said.

"It's heading toward the palace!" Kyle panted. "I think it's going to get us all. We might have to make our escape."

"Make our escape? Are you off your fins, boy?" Mr. Beeston barked. "Have you been given the wrong job? You have one purpose and one purpose only. You have a wonderful opportunity to return to the old days and restore the power of the kraken. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, sir." Kyle reddened. "I'm sorry."

"Now, don't let it out of your sight. I'm dealing with it. Have some faith."

Kyle retreated, leaving a swirling cloud of silt behind him.

"Are you going to explain any of this to me?" I asked as Mr. Beeston swam back into the room. A tiny silver fish swam toward him, slithering across his stomach. He batted it away.

"The kraken is Neptune's pet," Mr. Beeston began.

"I know that."

"And it sleeps for a hundred years. Without its full sleep, it wakes in a murderous rage."

"I know that too."

"Stop interrupting me, child! I shall tell you the story my way or not at all."

I slammed my mouth shut.

"All but Neptune are forbidden to approach the kraken during its sleep. Neptune is the only one who should wake it. And only at the specified time. You see, when it wakes, the only person it will listen to is the one who wakes it, the one it sees first on opening its eyes. This should always be Neptune. But this time, it was you."

"You mean . . . ?"

"Yes, Emily. The kraken will obey you and only you."

I realized I wasn't saying anything. My mouth moved. Opened. Closed. Nothing. The kraken would obey me and only me? I slumped back against the wall, my mind empty, my limbs numb. A thin ray of sunlight threw a diagonal line across the room like a dusty laser beam, lighting up barnacles that lined the walls. The beam shimmered and broke, rocked by the constant water movement.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked eventually.

"We need to move quickly. Neptune's power over the kraken is fiercely protected. It wasn't expected that anyone else would ever wake it. Most merfolk obey his rules." He paused to scowl briefly at me. "First, you have to go to the edge of the Triangle, where its magic is strongest."

"The edge of the Triangle?" I gasped. "You mean the current that leads to the deepest depths of the ocean?"

"Nonsense!" Mr. Beeston snapped. "It doesn't do that. That's what we tell folks to keep them out of the way."

"So where does it go, then?"

"It leads into the realm of the kraken."

"The realm of the kraken?" My voice cracked. Somehow, that didn't sound much more inviting than the deepest depths of the ocean.

"The place where you can communicate with it. You must go to the edge of the Triangle and come face to face with it."

"Face to face?" I burst out. "With the kraken?" I couldn't face the monster again. Please no! An image squirmed into my mind: those horrific tentacles, searching, batting and thrashing, smashing into the tunnel. My eyes began to sting with tears. I didn't care anymore if Mr. Beeston saw me cry. I couldn't hold it back.

He spoke softly. "It's the only way."

"What happens then?" I asked, swallowing hard. "When we're at the Triangle's edge?"

"It will come to you. It will listen to you."

"And I can save the day?"

"What? Yes, yes, of course you can save the day."

"And it'll do what I tell it?"

"As I told you, it will listen only to you. Its power lies in your hands."

I suddenly realized what Mr. Beeston was telling me. I could end all of this. I could bring the kraken into my power. It would listen to me. I could calm it down and everything would be all right. I just had to face it one more time.

"Okay," I said. "I'll do it."

Mr. Beeston smiled his crooked smile. "I knew you would."

He turned to leave. "There's just one last thing," he said, pausing at the door. "You were on your own when you woke the kraken, weren't you?"

"I - why do you want to know that?" I bl.u.s.tered.

Mr. Beeston darted back toward me. Coming so close that I could see the jagged points of his crooked yellow teeth, he leaned into my face. "If someone else was with you when the kraken woke, we need them too."

"Why?" I asked in a tiny voice.

"Emily, if there was someone else there, it means the kraken will not obey you on your own. Whoever it saw on waking, that is who it will obey - whether that is one person or twenty. We need them all or the plan will fail."

"I . . ."

I couldn't do it. I couldn't! Not after everything. I wasn't going to drag Shona into this. They'd have to think of something else. "There was no one," I said eventually, my cheeks on fire.

Mr. Beeston grabbed my arm, jerking my body like an electric shock. "You're lying! You have to tell me. There was someone with you - I know it. Who was it?"

"I can't tell you!" I cried. Tears slipped down my cheeks. "I can't do it! You can't make me."

"Oh, I think you'll find we can," he hissed.

I gulped. "What if I refuse?"

Mr. Beeston twitched slightly. "Then the kraken won't stop until it has destroyed everything in its sight. These waves we're seeing - you know they're just the start of it."

I thought back to what I'd seen: the kraken smashing up Mandy's boat, what it did to the reef, the rocks . . . the whale. But could I really make Shona face it again? Could I betray her like that? It would finish off our friendship forever.

"I - I'll think about it," I stammered.

He swam over to the door. "Don't think for too long, Emily," he said quietly. "Time is an option we don't have."

Now, this is more like it! This is what our vacation was supposed to be like all along. Luxury cruise liner, lounge chairs, swimming pool, free drinks. We're even getting special attention from the crew because of our trauma.

Yeah, it's all great.

Except. Well, except Mom and Dad haven't spoken a word to each other since we were saved. The atmosphere's so cold when they're around, you'd think we were on a cruise to Antarctica. They're so busy ignoring each other, neither of them has even asked how I am. I sometimes wonder if they'd even notice if I disappeared. I'm tempted to try it - but I'm too much of a coward. What if it only confirmed my worst fears - that no one cares about me?

And then there's Emily. Apart from wondering what she's doing here anyway, and not to mention the fact that she happens to be a mermaid, I just can't believe I let her put one over me, yet again. OK, and I'm worried about her, too, all right? Just because she hates me doesn't mean I want her dead.

We set sail again soon. They've been trying to get away from here, but there's something wrong with the ship. It keeps going off course for some reason. They're trying to figure it out, and once they do and we're away from here, I'll never get a chance to repay her. She'll always have won.

For once, Dad had actually come up with a brilliant plan, and we let it slip away. If only I could find her. Kill two birds with one stone. Get fish girl back AND save our home. Now that would be satisfying!

Maybe I could. Who says it's too late?

I'm wandering around the back of the ship trying to think of something when I hear voices. Three people are standing near the lifeboats. One of them's waving her arms in the air, shouting at someone in a Carefree Cruises uniform.

"But why on earth can't you just let it down?" she's yelling. "I know you used one of them to let a family come aboard. We have to get off the ship! I have to find my daughter!"

"Madam, they were in trouble. We couldn't leave them to drown," the Carefree Cruises person replies. "And you won't tell me anything about your daughter's whereabouts. You won't even give me your name. You can hardly expect me to break ship's regulations just because you and your friend here feel like taking a ride in a lifeboat."

The other one looks up. That's when I see who it is. A big woman in a black cape. It's Mystic Millie, the crazy lady who used to read palms on the pier in Brightport! What the - "A child is in trouble," she says. "That's all you need to know. We've seen things. I have seen things. And if you don't mind my saying so, I am rather known for the accuracy of my visions. Isn't that right, Mary Penelope?"

The other woman turns her head as she nods. I duck behind a plastic box full of diving equipment before she can spot me. But I've seen her face. It's Mrs. Windsnap! What are they doing here?

They're moving away. I can't hear the rest of the conversation. But then a thought occurs to me. They want to get off the ship to find Emily. That means she must be nearby.

I could get her! She's probably really near us. Maybe I could get one of those lifeboats myself and find her. Someone's got to do something - and it doesn't look as though Mom and Dad are going to bother. Too busy ignoring each other.

It's not as if they'll even miss me. No one would miss me. And if I get lost at sea, well, they'll be sorry then, won't they.

Before I can talk myself out of it, I'm grabbing everything I'll need - snorkel, mask - and clambering down a ladder that reaches the lifeboats. I know it's crazy; I know it is. But what are my options? Stay here being Mandy-no-friends or actually do something with my life? And if I get her, maybe Dad can have his dream after all and save our home. He might even remember who helped him do it. But what about her mom? I'd have to get around her. Well, I'll think of something. I'll have to.

I'm lost in thought - so lost, in fact, that I'm not looking at what I'm doing. Standing on the edge of the lifeboat, fiddling and yanking at ropes and belts, trying to figure out how you release the boats. It's ridiculous. I'd never manage it. The whole plan is ridiculous. Mrs. Windsnap's not going to stand by and watch while I s.n.a.t.c.h her daughter - if I could even find her. I don't know what I was thinking. I must be losing it.

I'm about to clamber back up to the deck. But as I'm reaching out to grab the ladder, something slips: my hand - I miss the ladder. Then my foot - the ladder's too slippery - I'm falling! No! I lurch out to get hold of the ladder, but it's too late. I miss again, bashing my hand against the ladder and banging my leg as I fall.

With an enormous splash, I land in the sea! HELP!

No one can hear me. The cold jams my brain as the ship speeds away. Oh, G.o.d - help!

Then Emily's face comes into my mind and with it a new thought: she's my only hope of getting out of this mess. The only person who might possibly, possibly help me. I need to find her.

I can see all the way to the bottom of the sea. It's incredible: so clear, so blue. Tiny speckled fish, spongy purple and green plants, trees almost. It's a whole other world down here.

There's something else down here, too.

But I'm not thinking about that. I refuse. I can't afford to think about anything - least of all how I got myself into this ridiculous mess.

How can the ship just leave without me? Leave me totally alone? I've got to find Emily. She must be around here somewhere. She can't have gotten far - she was in a net. I swim on.

And on.

And on.

The rocky coral is just below me, all furry, as though it's covered in dust and fluff. Pink, gooey, jelly-like clumps clutch at the rocks. A dull gray fish glides toward me. Then suddenly it flaps bright purple fins. It looks like an airplane with fancy painted wings.

Where am I?

I'm exhausted. There's no sign of her anywhere. I tread water while I adjust my mask and look around. The ship's miles away.

There's a plank of wood floating nearby. I've just got enough energy to reach it. It looks like a piece of our boat! My teeth chatter as I cling to it and try to figure out what the heck I'm going to do next.

The water's really dark here, and murky. I dip under to look around, but I can hardly see anything. The jelly stuff seems to be reaching higher, trying to grab me. And there are too many sea urchins.

And then I see something stringy, floating up toward the surface. I paddle over to examine it. It's a piece of net; I'm sure it's hers.

She got away, then.

There's something else. Something very big. Black on top, white underneath, a giant fin on its back. It's coming toward me!

I want to scream. I know I want to scream - but I can't. I can't get anything out of my throat. I couldn't even if I wasn't underwater, in the middle of the sea, miles from anywhere. It's the monster! I knew it! I should have trusted my instincts. I'm an idiot. And now I'm a dead idiot.

Maybe I can get away before it eats me.

But it's not moving.

Yes, it is. But not toward me. It's kind of floating, gliding slowly upward. And it's not the monster.

It's a killer whale. And it's dead.

As it floats past me, I watch with morbid fascination. There's a chunk missing from its side. My body starts to shake.

My legs don't seem to be working anymore. Please just get me back to the ship! Please get me away from here. I'll do anything. I'll be nice to Mom and Dad; I'll even forgive Emily for everything. Just get me back to the ship alive! Please!

Something grabs my legs. That's it. I'm dead.

I don't even struggle. I can't. My body feels as useless as the half-eaten whale. I close my eyes and wait for - "Who are you?"

What? I open my eyes. A man's face has appeared in front of me in the water. Young, almost a boy. He's gripping my arms. Where did he come from?

I open my mouth and swallow about a gallon of water. He waits while I splutter half to death and put my snorkel back on.

"Come with me," he says.

Still holding my elbow with one hand, he pulls me along in the water. I catch a glance under the water as we swim - and that's when I see. He's not a man. He's a merman! He's got a long tail with silver rings all the way down.