Chapter Four

Tullor was tired, angry – and frightened. The two dolphins had chased him for more than an hour, and by the time he finally managed to give them the slip and get away, he was exhausted. He had always hated the dolphins, but now that they had foiled his plan to lure and capture the girl-child, he hated them more than ever. And when Queen Taran found out what had happened, her fury would be terrible.

He would have to tell her soon, and he dreaded it. But the longer he waited, the greater her rage would be. It would be better to gather his courage, go to her now and get it over with.

Cautiously he poked his head out from under the rock ledge where he had been hiding. The dolphins had lost sight of him when he’d wriggled under here and he felt sure they must have swum away by now. But it was wiser to be careful, so he peered through the underwater gloom in case they might still be lurking nearby. There was no sign of them, and, relieved, Tullor wriggled out from his hole and tried to work out where he was. The chase had taken him many miles out to sea, and the gateway by which he usually reached Queen Taran’s cave was a long, long way off. But there were other gateways, and his instinct told him that one of them was nearby.

He soon found it: a great, solitary rock on the seabed, with a deep hollow gouged in the top. Tullor swam to it, hovered above the hollow and waited. A minute passed, then a voice whispered coldly out of the hollow, ‘Who is there?’

Summoning all his nerve, Tullor replied, ‘It is Tullor.’

‘Ah!’ The voice was full of satisfaction. ‘You may enter!’

The water started to swirl and bubble, then the hollow became a tunnel with an eerie green light glowing from deep inside it. The light shone on Tullor’s face, and a shiver of fear ran through him. But it was too late to turn back now.

He gave a writhing squirm, and dived into the hole. For a second or two he saw only the green light, then it changed, becoming all the colours of the rainbow, and moments later he surfaced in the perfectly circular pool inside the mermaid Queen’s lair.

Taran was lying on her rock couch. Her eyes were brilliant with excitement and there was a triumphant smile on her face. But when she saw that Tullor was alone, her expression changed.

‘Where is the girl-child?’ she hissed.

‘Majesty, I – I found her, and I spoke to her as you commanded, but –’

‘But what?’ Taran snapped. ‘What went wrong? Were you stupid enough to give the truth away?’

‘No, Majesty!’ Tullor protested. ‘She believed my story! She was coming with me! But the dolphins saw us, and they attacked – there were five of them, and I had no time to call for help!’

‘You mean the child escaped?’ Taran’s voice rose shrilly. ‘You fool! You stupid, useless, worthless fool!’

‘There was nothing I could do!’ cried Tullor desperately. ‘Three of the dolphins took the girl to safety, and the other two chased me. I barely escaped with my life!’

Taran let out a shriek of rage that echoed around the cave. ‘They should have killed you!’ she screamed. ‘It’s no more than you deserve!’ She raised a hand high above her head, as though about to throw something, and Tullor cried, ‘No, Majesty, please – I did my best! Truly, I did my best!’

Taran was too furious to listen. Her hand came down with a violent gesture and the water around Tullor erupted into a seething, churning whirlpool. The huge eel was flung about, thrashing and struggling as the water battered him against the pool’s rock edges. He howled in terror, then with a tremendous effort he dived deep, deep down into the water, desperate to escape.

Taran saw him vanish. She made another gesture and the water calmed. In moments it was as still and quiet as a mirror again. The Queen stared down into it. She knew that Tullor was cowering at the bottom of the pool, and her beautiful face turned ugly with anger.

‘I know where you are!’ she snarled. ‘And you can stay there until I give you permission to return – if I ever do!’

There was no answer, but Taran was certain that the eel had heard her. Suddenly she reached to a rock shelf behind her couch and snatched up her golden circlet with the seven pearls set in it. The circlet was more than just her crown: it gave her power. She set it carefully on her head and felt the power begin to flow through her. She wouldn’t punish Tullor any more. He was too useful and, besides, the dolphins were really the ones to blame for his failure. Very well, then. She would vent her fury on them, and on all the wretched creatures who had helped Morvyr and her children to escape. She would show them the price of defying their Queen, in a way they wouldn’t forget for a long time!

Taran spread her arms wide, drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. Darkness. Rage. Peril…

The water in the pool churned again, and a wind sprang up from nowhere and began to moan through the cave…

Rose had brought Paul home for tea, and they were all in the middle of the meal when Mr Baxter peered out of the sitting-room window and said, ‘Whew, I don’t like the look of that sky!’

Mrs Baxter and Rose got up from the table and went to see too. ‘Wow!’ said Rose. ‘Your dad was right, Paul. There is going to be a storm!’

‘And soon, I should think,’ Mrs Baxter added. ‘Whoever would have thought it, after such a sunny day.’

‘I think Dad must smell them coming,’ said Paul with a grin. ‘I’d never have guessed, either, and there was nothing on the forecast.’

Rose sat down again. ‘Well, I’m glad he did smell it. If you’d gone to sea like you were going to…’ She shuddered. ‘Scary!’

‘Yeah.’ Paul ate another mouthful of lasagne. ‘Though quite a few of the boats are out.’ He frowned. ‘I hope they make it back to the harbour before this really blows up.’

Lizzy, too, was staring at the window, but she said nothing. Kes had never told her what happened in the undersea world during a storm, so she could only imagine what it was like. The thought frightened her. Would Kes and Morvyr be all right? And what about the dolphins?

‘Lizzy, you’ve hardly eaten anything,’ said Mum. ‘Are you feeling OK?’

‘What? Oh – yes, I’m fine. Just not very hungry.’

Dad smiled kindly. ‘Don’t worry, love; a storm doesn’t always mean thunder. Even if it does, you’re much less scared of thunder and lightning than you used to be, aren’t you?’

Lizzy couldn’t tell him that it wasn’t thunder and lightning that worried her, so she just nodded.

‘You ought to go home before the rain starts, Paul,’ said Mum. ‘Or you’ll get soaked.’

‘Don’t be daft, Mum,’ said Rose. ‘He’s a fisherman. He’s used to it!’

The chatter went on, but Lizzy wasn’t really listening. She made herself eat a few more mouthfuls, but the lasagne could have been made from cardboard and chalk for all she cared. Where are Kes and Morvyr? Will they be safe tonight?

The wind was howling now. Some scraps of litter went flying madly down the street, and in the distance there was a rattle that sounded like a dustbin being blown over. As well as the wind Lizzy could hear the sea grumbling ominously. Then a first flurry of rain spattered against the window pane, and moments later the heavens opened.

Paul said he should go, because he had to help his dad make sure their boat was securely moored. He was saying goodbye and thanks for the food, and Rose was arguing with Mum because she wanted to go to the harbour too and Mum said she wasn’t going anywhere in this weather and besides she’d only get in the way. Lizzy took no notice but stared out at the worsening storm. She had never seen such a downpour. Water streamed down the window in rivers, and the battering rain was bouncing off the road. The sky was the colour of a bruise, and though it wasn’t evening yet, it was getting darker and darker outside.

Rose finally gave up arguing with Mum, and saw Paul off. Wind and rain came whirling into the house when she opened the front door, and as Paul hurried away down the hill with his jacket over his head she had to struggle to get the door shut again.

‘Ugh!’ she said as she came back to the sitting room. ‘Maybe I don’t want to go to the harbour after all.’

‘Your face and hair are wet already,’ Mum commented.

‘I know. This has come on so quickly, hasn’t it? It’s really weird.’

‘I was thinking that,’ said Dad. ‘I mean, I know we’re on the coast and the weather can change very fast, but it’s strange that the forecast didn’t even mention it. And it was glorious till a couple of hours ago. It doesn’t seem natural.’

Lizzy shivered inwardly at that. She, too, thought there was something wrong. The storm had blown up so suddenly and so violently, as if some unknown force had deliberately caused it to happen. Kes had told her that Taran, the mermaid Queen, was very powerful. Could she be behind this? Could she conjure storms? And, if she could, why had she done it?

Mum and Dad were clearing the table, while Rose had switched the TV on and was looking for the local news. Suddenly Lizzy wanted to escape to her room. She felt sick with tension and worry. If she stayed here with the rest of the family, someone would be sure to notice.

‘Can’t find any news,’ said Rose, ‘but there’s a really good movie on in a minute.’

‘Sounds fine to me,’ said Dad as he carried out a pile of plates. ‘In this weather, I can’t think of anything better.’

‘I… um… think I’ll go upstairs,’ Lizzy murmured. ‘I’ve got a few things to do on my computer.’

The computer was always a good excuse. The others would think she was going to spend the evening playing games on it, and they wouldn’t ask any awkward questions. Rose said, ‘Boring! I’m going to watch the movie,’ but Lizzy didn’t answer. At the door she paused, looking back into the room. It all looked so normal…

‘See you later,’ she said.

‘Sure.’ Rose wasn’t concentrating; she had plonked down on the sofa and was looking at the TV screen. Lizzy hesitated a moment longer, then hurried up the stairs.