A Mischief of Mermaids (14 page)

“What was that?” he asked, his eyes glittering with excitement.

Poppy turned to face him, her back to the railing, hoping that she was blocking his view of Franny.

“What was what?” she asked innocently.

“That splash.” Rolly trotted over to the railing. “Was it Mugwump? Because it sounded like Mugwump.”

“Of course it wasn't,” Poppy said. “It was just a fish.”

Nerissa nodded. “A regular, ordinary fish.”

“And small,” Will added.

“That's right,” said Henry. “A very small, very ordinary fish.”

Rolly frowned. “It didn't sound small,” he said. “It sounded huge. It sounded like a whale.”

Will snickered. Behind her, Poppy could hear Franny's squeak of outrage.

Rolly stood still for a moment, his lips pressed tight in thought. “I'm getting my fishing pole,” he said, marching back belowdecks.

“Quick!” Poppy said to the others. “We have to get away from here before Rolly sees something or before he wakes up Mom and Dad.”

Henry and Will were grunting with the effort of lowering their kayak.

“Hold on,” Henry said. “Lower the bow first—”

“I'm trying! Give me a second!” Will said.

With a splash, the kayak landed in the water. Will and Henry got in. Poppy and Nerissa managed to get the other double kayak in the water just as Mr. and Mrs. Malone came up on the deck. Mrs. Malone was wearing a shockingly pink canvas sun hat and a huge pair of sunglasses. Mr. Malone's nose was white from the zinc oxide he had rubbed on it; he was carrying the telescope and tripod.

“Where are you kids going?” he called out. “We've got work to do.”

“We're going to that little cove over there,” Poppy yelled back. “Franny said that Ashley said that her father said that one of his friends told him he had heard from someone that there was a strange glow in the sky last week. He took a picture. It looked like the glow was hovering right over the cove.”

“Really!” Mr. Malone halted, his face bright with interest. “That sounds like an excellent lead.”

“Exactly,” Will put in hastily. “And we want to follow it on our own, because—”

He hesitated and cast a wild look at Poppy.

“Because it's time we tested our investigation skills,” she finished smoothly. “After all, we're going to go into the family business someday, right?”

Mr. and Mrs. Malone both stopped. Mr. Malone carefully set the tripod and telescope down on the deck. They looked at Poppy and Will for a moment, then turned to smile at each other. Even from a distance, Poppy could tell their eyes were getting misty.

“Oh, great,” Will muttered. “They're about to have a ‘I'm-So-Very-Proud-of-You' moment.”

“Oh, Emerson!” said Mrs. Malone in a trembling voice.

“I know, Lucille,” Mr. Malone managed to choke out. “I know.”

Will sighed loudly. “We're taking off now, all right?” he yelled. “See you later!”

“Wait!” Mr. Malone stepped to the railing. “Before you go, I wanted to tell you”—he paused, blinking, to clear his throat—“well, just hearing that you all want to follow in our footsteps . . . it's every parent's dream. . . .”

He choked up again.

“There, there, dear.” Mrs. Malone patted his arm, then smiled tearfully at Poppy and Will. “Your father and I are”—she took a deep breath—“we are So Very Proud of You! We can't wait to hear about the first paranormal discovery you make on your very own!”

“I
wonder what Mom and Dad would say about this discovery,” muttered Will as Franny shot up out of the water and did a somersault over their kayaks, landing with a giant splash.

“Aggh—Franny, stop it!” said Poppy, wiping water off her face. “I don't think they would be too pleased, actually.”

“I don't know,” said Henry. “Maybe they'd like having a mermaid in the family. They could study her close to home.”

“All the more reason why we can't tell them,” said Poppy.

Franny popped up on the other side of Poppy's kayak. “Hey, guess what?” she said. “I can breathe underwater!”

“Yeah, that's great, Franny,” said Poppy, distracted. “Nerissa, are you sure we'll find Coralie at the cove—”

She glanced over her shoulder at Nerissa and saw a stricken expression on her face.

“I don't think you have to worry about finding the others,” Nerissa said. “I think
they've
found
us
.”

Franny stopped swimming. “Others?” she asked. “What others?”

Suddenly, there was a swirl of water and three mermaids appeared. They were smiling strange smiles at Franny as they slowly swam around the two kayaks.

Poppy recognized them. There was the blond girl, the one who had reminded her of Franny—what was her name? Oh, yes. Ariadne.

And there was the girl with the spiky black hair and pointed chin. Poppy remembered her name, too. Kali.

And the older woman with silver hair . . .

“Hi, Coralie,” said Nerissa in a subdued voice.

“Nerisssssa,” said Coralie, drawing out the name with a hiss. She swam closer. Franny moved her arms in the water, trying to back away, and bumped into Ariadne.

“Don't worry,” the blond girl crooned. “We won't hurt you. We just didn't know there were any other mermaids in the lake, that's all.”

Franny gulped. “I—I'm not really a mermaid,” she whispered.

The other girl laughed. “You didn't have to tell us that,” she said. “Your skin is too pink and your eyes are too warm. In fact, I'd think you were human if it weren't for—”

“That tail,” said Ariadne. “Although it does look rather familiar. . . .”

She dove under the water, then reemerged on the other side of Franny. She shook her head, drops of water scattering in the sun, and directed a cold smile at Nerissa.

“Why, it looks a bit like Nerissa's tail,” she said innocently. “How could that be?”

Kali dove down as well, then emerged from the water on the other side of Poppy's kayak, laughing. “And Nerissa has what look like”—she tried to stifle her giggles and failed—“human legs!”

Ariadne's mocking laughter joined Kali's. Nerisssa blushed.

Coralie narrowed her eyes. “Now, then,” she said. “What is this all about?”

Poppy couldn't help feeling sorry for Nerissa. Apparently, letting one's cloak out of one's possession was one of the worst things a mermaid could do. When Nerissa confessed that she had stuffed her cloak in a backpack and gone off to spend time with mortals, her voice barely rose above a whisper.

“How could you be so careless!” said Coralie. “It's bad enough that you had to run away and try being human. Still, everyone gets a little restless when they're young; everyone wants to take a few risks. But to let your cloak out of your sight and then to have it stolen by a mortal—”

“I. Didn't. Steal. It,” said Franny. “I just tried it on.”

Coralie tilted her head to one side and looked closely at Franny. “You knew it wasn't yours, did you not? And I'm sure Nerissa told you not to touch it.”

“Well, yes.” Franny bit her lip and looked embarrassed. “But I couldn't help it! It was so beautiful. . . .”

Her voice trailed off. For a long moment, there was nothing but silence.

Then Coralie smiled.

Poppy's heart seemed to skip a beat. Coralie's smile was warm and friendly and forgiving. It should have made Poppy feel better, but it didn't. Instead, it made alarm bells go off in her head.

“Of course, my dear. I quite understand.” Coralie's voice had changed, too. It was as warm and melting and sweet as honey on hot toast. “The temptation must have been impossible to resist—especially since the color looks simply stunning with your eyes.”

For the first time since the mermaids had arrived, a slight smile appeared on Franny's face. “It does?”

“Absolutely!” said Ariadne. She swam over to Franny. “And your hair is lovely,” she added. “Almost as nice as mine.”

She lifted a strand of her own hair, then dropped it. It fell to her shoulder in a perfect curl.

Franny gulped. “Th-thank you,” she said. “Ho-how do you keep your hair looking so great? I mean, if you're in the water all the time—”

Ariadne cast her eyes down, as if embarrassed by the compliment, but Poppy could see her sly smile. “I'll show you if you like,” Ariadne said. “You will see. Your hair will be the envy of every mortal.”

“That would be great!” said Franny, beaming. “Thank you so so so much!”

Poppy frowned. Why were Coralie and Ariadne being so nice all of a sudden? The alarm bells got louder.

“Er, Franny, listen,” said Poppy. “I'm not sure that's a good idea—”

She was interrupted by a Jet Ski zooming by. Poppy caught a glimpse of Colt's white-blond hair, then the Jet Ski slipped in between two sailboats and was gone. She turned to see Franny sighing and gazing wistfully after the Jet Ski.

Kali's sharp eyes had noticed it, too.

“Do you know that person?” she asked Franny. “Do you like him?”

Franny blushed. “No, of course not,” she said, too quickly. “I mean, I do know him, his name is Colt, he's my friend Ashley's brother, but I'm not interested in him at all. . . .”

Ariadne met Kali's eyes. They both smirked.

“Oh, that's too bad,” Kali said, “Because if you did like him—”

“We could show you how to make him notice you,” said Ariadne.

Franny hesitated. “Really?”

“Don't listen to them, Franny,” said Nerissa.

Poppy twisted around in her seat. From the look on Nerissa's face, she was hearing the same alarm bells as Poppy.

“Why not?” Franny swam closer to Ariadne and Kali. “They're just being nice.”

“Nice!” said Nerissa in disgust. “Mermaids aren't nice. And we're not friendly or helpful or kind, either. Those two are up to something.”

But Franny wasn't listening.

“Try turning your head like this,” suggested Ariadne, tilting her head and glancing up from under her eyelashes. “Then look like this”—a teasing smile appeared on her lips—“and then wave like this. . . .”

She fluttered her fingers in the air.

Franny copied her exactly.

“Perfect,” said Kali, her eyes gleaming with mischief. “Before you know it, you'll have boys jumping off their boats to be with you.”

“Oh, yuck,” muttered Will.

“How long do we have to listen to all this girl stuff?” asked Henry, making a face.

Coralie raised an eyebrow. “Girl stuff?” she repeated, outraged. “May I remind you that we are
mermaids
?”

Will rolled his eyes. “Yeah, we know. But still . . . this is kind of gross. No offense.”

Coralie gazed at him speculatively for a moment. “None taken, I'm sure,” she said coolly.

Then she waved a hand in the air, rather like a conductor giving an orchestra the cue to begin.

Immediately, Kali and Ariadne swam over to join her. The three mermaids turned to face the kayaks and began singing.

Poppy shivered. The song sounded like nothing she had ever heard before. The music was haunting and unearthly; the words slipped away as soon as they were sung, so that they remained frustratingly out of reach. She frowned, concentrating harder. If only she could pick up one or two phrases, something that she could write in her logbook later on. . . .

Her thoughts were interrupted by a mighty splash. Poppy turned to see Henry in the lake, treading water and staring at Kali with a dazed expression.

Kali flashed him a beguiling smile. He began swimming toward her.

“Henry! What are you doing?” Will shouted.

Ariadne began singing again. This time, she was singing a song that seemed to slip up and down the scales. It sounded like golden sun pouring on a meadow of flowers, like a summer breeze floating down a country lane, like cool water rippling over river rocks—

Splash!

Poppy blinked in disbelief. Now Will was in the water, too, and swimming straight for Ariadne.

“Will, Henry, come back!” she shouted. “Get back in the kayak.”

But Will and Henry kept swimming with that same dazed look on their faces.

Coralie lazily circled Poppy's kayak. “I don't think they want to leave us,” she murmured, her gray-green eyes bright with amusement. “Perhaps all that gross girl stuff is more powerful than they thought. . . .”

Poppy glared at her. “What are you doing to them?”

“Why, nothing,” Coralie said innocently. “We're just singing. Nothing more.”

“Right,” snapped Nerissa. “And that song will make them swim until they're so tired they can't swim anymore and then they'll drown. Cut it out, Coralie!”

The amused look in Coralie's eyes vanished. “I must have heard you incorrectly, Nerisssa,” she said. “Surely you didn't just give me an order? Not when your friends are all in such danger?”

Poppy caught her breath. She looked at Will and Henry, who were doggedly swimming around Ariadne and Kali, and at Franny who was humming to herself as she floated in the water, practicing a flirtatious wave.

“Please stop,” said Poppy.

Coralie gave her a long look, as if she was trying to decide what to do.

“Please,” Poppy said again. “We need your help.”

“Hmm.” Coralie tilted her head to one side and smiled faintly. “Well. Since you asked so politely—”

She waved her hand again. Instantly, the singing ended.

Will and Henry stopped swimming. They looked at each other, then glanced around, as if puzzled to find themselves in the water.

“Hey,” said Henry, “what happened?”

“Yeah, I don't remember getting out of the kayak,” said Will, frowning.