Mermaid Magic (6 page)

Suddenly there was a lot of noise at the cave entrance and Kai swam inside with Roscoe, closely followed by Octavius.

“What is it? What’s happening?” Kai asked.

“It’s all right now,” her mother told her, smiling. “Murdoch is all right now. Thanks to Morva.”

“Morva?” Kai stared at the beautiful red-haired mermaid who was holding Rani’s hand. “
You’re
Morva? But ...but Morva’s meant to be
ugly
!”

Morva laughed, sending golden bubbles spiralling above her head.

“Kai! “
her mother snapped, but she was too happy to be very cross.

One by one the other mermaids started to come inside the cave to see what Morva had done. When they saw Murdoch sitting up on the mat, they all stared at him in awe.

“Maybe Octavius was right,” they mumbled. “Maybe she
didn’t
kill that baby.”

“Of
course
I was right!” Octavius barked at them. “I’m
always
right. When are you mermaids going to realize that?”

“Of
course
Morva didn’t kill that baby,” Murdoch called out. “My grandfather was always telling you that, but you never listened!”

All the mermaids stared in admiration at Morva.

“You can come back and live in Tingle Reef now,” Rani told her excitedly.

“Yes, Morva!” one or two of the other mermaids called out. “Come and live here with us.”

Morva smiled but she shook her head. “Thank you, I’m very happy living in my floating cave. But I’d like to come and visit you. It gets a bit lonely sometimes, with no other mermaids to talk to.”

“Come and visit us whenever you want!” everyone said at once.

And Morva promised them that she would.

Chapter Eight

“
D
o you think Morva will come?” Kai asked Rani, as they waited for their father’s speech to finish.

It was market day and Murdoch was giving a talk to the community about the seaweed nets they were going to use in future to catch any dangerous jellyfish. The one that had stung Murdoch had been sent back into the Deep Blue but there was always a risk that another Yellow-back might find its way inside the reef.

The market had been in full swing all morning with all sorts of different goods being exchanged. There were lots of delicious things to eat as well as practical things for the home like seaweed mats and shell-crockery. Things had quietened down a bit now that a lot of the stall-holders and shoppers had gathered round to hear what Murdoch had to say.

“Are you sure Morva’s coming?” Kai asked her sister again.

“Yes, she’ll be here. She’s just a bit late, that’s all,” Rani replied.

“She’d
better
come, after all the time we’ve spent making this.” Kai opened the little shell-box she was holding and the girls looked down again at the beautiful pearl necklace inside.

“I can’t believe that oyster you and the twins found actually
gave
you his pearl,” Rani said.

“He said he was getting bored with it,” Kai explained. “He was extremely happy when I gave him my shell-comb and all my jewellery in exchange for it.”

“Are you sure you want
me
to make the presentation?” Rani asked. “After all, it’s your pearl.”

“I think it’s best if you do it,” Kai said. “Anyway, she’ll know it’s from all of us.”

Just then Octavius appeared, carrying a seaweed shopping bag in each arm. “I’ve got so much shopping to do that I don’t know whether I’m coming or going,” he grumbled.

Someone cried, “Morva’s here!”

Rani and Kai looked up. Morva was swimming towards them, her long red hair streaming out behind her.

Murdoch beckoned to Rani to come over to the big rock platform in the middle of the marketplace.

“Here,” Kai whispered, handing her the little shell-box.

The whole crowd fell silent as they waited for Murdoch to speak.

“We’re very pleased to welcome Morva here today,” Murdoch announced. “Morva, I want to thank you once again for saving my life, and Rani has something to give you from all of us.”

Rani swam over to Morva and presented her with the little shell-box. Morva opened it and gasped with pleasure as she saw the necklace.

“It’s beautiful,” she said. “Thank you
so
much.”

“Welcome back to Tingle Reef!” Rani said, and everyone cheered.

The excitement died down considerably as Octavius climbed up on to the platform. “If
I
could just add a few words ...” he began.

The mermaids sighed as they prepared themselves for what they knew was bound to be a very long speech indeed.

That’s when Rani noticed that little gold sparks were starting to dance around Octavius’s mouth. She looked suspiciously at Morva whose fingertips were giving off a faint glow.

“That’s all I have to say!” Octavius said grandly. And, much to everyone’s amazement, he climbed straight down again from the platform.

All the mermaids started to clap.

“You see, Rani,” Morva’s whispery words came floating towards her through the water. “Mermaid magic can sometimes come in
very
useful indeed!”

Rani’s
Sea
Spell

Chapter One

R
ani and her family were having breakfast. The water in their cave was lovely and warm because the hot-rock stove was on and Roscoe, Rani’s pet sea horse, was floating lazily next to it.

They all jumped as a huge fishy nose pushed itself through the seaweed-flap that covered the cave entrance.

“It’s Pat!” Rani and her sister, Kai, left their breakfast and swam over to greet the big grey dolphin who was now half in and half out of the cave. Pat brought them messages from outside Tingle Reef.

“Is everything all right?” asked their mother, who was sitting on the seaweed mat feeding their baby sister, Pearl, with a tiny shell-spoon.

“Everything is fine,” Pat reassured her. “I’ve brought you an invitation. Your mother wants you all to visit them next week. They’re throwing a grand party!”

Rani’s grandmother didn’t live in Tingle Reef. She lived inside a shipwreck in the Deep Blue. Rani’s mother had lived there when she was a child and had told them lots of exciting stories about it.

“A party!” shouted Kai. “Oh, please can we go, Mother?”

Rani and Kai had never been to their grandmother’s home before. You had to swim far into the Deep Blue to get there and, until now, their parents had always said that they were too young to make the trip.

“Well ...” Miriam looked at her husband, clearly excited by the idea of the party as well. “What do you think, Murdoch?”

Their father looked thoughtful. “I think Kai and Rani probably
are
old enough to go this time, but we should get someone to look after Pearl.”

“YES! “
shouted Rani and Kai together, clasping hands and swishing their tails in unison as they propelled themselves excitedly round the cave.

“Come in and have some breakfast with us, Pat,” Murdoch said, but the dolphin replied that he had several more messages to deliver.