Emily Windsnap and the Siren's Secret - Liz Kessler [45]
One thing I did know, though, was that the three of us were in this together.
“We’re not leaving you,” I said to Shona.
“You don’t have a choice.”
“Yes, we have,” Aaron said. “Do you think we could just go off and happily escape while you’re trapped here?”
“But —”
“But nothing,” I said. “Whatever we do, we’ll do it together. No one’s going anywhere till we’ve figured out how to get us all out. Deal?”
Aaron and Shona looked at each other and then both turned to me. “Deal,” they said in unison.
“Good!” I paused. “Now all we need is a plan.”
We sat in silence, each thinking our own thoughts. Mine weren’t very helpful, so I decided not to bother saying them out loud. I guessed the others felt the same way.
I watched a lone fish with a spiky back slither along in front of me, pecking at the seabed every few seconds, then moving on. It seemed so purposeful. It knew where it was going and how to get there. Would we ever be able to say that about ourselves again?
A swishing noise outside the well broke into my thoughts. A second later, the seaweed curtain lifted. Someone was coming in!
All three of us jumped up and swam to the farthest wall. As we pressed ourselves against the rock, I prayed that we could somehow become invisible against the dark shadows of the well.
A moment later, a face appeared, and one of the sirens swam inside.
She looked around the well and spotted us immediately. Pulling her hair away from her face and swimming over to us, she smiled. “Found you!” she said.
I peeled myself away from the rocks and swam into the center of the well. “Don’t try anything. There are three of us and only one of you,” I said, trying to make my voice sound big and brave. Easier said than done when you’re scared finless and everyone knows it.
The siren swam closer toward me. Instinctively, I backed away.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” she said softly. That was when I recognized her. It was the one who had been kind earlier. Morvena.
Aaron swam over to join me. Puffing his chest out and sticking out his chin, he swished his tail hard to make himself taller. He wasn’t going to let himself be thrown by seeing one of these sirens for the first time. Or if he was, he certainly wasn’t showing it. “Why should we believe you?” he asked. “Why should we even listen to you?”
Morvena looked Aaron in the eye. “I can’t make you listen, and I can’t make you believe me, either. But I hope you will do both.”
“Why?” Shona asked. She was still huddled against the rocks on the other side of the well.
Morvena swam over to her and Shona flinched. The siren answered softly. “Because I think we can help each other.”
“Why would we want to help you?” Aaron asked.
I touched his arm. “Wait — let’s hear what she has to say. I think she’s different from the rest.”
Morvena bowed her head slightly. “Thank you,” she said. Then she indicated above us. “I saw what you did up there just now,” she said. “I was following you — I wanted to make sure you were safe.”
“Why would you care?” Shona asked. She obviously wasn’t ready to believe that any of the sirens could have good intentions toward us.
“I know what the others are like,” Morvena said. “Some of them, anyway. You’re children. You’re not the enemy — and I’m not a monster.”
“So what did you see?” Aaron asked, his tail flicking nervously.
“I saw you do the impossible,” she said, her eyes shining and wide. “I saw you swim into the well.” She turned to me. “Why didn’t you leave?”
“We couldn’t,” I said. “Shona couldn’t do it. Only Aaron and I can swim through it.”
“How did you do it?” Morvena asked.
Before I could reply, Aaron elbowed me. “We’re not telling you all our secrets yet,” he said. “You need to give us something first. Give us a reason to trust you.”
Morvena let out a sigh. It sounded as if it contained a hundred years of sadness and regret.
“We can’t get out of here,” she said.
“I know — because you had your beautiful voices taken away,” Shona said