Emily Windsnap and the Siren's Secret - Liz Kessler [63]
A smartly dressed merman swam up to us. “Neptune will see you now,” he said solemnly. “Follow me.”
Aaron took my hand, and we followed the merman through winding corridors and twisting tunnels. Eventually, we came to a large door. It was made of glass, and the frame was encrusted with jewels. Through the door I could see a very tall throne — and a very serious-looking Neptune sitting on it.
Memories of my previous run-ins with Neptune flooded my mind. Facing his anger in his own courtroom, having a curse put on me when I accidentally found his ring, almost being squeezed to death by his pet sea monster. “I don’t know if I can do this,” I whispered to Aaron.
“You have to,” he whispered back. “Shona’s depending on us. They all are.”
Just the mention of Shona’s name was enough to remind me of what we had to do. “You’re right,” I said. Taking a deep breath, I added, “Let’s go talk to Neptune.”
We waited in silence, watching Neptune’s furrowed brow, his narrowed eyes, his tightly closed mouth. We’d told him everything. All we could do now was wait — and hope that he didn’t throw us out on our gills.
“And this is Beeston’s mother, you say?” Neptune trained his hard eyes on me.
I nodded. “Among others.”
“Yes, yes.”
“It was a long time ago, Your Majesty,” Aaron said carefully. “A time when your laws and your world were very different.”
Neptune glared at him. I took up from where Aaron had left off. “You’ve said yourself: it’s a new world now. In fact, you ordered us to make it a new world. This could be part of that.”
Neptune turned his cold stare on me. “And how do you presume to figure THAT one out?”
I gulped. “Well, I —” I began. And then my mind went blank. Being in front of Neptune in his own palace trying to ask him a favor while he’s staring at you booming out doubts against everything you say kind of has that effect on you. On me, anyway.
“It would send a message,” Aaron said.
Neptune swung back around to face him. “It WHAT?” he bellowed. I wished he could just talk like a normal person. Why did everything always have to be so, well, loud with him?
“You would be showing the mer world that Neptune really has let go of the old ways. That sirens luring fishermen to their deaths is a thing of the past. The message would be huge, especially with what’s happening now at Shiprock.”
Neptune wrinkled his forehead sternly. “What IS happening in Shiprock?” he asked. “My updates have been getting unacceptably unreliable lately.”
“They’re turning against humans more fiercely every day,” I said. “They’re feeling under threat because of the development in Brightport.”
“And can you blame them?”
“Well, no, but perhaps if you let the sirens go, they could join us in trying to calm the situation down. Humans and merpeople working together, to show Shiprock that there’s nothing to fear . . . somehow? Perhaps that could be a condition of their release.”
Neptune rubbed his beard. “Hmm, OK, let’s say I do that,” he said quietly, talking to himself, thinking aloud. “Attach conditions. Yes, I like that. But on the other hand . . .” Then he nodded. “Right, that’s it!” he barked. “I have decided what we will do.”
I froze as I waited for him to continue. What was he going to say? Would I ever see Shona again? Had we made a massive mistake coming here? Please help us. Please don’t send us away with nothing.
“I shall undo the waterfall curse on the caves,” he announced. “The sirens will be free to leave.”
“And Shona?” I asked, hardly daring to hope.
Neptune waved my question away. “Yes, yes, of course, all of them — including Beeston and your friend.”
Aaron caught my eye and gave me a thumbs-up. We’d done it! Shona was going to be free!
“I haven’t finished!” Neptune boomed before I had the chance to get too serious about the idea of celebrating. “Here are my conditions.”
We waited in silence.
“ONE: you are to redouble your efforts with the task you have been set. I gave you a mission, and I intended for you to take this mission to heart. Until now, I can see no serious progress.