The Mermaid's Mirror - L. K. Madigan [63]
With a slight smile, Melusina said, "We are diving deep. Your clothes will not matter in our journey. But you may leave your shoes. Now come as close as you are able, and put your arms around my waist."
"Lena!" came a distant shout. "Baby, where are you?" Her father's voice cracked with anguish.
Lena fought her urge to answer him, glancing back in the direction of his voice. She slipped off her shoes. Then she moved close to her mother and put her arms around her.
Melusina picked up the sealskin pelt and wrapped it around Lena's shoulders. "Are you ready, tender maiden?"
Lena nodded, unable to answer. The cloak felt warm and velvety around her shoulders.
"Hold tight to me. You will be safe. The difficult part for you will be jumping into the cold water. As soon as I pull the cloak over your head, you are protected. Now we depart the land." Melusina slid off the rock, and Lena held tightly, feeling the scrape of the rock's surface through her clothes.
They slid into the water more gracefully than Lena would have thought, but it was true: the shock of the night-cold water made her gasp.
Melusina held her in an iron grip, keeping her head above water. She pulled the hood of the cloak over Lena's head, and whispered in her daughter's ear, "Now we begin our journey."
Squeezing her eyes shut, Lena gripped her mother even tighter, and felt the muscles in the mermaid's tail move strongly. They plunged below the surface. As they dove with startling speed, Lena held her breath as long as she was able. Then she opened her mouth in a reflexive desire to breathe, and felt salt water pour into her mouth. Panic-stricken, she loosened her grip on her mother's waist.
Melusina's voice came into her mind now, instead of her ear. "You are safe, my child. You will breathe the ocean now. This cloak protects you."
Lena shook her head frantically and felt Melusina tighten her hold.
What have I done? thought Lena. She really is going to drown me! Daddy ... I'm sorry...
***
Brian was in time to see his first love plunge off the side of the rock, arms tight around their child, and his heart fell into the water with them.
CHAPTER 33
Even though she knew there was no air for her here, Lena instinctively took a terrified breath, and felt the salt water enter her throat.
Incredibly, the water moved in and out of her gasping lungs. She did not begin to drown. She began to breathe the ocean, as her mother had said. She could not speak, but amazement filled her mind, causing Melusina to smile and send a thought to her: "No, you are not drowning. You are diving."
Lena felt a half-frightened laugh bubble out of her mouth.
"How can I breathe under water?" she asked, using thoughts instead of words.
"I cannot explain this enchantment to you. It is because of the cloak, and because of my desire. When your desire is powerful enough, you will be able to breathe under water without the cloak."
"No way!" said Lena. "You're kidding, right?"
Melusina's response was bewildered. "I am not in jest, dear one. The way is true."
Lena smiled at her mother's sincerity. "I believe you," she said. "It just seems impossible."
"It is impossible for humans," said Melusina. "But you are not human."
Lena's heart faltered. Not human.
"Or rather," continued Melusina placidly, "not wholly human. The blood and magic of my people runs through your veins. See? Already it is proved."
"What do you mean?"
"We dive ever deeper. But your body ails not. Your heart, your lungs, your every cell, do not collapse from pressure. You are my daughter." A flash of pride lit up her mother's features.
"Amazing," whispered Lena. She became aware that her legs were kicking in time with the movements of her mother's tail. But she was not swimming the way Allie had taught her to swim; she was kicking with her legs together, as if she were a mermaid, too. I am, she reminded herself. I am half-mermaid.
On land, that idea would have felt preposterous. Deep beneath the surface, with her body behaving in a most fishlike manner, it seemed natural.
"Where are we