Emily Windsnap and the Land of the Midnight Sun Read Free Page A

looked at the mermen who had brought Aaron in. “You can leave them both with us,” he said. “We can manage.”
    “You sure?”
    “Sure as sharks.” He swam back to the door behind the two mermen. As he pulled the key from around his neck again, Aaron glanced at me and raised an eyebrow.
    I knew what he was thinking. I was thinking the same.
This could be our chance to escape!
Without saying a word, we edged closer to the door while the mermen talked.
    Orta put his key in the padlock. Turned it. Opened the door.
    “Now!”
Aaron hissed in my ear, and I made a dash for the door.
    “I don’t think so!” Kai grabbed hold of my tail, gripping so hard I thought he’d break my scales off. Half a minute later, I was back inside the room, the door shut fast behind me.
    Orta clicked the padlock into place and put the key back around his neck. He nudged a thumb at Kai. “Just because he
looks
stupid doesn’t mean he actually
is
stupid,” he said.
    “Yeah,” Kai agreed. Then he scratched his head and looked at Orta. “Hey!” he added, realizing what Orta had said.
    Orta brushed him off with a dismissive wave. “You just need to be patient,” he said to us. “I’m sure you won’t be here much longer — one way or another.” He emphasized the “one way or another” with a menacing laugh.
    I swam back over to Aaron. He was examining the lights and crystals in the walls.
    “Look at these,” he said. “They’re amazing.”
    “Almost like jewels,” I said, shuffling closer.
    Aaron shuffled closer to me, too. “We’ll be OK, you know,” he said. “We’ll think of something.”
    The strange thing was, when he smiled at me like he was doing, I couldn’t help believing him.
    “You’re right,” I said. “I think everything’s going to be —”
    Except I didn’t get to finish my sentence. It was washed away by a wave that swooshed through the cave so suddenly and so fiercely that it swept all four of us up to the ceiling and then hurled us against the opposite wall.
    Orta was first to recover. He pulled himself up, brushed a hand down his tail, and gave Kai a thump in the chest. “Look sharp,” he said. “Boss is coming.”
    I shuddered to think what their boss was going to be like. These two were bad enough. How much worse would
he
be?
    I didn’t have long to wonder.
    Three heavy bangs on the door, and Orta practically flew across the cave to open it. He unlocked the padlock, swung the bolt across, and swam backward, his head bowed low as he held the door open.
    And then, pulled by a dozen dolphins, and riding a golden chariot that shone so brightly it lit the caves up like a fireworks display, in came their boss.
    Neptune!
    I gasped. “But —”
    With the briefest glance at Aaron and me, Neptune turned to the mermen. “Good work,” he said somberly. “You are relieved.”
    Bowing low, Orta and Kai swam out of the cave without a backward glance at either of us. Neptune raised his trident, and a dolphin at the back of the chariot flicked its tail to shut the door behind them.
    “Now, then,” he said gravely, turning to face us. “Let’s get down to business.”

D own to business?
What did
that
mean? I was fairly certain I hadn’t signed up to do any business with Neptune. It wasn’t exactly the kind of thing you forgot. And it wasn’t the kind of thing you volunteered for in a hurry, either.
    In case you’ve never come across Neptune, he’s the king of all the oceans. He used to rule with an iron rod — or rather, an iron trident. That’s his special staff that he uses to do things like create storms or put curses on people.
    But he’d softened recently. I’d thought he was happy and that everything was fine.
    I was clearly wrong.
    “You’re probably wondering why I have brought you down here,” Neptune said in a low, deep voice that echoed and rumbled throughout the cave.
    Er . . . yes!
    “I shall tell you.” And then he fell silent.
    He looked mad. And even though I’d