Through the Whirlpool Read Free Page B

of surfers off their boards. For once, Jade felt relief—the one person around here who could roast and spit Rena as easy as look at her. The older girl let go of her arms, throwing her down. She spat out:
    “ So you had to bring your mom with you for protection, did you? Well, stay scared, Weasel. I’ll get you soon. And it’ll be worse than when I took care of your South American buddy.”
    Jade, rubbing her arms, couldn ’t resist: “I’m sure you will: you and your mates. That was so brave, what you did to Miguel—three of you against one guy half your size.”
    Rena walked back and picked up her board. She turned and smiled at Jade, but there was nothing friendly there. “Promise you, then, Weasel: when I deal with you, it’ll be just you and me.”
    She looked for a moment at Jade ’s mother approaching down the beach. But the closer Joan got, the more Rena shrank into herself. She had lost her prey this time. Before Joan got anywhere near the spot where the three of them were standing, Rena turned on her heel and slouched away toward the other end of the beach. Jade realized she was shaking and sat down quickly to hide the fact. She stared at the sand, trying to pull herself together, remembering to say, while their mother was still well out of earshot:
    “ Kyle, one word to Mom about that, and you’re history, okay?”
    “ Jade, you’re always thinking I’m gonna go running to Mom. I’m not gonna say anything, but why is she after you? Have you done something wrong? Did you go up to the lab site? I bet you did, you and Darren and that Miggy-lorito zee-senyorrrito!”
    Their mother was getting closer.
    “What’ll you give me if I don’t tell Mom? Jaa-ade… girls who are grounded aren’t allowed to go surfing…”
    “ Whatever, you can use my bike… for a week.”
    “ A month.”
    “ Two weeks.”
    “ Hi, Mom!”
    “ Okay, a month!”
    Joan dropped her things on the beach beside them. “Was that girl one of your friends? She looked a little rough.”
    But Jade was already up and running for the waves, board under her arm, relief sending a rush of adrenalin through her body. While their mum was cool on many fronts, some things you just didn’t tell parents.
    Kyle came charging into the surf behind her, holding his boogie board out in front. He tripped as he hit the water and fell flat on his face in the shallows. Jade laughed. His board was way too big for him , and he had no idea how to handle it, but anything Jade had, Kyle wanted. He had whined and whined until their mother bought him a board. She headed out into the waves, her brother in tow.
    The feel of the dragging water around her was refreshing as she paddled out. She loved the exhilaration, sun hot on her back as she rode her board up a wave and crashed through the fringe of foam at its crest, falling down the other s ide and heading on to the next.
    It was only as she was paddling furiously in, building up speed to surf that first good wave at just the right point, that her attention was caught by something in the silver-blue slope down which she slid… Something flashed and the world went black… She was careering down a dark glass funnel into the ocean’s entrails… the wave racing faster, curling tighter, tighter still... A boy’s laughter echoed as the universe groaned and swallowed her whole.

The R ift
 
    T aashou entered the sandy cave, leaning on Lehd. Every year the mountain cost her more; this year had been the worst. She longed for a relaxing soak in the mineral baths of the community, but that could come later. There was work to be done.
    “ Who saw the rift? How do you know? You were with me up on Kaa-meer-geh. You saw how quiet the mountain was.”
    Yet before Lehd could answer, another voice spoke up:
    “It hasn’t come through the mountain, but it is definitely the rift.”
    Out of the cluster of shahiroh standing in the cave’s center stepped the man who had spoken. He was older than Taashou yet stood