Makenna wasn't pleased. She marched down the beach, tripping over logs, rocks, and more.
Along the way, she muttered to herself and mocked Ash. "'That is something ya must figure out yourself, Makenna.' Ugh. What does he expect me to do?" Makenna climbed over the trunk of another hanging palm tree and examined the boat's light. "I don't know how to sail, and I can't even fly! Does he expect me to swim? In this?" Makenna patted down her attire.
She soon stuck her feet in the warm, clear water and tried to figure out what to do. "Argh!" Makenna shouted after a bit. "This stinks! Ash is crazy if he thinks I can do this! I'm not like him. I can't use magic the way he does. I'm not a so-called Merfairy!" Regardless, with a frustrating wave of her hand, a huge wave lifted into the air and hovered over Makenna.
She peered up at its crest and exclaimed, "Whoa! How on Earth? How did I do that?" Then, she got an idea. "Wait a minute."
The wave dropped back into the ocean, and Makenna glanced behind her. Her eyes landed on a flat, surfboard-shaped rock, and she grabbed it with both hands. Makenna dragged it to the shoreline and used her magic to sprinkle some fairy dust on it. It made the rock light and float in water rather than sink. If Makenna could control the ocean, then she had a fantastic idea!
She pushed the surfboard-like rock into the water and flopped aboard it. Smiling, Makenna began to paddle, and it wasn't long until she floated over the reef.
Sitting on the rock, Makenna lifted her hands, her palms facing the sky, and another wave emerged. It took her into the sky, and she sat on its crest.
Makenna had a good feeling. She stood on the rock surfer-style and looked down at the face of the wave.
Makenna nodded and built up her confidence. "Come on, Makenna, you've got this!" she said after a bit. Holding her breath, she held out her arms and steered down the wave's face. Immediately, she picked up speed.
Makenna yelled when she saw she was about to crash. Quickly picking up her hand, she created another wave and leaped over to that one instead. She steered down its face and made a smaller wave to ride afterward.
Makenna soared over the tip and kept creating waves to ride. Eventually, she got used to it and realized how much fun she was having.
"Yahoo! This is amazing!" Makenna shouted as she continued her magic surfing meet.
Behind her, on the beach, Ash watched her. His hand rested on the trunk of a palm tree in the jungle, and he grinned at the sight of Makenna surfing out to the point.
"You're doing great, Makenna," Ash whispered, "but will you build up the guts to spy on that family?" He took his hand off the palm and stepped onto the beach. Reaching back, he grabbed the hilt of his sword and drew it. The blade glowed, and Crusader turned back into a staff.
With it in hand, Ash twirled around at a quick pace and covered himself in green smoke. When the smoke blew away, he was gone.
***
Unaware that Ash had been watching her, Makenna reached the point Tracey had been at earlier and ordered the wave she was riding to take her down.
It dropped her and the rock onto it and slipped back into the sea.
Makenna waved goodbye and thanked it for its help.
Once the wave vanished, she turned, and her eyes landed on the ferns Tracey had hidden behind. Makenna stepped off her surfboard rock and approached them.
She pulled the ferns apart and said, "There it is," when she saw the boat. It was dark out now, so she was well hidden.
Makenna wanted to get a closer look at the intruders' ship, so she crept toward the point's edge like a spider. However, she almost had the same experience as Tracey.
Makenna's foot hit some rocks, and they broke under it, causing her to lose balance. "Whoa!" However, she caught herself at the last second. "Be careful, Makenna. You almost got a total soaker there. Hm, I wonder if Tracey—" Makenna shivered. "Oh man." She reached for her arm. "Ow."
Backing away, Makenna plopped down and pulled her knees close. She studied the boat again and soon remembered her task. She had to find out whether the humans were planning to come ashore the next day. That meant that she had to swim to the boat and spy on its occupants.
Makenna groaned when she realized that. "Seriously?" At first, she refused because she didn't want her nice outfit to get wet.
While Makenna sat on the point, she reached into her bag and drew an apple. She bit into it and tried to make up her mind.
Makenna thought back to how Merlin mentioned that if she succeeded on the quest, she would be a step closer to her so-called Merfairy transformation. Caleb had mentioned it the year before, but Makenna wasn't sure if it was really true. Well, there was only one way to find out.
Even though she didn't want to, Makenna finished her apple and set the core down beside her bag, which she had taken off. She rose and slipped off her sandals and hat. Makenna tossed them into her bag and slowly approached the unstable point. The rocks were rough under her bare feet, but also relatively smooth.
Makenna peered out at the boat and inhaled. The ocean called her name.
Makenna lifted her hands again and leaped from the point. It wasn't long until she floated underwater.
Even though Makenna couldn't breathe underwater yet, she could hold her breath longer than thirty minutes now. While she was ready for adventure, she feared it, too. She feared what would happen if the humans came ashore and discovered the secret world.
Makenna started her swim toward the boat, following its light. During it, she studied the ocean's bottom and everything that grew on it: coral, weeds, seaweed, etc. There were also a few rocks and arches.
Blue and pink bubbles swirled around Makenna's legs as she swam like a mermaid, and she kept following the light.
Halfway to the boat, she swam over a cluster of coral, but stopped when a sparkle caught her eye. Something about it intrigued her.
Makenna approached an arch that hovered over the coral and gripped it. She squinted her eyes so she could study it more carefully.
The sparkle shone again, and Makenna cracked a feeble smile. Oh man, she could feel a great discovery creeping her way.
Makenna ran her fingers through her swaying, brown hair and released the arch. She swam down to the coral, beaming when she saw a cluster of rainbow-colored coral. The sparkle came from within it.
Makenna poked around in the cluster. She pulled it apart and tilted her head to the left. Her eyes eventually landed on an old necklace half-buried in the sand. A necklace. It was similar to Makenna's own necklace, except the new one's pendant was an orange costate shell, while hers was a blue horse head.
Still holding her breath, Makenna reached further into the coral cluster for the necklace, but flinched when a searing pain engulfed her index finger. She had cut herself on the coral. Blood seeped from the wound, staining the ocean, but Makenna went ahead and scooped up the old necklace.
Once she had it, she pulled her hand out of the coral and examined her find.
It was covered in sand and looked to be over a hundred years old.
Makenna moved the necklace to one hand and bit her wounded finger. It strangely didn't sting much, but there was quite a bit of blood.
For some reason, the sight of the cut piqued Makenna's interest.
She unlatched her teeth from it and curiously observed it. Some of her swaying hair got in her face, but she pulled it away.
When Makenna finally remembered her task again, she nodded and swam toward the surface.
Behind was a flash of green light. It then became a ball and hid behind another coral cluster.