Claxton 2: The Curse of Poseidon

Chapter Nineteen: A Merfairy Metamorphic Fairy

Song: "Sirenix" - Elisa Rosselli

        Beyond Coutarine Island's reef, just outside the tropical storm in the human world, the figure of a bird flew over the waves and gracefully flapped its wings. It flew towards a raft – Ronda's raft! The raft wasn't empty. On it sailed Tracey, Merlin's apprentice.

He sang a reprise for his "Soar" song a second time while he adjusted his sail. Wind blasted it, and he sliced through the ocean water as smooth as a knife. Tracey smiled, "Yeah! Now this what I'm talking about! Go, little baby! Go! Go! Go!" He actually was quite excited that he was sailing. Where he was, it was fairly sunny. The black clouds were behind him. Tracey had no idea what Makenna was going through right now. A clipboard with a check list on it rested next to him, and he read off it while he worked, "Food." Tracey pulled a latch and opened a compartment that had food and water in it, "Check. Sail and tiller in good shape. Check. Paddle. It broke, but I don't need a paddle to sail." Merlin's young apprentice turned his face in the direction of the wind, "Wind – 40 knots. Perfect for sailing." Next, he lifted his free hand and skimmed it through the ocean, "Current – warm, so I'm going in the right direction." Tracey took his hand out of the water and shook it, "Last but not least, ocean – a little rough, but that's only because there's a tropical storm behind me. Heck yeah! Now this is what I call sailing!" Behind him, he suddenly heard a screech, "Huh?" Tracey peered over his shoulder, and his golden brown eyes widened when he saw a familiar figure flying towards him, "Gina!" Sure enough, the flying bird figure was Gina. Tracey was so shocked that he let go of the main sail's rope. It flapped wildly in the wind, and he ducked under it. Though Tracey was out of the storm's path, it didn't mean it wasn't heading towards him. Gina gave her wings a flap and landed on the tiller of the raft. She watched as Tracey grabbed the rope again with his good hand, and he peered back to her, "What are you doing here?"

"No." Gina spoke through telepathy, "What are you doing here? Why did you leave Coutarine Island?"

"Gina, you don't understand." Tracey explained, "There's nothing left for me on Coutarine Island nor Merlin's Island. The Bermuda Triangle is the only place where I'll be happy again. The Octopus Man promised me."

"But he's gonna kill you!" Gina screeched.

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that I'll be able to see my parents again. I belong with them, Gina. I've already embarrassed myself plenty of times in front of Sensei, Makenna, and Ash."

"You're sailing into your own suicide though!" frightfully yelled Gina, "Tracey, think about this! You can't die! You have your whole life ahead of you! You're only eighteen years old!" Tracey narrowed his eyebrows to a stern position and prepared to argue back, but before he could, a clap of thunder suddenly exploded in the air, and it was followed by a flash of lightning.

        Merlin's apprentice gasped, "Oh no." The tropical storm had reached Ronda's raft. The wind instantly increased from 40 knots to 61 knots. Tracey wasted no time. He left Gina and dropped the raft's main sail. The rain didn't even start off slow. Heavy rain pounded Tracey while he prepared to steer through the storm. Thunder boomed overhead followed by bright lightning flashes. The Apprentice Fairy hurried back to Gina and shooed her off the tiller, "Get off the tiller! I need it to steer!"

"Whoa!" Gina shouted as the wind shoved her back, "The wind's insane! This storm has to be just under hurricane status!" She tightly gripped the tiller with her claws.

"Ugh, for once I wish I had my paddle!" Tracey yelled, and he grabbed his head. He pulled Gina off the tiller before the wind could and hugged her close to his side. Ronda's raft soared over the crest of a wave that appeared from out of nowhere and crashed heavily into the ocean. Tracey was thrown overboard, but he saved Gina at the last minute by tossing her back onto it.