Chapter 8—Caves and Crystals
Rikki laughed along with Bella and Cleo, just starting to feel normal again. For the longest time she was upset about the moonpool and Zane’s betrayal, and now she might be getting over it at last.
Then she looked up. Zane was walking in with yet another girl, this one a tall brunette. She stiffened. Maybe she wasn’t over it yet.
Zane looked over and saw her. Rikki wanted him to walk over to her, but also dreaded it. She didn’t like drama, and certainly not in a public place.
“Can we get out of here?” she said quietly to Bella and Rikki. She motioned with her head to Zane, still standing in the doorway with his new girl.
“Of course, let’s check out the lagoon again.” Bella suggested. Rikki didn’t make eye contact with Zane as she walked out.
She sent a quick text to Emma telling her where they were going, and then dove in the ocean. Bella and Cleo followed her, but anger at Zane made her faster than them.
The pretty ocean colors calmed her down quickly, as they always did. It took a few minutes for Rikki to find the coral cave, but she swam down it with lightning speed when she did.
The lagoon was even more beautiful than last time. Tropical flowers had started to bloom in the jungle area surrounding the pool. Although the moon pool would always have a special place in her heart, the lagoon was an excellent substitute.
The girls settled on rocks near the waterfall, their tails in the water and a pleasant mist spraying their bodies. There were four big rocks, one for each girl (whenever Emma would arrive) and below those were smaller rocks. Some of them looked like quartz, and some of them were giant moon crystals. The crystals only ever made her think of Zane and the terrible thing he did to the old moonpool. She was actually thinking of wearing her locket instead of the crystal necklace because it held so many bad memories.
Cleo dipped her hair back into the waterfall. Bella did the same, but she leaned a little too enthusiastically. She fell all the way through. Rikki and Cleo laughed and helped her up.
“I think there’s a cave back there.” Bella said curiously. “If we could get over these rocks we could check it out.”
Rikki shivered at the thought. At first the lagoon felt peaceful, but now she was feeling uneasy. Like someone was watching her.
“It would be easier to get a human to do it. There is no way we could get over the rocks with our tails, even if we were dry to begin with. That is a mermaid-proof cave.” Cleo said reasonably. “If Lewis were here, he would check it out.”
“When will Lewis be here?” Rikki asked.
Cleo sighed sadly. “He’s still got another month overseas. But then he’ll be here with us.”
“Have you told him about this place yet?” Bella questioned, still trying to peer behind the waterfall.
“Oh gosh, no! I should probably do that, shouldn’t I?” she exclaimed.
Rikki and Bella stared at her with a ‘duh’ expression.
“Lewis will know what to do.” Cleo said confidently. The three girls swam to the edge of the water to dry off, so Cleo could get her phone and video chat with Lewis. Maybe he would know more about the mysterious lagoon covered in moon crystals and magic.
