thick skin and an elastic heart

Chapter 22

Valentina swam into the depths of the lake.

She knew her target was somewhere at the bottom of the lake since merpeople lived on the seafloor - in this case, lake floor. Juliana and Aris were already moving in different directions. Valentina was proud to see Juliana swimming just fine if a little jerkily, her features strangely stretched beneath the Bubble-Head Charm.

The bubble head charm helped Val to breathe underwater but not with visibility in the ghostly blue-green water. The deeper she got, the darker her surroundings grew as well. The darkness pressed down on her.

She paused and reached for her wand, casting silently, "Lumos!"

Dark water stretched out in all directions, with vague shapes of fish darting around, drawn to the light.

Although she didn't see them, she knew her family was supporting her from the stands. She felt a different type of pressure than she did during the first task. This time, she didn't feel the same terror of death, but the fear of expectations. At the same time, she didn't know who was at the bottom of the lake.

Lucho?

She grimaced. He was her ex-boyfriend, so maybe they took him? If Juliana weren't a champion, it would have been her.

Finally, she reached the soft, muddy bottom of the lake. Kelp towered like trees in a thick forest. She recalled what the lake looked like from her broom flight with Juliana. It was large, almost winding, with small islands doting it in parts. The merpeople colony could be anywhere, but presumably the deepest part of the lake. She kicked her feet and swam towards where the lake was widest and hopefully deepest.

The water around her felt warm and comfortable, like the outside on a summer's day. Her warming charm would last about an hour, and if she started to feel cold, then she'd know her time was running out. Her arms began burning despite years of swimming in the pools back home.

Valentina slowed her pace. She didn't know how long it would take to find the merpeople colony, and she didn't want to run out of energy. She huffed, thinking that she should have researched a spell to find merpeople in their natural habitat. She swam up and over the kelp forest, close enough to touch the top, lost in thought.

She couldn't hear anything in the lake except her own breathing inside the Bubble-Head charm. She felt a sinking sensation in her stomach. Who did they take? Lucho, Nayeli, or one of her other friends? She didn't want to imagine anyone down there in the cold darkness. Dark shapes zoomed around in the distance. She pretended she didn't see them, but her heart beat that much faster.

A ripple passed through the waving kelp. Valentina stopped swimming. She raised her wand but couldn't see any fish nearby that caused the disturbance.

Suddenly, horned, sickly green creatures burst from the foliage. They gnashed green teeth at her. She jerked away from their outstretched spindly fingers.

Stupefy!

A beam of red light shot from her wand and struck one of the Grindylows unconscious. Two grabbed her around her left arm and another two around her legs.

Relashio!

The released her.

Valentina unleashed another spell, sending two bolts of red light spinning through the water at high speeds. She swam the opposite direction as fast as her aching body could carry her.

Once she was safe, she slowed her swimming pace. She didn't make the same mistake as before, making sure to keep plenty of distance between her and the kelp forest below.