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"Get down," I say, pulling at Miss Moore's skirt. She lies flat against the rock. "Those are very dark spirits. You don't wish to be seen by them."
The girls call to the nymphs in a tongue I do not know. When I peek over the rock, I see the girls leading the nymphs around a jetty and out of sight.
"Now," I say.
As quickly as we can, we scramble down the rocky cliff and out onto the near shore.
"Who shall go?" Pippa asks anxiously.
"I shall go," Miss Moore says.
"No," I say. "I shall. She is my responsibility."
Miss Moore nods. "As you wish."
She ties the rope around her middle."If things should prove difficult, tug on the rope and we shall pull you to safety."
I take the other end and swim toward Ann on the rock. The water is surprisingly comfortable, but I shudder to think why it is so beautiful. As I get farther out, I find I have to close my eyes to keep going. At last I reach Ann.
"Ann?" I whisper, then more urgently, "Ann!"
"Gemma?" she says, as if briefly waking from a drugged stupor. "Is that you?"
"Yes." I whisper. "We've come for you. Hold still." I loop the rope around Ann's waist and tie it tight. My fingers are slippery with lagoon water, but I am able to loosen the knots that hold her feet and hands. Ann slides into the water with a little splash.
"Gemma!" Felicity whisper-yells from the shore. "Don't let her drown."
I pull up on the rope and Ann bobs to the surface, coughing, awake. She thrashes about.
"Ann! Shush! You'll bring them . . ."
Too late. Across the lagoon, the nymphs have ended their meeting with the beastly girls in white. They see what I'm about. Angry and snarling, they let loose with a fierce screech that rips through me. They do not like that I've dared to take their pet. Then there is only the silvery bow of their backs as they dive under, one by one, swimming fast for us, hungry for our pretty skin.
I push off from the rock, towing Ann. I can feel Miss Moore drawing hard on the rope, but we're both struggling against Ann's dead weight.
"Come on, Annie, you've got to swim for it," I plead.
She does a groggy crawl, her arms thrashing about in the water, but we're no match for the furious nymphs coming our way.
I scream, no longer caring to keep quiet. "Pull! On the rope--pull hard!"
Felicity and Pippa rush to aid Miss Moore. Grunting and straining, they tug as hard as they can. We plow violently through the water. It's not enough.
"Use the nets!" I screech, taking in a mouthful of foul water so that I cough and gag.
Pippa runs for the nets. She hurls one out. It sails overhead and splashes into the water. The nymphs scream in rage. The net has frightened them, but only temporarily. They renew their efforts. This time, Pippa's net lands on four of the nymphs. There's a horrible scream as the net burns their skin. They bubble and blister until they are nothing more than sea foam. The others fall behind, afraid to go farther. Felicity and Pippa lug us from the water onto the sharp shoals.
Miss Moore helps me to my feet. "Are you all right?"
Ann vomits onto the shoals. She is weak but alive.
We've cheated them of their prize. I can't help myself. I shout with glee and satisfaction. "Take our skin, will you? Ha! Take that!"
"Gemma," Miss Moore advises, pulling me back from the water. "Do not taunt them."
Indeed, the nymphs do not take kindly to my celebration. They open their mouths and begin to sing. The lure of it is like a net drawing me toward the water. Oh, that sound, like a promise that there need be no worry or want ever again. I could grow drunk on that tune.
Miss Moore places her fingers in her ears. "Don't listen!"
