Opal went cold. “What are you doing?”
Emma didn’t answer. She extended a bare foot out over the swirling water.
“Emma,no.” Opal edged forward. “Stop. We don’t know what that is.”
“I just want to check something. If the surface feels …”
Emma dipped in her big toe.
The water went still.
Opal felt a charge pass through her body. “Emma, get ba—”
The Darkdeep rippled, as if a stone had been dropped into its heart.
Black liquid surged over the lip and encircled Emma’s ankle. She was yanked down into the pool, disappearing slippery-quick and without a sound.
The water stilled, then resumed churning, twice as fast.
Opal stared at the empty space where the other girl had been.
And screamed.
PART TWO
FIGMENTS
9
NICO
A shriek echoed up the spiral steps.
Nico froze, a silver seahorse figurine locked between his fingers. Tyler stiffened behind the logbook. When the scream ripped through the boat a second time, they both ran for the staircase, Tyler shaking like a dog coming in out of the snow.
No no no nowas all Nico could think as he tore down the stairs.
Opal was staring into the Darkdeep. Heavy tears streaked down her face.
“Where’s Emma?” Nico demanded.
“In … in there!” Opal stammered, pointing to the pool’s swirling mouth. “She barely touched it, but … I couldn’t … Nico, itdraggedher down!”
Nico’s pulse pounded. The water was rotating faster than before. He peered into the pitch-black depths. He still couldn’t see a thing, but was it gleaming more brightly? Ignoring the danger, he knelt close, desperate for any sign of his friend.
“I told her to be careful!” Tyler began circling the pool, his fists pressed to his temples. “Oh, man. Oh no!”
Nico glared at Opal, anger and fear making his voice harsh. “What happened?”
Opal blinked, chest heaving. “It wasn’t my fault!”
Nico made a chopping motion with both hands. “Just tell me what happened!”
“Emma was testing the pool. She … she dipped her toe into the water.”
Tyler kicked the lip of the well. “I told her to be careful!” His knobby shoulders began to shake.
“Okay.” Nico squeezed his forehead, trying to think. “The water has to go somewhere. So maybe she … she might be able to—”
