“Towhat?” Tyler shouted. “That thing pulls straight down! There’s nowhere for Emma to go. She’s gone, and it’s our fault!”
Nico began stuttering a reply, but Opal clamped a hand on his forearm. “Nico, she didn’t fall. The Darkdeeppulledher in. Whatisthis thing?”
Tyler yanked off his hoodie. “I’m going after her.”
“Are you crazy?” Nico shouted, even as Opal yelled, “Donottouch that water!”
Tyler threw his sweatshirt to the ground. “We have to do something!”
Nico couldn’t form a coherent thought. “A rope?” hesuggested weakly. “Maybe she’s stuck below the boat or something?”
“She won’t see a rope inthat,” Tyler moaned, waving a hand at the Darkdeep. His voice dropped to a childlike whisper. “What should we do, Nico? She … it’s been too long.”
Nico was shaking his head miserably, out of ideas, when another cry shattered the quiet. His eyes shot to the staircase. This sound had come from above.
“Emma!” Tyler charged back up the stairs, screaming her name at the top of his lungs.
Opal hurried after him. Nico followed with his heart in his throat, hoping for a miracle.
Outside, the chill hit Nico like a hammer blow. The island felt twenty degrees colder than before, and the mist was twice as thick. Nico spotted a crumpled form at the edge of the pond. Tyler was racing on an intercept course.
“Let’s go, Opal,” Nico said, but the words were unnecessary. Opal shot across the entry stones like she’d been released from a bowstring. It was all Nico could do to keep up.
Tyler reached Emma and slid down beside her. By the time Nico and Opal arrived, he’d rolled her over and she was coughing wetly. Nico nearly fainted with relief.
Emma gagged and puked, unloading a bucket of pond water from her stomach.
But she was breathing. She was alive.
Tyler babbled with joy, hugging Emma so hard she wasstruggling to catch her breath. Opal gently untangled Tyler’s grip and sat Emma up. Nico stood a pace away, mouthing silent prayers of thanks to every deity that might be listening.
“Holy crap,” Emma wheezed. “Wow.”
Opal stroked Emma’s sopping blond hair, trying to calm her down. She was shaking from way more than the cold. “What happened?” Opal whispered. “How’d you end up out here?”
“I w-wanted to see what it f-f-felt like,” Emma spluttered. “But w-when m-my … when I t-t-touched it …” She shuddered from head to foot. “Some …powerl-l-latched on to m-me. Like, a f-force or something. Next thing, I was d-dragged straight down, and it was all colors and lights, and I c-c-couldn’t b-breathe.”
Tyler glanced at Nico, eyes worried. Nico shrugged helplessly where Emma couldn’t see.
“Guys,” Emma continued in a low voice, staring at the pond. “The Darkdeep isn’t natural. I felt a … a presence down there. Like a spy inside my head.”
The hairs on Nico’s arms stood. He rubbed them, trying to shake off a sensation of being watched. “Emma, that water is super cold, and you were down a long time. It’s a miracle you surfaced out here. You almost … the lack of oxygen must be what you felt.”
Emma shook her head adamantly. “No. Nico, I’m telling you, there’s more going on here than a freaky whirlpool.”
“None of that matters right now.” Tyler lurched to his feet. “It’s freezing out here, and you’re soaking wet. Let’s go back inside. We can talk about this later.”
Opal nodded quickly, and Nico agreed. Emma had nearly drowned. They needed to get her warmed up as soon as possible. They weren’t avoiding the topic because it was frightening. Of course not. Not at all.
Emma staggered to her feet, but her gaze kept drifting to the water. Horror lurked in her eyes, but something else as well. Wonder? Fascination?
Tyler led the group, while Opal held Emma’s hand. Nico came last, feeling guilty. Out of all of them, he’d done the least to help. He’d been useless right when his friends needed him most.Like usual.
Nico was working himself into a serious funk when the bushes beside him rustled. He glanced to his left.Somethingstared back. Nico stumbled backward in shock as a huge shape surged from the trees. It towered over him, grunting and snorting.
He heard the others stop, but no one made a sound.
Nico’s brain finally accepted what he was seeing.
