Summer of the Sea Serpent: A Merlin Mission

sorcerer.
    Teddy grinned from ear to ear. He was wearing a brown tunic. His red hair was damp.
    “You’re finally here!” said Jack, laughing.
    “I have been here for some time,” said Teddy. “Merlin sent me early this morning. I was waiting for you on the beach when Kathleen came along and invited me to go for a swim with her.”
    Teddy turned to a girl standing a little farther down the beach. Like Teddy, she looked to be about thirteen. “Kathleen!” he called. “Come meet my friends!”

    The girl smiled and began walking over the rocks toward Jack, Annie, and Teddy. She wore a green dress that looked as if it had been woven from grass. Her hair fell in black ringlets down to her waist like a dark waterfall.
    “These are my good friends Jack and Annie,” Teddy said to the girl. “They come from a faraway land.”
    “Hello, Jack and Annie!” the girl said in a bold, friendly voice. “I am very happy to meet you! My name is Kathleen.” As she spoke, Kathleen’s large eyes sparkled with the blue of the sky and water.
    Jack couldn’t speak. Kathleen was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.
    “I like your dress,” said Annie.
    Kathleen laughed. “I wove it from sea grass,” she said. “I am not a very good weaver, I am sad to say.”
    “Do you live here?” asked Annie.
    “I do,” said Kathleen, “with my nineteen sisters.”
    “
Nineteen
sisters!” said Annie.
    “Yes,” said Kathleen, tossing back her long curls. “I am the youngest of us all. We live in a cave up in the cliffs.”
    “Cool,” said Annie. “Is your cave like the Cave of the Spider Queen?”
    “No, no,” said Kathleen. “It is much more cheerful than Morag’s cave.”
    “So that’s her name,” said Annie. “I’m worried that she might be lonely.”
    “Ah, do not worry,” said Kathleen. “Morag has many friends—bats, crabs, starfish. But it is kind of you to be concerned about her.” She smiled at Annie.
    Kathleen’s friendly manner finally gave Jack the courage to speak. He cleared his throat. “The Water Knight was really cool, too,” he said.
    “The Water Knight?” said Kathleen.
    “Yeah,” he said, “the guy who carried us across the first cove.”
    Kathleen looked puzzled.
    “His horse had a fish’s tail!” said Annie.
    “How strange,” said Kathleen. “I often swim in that cove, but I’ve never seen or heard of such a knight.”
    “Have you lived here a long time?” asked Annie.
    “Always,” said Kathleen.
    “Kathleen is a selkie,” said Teddy.
    “A
selkie
?” said Jack and Annie together.
    “Yes,” said Kathleen, laughing.
    “You’re in Merlin’s rhyme!” said Annie. “It says,
Swim with a selkie clothed in green
.”
    “Merlin’s rhyme?” asked Teddy.
    “Merlin gave us a rhyme to help us find the Sword of Light,” said Jack.
    The smile left Kathleen’s face. Her beautiful eyes darkened. “You have come in search of the Sword of Light?” she said. “Oh, dear ….”
    “What’s wrong?” said Jack.
    “Many have passed through here seeking the Sword of Light,” said Kathleen. “But as soon as anyone enters the cove beyond the Jellyfish Cave, terrible winter storms seem to burst out of nowhere. Even in summer, the storms have icy winds and rain. No seekers of the sword have ever survived these gales.”
    “Have
you
ever been to the cove beyond the Jellyfish Cave?” asked Jack.
    Kathleen shook her head. “My older sisters have always forbidden me to go there,” she said. “In fact,
no
selkie has ever dared swim into the Cove of the Stormy Coast.”
    “Cove of the Stormy Coast?” said Annie. “That’s the next line in Merlin’s rhyme!
Enter the Cove of the Stormy Coast!
”
    “What
is
Merlin’s rhyme?” asked Teddy.
    “Here,” said Jack. “Look.”
    He handed the seashell to Teddy.
    The boy sorcerer quickly read Merlin’smessage and rhyme. Then he looked at the sky. “The sun moves on,” he said. “Let us make haste! We must find the sword before nightfall! Or someday Arthur will meet his doom!”

    “Wait a minute,” said Annie. She looked at Kathleen. “The rhyme says we’re supposed to swim with
you
. Will you come with us?”
    Kathleen looked at them for a long moment. Then she stood up and tossed back her curls.Her eyes were bright. “I have always wanted to explore that cove,” she said.
    “Hurray!” said Teddy. “You will be the first selkie to do so! A grand adventure awaits us all! Onward!”
    “Hold on,” said