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happens!” I spotted enormous waves, tidal waves really, swelling and rolling toward us. “Um, Bryn,” I called, nodding at the sea.
    The beach was deserted except for us, Merc, Oliver, and Sal.
    Bryn frowned. “We can’t outrun those,” Bryn said, raising his arms.
    “Oliver, you have to help us! No treasure will do you any good if we’re all dead,” I said.
    Oliver paused but then had to agree. He nodded and walked over. We moved into a tight circle.
    But then Mercutio meowed and raced forward toward the ocean.
    “Merc!” I yelled, rushing after him. What was he doing? Rain poured down, the drops pelting us.
    Bryn called my name, yelling for me to stop, but I chased Mercutio. He wouldn’t have gone back into the ocean for no reason.
    Bryn’s magic coursed over me as I dove into the water. It wrapped around me, protecting me from the sand and churning stones.
    Teeth sank into my shoulder. I howled, catching a mouthful of salty water. I grabbed slimy hair and yanked, but couldn’t get the merrow off. Fur brushed against me, and Mercutio joined me in my fight against the merrow whose teeth were stubbornly buried in my flesh.
    Desperate for breath as the creature dragged me into deeper water, I felt along its arm. My fingers locked around a delicate chain. I yanked and then kicked and thrashed. I punched the merrow and grabbed her throat. The teeth tore at me, but then we tumbled onto shore, carried by a big wave. I sucked in a gasp of breath and punched the merrow in the temple, which made it go limp.
    Salt water stung my eyes, making me blink, and Bryn hauled the creature off me.
    Water crashed over my head, and I rolled onto my hands and knees. The surge of water was so strong it lifted me and pushed me higher inland. Mercutio nudged me when I came to a stop. I coughed, hardly able to catch my breath. I looked at the gold and pink pearl bracelet in my hand and slammed it down onto the sand.
    “We’re on land. Treasure is on land,” I yelled.
    With a pop, the pouring rain slowed to a drizzle, and the crashing waves receded.
    Thank God.
    My shoulder wounds seared and throbbed, and my scrapes burned. I needed to rinse off the salt water.
    “Christ, sweetheart,” Bryn said, bending over me. Dirty water dripped from his hair, but he still managed to look gorgeous. That’s not fair , I thought blearily.
    He leaned down and kissed me softly. “You’ve got the devil’s own luck. And his courage,” he said, his Irish accent more pronounced than usual.
    “I don’t know about that,” I said between panting breaths. “But one thing I have got is a certain ghost’s priceless jewelry,” I said with a smirk, holding up the bracelet. “Here,” I said, pressing it into his hand for safekeeping.
    “It’s mine,” Oliver said, reaching for it.
    “No!” Sal raged. “It has to go to the Unseelie. I’ve got a beachcomber coming—”
    Bryn tossed the bracelet onto the sand away from us. Oliver scooped it up.
    “You can take it, Oliver,” Bryn said. “But it’ll make you a target for the Unseelie. It’s a bad idea. If you only want it because you need money, leave it for Sally O’Shea’s beachcomber. Call my office next week. I’ll loan you what your mother needs to save her house and we’ll figure out a way for you to pay me back.”
    “Oh!” I said, throwing my arms around Bryn’s neck and kissing him.
    “It’s almost Christmas,” he said with a shrug and then smiled at me.
    Oliver looked down at the bracelet.
    Bryn pulled me to my feet, buttoned my torn white shirt as best he could, and hugged me.
    Oliver glanced at us and I nodded, saying, “You can trust Bryn. If he says he’ll help. He will.”
    Oliver dropped the bracelet at Sal’s phantom feet, still looking at us. “I don’t deserve your help, but I’ll take it. And I’ll make amends for what happened on the boat.”
    “I’m sure you will,” I said with a smile.

6
    I took a cool shower, and then Bryn bandaged the worst of my