Read Online Rani’s Sea Spell by Gwyneth Rees - Free Book Online Page B

said, as she swam over to make sure they were ready. “Now, have you girls got your seaweed belts
tied nice and tightly?”
    Rani and Kai nodded. They each had a packed lunch tied to their belts, and a little purse containing the jewellery and hair decorations they were going to wear at the party.
    “We’d better get going,” said Murdoch.
    “Bye, bye, Pearl,” the girls said, rushing to give their baby sister a final hug. “We wish you were coming with us.”
    “Pearl will be just fine with me,” Morva reassured them, as Pearl beamed happily at everybody from Morva’s arms.
    Just as they were leaving, Morva fastened a gold-coloured shell to Rani’s belt. “The sea-spell is inside,” Morva whispered. “And remember – it can only be used
once, so don’t use it unless you really have to!”
    Rani promised that she wouldn’t, as she gave Morva a goodbye hug.
    They swam through the Deep Blue for a long time, with Murdoch leading the way. Rani and Kai swam behind him, with Octavius and Miriam swimming behind the girls. Every time
Roscoe got tired he grabbed hold of one of the mermaids’ hair and caught a ride with them for a while until he felt like swimming again.
    The water in the Deep Blue was darker and colder than the water in Tingle Reef. The further out they swam, the more strange the plants and rocks that surrounded them. Rani and Kai, who had never
been this far out in the Deep Blue before, couldn’t stop pointing things out to each other.

    “Look!” gasped Kai, as a shoal of enormous fish swam by. Murdoch explained that a lot of the fish in the Deep Blue were bigger than the ones they were used to seeing at home.
    “Octavius, what have you got in those bags?” Kai asked the octopus, as they rested at the bottom of a large rock to eat their packed lunches. Murdoch was sitting on top of the
rock acting as lookout.
    “I have brought some of my famous stew for the party,” Octavius said grandly, “since I know how much everyone likes it.”
    “Yes, but you don’t eat stew at a party,” Kai pointed out. “You eat mer-cakes and sea-trifle and—”
    “What’s that noise?” her mother interrupted.
    There was a definite banging noise that seemed to be coming from very close by.
    “Murdoch!” Miriam called up to him, anxiously. “Can you come down here?”
    “What’s wrong?” Murdoch asked, swimming down to join them. Then he heard the noise too.
    “There’s a creature inside that rock. I can sense it,” Rani said, frowning. Rani’s magical powers often helped her to sense the presence of other creatures before they
appeared.
    Her family looked at her in disbelief. How could a creature be inside a rock? “I’m going to have a look,” Rani said, swimming away from the others before they could stop
her.
    As she swam round to the other side of the rock she noticed a bush growing out of it. The bush was swishing from side to side even though the water here was quite calm.
    “Rani!” Her father appeared by her side just as a huge fish with sharp fins, a jagged tail, a huge mouth and very sharp teeth indeed, swam out from behind the bush.
    “ SHARK !” yelled Murdoch, pulling Rani behind him.
    Rani started to fumble for the little golden shell that Morva had fastened to her belt – the shell with the sea-spell. But in her panic, the shell slipped from her fingers and floated away
from her.
    The huge shark was heading straight towards them, its white teeth flashing. Then it seemed to sniff something it liked better. It batted Murdoch and Rani to one side and swam past them, heading
straight for the others.
    Rani and her father yelled out a warning, but it was too late. The shark had already trapped Miriam, Kai, Octavius and Roscoe. As they trembled against the rock face, the shark’s evil
black eyes glinted in pleasure at the prospect of such a yummy dinner.
    That’s when Rani heard the shark’s thoughts floating towards her through the water. Rani’s magic meant that she