thought. Her lungs ached to breathe. But the light grew brighter all the way, until she recognised the white jewel and shining blade from Merlin’s song-pictures. Excalibur! The sword had fallen part way under a rocky shelf. She groped under the rock and reached for the hilt. But as she touched it, a pale hand appeared out of the shadows and snatched it from her grasp.
She watched in disbelief as the hand pulled the sword under the shelf. Had Mordred’s witch-mother worked some dark magic and lured her down here to drown? Her heart gave an uneasy thud. But the hand was too small to be human, and the fingers had little webs between them.
No you don’t!
She needed to take another breath. But if she went back to the surface now,she’d lose sight of the sword. She gritted her teeth. Pulling herself under the rock, she swam into the tunnel after her disappearing prize.
She could see nothing beyond the hand that had taken it. Something cold and scaly brushed her cheek. Rhianna shuddered, but forced herself to keep swimming. Her lungs began to hurt. Little flashes of light stabbed her eyes. What if she got stuck in the tunnel and drowned down here? Suddenly, leaving the knights in an enchanted sleep didn’t seem such a good idea. But they probably couldn’t swim anyway, not with all the armour they wore under their cloaks.
She resisted a crazy urge to giggle and realised she could see again. The tunnel had ended in a large underwater cavern where blue and green glitters danced in the water. She swam upwards with the last of her strength, and herhead broke the surface. She gulped lungfuls of air. Treading water, she wiped wet hair from her eyes and blinked around in amazement.
At first she thought she’d found a way back to Lord Avallach’s palace. The colours flashed and danced in the same way. But instead of a crystal dome, rock arched overhead glittering with coloured jewels. The light came from glowing sea anemones that waved feathery tendrils from the cavern walls. A little beach sloped up to a cave with strings of shells hung at the entrance. The thief who had taken her father’s sword sat on a rock at the water’s edge staring at Rhianna with interest.
Rhianna couldn’t help staring back. She knew it wasn’t polite, but she had never seen a lady with a fish’s tail before, not even in Avalon. Except for the webs between her fingers, thefish-lady seemed human enough from the waist up. She had shimmering green hair that wrapped her pale body like a cloak. From the waist down, she had a beautiful tail crusted with jewels like the rock. She wore a necklace of pink shells, and more shells dangled from her ears. Excalibur rested across her lap, the white jewel on its hilt shining more brightly than ever.
Rhianna swam cautiously to the beach, wondering if she could snatch the sword and dive back through the tunnel before the fishlady caught her. But the webbed fingers curled possessively around the hilt, as if she had guessed Rhianna’s thoughts.
The turquoise eyes sparkled with amusement as she spoke. “I didn’t expect a girl. You must have unusually good lungs to make it through the tunnel.”
“You made it through,” Rhianna pointed out, having finally caught her breath. “What are you doing with that sword? It belongs to King Arthur.”
“Not any more,” said the fish-lady. “It was offered to me after his death, as all warriors offer their most powerful weapons to the spirits of the water. I am the lady of this lake, whom men call Nimue. And you are…?”
“King Arthur’s daughter,” Rhianna said, finally remembering her manners. “Rhianna Pendragon. But my father’s not dead yet. The knight who threw the sword away made a mistake. I’ve come to fetch it back for him.”
“Rhianna Pendragon,” the fish-lady repeated, and the name sang around the cavern, making the anemones flare brightly. “Hmm. A damsel with a warrior’s name. You have the smell ofAvalon on you, it’s true, but no
She watched in disbelief as the hand pulled the sword under the shelf. Had Mordred’s witch-mother worked some dark magic and lured her down here to drown? Her heart gave an uneasy thud. But the hand was too small to be human, and the fingers had little webs between them.
No you don’t!
She needed to take another breath. But if she went back to the surface now,she’d lose sight of the sword. She gritted her teeth. Pulling herself under the rock, she swam into the tunnel after her disappearing prize.
She could see nothing beyond the hand that had taken it. Something cold and scaly brushed her cheek. Rhianna shuddered, but forced herself to keep swimming. Her lungs began to hurt. Little flashes of light stabbed her eyes. What if she got stuck in the tunnel and drowned down here? Suddenly, leaving the knights in an enchanted sleep didn’t seem such a good idea. But they probably couldn’t swim anyway, not with all the armour they wore under their cloaks.
She resisted a crazy urge to giggle and realised she could see again. The tunnel had ended in a large underwater cavern where blue and green glitters danced in the water. She swam upwards with the last of her strength, and herhead broke the surface. She gulped lungfuls of air. Treading water, she wiped wet hair from her eyes and blinked around in amazement.
At first she thought she’d found a way back to Lord Avallach’s palace. The colours flashed and danced in the same way. But instead of a crystal dome, rock arched overhead glittering with coloured jewels. The light came from glowing sea anemones that waved feathery tendrils from the cavern walls. A little beach sloped up to a cave with strings of shells hung at the entrance. The thief who had taken her father’s sword sat on a rock at the water’s edge staring at Rhianna with interest.
Rhianna couldn’t help staring back. She knew it wasn’t polite, but she had never seen a lady with a fish’s tail before, not even in Avalon. Except for the webs between her fingers, thefish-lady seemed human enough from the waist up. She had shimmering green hair that wrapped her pale body like a cloak. From the waist down, she had a beautiful tail crusted with jewels like the rock. She wore a necklace of pink shells, and more shells dangled from her ears. Excalibur rested across her lap, the white jewel on its hilt shining more brightly than ever.
Rhianna swam cautiously to the beach, wondering if she could snatch the sword and dive back through the tunnel before the fishlady caught her. But the webbed fingers curled possessively around the hilt, as if she had guessed Rhianna’s thoughts.
The turquoise eyes sparkled with amusement as she spoke. “I didn’t expect a girl. You must have unusually good lungs to make it through the tunnel.”
“You made it through,” Rhianna pointed out, having finally caught her breath. “What are you doing with that sword? It belongs to King Arthur.”
“Not any more,” said the fish-lady. “It was offered to me after his death, as all warriors offer their most powerful weapons to the spirits of the water. I am the lady of this lake, whom men call Nimue. And you are…?”
“King Arthur’s daughter,” Rhianna said, finally remembering her manners. “Rhianna Pendragon. But my father’s not dead yet. The knight who threw the sword away made a mistake. I’ve come to fetch it back for him.”
“Rhianna Pendragon,” the fish-lady repeated, and the name sang around the cavern, making the anemones flare brightly. “Hmm. A damsel with a warrior’s name. You have the smell ofAvalon on you, it’s true, but no
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