Secrets, Lies and Dragonflies

Chapter 41

Spencer eyes another wave and gets into position. With one final look behind him, he digs into a hard paddle. The announcer is wild with excitement, "Holy cow ladies and gentlemen. I don't think I've ever seen such a sight. This eight year old, number 32, is taking the competition by storm."

Staying close to Isabella's companions, Ashley and Christina are on Spencer's heals. "You got this Spence!" shouts Christina.

Another massive swell builds behind them.

Knee deep in the shallows stands Courtnee and Brittany, who looks the formidable huntress. With leather scabbards crisscrossed against her shoulders and down her back, she harnesses not one but two carved sticks. Reaching overhead and drawing them out of their cradles, they, like the other Shillelaghs, transform into weaponry: a bow in her left hand and an arrow in her right. She takes a shot that lands in the vicinity of where Calculus disappeared. The quiver produces an endless supply of arrows. Pausing briefly only to consult with Isabella, shot after shot flies over my brother's head and goes unanswered.

Shannon washes up with Cliff on the remnants of what's left of an excellent ride. When he stands to size up the horizon, Isabella catches her teammate's attention. After the exchange, the girl motions for Shannon to follow Isabella and then retrieves the stick strapped to her leg and puts it to her pursed lips. This time, instead of converting to a deadly weapon, the stick plays a melodic tune. After her brief interlude, the girl tucks her small flute back into the sling around her calf and advances out on her board. Alone. Vanishing under the whitewater in a perfect duck dive, her board finally pops up and flips over like a playing card in the wind. No one seems alarmed by her disappearance.

Ignoring Mr. Peter's directive, I dart for the shore determined to save my brother from the same fate. His small frame is sailing against a greenish-blue wall. Pure bliss spreads across his face. I've almost forgotten what it can look like. He's so...happy. I don't understand how any of this is even possible, but I cannot deny him this moment. I swallow hard to keep from shouting his name. Something tells me everyone here will protect him, even with their lives.

But the moment is stolen by a shadowy figure forming inside the wall behind him. "It's in the wave!" I yell with everything in me. A balled fist breaks through the watery tunnel and a webbed arm raises up in a motion full of intent to crash down onto his tiny body. "He's going to crush him!" I shout. Calculus emerges from the wave, covered in an armor of black scales with spikes all down his back.

But just before he makes contact, a blur of gray and white blast like a torpedo from the depths of the ocean floor. Riding atop two bottle nosed dolphins stands the flute playing girl. With her dagger already in hand, she slices her way up his permeable underbelly as the dolphins launch her through the air. Black soot immediately pours from him like a giant oil spill. Letting out a high-pitched screech, he swats at the dolphins, sending the girl flying through the air. Bouncing violently across the surface of the water like a skipping rock, she crashes against sand and sea shells. Just when I think there's no way she is walking away from that in one piece, she disappears into thin air.

Both of Bridget's hands fly up. Every girl joins the fight. Descending on Calculus, their boards carrying them in ways that couldn't be possible in any other place. It's just as Mr. Peter warned. Laws of physics do not apply. Through the arsenal of attacks—spears, arrows, daggers, swords— Calculus sends bodies flying. Some return to the battle, but some are nowhere to be found. Dark sludge is everywhere and seems to be affecting his stamina. His strength is quickly fading until he is finally subdued. But not without the loss of Isabella's teammates. And I can't seem to locate Elizabeth. She was struck hard by his spiked tail and never resurfaced.

Shockingly, Spencer is completely unaware of the fight to save him. With Christina as his constant shadow, she makes sure he arrives safely up onto the beach. Cliff is there to offer a fist bump.