Summer of the Sea Serpent: A Merlin Mission

screeched overhead. Jack and Annie looked out the tree house window.
    They were high in the branches of a gnarled old tree. The tree was on a sea cliff beneath snowcapped mountains. The mountains overlooked a rocky coast. There was no sign of human life anywhere.
    “It looks wild and lonely here,” said Annie.
    “
Really
lonely,” said Jack. “I wonder where Merlin and Teddy are.”

    “I don’t know,” said Annie. “They were in the trunk of our tree last time. Let’s look for them in this one.” She climbed down the rope ladder.
    Jack crammed the seashell in his pocket and followed her.
    “Merlin?” Annie called. “Teddy?”
    Jack and Annie circled the gnarled tree trunk, but there was no sign of an entrance into the magical chamber of Merlin the magician. They circled the tree again. Jack tapped the bark in several places.
    “I have a feeling no one lives inside this tree,” said Annie.
    “I think you’re right,” said Jack.
    “Maybe they’re down by the water,” said Annie.
    Annie and Jack walked a few feet to the edge of the sea cliff and looked down at the rugged coast. They saw three coves, separated from each other by rocky cliffs. The cliffs were filled with shadowy crags and the dark mouths of caves.
    In the first cove, sunlit water flowed from the open sea through a small space between the cliffs, then washed onto a pebbly shore.
    The second cove was smaller, but looked much like the first.
    The third cove was different. The farthest away, it was surrounded by a ring of bright green hills. A thin white mist hung over its milky-green waters.
    “I don’t see any sign of Merlin or Teddy,” said Jack. “I guess we’ll have to get started without them.”
    “Read the beginning of Merlin’s rhyme again,” said Annie.
    Jack took the shell from his pocket and read aloud:
    Before night falls on this long summer day,
    A shining sword must find its way
    Into your hands and out of the gloom—
    Or Camelot’s king shall meet his doom.
    Jack looked up at the sky. The sun was almost directly overhead. “It must be around noon now,” he said.
    “We don’t have much time,” said Annie. “What do we do first?”
    Jack looked back at the rhyme and read aloud:
    To begin your quest for this Sword of Light,
    Call for the help of the Water Knight.
    “Oh, easy,” said Annie.
    “It is?” said Jack.
    “Sure,” said Annie. “If he’s a Water Knight, he’s probably down by the water.” She starteddown the steep, rocky hill that led to the nearest cove.
    Jack stuffed the shell back in his pocket. “But who
is
the Water Knight?” he yelled as he followed Annie.
    “It doesn’t matter,” she yelled back. “We just have to go down to the water and call for his help.”
    They climbed over large boulders toward the cove. The boulders were slippery, but Jack’s sneakers kept him from sliding. A damp breeze blew from the sea. It made his skin and clothes feel clammy.
    When they got to the shore, Jack wiped the mist off his glasses and looked around. The wide beach was covered with silvery pebbles, shells, and rows of sea foam. Sandpipers and gulls picked at tangled ribbons of soggy seaweed.
    “The tide must be out,” said Jack. He studied the cliffs above the cove. “I don’t know how a knight can get down here. A horse could never make it over all those rocks.”
    “Let’s just do what the rhyme tells us,” said Annie, “and see what happens.”
    Annie stretched out her arms. She closed her eyes. She raised her head toward the sky and shouted: “O Water Knight, whoever you are, come here and help Jack and Annie!”
    “Oh, brother,” Jack muttered to himself.
    Suddenly they heard the wild cries of seagulls. “Jack, look!” said Annie. She pointed toward the middle of the cove.
    Seabirds were screeching and flapping above a giant swirl of spray and foam. The swirl was spinning just above the surface of the water, headed toward the beach!
    “Wow!” said Annie. She took off running across the sand.
    “Come back!” shouted Jack.
    “No! Come
look
!” said Annie.
    Jack hurried to the edge of the surf.
    Through the blur of spinning spray and foam, he saw the silver helmet of a knight appearabove the water. He saw silver breast armor. Then a strange creature burst through the surface, carrying the knight on its back.
    The creature had a horse’s head and neck and front legs. But instead of back legs, it had a long, silvery fish’s tail! With the Water Knight on its back, the