Summer of the Sea Serpent: A Merlin Mission

horse creature half galloped and half swam through the cove. Seagulls shrieked wildly overhead, following the pair toward the shore.
    As the knight drew close to the edge of the water, he looked straight at Jack and Annie. He raised his gloved hand and beckoned to them.
    “Okay, we’re coming!” cried Annie. She started pulling off her sneakers.
    “Wait—let’s think about this!” cried Jack.
    “We don’t have time!” said Annie. “He wants to help us. He’s like the stag that came for us in Camelot.”
    “No, he isn’t,” said Jack. “He’s much weirder!”
    But Annie tossed her sneakers onto therocks and splashed through the shallow water. The knight held out his hand and helped her onto the strange horse creature. The creature slapped its fish’s tail against the water, sending up a fountain of spray.
    “Come on, Jack!” Annie yelled. “We can’t waste time!”

    Annie’s right
, Jack thought. They had to find the Sword of Light before nightfall. He pulled off his sneakers and tossed them up onto the rocks near Annie’s. Then he stepped into the cold water and waded out to the knight.
    Annie helped pull Jack up onto the horse creature. He sat on its scaly tail and clung to Annie while she held on tightly to the Water Knight’s tunic.
    The silvery fish’s tail slapped the water. A shower of spray rained down on Jack. He closed his eyes. “Onward,” he said faintly.
    The Water Knight turned away from the shore. With more slaps of its tail, the horse creature began galloping and swimming across the cove. The seagulls shrieked wildly as they swooped after them.
    Bumping up and down, Jack clung desperately to Annie. He kept his eyes squeezed shut and tried hard not to fall off.
    As they sped across the cove, the WaterKnight guided his steed steadily over each ripple and wave. The bumpy ride soon turned into a smooth one.
    “This is great!” cried Annie.
    Jack opened his eyes. With the wind and spray whipping his face and hair, he began to feel more excited than scared.
    “I’ll bet he’s taking us to the Sword of Light!” cried Annie. “We’ll be done with our mission in no time!”
    That would be too easy,
thought Jack. But as they sped over the waves, he grew hopeful.
Maybe she’s right. Maybe it
will
be easy,
he thought.
Not all our missions have to be hard.
But what about the rest of the stuff in the rhyme? What about—?
    Before Jack could finish his thought, the strange horse creature stopped and reared up. Jack and Annie tumbled over its fish’s tail and splashed into the cold water.
    They sank for a moment and then bobbedback up to the surface, frantically treading water. They looked up at the Water Knight and his horse.
    The knight lifted his arm into the air. He pointed to a pile of boulders near the base of a nearby cliff. Then he spread the fingers of his gloved hand in a gesture of farewell.
    “Bye! Thanks!” shouted Annie.
    The horse creature slapped its fish’s tail and took off in a fountain of spray and foam. With the gulls circling above them, the mysterious pair whirled toward the passage between the cliffs that led out to the sea. In a moment, they vanished into the open water beyond.

G entle waves rippled through the cove as Jack and Annie swam to the foot of the cliff. They pulled themselves onto the boulders. Soaking wet, they sat for a moment in the warm sunlight and caught their breath.
    “That was so cool!” said Annie.
    “Yeah. But why—” Jack gasped, “why did he dump us way out here? What do we do now?”
    “Check the rhyme,” said Annie. “What happens after we call for the help of the Water Knight?”
    Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out the seashell. He read aloud:
    Call for the help of the Water Knight.
    Then pass through the Cave of the Spider Queen.
    “Oh. Right,” said Annie. She took a deep breath. “Spider Queen.”
    “Sorry,” Jack said softly. “But don’t worry, maybe the Spider Queen is just a person. Maybe ‘Spider Queen’ is her nickname.”
    “But what if she’s half a person and half a spider?” said Annie. “Like the Raven King was half a man and half a raven?”
    Jack shuddered at the memory of the monster on their last Merlin Mission. “Don’t think about that,” he said. “Time’s running out. Let’s just find this cave.”
    Annie nodded and smiled bravely. “Okay, you’re right,” she said.
    They stood up and started climbing barefoot around the craggy curves at the base of the cliff. As