The Mermaid's Mirror Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2010 by L. K. Madigan

  All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003.

  www.hmhco.com

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

  Madigan, L. K.

  The mermaid’s mirror / by L.K. Madigan.

  p. cm.

  Summary: Lena, almost sixteen, has always felt drawn to the waters of San Francisco Bay despite the fears of her father, a former surfer, but after she glimpses a beautiful woman with a tail, nothing can keep Lena from seeking the mermaid in the dangerous waves at Magic Crescent Cove.

  ISBN 978-0-547-19491-2

  [1. Mermaids—Fiction. 2. Identity—Fiction. 3. Surfing—Fiction. 4. Magic—Fiction. 5. Fathers and daughters—Fiction. 6. Family life—California—Fiction. 7. California—Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.M2583Mer 2010

  [Fic]—dc22 2010006771

  eISBN 978-0-547-50488-9

  v3.1014

  For Michelle . . .

  forever a California girl,

  no matter where

  she lives

  Prologue

  Lena woke up on the beach.

  She knew she should feel afraid—sleepwalking to the beach in the middle of the night could not be a sane thing to do—but the salt scent and roar of the ocean calmed her. The moon shone down on the waves, making them glitter like thousands of tiny lights flickering just beneath the surface, rolling over and over.

  Lena stood on the wet sand, searching for landmarks. About a hundred yards away, the craggy finger of Shipwreck Rocks jutted into the sea.

  Somewhere out in the darkness, the foghorn crooned its faithful call. The familiar sound reassured Lena. A few miles away, the lighthouse flashed its beacon.

  Wrapping her arms around herself to keep from shivering, Lena looked down at her clothes. She was wearing her pajamas, but she must have put on her hoodie in her sleep. She was barefoot, which made sense. She never wore shoes on the beach.

  She turned and followed her footprints back along the moonlit stretch of sand. The crash of the surf sounded much louder in the dark. How did I walk all this way without waking up? And what time is it? She quickened her pace. If her parents woke up and found her missing, they would freak out.

  Her footprints disappeared in the dry sand, but by then Lena was close to her usual path. She found her sandals near the base of the cliff, apparently kicked off and waiting for her return, just like always. She slid them on and made her way up the path to the parking lot, long sea grasses whispering against her legs.

  At the edge of the parking lot, Lena turned back for one last look at the ocean. It rolled and glittered, vast and inscrutable. Lena turned away and headed home.

  The mermaid woke from a dream of humans. She was surprised to find herself adrift in a restless sea, with no memory of leaving home. Before turning to go, she raised her head above the surface and gazed at the empty shore.

  Chapter 1

  A patchwork of paper waves surrounded Lena. The walls of her room were covered with every shade of blue, green, and gray water imaginable—some images were photos she had taken herself, and others were pages torn from magazines: surfers riding through translucent green barrels . . . surfers surrounded by miles of limpid blue tropical sea . . . surfers about to be flattened by dark gray walls of water.

  As Lena lay sleeping, the oceans of the world sparkling all around her, her cell phone rang. It was the Kai ringtone. Eyes closed, Lena rolled over and reached out from under the covers, fumbling on her nightstand for her phone.

  “Hi,” she croaked.

  “Her name’s Selena, and she dances on the saaaand,” sang Kai, mangling the words to some old ’80s song. His voice sounded overly loud to her half-asleep ears. “Leen? Did I wake you?”

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  “But it’s seven o’clock. You never sleep this late. Are you okay?”

  Lena squinted at her clock—7:04—and blinked in surprise. She was usually up by six, or six thirty at the latest. “I’m fine.” She yawned, then added, “And I don’t dance on the sand.”

  “You know what’s weird? I don’t think I’ve ever woken you up before. That means . . . oh, wow. That means you’re just lying there in bed.”

  “That’s what it means,” she agreed, closing her eyes. She felt like she could go right back to sleep.

  “Leen! I just realized that I don’t know what your pajamas look like. I’m a terrible boyfriend. I’ll be right over to check.”

  She snickered. “Great. Just knock and my dad will let you in.”

  “Oh, yeah. Your parents,” he joked. “They’re always messing me up.” He lowered his voice. “But what are you wearing?”

  Lena stifled a laugh. When he used that sexy voice, it always made her feel like cracking up, instead of flirting back. “My wetsuit, of course. Doesn’t everyone wear rubber pajamas?”

  Kai groaned. “Oh, nooo. My eyes . . . my mental eyes! You’ve scarred them. But since you’ve already got your wetsuit on—”

  She giggled.

  “I’m heading out to Back Yard. No school today, remember? Want to come?”

  At the mention of the local surfing spot, an image of moonlight on water floated into Lena’s mind. Her eyes snapped open.

  She sat up, looking around her room. Her hoodie hung in the closet, and her sandals sat in the shoe rack, same as always. Was it all a dream? She slid her feet out from under the covers and examined them.

  There were grains of sand between her toes.

  “Leen? You there?”

  Lena lay back down slowly. She didn’t remember getting out of bed, or going downstairs, or unlocking the back door. All she remembered was the shock of finding herself on the beach. “Yeah,” she said. “You’re going to Back Yard. Right now?”

  “The early bird catches the wave, Leen—you know that.”

  I should tell Mom and Dad, she thought.

  Almost before the idea could take shape, she backed away from it. No, they would just worry . . . maybe even make
her go to the doctor. Lena frowned. It was a completely random episode, probably a one-time thing.

  “Lena, helloooo? Are you falling back asleep?”

  “No, sorry,” she said. “I’ll meet you there. Is Pem coming?”

  “She is.”

  “Okay. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” After she hung up, Lena realized she hadn’t told Kai about her sleepwalking. I’ll tell him later, she thought.

  But she knew she would not.

  Lena stood in the wet sand, foamy wavelets lapping at her feet. The surf at Back Yard was breaking long today. Lena could see that the surfers in the water were spending a lot of time waiting around for decent waves.

  “Hey,” said Pem, joining her at the water’s edge. “Where’s your wetsuit? You’re not going to swim?” Even wearing a full-body neoprene suit, lips coated with sunblock, and long black hair secured in a braid, Pem looked like a model.

  “Not today,” said Lena. “But you know cold water has never stopped me from a good game of GOTCHA!” Before she had even finished speaking, Pem had anticipated Lena’s move, and they bent down simultaneously, flinging water up at each other. Lena took off down the beach, splashing through the ankle-high surf, Pem right behind her. Lena stopped and faked to the right, throwing Pem off long enough to spatter more seawater up at her.

  “Don’t you think”—Pem laughed—“we’re getting a little old for this?”

  Lena paused to catch her breath, clothes and hair drenched. “Way too old!” Then she spun and scooped.

  Pem yelled, dodging the spray.

  “Okay, okay,” said Lena, laughing, hands on her knees.

  “I’m only showing you mercy because you’re already wet,” said Pem, “while I’m nice and dry in my wetsuit.”

  They headed back to the blanket spread out on the sand. Pem’s surfboard, an eight-foot board with blue hibiscus flowers painted on top, was lying next to it.

  “See you in a few,” she said, grabbing her board. “Want to go for coffee after?”

  “I can’t,” said Lena. “I’m going to the city with my dad.”

  “Oh. So you just came to watch Kai?”

  “Well, yeah.” Lena hesitated. “Both of you.” She knew that Pem was sensitive about the fact that Lena and Kai were together now.

  The three of them had been best friends since sixth grade, but a couple of months ago, on a warm July evening, Kai had called and invited Lena to the movies. When she got there, Pem was nowhere around. Even when they were walking out of the theater and Kai took her hand, she just thought, Huh? Kai doesn’t usually hold hands. As they made their way down Main Street, he pulled her into the skinny alley between the art gallery and the bookstore, where creeping vines of honeysuckle covered the fence. Then he turned to her with smoldering eyes, and Lena had finally understood. When he leaned close and kissed her, she was ready.

  Pem snapped her leash around her ankle. “Here comes Kai. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

  Lena nodded and watched her friend paddle out.

  Kai dropped to the blanket next to her. “Hi,” he murmured, pulling her close. “Oh, Leen, you’re soaked!” He opened his duffel and pulled out a huge towel, wrapping it around her shoulders. “You must be freezing.”

  She let him fuss over her, though she didn’t feel cold.

  “Hi, Lena,” said someone behind her.

  Lena turned to see Kai’s sister, Ani. “Hi,” she said. “I didn’t know you were home from school.”

  “Yeah, I don’t have classes on Friday, so I can drive home for the weekend.” She knelt down and rubbed wax onto her board, using circular motions.

  Kai studied the waves. “Long lulls,” he said.

  “Yeah, not perfect,” said Ani. “But better than a day not surfing.” She grinned and headed out.

  Kai waxed his board, gave Lena a kiss, then followed.

  Lena watched her friends in the water, smiling at the way Kai tried to conquer every wave, while Pem was more cautious. Ani had a breathtaking grace in the water that made the other surfers look like beginners. I should’ve brought my camera, thought Lena.

  Ani was the first one out of the water. She set her board down on the sand and stood watching Kai and Pem, who were sitting astride their boards, waiting for good waves. She looked down at Lena. “Don’t you get tired of just watching?”

  The words slapped Lena like icy spray.

  Ani sat down on the blanket next to her. “Sorry. That came out wrong.” She combed her fingers through her short blond hair. “But it looks like you want to be out there.”

  Lena bowed her head. She always felt a little nervous around Ani, who was tall and athletic and a crazy-smart physics genius. She’d had her pick of colleges, but had chosen Stanford so she could stay near the ocean. “I do want to be out there. It’s just that my dad—”

  “Oh, right,” said Ani. “He had some surfing accident, right?”

  “He almost drowned,” said Lena.

  “But . . . wasn’t it a really long time ago?”

  Lena nodded. “Before I was born.”

  “And that was it? He never surfed again?”

  “No. I’ve never even seen him go in the water.”

  “Wow.” Ani stared out at the sea. “That’s some serious fear.”

  They sat in silence for a moment, watching the surfers.

  “I do want to surf!” Lena burst out.

  “Yeah?” Ani looked at her.

  “Of course. But I was hoping to do it with his blessing, you know?”

  Ani nodded. “That’s cool. Respect, and all. But what if he’s never going to say yes?”

  Lena shivered.

  Kai and Pem emerged from the waves, dripping and laughing.

  “When you’re ready to learn,” said Ani, standing up, “with or without his blessing . . . let me know. I taught Kai and Jamie. They can tell you I’m a pretty good teacher.”

  Lena didn’t answer. She stood up to receive Kai’s kiss, his lips cold from the water.

  Chapter 2

  Lena began to feel uneasy the moment she saw the building. Impossibly tall, it stretched up into the sky like a giant steel beanstalk. As she tilted her head back to try to see the top, her stomach gave a little lurch.

  “Here it is,” said her father, looking as proud as if he’d built it. “Come on.” He pushed through a revolving glass door.

  Lena followed more slowly.

  “Wait till you see the office—you won’t believe it,” he said, stepping onto an escalator. When they reached the top, he greeted the security guard and headed for a bank of elevators marked 16–30.

  Lena could see that he was trying to be cool, but he was bouncing up and down on his toes slightly as they waited for the elevator.

  The doors of the elevator slid open, and a rush of power suits, briefcases, and expensive haircuts streamed past them.

  Lena’s dad pulled at the cuffs of his white oxford shirt, as if to make sure they covered his tattoos. His blond hair curled over the collar of his shirt.

  He’s probably going to get one of those stockbroker haircuts now, thought Lena. Sad.

  They stepped onto the elevator, and a woman in a crisp business suit stepped on behind them, fingers flying on her cell phone. She punched the elevator button for 27.

  As the doors whooshed shut, her father said to Lena, “Push the button for twenty-nine.”

  “Really?” said Lena. “Twenty-nine?”

  He nodded, beaming. “Practically in the clouds.”

  The woman glanced at Lena’s dad, her gaze lingering. She closed her cell phone.

  Lena was used to women ogling her dad. Her mom called him a computer nerd trapped in the body of a hot guy.

  Reaching for the 29 button, Lena said, “Wow, Dad. Practically the penthouse. Or do they just want to keep you far away from the general public?” She pressed the button. A moment later, her stomach dropped as the elevator shot up. She reached out to grasp the handrail at the back of the elevator. “Why
is it . . . so fast?” she asked, feeling as if she couldn’t catch her breath.

  “This express elevator only goes between the sixteenth and the thirtieth floors,” said her father. He grinned, his blue eyes shining. “Fast, huh? Did you leave your stomach on the first floor? Lena?”

  She closed her eyes and held tighter to the handrail. Almost there, she told herself. Just hold on.

  “Lena? What’s wrong?”

  She couldn’t answer. There was a growing pressure in her ears.

  “Selena.” She felt her father’s hand on her arm.

  “Are you okay?” shrilled the woman.

  The elevator halted with a ding, and the doors opened at 27.

  Lena clung to the handrail, trying to catch her breath.

  The woman moved toward the exit, looking concerned. “Do you want to get off?” She held the doors open.

  Lena shook her head.

  The woman took her hand away, and the doors slid shut.

  “Honey, what’s going on?” asked her dad.

  The elevator rose, and the pressure in Lena’s ears ballooned.

  Ding. 29.

  Lena stumbled out. The floor seemed to tilt under her feet. She opened her mouth in a yawning motion to clear the pressure in her ears. “Nothing,” she said finally. “I just felt weird for a second.”

  “You did? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I’m fine.” She shrugged away from his hand. “Let’s just go see your new office, okay?”

  He studied her for another moment, then nodded. “Okay. Then we’ll get an early lunch. Did you eat this morning?”

  “Dad, I eat every morning.” Hadn’t he seen her sitting at the breakfast table, eating the same English muffin and yogurt she always ate? No, he’d been too buzzed about visiting the office. And of course Cole was yammering on about football, and Mom was muttering about caterers (she was an events planner), so Dad had been distracted, to say the least.

  They reached a pair of heavy glass doors, with two ws etched on them, and stepped into the reception area. A gray-haired man was speaking to the receptionist and turned to glance at them.

  “Brian.” The man approached, hand outstretched. “You made it. Good.”