Journey into the Realm: The Stolen Child (Journey into the Realm Series) by Markelle Grabo

breathe underwater we needed the aid of magic. Once the circle was complete, Nathan and I performed the spell on ourselves. Elvina did the same, but also expanded the spell to reach Aimee and Tavis. Elvina was more experienced with spells than Nathan and me, so she had offered to bear the extra burden. Spells took a lot of energy, and now Elvina would be responsible for three spells instead of one. I was impressed by her strength and felt grateful for her presence on our journey.
    I placed Brielle’s crown and a shiny stone in the center of the circle. The stone was an offering to the mermaids, allowing us passageway into their Realm. We stood in a line before the stream. This was it. With just one step, our journey would begin.
    “If anyone wants to back out, now would be the proper time,” I said.
    No one answered. I nodded slowly and took one last look at the Elf Realm surrounding us, at the shining castle of Tarlore and all of its splendor. I prayed that I would one day look upon its beauty again.
    One at a time, we stepped into the water.

~6~
Atlantis
    I was the first to step into the stream. When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by water. Everything around me was blue, as if there were a film of blue haze over each of my eyes. The water was freezing, chilling every part of me, reminding me of my near-drowning last June. I tried swimming up to the surface, until I remembered there wouldn’t be any surface. This was Atlantis, the Mermaid Realm, and here there was no dry land.
    The bow and arrows and shoulder bag were heavy on my shoulders. I hoisted them up and began to take in my surroundings just as Nathan joined me in the water, followed by Tavis, Aimee, and Elvina. Fish swam in schools nearby, different types pressing together, creating a rainbow of color. I swam around, admiring the beauty and clarity of the water. I had never been so fascinated with water. Until now, it had just been something to drink or swim in…or a place where accidents usually happened for me. Now it was a glorious wonder.
    I had never seen such beautiful shades of blue, such lovely fish swimming in circles of underwater ecstasy. Sparkling water particles made my skin shimmer. No light from the sun reached here, but everything was so naturally bright that no sun was needed. Pure magic.
    I peered down and gasped. I hadn’t noticed it before, but the water’s floor was covered with huge stalks of vibrantly colored coral. Until now, I hadn’t known that coral could be that large. It was beautiful, more beautiful than I had ever imagined coral could be. This was obviously not normal, everyday coral – this was no ordinary place.
    Out of curiosity, I motioned to my friends to follow me and swam down to take a look.
    As I neared the wondrous sight, I noticed a flash of movement that I knew right away was not a fish. Sure, it had a fish tail, but its upper body was that of a human. The creature had aquamarine hair and a bluish tint to its skin.
    “Mermaid,” I whispered with awe, also surprised that I could speak clearly through the water.
    She was truly exotic, far different than any creature from The Little Mermaid. She wasn’t just a human with a fish tail. She was another being altogether, maybe resembling a human from far away, but I suspected that if I got close enough, I would be quite surprised by her actual features.
    “Maybe she’ll lead us to the King,” Nathan said.
    “It’s worth a try,” Tavis agreed. “Let’s follow her.”
    Together we dove down deeper to follow the exotic sea creature. I knew we were nowhere near fast enough to catch her, but as long as we kept sight of her, we could figure out where she was headed.
    Finally we reached the coral. To my dismay, the mermaid was nowhere in sight, probably hidden somewhere among the bright stalks. As we neared the ocean floor, my mouth gaped as I realized that the coral formation was actually a city – the city of Atlantis. I hadn’t expected Atlantis to look