“We have to get out of here,” she cried.
“There is a gear on the well bed with a strong magical signature emanating from it. I saw it before the spell caught me.”
“And you think that’s the way out?”
“It is our only option. You will not be able to climb up those stairs as you are now.”
The logistics of climbing back up to the pavilion had not even occurred to Mouse. She moaned, burying her face in her hands. Herpalms were rough as sandpaper against her cheeks. She could not make herself inspect them for a color change.
“Down to the bottom it is,” she said.
One benefit of turning to stone was the built-in anchor. All Mouse had to do was stop moving her arms, and she would sink straight down.
“That will have to do,” Thornwood said as he took hold of her shoulder. “Remember to stay calm. If you panic, you will lose hold of your breath.”
“Easy for you to say. You can stay under the water indefinitely.”
“It’s lucky that you have this fin. Are you sure you do not want to keep it? You make a fetching mermaid,” he said, his tone light.
Mouse glared at him, and he smiled.
With a last gulp of air, Mouse stopped treading water, and they descended with their hands locked. They touched down next to the gear, rusted and green with time. They each took hold of its spokes and turned it, putting all their weight into the effort. Mouse felt lighter, as though the water itself was supporting her hips. The gear gave way easily, and their eyes met. Thornwood nodded toward her arms, and she looked down to find her elbows dusted in gray scales.
Dread filled her, which she caught and forced back into her stomach. Thornwood pushed harder, and Mouse matched him. When the gear ground to a halt, Mouse could see a circle of light through the metal, large enough for a person to slip through.
A shadow passed above, and Mouse looked up to find the mermaid statue barreling toward them, needle teeth bared. Mouse jerked in alarm. The current under the gear pulled on her torso, and she reached out to Thornwood. He clasped onto her elbows, and they ducked into the hole.
The tunnel was tight, and Mouse trailed behind him. Her lungs rebelled. She tried hard not to think of how long the tunnel might beor what might be waiting for her on the other side. Or if the mermaid was chasing them.
The disk of light grew as they came closer, and Mouse could see wobbling green shapes on the other side. The current’s pull was stronger the closer they came to the end of the tunnel.
They passed through the opening and swam directly into a forest of water lilies. Mouse struggled upward, desperate for oxygen, only to find the surface at her fingertips.
Air burned her throat and lungs, and the stink of pond must overwhelmed her, but she was too grateful to care. They were back in the garden pool.
“Are you all right?” Thornwood asked.
She tried to stand and found that her tail had split back into legs, and the gray was fading from her arms.
“I may never be all right again,” she said. “I’m going to have dreams about turning into a fish for the rest of my life.”
Mouse realized he was still holding her hand at the same time he did. They parted with sheepish smiles.
“Did you feel the magic leading back to the house break?” Mouse asked.
“Yes, as soon as you popped back up to the surface. I think the magic’s goal was to trap us down there, then use us to continue to feed the spell. We broke it by escaping.”
“Ugh, I will never go near this pond again.”
“That one was a bit simpler than a dragon in a doorless room,” Thornwood said, although his cheeks were bloodless.
“For some of us! All you did was take a nap.”
Cold fingers closed around Mouse’s ankle, dragging her back beneath the water lilies. Her shocked gasp filled her lungs with water as the light pond gave way to the dark tunnel. Water stung in her throat.
The murkiness cleared enough to reveal the mermaid statue. It dug its nails into Mouse’s leg, and she clamped down on a pained scream.
Gray scales formed again around the mermaid’s fingers, rippling up Mouse’s legs. She saw Thornwood dive into the water above them, but the mermaid had dragged her back through the tunnel in seconds.