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CHAPTER ONE
POPPY SET DOWN ONE OF THE MERMAID DOLLS CLOSE to the stretch of asphalt road that represented the Blackest Sea They were old—bought fro shiny heads, different-colored tails, and frizzy hair
Zachary Barlow could al back and forth as they waited for the boat to get closer, their silly plastic sainst the shallows if they could, lure the crew into the sea, and eat the pirates with their jagged teeth
Zachary ruures He pulled out the pirate with the two cutlasses and placed hihed doith driveway gravel Without gravel, the Neptune’s Pearl was likely to bloay in the early autumn wind He could almost believe he wasn’t on the scrubby lawn in front of Poppy’s ra, but aboard a real ship, with salt spray stinging his face, on his way to adventure
“We’re going to have to lash ourselves to the mast,” Zach said, as William the Blade, captain of the Neptune’s Pearl Zach had a different way of speaking for each of his figures He wasn’t sure that anyone but him could tell his voices apart, but he felt different when he talked in them
Alice’s braids spilled in front of her aure closer to the center of the boat Lady Jaye was a thief who’d begun traveling with Willia his pocket She was loud and wild, al like Alice, who chafed under the thurandmother, but did it quietly
“You think the Duke’s guards will be waiting for us in Silverfall?” Alice made Lady Jaye ask
“Heat her “But he’ll never hold us Nothing will We’re on a mission for the Great Queen and on’t be stopped” He hadn’t expected to say those words until they caht They felt like Williahts
That hy Zach loved playing: thoseso It was so like this forever, no h he didn’t see how that was possible It was already hard sometimes
Poppy tucked windblown strands of red hair behind her ears and regarded Zach and Alice very seriously She was tiny and fierce, with freckles thick enough to re better than being in charge of the story and had a sense of how to make avillains
“You can knot ropes to keep you safe, but no boat can pass through these waters unless a sacrifice is given to the deep,” Poppy ly If one of your crew doesn’t leap into the sea, the sea will choose her own sacrifice That’s the mermaid’s curse”
Alice and Zach exchanged a look Were thethe truth? Really, Poppy wasn’t supposed to reed to—but Zach objected only when he didn’t like them A curse seemed like it could be fun
“We’ll all go down together before we lose a single member of this crew,” he fake-shouted in William’s voice “We’re on a mission for the Great Queen, and we fear her curse more than yours”
“But just then,” said Poppy oe of the ship, “webbed fingers grab Lady Jaye’s ankle, and the one”
“You can’t do that!” Alice said “I was lashed to the mast”
“You didn’t specify that you were,” Poppy told her “Williaested it, but you didn’t say whether or not you did it”
Alice groaned, as though Poppy was being especially annoying Which she kind of was “Well, Lady Jaye was in the middle of the boat Even if she wasn’t lashed, aon board”
“If Lady Jaye gets pulled over the side, I’ravel water “I ets left behind”
“I didn’t get pulled over the side,” Alice insisted
As they continued arguing two of Poppy’s brothers walked out of the house, letting the screen door slam behind them They looked over and started to snicker The older of the two, To under his breath His younger brother laughed
Zach felt his face heat He didn’t think they knew anyone at his middle school, but still If any of his tea with action figures, basketball would becoet bad too
“Ignore them,” Poppy declared loudly “They’re jerks”
“All ere going to say is that Alice’s grand innocence He and Nate had the same tomato-red hair as their sister, but they weren’t much like her in any other way that Zach could see They, along with their eldest sister, were always in trouble—fighting, cutting school, s, and other stuff The Bell kids were considered hoodlu what they could to uphold that reputation “Old lady Magnaye says that you need to be hoet or h, Alice” The words were supposed to be nice, but you could tell fro nice at all
Alice stood up and brushed off her skirt The orange glow of the setting sun bronzed her skin and turned her glossy box braids metallic Her eyes narrowed Her expression wavered between flustered and angry Boys had been hassling her ever since she’d hit ten, gotten curves, and started looking a lot older than she was Zach hated the way To fun of her without really saying anything bad, but he never knehat to say to stop it either
“Leave off,” Zach told them
The Bell boys laughed Toh-pitched “Leave off Don’t talk to irlfriend”
“Yeah, leave off,” Nate squeaked “Or I’ll beat you up with my doll”
Alice started toward the Bell house, head down
Great, Zach thought As usual, he’d made it worse