Vampirates 1.5:Dead Deep Read Online Free PDF

Bart said, dumbfounded.
    Flynn smiled, wrapping a long bony arm around Bart’s shoulder. “I don’t think João would take too kindly to being called a mermaid, do you?” He chuckled. “Aroundhere, we call them fishtails . They’re my fishtails. My beautiful fishtails!”
    He gazed down and Connor’s eyes followed his, watching with wonder as the jewel-colored lights shot back and forth beneath the surface of the water.
    “Let’s go in with them!” said Bart, his eyes shining with the possibility. He turned to Flynn. “That’s all right, isn’t it, sir?”
    Flynn smiled, nodding.
    Connor, Bart, and Jez stripped down to their underwear and dove off the side of the boat. As Connor hit the water, it was dark. Then, suddenly, it was illuminated by laser brightness. He looked down and saw Lika and João swimming beneath him. He watched as Bart swam over to Kally. Just as Flynn had said earlier that day, she was like an angelunderwater. They all were. They swam with such effortless grace, it made Connor feel clumsy.
    “Welcome to our world,” said João, swimming over to meet him, the reef glowing coral-pink behind him.
    “We’re so glad that you all came,” Kally said, beaming.
    Connor looked at Bart and Jez in surprise. So the fishtails could talk underwater. Connor wonderedif he, too, might be invested with these magical powers. He opened his lips to speak, but found himself swallowing a mouthful of saltwater.
    Kally smiled at him. “This is our world,” she said. “Just as we are restricted above the water, so are you beneath it.” She smiled again. “But you’re very welcome as our guests.”
    With that, she dove down below him, her tailsending a rainbow of light up in her wake. Connor wished that Grace could be here to share this with him. Remembering the message she had sent him, he tried to send one back to her—to let her know that she was wrong, and that everything was okay.
    Magic. Underwater.
    He repeated the phrase several more times in his head, hoping that itwould get through to her, that somehow she might see this amazing sight for herself. Then he dove down deeper, following the colored lights to join his good friends, old and new.

Chapter Six
Fishtails
    When the fishtails were at last finished swimming, Flynn threw a rope line into the water. The boys, who had long since returned to the deck to dry off, watched as Flynn helped the fishtails back onto the boat. When Bart offered his assistance, Flynn shook his head. “Thanks,”he said, a little sharply, “but I can still manage.”
    He carried each of the fishtails back to their chairs, binding their tails inside the oilskins once more. Connor watched as Flynn poured a little seawater into each of the oilskins before fastening them tightly. “Their tails must never dry out completely,” he explained. He flipped a handle on each of the wheelchairs so thatthey reclined, almost like beds. Flynn shuffled off and pulled a pile of blankets out from a bench seat, then tenderly laid a rug over each fishtail. As if under a spell, all twelve of them already seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.
    “The shock of coming from their world into ours is tiring for them,” Flynn explained. “They will rest now and, when they wake, their balancewill be restored.” He threw a blanket to each of the pirates. “Take these up to the foredeck,” he said. “You can sleep there.”
    With that, he turned and moved off toward his seat at the wheel.
    Connor slept soundly but woke anxious to check that he really was on The Lorelei , and that it hadn’t all been a dream. He was pleased to find not only that was he still onboard, but that Jez was already awake.
    “Mermaids!” said Jez. “Can you believe it? Mermaids!”
    “They don’t call themselves that,” Connor said, speaking softly, as Bart was still sleeping beside them. “Remember? They call themselves fishtails.”
    “Hmm,” said Jez. “You say tomatoes and I say…mythological sea