During the rest of the journey to the Kate, Tracey had snacks with the family and introduced himself: first to Rush, his wife, the three children, and then to the children's grandparents and their uncles.
Sawyer had kept a close eye on Tracey ever since seeing his ear. The wind picked up as the storm approached, but the catamaran refused to turn back.
While the family pulled out snorkeling gear and fitted goggles and fins, Tracey hung at the boat's bow on one of the trampolines. He rested his arms and hands on a rope-like railing and let his legs dangle over the side. He sighed as he thought about Gene and Alexandria. There he was, riding on the bow of a magnificent catamaran, and they were at the Kate, probably wondering where he was. Tracey didn't understand why it was taking so long to reach the ship.
After a few more minutes, he could wait no more. A crazy idea flew through Tracey's head (likely he would give away his secret), but he decided to follow through. After all, Tracey was Tracey, Merlin the Great's apprentice. Not even one thought later, he found himself climbing through the rope-like railing and on the edge of the trampoline. His eyes scanned the ocean.
Tracey watched as it slapped against the catamaran and nodded. "Bon voyage." Then, just like that, he released the railing and dove into the water.
An instant after he landed, the family he met, the Cooks, heard his splash.
Mrs. Cook gasped and screamed, "Tracey!"
Scrambling was heard on deck as everybody who wasn't driving hurried to the trampolines. They stared overboard, hoping to see Tracey resurface, but he didn't.
"Where is he?" Mrs. Cook yelped.
"Move!" a voice soon yelled. "I'm going in!" Rush pushed past his wife, children, and remaining passengers. He held a life raft and tossed it overboard.
Rush climbed over the railing and appeared on the other side, but just before he jumped, his wife grabbed his arm and yelled, "And all this time, darling, I thought you were a coward!"
"Now's not a good time to remind me," Mr. Cook admitted. With a small tug, he freed his arm and yelled as he dove off the boat and landed in the ocean. The catamaran followed while he kicked his flippers and set off on his search for Tracey.
Aboard the boat, his family studied the ocean through binoculars.
About ten feet under the surface, through swaying seaweed, swam Tracey. The water was so deep that he couldn't see the seabed. When he escaped the seaweed, he peeked up and saw the bottom of the catamaran, as well as Rush, who frantically kicked his legs and looked underwater with his goggles.
Tracey held his arms out to his sides and asked, "What on earth is he doing?" Then, he swam on. Now, he passed a few coral reefs. A barracuda fluttered past his head, and Tracey smiled. Different-colored coral and fish inhabited the reefs, along with a few rocks at their bottoms. The rocks rested on golden sand.
Tracey slithered between coral and rocks and soon reached the edge of the reefs. What he saw under him filled his noggin with questions. Not only did he see an open, blue ocean, but also something else. It was faint, but there.
Tracey squinted to study his discovery more carefully and covered his injured, stinging arm with his hand. He was unaware that he was drifting slowly toward the surface again. "What is that?" he questioned. His eyes had landed on something that looked like a propeller, or was it a boiler? Something rested on the seafloor about thirty feet under him. It looked like a shipwreck, but was it? Was that the Kate herself? Tracey's mind raced, but he wasn't able to answer his own questions because he felt a pair of powerful hands grab him under his armpits.
Mr. Cook pulled Tracey to the surface, and his wet head broke the surface. The speed at which Rush pulled him caused him to swallow a gallon of seawater, and he coughed it up.
Tracey's cuts and scrapes cried out in pain, and his nose stung.
"I've got you, Tracey!" Rush shouted, throwing the life raft over him. Then, turning to the catamaran, he lifted his hand and announced, "I've got him!" to his family.
They cheered and clapped, except Sawyer. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
Rush dragged Tracey toward the boat and shook his shoulders, frightfully asking, "Why did you do that?"
Tracey didn't answer. His mind was too focused on the figure on the seabed.
Mrs. Cook quickly lugged Tracey out when they reached the catamaran's stern and gave him another towel. She, too, asked, "Why did you do that?" and ruffled Tracey's hair.
Rush dragged himself onto the steps after Tracey and said, "Whew!" He plopped down and patted water out of his ear. "That was an adventure! What were you thinking, kid?"
Not speaking, Tracey stared blankly at the ocean. A small smile crept across his face. After five minutes, he cheerfully said, "I saw it. I saw the Kate."
"The Kate?" Mr. Cook gasped. "You did? Really? Where?"
Tracey pointed in the direction from which he and Mr. Cook had come.
Mrs. Cook opened a newspaper and read, "Number One shipwreck of the week: The Kate. Located about fifteen miles east of John Smith's Bay, Bermuda, Kate was a steel-hulled steamer ship that sank in December of 1878 after numerous hazards, including hitting an uncharted reef and disastrous weather. The bulk of her wreck, including her boilers, engine, propellers, etc., lies submerged in about forty-five feet of water."
Tracey jumped when Mr. Cook yelled into his ear, "What are we waiting for, then? Let's drop anchor and find a shipwreck! Tracey, you'll be able to tell us where it is, right? Please say yes!"
"Um..." Tracey stammered, but Mr. Cook went ahead and clapped.
"Perfect!" Off he went to pull out the rest of the snorkeling gear.
Tracey waited until Rush, his wife, and his three children disappeared below deck to send a signal to Gene and Alexandria. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he tightened the towel around him and jogged to the boat's final step on one of the staircases. Tracey checked his surroundings one last time, then refocused on the ocean. With a wave of his hand, one of his shurikens appeared, and he grabbed it. Tracey held it like a wand and moved it in gentle circles over the ocean.
He muttered a spell, but little did he know that Sawyer spied on him. He had returned to the bow because his mother asked him to grab the newspaper with the Kate article. Once he reached the bow, Sawyer heard Tracey whisper the spell and watched as he continued to rotate his shuriken in gentle circles. It wasn't long until the water bubbled, and a sparkling, blue bubble wafted off the face of the ocean and over to Tracey.
Sawyer rubbed his eyes to ensure he wasn't seeing things. Sure enough, he wasn't. He was so shocked that his sea legs seized up, and he stood like a statue. A real live fairy stood before him! While he wanted to tell his family, his legs refused to move.
Tracey's ninja star soon disappeared from his grasp. Reaching forward, he pulled the sparkling bubble out of the sky. He brought his chapped lips to its smooth surface and whispered, "Please, travel to the Kate and tell Gene and Alexandria I'm on my way. While the humans are distracted, I will swim down and meet them. This is all I'm asking of you, little bubble. Time is running out for both the Human and Magic Worlds, and I cannot afford anymore distractions. Yet, at the same time, I am drawn by the Bermuda Triangle's dark magic. I feel it growing stronger." He closed his eyes and put his forehead to the bubble. "Now go, and tell Gene and Alexandria I'll be there in thirty minutes."
Tracey pulled the bubble away and tossed it into the ocean. As soon as it hit the water, it sank and sped off toward the Kate.
A screech was heard from the sky. When Tracey looked up, he smiled at the sight of a familiar, medium-sized, white figure flying in circles overhead.
Gina.