Tracey's day didn't get better when he finally got out of Music Appreciation. His next class was Geology at the School of Sciences and Mathematics Building (SSMB), also on Calhoun Street. In fact, it was across from Addlestone Library.
Candice never went to her Modern History class. She would not let go of Tracey's arm. He literally dragged her all the way to the Science building. He almost got run over by a car because he didn't know about the traffic system around Downtown Charleston, but a few students pulled him back. They told him to be more careful and wait for the flashing white man at the crosswalk.
Once before the SSMB, Tracey prepared to once again beg Candice to release him, but the roar of ambulance sirens scared the living daylights out of him. Through ninja speed, Tracey disappeared and reappeared on a platform that stuck out from the side of the building. The speed at which he moved pulled Candice off his arm.
She was now all alone on the sidewalk, and she rapidly moved her head back and forth as she tried to find Tracey. "Romeo? 'Wherefore art thou, Romeo?'"
"Hey! How did you get up there, kid?" a voice asked Tracey from under the platform he rested on. A science professor just appeared. He looked like a paleontologist, but only because he wore the Jurassic Park hat.
Still shivering, Tracey lifted his hand and pointed at the ambulance. It was making its way down Calhoun Street toward Chick-fil-A and the College of Charleston Bookstore. "That flashing red monster scared me!" he yelled at the professor.
"What monster? The ambulance? How could something like that cause you to disappear from down here and reappear up there?"
"Oh, Dr. Hamilton! Please get my true love down!" Candice. She hurried to the confused professor and wrapped her fingers around his upper arm. "We haven't even planned the wedding yet!"
Dr. Hamilton? That was the name of Tracey's Geology professor! Dang it! Now there was another teacher who thought he was weird!
Before things could get too out of hand, an "Ahem!" was heard. Luna had just appeared on the scene. She pulled Candice away from Dr. Hamilton, saying, "Sorry, Dr. Hamilton. She's just a little out of sorts right now."
"Luna! Bring me back Romeo!" Candice sobbed.
"Don't worry, Candice. I'll get you your Romeo," Luna said in a sweet voice.
"Romeo? What on Earth is happening right now?" Dr. Hamilton asked.
"Dr. Hamilton, don't you have a class to get to?" Luna wanted to know. "Don't worry. I'll get him down."
"You'd better, or else I am going to have to call Public Safety!" And just like that, Dr. Hamilton stormed off.
A gush of warm, summer air passed through Calhoun Street as cars zoomed down the road, hardly paying any attention to the random boy of the SSMB Platform.
"Tracey, are you hungry?" Luna asked. "I picked up something at the store that I think you may like. You see, my first class was canceled. Ta da!"
To Tracey's surprise and rumbling stomach, Luna held up a can of open sardines. Just seeing it, Tracey realized how hungry he was. Like Candice before him, he was mesmerized by the seafood.
"That's it, little kitty. Come on down. You know you want this," said Luna.
Tracey did. The hunger was killing him. He did not feel like himself. He felt like singing, like pulling an innocent young lady to the bottom of the ocean. Suddenly, he turned into nothing but a green blur, but reappeared before Luna. He snatched the can from her hand and gulped it down. Licking his lips, he tossed it into a trash can and backed away from the two girls, now under his own spell.
"Romeo!" Candice yelped. She tried to approach him, but Luna stopped her.
Just before Tracey could lift his hands and point at them, she reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of wireless headphones. Luna put them in her ears.
It was a good thing, too, because the rest of the students and school vanished from Tracey's mind. All he saw was Candice. He heard the roar of the ocean at the back of his head.
Without thinking, Tracey opened his mouth and started to sing the song of the claxton, "Return to the Sea."
"Return to me.
To the realm of the sea.
Follow me there.
That is where you'll stay."
Candice sighed dreamily at the sound of his beautiful voice, but she lost her smile when she noticed that a few green sparkles, just like the ones she saw when Tracey was meditating, exploded around her.
Tracey headed toward an alleyway not far from the SSMB, with Candice and Luna following him, and continued singing.
"Listen to the whales.
They will make you one of us.
I will be there, too.
And will never leave your side.
Return to me.
The whales will give you all."
By then, Tracey had led his prey into the dark city alleyway that smelled of the city's trash. The further the song progressed, the more Candice started to look like herself. The spell Tracey placed on her during the mediation session was starting to lift.
"I was right," Luna said with a proud smile. "Only a claxton melody can lift a claxton spell."
"Return to me.
This is where you're meant to be," Tracey sang.
Figures of merpeople and whales appeared in midair, and they danced around not only him, but also Candice.
"This is where you're meant to be.
Return to the sea.
The sea is your home.
And your one true love,
Is the enchanted realm.
Where you shall live with me.
For all eternity."
That was the end of Tracey's song, and also the end of Candice's spell. She fell on her side onto the alleyway's walkway, right as the figures of the merpeople and whales disappeared.
Tracey also snapped out of his trance. His eyes widened when he realized what he had just done. He gave himself away under Luna's clever research.
"What happened?" Candice asked as her friend helped her sit.
"Why don't you ask your boyfriend?" Luna angrily said, looking at Tracey. "Tracey, you have a lot to explain."
***
"Hold your high horses! Tracey put me under a spell?" Candice asked Luna later that day.
Tracey agreed to tell them the truth that evening at Waterfront Park, when there weren't many people around to hear his secrets. The three friends sat on a bench at the end of Waterfront's T-Formation, the edge of the dock. A magnificent sunset bathed Charleston Harbor in a brilliant orange, giving the evening a definite magical feel. A few pelicans and seagulls had joined them on the dock. Other than a lone fisherman fishing at the other end of the T-formation, there were hardly any people in the park. A lot of people preferred watching the sunset from The Battery, instead.
Luna nodded at Candice's question, saying, "Yes. While doing my research at the library today, I learned that the only way to break a claxton spell is to sing a claxton song. And one of the best ways to get a claxton to sing is to feed them." She looked at Tracey, who paced back and forth on the dock. "Tracey, what are you not telling us? Is what your father told us the truth? Are you a merman?"
Tracey groaned. "Jesse spilled the beans. It was supposed to be a secret. We promised we would never tell anybody unless we could trust them."
"Maybe that's just it," said Luna. "Your dad trusts us."
"Really? Tracey's dad trusts me?" Candice sheepishly asked. "Eee!" She hid behind her hands, hoping that her friends wouldn't see her blushing.
Tracey stopped pacing and took a deep breath. "Rather than just tell you guys, let me show you."
"Tracey?" the two girls quietly asked at the same time.
Tracey pulled his vest off and set it down on the bench where they were sitting. He made his way toward the end of the T's right side.
Behind, Candice and Luna stood. They exchanged glances and then watched their mysterious new friend.
Tracey hopped onto the T's rail, balancing perfectly. Nodding, he held his hands over his head and dove into the Charleston Harbor. His splash was almost soundless.
Candice and Luna hurried to the rail and grabbed it. They got there in time for the show.
The water glowed green and purple, and when Tracey poked his head out, he looked different. His hair, instead of black, was light brown with black streaks, and he wore a gold seaweed circlet around his forehead. He swam back a little bit and rested on his back, so Luna and Candice could see the rest of his transformation.
At the sight of his green and gold tail, the girls grinned. It was true! Tracey was a merman! They were looking at a real merman! In all their eighteen years of living, they had never witnessed something as breathtaking as that.
Even though Candice already had a terrifying crush on him, it went up a whole other level at the sight of Merman Tracey. He was even more handsome than Human Tracey.
Tracey used his tail to wade in the water just as easily as somebody would wade in one of Waterfront's fountains. "You know, I know a spell that can help somebody breathe underwater," he told the girls.
They gasped. Was Tracey suggesting what they thought he was? Did he want to take them for a swim in the Charleston Harbor?
Unfortunately, they never got a chance to ask him because Tracey heard a voice coming from deep in the harbor. It sounded like it belonged to Merlin. "Sensei?" he asked.
"Sensei? What are you talking about?" Luna said.
"There's a voice. He sounds like my late master, Sensei Merlin."
"Sensei Merlin? What the heck? Your master was Merlin the Great?" Candice was so overwhelmed that she almost fell from the shock.
"Something's fishy," Tracey observed.
Luna chucked. "'Fishy.' The puns are real."
"I have to find out who's calling me," Tracey said in a brave voice.
"Wait, are you sure?" Instantly, Candice jumped up. "What if it's a trap?"
"I'll be careful. Trust me, girls. I'm a ninja. I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Sensei Merlin taught me how to defend myself."
"But, Tracey! No! I'm coming with you!" Candice pulled off her heels and tried climbing the dock's railing.
"No, I can't let you. You don't have a tail. I don't want to put you in danger." Tracey held his hand out to the frightened girl to illustrate his point. "Luna, look after her."
Luna nodded.
"I'll be back soon," finished Tracey. Giving his tail a quick flip, he dove underwater, leaving Candice and Luna alone on their side of Waterfront's T.
***
Tracey used his magic to create a ball of green and purple light. He used it to navigate the harbor. During his entire journey, he kept hearing the voice that sounded like Merlin.
"Come, Tracey, my young apprentice."
"Sensei? But I thought you were—!" Then Tracey reminded himself that magical beings could return as ghosts. Ash did when he used to hang out with Makenna Delling. He remained cautious, though.
The voice dragged him to Fort Sumter, which was beside the ocean. It was dark by the time he got there.
Tracey crawled out of the harbor and onto one of the island's small beaches. The second he had his legs again, he tried to find the source of the voice. He knew it came from the Fort Sumter area. After all, it was the closest fort to the ocean.
Luckily for Tracey, it was nighttime, so the fort was closed. He was all alone on the island. He used his ninja speed to hop around like a flittering fly and called for his sensei. "Sensei Merlin!"
Poseidon's pet waited to attack him, at least until Tracey found his way to the side of the fort that faced the ocean.
Tracey stood on the remains of the fort's gorge. He froze when a glowing pair of red eyes appeared in the water under him. He set his hand on his belt and pulled a shuriken from it. Then, backing away from the gorge's edge, he held the star at the ready.
A few more minutes passed, and then Poseidon unleashed his attack.
Rising out of the water were not only the red eyes, but also a building-sized, octopus-like monster.
"No," Tracey whimpered. He did this. He led Poseidon pet there when he spelled Candice.
The Kraken itself was in the Charleston Harbor.
Tracey quickly moved out of the way of the water that bounced off its slimy body.
Poseidon's voice rose out of the Kraken's huge, gaping mouth. "You fool. You fell for such a simple trick. Merlin would be disappointed." He was controlling the monster from his den with the power of his trident.
"Get out of the harbor, Octopus Man!" Tracey demanded.
"I will, but only if you return to Atlantica. My pet will get you there no problem." When Poseidon said that, the Kraken's red eyes shimmered, and it unleashed a terrifying screeching roar.
It was so loud that Tracey dropped his ninja star and slapped his palms over his ears. "Why do you want me?" he asked the Octopus Man. "You're going to kill me, just like you did my mother!"
"But your father is anxiously waiting for your arrival," Poseidon giggled evilly.
"My father?" asked Tracey. "What did you do to him?"
"Something that only his son can rescue him from."
"No! I'm not going with you, Poseidon!" Tracey backed away from the immense monster. "You're lying! My father is the king! He'll banish you back to the Bermuda Triangle, just like the Chief Wave!"
"You don't have a choice. My pet, bring that claxton to me!"
At his command, the Kraken lifted two tentacles out of the water.
Tracey saw them coming, but quickly moved out of the way using ninja speed. To confuse the monster, he created multiple images of himself.
The Kraken was smarter than he thought, though, and he quickly found the real Tracey.
Just before he could grab him, Tracey cupped his hands, and a green and purple light appeared in them. He aimed the spell at the tentacles, hitting them.
"Why don't we make a deal, boy?" Poseidon asked. "You find your father, and maybe I'll let you be."
"Find my father?" Wait a minute! Did that mean Tamesis, Tracey's father, was somewhere at the College of Charleston? "Stop!" he yelled.
The Kraken did, but that was just because Poseidon ordered him to.
Tracey, who remained brave, asked, "Are you saying that my father is at the College of Charleston?"
"As I told you, kid, he is anxiously waiting for your arrival. A father is never too far from his son, right? Especially when that son is a prince."
"I'll find him!" Tracey shouted. "Just promise that you will leave the harbor!"
"Ah, good answer. But in exchange, you will forget your life on land. You belong in the sea, with me. You don't know who you are, but I do."
He never gave Tracey a chance to answer. Suddenly, the Kraken grabbed him in its tentacles.
Tracey popped his tail again during the process. He closed his eyes as the Kraken started to squeeze him. It caused the tattoo-like whale design on his left arm to glow.
The monster started pulling Tracey toward his gaping mouth, but Poseidon stopped him.
"Not today, my sweet pet. Let's first see if the boy succeeds."
The Kraken was sucking Tracey's life energy right out of him. He grew weaker by the second. However, the design on his arm continued to glow.
Suddenly, another large figure entered the channel. Tracey's vision was only a blur, but he could still hear. What he heard was the song of a humpback whale.
From out of nowhere, the Kraken released him, but that was the last thing Tracey remembered during that crazy adventure.
After a little bit, he was finally able to open his eyes again. He was so weak, though, that he did not know how much longer he could stay conscious. The Octopus Man had vanished, as well as the Kraken, and he was no longer at Fort Sumter. Instead, something escorted him back to the Waterfront Park.
***
Luna and Candice continued to wait for Tracey, but they were getting antsy. Candice especially.
"Where is he?" she asked.
"Don't worry. I'm sure he'll be here soon," said Luna.
"But I have a terrible feeling! Something happened to him! I just know it!"
Luna then saw something in the harbor. It looked like a dolphin, and it moved slowly toward a dock at the far end of the Waterfront Park. The glow of the full moon, along with reflections of city lights on the water, allowed Luna to recognize it.
"There he is!"
"Tracey!" Candice shouted.
Tracey heard the two girls, but was too wiped out to yell back. He dragged himself out of the ocean onto a small beach that was near the dock. He transformed back into a human, but collapsed onto the sand.
Luna and Candice wasted no time in aiding him.
It was hard to run in heels, so Candice kept hers in her hand. She and Luna ran down Waterfront's walking path that was closest to the water, eventually reaching the dock. They cut through the marsh grass to approach their friend.
A few crabs waddled around him and poked him with their claws, but they took off at the sight of the two girls.
"Tracey!" Candice shouted again. "I knew something had happened!" She fell to her knees beside him, holding him in her arms.
Luna was getting to do the same thing when she heard the same humpback whale song Tracey heard at Fort Sumter. She also noticed that the same design Tracey had on his arm as a merman suddenly appeared beside his jacket sleeve.
The whale continued to sing. It did not take long for it to see that Tracey was safe with the two girls, and it thanked them with its song.
Candice was too busy with Tracey to see the phenomenon Luna was witnessing.
She took a step closer to the water, right as water spewed out of the whale's blowhole. It was very, very rare to see a whale in Charleston, South Carolina, so that was why she knew that one particular whale had some connection to Tracey. She also knew that just like Jesse, it trusted her and Candice.
Under the rays of the full moon, Luna brought her hands to her chest and nodded at the Magic Animal. "Thank you for bringing him back."