“Angel!” I yelled, plunging into the water. I reached Gazzy and grabbed his shoulder. “Where did she go down?”
“Right here!” he said. “She dove that way! I saw her go under.”
Fang splashed in behind me, and Nudge and Iggy made their way over. The five of us peered into the cold gray blue water, able to see only a few inches down. A wave broke over us.
“This would be an excellent time for one of us to develop X-ray vision,” I muttered, a cold hand closing around my heart. I felt the strong tug of an underwater current pulling at my legs, saw how the wind was rippling the water out to sea.
“Angel!” Nudge yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth.
“Angel!” I shouted, wading through the water, taking big strides, praying I would brush against her.
Fang was sweeping his arms through the water, his face close to the surface. We fanned out, squinting from the sun’s glare, taking turns diving into the surf.
My throat closed, and I felt like I would choke. My voice was a strangled rasp; my eyes stung from the glare and the salt.
We had covered a big circle, maybe thirty yards out, and still there was no sign of her. My Angel. I glanced back at the shore, as if I would see her walking out onto the sand toward Celeste, who waited for her by a piece of driftwood.
Endless minutes ticked by.
I could feel the undertow pulling at my whole body. I couldn’t stop picturing Angel’s body being pulled out to sea, her eyes wide with terror. Had we come so far only to lose her now?
“Do you see anything?” I cried to Fang.
He shook his head, keeping his eyes on the water, sweeping his arms back and forth.
Once again, we swept the whole area, taking in every detail of the water, the beach, the open sea.
And did it again.
And again.
I saw something and blinked, then looked harder.
What was—was it—oh, God! Hundreds of yards away, a small, wet cornrowed head popped out of the water. I stared. Angel stood up in waist-high water and waved at us.
My knees almost buckled. I had to catch myself before I did a face-plant in the water.
Angel and I surged toward each other, the others catching up.
“Angel,” I could barely whisper, unbelieving, when I was finally close enough. “Angel, where were you?”
“Guess what?” she said happily. “I can breathe under water!”
115
I grabbed Angel into my arms, hugging her wet, chilly body against me. “Angel,” I murmured, trying not to cry, “I thought you had drowned! What were you doing?”
She wriggled closer, and I steered her to shore. We collapsed on the wet sand, and I saw the Gasman fighting back tears too.
“I was just swimming,” Angel said, “and I accidentally swallowed some water and started to choke. But I didn’t want Gazzy to find me. We were playing hide-and-seek,” she explained. “Under water. So I just stayed under, and then I realized that I could sort of swallow water and stay under and not choke.”
“What do you mean, swallow water?” I asked.
“I just swallow it and then go like this.” Angel blew air out of her nose, and I almost laughed at the face she made.
/> “It comes out your nose?” Fang asked.
“No,” Angel said. “I don’t know where the water goes. But air comes out my nose.”