Free Storm Singing and other Tangled Tasks by Lari Don

tight under her, and her arms were at an awkward angle, so she couldn’t move it at all.
    She was struggling to breathe now, because her attempts to sit up were disturbing the water and pushing ripples up her nose. She had to get out of here. Could she just rip her hair out of the chain?
    So she jerked again, hauling her head up, using her tummy muscles and neck muscles, pushing with her hands on the bench. She tugged and pulled, hoping that her hair would break at the ends, or even rip out of her scalp.
    It hurt. It hurt worse than anything she’d ever felt. But it didn’t free her from the chain.
    Helen sobbed as she tried again. Perhaps it would take more strength than she had, to rip thousands of hairs out of her scalp all at once.
    She yelled out, “ One more time! ” and pulled again. Her voice echoed round the cave, but her head didn’t lift more than a centimetre out of the water.
    As she splashed back down, holding her breath so the waves didn’t overwhelm her, she heard her voice echo, and wondered whether anyone else had heard it. There was a long tunnel between her and the feasting hall. If she screamed, would anyone at the feast hear her? Would anyone get here before she drowned?
    It was all she had left. Once the water settled and her face was in clear air, she took a deep breath …
    Then she heard the most wonderful sound in the world, better than any music: the sound of hooves on stone.
    It was the beat she knew so well. The staccato trot of an impatient centaur.
    She yelled, “ Yann! ”
    “Come on, Helen, you’re missing the …”
    Helen twisted round to look at the entrance, turning her face into the rising water, and saw blurs of colour through the salt in her eyes.
    Purple. Orange. Silver. Brown.
    Lavender. Catesby. Rona. Yann.
    All yelling at once: “Helen!” “What are you …?” “How …?”
    “Shut up and help me ! My hair’s tied to a chain. I’m about to drown!”
    Lavender and Rona dashed towards her, Yann and Catesby turned and sped away up the tunnel. Rona dived into the pool and swam round to Helen’s right. Lavender hovered above her.
    Helen could feel Rona’s fingers behind her head, then the selkie surfaced beside her. “There are dozens of plaits. I can’t untie them all. Back in a minute.” She dived off again.
    Where had Rona gone? Would a minute be too long?Helen was tilting her chin up simply to breathe.
    “Maybe she’s gone to block the water’s entrance into the cave,” said Lavender in a wobbly voice. “Or something else useful. Don’t panic.”
    “I’m not panicking.” Helen hoped that was true.
    “Keep still, and I’ll try an unwinding spell. It’s for wool, but it might work on human hair.” Lavender perched on Helen’s forehead, picking up strands of her fringe and murmuring soft syllables.
    Now Helen couldn’t see any of her friends. She knew they were all trying to help her. But she couldn’t see them. She needed someone to hold her hand. Or talk to her. Not mutter on her forehead with little stilettos digging into her skin.
    Lavender bounced back in view. “I can’t do it! I’m having to release each hair individually and there isn’t enough time … I’m sure someone’s coming. Hold your breath. Don’t breathe in!”
    Helen couldn’t breathe in. She was now completely underwater. Her nose, her mouth, her eyes. All under the cold salt water.
    There was a splash beside her. Rona stuck her hands under Helen’s shoulder, and yelled, “Lift the chain!”
    “I can’t, I’ve tried!” Helen bubbled with the last of her breath.
    “I’ve unhooked it! It’ll be easier to move now. Lift, Helen, lift !”
    Helen put her hands behind her, wrapped her fingers round an oval link and lifted. She felt Rona take the strain too. They both hauled at the rusty chain.
    Suddenly Helen was sitting on the bench, water up to her ribs, and a painfully heavy chain draped over her shoulder.
    At that moment, Yann galloped in with an axe, and Catesby