Summary

Chapter 1 – It is 1870 on Llanfair Mountain, Pennsylvania. 16 year-old Clara considers the words “Wishing gets you nothing” that have been carved into an old tree by an unknown person years before. There is a clear, freshwater pond on the mountain into which visitors have tossed pebbles for hundreds of years as payment for the water sprite for wishes. Clara’s sister, Maren, swims in the pool. She is turning into a mermaid. The sisters live with their guardian, a folk healer Auntie Verity, on the mountain. Osbert, a friendly wyvern (dragon), keeps a close watch over things. Maren hopes to one day make it to the sea where she will live in the water forever with other mermaids. Clara wishes this wasn’t so, and wishes that Auntie could reverse the process, but it seems impossible. To calm both girls, Auntie tells the exaggerated story...