by EJ Altbacker
“Shar-kata is not magic,” Takiza answered. “It is a form of training that enables one to take power from the ocean itself.” The betta frowned. “And Hokuu was much better at it when I was his Nulo ages ago.”
“That’s not good,” Mari whispered, but since it was so quiet in the cavern, everyone heard it.
Gray had been Takiza’s Nulo, or student, until recently. If the gap between his and Takiza’s abilities was any clue, Hokuu would be almost impossible to beat. Add to that prehistores, and Gray felt a tingling fear slide down his spine and settle like a cold rock in his stomach.
“Okay, I’m officially worried,” Barkley told Gray.
“No one cares what you think!” shouted Kaleth. “This is important sharkkind business and you are a dogfish!”
“They’re called dog sharks,” Mari said, defending Barkley. Why was Kaleth picking on him? Barkley always complained about how dogfish were disrespected by other sharks. Gray usually dismissed it because his friend could whine for no reason at all—as could anyone—from time to time. Sure, Barkley took complaining to a whole different level, but here it seemed that Kaleth didn’t think much of him because he was a dogfish.
To Gray, that was a mark against her, not Barkley.
Kaleth swished her tail in short, irritated, strokes as she balanced on the throne. “Graynoldus, I want a shark to be the teeth of will around the Big Blue as my Aquasidor. I need to keep the peace everywhere else so my guardians can concentrate on finding and stopping Hokuu.” Kaleth scowled at Barkley and Mari before either could ask a question. “Since the path between our two seas closed, I have no way of knowing what’s happening down below with Drinnok, so I don’t know what he’s up to exactly. I do know that Hokuu fights me at every turn in the Big Blue and has tried to kill me. If whatever he’s planning comes to be, there will be blood in the water like you’ve never seen before. So, make your choice. Will you help or not? I can’t use a fin that will not fully commit to following my orders.”
Barkley was about to open his mouth when Gray slashed his tail through the water. “I guess lounging around in the Riptide homewaters isn’t something I get to do right now,” he told his friends.
Mari smiled a little half smile. “But you’ve done so much already, Gray.”
“It’s true,” Barkley agreed. “You deserve some rest and relaxation.”
The Seazarein interrupted from the throne. “Deserve has absolutely nothing to do with it, dogfish.”
Barkley relished ignoring Kaleth, flicking his tail at her. The megalodon leader made a rumbling noise deep in her throat but didn’t reply.
Gray faced Kaleth and Takiza. “I’ll do it. I’ll be your Aquasidor.” This time he pronounced the word correctly, earning a nod from Kaleth. Gray glanced at Barkley and Mari. “I just don’t trust anyone else to do this. Especially if it means keeping the peace we fought so hard for.” Barkley and Mari were quiet, but they understood.
Gray looked at Kaleth. “So. When do we start?”
“At once, of course.”
CHAPTER 2
VELENKA HOVERED IN THE DARK, A FEW SILVERY streams of moonglow brightening the rock floor of her cell and creating pools of light. This and a few other smaller holes through the lava rock provided her with enough current to breathe. Because the blackness was so complete otherwise, it seemed as if the hazy tubes of moonlight were solid, cutting her cramped space into smaller pieces. Even when the sun rose high over the Big Blue, it remained murky in the underwater dungeon where Velenka was locked. Many would be unnerved by the gloom she was forced to endure day after day.
Not Velenka.
She enjoyed the dark, always had. Ever since she was young, she preferred hunting at night. When the sun set and the ocean grew dark, it was the time of the predator. And despite her predicament, Velenka was still a predator.
This was all Gray’s fault, she thought, grinding her needle teeth together. Velenka’s teeth itched when she wasn’t being honest to herself and that maddening tickle was there again. After all, was her situation really Gray’s fault? Some of it, undoubtedly. Yet she had swum a current so thin no one else would be alive to tell the tale had they been forced to do it.
First, when she managed to keep Goblin and his shiver from being overwhelmed by Razor Shiver. Then, trying to turn the stubborn Gray to her will and having that careen out of control. And after that, when Velenka finally took control of Riptide Shiver, Finnivus and his Black Wave armada came in and ruined everything once more. Time after time, she was forced to dip her snout to someone else more powerful!
You want control but never enough to earn it, teased a small voice in her mind.
Velenka silently and totally disagreed. Not true! I deserve it! No one deserves it more than me! The itching in her gums became maddening as she silently blamed Gray once more. She ground her teeth fiercely until one snapped off with a tink.
The sound echoed off the smooth lava rock walls. It was then she heard a noise—several noises, in fact. They echoed down the slender holes in the wall from the Riptide homewaters. There were shouts of “Alarm!” and “Intruder!” Her cell was so quiet, other than a slow current that kept her alive, that Velenka could hear individual sharkkind tearing this way and that through the water above.
She moved over to the largest of the holes in her cell to get a look. A small, escaping bubble of gas had created it before the lava was frozen by the water, so it was still very thin, even though it was the biggest. Looking almost straight into the moon, Velenka’s eyes watered. She forced herself to bear the brightness and gradually, they adjusted. Groups of sharks, probably patrols, were rushing back and forth. The yelling increased.
“I wonder what’s got them so spooked?” Velenka whispered in the gloom.
“Me,” said a voice behind her.
Velenka was so startled she smashed her snout into her little portal of the Big Blue. She whirled and saw—
Something impossible.
It was a monstrous eel, or perhaps a sea snake—no, it was just too big to be either of those. Velenka remembered a story she heard when she was a pup. There was one type of rare sharkkind that remained the same as their prehistore cousins through the eons, a living prehistore. They were called frilled sharks and swam the depths of the Deep Blue. That’s what this snaky horror was, a frilled shark.
It was hideous. Its large head, which was thicker than her midsection, had a mouth filled with wicked, multi-pointed teeth. Its eyes glittered emerald green even in the darkness of her prison. The monster’s body was flatter than a sea snake’s, but because of its size, it was taller than she was except toward the end of its tail, which had a wicked spike.
Velenka found herself at the back wall of her tiny cell. With the monster so close the whale-rib bars seemed thin and brittle. For the first and only time Velenka wished her prison was sturdier. Much sturdier.
“My poor girl,” the frilled shark said. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. But I’m not a ghost, I’m your savior. I am Hokuu.”
“Nice to meet you,” Velenka managed. Hokuu laughed, the sound echoing off the lava rock.
“So, how have you been?” Hokuu asked. Velenka’s eyes, already very large, widened a bit more. She hovered there, mouth open, not knowing what to say. “This place. It isn’t very nice, is it?” he continued.
“No, it’s not,” she replied.
“But that’s the way of it for you in this world, and makos in general, don’t you think?” Hokuu asked, his emerald eyes boring into her. “I’ve found that makos are very smart. But other sharkkind, they call it deviousness. Like being smart is a bad thing.”
Velenka felt as if a trap was closing but nodded. Makos were always distrusted. It was rare for them to be chosen leaders of mixed shivers. And everyone thought they were sneaky. “I agree, of course, but may I ask what you want from me
?”
“Polite and smart. Excellent. I heard that about you.” The frilled shark poked his spiked tail through the bars and tapped Velenka between the eyes. The tip was razor sharp and she had no doubt it would go right through her skull if Hokuu wished. “I want you to join me.”
Velenka’s insides turned to ice, but she didn’t know why. This was an opportunity, a chance to get out of her tiny cell. So why was she afraid? She pushed the feeling aside. “Let’s go,” she told him.
“Not today,” he answered. “It’s better that you stay here where I can find you for now. Don’t worry, I’ll be back. When I do come, be prepared to serve me. And for that service you will be rewarded like no other shark in this Big Blue.”
The part about reward was appealing, but Velenka found herself thinking that she’d never work for anyone again unless it suited her goals. Hokuu seemed to know this and smiled. “These sharks will question you about the deaths that happened tonight,” the frilled shark hissed. “When they do, find out what you can about the Seazarein.”
“I will. I promise. But—”
Hokuu cut her off with a rippling shake of his long tail. “You don’t even know what a Seazarein is, do you?”
“Only the legend. They haven’t swum the Big Blue for millions of years.”
Hokuu smiled. “You’re not up on current events. The Seazarein is back. She’s real and wants to keep the oceans for herself. But they’re not hers! Or any of the puny shivers here that claim pieces of them as their own. Anyway, when the time is right, I’ll give you your freedom.”
“Yes!” Velenka said. “I’ll do what you want. Thank you.”
Hokuu smirked but said nothing. Then he was gone as if he had never been there. Velenka let out a ragged sigh, more nervous than the situation called for. Sure, she didn’t know anything about Hokuu or his plans for her, but it was a chance to better her situation. How could that be a bad thing?
CHAPTER 3
IN A RARE BREAK BETWEEN HIS NEW LESSONS, Gray hovered in the towering gold-greenie, which floated more than two hundred feet off the ocean floor. The field was immense, larger than he had ever seen. Gold-greenie was rare, and to see so much of it, and growing so big, was an amazing sight. This was part of the Seazarein’s homewaters, which Gray now knew were called Fathomir after a great leader of Second Shiver. It also hid the strong point of Kaleth’s territory, the cavern where her throne was. Outside the entrance to this cavern lay the ruins of a landshark city with columns of granite, some of which were still standing. The throne cavern itself was well protected, and just twenty finja could hold off an armada from inside.
But her guardians, as the Seazarein called the finja, were always hyper-alert and on the lookout for Hokuu. Gray would have liked to know more about the dangerous frilled shark, but neither Takiza nor Kaleth would tell him anything.
Gray and Barkley had caught their lunch in the incredibly fish-filled gold-greenie of Fathomir. Barkley, with his ghostfin training, was a much better hunter than even a year ago, and both had fed well. Afterward, their lunch break had turned into a game. Gray supposed it could be called a drill—especially if they were caught—but it was more fun than anything. And he needed some fun. Mari, along with the others that had come with him, had already left for Riptide to tell Striiker what was happening and that he would need to lead. Gray hoped the big great white would do a good job. As it was, he was kept far too busy to even consider swimming home.
There were so many lessons Gray thought his head would explode: lessons on how to speak, lessons about protocol, lessons on previous Aquasidors and their missions along with the mistakes they made, lessons on history, lessons on how to greet kings, queens, princes, and princesses, lessons on how to react when you received a compliment or a gift—lessons about everything. Gray wouldn’t be surprised if there was a lesson about the correct way to clear his throat. It was a relief to clear his mind, even for a little while.
Barkley had challenged him to a best-of-five match in one-on-one combat after they ate. Of course, he did issue the challenge when they were deep in the gold kelp field. Barkley wasn’t dumb. Even with his ghostfin skills, a dogfish didn’t stand a sardine’s chance against Gray in open water. Gray was much larger and stronger.
In the greenie, though, Barkley was as sneaky as a sea spider, and right now they were tied, two to two. Both of Barkley’s strikes came after Gray wandered into an area where his friend had hidden himself perfectly. Some of the gold-greenie stalks were so thick and leafy that a single strand could hide Barkley completely. While most fins would try a successful tactic again and again until it was defeated, Gray felt that his friend would do the opposite.
But maybe he’s expecting me to think that, Gray thought. After all, he is sneaky.
He reached out with his senses as Takiza had taught him. Well, was trying to teach him. Gray couldn’t do it every time. But when he was calm and there was no pressure, sometimes his senses acted like the sonar the dolphins used but without all the clicking. In addition to a shark’s lateral line, which detected vibrations, Takiza had taught Gray about these things called ampullae, which could sense the electric fields that all living things generated.
Gray had asked if Takiza was “ampullae-ing my tail,” which the betta didn’t find funny at all. These sensors were real, but it took practice to have them be more than a very short-range thing. Gray closed his eyes. This seemed to help somehow, but Takiza always got mad when he did it. “Use all your senses, not one less than all!” he would huff.
Gray glided carefully through the gigantic greenie field. He could feel the tide moving the thick kelp back and forth. He felt hundreds of fish swimming around, looking for their own meals. Gray dismissed their smaller shadows, as he thought of the electrical signals, as background noise. They were too little to be Barkley. He felt several larger sharkkind in the area, the Seazarein’s guardians. Those were too big.
Then Gray felt something that got his attention, so he focused. It was behind and above him, hidden inside a thick patch of greenie, moving with the tide. That was sly, to move with the kelp as the tides pushed it.
Gotcha, Gray thought.
Barkley was almost invisible.
Almost . . .
Gray allowed himself to drift near the patch of greenie, making his naked dorsal fin an inviting target. He felt Barkley burst forward from the kelp, though his friend didn’t make a sound swimming. Before the dogfish could get close, Gray cut a circular turn up and then back down.
Gray had him dead to rights and Barkley knew it. “That’s impossible!” He scowled, not even attempting to defend himself. “Have you grown eyes in the back of your head?”
Gray nudged the dogfish in the flank with his snout. “And that’s game!”
“If you are quite finished fooling around, it’s time for your next lesson.” Takiza floated between the two, looking at them crossly.
“Oh, this wasn’t a game, Shiro,” Gray told him as seriously as he could. “We were training. I was practicing one of your lessons—you know, the one about—”
Takiza chopped his colorful, gauzy fins through the water. “It so happens in my own youth I invented the excuse of saying I was training when caught playing. It did not work for me then, and it certainly will not work for you now since—as I said—I invented that excuse.” Takiza looked over at Barkley. “And if you want to hide undetected in the greenie, you must be more like greenie.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Barkley whispered to Gray as Takiza motioned them toward the Seazarein’s cavern.
Join the club, thought Gray. Every other thing he was told these days didn’t make sense.
“And so, Aquasidor Surex did what, exactly, wrong?” asked Judijoan. Judijoan was Gray’s history, manners, and protocol teacher and also the Seazarein’s advisor. She was an ancient oarfish. Her slender, silvery body sh
one in the throne cavern, and she had crimson fins with a plume of the same color arching from her forehead. She was at least as long as Gray and had a kind face, although the longer he didn’t answer, the more sour her expression became.
Barkley gave Gray a silent fin motion to say something—anything.
“What . . . Aquasidor Surex . . . did . . . wrong . . . was wrong . . . really, really, wrong . . . ”
Takiza rolled his eyes as Gray stretched out the time so he could think of an answer. He had absolutely no idea.
“Yes, that much was established by telling you a story called ‘The Short and Sad Term of Aquasidor Surex.’ ” Judijoan had a disconcerting habit of rising to hold herself straight up and down so she towered over him as she scowled. The oarfish sighed and glanced at the Seazarein. She continued, “He made many mistakes. But in this case, what did Surex do to start the cascade of events that ultimately led to his own death?”
“Aquasidor Surex . . . made many, many . . . so many . . . mistakes . . . ”
Takiza shook his fins back and forth. “I can take no more!”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know!” Gray said. “I’m trying, but the story went on for two hours. I have no idea why Goshen Shiver decided to send Aquasidor Surex to the Sparkle Blue unless he told them a story as long as the one I just heard!”
“Of course you do! He made the same mistake you always do!” Takiza snorted. “Think!”
Gray tried, but nothing came into his mind because he made mistakes all day. It seemed like he made a mistake every time he opened his mouth.
Wait! That was it!
Gray looked at Judijoan and answered, “He should have remained silent because he should have known the answer, but instead he guessed. Aquasidor Surex’s main mistake was having no idea and saying something that was completely wrong.”
“Well done!” the oarfish said. “That was a difficult one.”
“Compared to what?” the Seazarein asked. “If Graynoldus doesn’t know what I need him to say or not say when I need him to say or not say it, he’ll do more harm than good.” Kaleth turned to Takiza. “What do you think?”
