Cryssa blew one more whistling note in response to the signal from the leaping Kee, then lowered the pendant from her lips.
"Nothing much," she said. "I just invited a few friends over."
*****
Chapter Thirty-Seven
As Cryssa and Bey watched from the hilltop, distant figures rose from the sea. Five and ten and twenty at a time, they broke the surface, arrayed in a ring that spanned the horizon.
Dozens and dozens of Kee leaped out of the water in graceful arcs, clad in silver helmets and armor. Many of the Kee had riders--Sylva warriors waving spears and swords overhead.
Gangs of powerful, black-and-white Orga nosed up alongside the Kee. Sleek-furred seals and leathery sea lions popped up, too, seemingly unafraid though the Orga often hunted them. On this day, even hunters and prey would work together to oppose the Sharkites.
Silver-skinned swordfish shot out of the water in twos and threes, their long, sharp noses lancing the air. Squadrons of flying fish darted over the twisting tentacles of octopi and giant squid.
Behind the line of smaller creatures, enormous whales parted the surface like mountains rising up from the depths. They came in an incredible variety of colors and shapes--black and blue and gray and green...boxy and slender and lumpy and smooth--and all of them were huge. Each time one came to the surface, it launched a great fountain of water from its blowhole.
As the multitude of sea creatures burst into view, torrents of rain gushed down on the ocean and island. Cryssa was soaked, but she didn't care. Her smile was wide, and her heart beat fast with joy.
Her army had come for her.
Again, she raised the Kee pendant and blew another whistling note. The Army of the Sea called back to her in reply, singing and shouting and barking and roaring all at once in a mighty blast like thunder.
As if nature itself were joining in, the army's echoing bellow was followed by the rumble and crash of true thunder from the clouds.
And then, the army began to move. The Kee and Orga and swordfish and seals and sea lions leaped forward. The massive whales plowed along behind them like drifting shoals.
The ring of seaborne might began to close around Shark Island.
Bey whirled from the sight, eyes wide with shock and alarm. "Call them off," he said in a pleading voice. "The Sharkites need help, not this."
Cryssa shook her head. "This is the only way," she said. "I won't let the Sharkites invade Kee Island, and I'm not going to stay here, either."
Bey's eyes darkened and his face hardened.
"Then I guess this is war," he snapped, right before he spun and ran off down the hillside.
*****
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Alone on the hilltop in the drenching rain, Cryssa watched as the battle began.
Dozens of sharks charged out of the shallow surf, racing headlong toward the oncoming army. Many of the sharks carried guardsmen on their backs, armed with nets and clubs and sharp-edged weapons.
It was only then, as the two sides charged toward each other, that Cryssa had second thoughts about setting the attack in motion. All along, she had hoped that if she called on her army, the Sharkites would surrender without a fight and let her go. Now that a battle was about to start, a fight in which lives might be lost, she wished that she had tried harder to find another solution.
At the same time, she knew in her heart that there wouldn't have been another solution. If the Sharkites were willing to fight and possibly die to keep her, she couldn't think of another way that she could have convinced them to release her.
In the ocean below, the two sides rushed toward each other, driving ever closer. The riders bent over their steeds with weapons pointed straight ahead, choosing their targets. The sea creatures leaped and darted and lumbered and flew, churning the water into a froth.
Then, the Sharkites and the Army of the Sea collided. All along the horizon, the two sides charged into each other in an explosion of shouts and splashes and clashing weapons and frenzied motion.
The sky flashed with lightning. Thunder rumbled and cracked.
The battle was underway.
Cryssa turned her back on it and hurried down the hillside, determined to free Seek and slip away through the chaos.
*****
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Panting, Cryssa raced down to the rocky cove where Seek was being held and plunged into the water. She glanced around to see if any of the shark guards were nearby, but they were nowhere in sight.
Cryssa swam up to the rock-walled pool and found the cord that would move the bamboo gate. Heaving with all her strength, she hauled the cord back, and the gate inched upward.
"Cryssa!" shouted Seek from within the pen. "Leave me! Get out of here!"
"Swim out when the gate's high enough to fit under," said Cryssa, grunting out the words as she strained at the cord. The gate was so heavy that she had to struggle to get it to rise, and she wasn't sure how much further she could move it.
"Please just go," said Seek. "Get away from this place."
Cryssa was straining so hard to lift the gate that she could barely grind out her next words through clenched teeth. "Do what I tell you!" she said. "Swim out!"
The gate continued to creep upward. Seek clicked in protest, then dove under the water.
Hand over hand, Cryssa pulled the cord toward her. The reel slowly cranked, and the gate rose grudgingly.
Just when Cryssa thought that she couldn't possibly lift the gate any higher, a smooth, gray head popped up in front of her. Though the gate had not risen above the surface of the water, Cryssa had hauled it far enough up that Seek had been able to slip under it.
Gratefully, Cryssa let go of the cord. It shot away from her as the heavy gate slammed back down to block the gap.
As lighting flared and thunder boomed, Cryssa threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around Seek. She hugged him, taking care not to squeeze too hard because of his many cuts and scratches.
"I never thought I'd see you again," she said, kissing the top of his head.
"I never thought I'd see you again, either," said Seek. He nuzzled against her, then pulled back. "What's happening out there? I heard the Kee war cry and the roars of whales."
"I thought it might take an army to set you free," said Cryssa, "so I brought one."
"An army?" said Seek.
"There's a battle going on right now," said Cryssa. "It's our chance to get away. Can you swim?"
Seek bobbed his snout up and down. "Yes, but not fast."
"Then come on," said Cryssa, moving toward the sea and waving for him to follow. "We're getting out of here."
Seek stayed behind. "Go on without me," he said. "I'll just slow you down."
Cryssa swam back to him and put her hand on his head. "I'm the queen now, and I'm giving you an order," she said sternly. "Come with me."
Seek stared at her for a moment, then started moving forward. "Queen?" he said. "I guess I missed a lot while I was away."
"You might say that," said Cryssa, swimming alongside him.
*****
Chapter Forty
Slowly, Cryssa and Seek swam out into the cove. Between them and the open sea, the battle raged in a ragged, roiling line of bodies and foam.
From the hilltop, Cryssa had thought that this area had looked like the least crowded and easiest to get through. From water level, though, she had an entirely different point of view. Whichever direction she looked, to the right or to the left, the battle line seemed like an impassable curtain of destruction.
Shark Men on the backs of sharks crossed swords and spears with Sylva warriors riding armored Kee knights. Squid wrapped writhing tentacles around Shark Men and hoisted them from their steeds. Packs of Orga battled packs of sharks, thrashing and twisting and bolting in frenzied blurs of black and white and gray. A humpback whale surged from the water and crashed down on its side, cracking a war canoe in half and scattering its occupants.
Everywhere,
the waters were thick with battling men and creatures. Cryssa could see no clear escape route through the pandemonium.
Then, she had an idea. There was one direction that she had not yet considered.
"Seek," she said. "Are you having any trouble holding your breath because of your injuries?"
"No trouble," said Seek. "Why?"
"I can't see any good place to get through the fighting," said Cryssa, "so we'll go under it."
"There might be fighting down below, too," said Seek, "though we can't see it from here."
"We'll go deep," said Cryssa. "We'll come up on the other side of all this."
"We might be under for a while," said Seek. "Maybe longer than you can hold your breath."
"I'll be fine," said Cryssa. "It's the only way."
For a moment, Seek said nothing as he and Cryssa continued to approach the battle line. "We should turn back," he said finally. "This is too dangerous."
"We should," said Cryssa, "but we won't. We're too close to going home to turn back now."
"If we're attacked," said Seek, "I don't know if I'll be able to protect you."
"We'll get through this together," said Cryssa, gently patting his head.
The two of them swam a little further, and then they stopped. Not far ahead, three swordfish were slashing their rapier noses at a pair of huge bull sharks. An Orga was snapping its jaws at a Sharkite while a sea lion thrust its great bulk against the side of his canoe. Shark Men drove spears in the sides of a lurching blue whale, filling the water with blood.
"Close enough," said Cryssa.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" said Seek.
"Yes," said Cryssa, nodding. "It's the only way out of here."
As Seek gazed at her, some of the old fire returned to his eyes. "Climb on my back," he said. "I'll carry you."
"No," said Cryssa. "You're hurt."
Seek shook his snout from side to side. "We stand a better chance if we stay together," he said.
"But I don't want to hurt you," said Cryssa.
"I won't be separated from you again," said Seek.
Lightning flashed overhead, and a blast of thunder exploded. A spear flew into the water nearby.
"We have to go now," said Seek. "Climb on."
Gingerly, Cryssa boosted herself up onto Seek's back. She winced at the many cuts in his hide, knowing that she was probably hurting him just by moving over them.
"Put your arms around me and hold on," said Seek.
Though there were some nasty scratches where she would have to hold on to him, Cryssa leaned down and slipped her arms around either side of his head. She clasped her hands together underneath him, linking her fingers tightly and trying not to press in too hard on his throat.
Again, lightning flared and thunder boomed. Battling Orga and sharks flung themselves closer to Cryssa and Seek.
"Take a deep, deep breath," said Seek. "The deepest ever."
Cryssa kissed his head softly. "We can make it," she said. "We're almost home."
"I love you," said Seek, and then he inhaled deeply.
Cryssa breathed in, too, filling her lungs with as much air as she could.
Then, Seek plunged under the surface, carrying her with him.
*****
Chapter Forty-One
Seek and Cryssa dove down into the blue depths, descending further with each sweep of his tail. The noise of the battle, which had been so loud above the surface, faded to a distant, bubbling rumble.
With the sun veiled by a sky full of rain clouds, the deep water was more dimly lit than it usually was during the day. Cryssa could still see what lay ahead and around her, but could only see far into the murky distance when lightning blazed overhead.
Seek dove down and down, then leveled out and began to hurtle forward. If indeed he was swimming slower than usual because of his injuries, Cryssa couldn't tell.
Holding tight and pressed down by the force of the water as they raced through it, Cryssa couldn't look up to see if Seek had taken her far enough under the battle to be safe...but she trusted him. Though Cryssa's vision was limited underwater, Seek could navigate the darkest, murkiest depths with ease by sending out signals that told him where objects and creatures were located.
A school of tiny, silver fish burst apart as Seek plowed through them without slowing down. With a
last-second swerve, he bucked out of the way of a sword dropping down from above, sinking toward the sea bed.
Suddenly, something struck him from below, and he lurched to one side. The force of the impact was so great that it jarred loose Cryssa's grip, and she fell away from him.
As Cryssa tumbled through the water, she caught a brief glimpse of what had collided with Seek--a huge tortoise shooting off into the darkness. Then, as she flailed and kicked to try to stop her out-of-control tumble, she saw Seek rolling away into the darkness, too.
When she finally slowed and stopped spinning, Cryssa looked in every direction but could see no sign of him. She swam forward--though it was hard to tell if she was going forward or back now--but saw nothing.
Her chest tightened. She was running out of breath.
Cryssa looked up. Though she couldn't tell exactly how far down she was, she had a feeling that she would never make it to the surface in time to keep from drowning.
She swam for the surface anyway. It was the only thing left to do.
Each stroke of her arms and each kick of her legs carried her further upward...but the last bit of her breath was soon gone. Her chest ached, and tiny stars winked in front of her eyes.
Her swimming slowed. More than anything, she wanted to inhale. Though there was nothing but water all around, she knew that soon she would be unable to resist taking a breath.
It was then that she realized that she was about to die. It was the death that she had once feared the most, death by drowning...the very death that she had once left Shark Island to escape.
Strangely, even as she realized that it was happening, Cryssa wasn't as scared of this death as she had always imagined she would be. This wasn't such a bad way to die, she thought, floating in peaceful blue waters with the danger and deceit of the air-breathing world far away.
Cryssa stopped swimming. Closing her eyes, she exhaled the stale air from her lungs in a rush of bubbles that leaped up and away from her.
Then, she opened her mouth to take the deep breath that she was dying for.
*****
Chapter Forty-Two
As Cryssa parted her lips, fully expecting the sea water to rush in, she felt something press against them. Her eyes shot open in surprise.
She saw Seek looking back at her.
His snout was pressed tight against her mouth. As she stared at him, he blew a stream of air from his own lungs into hers.
Cryssa's chest expanded. When her lungs were full, she broke away from Seek, holding the precious air inside her.
Once again, he had saved her life.
Seek pointed his snout upward, then, and Cryssa understood. Now that he had depleted his own air supply, they had to get to the surface as fast as possible.
Cryssa climbed onto his back, looping her arms around him and hooking her ankles behind his back fin. As soon as she was in place, Seek began to climb toward the open air.
The two of them spiraled upward, rising ever higher. Gradually, as they left the depths behind, the waters around them brightened. Cryssa couldn't see far, but the nearby murk was starting to thin.
Then, the waters flared with a burst of lightning. For an instant, Cryssa could clearly see into the distance around her.
Immediately, she wished that the lightning had not revealed what was out there.
When the brilliant flare winked out, she continued to peer into the faraway waters. Though what she had seen in the flash was no longer visible to her, she was sure that it was still out there.
Lurking. Following.
Her heart raced. Now that she knew what was coming after them, she almos
t wished that she had drowned in the peaceful depths.
It no longer mattered if they got to the surface. She and Seek were as doomed up above as down below.
*****
As Seek continued to spiral toward the surface, Cryssa felt her breath begin to give out. Her chest ached, and the tiny stars returned to wink before her eyes. She fought to hold on for just another second, then another, then one more.
Finally, Seek broke the surface. Cryssa gasped for breath, instinctively ducking back to clear the blowhole on top of his head. A jet of exhaled breath and seawater sprayed up from the hole as he breathed out, emptying his lungs; then he, too, drew in a deep breath of fresh air.
Cryssa was dizzy as she heaved in more breaths. The world spun around her, and she thought she might fall off Seek's back...but she forced herself to hold on tight. Considering what was coming after her and Seek, she didn't want to be floundering in the water alone.
When she could finally speak, Cryssa shouted one word to Seek.
"Shark!" she said.
Just as she said it, as if on cue, a huge, triangular fin split the surface not far away. It was moving toward Cryssa and Seek.
While underwater, Cryssa had seen the body of the creature to which the fin was attached. It was an enormous shark, mottled gray on top and solid white underneath. The underside of the shark was white as bone from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail.
White was the most terrible color of all for a shark. Cryssa knew exactly what it meant.
The most fearsome creature in the sea--a Great White shark—-was heading straight for them.
Cryssa watched it with terrified fascination. Whatever hope she had once had for escape and safety disappeared like a flame doused by water.
Seek turned to face the approaching monster. Cryssa could feel his muscles tense under his hide.
"Hold on tight," he said. "Don't let go no matter what."
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