by Lynn Abbey
As Tanetoa approached the surface, he was astonished to see a long stream of yellow figures gliding into the mouth of the passage. At first, he thought they might be a school of yellow-bellied snappers invading the lagoon in pursuit of a sumptuous meal, but he soon saw that could not be. The figures were far larger than most snappers, stretching to a uniform length just shy of that of a human. Moreover, they had fin-footed legs instead of tails and spindly arms instead of pectoral fins, and they were armed with a wide assortment of tridents, crossbows, and wickedly curved sea swords.
When the creatures noticed Tanetoa, a long file peeled off the main school and swirled down to meet him. Their faces were distinctly codlike, with heavy lips, deep glassy eyes, and a single pair of sensor tentacles dangling beneath their chins. They were lo-cathah, a race of nomadic fishmen who sometimes hunted along the reef in pursuit of giant groupers or schools of red jack. Never before had they come in such great numbers.
Tanetoa stopped some twenty feet from the surface and hung alongside the reef in front of a beautiful elephant-ear sponge. The locathah encircled him and began to wave their arms and hand-fins in underwater Common, a complicated language of symbols and currents that allowed creatures with differing vocal capacities to communicate while submerged.
"Greetings, Reefmaster," the locathah said. "Have you hunger?"
Tanetoa spread his webbed fingers and waved his response. "I have fed," he answered. In a world where most species were both predator and prey, the question and reply were polite ways of saying I come in peace. "Greetings, Seawanderers. You come in great numbers. I fear the reef cannot provide for so many."
"We do not come on the hunt," replied the locathah. "Eadro sends us to defend your island from the Enemy Above."
"I have spoken with the Enemy Above," replied Tanetoa. "They have come to protect the island from the Enemy Below."
The locathah's glassy eyes widened. The creature glanced in the direction of the ships and signed, "Then you hunt for them?"
"I do not hunt at all."
"That cannot be," replied the locathah. "This is war. All must hunt."
"No," Tanetoa signed, shaking his head. "A great hunt would be bad for the reef. Humans have magic and the fire that burns in water."
"Have no fear," the locathah assured. "We have Eadro's favor, and we are here to defend the island."
"I do not wish you to defend the island," Tanetoa countered. "There is nothing here to defend, only to destroy."
"It is Eadro's will," the locathah answered.
"But why?" Tanetoa allowed his anger to show in the curtness of his gestures. "What does it matter if humans land on my island?"
"They come in great numbers," the locathah signed. "They will poison the reef."
"And a battle will destroy it," said Tanetoa. "If Eadro cares about the reef, you will leave and let me deal with the humans."
"I did not say Eadro cares about the reef," the locathah countered. "I said only that the humans will poison it, as they poison everything in the water. What Eadro cares about is the Enemy Above. If they want the island, then Eadro does not want them to have it."
"And if they go away?" asked Tanetoa.
"Then there will be no need to defend the island. Can you make the Enemy Above go away?" There was a certain buoyancy in the locathah's gestures that suggested he wanted this as badly as Tanetoa.
"I will try."
Tanetoa ascended to the surface and took a great breath, pausing to look back at the ships. They were just over two hundred yards away, close enough that had the sun been higher in the sky, the lookouts in their crow's nests might have seen the locathah slipping into the channel. As it was, the glare on the water prevented that-which was certainly the only reason the emir had not ordered his men into their skiffs already.
A tiny figure in the bow of the emir's ship waved to Tanetoa. The gesture seemed a nervous one, and the giant dared hope it meant the humans had taken the point of his little display. He returned the wave, then kicked into the channel and followed the great school of locathah into his lagoon.
Kani was waiting on the shore, and Tanetoa swam toward her, heart pounding with fear and anger. Only a few hours remained before high tide, and he could not bear the thought of what the coming battle would do to his reef. The clumsy skiffs would crash about madly, tearing the tops off the corals, and wizards would fire lightning bolts and magic rays at the lo-cathah hiding in the thick cover deeper down. The stunning formations would shatter into luminous sprays of shrapnel or simply die of shock. The reef fish would perish from the explosive concussions and float to the surface in schools. The sponges would burst, the anemones would be blasted flat, and the destruction would not end there. The locathah would capsize the human boats, turning the lagoon into a frothing mass of thrashing blades and flailing tridents that would smash whole swaths of brittle coral. The water would turn scarlet with blood and entrails, and the sharks would come, smashing headlong through the delicate garden in a feeding frenzy that could well do more damage than the battle itself.
The reef would be destroyed, and Tanetoa could not permit that. He had to convince the humans to leave- but how?
As Tanetoa neared the shore, Kani waded out to meet him. "You have spoken with the locathah?"
Tanetoa stood and nodded. "They have come to defend the island."
Kani's gaze shot at once to the warships, and she said nothing.
"The humans are determined to occupy the island for its own protection," Tanetoa said glumly.
Kani furrowed her brow. "They will fight for this island?" She shook her head in amazement. "Why?"
Tanetoa shrugged. "Because their caleph ordered it."
Kani considered this for a moment, then said, "There must be more to it than that. Tell me what they said."
Tanetoa recounted the conversation, relating everything from "declaring sides" to warning the emir against trying to land his forces without Tanetoa's consent. Kani listened carefully, asking for clarification only twice, once regarding the emir's reaction to hearing that Tanetoa could sing with the whales, and the second time regarding the man's reluctance to come ashore alone.
When Tanetoa finished, Kani considered the account for a time, then said, "Whatever his master wants, the emir must be afraid we won't allow it. That's why he refuses to come ashore until he can bring his men."
Tanetoa's eyes went wide. "You think he means to attack us?"
"If we don't give him what he wants."
"How can we?" So overcome with frustration was Tanetoa that the question rumbled from his mouth like a peal of thunder. "He won't tell us what it is!"
Kani spread her palms in a gesture of helplessness. "We will find out at high tide."
Tanetoa remained silent for a moment, then shook his head. "No, we won't. The locathah will attack while the boats are still in the lagoon." He stared across the water at the war fleet. "I must stop the humans from coming."
"How?"
"I don't know. Maybe I can sink their ships."
Kani paled. "Tanetoa, I may not love your island, but I do love you. Attacking the humans is too dangerous."
"I could do it from underneath," he explained. "If I took a sharp boulder — "
"You might sink two or three, but what of their wizards? If it were that easy to destroy an entire fleet, the
Enemy Beneath would not let the humans venture onto the water at all."
"I could ask the locathah for help."
Kani rolled her eyes. "And how would that save the reef? Without their ships, the humans would have no place to go but our island." She paused, then took Tane-toa's hand. "There are other reefs, Tanetoa, on larger islands-with enough wood to build a proper house, and with oyster beds rich in pearls."
Tanetoa pulled his hand away. "But there is only one Crystal Reef. There are corals here that grow in no other part of the sea. If that is not wealth enough-"
"It is more than enough wealth, as long as we are together," said Kani. "But
it means nothing without you."
Tanetoa instantly regretted his tone. Kani's sisters all lived on larger islands, in great mansions furnished with elaborate furniture and priceless treasures. But Kani had lived with him on this island, in near poverty, for more than seven decades. The mere fact that she stayed was proof enough of her loyalty.
Tanetoa took his wife's hand. "I'm sorry for speaking harshly. You are not the one who swore to protect this reef. Sometimes I don't know why you stay with me."
"I stay because I love you, and I love you because you are the kind who would guard an island with no pearls." Kani squeezed his hand. "Besides, the reef is the most beautiful one in the Shining Sea. Even my sisters say so."
Tanetoa raised his brow, for he had never heard them speak of anything beautiful except their mansions. "Truly?"
"Would I lie to my husband?" Kani's voice turned from playful to serious. "I don't want to lose you to this war. Promise me that if you cannot persuade the humans to go, you will not be foolish enough to attack them."
"But I must protect the reef."
"You cannot protect the reef if you are dead," Kani said. "Promise, and I will tell you how to stop this battle."
Tanetoa cocked his brow. "You will? Then I promise."
Kani smiled. "You must give them your whale horn."
"My whale horn?" The whale horn was the single treasure Tanetoa's reef had ever yielded, the magic conch shell that allowed him to sing with the whales. "Why would that make them leave?"
"Would not an alliance with the whales benefit the humans?" asked Kani. "You said yourself the emir and his officer exchanged looks when you told them of singing with the whales. Perhaps the horn is the real reason they have come."
"Of course," Tanetoa answered, beginning to feel hopeful. "But if they wanted the whale horn, why not ask for it?"
"Because humans are greedy and cunning," answered Kani. "They feared you would refuse to give it to them and hide the horn where they could not find it. Perhaps they think it is surer to come ashore and steal it before you know what they want."
Tanetoa nodded. "That sounds like the emir." He started toward the hut to retrieve the horn, then stopped short. "But what of the locathah? If the humans want the horn, the locathah will want them not to have it."
Kani considered this, then motioned Tanetoa back into the lagoon. "Swim out past the reef. I will throw the horn out, and you can take it to the ships before the locathah catch you."
Tanetoa eyed the reef. Like all giants, reef giants could hurl boulders a great distance-more than three hundred yards-and it was only two hundred yards to the far side of the reef. It would not be difficult for Kani to throw the conch shell to him.
"Wait until you see me wave," he said. ulf you throw it before I'm ready, I'll have to dive for it, and the lo-cathah might catch up."
"I'll wait." Kani kissed him, then turned to wade ashore. "Remember your promise."
"I remember."
Tanetoa waded into the lagoon, then swam back to the channel, where the locathah were continuing to arrive from the open sea. As he left the passage, several of the creatures stopped below him, and one waved its thin arms in greeting.
"Hail, Reefmaster. Do you go to the humans?"
Tanetoa dived under the water, where the conversation would be hidden from human eyes. "I do." Tanetoa could not tell whether he was speaking with the same locathah as earlier, for they all looked the same to him. "I go to make them leave."
"How can you do that? Humans are stupid creatures who never listen to reason."
"Nothing is truer," agreed Tanetoa, "but I am a giant."
"You will threaten them?"
"If I must," signed Tanetoa.
"Even a giant cannot stand alone against so many," said the locathah. "We will come with you."
Tanetoa shook his head. "No. If the humans do not leave, you will kill more if you attack by surprise."
The locathah considered this, then smacked its lips in the piscine equivalent of a nod. "Eadro's wisdom is on you. We will ready ourselves for the hunt. May you eat and not be eaten."
It was a traditional good wish for anyone about to embark on a dangerous undertaking. Tanetoa responded with the less bellicose wish, "Swim with the currents."
Leaving the locathah to hover, Tanetoa returned to the surface and swam fifty yards toward the ships, then turned back to his island. Kani stood waist deep in the lagoon, holding the giant conch on her shoulder. A beautiful purple-striped shell with a crown of spines at the closed end, it was so large that even both of her large hands could not encircle it.
Tanetoa waved. Kani drew her arms back and hurled the conch. It arced over the reef ten yards in the air, then splashed into the water half a dozen strokes in front of Tanetoa. He swam after the shell, catching up to it as the last of the air left its chambers. He grabbed it by the flange of the opening, then stuck his head underwater and glanced back toward the channel mouth.
The locathah were continuing to stream into the lagoon, though a small party remained clustered just below the mouth of the channel. Their glassy eyes were fixed in his direction, but they showed no sign of being alarmed by the shell in his hand. Tanetoa did not know whether to be relieved or more worried than ever. He swam on the surface the rest of the way to the fleet.
The humans had already begun their landing preparations, having placed several skiffs in the water and started loading them with supplies. As before, they kept their ballistae trained on Tanetoa as he approached, but this time the emir showed himself at the rail as soon as the giant neared the largest carrack.
"Hail, Tanetoa!" said the emir. "I did not expect you to return so soon."
"I have come with a gift for the caleph." Tanetoa displayed the conch.
"Indeed?" The emir eyed the shell briefly, then feigned disinterest and looked back to Tanetoa. "Then you have decided to honor your duties as his ally?"
"There is nothing to be gained by denying him." Tanetoa grabbed the gunwale amidships, then gently pulled himself up and laid the conch on the deck. "This is the whale horn."
The emir and his humans seemed unimpressed. "The whale horn?"
"So you can sing with the whales," Tanetoa explained.
This drew a chorus of snickers from the crew, and the emir could not quite keep his lip from curling into a patronizing sneer. "I am sure the caleph will be most grateful. He has often spoken to me of longing to hear the whales sing."
"Then there is no need to stay." Still clinging to the side of the ship, Tanetoa had to crane his neck to see the emir's face. "I will show you how to blow it, then you can go."
The emir scowled. "Go? I thought I had made myself clear. The only place we are going is to your island."
Now it was Tanetoa's turn to frown. "What for? You have the whale horn. We have nothing else of value."
"Perhaps not-though you said the same thing before bringing us this, uh, magnificent whale horn."
"I said that only because I did not realize what you wanted," explained Tanetoa. "We have nothing else."
The emir gave him a silky smile. "If you say so."
"I do!" Tanetoa thundered. "You have what you came for, and now you must leave!"
The crew drew back at Tanetoa's display of anger.
The emir glanced nervously at the ballistae on a nearby deck and raised his hand, then narrowed his eyes at the giant. "There is nothing I must do, save what the caleph orders. The caleph thanks you for your gift, but I am still here to protect your island."
Tanetoa's heart sank. Then he did not send you for the whale horn?"
The caleph's reasons are not for you to know," said the emir. "It is enough that you know what he wishes."
Tanetoa shook his head. "But with the whale horn, you can sing with the whales. You can ask them to fight with you against the Enemy Beneath."
"So you have said, but that changes nothing. We will come ashore with the high tide-and you will help us."
A sick feeling came over
Tanetoa. He gently released the gunwale and sank into the water, allowing the ship to rock slowly back to center. Whatever the caleph's reason for sending his fleet to the island, it was not the whale horn. There would be a battle.
Tanetoa swam two strokes backward, then stopped to stare up at the emir. "No! You are not going to land. If you try, there will be a terrible battle with the lo-cathah-"
"Locathah?" the emir gasped. His men peered into the water around the ships, and harpoons began to appear along the rails again. "The locathah are here?"
They are already in the lagoon." Tanetoa was encouraged by the emir's alarm. Perhaps he would leave if he believed his humans to be outnumbered. Thousands of them. They came to defend the island from you."
"And you let them?" The emir's face turned stormy.
"You're in alliance with them!"
"No, but I will-"
"Traitor!"
The emir brought his hand down sharply, and several deep pulses echoed across the water. Tanetoa ducked beneath the surface and saw a dark meshwork of giant harpoons dragging heavy lines through the sea around him. He dived for the bottom, but one of his legs went numb. When he tried to kick, there was something dragging in the water behind him. He emptied his lungs so his body would not be buoyed by a chest full of air, then spread his webbed fingers and pulled for the bottom.
A bolt of searing pain shot through Tanetoa's leg, and he was jerked to an abrupt halt. He glanced back to see a barbed hook tugging at the flesh of his thigh, the dark stripe of harpoon line stretched taut behind him. He began to slip toward the surface, being drawn up through the water by the humans at the other end of the cord.
Tanetoa swam one stroke toward the surface, then wrapped his hand into the thick rope and gave a mighty jerk. The line went slack, then something heavy splashed into the sea. When the wave circle cleared, he saw the crosslike shape of a wooden ballista floating at the other end of the harpoon line.
Human wizards began to unleash their spells, and the sea erupted into a storm of crackling flashes and ear-shattering blasts. Tanetoa's head exploded into a tempest of blinding lights and dizzying concussions, then he went limp and felt himself floating toward the surface. He shook his head clear and flailed his leaden arms through the water, slowly dragging himself into the depths and away from the ships.
