There was a silence. Spencer scowled at his feet. Rex stood with arms folded across his belly, glaring.
“If you’ve lost it, Spence, you’ll have to pay for it,” Rex burst out in a high-pitched whine. “That professor told me it could be priceless. I had him all lined up to come and see it. Rare, he said. Rare, Spencer. Do you know what that means? It was maybe the last of its kind. I could have been famous for discovering it! And now -!” Rex stamped his foot in frustration.
“It’s just a stupid old shell,” spat the thin man petulantly. “Why don’t we stick to what we know how to do, huh? Stick to what we know there’s a market for. Those overseas guys, they never said nothin’ about shells. They want the eagle stuff, and the whales and that. They never said shells.”
He took a step towards Rex and said, in a more serious, almost pleading tone, “Listen, we just got a couple more days before we’re supposed to get this shipment in.” He jerked his thumb towards the stocked cabin. “Let’s bag us a few more birds, eh? Remember that nest over on Glinnis Island? We can get us some babies. The babies are even more valuable, remember? They love the babies…”
He paused, frowning hopefully at his companion. Rex stared at him, unmoving.
“Well, I’m going huntin’,” grumbled Spencer. “Tomorrow. You can come or not, but you’re an idiot if you don’t.”
Rex turned slowly and walked a few paces off, as if to give himself time to control his temper. He stopped, pulled a large fish hook from his pocket and picked his teeth with it.
After a minute he swung around and spoke without looking at his companion.
“When that shell showed up in our net I knew it was special. It came from down so deep. I didn’t even care that the dolphins escaped from our trap. This was better than dolphins.” Rex paused, staring gloomily at the sea for a long moment.
“But you, you worm,” he turned and hissed at Spencer. “You don’t know quality when you see it. You don’t know money when you see it. That object could be worth more than all this crap combined.” The fat man waved his hand toward the cabin where Kaya crouched, hiding. She ducked instinctively, then cautiously peered back around the wall.
Rex stepped up to Spencer and took hold of the eagle talon at his throat, clutching it in his swollen, white fist. Spencer’s eyes widened and he grabbed Rex’s hand in his own as if to wrench the talon free. The two froze, gazing at one another, Rex with his upper lip curled, Spencer glowering defiantly.
“If you don’t find that shell, things will go very, very badly for you,” said Rex in a deadly monotone.
Spencer’s face grew bright red. His breath came in angry puffs.
“Oh, yeah? Are you threatening me or somethin’? Think I’m scared of you or somethin’?”
Rex didn’t answer. He let go of the talon and grabbed Spencer’s chin with one huge, fat hand, squeezing the thin man’s cheeks together. Rex slowly tightened his grip on Spencer’s face. The two men glared at one another.
Just then, several things happened at once.
Spencer began to snort like a cornered bull. He shook his face free of Rex’s grip and slugged the larger man squarely in the jaw, which sent Rex reeling.
At the same moment, the branch that Josh had edged out onto cracked. Tike let out a piercing squeal of surprise from his hiding place next to Kaya as Josh fell with a mighty crash into the bushes next to the clearing.
“What the -!” Both men leapt around, looking first towards the cabin where the squeal had come from and then towards Josh. Spencer lunged into the brush and dragged the boy to his feet, holding both arms behind his back. At the same time, Tike emerged from behind the cabin and walked slowly and conspicuously through the clearing towards the water.
“Ah,” said Rex with a toneless laugh. “Just an otter.”
He turned toward Spencer, who had gripped Josh by the collar of his shirt and was thrusting him towards the fire pit.
“What’s going on?” Rex loomed over Josh. He stood with his big arms folded across his chest, his face vacant of expression.
“Yeah, you little spy!” shouted Spence. “What are you doing here!”
Spencer gave Josh a hard shake so the boy could barely stay on his feet. Josh gaped from one to the other, breathing hard. One of his cheeks was scratched and bleeding from his fall into the salal bushes.
“I’m really sorry,” he stammered, looking as innocent as he could. “We were just playing hide and seek. I thought this would be a cool spot to hide, but that branch broke. I didn’t know you guys were here. I’m partly deaf. I didn’t hear you talking. I’ll - I’ll just go hide somewhere else.”
The two men exchanged glances.
“What are you doing on this island?” Spencer hissed.
“I beg your pardon?” Josh smiled at Spencer sweetly, tilting his head as if to hear better.
Spencer repeated his question loudly in Josh’s ear.
“Me and my friends we…we were out fishing. But we weren’t catching anything so we decided to come ashore here. You see we came to camp here last summer. We know our way around. Then we got this idea to play hide and seek. But I’m really sorry I bothered you.”
The men eyed him silently.
“Let him go, Spence,” said Rex. He patted Josh’s head, then tucked his fat hand under the boy’s chin and tilted his face upwards.
“Where are your friends, little buddy?” he spoke slowly and loudly.
“They must have gone and hid somewhere over there in the woods. If you like, we’ll go to some other island to play.”
Rex glanced around at the surrounding trees. Then he studied the boy again for a long moment, a tight, phony smile on his face.
“That would be a good idea. We are trying to get this camp ready for the summer,” he drawled. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, fixing up the cabins and everything. So you best run along now. Better go on home and clean up that scratch,” he added, pointing to Josh’s cheek. “We wouldn’t want it to get infected, now, would we?”
“And stay away from here, or we’ll -” began Spencer, but Rex cut him off.
“Or we’ll have to speak to your parents.” Rex smiled again. “You are trespassing, you know.”
Spencer gave the boy a shove, but Josh needed no urging to hurry from the clearing. Soundlessly, Kaya joined him and as soon as they had reached the trail, they began to run as hard as they could. They arrived at their canoe, gasping for breath. Tike was waiting for them.
Once they were out on the water, Kaya took a handkerchief from her pocket and dipped it into the sea.
“Here,” she said, handing the cloth to Josh. “Press this to your cheek. The salt water will clean the scratch.”
Josh did as Kaya instructed, wincing from the sting of the salty water.
“Wow!” he breathed, “that was a close call! My heart nearly jumped out of my chest with beating so hard!”
“Yeah,” said Kaya, “but you sure lied well. Deaf! That was brilliant!”
“I don’t know what came over me,” marveled Josh. “Usually I’m hopeless at lying. But this time, the whole story just sort of spilled out.”
“And Tike, that was quick thinking – to go out there and let them see that it was you. I didn’t know what I was going to do if they came towards the cabin!” Kaya shuddered. “I was so scared, because – oh, Josh, Tike – you should have seen –!”
The memory of what she had glimpsed through the cabin window swept over her. Tears streamed down her face as she paddled. Josh and Tike questioned her anxiously, but it was several minutes before she was able to speak. At last, she explained in detail what she had witnessed.
“And you know something else,” said Kaya, her voice still husky. “I could tell for a moment exactly what that skinny guy was feeling, just like the Duchess said. I was inside his head! It was right when he grabbed you. I could feel all his anger and hatred and I knew that he wanted to kill something. He wanted to kill you!”
Josh’s face went whit
e. He handed the handkerchief back to Kaya and grasped his paddle tightly. Tike let out a wail and crept closer to Kaya’s feet.
They spoke little all the way back to Campbell Harbour, but agreed to meet early the next day at Jim’s store to discuss what they should do next. They would let Jim know about the illegal hunters. Then they would go and tell the Duchess what they had learned. Jim and the Duchess would know what to do. These men had to be stopped somehow. And what was this shell they were so excited about? And where was it? Somehow they had to solve the mystery.
Chapter 4: The Omrith
After Kaya dropped Josh off at the dock, she turned her canoe and headed for Tangle Island, with Tike sitting up in the prow. It was nearly suppertime when they arrived. Kaya made a small fire on the beach and boiled a pot of blackberry leaf tea. Then she cooked a chunk of the salmon Grandmother had caught for her the day before. It was delicious, especially accompanied by thick slices of fresh bread from Jim’s store. Tike preferred his fish raw, but he agreed to try a piece of the lemon loaf for dessert, and even pronounced it quite palatable.
Kaya and the otter lingered on the beach together after dinner and watched the sun sink slowly down towards the horizon. It was already mid-June, only a week away from the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. The sun would not actually dip below the distant islands for a couple of hours yet.
Kaya was anxious for Grandmother to return. She scanned the sky, her hand raised to shield her eyes. Normally, the eagle was home by this time at night, but there was no sign of her anywhere.
At last, far off towards the south, she caught sight of a dark blur, heading towards her. It grew as it approached and Kaya heard a familiar call: it was Grandmother, telling Kaya she was coming home.
With a whirring of wings, the eagle came to land on the beach. Kaya ran to sit down on the sand next to Grandmother, touching her nose to the eagle’s beak in their accustomed greeting. She was eager to tell Grandmother her news, but she could see that the old eagle was weary from a long flight. They sat in silence for a moment.
“I’m sorry I have been away so long,” said Grandmother, once she had caught her breath. “There was a Great Council on Channel Rock.”
“A Great Council,” breathed Kaya, amazed. “But you told me last week there hadn’t been one for almost thirty years!”
“That is true,” said the eagle. “The Council only meets in times of crisis. Twenty-nine years ago two huge boats collided here in the Strait. One was carrying a full hold of that heavy dark liquid human people call oil. Much of it emptied into the water.”
Grandmother made a clucking sound and shook her head angrily. “The sea was thick and black and deadly. So many sea-folk and shore dwellers killed. This time however,” she paused, hanging her majestic head, “I’m afraid the crisis is something worse, much worse.”
“What’s wrong?” Kaya asked anxiously.
“The Omrith’s gone,” the eagle said, after a long pause. Her voice was full of pain.
Kaya leaned closer. Grandmother was always strong and calm and wise. Kaya had never seen her guardian afraid. But now she could see that Grandmother was more than frightened. Someone or something posed a terrible threat to all that Grandmother held dear.
“The Omrith?” Kaya asked, her voice small and hesitant.
The eagle looked intently at the girl. Grandmother’s eyes were like tiny black pools that led down into unimaginable depths. Lights shone in them, like distant stars.
“Kaya,” she spoke slowly, “you are young. But you are growing every day in strength and wisdom. It is time you learned a little of the Mysteries, the ancient ways of the Salish Sea.”
Kaya gulped and nodded solemnly for Grandmother to continue.
“As you know, there are four Turnings in every year, along with the thirteen moons. The Spring and Autumn Equinoxes mark two of the Turnings, while the Summer and Winter Solstices mark the other two. There are special rites that belong to each Turning, and at the centre of the rites of the Summer Turning is the Omrith.”
“But if the Omrith is missing,” interrupted Kaya. “how can the Summer Turning happen?”
The eagle paused and gazed keenly out towards the sea.
“That is why the Salish Sea folk are so concerned. There can be no Turning without the Omrith, and if there is no Turning then disaster threatens us all.”
Grandmother fell silent once more.
“But why?” asked Kaya impatiently. “I don’t understand.”
Grandmother turned her gaze to the girl. Her voice changed, deepened, as if reciting ancient lore memorized long ago.
“Without the sacred rites of the Summer Turning, day will not yield to night. The earth will not be allowed to sleep, or the sea to swell with storm. The land will know no rest from ceaseless blooming and ripening, until all its power is spent. Without rest, a mighty darkness will come at last which will hold us for eons in its shadow. The balance of the world will fail.”
The eagle was silent. Tike shivered and crawled into Kaya’s lap.
“Grandmother,” Kaya asked after a pause, “what is it, exactly - the Omrith?”
“I cannot describe it, for I myself have never seen it. It lives below the waves, on the top of a vast hill that lies underwater at the centre of the Salish Sea. But from what the whales tell me, it is a container or vessel, the home of an ancient power. Its walls are both dark and light, streaked with black and white in equal measure. The inside of the vessel shimmers with all the colours of the rainbow. At the time of the Turning a sound pulses from it, a vibration that ripples outwards for hundreds of miles.”
They sat in silence for a while.
“So many bad things are happening all at once!” said Kaya softly.
She told Grandmother about the evil men and the cabin full of their terrible booty. Grandmother stiffened at the news and her black eyes narrowed in anger.
Just then they heard a call from the water. A seal emerged from the waves and flopped onto the beach not far from them.
“Kelpie!” cried Kaya, lifting Tike from her lap and running to greet her friend. She dropped to her knees on the pebbles and bent to touch her nose to the seal’s shiny, whiskered one.
“You’ve been gone so long!” said the girl.
“Yes, I just got back from the spring hunt over in Long Channel. I’ve missed you, Kaya,” said Kelpie in a smooth, silky voice that reminded Kaya of the taste of chocolate. The seal turned to smile at Tike, who had come to stand shyly at Kaya’s side.
“I’ve missed you, too, Tike. What have you been up to?”
“I’ve been out spying with Kaya and Josh,” said the otter proudly.
Kaya breathlessly explained the events of the past few weeks to her friend: rescuing Josh from the storm, discovering the criminals, and now, finding out about the Omrith. Kelpie let out a moan of surprise when she heard this last piece of news. She gazed anxiously at Grandmother, who had come to perch on a driftwood log nearby.
“Is this true?”
The eagle nodded solemnly. The four friends sat together with grim faces, each lost in thought.
“The Omrith has always been there, at the centre,” whispered Kelpie at last. “Since before the time of the ancestors. What will we do without it?”
“It is too early to lose hope,” said Grandmother, with a ruffling of her feathers. She raised her head and looked around at her companions. A determined gleam shone in her eye, and her voice had lost its edge of fear. “Our world seems beset with danger from all sides. But there is still a week left before the Turning. The Council has sent out an urgent plea to all the folk of the Salish Sea. We will search through water and land and air. We must find it. We must.”
The next morning Kaya and Tike set off early for Campbell Harbour. Kaya promised to keep her eyes open and to ask everyone she met if they knew where the Omrith might be. As they traveled across the water, Kaya spotted a small pod of dolphins traveling south across their path. She called to them, using th
e high, piercing signal Grandmother had taught her. It was always sure to get the attention of a dolphin.
Soon, five silver-grey heads were bobbing in the water near the canoe. They gazed expectantly at the girl.
“I’m sorry to bother you,” began Kaya. She explained her mission. The dolphins told her they had already heard of the crisis, and were themselves on a quest to the southern boundaries of the Salish Sea to gather any news they could.
“If we learn the truth, we will inform the Great Council,” one of the smaller dolphins said earnestly, in the formal, singsong speech of the Dolphin folk.
“And please be careful!” added Kaya urgently. “There are some really bad people in the area – bounty hunters. They’re catching Dolphins and selling their body parts!’
The dolphins knew this already.
“We are now wise,” said a large female in a stern voice. “Full Moon last, they trapped two of our cousins in a net. The Evil Ones lured them cleverly with live fish.”
She gazed into Kaya’s eyes and the harshness in her voice gave way to a powerful sorrow. “Trapped them and shot them with fire sticks,” the dolphin continued slowly. “They cut out fins and teeth then tossed their bodies back into the Sea Foam. Such bitter truth must we now learn: that Evil Ones walk the world eager for these pieces of our flesh - not as food, but as trophies and prizes. Long have we refused to know in our hearts such evil. But it is truth. We must know and grieve.”
The dolphin was silent a moment. Then, with a toss of her head, and a spout of spray from her blowhole, she turned towards the others. “But we will never again be tricked by these hunters!” she said firmly.
“Never again!’ the others chorused in unison.
The dolphins said goodbye. Then suddenly, as they began to swim away, Kaya heard a strange, unearthly voice. It spoke inside her head, a silvery, dancing voice like splashing water.
Kaya Stormchild Page 4
