by Caney, Mark
The leader paused, and swam up the short distance to the surface to breathe. He gestured with his head to the others and they all did likewise. Sky pressed himself back into a depression in the rock as this happened. When they had all descended again he surfaced briefly himself, still just out of sight of the crowd below him.
The leader continued his monologue: ‘We now carry on the duty that Stone Eyes prescribed. You will all survive the great upheaval that Ocean is enduring because you follow the true teachings set down by the Seer. Now, more than ever before, it is vital that we remain true to our beliefs. In the next few moons great changes are coming. The Ka-Tse will have an opportunity to prove their dominance over lesser zetii!’
Sky listened, confused. What was he talking about? He felt that somehow he should warn the Council about this, but how, without revealing he had been in contact with the Guardians? The voice went remorselessly on, ‘But our survival is fragile and reliant on our remaining steadfast and loyal. Each one of you depends on the strength and loyalty of the others. If one of you is weak, all suffer.’
He paused, staring at them each in turn. Many of them flinched under his stern gaze. Finally, he continued, a hint of sadness in his voice. ‘And so, it grieves me to tell you that in the last days, two amongst you have transgressed, have broken their vows of loyalty to the clan and has put our security at risk. One was found yesterday and dealt with promptly at the place where his wrongdoing took place. But now we find another needs to learn the importance of obedience.’
He fixed his gaze now on the dolphin surrounded by the four guards. The prisoner seemed to shrink under his gaze. The leader approached him. ‘You know the laws of the Guardians. Once you join the clan and take the vows of fealty to the Seer, no contact with non-believers is permitted without permission! What do you have to say?’
The prisoner, a young male, spoke in a fast, frightened voice: ‘Please, Kark-Du, it was just for a moment, my old clan was passing and I just wanted news about my sister and mother, I only spoke to one of their hunting scouts for a moment.’
‘Silence! So you admit your crime. You know the law, I can sentence you to death for what you have done.’
The leader paused, and looked around him at the hushed crowd. On top of the rock, Sky was listening, shocked. Shocked at the aggression of their beliefs. And shocked that this Kark-Du was Dusk’s lover!
The Kark-Du turned again to the terrified prisoner and focussed on him. ‘However, I am told that your story is probably true, and you have at least showed the courage to admit your crime. Given that, and your youth, I will pardon your life.’
The prisoner looked pathetically grateful, but his expression changed to horror as the leader continued on: ‘Instead, you will swim the tunnel of retribution. He raised his voice to address them all: ‘The clan will gather to witness the punishment!’
Sky was about to go up for air when the dolphins below him suddenly started moving. They all surfaced for a breath, then a group of males formed two lines up the sandy slope beside the arch. They then turned to face each other. The rest of the clan moved up to one side of the lines of males, and arranged themselves so that they were facing towards the rock on which Sky lay, with the two rows of males in front of them. They settled on the bottom there expectantly. The moon was much higher now and they stood out clearly against the pale, rippled sand.
With a feeling of cold dismay, Sky realised that his situation had changed. If he left his hiding place amongst the rock and coral on top of the arch he would be bound to be seen by the crowd below him. The half moon would be behind him and he would stand out in silhouette against the silver of the surface. He had already wanted to take a breath before the Guardians had started to move; now the feeling took on a nagging urgency. He started the exercises to reduce his body’s oxygen needs: slowing his heart, focusing on his core, reducing the blood circulation to his extremities. He wanted to remain fully conscious though, he needed to know what was going to happen below him.
The two rows of males now raised themselves on the sand, their tails just off the sand, their backs arched slightly forward so that they formed a corridor up the gently shelving bottom. The guards escorted the prisoner to the lower end of this tunnel. He looked terrified. The leader spoke once more. ‘You all know the words of the Seer Stone Eyes: “This is the testing time for the chosen ones and only the strong deserve to survive. The desires of the individual are subservient to the needs of the clan.”’ He turned and stared pitilessly at the young dolphin, then continued his address to the crowd, ‘This zeta betrayed your trust and jeopardised the clan. Show your wrath. If he deserves to live he will be made stronger this day. If he is proved weak, the clan is better rid of him now.’ He turned back to the prisoner, ‘You know what to say I think.’
The young dolphin looked ready to faint, his eyes darting around the crowd, pleading for help, but none was offered. Eventually, in a small voice he said, ‘I give thanks to the Guardians for the lesson I am about to receive. I ask my brothers to teach me well.’
Then, he was off, swimming as fast as he could up the slope of the tunnel.
Sky watched in fascinated horror as the young dolphin entered the tunnel, swimming as fast as he could. As he drew level with each pair of dolphins they attacked him viciously, driving their rostrums into his side and raking his body with their teeth. The leader swam alongside the tunnel, encouraging the attackers to be more brutal, but also — bizarrely to Sky’s mind — encouraging the tormented youth to keep swimming, to make it to the end. Eight pairs of males savaged him in this way, and although the punishment was over quite quickly, as the young dolphin came to the last pair he was finished. One of his attackers drove into his side with a particularly powerful blow and the air emptied from his lungs through his blowhole. He sank to the bottom unconscious, still just inside the corridor. The last pair of dolphins continued to attack his lifeless body until, after a while, the Kark-Du shouted a command and they stopped. The two lines of attackers withdrew a short distance and the leader made a gesture. What seemed to be his lieutenant, a slight dolphin with an unusually long rostrum, moved forward and examined the fallen youth, moving his oddly large head back and forth as he scanned him with sonar.
Sky watched still, but with growing distraction: he really needed air badly now. The lieutenant spoke dispassionately: ‘He has several broken ribs, his tail is badly mauled and he has probably lost one eye. Water is starting to enter his lungs but he is not dead yet.’ He looked quizzically at his master.
The Kark-Du considered for a moment, then said, ‘Sharp Beak — see if he can be saved. Don’t waste long on it though, either he is strong enough or he feeds the Cleaner. The meeting is over.’
He started to move away, Sharp Beak motioned to two other dolphins who moved forward and between them lifted the body to the surface where they pressed his sides encouraging him to breathe. Soon he took a few choked breaths and then continued in a rattling, laboured way. Maybe he would survive. In spite of the agony he was clearly in, Sky almost envied him; he was so desperate for air now, darkness was starting to creep into the edges of his vision. If he did not give his body oxygen soon he would die here. Sky saw that the dolphins were starting to break up and move off. He saw Dusk approach the leader. She seemed to be very agitated and was addressing him passionately. He could not hear what she was saying though and the pair of them swam off into the night, followed by many of the clan. A few remained around the injured youth.
As Sky watched Dusk go, a sudden realisation crept into his confused mind. Her companion was not just a Guardian Kark-Du; this must be Storm Before Darkness, the zeta who had driven out his father! But he could not think about it now, a numb feeling was spreading through him. What was the point of it all? He was empty, disappointed, he felt like there was nothing left to live for, the world seemed far away and unimportant. He was fading, he was almost losing consciousness. The darkness beckoned.
Chapter 34
“Beware
death’s cool embrace
About the melancholic heart
Darkness creeps into the mind
The joys of days past now distant
Be not seduced!”
Miaplacidus Obscured
(13,093 – 13,146 post Great Alluvium)
Sky was almost gone; fading into unconsciousness, when he became aware of a shape approaching him: he concentrated hard, then realised that it was the injured dolphin who was now swimming in feeble circles at the surface, watched from a distance by his guards. He was swimming almost directly towards Sky; he must see him. Suddenly he stopped just in front of Sky, staring at him with his uninjured eye. ‘Who are you?’ he hissed weakly.
Sky roused himself a little. ‘A friend,’ he whispered, ‘I saw what they did to you and I want to help. Just pretend to ignore me now and I will come and get you later. What’s your name?’
The youth stopped, wincing in pain.
‘I am Catches In Air of the…of the…’ He stared at Sky who looked back at him pleadingly. He turned to look back towards the guards, then back at Sky again. Sky smiled encouragingly, his head spinning. If they would just go now, he could breathe again and leave this awful place.
The youth looked at him once more, his gaze full of pain. Then he shouted hoarsely, ‘A spy! There’s a spy here! An enemy of the Guardians!’ He turned back and smiled weakly at Sky, who suddenly burst into life. With his last reserves of energy he shot the short distance to the surface, his mind filling with blackness — then — bliss! He left the water and took a deep lungful of beautiful, cool, clean air. He turned and fell back to the water, his vision clearing rapidly, although he had an oppressive, throbbing pain behind his eyes. As the bubbles cleared, he saw that three of the four guards were heading towards him at speed. They were all big, powerful, dolphins, each over three metres long. The fourth was beside the injured youth, looking undecided as to what to do.
Sky shot off along the coast to the north west towards his own clan, the three guards in pursuit. His head still hurt from the lack of air and, swimming as fast as he was, his body was struggling to meet his oxygen needs. He had little doubt as to what his fate would be if he was caught, so he swam as hard as he could, trying to ignore the pain. He fled up into the shallows, hoping to lose his pursuers in the darkness. He weaved in and out of coral heads, hearing sharp bursts of sonar behind him as they tried to track him. He gauged that they were not together, they seemed to be spread out abreast of each other, trying to encircle him. He knew what was coming.
Sky was following the short, vertical, coral wall that now fringed the shore. It weaved in and out in a series of miniature bays and headlands ahead of him. From time to time he shot from the water, taking a breath and looking at the scenery ahead of him, hoping to find somewhere to hide. He could hear one of the guards close behind him now — he must be gaining on him! On his next jump he was dismayed to see the other two guards jump at the same time as him, off to his left — trapping him against the fringing reef. He heard one of them laugh before he fell back into the water. Sky’s tail drove up and down through the water but it was no use, they were gaining on him. He had started this sprint with his blood almost empty of oxygen, his pounding head was proof that he had never caught up with his body’s needs again. On his next leap he realised what their plan was. Up ahead, a narrow headland of sharp rock extended far out into the sea, creating a small bay ahead of him. The two flanking guards blocked any chance of him swimming around it; he was being driven into the bay where he would be trapped. It was just the kind of tactic he, Muddy and Deneb had used in the past when hunting their favourite fish. But this time he was the one who would die, and no one was thanking Senx for his passing.
Now Sky could detect the headland up ahead with sonar. He could hear his pursuers too, they were close behind but spread out to make escape impossible. Then Sky could see it. The night was lifting with the sun about to rise and he found himself against the vertical wall of the headland. The coral encrusted rock continued up, through the surface as a low cliff above him. He turned to face them. They stopped in front of him, blocking the way completely. One of them spoke.
‘How do you want to do him, Rock?’
Rock answered, a smile in his voice: ‘We’ll rush him all at once — don’t want to take any chances. This won’t take long; he’s not going to vanish on us this time.’
Sky thought desperately. What did he mean, “This time”? Then he realised this brute must have been one of the hunters that had trapped him in the bay one night; when he had leapt onto a rocky ledge and evaded them. He looked around desperately. There was no ledge this time. But the rock of the headland was not so high…and might not be too wide…but then it could be very wide. In sudden desperation he did something very hard for a dolphin: he leapt into the unknown. With an explosive burst of energy he shot up through the surface and leapt high over the rocky headland. He had no idea how far it was, and he fully expected to crash down onto the sharp rocks where he would flop helplessly till he died — a slow and painful death. But as he shot skywards he saw with a surge of hope that it was not far to the other side of the headland. He realised he might just make it and he flapped his tail futilely in the air as he dropped, the rocks and water rushing up at him. He crashed back into the water just at the edge of the rock on the other side of the headland, and felt a hot ripping pain as his belly scraped along the vicious volcanic rocks of the headland. He had done it! He had leapt over the narrow headland and his pursuers were still on the other side! He realised there was some of his blood in the water around him, but although his injury was beginning to hurt he could still swim. Now he had to move; it would not take them long to round the headland. He knew he was getting close to the bay where his own clan was, so he set off at once. Almost immediately he saw a group of six dolphins heading towards him; a group of his own clan’s scouts. The leader, who Sky recognised as Hunts Alone, recognised him.
‘Sky! What are you doing out here on your own, and what have you done to yourself?’
Before Sky could answer, the three guards appeared around the headland. When they saw the scouts with Sky they stopped, clearly not liking the odds any more. One called out, ‘Come back, little friend, we haven’t finished our games yet!’
Hunts Alone called back at them. ‘Where are your manners? Do you not give your signature calls when you meet strangers?’
The guard laughed, and then, his voice full of sarcasm, shouted, ‘I am so terribly sorry. Allow me to introduce us all. We are the Guardians. And now, we must leave our friend in your care and bid you farewell.’ Then they turned and swam back the way they had come, still laughing.
Hunts Alone looked shocked and turned back to Sky. ‘Guardians! I’m sorry Sky, but I’m going to have to report this. You are going to have to face the Council. They’ll have to decide what to do with you.’
Chapter 35
“Test not my love so now
The depth of your love
Is hidden to me
By mirrored surface
Is there place for me to dive?
Seek not yet
To fathom mine”
- From the Arcturus’ Love Sonnets
Sky was summoned to a hastily convened Council meeting that same day. Hunts Alone escorted him across the by now strangely quiet bay to the meeting point. As they surfaced Sky saw that a storm was building in the west: great piles of cloud were building into enormous, threatening towers, their upper layers bubbling slowly ever higher then spreading out into the upper layers of the atmosphere in an ominous flat top. Below the clouds the sky was dark slate. One of the last clans from the Gathering was making an early start, moving off away from the clouds; making low leaps as they swam.
Hunts Alone led him to the meeting location which was close to a river mouth in the shallows. As they drew nearer, Sky saw seabirds diving into the water. There must be fish there he thought distractedly, then berated himself for thinking of such trivial things at
such a time. As they approached the river mouth the water became cloudier, dirtied with sediments washed from the land. The colour was also different; more of a Shade of brown than blue; Sky recognised the Kruma as Laxia now: new life or uncertainty. And the murkiness of the water made this Gid-ana: imminent or very close. He wondered if the Council had chosen such a setting deliberately or if this was just coincidence.
Then Sky heard low voices up ahead. As he and Hunts Alone approached, the shape of the Council members became more distinct in the turbid water; waiting upright, their tails gently brushing the low sea grass as they swayed back and forth in the light swell. Hunts Alone stopped at a respectful distance, allowing Sky to move alone into the semi-circle. Silent Waters opened the session:
‘The Council convenes to consider a reported transgression of the clan’s Code — namely the prohibition against any wilful contact with the so-called Guardians.’ She looked closely at Sky. ‘This is a very serious matter as you must know. The Council will ask you questions now to try and establish the facts. You must answer each question truthfully. Do not expand on your answers; just tell us the exact facts in each case.’ She turned to her left. ‘The Council recognises the respected Councillor Green Wave Falling. He will make enquiries on the Council’s behalf.’
