Cryssa caught her breath. As she stared at the glowing water, she thought that it was the most beautiful sight that she had ever seen.
A flicker of motion from the corner of her eye made her turn. She saw Seek's familiar back fin gliding toward her, flowing around a rocky knob from the direction of the main lagoon. Though at one time, Cryssa had not been able to tell one Kee from another by looking at them, she had learned over the months to recognize the features that set them apart. In Seek's case, there was a slight bend in the curve of his back fin, close to the tip, that Cryssa had not seen on any other Kee.
"Well?" said Seek as he swam close to shore, lit by the glowing water. "What do you think?"
Cryssa sighed. "It's so beautiful, it makes me want to cry," she said slowly.
Seek splashed his tail, scattering swirls of sparks through the blue-green waves. "Well, don't just stand there," he said. "Come on in."
Cryssa's eyes widened. "Are you sure it's okay?" she said. "The water looks so strange."
"I'm in the water, aren't I?" said Seek. "Come on in."
Cryssa stepped forward and dipped a toe in the glowing surf. The water didn't feel any different than usual, just cold, though she did feel a tingle of excitement rush up her spine.
"Come on!" said Seek, splashing his tail again. "The glow doesn't always last for long."
Cryssa hesitated. She was still uncertain about getting in the water. She wondered if she might react differently than Seek to whatever was causing the glowing effect.
At the same time, she wanted more than anything to find out what it would be like to swim in the light. She wondered if the water would feel as strange and wonderful when she was immersed in it as it looked from the shore.
Cryssa took a deep breath. Gingerly, she waded into the water.
Her skin reflected the blue-green glow as she moved deeper...first her legs, then her arms, then her shoulders. Looking down, she could see her body in the luminous water, as clearly as if she were in a shallow pool on a sunny afternoon.
She kicked off from the bottom and paddled forward, then ducked under the surface and opened her eyes. Flickering points of light danced around her in cloudy brightness like a hazy summer sky. Seek swam toward her, parting swarms of stars with his snout. He slowly glided past her, rolling around and around as he brushed against her in the glowing tide.
It seemed like a dream to Cryssa. The water felt no different than it always did, but the glow made everything look as strange and beautiful as a dream.
She came up for air near the middle of the cove and just floated in one place, looking around with an awestruck smile on her face. Seek slowly surfaced in front of her, not making much of a splash.
"This is amazing," said Cryssa. "I've never seen anything like it."
"It's more beautiful than ever tonight," said Seek.
Cryssa skimmed a hand over the surface, stirring up swirls of sparkling light. "Is it really?" she said. "Then I'm glad I'm here tonight."
"Actually," said Seek, "that's the reason it's more beautiful than ever. Because you're here."
Smiling, Cryssa reached out and patted Seek's head. "Thank you for saying that," she said. "And thank you for inviting me here tonight."
For a moment, both Cryssa and Seek were silent. They floated there, looking at each other in the rippling
blue-green glow from the water and the light from the full moon overhead.
Seek started to say something. "I wish...," he said, but then he stopped, as if he were having trouble getting the words out.
He started again. "I wish...," he said, and then he stopped again...but this time, he didn't seem to have stopped because he was losing his nerve. This time, he quickly looked away, as if he had heard something.
He looked toward the rock wall on the ocean side of the cove, and Cryssa followed his gaze.
"Someone is coming," said Seek, dropping his voice to a whisper.
Cryssa scanned the wall of black rock but saw nothing moving. "Where?" she whispered.
Seek cocked his head to one side, listening carefully. "They're climbing up the other side of the wall," he said. "Three men. I think there's someone else in a boat, waiting for them."
Though she listened as closely as she could, Cryssa couldn't hear the sounds. Seek's ears were much sharper than hers, however, so she didn't doubt him for a second.
"Who are they?" said Cryssa.
"I don't know." Seek tipped his head further to one side, listening intently. "But they're good climbers. They're almost to the top of the wall."
As Cryssa stared at the wall, her heart began to pound. Whoever was coming, she didn't think that they were friends. They certainly weren't Sylva, because Sylva always left and returned through the gate in the main lagoon.
No, these would not be friends. In fact, Cryssa thought she had a good idea who they were. When it came to unfriendly people, one group in particular stood out.
"What are we going to do?" she said. "Should we go warn the others?"
"We have to stay here," said Seek. "By the time we leave and bring back help, whoever is coming will be able to make it onto the island."
"But it's just the two of us," said Cryssa, looking from Seek to the rock wall and back. "What if they get past us? No one will know they're coming."
"I'll send a message," said Seek. "The Kee knights will hear it. They'll be here soon."
With that, Seek dove underwater. Cryssa could see him stretched out in the blue-green glow, pointing toward the main lagoon, which was where the Kee knights were headquartered. With her ears above water, she couldn't hear his warning call, but she imagined that he was singing it as she watched, sending out a whistling signal that would bring help.
When he had finished broadcasting a warning, Seek returned to the surface. He cocked his head in the direction of the rock wall and listened with deep concentration.
"They're still climbing," he said. "Any minute now, they'll be over the top."
Cryssa couldn't take her eyes off the top of the wall. It towered above the cove, as high as a fully grown palm tree or two houses stacked on top of one another. Though the wall was steep--almost vertical--on the side facing the ocean, it wasn't so steep on the island side; whoever was coming wouldn't have much trouble descending that section of wall, though they didn't seem to be having much trouble climbing the steep side, either.
"Come on," said Seek, swimming fast toward the base of the wall. "We have to try to hold them off."
As Cryssa followed him, she kept an eye on the top of the wall. Finally, she saw movement there.
A man hoisted himself up from the ocean side of the wall onto the rugged rim. His bald head gleamed in the light of the full moon.
His skin was covered in black tattoos.
Cryssa gasped. Seek called to her, urging her to hurry after him, but she continued to stare at the man on the wall. Though she had guessed, before seeing him, where he had come from and who his people were, she was still stunned to see him in the flesh. She had not seen his kind in over a year, ever since her escape to Kee Island.
But there he was, and then another man just like him, scrambling up onto the wall. Another was climbing behind them, according to Seek, and at least one more waited in a boat.
And they were Sharkites.
*****
Chapter Twenty-One
"Cryssa!" said Seek, looking back from the base of the rock wall. "Come on! I need you to come here right away!"
For a long moment, Cryssa had been mesmerized by the sight of the first Sharkites she had seen in many months...but Seek's latest cries finally snapped her out of it. She stopped staring at the men atop the wall and focused her attention on Seek, realizing that time was short.
With long strokes of her arms, Cryssa swam through the glittering water to Seek. He was agitated, smacking his tail on the surface and turning in jumpy half-circles as she approached.
"We have to stop them before they get down this side of the wall," said S
eek. "We need rocks!"
Cryssa felt a surge of panic. It was hard not to be afraid when the Sharkites showed up unexpectedly with unknown intentions. Given their brutal history with the Sylva and Kee, Cryssa didn't imagine that they had come in peace. And then there was the matter of what they might do with the girl who had escaped Rebirth Day. Somehow, she didn't think that they would happily leave her alone.
All the more reason to fight them before they could get to her, she realized. With a mighty burst of willpower, she pushed aside the panic and moved to comply with Seek's instructions.
"Bring me big rocks!" said Seek. He thrashed in the water, then pointed his snout at a nearby stone about the size of Cryssa's head. "Like that one! Big as a coconut!"
Cryssa swam over and lifted the stone from the rock pile at the base of the wall. It was heavy, and she grunted as she picked it up.
"Now load it on my tail!" said Seek. Looking up at the men atop the wall, he carefully repositioned himself, backing up a little ways, then shifting to one side.
The stone was so heavy, Cryssa could barely stay afloat, but at least she didn't have far to go. Kicking hard, she eased around behind Seek and dropped the stone on the twin fins at the end of his tail. The fins were spread flat on the surface of the glowing water and didn't look strong enough to support the stone...but Cryssa knew better. In a thousand games of pitch-and-catch-the-coconut, she had seen what that tail could do.
Quickly, she swam out of the way. She knew what was coming next.
At first, the stone slid below the surface, as if Seek couldn't keep the weight from sinking. Then, in the glowing water, Cryssa could see the stone stop in its downward movement; it hung suspended, with Seek's tail fins wrapped around it.
Then, in a flash, the tail whipped out of the water, launching the stone upward at a high rate of speed.
Seek's aim, as always, was excellent. Cryssa followed the stone's path as it shot up and forward in an arc, racing toward the men atop the rock wall.
In a blink, one of the men was gone. One second, the projectile was hurtling straight at him, and in the next second, he had disappeared.
The stone had struck him dead on and knocked him from his perch. Cryssa caught a glimpse of his feet in the air as he flew over backward off the wall, plunging toward the ocean far below.
"Another rock!" Seek shouted urgently. "Hurry!"
Cryssa leaped back into action, dragging another stone from the rock pile and placing it on Seek's tail. When she was out of the way, Seek lowered the stone under the surface, then launched it like the first.
This time, the target wasn't thrown off the wall and into the ocean. The stone glanced off his arm, making him howl in pain but not topple over backward.
"Another one!" said Seek.
Cryssa was already on her way with the next projectile. She placed it on Seek's tail fins and headed back to the rock pile for another stone, looking up to track the latest shot as she swam.
The man on top of the rock wall was too busy groaning and clutching his injured arm to see the next stone hurtling toward him. He looked for it at the last second, which was much too late, and seemed to spot it just before it slammed into his shoulder. Wailing, he flew backward, feet hopelessly scrambling as the impact carried him back over the other side of the wall.
Remembering that Seek had heard a third man climbing the wall, Cryssa grabbed another stone from the pile. She was just about to carry the stone over to Seek when he told her to wait.
Cocking his head to one side like before, Seek listened for a long moment. Cryssa held her breath, hoping that the third man had fled after seeing his companions ejected from the wall.
But he had not fled.
Seek bobbed his head up and down when he was done listening. "Bring the rock," he said. "Hurry. Here he comes."
Cryssa lugged the stone over to Seek and placed it on his outstretched tail fins. As she swam back over to the rock pile, she looked up for a glimpse of the latest invader before he went flying back into the ocean.
A bald man with black tattoos hoisted himself up on the top of the wall. His head was down as he swung up a leg and planted one foot on the rocky ledge, then pulled up his other leg.
Then, he raised his head.
He looked straight in front of him, then dropped his gaze to look down at Cryssa and Seek.
When Cryssa looked back at him, she at first didn't notice anything out of the ordinary about the stranger. He looked like just another anonymous Sharkite about to be pelted by rocks.
Then, suddenly, she realized that he wasn't a stranger.
A chill shot through her as their eyes locked together. It wasn't possible for him to be standing there, gazing down at her. She should never have seen him again for as long as she lived.
But it was him. His skin was tattooed, and the black, tousled head of hair that she remembered him having had been shaved, but it was him. Even before she heard his familiar voice, she knew in her heart that it was him.
"Raka!" he said.
A ghost, she thought. It had to be a ghost. Maybe the glowing water was magical after all. Maybe it had brought back his spirit.
"Raka!" he said. "I found you!"
Just then, Cryssa heard a great splash from behind her. She spun around just in time to see Seek hurl the stone that she had given him.
"No!" she said, but it was too late. The stone leaped up through the air, soaring straight for the man or ghost atop the wall.
Soaring straight for Bey Stormchaser.
*****
Chapter Twenty-Two
"Bey!" shouted Cryssa, watching the stone's upward flight. "Look out!"
As always, Seek's aim was true. Cryssa could see that if Bey didn't move quickly, the stone would collide with him in an instant.
Or, if he was a ghost, the stone would pass harmlessly through him.
When Cryssa shouted her warning, Bey's eyes immediately flicked from her to the hurtling object. For a split-second, he watched the stone's approach and didn't move.
Then, just as the stone was about to strike him, he dove to one side, throwing his body down on the rocky ledge atop the wall. The stone flashed past without even grazing him and plunged down over the ocean side of the barrier.
Cryssa let out the breath that she had been holding. While watching the stone race toward Bey, she had worried that he might be hurt if it hit him...and she had been equally worried that it might pass through him, proving that he was still dead.
"Hey!" Bey shouted from atop the wall. "No more rocks, okay? I come in peace!"
"Cryssa," said Seek from the water behind her. "What's going on? Do you know him?"
"I don't understand," Cryssa said slowly, staring up at the figure on top of the wall. "He should be dead."
"Who is he?" said Seek, swimming closer to her.
"The boy who saved my life," said Cryssa.
Atop the wall, Bey got to his feet. "I told you I'd catch up to you, Raka," he said, shouting down at her from his high perch. "It took a little longer than I expected, but here I am."
Cryssa shivered. She was glad when Seek drew up beside her, instantly calming her with his presence.
She swallowed hard, then shouted back at the figure high above her. "Are you...a ghost?" she said.
Bey laughed and shook his head. "Not a ghost," he said. "Just the same old Bey."
"But I saw the sharks kill you," said Cryssa.
"What gave you the idea that they'd killed me?" said Bey.
"There was blood in the water where they attacked you," said Cryssa.
"That was the sharks' blood," said Bey.
"And you never came back to the surface."
Bey pointed to the gills on either side of his throat. "I can breathe underwater, remember? I can stay under as long as I need to. The sharks hurt me pretty bad, and I was under a long time, unconscious. When I finally woke up and came to the surface, you were gone."
Cryssa's head was spinning as she struggled to process w
hat he was telling her. "All this time...you were alive?" she said.
"Yes," said Bey. "The Sharkites found me and took me home."
"But you helped me escape," said Cryssa. "Didn't they punish you?"
Bey glanced over his shoulder before answering, perhaps checking to make sure that the other Shark Men were too far away to hear what he said. "They don't know I helped you," he said. "They think I was trying to bring you back. The sharks who knew the truth all died in the battle with the Orga."
"You didn't tell them what really happened?" said Cryssa.
"It was the only way to get back to you," said Bey. "If they knew what I'd done, I might have been dead by now for real."
"You wanted to get back to me?" said Cryssa. "Is that why you're here now?"
"Yes," said Bey, and he reached out a hand in her direction. "I'm here to take you home."
Cryssa's eyes widened in surprise.
"Climb up," said Bey, still holding out his hand. "Let's go home."
*****
Chapter Twenty-Three
Cryssa stared in shock at Bey's outstretched hand. She couldn't believe what he had just said.
Let's go home.
"To Shark Island?" said Cryssa.
"Yes," said Bey. "Home."
Cryssa looked over at Seek, then back up at Bey. "This is my home now," she said. "This is where I belong."
Bey shook his hand emphatically. "You belong with me," he said. "We belong together."
Suddenly, Cryssa heard distant splashing. Turning, she saw sleek gray bodies leaping through the water, rounding the knob of land at one end of the cove.
Seek heard them, too, and also turned to look. "Knights are coming," he said. "They're answering my call for help."
When Cryssa looked up at Bey, she saw that he was also watching the approaching Kee knights. "Raka," he said urgently. "Come with me now. Hurry!"
"Why don't you come down here instead?" said Cryssa. "Come and stay a while."
Bey watched the knights draw near and shook his head. "I can't stay here," he said, withdrawing his hand. "My kind isn't welcome here."
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