by Caney, Mark
Passing Cloud turned away and led his two companions down the long sandy slope, through the equivocal shafts of light, away from the beckoning surface and towards the dark blue of the lower cave opening.
They followed him out through the opening and emerged outside the reef wall. Sky realised suddenly that they were very deep, and wondered how long they had been without a breath. A small but insistent voice started to nag in the back of his mind. He silenced it. They now swam directly away from the wall, out into the blue. Soon there was nothing to be seen, just the faint light of the surface. Below them, the deepest indigo.
Passing Cloud stopped and turned.
‘And now I must go.’
He gently pressed his head against each of theirs in turn as a kiss; they said nothing.
He smiled at Sky.
‘Remember you promised me a song.’
And then he turned and swam slowly straight down towards the depths.
Sky started to sing; an old song, each word heavy with loss.
‘When the wind continues to blow
When you waken a little too slow
When there’s a voice in your head you still don’t know
Well, that’s just mine my love
If that wave fell a little too fast
If the rainbow now has passed
If the moment you treasured didn’t quite last
Well, that’s me there my love
See the child grow up that used to play
See the moment you treasured and wished would stay
See those you love still taken away
Well, that’s just time my love
Darkness comes, you feel the night
Darkness we need, to see the light
Darkness reminds us of the joy of sight
Well, that’s me there my love
I’m sorry now for the odd angry day
I’m sorry now for my foolish ways
I’m sorry now for being taken away
Well, that’s our loss, my love
Keep the days that made us glad
Keep the good ones, not the bad
Keep the memory of the joy we had
Well, that was mine my love
Know the west wind in your head
Know the meaning of the things I said
Know the last thoughts of the dead
Well, that’s all we ask my love’
Sky’s voice trailed away as he watched him dropping into the cold darkness. Passing Cloud had stopped swimming now; the air in his lungs was so compressed by the pressing depth that he fell easily. He just let himself be taken: his tail tilted slightly to one side so that he gently turned as he descended serenely into the abyss; now, more than ever, at one with Ocean.
Chapter 29
“The troubled mind
Starved of truth
Cannot bear the hunger
Cannot wait still longer
For the knowledge it craves
Without proper sustenance
In time, in despair
It feeds itself
With imaginings.”
Third Wave Breaks - (3,001 – 3,043 post Great Alluvium)
Sky came across Muddy in the shallows late that afternoon. They swam together for a while, through occasional groups of dolphins. The bay was still busy, with some of the clans leaving immediately, but most planned to wait at least until the next morning to depart. They passed many individuals and groups exchanging farewells and making plans to meet again at the next Gathering.
They talked about their old teacher, exchanging fond memories and anecdotes. Sky’s friend gently probed him about what had happened in the cave and on the last dive, but it was hard for him to talk much about it and Muddy respected his privacy. Sky just said the old dolphin had been happy to the end and that was enough for now.
Suddenly they saw Deneb approaching them quickly. ‘Sky, come quickly — Rain Ending is here! He doesn’t want to come into the crowds so he’s waiting alone for you.’
Sky and Muddy followed Deneb to one end of the bay where Rain was waiting. He greeted them warmly. Sky had to ask the question in his mind straight away.
‘Have you any news about my father?’
‘Yes. But I warn you, it may not be what you would wish to hear.’
‘Tell me anyway. Knowing whatever it is must be better than this uncertainty.’
‘Very well, I’ll tell you all I know. After you left me I started moving in the direction of where the Guardian clan had been when last I had seen them. It took me some time to get there and then I discovered they had moved on. But I followed the coast along and eventually got lucky; I heard one of their returning hunting parties and followed them back. In fact their clan is only a day’s swim to the east of here now but I get the impression they may be moving on soon.’
‘Have you been with their clan then?’ Deneb asked.
‘No, I wouldn’t dare to do that. Once I realised where they were staying, I kept near the shore where I knew that foraging parties must pass from time to time. I hid and waited, and over a few days I saw several groups and individuals go by. I was waiting for one of them that I had met before — I don’t want to tell you his name — I’d met him years before; before he became a Guardian, and we were friends of a sort.’
‘Is he the one who told you about my father before?’
‘That’s right. He didn’t know him that well back then. Eventually, I heard his voice; he was in a small hunting party. I trailed them, and at last there was a moment when he fell behind the rest. I talked to him and asked him to meet me later. It took some persuading but at last he agreed.’
‘So,’ Muddy prompted him impatiently, ‘what did he say?’
‘When I met him again he really did not want to talk at all. He seemed frightened of what might happen to him; terrified, more like. I had to remind him of an old favour he owes me. At last he agreed to talk and tell me about your father.’ He paused, looking at Sky apprehensively.
‘Go on,’ Sky told him. ‘You can tell me.’
‘Well, it seems that you father did rise to the position of Kark-Du — that’s what they call their leaders. He was a pretty popular leader from what I can gather too. But not with everyone. It seems that some of the young males didn’t like the way he ran things. They thought he was too easy going, too close to what they call the ‘Old Way’. They wanted him to adopt the really hardline version of the Way — the most extreme interpretation of that seer of theirs, Stone Eyes.’
‘So what happened?’
Eventually there was a kind of a rebellion. One of the young males challenged your father’s leadership. It ended up as a fight between the two of them — a vicious fight by the sound of it. For a while it looked like your father might win but then the younger zeta got the advantage and hurt him pretty badly. It seems he was driven off and never seen again.’
Sky spoke quietly: ‘Didn’t your contact know where he is now?’
‘I knew you would want to know that so I asked him. Eventually he agreed to go back to his clan and ask around discreetly, but I really had to pressurise him. I had to agree that this would be the last thing I ever ask of him and that I would only ever try to see him this one more time.’
‘So you haven’t seen him yet?’
‘No, but I am going to meet him now. I need to leave right away or I’ll miss him. I’ll be back at first light tomorrow and I can tell you what I’ve learned then.’
Deneb looked at Sky who was staring at the sand, lost in thought. He turned to Rain Ending. ‘You had better go then. Thanks so much for doing this for him.’
Rain nodded once and then left.
Deneb and Muddy turned back to Sky and were about to comfort him when a lone messenger appeared, one of the Dune Coast Clan. She announced herself officiously adding, ‘Touches The Sky is to report to the Council. You must follow me.’
‘Can’t this wait a little?’ Deneb asked. ‘He’s just had some bad news.’
‘No. My instructions are that he is to come at once.’
Sky followed the messenger, his head still spinning with the knowledge that his father had been driven out of the Guardian clan and been hurt badly by someone. He tried to think what the Council might want him for now. Something to do with the Gathering? The Grand Council?
He did not have to wonder for long. The messenger brought him to a small sandy patch surrounded by low coral reefs. There, four of the Dune Coast Clan Council waited, upright over the sand, their tails just above it. Silent Waters addressed him as the messenger departed. ‘Touches The Sky, you have been summoned here before Council because an allegation has been made against you; a very serious allegation.’
Sky stopped in front of them, confused. He said nothing.
Silent Waters stared hard at him for a long moment then nodded to Green Wave Falling who was beside her. He also looked at Sky, but with a cold, dispassionate look in his eyes. ‘Bring forth the accuser!’ he called.
From behind the Council the shape of a large dolphin emerged from the blue. Sky recognised it and his heart sank.
‘It is I, Last To Speak!’
Chapter 30
“Punishment never falls lightly on the guilty
But its weight is felt tenfold by the innocent”
Unasked Questions - (4,429 – 4,471 post Great Alluvium)
‘And because I exposed his secret he tried to kill my little daughter!’
Last To Speak flung out the words as he completed his story. He remained defiantly in front of the half circle of the Council and turned to stare at Sky who was behind him. His gaze seemed full of hate. Sky shook his head imperceptibly but knew he must not speak yet.
Silent Waters nodded to Green Wave Falling, who, as Voice of Truth, was acting as the inquisitor for the Council. He raised himself off the seabed on his tail to his full height. ‘The Council would learn why Last To Speak states that he “revealed the accused’s secret”.’
‘When the strange zeta, Rain Ending, first came to our clan, I was present when he told some of us of his suspicions about Touches The Sky. I was the first one to reveal to Sky that the clan knew of his foul past, so as a result his anger focused on me and he looked for revenge.’
‘And you believe that he tried to exact that revenge on you through your daughter?’
‘There can be no question of it! There was a large class of students under his control, but only my little Bellatrix Unseen nearly died! It was just luck that she survived!’
‘Very well, Last To Speak may move aside for the present. The Council will question the accused. Touches The Sky, do you admit that you were in sole control of the class on that day?’
‘I can confirm that fact to the Council. I had intended…’
‘Enough! You will answer our questions with a simple yes or no unless we clearly ask for a more detailed explanation. Do you understand?’
‘Yes.’
‘The Academy gives clear guidance as to the maximum depth that students should be exposed to. Do you claim to have maintained those limits? Bear in mind that we can call upon other witnesses to confirm your story.’
‘I think I may have gone deeper than the guidelines.’
‘You think! You think? These children were placed in your care! They addressed you as Jeii! Do you not know?
‘I...I did go deeper than the guidelines. I had intended to keep to them but I…’
‘Enough! The Council notes that the accused admits to exceeding the depth limits for his class. Was the student, Bellatrix Unseen, beyond those limits when she became unconscious?’
‘Yes, she was, but not for long; I didn’t notice only because I had lost concentration for a moment and…’
‘The Council further notes that the accused admits that he was not monitoring his students while they were beyond their accepted limits. Did you, as her supervisor, notice that she had become unconscious?’
‘Well, no, one of the other students told me, but I would have soon I am sure.’
‘And what did you do then?’
‘As soon as they told me I started lifting Bellatrix to the surface — to try and save her.’
Green Wave Falling nodded soberly. ‘The Council notes that the accused admits that he only attempted to save the student in his care when the other students had made it clear that they had seen her plight.’
‘No, it wasn’t like that — I would have reacted immediately anyway!’
‘Be quiet! You were not asked a question! If it pleases the Council, the Voice of Truth has concluded the inquisition.’
Sky waited with a numb feeling in his stomach as the Council members exchanged a muffled conversation. To one side of them Last To Speak stared at Sky, his eyes malevolent. At last, Silent Waters spoke. ‘The Council is deeply disturbed by this matter. It is clear that students’ lives were recklessly endangered by the accused on the day discussed. What is less clear is whether this was due to simple foolishness on his part or if it was a malicious act as the accuser claims. Given the upheavals of recent days, we will postpone our judgement for three days. This will give time to conclude the final details of the Gathering and allow us to meditate fully on the facts of this matter.
Sky was dismissed and he left to search for his friends. He found Deneb and Muddy where he had left them. They listened to his story sympathetically. At the end Deneb spoke first. ‘I was afraid of something like this. Last To Speak is out to get you for some reason. I just hope the Council sees that it was an accident.’
They talked into the evening but finally decided to get some rest and meet again at dawn when Rain Ending should return.
Dawn came and went the next day with no sign of him. Sky grew more and more agitated. ‘Has he changed his mind? Left without telling me?’
‘No,’ Muddy reassured him. ‘He was so grateful for you saving him that day. Something must have happened.’
‘Then let’s go and look for him. I can’t stand this waiting anymore. He said they were east of here — let’s just follow the coast that way and maybe we’ll find him coming this way.’
They set off, spread out abreast just in sonar range of one another so that they could search the widest area. Sky was in the centre and could hear the other two’s ranging echolocation intermittently as they followed the shoreline. As the sun approached noon there was an urgent call from Muddy to shorewards. ‘Sky, I’ve found him! Come quickly!’ Sky passed the message onto Deneb who was further out to sea then quickly swam to Muddy. He found him hovering beside the inert form of Rain Ending, whose body was gently rolling back and forth in the swell on the shallow sand. Sky looked at him in horror, he was covered in bites and bruises, one eye was swollen shut, his jaw looked broken or dislocated. Deneb joined them a moment later, saying quietly, ‘Is he...dead?’
Muddy shook his head. ‘No, but he’s really badly hurt, with several broken ribs. I just helped him take a breath. Help me again.’
They lifted the injured dolphin to the surface where he did seem to take a small gasping breath. Sky looked into his uninjured eye and saw a flash of recognition there. His voice came very faintly, it was obviously painful for him to talk. ‘Sky, I met my friend, but we had just...had just started to talk when we were ambushed...must have followed him.’
‘Who followed him?’
‘Them. Guardians. Attacked me — us. Don’t know what happened to him.’ He stopped, with a wheeze of air and they held him at the surface to breath. He was obviously fading fast. Deneb gave Sky a meaningful glance. Sky spoke soothingly close to Rain’s face. ‘Don’t try and speak now. We need to get the Healers to help you.’
Rain shook his head imperceptibly. He spoke slowly, in obvious pain.
‘No news about…where your father…now. But…told me the name of…new leader…one who hurt your father so badly.’
Sky, shook his head slightly. ‘Rain, you don’t need to…’
Rain looked at him as though from a great distance and spoke very faintly,
pronouncing the words with great effort. As his life slipped away, he whispered: ‘Storm...Before...Darkness.’
Chapter 31
“Love is a darting, silver thing
Shining, tempting, frightening
It teases, ensnares, repels
Easily caught; easily lost
Kept a lifetime
Or mourned for one”
Mountain Fires - (3,668 – 3,717 post Great Alluvium)
‘I’ve got to try and find him!’
Deneb shook his head. ‘You’d be crazy. You’ve no idea where he is or even if he’s still alive. And you’ve got a punitive Council decision hanging over you in Senx’s name!’
Muddy nodded in agreement. ‘Forget it, Sky, at least for now. It’s too dangerous, far too dangerous.’
They were swimming back to the clan, having committed Rain’s body to the abyss with as much reverence as they could. It was not much of a ceremony but they did not know of any friends that Rain had who would have wanted to come. They had said what they could and let him go.
Deneb closed his eyes tightly as he swam for a while, then opened them, his expression pained. ‘These Guardians are prepared to kill other zetii! I wouldn’t have believed this before but now we’ve seen it ourselves. And not for the first time! You know where else!”
Muddy looked across at Deneb sympathetically. ‘You mean Wakes Softly, don’t you?’