"Where are we going?"
"To collect everyone we hold near and dear, then leave Kalamar." His tone was matter-of-fact.
He had to be lunar. "There's no escape."
"There’s always Nambaba."
“You think I’m fit to fly?” The way her ribs felt, her lungs would be punctured the moment she applied G-force power.
“To do something is better than to await death.”
That would have sounded good yesterday. Today, it sounded like suicide.
Frazier scrambled to his feet, as if the ridiculous thought had to be immediately acted upon. Raine blinked back tears at the idea of another dolphman dying in space.
Chapter 18
Water rushed past Thunder like knives in a tornado and his exposed flesh felt as if it was being ripped from his bones. Worse, the water kept pulling at the breather, but if he lost it, he would die. He kept his head tilted back, as Dalf had advised and clenched his jaws.
This was the third day that Dalf had been towing him through the cold, empty water. Didn’t this awful world have any land? He’d settle for having the nauseating bubble-house back if it meant that he could get out of the water. Oblivious to his difficulties, Dalf rushed ahead, body undulating through the water with a look of sheer glee on his face, as if he was having the best time of his life.
All he had to do was let go of the harness and the torture would end.
Temptation coiled through his mind and tore at his willpower. His aching hands slipped on the thick stem. It would be so easy to let go and let Dalf swim away trailing the ropey seaweed.
If he let go, he’d be alone in the water, and he’d never get home. He closed his eyes, clung to the slick stem and told himself that he would make it home in time for the birth of Nimri’s babe.
Hours later, Dalf slowed. In front of them, gray water blazed with patches of muted colors that reminded him of the crazy quilts Bryta loved to make. Moments later, he realized he was seeing a sheer rock wall, which was covered with a colorful array of mushrooms. Tiny fish darted in and out the crevasses and tall, thin lavender leaves rippled in an invisible current.
Who would have believed an underwater world would be so beautiful?
Dalf slowly swam upward, then lingered in front of a vibrant blue moss-like surface. Thunder moved toward the boy, tapped his arm and gestured toward the surface. The kid emitted a sound that equated to 'no'. Thunder emphatically pointed upward. Again, Dalf refused. Thunder dropped the seaweed strap and kicked upward. Dalf grabbed his leg and held him down.
What was the kid's problem? Didn't he realize that lives were at stake?
They glared at each other for several minutes, then Dalf shoved the seaweed strap back in and gave a small kick; they rose a few feet. Again, the kid held him back and pantomimed pain and agony if they rose too fast. Despite his eagerness to get out of the water, Thunder figured the fish-boy must know what to do in his own element. Thunder nodded and turned to look at the rock wall, where a beautiful patch of asters nodded in the gentle current. Who would have thought such things grew underwater?
An iridescent school of minnows fluttered along the rock. Some individuals paused to nibble on the colorful lichens and moss. Another nibbled at the fragile petals of a crimson blossom. It seemed such a shame for the fish to spoil such a beautiful flower. He raised his hand to wave it away, but before he could, the petals snapped round the fish, like jaws and then, flower, fish, and all vanished down the hollow stem. Thunder lurched backward and the remaining fish scattered in a silver burst. Dalf tittered. Thunder choked on a mouthful of salty water. Now even more amused, Dalf thumped him on the back. Thunder stared at the hollow stem. Animals were supposed to eat plants, not vice versa.
What kind of twisted world was this?
It took two more pauses before they reached a rocky underwater plateau. Here, the fish were larger and less colorful. Now, Dalf moved slower, with frequent pauses to peer into the distance.
Abruptly, the rocks ended and an expanse of underwater grass stretched into the distance. Dalf plowed ahead, until he came to where the lavender lawn gave way to barren sand. The kid paused, as if terrified to leave the security of the high pasture. The sunny pastoral scene seemed unreal after days beneath the dark waters. He looked upward and saw peach clouds drifting in a lilac sky. If he lifted his hand, he might be able to touch the surface.
Anticipation throbbed through him.
Dalf emitted a low, warble of worry, then cautiously went forward five feet and paused, as if sniffing the water. When nothing happened, he moved ahead another ten feet. Then twenty. After several more spurts, a forest of swaying green trunks and shadows materialized in the barren expanse in front of them.
Would trees eat them, as the flower had eaten the fish?
Dalf hovered in the shallow water, as if wondering the same thing. Suddenly, harsh sounds filled the water.
Thunder peered around, too, but didn't see anything more dangerous than a long, flat, pink creature that moved like a snake through the water. He stared at it, ready to evade an attack, until he noticed that Dalf was ignoring the beast and staring intently at the distant forest of sequoia-sized trunks. Vile as the serpent-like thing appeared, it must be safe, while the ocean floor and vegetation represented true danger. He should have realized this when he’d watched the carnivorous flower.
He hung onto the seaweed harness, uncertain whether or not he'd recognize danger when he saw it. If he hadn’t needed the terrible-tasting breather, he would have asked Dalf if his conclusion about the bestiality of plants was correct.
Dalf sped into the shadows surrounding the trunks and came to an abrupt halt next to one. Heart pounding, Thunder hung onto the tether; the boy huddled against the short green fur for protection. He squinted through the shadows and water. Indeed, the furry mass attested to an animal versus plant origin. This must be the creature that had eaten all the tall grass. Dalf huddled against the thing for several moments, eyes darting at the darkness, as if expecting an attack at any moment, so Thunder looked for vicious plants, too.
When nothing happened, he began to relax. As his heartbeat slowed, he heard loud thumping noises and blaring tones. Thunder looked up. The waterline was tantalizingly close, and the dark shape of a huge body was above them. Obviously, this was the leg of a huge, gentle herbivore.
Dalf’s gaze darted around the shadows of the beast’s underbelly, but he never moved from the leg’s safety. Thunder moved next to the kid, back to the gently throbbing leg. The soft fur stroked his spine, as he stared outward, looking for whatever danger the fish-boy seemed to sense. Dalf stiffened and stared at a light area next to the giant’s body. Far above, a long, bright light moved above the peachy-toned clouds. A tremor went through the large leg. What horror could terrify something this size? As the light got brighter and bigger, the water between him and the sinister shape frothed, as if it, too, could feel fear.
Thunder tensed, certain that he knew that shape from somewhere, but the object vanished above the giant beast’s body before it became identifiable. As a second strangely familiar shape undulated past, he forgot to breath. As a third blindingly bright body passed low over the sea, he winced and looked down at the ocean’s bottom. The silhouette of a Ghilly dragon moved across the muck.
Ghilly dragons could devour entire planets. No wonder the massive creature above them was cowering in the water.
He could see several more colossal legs in the shadows. The leviathan must be some sort of centipede.
Would fate cause him to die here, without ever seeing the sun rise over the rugged mountains, again? Would he ever smell the heady fragrance of a buddelia, again? Or taste a pange? Would he ever get to stroke Kazza’s silky fur or hold Nimri’s newborn babe?
Would he die here, in the element he despised and at the killing breath of the very dragons that he’d tried to protect his home world from? If he hadn’t been so curious to see Solterre, he would be safe at home and so would everyone else who was
relying on him.
He had to get home and protect his world from the dragons.
As if in answer to his need, the outline of a polliwog appeared to creep over the rippled sand. Thunder squinted through the water, certain that his eyes were deceiving him, as the shadow of the tiny tadpole went straight toward the nose of the dragon. The dragon reared back, as if frightened by the polliwog.
Suddenly, the polliwog flared into a huge spider. Thunder gasped and immediately choked, so he quickly readjusted the hairy mess. The dragon twisted away from the attack and sped toward safety.
Dalf squealed and darted deeper into the giant centipede’s protective shadow, then huddled against another massive leg.
Thunder’s ears felt as if they were filled with air. He tried, unsuccessfully to readjust them. The leg shuddered, then a thundering boom nearly pulverized his bones. Dalf shrieked. Salty water surged into his nose. Thunder choked and coughed.
Abruptly, the blaring noise stopped.
Dalf cautiously motioned for him to follow, as he moved deeper into the shadows of the centipede’s belly. After several minutes, they arrived at a solid expanse of long fur. This monstrous creature was as different from Chatterre’s creatures as the madrox had been. Dalf cautiously moved upward.
It felt wonderful to get the breather out of his mouth and inhale real air. He massaged circulation back into his stiff jaw.
"Dis Cendral Command." Dalf touched the charcoal-colored wall. "Mudder work here. Herd dragon."
"You mean she uses the spider thing?"
Dalf looked as confused as he felt. "Pie-dur?"
"Never mind. Let's find her." He looked around and sighted a ladder leading from the water to the floor above. Certain that the kid's mother wasn't in the water, and had to be overhead, he kicked off toward it.
Dalf grabbed his leg and hauled him back. "Forbidden. Go dead." His frantic whistles and clicks nearly made him incoherent.
The boy must be daft. If they couldn't contact the woman, why had they spent the better part of three days under water, trying to get here? "We came here to see her. Not for you to show me the structure."
"No word building. Fly Nambaba."
Thunder rubbed his aching forehead and noticed that the skin on his arms was white and puckered. "Look, kid, you might be at home in the water, but I'm not. I have to get out of it while I still have skin." As it was, he looked like a moldy prune.
There was a distant splash, as if something big as a sequoia had fallen into the water. Dalf jolted. "Noooo," he moaned. He inched backward until his spine was flush against the wall.
Thunder squinted at the shadows, but still couldn't see any danger. So what if he didn't understand the dangers of this world, being snapped up by a flower was better than waiting in fear for an unseen enemy to attack. He swam toward the sound of the splash. Dalf tried to catch his ankle, but he shook the kid off.
Several minutes later, he arrived where the shadows met the blue-green sunlit water. The reek of burnt fish oil was so strong that it almost overpowered the salty sea-scent.. The stench seemed to be emanating from the odd silvery trunk, which was floating on the water. A thin leafless vine connected the thing to the floor overhead. Since its master had to tie it, obviously, the thing was either a vicious creature or so extraordinarily large that it needed restrictions.
Was this the thing the kid was afraid of?
As he contemplated the bizarre pet, its round mouth opened and a human sprinted out. When the person was halfway along the trunk, air whooshed out from beneath the thing's round head in a wild surge of bubbles and it began sinking beneath the waves. The person ran faster and leaped onto a floating rug.
The ship disappeared beneath the waves, as the silver and blue clad individual calmly walked on the magical mat toward the structure above him.
Something grabbed him with an invisible hold and dragged him downward.
A whistle of fear ripped through the water.
Thunder barely had a chance to stuff the breather into his mouth before the beast pulled him under. Thunder flailed for something solid to fight, but only hit water. The unseen force pulled at his breather. He clamped his jaws tight and pretended to go limp.
A moment later, he bounced on the sandy bottom. He peered through the silt-laden water, but still didn’t see the monster that had grabbed him. He hung lifeless and looked for the source of the assault, but the only thing he saw was more muddy water around the huge silver spider.
Strong hands grasped his shoulders. The breather was knocked out of his mouth and he was yanked backward into the shadows. Behind the pillar, the water was calm and clear as a stagnant pool. Wailing and shrilling, Dalf hugged him. Thunder gagged. Dalf shrieked then thrust him to the surface.
Lungs burning, Thunder gasped for air. "What was that?"
"Herd ship must hydro."
The kid's answer was as confusing as the situation. He squinted up at the sun and wondered if he would ever see his world and those he loved again.
"Skin bad." Dalf splashed the water with fright.
Thunder looked at his swollen, festering arm, then at the other, which was equally bloated. He could only imagine what the rest of his body must look like. He climbed onto an odd floating mat. A warm, gentle breeze fanned his sodden clothes and felt like claws on his face. He held up his arm. "This is from being in the water so long." Dalf clattered with worry. "Relax, kid, I can fix it. It's just that my element is land. I could never live on this world any more than you and yours could live on mine." With that, he shut his eyes and focused on healing his flesh.
When his senses returned to the outer world, noise was blaring and people were running on the high platform, shouting with fear. In the distance, water began boiling. A person dashed toward it, apparently running on top of the water. Then, the strange silvery thing popped up and the human sprinted toward the large bubble. The mouth opened, yet the person ran forward, straight into the gaping maw.
Thunder gasped.
The beast lifted up off the water, brought its massive legs together with a fearful snap and shot straight up into the air. He shuddered.
Dalf clapped with delight. "Love shepherd." He pointed at a distant glowing cloud. Thunder squinted and saw a familiar undulating speck of gold.
"What is everyone screaming about?"
"Dragon."
His suspicions were confirmed. "But how can it hurt your world when the water will kill them?"
"Shepherd proceed dragon from wader." Dalf gave him a toothy smile. "Wand be shepherd, like mudder and faddur."
"A worthy goal."
"No under-dand why dragon come."
"No one ever does." There was silence overhead. If they were going to sneak up and find the kid's mother, now was the time to do it. He stood up. The floating matt tilted. He compensated, leaped to the stable part of the inclined platform and sprinted to the top. He threw himself on the decking and inched up the last few feet. Three people huddled on a bench, heads close as they chatted and waved their arms. Two were human, one looked like Dalf. The boy eased up next to him. "What's your mother's name?" he whispered to keep the kid from whistling in alarm and disclosing them.
"Captain Raine Bakufu." He struggled over the last name.
"Has a lot of names, doesn't she?"
Dalf softly shrilled in agreement. "Lasd here. Greadesd momend my life." The kid looked desolate.
"Why the best?"
"Wand grow, like faddur." In the distance a group of people ran across the high platform, their feet perfectly synchronized, as if running was a dance. “Wand see dragons." The boy frowned at the platform. "Dis no same." He rolled onto his side and put his fist at the center of his chest-area. "Feel dif-rend. War bedder."
He’d heard about war from Larwin. "Did you like war?"
Dalf emitted a high-pitched whistle. "World die. Faddur die." He touched his face where the worst scars had been. "My end."
Thunder inhaled. "And you think war is better than what's goin
g on now."
Dalf clicked in agreement.
This was not good. Neither was doing nothing while waiting for a disastrous end. Thunder lunged to his feet and leaped to the floating dock. He stagger-stepped until he got to the solid section, then he sprinted upward.
He paused when he reached the top of the ramp. The enormous, flat maze-like surface made from the same strange substance the bubble chambers had been. Not a centipede.
Dalf whimpered as he tried to hide behind a thin railing. What danger did the kid see? Or didn’t he want the individuals to see him? Thunder squinted. There didn’t seem to be other fish-folk here. Perhaps the kid didn’t like to leave the sea. That could explain why there had been water inside the house.
As Dalf softy keened, Thunder tried to figure out what to do next. Should he stop one of the people that was running alone or speak to the group that kept giving the clouds nervous looks?
A cluster of people appeared in the distance. This group stood out from the others because the members were obviously ill or injured. A tall, frail, green haired creature and a shorter, sturdy-looking, dark haired apparition supported either side of a pitiful woman with honey-colored hair, who didn’t look as if she could stand without assistance. A pair of pale, white haired ancients helped each other, while an amethyst-haired pair dragged a struggling fish-boy forward.
Yulder or another? Thunder squinted, but he couldn’t be certain. The fish-boys were like trout, they all looked alike.
The injured woman stumbled, but the tall green one caught her and swooped her into his arms, like a babe and walked purposefully forward.
From behind him, Dalf screeched loud enough to break eardrums. "Mudder!” His high-pitched whistles rent the air. Thunder doubled over. “Mudder!" The fish-boy barreled past him as he clumsily sprinted toward the group.
He lurched to his feet and hobbled after the boy.
The rag-tag group halted. Dalf dashed straight into the tall man holding the woman. “Mudder!" They all fell into an ungainly heap.
Thunder Moon: Book 2 of the Chatterre Trilogy (Chatterre Triology) Page 20