As Harbo and Ratore led Ben away he looked over his shoulder at Akca. The fish was clearly in distress. Obviously he could not stay out of the water long. Ben said, “Akca needs to be in the water. He might die if you leave him there.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth Ben knew they were a mistake. He had just convinced the three humans that he was a traitor or a changeling. He knew the Orca by name.
Ratore said, “Good! We’ll eat tonight then. In fact if the fish doesn’t die on its own, I might help it on its way. How do you like that Changeling?” Ratore punched Ben on the shoulder. Ben stumbled and fell. Tears came to Ben’s eyes as he gasped in pain. Harbo shook his head and helped Ben up.
“Ratore, run ahead and ring the bell to call the council to convene,” Harbo instructed. I can handle this boy alone.” Harbo gave Ratore a meaningful look that communicated that he did not approve of the muscular Ratore beating up on someone weaker. Ratore sprinted up the six steps that led up from the lily pad to a walkway made of wooden slats. Harbo led Ben along the swaying walkway. Harbo held on Ben’s arm, which helped Ben keep his balance. There was a rope available for that purpose, but Ben could not hold it as he hands were still tied.
By now the sun was gone. A large moon hung low in the sky. A second moon was rising out of the east. Together the two moons gave enough light to see the path. Ben could see that several paths intersected the one they were on. From the trees Ben could hear the murmur of voices. Occasionally a soft glow filtered down through the branches.
Harbo and Ben had just turned to the right when a bell rang. They made two more turns before they reached a path with an upward slope. Dark shapes moved ahead of them, behind them, and along the other paths that converged at the meeting hall. In front of them light shone through the branches of trees. They passed between two tall trees and arrived at a large platform that was covered by a roof. A wall went as far up as a grown man’s waist. From the top of the wall to the roof the meeting place was open. The roof was supported by trees, as was the platform on which they stood. There was a door on each of the four sides of the platform. People streamed through each door and were filling the benches that went around three sides of the meeting place. There was a row of nine chairs at the front, where people had gathered and were talking to Ratore. Harbo pushed Ben towards them. When they arrived, the nine community elders took their seats and Ben stood before them with Ratore on side of him and Harbo on the other side.
8 To Tell the Truth
“You have called the council together. What reason do you give?” a short plump man with a fringe of hair around his bald head intoned. All eyes were on Ben as these words were spoken. They were a formality. Everyone knew Ben was the reason the council had been called.
“Ratore, Jared and I were fishing on the outskirts of our village,” Harbo responded. “We fished all day and caught almost nothing. We decided to stay out longer than normal. Ratore and Jared heard something. They threw their net. In it we caught this boy. He was in the company of a mer companion fish.” At these words murmurs arose from those sitting in the benches.
“I think we caught a changeling spy,” Ratore stated firmly. “Why else would a fish bring him here as it grows dark?”
The murmurs grew louder. Words of affirmation could be heard in the crowd.
The man who had spoken earlier looked at Ben, “What is your name and what do you have to say for yourself?”
“My name is Benjamin Taylor and I am not a changeling spy. What I am is shipwrecked and lost. The fish decided to help me for some reason.”
“Why would a mer companion fish help a human on the eve of a war?” an elder asked.
“I have no idea,” Ben said.
Ratore interjected, “He knows the fish by name. How would he know the fish by name if he were not really a mer, who only appears human?”
The murmur from the benches grew louder. “A changeling!” Voices throughout the meeting hall began to call for Ben’s death.
For a moment the council leader said nothing. Then he said, “Let’s hear from the boy himself. How do you know the name of the fish?”
Ben groaned. Akca had not looked well when they left him. If something was not decided soon the fish would die. So Ben said, “I will tell you everything after you let Akca go. Akca needs to be back in the water soon or he will die.”
“The fish will not be going anywhere until we find out who you are and what you are doing here,” responded the man. “Then, we will see. You haven’t told us how you know this fish by name.”
Ben should have known that he’d have to answer questions, which meant he was in trouble as he’d never been a good liar. What could he possibly tell the council that they would believe? Finally, Ben settled on the truth, “I have come from another world. I was sent here to help you recover the crown so that a war with the mer can be averted.”
At that the whole group did exactly what Ben thought they would do. They laughed. A voice said, “I think we’ve caught a turtle with a cracked shell. Maybe he’s been out in the sun too long.”
One of the other council members said, “Maybe he was sent away from his own Treehold because he caused too much trouble with his wild stories and lies.” Other voices expressed their agreement.
The spokesperson said, “It could be that he is a criminal trying to escape punishment in his own Treehold. But I think it is more likely that he is a changeling come to spy on us. Otherwise, why would he arrive at night? Whatever this Benjamin Taylor is I intend to find out even if it takes all night.”
Ben thought of how he disappeared in Miss Templeton’s office and wished he could do that now. There was a collective gasp as his wish was granted. Then everyone started talking at once.
The council leader’s voice yelled, “Quiet everyone! Guard the exits! Quick!”
Ben stepped back from where he stood between Harbo and Ratore and then stepped sideways. He stepped forward through two council members and stood behind the now vacant row of chairs as people ran to each of the three doors. People milled around the meeting room, checking under benches and in corners and behind chairs. Ben stood close to the council leader’s chair and used his teeth to loosen the knotted rope around his wrists. It would have been easier if he could see his wrists and the rope that held them tight. However, he was invisible not only to others, but also to himself. Twice he had to move to avoid a searcher.
“What kind of trick is this?” said a voice beside Ben. “He has disappeared. He is not here.” Ben sidled away and slipped between two chairs.
“Perhaps he’s gone to rescue his fish friend,” said the leader of the council. “Harbo will stay here to tell us everything that happened.” The leader pointed to two men, “You two go with Ratore. Guard the Orca in case the outsider tries to help his fish friend. The rest of you fan out and search the entire community. When the outsider is found we will ring the bell and gather back here.”
When Ratore left, Ben followed them. He knew that he would never find his own way back to where Akca was in the dark; maybe not even in daylight. The village was a warren of paths that led every which way. Ben gave up trying to get the rope off with his teeth. It was hard enough to keep his balance on the swaying walkway. He resumed working on the knot when they arrived at the cork pad where Akca was in clear distress. Ben stood on the walkway above the steps and watched the three Lushakan humans he had been following go down to the lily pad to talk to Jared.
“The outsider has escaped. Have you seen him?” Ratore asked.
“I haven’t seen anyone,” said Jared. “How did he get away?”
“He disappeared from the meeting place. One minute he was there and the next he was gone. We all had our eyes on him. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“He’s not here,” Jared said, looking around. “At least, I don’t think he is.”
“He was real concerned about this fish and I think he might want to help it,” Ratore stated.
“He was right about the Orca,” Jared said. “It’s not doing so well. It needs to be in water. Did the council say anything about it? Can we release it now?” There was a note of hope in the last question.
“We never got a chance to discuss the companion fish before the stranger disappeared,” a man named Sueska responded.
“I think we should let it go,” Jared said, his voice pleading.
“I think we should kill it right now,” said Ratore. “The council would be happy to be spared the problem of making a decision.” Ratore stepped forward menacingly. Jared stepped between him and Akca.
Sueska replied, “Ratore has a point. The council will not make this decision easily. By the time they do the fish will likely be dead. Its death now would not be a bad thing. Rations are short now and that will only get worse if there is a war. Who knows, we might acquire a taste for the companion fish.”
“But they are different. They can talk.” Jared protested.
“They have never talked to me.” Ratore stated. “Have they ever talked to anyone else here?” There was silence. “Well, have you ever had them talk to you Jared?”
“No, but…”
“Perhaps they really can’t talk. We only have the word of the mer for that, and their word can’t be trusted.”
“But, but…we have an agreement not to eat mer fish friends.”
“In times of war, agreements no longer hold,” Sueska responded.
From behind Ben, a voice called out, “Have you seen the stranger? Has he come back here?”
Ben had a problem. Two people were walking towards him. They could not help but run into him if he stayed where he was. They were walking side by side on the narrow walkway. Sueska and his companions stood at the bottom of the steps in such a way that Ben could not slip by them onto the lily pad.
Ben had made progress in undoing the rope around his wrists. He bent his head and pulled frantically with his teeth. The two searchers were close enough to touch Ben when the rope slide from his hands. The rope became visible as it fell to the ground.
“Did you see that?” one of the men demanded. “That rope came out of nowhere. The changeling must be close by.”
The group took another step forward. Ben took the only option available to him. He stepped off the walkway into the water. Ben found himself once more in water over his head. He went under briefly, but quickly surfaced. Above him a voice shouted, “What was that?” Ben looked up. Two men were staring down at him. Ben was still invisible, but they could see the unusual hole in the water where Ben’s body was. Sueska said, “Something’s down there. Take a couple of boats and investigate.” Ratore and three of the other men took two of the boats out, which left only Sueska and Jared on the lily pad.
Ben knew he needed to get out of the water before a boat came around beside him. They might not be able to see him, but they would be able to see where he was as long as he was in the water. Ben’s attempts to swim had always been accompanied by a great deal of splashing as he thrashed about in the water. This time he gently kicked his legs and slowly moved his arms out and back towards himself in the water. It was the first time he had tried such a movement and it was surprisingly successful. He moved towards an upright log that supported the walkway. Once there he thought of the suction cups that had helped him stay on Akca’s back. They appeared and he climbed the log easily and pulled his invisible self onto the now empty walkway. Ben moved quietly onto the lily pad. It dipped slightly as he stepped onto it, but Jared and Sueska did not notice. Ben walked along the outside of the lily pad on the opposite side of the men searching for him with their boats. Jared and Sueska had their backs to him and did not notice the wet footprints or the water that dripped from him onto the lily pad. He knelt down beside the fish. It was barely breathing. It lay unmoving on the lily pad although Jared had untangled it from the net.
Ben took hold of the rope around Akca’s snout. To his surprise he found the rope was already untied and had been draped over the Orca’s jaw to give the appearance that it was still tied. Ben, still invisible, pushed Akca, but the fish was heavy and he was not able to move him. He pushed again and this time it was easier. It was easier because there was another pair of hands pushing. While Sueska faced the other way, watching the boats that were searching for Ben, Jared pushed the fish. As the fish flopped into the water, Jared stood up and yelled, “Help, the fish has escaped.”
Ben moved quickly out of the way. He climbed into a boat as the men converged back at the point where Akca had gone into the water. Ratore looked suspiciously at Jared and said, “How did that fish get untangled from the net?”
“I loosened it,” Jared replied. “I didn’t think it had the strength to escape.”
“You can come with us and explain to the council how that fish escaped.” Sueska stated firmly. “Tully, you search this area. Kirk, you guard the walkway leading to this pad until you are relieved.”
Kirk, not relishing spending much of the night alone, and not wanting to miss an interesting discussion by the council said, “The changeling escaped with his fish friend. He’s long gone. There’s no need for me to stay.”
“If Kirk is not staying, neither am I,” stated Tully.
“All right,” Sueska replied. “Search the area and then come to the meeting hall.”
Ben leaned back in the boat and pulled a piece of the sail over himself. After Kirk and Tully finished he planned to take a boat and make his escape. He listened to Tully sing in the darkness as he searched. Ben’s eyes closed. The boat rocked gently back and forth in the waves. Ben soon fell asleep. The moment he fell asleep, Ben became visible