Dolphin Way: Rise of the Guardians (23 page)

He slowly became aware that the others were humming a barely audible chant; rising and falling like wavelets striking a beach, slowly increasing in pace and volume. He realised that the light was increasing at the narrow opening, the light at the surface becoming brighter and brighter, soon swallowing the feeble light rays from the upper opening.

The song lifted its pitch further, rising to a climax. Sky saw that a shaft of light from the opening before them now cast a narrow beam on the wall to their right. As he watched mesmerised, that beam eased around the wall behind them until both song and star reached their zenith together, and the dolphins were flooded by light. This was the moment they had waited for; the sun had now passed over the equator into the northern hemisphere for the first time that year.

The chant slowed and stopped. There was a faint murmur of appreciation from the dolphins in the cave. Then Cloud Passing roused himself and swam forward a short way. Silent Waters and Sky took station on each side of him. He turned back to the elders, the sunlight streaming past him in rays onto their faces. He bowed once more.

Then Sky noticed a curious thing. Although the sea surface was still calm, the sun’s rays were now coming directly through the narrow opening into the Sun Chamber as it only did in this way for the first day of spring. Now that the rays passed through the swirling waters of the halocline the rays were no longer static, they danced behind the silhouette of the old dolphin in an unearthly way. The Shades obediently changed and their meaning was totally altered:
a great matter; of high import.

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.

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.