Changelings (17 page)

“We don’t have to do that, ma’am,” Ke-ola said, kicking off his shoes. “I can help. If you’ll move alongside there, Captain Green, sir, I’ll just dive to the bottom and boost the seals up to you.”

“Can you do that?” Marmie asked. “You have no diving equipment.”

“Excuse me, Madame, but my people have been deep-sea divers for eons. We hold our breath almost as long as the sacred Honu. The water will make the seals light as long as we’re submerged.”

“Hmm,” Pet said, “I believe I’ll just get that crane anyway, in case.”

Johnny climbed down and Ke-ola swarmed up the ladder in his bare feet. He wore only a pair of shorts. Like the turtle, he looked heavy and lumbering on dry land, but in the water, even so little water, he was strong and graceful. Blowing a fine stream of bubbles, he dived down to the seals, met their eyes, and jerked his head toward the top of the tank.

R
ONAN WAS REASSURED
by Ke-ola’s calm presence when he entered the water with them. As his classmate gave the signal, Ronan swam to the surface. Ke-ola boosted him up toward Johnny as effortlessly as an otter might heft a clamshell. Ronan was surprised that Ke-ola was
that
strong. He was also surprised to see Rory’s face and his arms reaching for him along with Johnny’s from the top rung of the ladder, which Rory now shared.

Johnny had a towel with him and began patting Ronan dry as soon as he was half out of the water. When Ronan’s upper half began to change so that his hands were free to help himself, Rory scooted down the ladder. Then with Johnny’s support, Ronan held on to the ladder with his hands, pulled his sleek flippered back end free of the water and let Johnny pat that dry until the flippers turned to feet again.

Rory was looking up at Ronan with eyes so wide, white showed around his pupils.

Ronan, human again, grinned down at him, said, “Thanks, Rory. I can take it now and help Johnny fetch Murel up. Good of you to come to our aid, though.”

Rory nodded but looked a little hurt and a lot puzzled. Pet Chan returned with the crane but it wasn’t necessary. Johnny and Ronan repeated the previous procedure with Murel, though she kept the towel closer to her than her brother had.

Rory handed lab coats up to them both, since Murel’s clothing was at the bottom of the tank, torn during her transformation after Dr. Mabo pushed her in. Ronan picked up his own discarded clothes and put them on, stealing glances at the others. Marmie, Johnny, Pet, Rory, and Ke-ola were there, he confirmed when, fully dressed, he turned to face them. Dr. Mabo was not.

Murel caught his thought before he spoke and said, “Hey, where’s Mabo?”

“Oops,” Johnny said. “Guess she slipped away while we were all helping you kids and the turtle. Oh well, she can’t have gone far.”

Pet Chan pulled the radio from her belt and spoke into it. “Chan here. Put out an APB on Dr. Marie Mabo. Arrest and detain her until I can arrive to take custody. Charges of kidnapping and possible child and animal abuse.”

“Sorry, Chan, but she’s gone. Her shuttle departed a few minutes ago. You want us to launch a posse?”

Marmie shook her head sadly. “There is no need to risk our personnel. She will not return to trouble us again.”

“Good,” Rory said when Pet had passed on the order and clicked off the com unit. “I thought it would be so great to have a grandma, and she just kept Mum upset all the time.”

Marmie turned to the twins. “You’ve Rory to thank for alerting us to your danger,” she said.

Rory waved his hand in dismissal, “Nothing, really. I went to take her something and caught the old cow watching you on the labcam in her quarters as you entered and dived into the tank, Ronan. I backed out before she saw me, but I knew she was up to no good so I called Madame and raced down here to see if I could help you.”

“You’re a good pal, Rory.”

“Not so much,” he said, shaking his head and looking as if he’d just opened what he thought was a fresh can of milk and found it had gone sour.

“Rory,” Marmie said, “you cannot hold yourself to blame for your grandmother’s actions. If I had realized the connection between her and the twins, I’d never have allowed her on the station. You are not responsible for who your relatives are. It’s how you treat your friends that matters.”

“What connection, Marmie?” Murel asked. “Mabo said something about Ronan being Da’s son like she knew Da or something. She said something about him keeping her from studying the otters and that he knew she’d rather study us.”

“Yes. Of course, we knew a group of scientists had been deported from Petaybee after you left, but no one sent any details, just that the otters were safe and their captors had been dealt with.”

“When I gave your mum your message about Dr. Mabo keeping a sample of Murel’s blood, she was horrified,” Johnny told them, speaking carefully. Ronan thought he was measuring his words so he didn’t say the wrong thing. What wrong thing could he possibly say now? But Johnny kept talking, as if to ice over the cracks between his words. “Your folks thought they were sending you to safety. They never figured Mabo would follow you here.”

“Bad luck for the twins, us being here for my lovin’ granny to latch on to as cover,” Rory said.

“It’s not your fault, Rory. Marmie’s right,” Murel said, putting a slightly moist arm around him. “If you hadn’t been here, she’d have come up with some other excuse since she was so determined to trap us.”

“How’d you know to come tonight, Ke-ola?” Murel asked.

“Once I knew the sacred Honu was here, I opened my mind to accept his bidding. He bade me come here double quick and help him, but you got here first,” Ke-ola said, his shoulders rolling in a shrug that was like the tide coming in and going out again.

“So what will happen to him now?” Ronan asked. “Will you take him home?”

Before Ke-ola could answer, Johnny Green spoke up.

“Speaking of returning to your native habitat,” he said to the twins, “you two need to pack up your belongings and say good-bye to your friends here. You’re coming back to Petaybee with me.”

“We’re going home?” Murel asked. “Just like that?”

“Just like that,” Johnny said, trying to sound cheerful, but again there was a cautious note in his voice that neither of the twins cared for. Something was fishy, and it wasn’t the edible kind.

Ke-ola said, “The sacred Honu and I come with you.”

“Oh, no, Ke-ola,” Murel said. “It’s much too cold on Petaybee for Honu. Probably for you too. Not that we wouldn’t like you to visit.”

“The sacred Honu says a home is being prepared for him and his kind. I will send a message to my family. They will find she who is to be the mate of the Honu and bring her to him.”

“You mean on Petaybee?” Johnny asked, looking puzzled. “How would a turtle from here and parts beyond have any idea what might or might not be happening on Petaybee?”

Ke-ola gave him a pitying look. “The Honu are not sacred for nothing. They know many things.”

“If he knows about Petaybee and this home he thinks is being built for him, why didn’t he know my gran was going to turtle-nap him and experiment on him?”

“I said the sacred Honu and his kind know many things, not all things,” Ke-ola said, and after a sigh, added, “They are somewhat more likely to know of distant things and future things than what is right under their flippers, perhaps.”

Murel said, “Well, whatever the reason, I think it’s brilliant that he’s coming to Petaybee with you! I was just thinking that what Petaybee needs are some sea turtles.”

“Do they really change, Ke-ola?” Ronan asked. “
She
said they were shape-shifters.”

Ke-ola smiled a smile that made him look every inch of his height and girth. It was a very superior kind of smile. “That is for the sacred Honu to tell if he wishes.”

“Do you know, though?”

“That is for me to tell if I wish, and I do not wish at this time.”

CHAPTER 19

M
ARMIE WAS GOING
with them, which surprised the twins. They were more surprised to see several helicopters and small submarines and a lot of diving equipment being loaded onto the ship.

“That going to Petaybee, is it?” Murel asked Marmie as they boarded.

“Yes, it is.”

“Our folks want all that and us too or did you make them take us back if they wanted all the tech stuff?” Ronan asked, teasing.

They were inside the ship and strapped to chairs in the lounge before Marmie answered. “It’s search and rescue equipment. Remember how everyone was thinking Petaybee was building a new landmass?”

“Yeah, is that what’s happening? The volcano is erupting? Cool! But why the need for rescue equipment? Nobody lives anywhere near there,” Ronan said.

“It’s probably also for scientists to go study it, isn’t it, Marmie? Good ones like Sister Iggierock.”

Marmie started to say something, then closed her mouth again and said, “Something of the sort.”

“Okay, Marmie, what’s going on really?” Murel demanded. “We haven’t had any sleep and a tiring time of it lately. You’re holding out on us. Why?”

“I wasn’t going to tell you or let Johnny tell you either,” she said, shaking her head regretfully and smoothing her skirt across her knees. Marmie almost never wore ship suits. She usually wore something elegant and flowing. Today it was iridescent blue synsilk. The rings on her fingers twitched a little, which was unlike her. She was something like an old-time queen, making all sorts of decisions every day. It wasn’t like her to act nervous and uncertain. Seeing her that way gave Murel a sick feeling, and she felt the same trepidation from Ronan. “It seems unkind to make this journey last longer for you than need be, when we can have no news between now and the time we land. But your father has gone missing.”

Neither of them said anything, but each felt the other reeling. They’d never thought, when they left Da on Petaybee, that he might not be there when they returned. Then Ronan said staunchly, “Good job Mum’s sent for us then. We can find him.”

“Non!” Marmie said. “What I mean is, I don’t think your mother will want to risk you two as well. I certainly wouldn’t in her place. The volcano is very active. It could completely blow at any moment. Johnny says there’s almost no visibility even in Kilcoole.”

“We don’t need visibility,” Murel said. “We can hear our da in our heads.”

“I’m sure you won’t be able to go near enough to do it.”

“We hear pretty good,” Ronan said, “and at least we could tell your searchers how to look—better yet, if you
really
want to find him, we should be leading.”

But Marmie was shaking her head again. She unstrapped herself, rose and left the lounge. After that, when they tried to talk to her, she pretended not to hear them or ignored them or changed the subject.

Ke-ola, who stayed close beside the tank containing Honu, watched one of these encounters with a little twist of his lips. “That Madame is very stubborn,” he said.

Murel crossed her arms on her chest and glared at nobody in particular. “She’s not the only one,” she said. “He’s our da.”

W
HEN AT LAST
the ship set down on Petaybee, the twins saw their mother pacing the ground, waiting while they climbed down the gantry to meet her. It was in some ways as if they’d never been away at all, and in some ways as if they were coming here for the first time and didn’t know anyone.

She’s so
little
,
Ronan told his sister.
She always looked so tall and straight.

Could be because you’re looking down on her from about forty feet, dopey,
Murel said. Then relented.
But I know what you mean. And, well, Petaybee isn’t as pretty as I remembered it, even in summer, but it feels good to be here.

Can’t tell if it’s pretty or not with all that stuff in the air,
Ronan replied, swatting at the space in front of his face as if to clear the air of the smog that turned everything gray.
At least our river is still there.

Murel stopped on the step she’d just set foot upon.
Even if our da is not.
Her throat hurt suddenly, and not just from all the particles in the air. Her heart felt as if it twisted up inside her not to see her father standing there, and Ronan felt it too.

We’ll get him back, Mur. You’ll see. We will. We’ll show them all.

Of course we will,
she sniffed, and started down again. Fortunately, she still held firmly to both rails of the gantry because suddenly it and the ship shuddered and jumped, and when it stopped, their Mum and Marmie, who was already down, were picking themselves off the ground and looking anxiously up at the twins.

After that they hurried down. But when she reached the foot of the gantry, Murel waited for Ronan, and the two of them walked over to their mother and let her put her arms around them. After a moment they each put an arm around her too.

Marmie smiled, wiggled her fingers in a “See you later” gesture, and returned to the dock, where she helped Johnny Green supervise the unloading of some extremely large crates, boxes, and uncrated hunks of equipment. Among the large things was the Honu’s tank, with Ke-ola sometimes walking along, sometimes crouching, beside it, apparently soothing the Honu.

“Marmie told you why Da isn’t here?” Mum asked them. Left to her own devices, Mum never was one to beat around the bush. The more difficult or distasteful something was to discuss, the sooner she’d bring it up. Da was the one more likely to wait for the proper moment.

“She did,” Murel answered.

“And you’re not to worry, Mum. We’ll get him back,” Ronan said.

“Yes, we will,” she replied. “I’ll brief you on what we know already on the way back to the village. As soon as you’ve had a chance to settle in and have been brought up to speed, we’ll fly back out again.”

The twins exchanged looks. “You’ll let us help?” they asked incredulously.

“I’m counting on it,” Yana told them. “Not that you’re to take any unnecessary risks, of course, but if anyone who speaks the human tongue can find him, it’s you kids.”

Just then Clodagh, surrounded by orange cats, strode up the river road toward them. The twins squealed and raced forward to embrace her. Clodagh smiled and patted them on the heads, said how big they’d grown, and disentangled herself, continuing on to the ship. The Honu’s tank was being loaded aboard some sort of a wheeled barge, and Clodagh stopped there, bending over to peer into the tank for a moment before straightening to clasp Ke-ola in a huge hug and even exchange cheek kisses with him.

In spite of their excitement over their own homecoming, the twins couldn’t help being distracted by this uncustomarily effusive display on the part of Kilcoole’s shanachie. Almost as surprising was the way the often taciturn Ke-ola seemed to be brimming over with things to tell the woman he’d just met.

Well, I guess we don’t have to worry about making Ke-ola and the Honu feel welcome,
Murel said.

I didn’t know Clodagh was so keen on sea turtles, but you’d think she’d been dying to meet one her entire life.

Mum hadn’t noticed their lapse of attention. She pointed to where three curly coats, now shedding badly, stood flanked by Nanook on one side, Coaxtl on the other. “When I told Sinead you were coming home, she sent Chapter and Page here to help you get around on the ground. They were born last year to Book and Novella. Can you tell your aunt has been doing her bit to support the Petaybean literacy program?”

Page, it’s them! It’s really them! The twins. They’ve come to be our humans.

Semihumans, old chap.

Close enough for the likes of you younglings,
Coaxtl growled at the colt, then stretched and regarded the twins with narrowed eyes.
Grrreetings, Ronan and Murel. One had hoped it would have been more peaceful without you to guard, but this has not been so.

Nanook was not so droll. She rose from her haunches and rubbed each twin so hard with her body that she nearly knocked them over. Then she rubbed the side of her mouth against each of them, marking them as hers while they stroked her.

Murel almost forgot that she couldn’t be entirely happy, what with their father missing. It was good to be home again. She gave Nanook’s neck a hug and kissed Coaxtl between the ears before mounting Page.

They rode slowly along the river from what used to be Space Base, the former Intergal toehold on Petaybee, toward Kilcoole.

“You guys are as tall as I am,” Mum said. “When did you do that?”

It wasn’t a question that needed an answer, but they had other questions that did.

“So, I get the impression Da was in seal form when he disappeared?” Murel asked.

“Yes. He wanted to swim out to the volcanic ridge where a landmass has been developing. I can only guess that he may have wished to talk to the ocean creatures and get their impressions of what was happening.”

“That gives us a starting place then,” Murel said. “We can put the word out and see if anyone knows what happened to Da or where he might be.”

“Johnny thought Sean might have fetched up on the southern continent, but no one there has seen him. He’s swum that far before but I know he’d find a way to let me know that he’s safe.”

At the river bend just before town, they saw a once-familiar sleek brown form diving into the water.

Otter?
Murel asked.

“Hah!” The otter popped almost entirely out of the water.
River seals! You are here now. Before, you were gone. I looked for you hundreds of times, but Father River Seal said you were gone.

“Mum, it’s Otter!” Ronan said, sliding off Chapter and stooping at the edge of the river, reins still in his hands. Murel did the same.

“So I see. I don’t suppose I can compete with that. Just make it snappy, will you? I want to make one foray to the volcano with you aboard before we lose any more light, okay?”

Mum looked all tight through the back and military again, so Murel handed the reins to her brother, caught up with her and touched her calf. “Mum, sorry, we really are glad to see you, but Otter might know something about Da. They talked too, you know.”

Mum’s expression warmed a bit and she put her hand on the top of Murel’s head. “I know, sweetie, I know. Visit your friend, gather your intelligence, and come home, okay?”

“Right, Mum. Love you. Can’t believe we’re home again.”

“Me too, sweetie. Me too.”

Coaxtl and Nanook lay a discreet distance away from Chapter and Page, and Murel turned their way for a moment to give them each a stroke.

But Nanook asked,
What’s he doing?
and bounded away.

Ronan had his shoes and shirt off and one foot in the river.

Good question,
Murel said.
Ro, wait! No fair turning when we just got here. We can play with Otter later.

He saw Da, Mur. He swam off with some sea otters. I want to go talk to them.

Swimming to the sea will take too long,
she said, shaking her head as she ran to the bank in case her brother decided to jump in before they’d finished talking it over. Otter watched them, first one face and then the other, with a wary eye cast in Nanook’s direction.
Otter,
she said,
we are flying out to the sea in a little while. Do otters like to fly?

Hah! Otters love to fly. Otters always fly when they can.

So you’ve flown before, then, have you?

I would have flown hundreds of times when I could, but I never could,
Otter admitted finally.

Well, river seals have flown hundreds of times too. If an otter flew with river seals, that otter would see things no otters have seen before and we would make sure he was very safe and went home to his hundreds of relatives.

But why fly? River seals can swim. Swimming is fun, and there are mud slides along the way and fish to eat. Are you sky seals as well as river seals?

Nooo, but humans fly all the time. We are sky humans. We fly because flying is very very fast, much faster than swimming, and we want to talk to those other otters about our da, the father river seal.

Hah! Flying, huh? On a smelly man thing?

Smelly and noisy, but we could carry you personally with us so you could just put your nose inside a shirt and not have to smell anything but river seal. And it is very fast, as I said.

You could be the first and only sky otter,
Ronan said slyly.

Hah! That would make the other otters of all other kinds very impressed. Yes, this otter will be a sky otter.

“T
HE THING IS
, Mum, Otter trusts us and maybe his relatives do too, but the sea otters don’t know us and they’re the ones who were with Da. So we should talk to them ourselves, without you or the copter or anything around. If you drop us off by the river upstream from the shore, we’ll swim with Otter to meet the cousins, and maybe they’ll even show us where Da went. It’s a
lead,
” Ronan said.

“What I’m thinking is that you two have this psychic contact, right?”

The twins looked at each other, shrugged, looked back at their mother and nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“Well, then, how much distance can there be between you before you lose it, have you any idea?”

“It’s pretty strong,” Murel said. “I could hear him from Marmie’s when he was levels and levels away.”

“Yeah,” Ronan said.

“And it works underwater too?”

“Especially there,” Murel said.

“And you’ve the same thing with your father?”

“Yeah, but maybe not quite as strong because we aren’t with him as much as we’re with each other,” Murel said after pausing to think about it and trying to remember.

“Well, then, my strategy would be for one of you to go with the otter and get the goods on where your father is, while the other one stays in the copter with me and relays information from below. That way I don’t lose contact with you both at once, and if one of you gets in trouble, the other can help us with the finding. If you both got in trouble, I’d have no way of knowing it unless I went with you, and I’m not really a diver.”