The Battle of Riptide (5 page)

EVERYONE SETTLED INTO THE MAIN AREA OF the new Coral Shiver homewaters to listen. There the spires of rock and coral were covered by yellow and green moss, trailing long strips of greenie as the current moved through the shelter. Onyx had quite a tale to tell. His own shiver had been conquered by Indi when he was just a pup, but it hadn't been bloody.

“Their king at the time was Finnivus's father, Romulus,” Onyx told everyone. “He was a good and wise king who took in our wandering shiver, which was searching for better feeding grounds.”

King Romulus let them become part of Indi, and Onyx was put to work as a hunter when he was barely older than Gray was now. Later, Onyx became an Indi mariner and swam with the armada, which was nicknamed the Black Wave. “That's how I got my tattoos,” the blacktip said. He showed the markings that Gray and Barkley had long ago thought were just odd but natural—and totally gilly. But now that Gray had seen the black wave pattern up close, as well as in battle, he didn't think they were cool at all.

“So you know them?” asked Gray. “You know Finnivus?”

“I saw him many times while he was growing up. He's a couple years older than you. Since he was the prince, I tried not to go anywhere near him. He was a spoiled brat.”

“Obviously, he's gotten worse,” Sandy remarked.

This was an understatement, of course. “One day, I was hunting with King Romulus and the royal court, including Finnivus. We both went after the same fish. I was young and jelly-brained. I should have let the prince have the strike, but I beat him to it. Finnivus got mad and ordered my death.”

“What kind of shiver is this?” Gray asked incredulously. “It was a
fish
!”

“They have their own rules, and I dishonored the prince,” Onyx replied. “Their laws may be harsh to us, but according to them I was wrong.”

“But you're still around,” Barkley said, pointing with his fin. He seemed to be doing better since their escape earlier in the day. “What happened?”

“King Romulus would never disgrace his son by taking my side in front of the royal court. He told a commander to carry out the prince's order. Maybe Romulus knew he wouldn't do it, maybe not. But the commander swam me out of sight and let me go. He said to never come back. So you see, Gray, you're not the only one who's been banished.”

“Tell them about the commander,” said Quickeyes.

“Ah, here's where it gets interesting. That commander's name was Whalem.”

“That's the name of the shark Finnivus called the mariner prime,” Gray said thoughtfully.

Onyx nodded and swished his tail. “Exactly. They are one and the same.”

“You're sure?” Barkley asked. “Are you positive?”

Onyx nodded. “You don't forget the shark who spared your life.”

“Do you think you could talk with him? Make the mariner prime get Finnivus to change his ways?” asked Barkley.

Onyx shook his snout back and forth. “Whalem would never disobey his king.”

Barkley whipped his tail through the water. “He spared your life, didn't he? Isn't that disobeying?”

“Or, was he obeying a king who secretly told him to let me go? I don't know.”

“You were a member of the armada,” Gray said. “Do you know how they fight? What their weaknesses are?”

“Sure, I know their formations, but that's not enough. Their mariners are well-trained, and in the hands of a good mariner prime, which Whalem is, they are unbeatable.”

The group spoke for another hour, before everyone drifted apart. Gray and his mother went off alone. The day had brought one huge surprise after another. Gray wondered if he could bear one more, but knew he must take up the subject. He pointed at Riprap and Ebbie, still hiding in the greenie. They were intensely interested in their giant big brother but too shy to swim up close.

“Riprap and Ebbie are so cute,” he told his mom.

“Aren't they?”

“Much cuter than I am,” Gray said evenly. He didn't want to upset his mother, but he had to continue. “They have barbels, just like you, and fan-shaped teeth, just like you. I don't have those. . . .”

His mother's barbels twitched in a way that Gray had never seen. He didn't know if she was angry or hurt or thinking. Then she finally said, “I've been waiting for this day. In some ways, I hoped it would never come.”

Gray forced himself to be patient while his mother gathered her thoughts. It was obviously hard for her.

“The truth is I found you, alone and scared in the ocean far, far away.”

The words passed momentarily without Gray realizing what they meant. But then he did. “So . . . you're not my mother?”

Sandy rubbed his belly with her tail. “Of course I am, Gray. I raised you and fed you and loved you. I'll always love you. I'm just not your birth mother.” Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and were carried away by the tide.

It felt like the Big Blue was spinning round and round, and Gray was tumbling tail over snout.

“I know this is hard, but I love you. You can tell me anything, Gray. Even if you're mad at me, it's okay.”

“I'm not mad, Mom. I just have so many questions,” he hiccupped.

“I know,” she soothed. “I'll answer what I can.”

“Did you know I'm a megalodon?”

Sandy's mouth hung open in surprise. Her barbels moved left and right as she shook her head in wonder. “I didn't. But I knew you were special.”

Special. There it was again. Only this time it just added to the storm of confused feelings Gray was having. He was beginning to hate being
special
. “Where do I come from?”

“The place I found you was almost in the Dark Blue. It was deep and ancient. The very mountains shifted, and there was a huge volcanic eruption. It became so bright, it was like a red sun had fallen into the ocean. I almost died. And there, in the dark, with the water tasting of sulfur—I found you. That's why I named you Gray. The entire Big Blue seemed gray that day.”

He couldn't help it and laughed. “You named me Gray because the water was mucky and stank?”

His mom gave him a little tail slap to the flank. “That is not the reason.” She grew quiet before continuing. “It seemed like the ocean itself
changed
so it could have you swimming in it. It was incredible and terrifying. But most of all, it was a day unlike any I've lived in my life. I knew right then it was my job to take care of you.”

Gray hugged Sandy with his tail for a long time. But then he asked his last question. “So my parents could be alive?” Gray wasn't sure which answer he wanted to hear.

Sandy shook her head. “I'm sorry, but I don't think so. If there was another megalodon in the ocean looking for you, I would have heard about it. And I stayed in the area for a long time to make sure. I think your parents died saving you. You see, they must have also known you were special.” This time the word didn't feel so bad.

Gray asked his mother not to tell anyone about his being a megalodon, and she agreed that keeping the secret was a wise thing for now. That was a mystery for another day. Right now, Finnivus was threatening everyone Gray cared about. That problem demanded all his attention.

But there was one more thing. . . .

“Can I still call you Mom?”

“Of course, you can!” Sandy said, her eyes leaking tears. “Always and forever, Gray.”

WHALEM WATCHED AS THE RAZOR SHIVER prisoners were herded from their homewaters, each bull between two armada sharkkind for the long swim to the Indi Ocean. There they would be broken down before being raised up into Indi Shiver mariners. Right now, the prisoners' fins drooped, and they swam listlessly, having been easily taken apart in battle. Of course they lost. This
shiver
was no more than a gang of thugs. And to only allow one type of sharkkind into membership? That was foolish.

Whalem had once tried to get Finnivus's father King Romulus to allow dwellers into the Indi armada as equals. That was the one time there was a total disagreement between them. Romulus thought that only sharkkind should be allowed into his glorious armada. Dwellers could serve in different ways, as the blue whales or lantern fish did, but could not be Indi armada mariners. Whalem thought the advantages that a swarm of eels would provide far outweighed the fact that they weren't sharkkind.

“Mariner Prime, you called?” asked one of Whalem's commanders, a bull shark. A commander led each of the four battle fins of the armada, but this was the only bull among them.

“I'd like you to talk to the prisoners,” Whalem told him. “Calm them. Make sure they don't do anything stupid or Finnivus will have them for lunch.”

“He might, anyway.”

Whalem let his commanders speak on even terms when they weren't in official settings. He believed the sharks who fought flank to flank with him deserved this measure of respect. But it wasn't the time for this sort of talk in the ranks. “What do you mean by that, commander?”

“I—I . . .”

“Surely you aren't suggesting that the king would dishonor Indi Shiver by harming surrendered prisoners?”

The bull cast his eyes downward, dipping both head and tail. “No, Mariner Prime! I misspoke.”

“Plainly, you're tired from the battle.”

“Yes, Mariner Prime!”

“I don't want you saying any such thing to the other commanders, is that clear?” Whalem said, making his eyes like volcanic rock. He could not afford to let rot like this begin. Once started, it was impossible to stop.

“Yes, Mariner Prime!” the commander answered, dipping his head once more.

“Now, see to the bulls,” Whalem told him. “I'm sending you because you are a bull yourself. So it's up to you. Will you help me save their lives by making sure they join Indi Shiver happily and without reservation?”

“Yes, Mariner Prime!” he exclaimed. “I live to serve you! I mean—I live to serve the king! It seems I am very tired, Mariner Prime, forgive me.”

“On your way, then.” Whalem shook his head after the commander left. Some in the armada probably did have more loyalty to him personally than to Finnivus, even though it had been five years now since Romulus swam to the Sparkle Blue. But Whalem would not use that loyalty, as some had asked him to. He could no more betray Romulus's wishes now than when they'd been young. And Romulus had always wanted his son to be king. “Now if only Finnivus would believe that,” he muttered silently into the current. Whalem thought the young king was going to have him seasoned and served for lunch for disagreeing with him earlier. That the young pup would even think about bloodying the waters further after their crushing victory made Whalem's stomach turn. And this was also after the disgrace they had committed against AuzyAuzy Shiver!

AuzyAuzy was the only shiver that could have given the Indi armada a tough time. Finnivus had never liked Prince Lochlan, or his father. He was jealous of AuzyAuzy Shiver and its reputation in the Big Blue as the most honored shiver. And golden-hued Prince Lochlan was loved and respected by everyone. While the body of his father, King Lochlan, had been found, the prince's had not. So many sharkkind had been killed in the frenzy during and after the battle that Finnivus was sure the golden great white was swimming the Sparkle Blue. That was the reason behind Finnivus's attack—he hated Prince Lochlan. Well, that and the fact that Finnivus was a power-hungry fish who wanted every sharkkind and dweller in the ocean to bow before him. Whalem felt his stomach turn. Such dishonor! Such disgrace! He would never feel clean again after witnessing the horrors Finnivus had wreaked upon AuzyAuzy.

Finnivus had none of his father's mercy, grace, or intelligence. Indi Shiver needed replacements for its mariners who had died, were injured, or grew too old to fight. Killing a group of disorganized and terrified enemy sharks when a battle's outcome was decided was a strategic blunder that showed bad leadership. The best way to turn a beaten shiver into loyal Indi mariners wasn't to terrify them with cruelty.

If only the battle had ended just a bit earlier! thought Whalem. Every fin flick the king delayed had put more blood in the water, which every Razor Shiver shark would remember. Swimming to the royal court, Whalem sighed. Such a waste.

Finnivus watched as the decorator crabs and fish wove Indi Shiver symbols into the greenie which grew in the area. “Pfah!” the king grumbled. “What a low and lowly place this is! Isn't that right, Tydal?”

“No place in all the Big Blue is as glorious as your own Indi homewaters, Magnificence,” answered the brown-and-yellow court fish. “But we do try.”

“Try harder,” was the king's bored reply.

“Immediately, Your Highness!”

Finnivus gave a noncommittal grunt. Whalem suppressed a smile as he thought of Tydal's nickname among some of the armada: First Court Toady. The epaulette shark was required to see to every tiny detail that tradition dictated. He did his work well.

Whalem nodded at the king's Line, all friends of Finnivus. Their parents were Indi royalty, as evidenced by their intricate tattoos. The young sharks had been secretly against Finnivus taking his rightful place on the throne, but now hovered under his belly like remora. Five years ago, these supposed friends thought Whalem should take the throne when Romulus died.

Whalem knew this wasn't because of their tremendous respect for him as their first in the Line. No, it was because he was more than seventy summers old and had no children. If he became king, one of them would rule within a few years. Thankfully, the others of Romulus's old Line sided with Whalem and voted to make Finnivus king. They weren't here anymore, though. Whalem was the last of the old guard, kept in position because he remained undefeated in battle, and Finnivus was a superstitious fin.

“Three cheers for King Finnivus!” yelled the second in the Line, a tiger.

“Finnivus Victor once again victorious!” the third cried immediately afterward.

Whalem especially disliked it when they did that: one yelling something, followed by another emphasizing the point in a different way. They were being sucker fish! But Finnivus didn't seem to notice. The king flicked his pectorals, preening. “Oh, please! I—I mean,
we
—only do what
we
are meant to!”

Finnivus
loved
the royal
we
, but didn't always use it correctly.

Whalem sighed as his eyes slid to the now nearly invisible Tydal. The brightly colored court shark could hover perfectly still and seemed to disappear through sheer motionlessness. Probably a good trait to have for a court fish when Finnivus got angry, Whalem thought.

Finnivus slapped his tail enthusiastically against the Speakers Rock as the seasoned head of Razor Shiver's leader was brought to him on the back of a sea turtle. Whalem used the tide to drift farther away from the meal. It turned his stomach. Though Indi Shiver had a past tradition of eating an enemy shiver's leader, Romulus had never, ever honored it. But Finnivus brought the ritual back. Whalem shuddered as Finnivus ate with gusto.

“Oh, this is delicious! I can't wait to see who I'll get to eat next!”

A prickle of fear marched down Whalem's spine. Had he made the wrong choice when he refused to be king of Indi Shiver? One poor decision, one tail stroke out of place, and it could be his head on that dining platter. Whalem shivered.