Into the Abyss (21 page)

THE GHOSTFINS HAD BROUGHT THE LAST OF THE
Indi Shiver pups into the Riptide homewaters within the past hour. Gray was amazed how Barkley led his team. His friend was brilliant. Gray made the decision to move the dogfish up the Line, whether Barkley wanted it or not. He let himself smile at the image of Finnivus raging when he found out his secret weapon had been stolen out from under his snout.

And it warmed his heart to see a few happy reunions involving the stolen younglings. Unfortunately, for most there was only sadness. They found out the truth and had to experience their loss all over again. In the future, Gray thought this might be a good thing. It would make them stronger.

But to reach the future, they had to survive today.

The Black Wave’s advance scouts weren’t far advanced now. Skirmishes were flaring between the heavy patrols.
Grinder, Silversun, Barkley, Jaunt, Quickeyes, Onyx, and Striiker made their last-minute preparations.

The first clash in the battle waters would be important. If their forces crumbled, there would be nothing to stop Finnivus from taking the Riptide homewaters and forcing their mariners into the open ocean. There, without cover and at the mercy of random currents, they would be picked off by the larger and better-conditioned Indi mariners.

I can’t let that happen! thought Gray.

“Everything is set, righty-right,” said Jaunt. “And yer mum says she loves you.”

Gray nodded. His mother was in charge of the pup mariners, who had to be ordered to keep from joining the fight. Gray never even considered the possibility. Just because Finnivus used the younglings as a weapon didn’t make that right for Riptide United to do it. In fact, Gray would have loved to keep every one of his friends out of the fighting, behind the lines with his mother. But all of them refused.

And, Gray knew in his heart, they would be useful to have in the thick of things. He cared about Mari, Snork, Barkley, and the rest, but he also
needed
them. If they had to swim the Sparkle Blue to save the shiver, then that’s the way it would go. Gray hated himself for thinking that way, but he was the leader. He couldn’t hold his friends out of harm’s way while asking everyone else to sacrifice those closest to them.

Gray looked down the rows of sharks from his position at the diamondhead. He saw Grinder give him a tail waggle. The hammerhead was eager for the battle. On his right, Silversun spoke to his sharkkind. The port jackson shark wasn’t fast enough to swim with his mariners. Gray knew this tore him up inside, but Silversun was there now. He would be in charge of the last line of homewater defenses along with Onyx. They would send their last battle fin of reinforcements if it were needed.

“We have to win this,” Gray muttered a little too loudly.

“Too right, that,” said Jaunt. “We’ll give them what-for, you’ll see.”

Striiker grunted, stretching this way and that. “Don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to tear into these flippers.”

“You’ll get your chance,” Gray told him.

“I see them! They’re coming!” shouted one of the forward guards.

The Indi armada swam against a light current, appearing out of the blue water in their standard pyramid formation.

But it was massive.

Gray’s heart sank. He knew that they would be outnumbered more than two to one, but seeing it from barely three hundred tail strokes away was a different thing. The armada was easily more than two thousand sharkkind strong, even without their pup mariners. Gray
felt terror prickling down his spine but didn’t allow it to overcome him.

You have to be strong for everyone! he thought.

“Match and set formation,” Gray told Olph. The dolphin above his dorsal fin click-razzed, and the command went out. Most of the non-AuzyAuzy sharks had learned which series of clicks, whistles, and razzes meant what and moved their position even before their subcommanders repeated the order. The pyramid formation was a handy starting point for a massed battle. If you knew what you were doing. If you don’t muck-suck it up. Gray squashed the thought before it spread any further.

A lone tiger shark swam out from the Indi armada, which stopped, hovering against the tide like a gigantic monster. For a moment Gray didn’t know what was happening, and a surge of panic arced through him because he didn’t.

“Royal herald,” whispered Jaunt. “For a parley message.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Gray said.

Jaunt flexed her fins. “Don’t go. Could be a trap.”

Striiker agreed. “She’s right.”

“I have to.”

Gray swam out to meet the herald, who was terrified. Whalem had told stories about how many heralds Finnivus had doomed.

“The Emperor Finnivus Victor Triumphant wishes to tell you, umm, wishes to tell you—”

“Go on.” Gray nodded.

“I’m sorry about this.” The herald went on nervously, “The emperor wishes to tell you that your h-h-head is filled with chowder and you are a—a … fat, krill-faced, jelly-headed … whale that should go and hide your snout … in the m-m-muck with the other turtles as he, oh my, eats everyone from your home shiver. That concludes Finnivus Victor Triumphant’s message to you. Do you h-h-have a reply for … me?”

The herald tensed, waiting for the attack he thought was sure to come. Whalem said that by law the royal herald had to remain for whatever answer came and not defend himself. Unfortunately, being herald for Finnivus meant the reply could be a bite to the gills.

Gray simply said, “Tell him I’m not going to do that.”

“Is that your entire message?” asked the tiger, cautiously optimistic about swimming away alive.

“Yes,” Gray told him. “You heralds have a tough job. I wish it were different for you.”

The tiger was confused by the comment but quickly retreated to the royal court. Gray remained out in front of the Riptide United formation until he saw his message passed on. Then he yelled as loud as he could.

“I’m right here, Finnivus! Come off that whale and fight me! IF YOU’RE NOT TOO TURTLE!”

The current carried his words right to the royal court. Gray flicked his tail dismissively toward Finnivus and swam back to a tremendous cheer from his own
mariners. Even through all the noise, Gray could hear Finnivus’s shrieked “ATTACK!”

Gray smoothly slotted himself into the diamondhead position. “Way to rile him up,” snickered Striiker.

“I hope so,” Gray said. “I really do.” Maybe Finnivus would make a dumb mistake because he was angry. They needed any advantage they could get.

The Indi armada moved, slowly at first, but then gaining speed. They came straight forward in Spearfisher Streaks by the Cliffs.

Gray thought Indi might try to end it early. During the first Battle of Riptide, the mariner prime (the one after Whalem) was too careful. He could have won the day with a crushing first blow. The delay caused by his caution allowed the reinforcements Takiza brought from the Sific to reach the fight and turn the tide.

This mariner prime was being aggressive, though. The Indi armada wasn’t separating into battle fins and feinting attacks to pull them out of position. He had numbers in his favor and wasn’t afraid to use them. This mariner prime was trying to destroy Riptide United with one mighty attack.

“Hake Sideslip!” Gray barked. It was a bold move in a massed formation, more of an angled attack. But being so outnumbered, Gray was forced to take chances and be daring. It turned out to be the correct call—the Riptide forces got upper position on the armada. The bottom of Gray’s formation sheared through the topmost Indi
mariners. But still, it was only a glancing blow, and not too much damage was done.

The two formations turned as fast as they were able. Gray saw the royal court off to the side of the battle waters, watching. Finnivus was there, enjoying the spectacle as the two armadas fought and sharks died. Gray could have sprinted his force at the court, but they would have been caught from behind. Also, the
squaline
and almost a thousand Black Wave mariners were guarding the emperor and his court. Riptide United could never batter through that in time and would be ground to chum between the two forces.

“Sunfish Greets the Morn!” Gray shouted and the order was passed on. This maneuver was neither offense nor defense but a move to get everyone into position to defend or attack. He would have to call another maneuver afterward, but right now turning speed was the most important thing.

The Indi mariners were well-trained and disciplined. They came again, barreling ahead in a Tuna Runner formation, coming straight forward to overwhelm Riptide United.

“Raise our depth one hundred! Prepare for Topside Slide!”

Gray heard a loud
fwump
noise in the water as the massed sharkkind in his formation angled upwards simultaneously for twenty furious tail strokes. The entire force climbed a hundred yards, gaining height
and negating the armada’s advantage of the current. Usually a Topside Slide would go into the massed formation version of a Topside Rip. Sure enough, the Indi mariners maneuvered into an adjusted Waving Greenie, ready to change that to a counterattacking move.

But Gray didn’t use the Topside Rip. The advantage of Indi’s larger formation was too much. They had enough fins to envelope both sides of his lines. Instead, he ordered, “Seahorse Circles, down and left!”

The Riptide United formation did a diving left turn and smashed into the right third of the armada. Gray’s formation overlapped Indi’s on that side, allowing Grinder’s hammerheads to tear into them from behind.

Before, the current had carried away most of the blood spilled. Now there was so much, the water became a hazy shade of crimson. Gray could see at least thirty or forty Indi sharkkind spiral downward in their death throes on the way to the Sparkle Blue. There was a throaty yell of support from the Riptide mariners who weren’t fighting.

Gray couldn’t leave Hammer Shiver engaged for too long. The Indi mariner prime immediately ordered an Octo Reverse, trying to wrap the other end of his formation over Grinder and his forces.

“Rock Lobster Retreats!” Gray bellowed.

This move got Grinder out of danger. Hammer Shiver rejoined the Riptide United formation, which separated from the Indi armada and circled a slow turn.
Gray ordered Waving Greenie to settle everyone. His forces needed a few precious seconds to get themselves into position once more.

But Indi’s mariner prime didn’t allow that.

The Black Wave went through a progression of maneuvers that Riptide United would have to practice a year to do correctly: Manta Ray Rising, Sea Snake Engarde, Sea Pike Pirouette, before finally crashing into them with the devastating Cuttlefish Strikes the Crab, hitting their formation dead center.

“Break-Break-Break!” Gray commanded. Some would have tried to fight their way through, but the Indi armada was too thick. The preplanned emergency Break command split their forces into four double battle fins of more than two hundred sharkkind each. Hammer, Vortex, AuzyAuzy, and Riptide escaped up, down, and one to each side, respectively. The move caught Indi by surprise, and Gray lost only a few mariners. The damage could have been far worse.

But each shark I lose is someone I know! Gray gnashed his teeth in dismay and buried the thought. There would be time to grieve later … if they survived. The Indi armada stayed in formation and circled once more. There was no confusion whatsoever in their ranks.