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Authors: EJ Altbacker

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BOOK: Into the Abyss
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Finnivus sighed as if she were a pup, too stupid to understand. “The sharks my armada just demolished—they were
only
prisoners.”

“That were caught by your invincible armada,” Velenka said. “They had no choice in the matter.” It wasn’t the response he wanted, but it was enough of an answer to keep her out of trouble.

“Yes, of course,” groused Finnivus. “But what I mean is that mere prisoners are hardly an acceptable substitute for the mariners which Gray and Lochlan will have when I—umm,
we
, obliterate them.”

Well, of course they aren’t! Velenka thought to herself. These prisoners were hungry and tired. Beaten. No match for the finely tuned Indi armada. It would have been disastrous to suggest that, though, which was why she chose to play dumb.

“Any practice will make your mighty mariners even better,” Velenka soothed. “And there is no fighting force in the Big Blue that can match the Indi armada. You will one day go to Riptide and conquer what is rightfully yours!”

But not if I can convince you otherwise, she thought.

There was a smattering of agreement from the other sharkkind in the court, but only after Finnivus nodded and clicked his notched teeth together. “You are very smart for a fin from the boonie-greenie,” Finnivus said, turning to the court, who all laughed as if this were the funniest thing they had ever heard. Velenka bobbed her
head once more and smiled, flashing her own pointy, white teeth. How she hated playing the sea toady to anyone. Even to Finnivus Victor Triumphant, Emperor of the Big Blue.

“You are right! My armada has no equal!” exclaimed Finnivus. “And soon, I will exact my revenge on everyone in the North Atlantis, but Lochlan and Gray most of all!” Everyone cheered. “
If
they are still alive when my armada faces theirs—” Finnivus smiled as if at some secret thought. Velenka wondered what he might be hiding. “They will be captured! Then, oh then, they will watch as we exact our justice for their treachery by sending every single fin they care for to the Sparkle Blue before their very eyes!”

“Wonderful! Wonderful!” Velenka exclaimed along with the sharks that crowded closer to Speakers Rock.

While it was tricky to swim the currents in the court, Velenka knew Finnivus liked her. This was important as it saved her from being eaten unless she did something very stupid. And her mother didn’t raise a dumb shellhead for a daughter. Court life was a plush and lazy lifestyle, filled with the best of everything! Why take the chance of ruining it by going to war? But Finnivus thought of nothing else. As soon as he was safely in the Indi homewaters, he set to calling mariners from all around the seven seas to join his
Armada of Justice
, as he called it. The Black Wave now numbered in the thousands. There was no way
that any in the Atlantis would survive the emperor’s royal wrath.

But still …

Lochlan’s AuzyAuzy Shiver, nicknamed the Golden Rush for the color of the great whites in the royal family, were formidable fighters. If by some stroke of bad luck the Indi mariners
were
beaten, Velenka had no doubt that someone would come looking to exact their own revenge on her. She had to shift the current somehow. It needed to be done delicately, of course.

Everyone was cheering, “Down with Lochlan and Gray!”

“Yes, yes, I am great,” Finnivus said, nodding to the enthusiastic court. “And they will pay with their lives for daring to fight me!”

That was the opening Velenka was looking for!

“But Emperor Finnivus!” she yelled, loud enough to be heard over the others. “Please don’t risk your own life by swimming with the armada! I’m sure Lochlan is a fierce enemy, but Gray is dangerous! He’s devious and will stop at nothing to harm you if you leave your wonderful Indi homewaters!”

The royal court quieted into a murmur. Finnivus nodded, taking Velenka’s false worry into consideration. She hoped that this idea would get inside the young emperor’s head and cause him to stay. That way, she could also remain at court and not get into any sort of
danger. Battles were unpredictable things. They sometimes turned on a fin flick. Better to avoid them altogether.

“Of course
we
fear nothing,” Finnivus began. Members of the court shouted in full-throated agreement with the emperor. “Lochlan and Gray are indeed treacherous and vile. But perhaps we won’t have to worry about them at all. Why, with any luck, neither of them will be around when we swim out—
tomorrow
! We will destroy every single fin in the entire Atlantis Ocean, scrubbing it clean of their traitorous filth! We so decree it, and so it shall be!” And with that Finnivus howled with laughter.

Velenka was thunderstruck. They were leaving tomorrow? This had to be something he’d just decided! A royal whim she could do nothing about! Velenka hadn’t heard a thing about this—and she made sure to overhear every single conversation she could!

It was then that Velenka decided that a more direct plan would be needed to ensure her own safety, and so began doing what she did best …

Plotting.

Gray rushed forward to press the attack using the Seahorse Circles, a tight turning move aimed at Lochlan’s tail. The golden great white answered with Manta Ray Rising to foul the maneuver. The pair pounded each other with a series of rams and bumps, neither able to gain an advantage. “Nice one,” Lochlan said through gritted teeth as he flashed forward. “But watch yourself! Don’t over-commit when you’re tired.”

Gray smiled through his weariness and zipped to the side, avoiding the great white’s lunge. They had been combat training for hours, and he ached from snout to tail. “Tired? Who’s tired?” Gray wheezed. “I’m still gliding easy from my one-match winning streak against you.”

“Now you’re just being cocky, mate!” Lochlan tail-whipped Gray across the snout so hard, motes of color flashed before his eyes in the dark blue water. It was
all he could do to execute Waving Greenie to stalemate Lochlan’s lightning fast Tang Twist.

After another minute, Gray and Lochlan both got sloppy, neither able to finish their attacks crisply. Soon the one-on-one drill resembled a schoolyard fight more than the deadly dance they were striving to perfect.

“Stop, stop! I have seen turtle hatchlings battle with more grace!” Takiza yelled, shaking his frilly fins in annoyance. “This display of clumsy brawling hurts my eyes as I am forced to watch it!” The betta had appeared in the Riptide homewaters as suddenly as he had left, but refused to say where he had gone.

Gray and Lochlan hovered with the current in the training area, their gills opening and closing in short bursts as they struggled to catch their breaths.

“Aw, come on, Takiza, no one can keep up with us,” Gray panted.

The little betta stared haughtily from his position above their heads. “What was that, Nulo? Did you once again embarrass yourself by speaking?”

Gray ducked his head and addressed Takiza by his honorific. “What I meant was, Shiro, that I think Lochlan and I are pretty good. Maybe you could say something nice to us every once in a while.” Shiro was a word that meant
master
and
teacher
, while Nulo meant
student
and, according to Takiza,
nothing
.

“Now you’ve gone and done it,” Lochlan whispered. “You’re
on your own.” The golden great white moved away as the betta gave Gray a steely gaze.

“Never have truer words been spoken, Nulo. You
think
you are good. Which is why you should never think!” Takiza zipped around, somehow creating some sort of disturbance with his gauzy fins and his mastery of Shar-kata, which caused Gray to tumble and roll in place. He was about to vomit up the fat haddock he’d eaten earlier when Takiza finally stopped. Gray listed to the side as he tried to regain a sense of which direction was up and down.

The betta fish appeared in front of his left eye. “When Nulos
think
, it only leads to trouble!”

Lochlan laughed. “That was fin-tastic, Takiza. Especially when it’s not me!”

“Really,
fin-
tastic?” Gray asked.

Takiza regarded the golden great white. “Oh? You find my lesson humorous? Do I amuse you? Perhaps you are laughing at me?”

Lochlan stopped grinning at once. “Wait, now. I didn’t say that, Takiza.”

“I’m pretty sure he did, Shiro,” Gray added immediately.

“Not helping.” Lochlan retorted. “And I will get you for that.”

Takiza swam closer, his billowing fins rippling with the slow tide. For a tiny Siamese fighting fish, he could strike fear into even the largest shark’s heart. “Perhaps I
was born into the Big Blue solely to be your court jester, King Lochlan. Indeed, perhaps I am no more than a clown fish, to flit through the water for your amusement. Please, tell me if this is so, and I shall begin flitting at once.”

Lochlan bobbed his head deeply and more than once. “No, Shiro. What I meant to say is that you are wise beyond your years. Wise and also strikingly handsome. Have you lost weight? My overall point was that you should be commended for putting up with our many, many, almost uncountable, deficiencies.”

Takiza looked at Gray and cracked the slightest of grins. “See? Wisdom. That is why he is the rightful King of the Sific.”

Just then, Whalem came tearing through the water. The old tiger shark slid to a halt, panting heavily. He had refused all suggestions to go to the royal doctor fish for treatment, saying that nothing could change the currents of old age. “I’ve just received word from our advance scouts that the Black Wave is preparing to leave the Indi Ocean!”

“So it begins,” Takiza said quietly.

“Did your scouts see the size of their force?” asked Lochlan, concern etching his face.

Whalem paused. “They will have more than two thousand mariners.”

“Two thousand?!” Gray gasped. “Even if we get Hammer and Vortex Shivers to join with us, we’ll barely have half that!”

“I can gather another hundred from the Sific,” Lochlan said thoughtfully. “We’ll still be down, but it’s not hopeless.”

“What of their leadership? Who is the mariner prime?” asked Takiza.

Whalem ground his teeth together in frustration, making an audible scraping noise. “I was hoping for a pup from their Line, but Finnivus has chosen well this time. He’s promoted my best commander.”

“So we can’t count on him making mistakes,” Lochlan muttered. “We
need
Grinder and Silversun’s forces.”

“Maybe we should swim away while we have the chance,” Gray said, his stomach roiling with anxiety.

“Evil must be met and defeated,” Takiza said, shaking his filmy fins.

“He’s right, Gray,” Lochlan added. “To swim and hide won’t be an option.”

Gray nodded. They would have to be ready. Finnivus and his Black Wave were coming to destroy them all.

“This is just nuts!” muttered Barkley as their formation wheeled and moved forward in the cold dark waters next to the Maw. Gray named it
Takiza’s Torture Pit
after he’d been trained regularly there by the little betta.

Now it’s our turn, Barkley thought. Stupid Striiker! He was doing this to act like a hard-shell drill instructor.
But they were getting better, Barkley had to admit. His big, hotheaded friend was actually
good
at this.

“Come on!” Striiker yelled after their formation’s shape became disorganized. “I make one thing different, like this new depth, and you’ve all turned into crying sea cows! Is it because you’re scared of the dark? Do I need to get mama to rub your flank and tell you a story? Do it again!”

Barkley longed to be back at Riptide. His first experience living there had been a horror. But that was under the bullying rule of Goblin and his Line. Now that Gray was in charge, Barkley found that he loved the Riptide homewaters. The ancient place with its colorful terraced greenie and wide open spaces felt homey and inviting. Sure, not as many dwellers swam there now that the impending doom of Finnivus’s armada was coming to smash them, but Barkley still loved the place. He even found that he shared one thing with the now-deceased Goblin. He felt that the Riptide homewaters were worth defending. With their lives, if necessary.

Let’s just hope it’s not necessary, Barkley thought.

BOOK: Into the Abyss
6Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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