Read Dolphin Way: Rise of the Guardians for Free Online Page B

one another. They were Ka-Tse like those of the clan, but they spoke with an odd dialect, it sounded harsher and more purposeful than the speech she was used to. Her friends were nervous and wanted to leave before the strangers became aware of them. But she was curious and in spite of their protestations she insisted on holding back when they left. She had then silently approached the sound of the strange voices and drew closer. At the edge of visibility she could see it was four dolphins; males from their voices, in a circle on the sand, their heads low.
    She could make out some of their words and it was clear that one of them, an exceptionally large, dark skinned dolphin with a pale scar over his right eye, was their leader. He looked and sounded authoritative and he spoke with the ease of a natural and unquestioned leader. She had encountered dolphins with an aura of power before, but they had all been elders of the clan, and it arose from the respect accorded the wise. This one spoke of action, and the power was also a physical one. She was strangely attracted and disturbed in equal measure.
    She had been about to leave when he had become aware of her. She saw his eyes lock onto hers and it had felt like she had been struck a blow. She had started to swim off but he called to her to wait. It sounded like a command, and she had stopped dead without making a conscious choice to do so.
    He had left his companions and swam over to her. Once he had established she was alone, he had wanted to know what she had heard. He must have soon realised that she had really heard nothing of consequence. Their conversation had been one sided, almost an interrogation, but he seemed to soften when she answered more of his questions about herself. He seemed interested in the movements of her clan and genuinely fascinated to learn that she was in training as a Starwriter. She was flattered by his attention and so, at his suggestion, accompanied him on a swim over the shallow sand; their course following the lines of the ripples. She was intensely curious, as it soon became clear to her that he was a leader of a clan, even though he could only be a few years older than she was. She had not heard of such a young male taking that role and was quietly impressed. She was also impressed by the way he spoke and his sure, precise movements. He radiated strength. When they separated and he suggested they meet again she agreed. At that point she knew little about him, but soon they were secretly meeting regularly. She was probably already more than half in love by the time she found out what his clan called themselves. That had been a shocking day for her and she had tried to stay away from him for a while, but the lure was too great, and in any case, she reassured herself, their relationship had never gone further than close companions. She had explained that such a thing was impossible now, and he seemed to understand that. But he knew her circumstances would be different soon and he had been quite clear that he had expectations for that day. She did not know what she would do then.
    Where was he? She called again: ‘It is I, Fades Into Dusk!’
    A long pause.
    Then, faintly, a voice from the night: ‘And it is I, Storm Before Darkness!’

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 6
     
    “ The child will have long to think on the mistake that the parent made with so little thought.”
    - Carried Westward (12,214 – 12,242 post Great Alluvion)
     
     
    A large swell rolled towards the shore, born in the deep open sea, a vestige of a far distant storm. Above the deep waters the great liquid monsters lifted and fell benignly, sleep swimming ponderously towards the land. After their long journey, the sudden resistance of the small coral reef woke them with a shock; they reared up in outrage and crashed down in white violence.
    Lying on the sandy bottom on the inshore side of the reef, Sky watched the huge breakers crash down at the surface above him, driving great