Into the Abyss (18 page)

GRAY SEARCHED FOR THE ORCAS OF ICINGHOLME
Shiver. The Indi armada hadn’t even left a holding force in the Arktik Ocean, so he didn’t have to fear being discovered. Whalem said Indi had spent their time in the icy waters without meeting a single orca. The coddled emperor hated the freezing waters so much, he declared victory and left as fast as the blue whale he rode upon could carry him.

Gray couldn’t find the orcas either. Orcas didn’t keep homewaters like sharkkind, preferring to move from place to place in search of good hunting.

If Takiza hadn’t given Gray a large dose of maredsoo, the glowing deep-ocean energy greenie, he would have never been able to make the swim. Riptide United’s forces—which he’d left under the guidance of Whalem, Striiker, Grinder, Silversun, Quickeyes, and Onyx—was
nearly a thousand sharkkind strong. And as rumors of Finnivus’s approach spread, more sharks from small shivers from all over the ocean were coming to join them each day.

But it still wasn’t enough. They weren’t trained mariners and could only be counted on to do so much. And time was running out.

They needed more allies, and it was for this reason that Gray had set out. He rode the icy currents deeper and deeper into the Arktik. The crystal blue waters here were as cold as the Dark Blue, even in the sun near the chop-chop, so he ached from snout to tail. Sometimes Gray passed mountains of floating ice; other times he swam for hours with a layer of frozen water blocking him from the surface.

The main forces of the Black Wave were half a week away at the most. But there was time enough to take one more gamble to grow Riptide United’s strength. Takiza told him it was a fool’s errand, but Gray wouldn’t be talked out of it. He had to at least try.

His idea was bold. And dangerous.

Takiza had explained to Gray what Lochlan had left out. Orcas, whom Gray only knew of from stories, really were part of the dolphin family! That hardly seemed possible. Dolphs were so chatty, and orcas were supposedly dour and close-mouthed. And then there was the size difference. Orcas were giants compared to dolphins and even the largest sharks.

Maybe they won’t think I’m a big, fat freak, Gray mused. That would be a bonus.

Gray had pressed Takiza on why the orcas wouldn’t help. After all, one of the most effective maneuvers in single or massed formation fighting was Orca Bears Down. Besides that, orcas were called killer whales! How could they
not
be good in a fight?

But what Gray didn’t know was how the orca’s history was linked to the cruel empress of the ocean, Silander, and what the orcas called “our shame.” Ages ago, Silander had ruled the oceans with an iron fin until the combined forces of the free seas crushed her armada at the Battle of Silander’s End. It turned out that her personal guard and elite mariners were orcas!

Their king at the time, whose name no one knew because the orcas had refused to utter it evermore, was the one who allied them with Silander. When the empress ordered her acts of cruelty, the orcas were the ones to carry them out. Some said the orca king was demented; others said he was pushed along by currents he was powerless to swim against. It didn’t matter. Doing Silander’s bidding was how they got their nickname,
killer whales
. The orcas stained themselves with so much innocent blood, it boggled the mind, and that became what they referred to as “our shame.”

Takiza told him, “If you are set on this foolish course, then go. But under no circumstance should you ever refer to an orca as a killer whale. It is the gravest of
insults, and you will most likely be eaten. And yes, they understand that killing anyone who says ‘killer whale’ proves the nickname, but that irony will not prevent them from sending you to the Sparkle Blue.”

When Silander was defeated, the orcas dealt with their leader. After that, they decided not to side with anyone again. The rise and fall of empires and the great battles over territory would never, ever concern the orcas again.

But I have to make them understand, Gray thought. Finnivus was everything that was wrong with the ocean. He was the beating heart of cruelty and had to be stopped. As it was, Riptide United would be down two to one when the armadas faced each other. If Gray couldn’t even up those numbers, at least he could surprise Finnivus with the orcas. If they would agree …

He had to convince them!

It had been a day of crisscrossing the territories that were Whalem’s best guess as to where the orcas might be hidden. Gray wanted to talk with them, so he swam out in the open, calling out every now and again. He was, however, running out of time.

Just as he despaired of ever seeing an orca, ten massive shapes appeared out of the crystal blue.

They were awe-inspiring, giant black-and-white behemoths with huge curved teeth. Like their dolphin cousins, they had flippers and flukes instead of fins. Along with a huge black dorsal fin, each had a
blowhole, using it to breathe every once in a while. Gray felt a nervous tickle swim down his spine as they surrounded him. At least half the orcas were bigger than he was, and almost all were wider and heavier.

What was I thinking? ran through his mind.

They were only a couple of tail strokes away.

The largest glided ahead of the rest.

“What do you want?” he asked in a deep, rumbling voice.

Like dolphins, orcas had their own versions of whistle-click-razz but could speak the Big Blue’s universal language if they chose. Mostly, they chose not to.

“Umm, well, first of all my name is Gray, and it’s nice to meet you.”

The orca leader stared, saying nothing.

“You can introduce yourself later.” Get a hold of yourself, Gray thought. “I don’t know how up-to-date you are on current events, but there’s a huge danger to every fin and dweller in the ocean. For the first time since Silander”—Gray saw the orcas stiffen when they heard the name—“there’s an emperor. His name is Finnivus Victor, and he’s from Indi Shiver. He’s insane and cruel, and his armada is laying waste to everything it swims past. I’m the leader of the free forces that want to stop him. We’re called Riptide United and are made up of many shivers including AuzyAuzy, Hammer, Vortex—”

“None of our concern,” the orca leader rumbled,
cutting Gray off. “Leave the Arktik.” He waggled a flipper, and the orcas turned to leave.

“Wait! What—what do you mean it’s none of your concern? You’re not concerned that innocent fins are being brutalized and killed? You’re not concerned that families are getting torn apart? Even if Finnivus poses no threat to you out here, you should be concerned. He’s a monster. Absolute evil.”

The orca leader circled, so he was eye to eye with Gray. “Involving ourselves in your fight will only cause more death and destruction. There’s nothing that can be done. Evil and cruelty have always been a part of the oceans.”

“No!” Gray said. “I can’t accept that. I won’t.”

“It doesn’t matter if you accept it or not. It just is.”

Gray cut his tail through the water in frustration, feeling the conversation slipping away. “You can help stop Finnivus. By doing that, you can redeem yourselves, redeem your shame.”

The orca leader shot toward him in a rush. Gray had to carve a swift turn to avoid being rammed. The orca leader didn’t press another attack. Instead he yelled in a booming voice, “What do you know of
our shame
, pup? A story you heard around a coral spire as your mother rubbed your belly? Who are you to come into our territory and run your mouth like you know anything?”

The other orcas encircled Gray, side to side, above and below. He could feel their anger vibrating through
the icy water. There was no escape if their leader ordered an attack. “Well?” the giant orca pressed.

“What I know is that sometimes you have to swim out and be counted, no matter what.” Gray stared into the orca leader’s eyes. “You’ve fooled yourselves into thinking that not taking a side is the best and fairest thing to do. And maybe it is most of the time. But not
this
time! By ignoring
this
evil, you join with it—because you allow it to happen.”

The orca leader’s eyes blazed, and Gray readied himself for a fight. He let out a series of piercingly loud razzes and clicks, but deeper than the dolph variety. Gray was sure it wasn’t anything he could repeat to his mom.

The orca leader gathered himself and spoke so Gray could understand. “Leave now, or die,” he said in a raspy whisper that trembled with anger.

Gray moved from the circle of orcas. He wished he could say something like Lochlan could have—something that would convince them.

But you’re no Lochlan, he thought.

“Thanks for listening to me. I’m sorry if I insulted you,” Gray told them. “It wasn’t what I came to do.”

Then he left.

The swim home was long and bitterly cold.

WHALEM WATCHED INDI ADVANCE FORCES
sweep through the valley between the walls of rock that disappeared into the gloom of the Deep Blue. The main cohort would be a day or two behind them, along with the royal court.

And Finnivus.

How could I have been so blinded by my loyalty to his father? Whalem thought, remembering his friend King Romulus.

Mari was with him.
Hold
, she signaled.

It was a full thirty seconds before Whalem’s far poorer eyes picked up the patrol-in-force swimming downward from the surface. Indi scouts did this to catch others by surprise. It was Whalem himself who’d observed years ago that most sharkkind didn’t look for danger from above after they ate. When sharkkind hunted, they would scan for prey everywhere, including
above themselves. But when their bellies were full, those same sharks would go days without an upward glance.

And now that technique is old and obsolete. Like me, he thought.

Whalem froze, allowing the tide to push him, as he’d seen Mari do. He drifted, carefully sliding past the greenie, so he didn’t make too much of a disturbance even though his tail jerked involuntarily once as a phantom pain struck him. Whalem had been bruised fiercely in the Battle of Riptide. It was the beginning of his problems, for that one injury made all his others feel as if they were new again. Now, sometimes the pain of even swimming was almost too much to bear.