Chapter Twenty-Three

The Floater

Like a swarm of tiny gunboats surrounding an invading battleship, a squadron of RamStrong’s finest circled the Floater. It rested quietly in the gray sea, tilting and rolling subtly with the steady lap of the waves. The boat was a fair-sized one: seventy feet in length, made of durable hardwood and, based on the network of deep scratches all over its hull, and the gobs of lime-green algae that stained its wood, the vessel had seen more than its share of days.

The bow and the stern were both fenced in by a makeshift railing made up of a series of evenly spaced wooden poles, all joined together by several strands of thick horsehair rope. The section between the bow and stern was open. The deck dropped down about three feet below the sides of the boat—a good rock in the midst of stormy waves might easily heave a man overboard if he were not careful.

Just where the elevated deck of the bow dropped off, a huge mast soared skyward—a stream of strong lines flying out in all directions, each finding a roost somewhere on the wide deck. The boom shot over the open middle deck at a thirty-degree angle, its end hovering just above the roof of a small cabin near the stern. Behind the cabin, a few feet from the stern, was a smaller mast which poked skyward about ten feet.

It was definitely a fishing vessel, for lines had been cast overboard, as well as a number of thick, gangly nets that were already hauling in heaps of fluttering, snapping mackerel. Men garbed in long, heavy fishing coats and slick hoods pulled past their foreheads to shield them from a driving rain that had come on abruptly, strained at the nets. Nothing appeared unusual.

Waiting some thirty yards away, the small band of dolphins stared hungrily at the sight of the sputtering mackerel all going to the Humunz. Disgruntled, the dolphins still maintained their distance.

“Can’t you feel the Evil here?” Piper asked SilverFlukes. Another feeling of deep foreboding had crept over her, reminding her dreadfully of when SlugFlukes had led her to the Cove of Death.

“To be honest, Piper, the only feeling I have right now is our Pod’s growing discontent with my command to stave off a hearty feeding here,” he said, shaking his beak under the heavy downpour. “I see nothing more than a harmless Catch-Floater seeking to take advantage of a fine hunt; as should we.”

Piper was hurt. Had the Thane only been humoring her again?

As though sensing her very thoughts, SilverFlukes answered: “Piper, I do believe your story about those Killer Imps in the Western Sea. I mean it. He stared at her hard, neither of his turquoise eyes giving hint of a lie. “And I do think it was wise to be cautious today,” he continued. “I thank you for it…as will the rest of the Clan.”

A murmur passed through the ranks, but a cross glance from the Thane quelled it.

“Because of your concern for our Pod’s safety, and your firm reasons for caution,” said SilverFlukes, “I will issue a command to relieve your watch-guards of their duties. You are free to once more roam about without escort. And any who insist that the Madness is still upon you shall answer to me.”

RamStrong, who had been hovering nearby and listening intently, turned his head away.

“However,” SilverFlukes followed up, “as I see no apparent danger here—”

“But the nets!” interrupted Piper. “What of…”

“As far as I or anyone else here can tell,” SilverFlukes pressed on, ignoring her blunder of cutting him off, “the only nets anywhere are those that might easily be avoided.”

“But…”

“Yes, I know, Piper…the thin nets even our scanners cannot detect. All right, we will wait the rest of this day out. But if still there is no sign of any ill intent by the Humunz on board that Floater, then tomorrow we will take advantage of this fine hunt before it passes on to other waters. Now let us hear no more about this, Piper,” concluded SilverFlukes. “I have the entire Pod’s wishes to consider.”

And I have the entire Pod’s survival to consider, good Thane. Piper knew she had done all she could. But she was still convinced the Humunz on this dirty Floater were not in these waters simply for the GillFins. Even now she noticed how they all were eying the small band of Whistlers around them. They were likely baffled over why this band here had not come in at the bait and got themselves snagged; or perhaps the Imps were saving their thinner nets for when the Pod was foolish enough to swim in closer.

Piper wished they could all flee Kwi Coast until this sinister Floater filled with its hunched Humunz left. What of SlugFlukes’ tale of the fire-sticks—and of the screaming death that exploded right in the water? Would these Imps try that if they saw her Pod would not venture in closer?

Piper was aware of one thing the others either did not recognize or simply refused to admit: Humunz were by far the most cunning hunters in all the sea. And the presence of this eerie Floater, with its killing breed on board, made her realize she would rather face a pack of HunterKin than these creatures.

Her brooding thoughts were interrupted by the Commodore’s voice.

“Thane SilverFlukes, we’ve detected a small band of Snag-Tooth cruising this way from the south. May we have permission to drive them off?” RamStrong’s big glossy eyes stared heavily into the Thane’s. “They may be after the GillFins. Isn’t it best we at least be rid of them?” And he added smugly, shooting a glance toward Piper, “After all, we are already losing prey to one hunter,” he said, indicating the Floater with a wave of his beak. “Why surrender a well-deserved catch to yet another?”

SilverFlukes did not care for the Commodore’s abrasive manner, though he understood the older dolphin’s rising frustration. Others of the Pod shared those same feelings.

“Very well, Commodore,” said SilverFlukes. “Do as you must—but only to drive them away and nothing more!”

The Thane knew how zealous RamStrong and his Fury Squad had been of late, due to their vaunted attacks on bands of other roaming Snag-Tooth. But he also knew he did not want an entire horde of fierce-fighting Blues swarming down upon the Clan. Not all of Piper’s forecasts had been in vain. More and more, SilverFlukes had recognized the increased fervor with which the Commodore and his Squad had been going after the Snag-Tooth. He wondered how much of that zeal he’d overlooked in the past. It was time to assert himself more as Thane. It was he who led the Clan, not RamStrong.

****

It was a scattered group of perhaps some twenty or so burly bull sharks and sleek sand tigers that had swarmed upon the scene haphazardly. They were not very big, the largest being only seven feet long, but off in the distance, the dolphins detected evidence of a few more roaming by that had also picked up the scent and clatter of the fluttering mackerel.

The Squad attacked instantly.

It was more of a struggle than any had anticipated. The sharks had nearly frenzied—the immediate scent of blood almost touching off their renowned Furies. If so, it might have been more costly for the Kwi Coast WhistlingFin. But the charge of the fierce-fighting dolphins had been well-timed. They had the advantage of these sharks that were banded together by accident and seeking a rich harvest in which they might partake heartily. Instead, the sharks found themselves locked suddenly in combat with a potent enemy. The dolphins were primed and rallied, the sharks startled and confused, sadly outclassed by the speed and power of the larger, swifter cetaceans.

After several minutes of futile struggle, the band of bull sharks and sand tigers vanished, but not before giving a fair account of themselves, as might have been expected. Two Fury Squad members were cut and bleeding, while another needed help getting to the surface, due to ugly rips in his flukes.

The mackerel had all fled during the skirmish.

Piper had stayed out of the fighting, as had SilverFlukes, who had remained by her side. Both had studied the Floater while the other twelve battled the Snag-Tooth. The Floater had never moved…though Piper did notice the Humunz on board all pausing in their work to watch the clash between WhistlingFin and Snag-Tooth. And they had done so—it seemed to her—with more than mere curiosity.

Confusion reigned as the small band of Whistlers returned to their coastal cove, leaving the fishing vessel alone on the darkening sea. A bristle of disquiet seeped through Piper, for she knew every eye on that Floater had followed them as they swam off.