The Last Emprex Page 5

  It was devastatingly effective.

  Though the bladefish were few in number, they were all very skilled.

  Snork was the least experienced out of everyone and he chopped a frilled shark in half with his bill. Yes, he had learned things: wonderful and terrible things. Snork wished he could use his bill only to enter contests with other bladefish to see who could cut fastest, or with the most precision. He loved those and actually won a few between training sessions.

  But he was also trained to be deadly with his bill when needed.

  And against the jurassics it was needed.

  Bladefish had a code where they would not swim away from evil. They swam toward it, faced it, and sent it to the Sparkle Blue. The jurassics and frilled sharks had proven themselves evil. They could not be allowed to swim on.

  The battle was chaos.

  Snork’s senses sharpened so that they seemed to scratch the inside his skull. He could hear everything: the screams of the dying, the ripping of flesh. He could smell the blood in the water, even the different taste of each species. The sharp vibrations caused by the frantic brawl pattered against his hide from all directions.

  Something was behind him!

  He knew it wasn’t a fellow bladefish.

  There was ill intent coming with it.

  Snork acted on instinct and whirled.

  He sliced diagonally through a frilled shark’s head. The frill blinked the eye still attached to his head in surprise before Snork ended his life with a stroke through its neck.

  Two of the mosasaurs lay on the seabed, unmoving. Another thrashed in agony, three of its fins cut off by bladefish bills. It was surely headed toward the Sparkle Blue.

  Salamanca shouted as he chopped and stabbed his way through the frills between himself and another mosasaur. “Out of Salamanca’s way! You are not a challenge. You!” he shouted at a mosasaur, pointing with his bill. “Ugly, large thing! Come! Salamanca would fight you!”

  The mosasaur roared and flippered his bulk straight at Salamanca. The big blue marlin dodged its snapping jaws—once, twice, three times! Salamanca dove underneath the mosasaur and sliced the creature from throat to belly with his bill.

  “Crude and slow, prehistore,” Salamanca said to his dying opponent as he sank. “Your attack was no better than that of a clumsy pup.”

  But the marlin didn’t notice that the last mosasaur was heading straight for him!

  “LOOK OUT!” cried Snork.

  Salamanca barely avoided the strike as the jurassic’s jaws thundered together.

  From out of nowhere, Aleeyoot drove his nine-foot tusk straight through the mosasaur’s eye. The beast stopped in the water, one of its clawed flippers jerking violently.

  Then it was still.

  Aleeyoot let the mosasaur slip from his tusk. “And that’s three, my friend.”

  Salamanca bristled. “This did not count! Salamanca’s life was no more in danger than if he were on a leisurely swim in the calmest of lagoons.”

  “Nyet! No! Nein!” disagreed Aleeyoot. “How many different ways do you want it said? You were chum and I saved you! Say it! Three times I’ve saved your life! Which is one more than you, who has only saved my life a puny two times. Say it!”

  Salamanca sighed. “Three. But only because you swam off before my signal! You caused Salamanca distress and this led to a lack of concentration.”

  The narwhal crossed his tusk with Salamanca’s bill. “If you weren’t sleeping, I wouldn’t have had to leave without you!” He smacked the marlin’s bill with his horn and got deflected hard for his effort. They closed on each other.

  “Salamanca grows tired of your overly big mouth and wishes to shut it.”

  “Maybe Salamanca should try that and see what happens,” said Aleeyoot.

  “Umm, hello?” interrupted Snork before the two began fighting. “We won. Isn’t that what’s important? Maybe both of you great bladefish could concentrate on that?”

  The two separated, both looking at Snork. Aleeyoot nodded. “Not a bad apprentice. Smarter than you, but that’s not an overly large compliment.” Aleeyoot swam off but before he left the area he yelled, “THREE!”

  The marlin shook his head. “Salamanca is very annoyed, oh mighty Snork. Very annoyed, indeed.” The big marlin gave him a wink. “But you are right. We did win.” Then Salamanca waggled the lures in his mouth and said, “See? She dances for our victory.”

  CHAPTER 8

  GRAY LEANED HIS FINS AGAINST THE THRONE in the Fathomir throne cavern as he listened to Grinder and Striiker. As usual Shear was above him and Takiza and Barkley floated at his side. He had kept this council meeting small. The two armada leaders were excited. They had been working on a new way of formation fighting against the jurassics and thought they might have an idea that could work.

  Formation against formation, the mosasaurs and frilled sharks were too strong. A regular stack—heavier sharkkind on the bottom and faster ones on top—wasn’t going to do the job. The jurassics were too big, the frills too agile.

  What Striiker and Grinder proposed was to use each individual armada as a battle fin. That way the different armadas didn’t have to be broken up and mixed, as was usually done. The sharks wouldn’t have to swim beside mariners they didn’t know. Instead, the mariners would stay with the sharks they had fought flank to flank with, fins they trusted. It was a huge plus.

  “It’s revolutionary, is what it is,” said the hammerhead leader.

  “Indeed,” grunted Shear. “I haven’t heard of anything like this and I know the whole of battle history to the time of Tyro.”

  “Not bad,” Striiker said as he bumped the hammerhead. “You should take more credit.”

  Grinder waggled a fin at Barkley. “It was Barkley who got us thinking.”

  “I only made a suggestion,” the dogfish answered.

  “So your constant talking can actually be a plus?” Shear mused. “Who would have guessed?”

  Gray flicked his tail to get everyone’s attention. “I understand the advantages of when this super-armada breaks apart, sure. But what about before? If we swim out in a big, bulky pyramid formation with Hammer Shiver on top, won’t that make us less maneuverable?”

  Grinder nodded, “In theory yes, but the jurassics are slower than us. The frills turn well but have to stay with the mosasaurs, who can only move straight ahead in formation because they’re slow and new to it.”

  Striiker agreed. “We don’t want to engage them with our super-diamond. We want them to think that’s what we’ll do. Then each armada peels off, kind of like Indi Shiver used to do with their battle fins. That way we attack with a massed force at specific targets.”

  “So it won’t be one on one,” Shear said. “It would be the Riptide or Hammer armada hitting five mosasaurs, or a group of frills, all at once.”

  “Boy,” Barkley said. “This sounds pretty good.”

  Grinder smiled, gnashing his teeth together. “We can make ’em bleed. But we’ll still need another armada or two.”

  “Two’s better,” Striiker said. “Three, better still.”

  Takiza flicked his fins. “That would seem to be a large drawback as we don’t have them.”

  The betta was right. Gray didn’t have two or three armadas hidden in the back caverns of Fathomir. The forces that arrived with Grinder numbered seven hundred. Added to Riptide’s ten battle fins, they were at seventeen hundred. They didn’t know where Jaunt’s AuzyAuzy sharks were, or if they were even still alive, so they couldn’t be counted on. Either way, seventeen hundred wasn’t enough against Grimkahn’s main horde.

  But Indi Shiver had a thousand more.

  That would give them close to three thousand sharkkind when they added the new recruits in training.

  Gray frowned. Grimkahn had a thousand frills and almost a hundred mosasaurs.
/>   They needed more fins!

  Who else could he call?

  Hideg Shiver in the Arktik? Gray had solved a dispute between them and the orcas of Icingholme Shiver a while ago. Tik-Tun and his orcas would help, although Gray didn’t know if they were migrating.

  Judijoan poked her head into the meeting, her long oarfish body mostly outside. “I know you’re busy, Seazarein, but you will want to hear this.”

  Gray nodded and Eugene Speedmeister came forward. The shiny flying fish snapped his four fins down in a salute. “Message from Tydal, minster prime of Indi Shiver. Code Word, Rose Spire. The message as is follows. ‘The main jurassic horde is moving from the South Sific toward the Indi Ocean, destroying all shivers in their path. Both Grimkahn and Hokuu are with them. They are on a direct course toward Pax Shiver. Should we intercept?’ That is the end of the message.” Speedmeister saluted and left the throne cavern, passing Judijoan on the way out.

  “Pax Shiver!” exclaimed Barkley. “The only shiver that’s never trained mariners, never even been in a battle. Everyone leaves them alone so there’s one place that warring sides can meet. Even Hokuu should be able to see the worth in that.”

  “I believe he does,” Takiza said.

  Gray thumped his tail against the broken back of the throne. “He’s making a point.”

  Pax Shiver was named after a word that meant peace in both the ancient landshark and sharkkind languages. There were over two thousand sharkkind and many more dwellers that lived there. And they were defenseless.

  “It’s a trap,” Shear said. “They want you to fight on their terms.”

  “I won’t hide while Pax Shiver is destroyed,” Gray answered.

  Striiker swam out in front of Gray. “Send a quickfin and get the Indi mariners; we combine them with Riptide and Hammer-Vortex, and ka-bang! Right in the snout! We can win.”

  “Wait,” Shear interrupted. “I do have to point out that you said you needed at least two more armadas. That’s only one.”

  “It can work with one more,” Striiker said, slashing his tail through the water. “I’d like to have time to practice but it can be done. Those Indi sharkkind are well trained.”

  “You fight with the mariners you have, not the mariners you wish you had,” Grinder said.

  If Gray didn’t do this, Grimkahn and his jurassic horde would destroy Pax Shiver and then do the same to Indi Shiver. He wouldn’t let defenseless sharkkind be eaten and he couldn’t afford to lose Indi’s thousand mariners.

  Alone, each shiver was doomed. But together they might have a chance. The battle would be bloody beyond belief. It staggered Gray’s mind that there would be such a huge loss of life, but there was no way to avoid it.

  There was no other way but to meet them, snout to snout.

  “Make your preparations,” Gray told everyone. “We leave tonight.” He looked at Judijoan quietly hovering in the back of the cavern. “I need to send a few messages.” The oarfish went to gather the quickfins.

  CHAPTER 9

  TYDAL LET HIMSELF ENJOY THE PEACEFUL current flowing through the Floating Greenie Gardens in the heart of Indi Shiver’s homewaters. He had been coming here more and more as the news from around the Big Blue had gotten worse and worse. Dweller master gardeners, mostly turtles and shellheads, made sure that the beautiful, flowering kelps were pruned to perfection. When certain coral lattices were closed, the current would push the flowers up and create a gorgeous pathway for him to swim above and admire.

  Truly it was one of the wonders of the seven seas.

  And it was doomed.

  Grimkahn would destroy the gardens and everything else in the Indi homewaters.

  “The royal families are gathered in the royal court,” said Xander del Hav’aii, leader of the combined Indi and AuzyAuzy forces. The Indi armada was a thousand strong, but half were AuzyAuzy mariners Gray had ordered to remain at Indi after the war against their former leader, the mad Emperor Finnivus. Over the last few months, Xander and Tydal had become friends as they brought the mariners in their respective armadas together. The scalloped hammerhead had creases on his forehead that made him look as if he were constantly worried or thinking. These days Tydal had no doubt that Xander was worrying and thinking about a great many things.

  “I suppose I can’t put it off any longer,” Tydal said.

  “I reckon not,” the hammerhead answered in his AuzyAuzy accent.

  They made the short swim to the coral throne in the center of the Indi homewaters. Tydal had asked Xander his honest opinion about how defensible the Indi Shiver was. The answer was as Tydal feared: Indi’s homewaters weren’t secure. They had maintained their position in the Indi Ocean by not allowing any other shiver in the area to grow large enough to challenge them in the past. It had been a hundred years since the last real threat was obliterated. Indi Shiver had been secure in the knowledge that no one near them could match their mariners.

  That wasn’t the case with Grimkahn.

  The mosasaur king and his jurassic horde could destroy them the same day they swam in. Tydal wasn’t going to let that happen. He had to tell the other royal families his decision and it wouldn’t be easy. Tydal would give the order to abandon the Indi Shiver homewaters.

  The royals might revolt.

  Tydal didn’t blame them; he didn’t like it either. But it was up to him to convince them.

  That he, an epaulette shark, was leading an ancient royal shiver in the first place was extraordinary. Gray put him in charge and none of the royal clans had liked that. Tydal had to banish an entire royal family to put down their rebellion and it worked. The royals went back to bickering among themselves and that was good for him. But in this moment of crisis they had to pull together.

  Could they put aside their differences? That was the question.

  Tydal swam onto the rose-colored throne. When the sun shone above the chop-chop a certain way, it cast an impressive rainbow halo around the area. Not today. It was cloudy and grim, perfectly matching the mood of the gathered sharkkind and dwellers.

  Oopret, his First Court Shark and another epaulette, got the audience to order. In a surprisingly strong voice he announced, “Minister Prime Tydal, the first of his name and title, ruler of Indi Shiver, will address you. Please listen first and there will be time for questions later.”

  Of course the royals didn’t do this. They still loved to flex their fins and poke at Tydal, though at least they weren’t trying to actively kill him anymore. Representatives for the royal families shouted their questions and thoughts.

  “I’ve been hearing of attacks against our scouts!” said a prince from Razor Tooth clan. “What are you doing about that?”

  “Who is this Grimkahn?” shouted a princess, an older tiger shark from the Kaurava family. “Is he even real or did you make him up to scare us?”

  “How come the mariners train so often?” asked a tiger from Taj. “Are you taking us to war without our approval?”

  Oopret tried to regain control. That was the First Court Shark’s job, but he was new to it. Tydal nodded to Xander, who bellowed, “IF YOU’D SHUT YER COD HOLES, MAYBE YOU’D GET SOME ANSWERS!”

  This was highly ill-mannered, but it did get results. Xander and his mariners sometimes enforced a call for silence with a ram to the gills to quiet any who didn’t stop speaking. It was remarkably persuasive. This time, no such action was needed, and the court grew quiet. The Indi throne was built so that the current would carry Tydal’s words without his having to shout. Thank goodness for that because Tydal didn’t think he could shout. His mouth felt dry, although he didn’t know how that could be possible.

  “You’re all asking about the same thing: Grimkahn and his jurassic horde. They are the reason the mariners have been training. They are heading this way to destroy us.” Silence. Tydal had expected an uproar but everyone in the court was stunned. The leader
of the Charavyuh, a more thoughtful shark than the others, waggled a fin to speak.

  Tydal nodded to Oopret, who said, “The minister prime recognizes Sawtooth of clan Charavyuh.” Sawtooth, who had been a battle fin leader for the Indi armada in his youth, asked, “Do you have a plan so that won’t happen?”

  Tydal leaned forward. “We can’t guard the shiver sharks and fight Grimkahn at the same time. In fact, Seazarein Graynoldus tells me that alone we don’t have a chance at all.” This did get a reaction and there were panicked cries from some. Tydal raised his voice to settle everyone. “But there is a way. I’ve been in quickfin communication with Graynoldus and other shiver leaders. We will unite with the Seazarein’s force. Everyone who can fight, no matter how old, is asked to rejoin the armada. We cannot leave a large group of defenseless sharkkind and dwellers without protection, so all shiver sharks must disperse from the Indi homewaters. The reason for this is that Grimkahn and Hokuu have been eating everyone they find.” The rumbles grew louder and Tydal raised his voice to an undignified level. He didn’t care.

  “I understand that abandoning our homewaters and going to war is not a great course of action,” he shouted. “But it is the only option that I can see. I ask that the royal families support my decision wholeheartedly. If we do not swim together, we will surely be sent to the Sparkle Blue separately.” The royals hovered silently, thinking about this. Tydal went on, “As a bonus, I will be leaving with the mariner force. Who knows, one of you might be king or queen within the week. But only if there’s a shiver and homewaters left to rule. We must win this fight first.”

  Tydal settled back onto the throne. The royals spoke low among themselves. It was Sawtooth who swam forward. Tydal nodded for him to speak. “We didn’t like you when you were chosen to rule by Seazarein Graynoldus. We liked it even less when the AuzyAuzy mariners were left here. But you’ve proven to be a good leader that doesn’t play favorites. If it’s a choice between you and certain death, we choose you.”