Kingdom of the Deep (3 page)

CHAPTER 3

IN A RARE BREAK BETWEEN HIS NEW LESSONS,
Gray hovered in the towering gold-greenie, which floated more than two hundred feet off the ocean floor. The field was immense, larger than he had ever seen. Gold-greenie was rare, and to see so much of it, and growing so big, was an amazing sight. This was part of the Seazarein's homewaters, which Gray now knew were called Fathomir after a great leader of Second Shiver. It also hid the strong point of Kaleth's territory, the cavern where her throne was. Outside the entrance to this cavern lay the ruins of a landshark city with columns of granite, some of which were still standing. The throne cavern itself was well protected, and just twenty finja could hold off an armada from inside.

But her
guardians
, as the Seazarein called the finja, were always hyper-alert and on the lookout for Hokuu. Gray would have liked to know more about the dangerous frilled shark, but neither Takiza nor Kaleth would tell him anything.

Gray and Barkley had caught their lunch in the incredibly fish-filled gold-greenie of Fathomir. Barkley, with his ghostfin training, was a much better hunter than even a year ago, and both had fed well. Afterward, their lunch break had turned into a game. Gray supposed it could be called a drill—especially if they were caught—but it was more fun than anything. And he needed some fun. Mari, along with the others that had come with him, had already left for Riptide to tell Striiker what was happening and that he would need to lead. Gray hoped the big great white would do a good job. As it was, he was kept far too busy to even consider swimming home.

There were so many lessons Gray thought his head would explode: lessons on how to speak, lessons about protocol, lessons on previous Aquasidors and their missions along with the mistakes they made, lessons on history, lessons on how to greet kings, queens, princes, and princesses, lessons on how to react when you received a compliment or a gift—lessons about everything. Gray wouldn't be surprised if there was a lesson about the correct way to clear his throat. It was a relief to clear his mind, even for a little while.

Barkley had challenged him to a best-of-five match in one-on-one combat after they ate. Of course, he did issue the challenge when they were deep in the gold kelp field. Barkley wasn't dumb. Even with his ghostfin skills, a dogfish didn't stand a sardine's chance against Gray in open water. Gray was much larger and stronger.

In the greenie, though, Barkley was as sneaky as a sea spider, and right now they were tied, two to two. Both of Barkley's strikes came after Gray wandered into an area where his friend had hidden himself perfectly. Some of the gold-greenie stalks were so thick and leafy that a single strand could hide Barkley completely. While most fins would try a successful tactic again and again until it was defeated, Gray felt that his friend would do the opposite.

But maybe he's expecting me to think that, Gray thought. After all, he is sneaky.

He reached out with his senses as Takiza had taught him. Well, was
trying
to teach him. Gray couldn't do it every time. But when he was calm and there was no pressure, sometimes his senses acted like the sonar the dolphins used but without all the clicking. In addition to a shark's lateral line, which detected vibrations, Takiza had taught Gray about these things called ampullae, which could sense the electric fields that all living things generated.

Gray had asked if Takiza was “ampullae-ing my tail,” which the betta didn't find funny at all. These sensors were real, but it took practice to have them be more than a very short-range thing. Gray closed his eyes. This seemed to help somehow, but Takiza always got mad when he did it. “Use
all
your senses, not one less than all!” he would huff.

Gray glided carefully through the gigantic greenie field. He could feel the tide moving the thick kelp back and forth. He felt hundreds of fish swimming around, looking for their own meals. Gray dismissed their smaller
shadows
, as he thought of the electrical signals, as background noise. They were too little to be Barkley. He felt several larger sharkkind in the area, the Seazarein's guardians. Those were too big.

Then Gray felt something that got his attention, so he focused. It was behind and above him, hidden inside a thick patch of greenie, moving with the tide. That was sly, to move with the kelp as the tides pushed it.

Gotcha, Gray thought.

Barkley was almost invisible.

Almost
 . . .

Gray allowed himself to drift near the patch of greenie, making his naked dorsal fin an inviting target. He felt Barkley burst forward from the kelp, though his friend didn't make a sound swimming. Before the dogfish could get close, Gray cut a circular turn up and then back down.

Gray had him dead to rights and Barkley knew it. “That's impossible!” He scowled, not even attempting to defend himself. “Have you grown eyes in the back of your head?”

Gray nudged the dogfish in the flank with his snout. “And that's game!”

“If you are quite finished fooling around, it's time for your next lesson.” Takiza floated between the two, looking at them crossly.

“Oh, this wasn't a game, Shiro,” Gray told him as seriously as he could. “We were training. I was practicing one of your lessons—you know, the one about—”

Takiza chopped his colorful, gauzy fins through the water. “It so happens in my own youth I
invented
the excuse of saying I was training when caught playing. It did not work for me then, and it certainly will not work for you now since—as I said—I
invented
that excuse.” Takiza looked over at Barkley. “And if you want to hide undetected in the greenie, you must
be
more like greenie.”

“That doesn't make any sense,” Barkley whispered to Gray as Takiza motioned them toward the Seazarein's cavern.

Join the club, thought Gray. Every other thing he was told these days didn't make sense.

“And so, Aquasidor Surex did what, exactly, wrong?” asked Judijoan. Judijoan was Gray's history, manners, and protocol teacher and also the Seazarein's advisor. She was an ancient oarfish. Her slender, silvery body shone in the throne cavern, and she had crimson fins with a plume of the same color arching from her forehead. She was at least as long as Gray and had a kind face, although the longer he didn't answer, the more sour her expression became.

Barkley gave Gray a silent fin motion to say something—anything.

“What . . . Aquasidor Surex . . . did . . . wrong . . . was wrong . . . really, really, wrong . . . ”

Takiza rolled his eyes as Gray stretched out the time so he could think of an answer. He had absolutely no idea.

“Yes, that much was established by telling you a story called ‘The Short and Sad Term of Aquasidor Surex.' ” Judijoan had a disconcerting habit of rising to hold herself straight up and down so she towered over him as she scowled. The oarfish sighed and glanced at the Seazarein. She continued, “He made
many
mistakes. But in this case, what did Surex do to start the cascade of events that ultimately led to his own death?”

“Aquasidor Surex . . . made many, many . . . so many  . . . mistakes . . . ”

Takiza shook his fins back and forth. “I can take no more!”

“I'm sorry, I don't know!” Gray said. “I'm trying, but the story went on for two hours. I have no idea why Goshen Shiver decided to send Aquasidor Surex to the Sparkle Blue unless he told them a story as long as the one I just heard!”

“Of course you do! He made the same mistake you always do!” Takiza snorted. “Think!”

Gray tried, but nothing came into his mind because he made mistakes all day. It seemed like he made a mistake every time he opened his mouth.

Wait! That was it!

Gray looked at Judijoan and answered, “He should have remained silent because he
should
have known the answer, but instead he guessed. Aquasidor Surex's main mistake was having no idea and saying something that was completely wrong.”

“Well done!” the oarfish said. “That was a difficult one.”

“Compared to what?” the Seazarein asked. “If Graynoldus doesn't know what I need him to say or
not
say when I need him to say or
not
say it, he'll do more harm than good.” Kaleth turned to Takiza. “What do you think?”

The betta hovered, swishing his gauzy fins before answering. “He is not as slow as he seems to be at this precise moment.”

Kaleth nodded. “Gray, I know everything is crashing onto you at once, and I am sorry. But there are things happening around this Big Blue that I'm dealing with aside from this. If there were any other way, believe me, I would explore those options. I need you to try harder. The orcas and Hideg Shiver are near war because of an ancient dispute and that needs to be stopped.”

“I have heard that their leader, Palink, can be fairly chowderheaded on most days,” Takiza remarked.

The Seazarein swished her massive tail. “Apparently so. He wants to pick a fight with Tik-Tun and his orca battle pods. And meanwhile, suddenly AuzyAuzy and Hammer Shivers are also in dispute.”

Gray looked at Barkley. They were both shocked. Tik-Tun was ready to go to war? And AuzyAuzy and Hammer were fighting each other? All three had been allies against Finnivus and his Black Wave armada barely a month ago! How could this be?

Before Gray or Barkley could ask anything, the oarfish swished her slender body and used her tail to point at him. “Let's proceed with a speed round.”

“Right,” Gray answered. “Let's do this.”

“What was the fifteenth Seazarein's name?” Judijoan asked.

“Um, don't tell me, I know this one—Johnny . . . big  . . . tail?”

“Johannes Longflanks,” Barkley said.

The Seazarein slapped her massive tail against the wall before either Takiza or Judijoan could reprimand Barkley. “Quiet! No helping, especially from you!”

“What does that mean?” asked the dogfish.

“Silence!” Takiza told him. Barkley closed his mouth with an audible click.

Judijoan cracked her tail into Gray's flank to get his attention as she asked another question. “In order of distance away from the continent, what shivers are closest to the prime meridian underneath the African landmass?”

Gray twitched his fins up and down. “Let's see, Kelpengreenie Shiver, Deep Rush, and then, um . . . Barkley?”

“Corallis.”

“Silence!” yelled the Seazarein.

“But if I know the answers, I can help Gray.”

The Seazarein slammed her tail against the throne. “No, you won't! I can't have a dogfish solving problems when my Aquasidor meets the other ancient shivers for the first time
as
my Aquasidor. It's ridiculous!”

Barkley looked at the Seazarein, genuinely perplexed. “How is that ridiculous?”

Kaleth didn't seem to understand Barkley's confusion. She answered, “Because you're a dogfish. You're not even sharkkind.”

“Oh, really?” Barkley huffed.

“Yes, really,” the Seazarein said with disdain. “Look at you.”

Barkley was so shocked he didn't say anything. Gray couldn't let this drift off, though. “Kaleth, Barkley has been extremely helpful to me and Riptide Shiver and—”

“Silence!” shouted Takiza, cutting Gray off. “You dare correct the Seazarein?”

“I'm not correcting her!”

Barkley tried to get a word in. “You're blaming this on Gray?”

Before either could say anything else, Takiza swept them out of the room. “I believe it's time for you two to take a swim,” the betta ordered.

Once they were out of the audience chamber, Takiza stared first at Barkley and then at Gray. It was one of those long and imperious stares he was so good at. “I understand that Kaleth's manners can be off-putting, but she is not from here and has much on her mind. You cannot take any of it personally. Neither of you.” And without another word, the betta left.

“That could have gone better,” Gray said.

“What's up with her, though?” asked Barkley. “Did you hear what she said to me?”

Gray gave his friend a nudge on the flank, trying to cheer him up. “Look, Kaleth was probably tired because of all my mistakes and got short-tempered. Takiza does it all the time to me. I'm sure it was nothing.”

“Maybe so, maybe so,” his friend answered.

But Barkley didn't say it like he thought Gray was right. Not at all.