Changelings
- Автор: Маккефри Энн, Скарборо Элизабет
- Серия: The Twins of Petaybee #1
- Язык: английский
- Жанр: Научная фантастика
Электронная книга - «Changelings». Краткое содержание книги:
CHANGELINGS
They are Ronan Born for Water Shongili and Murel Monster Slayer Shongili. Twin brother and sister. Children of Yana and Sean. Children of Petaybee. As such, theirs is a destiny deeply intertwined with the sentient planet that is their home. For Ronan and Murel are more than human. Like their father, each can transform into a seal and converse telepathically with the planet’s creatures–such as the friendly otter whose life they save one day from a pack of ravenous wolves.
But the twins’ bravery has unforeseen results when a visiting scientist witnesses their startling metamorphosis and becomes obsessed with their capture. To protect their children, Sean and Yana send them to stay with a powerful family friend on an orbiting space station. But no one realizes that Ronan and Murel hunger to discover the origins of their shape-shifting talent–and that their search for knowledge will place them squarely in the path of peril.
Meanwhile, Petaybee is changing–and much faster than an ordinary planet’s natural evolution. It appears that portions of the sea are heating up and a landmass is suddenly rising from the depths. To investigate the startling occurrence, Sean heads out to the open water in his seal form. But the newly unstable region holds untold mysteries–and the potential for disaster.
"You wouldn't be pullin' our legs now, would you, young Shongili?" Kaiaitok Carnahan asked. Kaiaitok had the short stocky build and tilted eyes of his Inuit ancestors, but his sparse beard and mustache were bright red and his eyes green. His hair was red too, but nobody saw it anymore since he always wore a stocking cap in winter, a billed cap in summer. He had taken over the com shed after Uncle Adak retired. Adak said that what with all the new machines Petaybee had now, communications was getting way too complicated for his liking.
Kaiaitok had gone offplanet to train when he was only a bit older than the twins were now.
If you were going to leave Petaybee, you had to do it when you were a kid. As you got older, your body was so adapted to Petaybee's extreme temperatures and other special properties that you could die if you were offplanet very long. Kaiaitok had left plenty young enough to survive, but he had returned much changed, folk said. He thought the rest of them backward when he first came home, and himself full of learning. All of his learning still didn't keep the machinery and electronic gizmos working when it was minus 150 degrees Fahrenheit. He had to take a snocle or a sled to give people their messages, just like Adak had done before him, only now there were more messages and people on the offworld end expected faster results. Kaiaitok got over himself pretty fast after the first couple of winters and a few latchkays. But however much he communicated with humans, he was not on social terms with four-legged, winged, or finned creatures. Ronan was hazy on whether Kaiaitok had communed with animals before he left the planet. His skepticism about Otter's song didn't seem to trouble the rest of the villagers.
Da relieved any doubts they might have had by saying, "Good. I'm glad the otter could compose on such short notice. I've not been able to do as much myself. Go on, you kids."
Otter's song did not rhyme like an Irish song and did not go with a drumbeat like the songs in the more traditional Inuit style. It had to be danced as well as sung. So the twins acted out their meeting with the otters, and the slide and the wolves and then the coming of the men and the taking of the otters. The words were sung very fast and the dance had to be done fluidly to go with the way the otter was singing it. There were some otter concepts that were difficult to put into human words, and these the twins tried to act out or skip over.
When they finished, Ronan said, "The otter who made this song is staying in the river near the village now, so he can guide us to the men who took his family. So nobody bother him, okay? He's got enough on his mind right now."
Da, Auntie Sinead, Mum, and Clodagh all exchanged looks. The twins couldn't read them, and wondered what it was all about. But they could tell the adults were impressed.
"Anyone else got any songs?" Clodagh asked. When no one spoke, she rose and walked deeper into the cavern. The rest of the village followed her until they reached the central communion room. Behind them, Ronan and Murel slapped hands and practically skipped forward.
We really showed them. We are the first -people ever to sing for otters. Or any other four-legged, I'll bet, Ronan said.
Murel could hardly disagree. Life was looking up. Ever since the suits arrived, it had been much more interesting around here. And tomorrow there would be another adventure with Da when he went to get back the otter's family.
Nobody seemed to be mad at them after all, or inclined to scold, and it was past the time when they would.
The singing and talking were over. Now Petaybee would respond. Ronan and Murel always liked this part. It was a little like dreaming, except that the dream wasn't yours exactly, it was Petaybee's. It was also a bit like the way it felt when they became seals and seemed to be part of the water.
But when they got to the entrance of the larger cavern, they were stopped.
As if giant hands were pushing them back from the communion cave, they could not go forward. Murel put a foot out and brought it back right away.
Mum and Da sat down beside Clodagh without noticing the twins weren't with them until Da looked up and called softly to them, "Aren't you coming, kids?"
"Can't," Murel said. "Something's wrong."
Ronan had big tears in his eyes already. "It's like there's a big invisible door, Da."
Clodagh was the one who answered. "There is a purpose in this that you will learn soon. Go to the outer cave but don't go into the water. We will speak again when the planet has spoken."
Bewildered, the twins retraced their steps.
It's not fair. We did good. Is it Petaybee that's mad at us and doesn't want to talk to us?
No, can't be. I mean, it can't be mad at us. We're not offworlders. We're part of the planet just like the rocks are. It can't get mad at itself, can it? Can it?
They fell silent and sat in the outer cave looking longingly at the waterfall. They had never before realized how long the communions took, but it seemed like hours passed. Any moment they expected to hear the footsteps and the very low conversation that sometimes followed communions, but there was nothing.
They're sure taking their time, Ronan said. I wish Clodagh hadn't said we're not to swim. I would like to go down to the water and talk to Otter a little more. I think we forgot to thank him for his song.
We don't have to swim to do that. Remember, otters are not afraid of seals who turn into humans. Clodagh didn't say we couldn't go to the water's edge, just that we shouldn't swim.
They started calling as they took the path out of the cave and down the hill, enveloped in the sulfury and spicy mist from the springs.
But although their new friend had seemed very near when he sang them his song, when he finally answered, it was from far away, with a muffled, Sleeping. Otters need to sleep.
Ronan sat down and felt through the snow for rocks to skip across the water, but found nothing. The longer they waited, the more worried and miserable Murel became. Something was really wrong. She knew it but she couldn't think what it was.
Hush, younglings, Nanook's voice, purring and kind, said, as she insinuated her soft furry self between them and lay down with her head cradled on her paws. No harm will come to you while we're here. We may not be the best swimmers but we are your guardians.
Sleep. One prefers you when you sleep, Coaxtl said, plopping down behind them to make a plush backrest.
These sometimes grumpy friends had been with the twins since they were babies. Their familiar presence was so comforting that the children fell asleep almost at once, Ronan leaning back against Coaxtl while Murel snuggled with Nanook, her arms around the cat's body and her hands buried in the dense fur.
They awoke to the murmur of voices and looked up from sleepy eyes to see the villagers appear from the mist. The murmurs were not the kind that normally followed a Night Chant.
Clodagh's face, and their parents' faces were very grave indeed. Only Marmion seemed to be smiling.
"Slainte," Ronan said in greeting, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
Murel stood up and tucked her hands into Clodagh's and Marmie's. Her parents still looked grim.
"So, Clodagh, why couldn't we come into the communion cave this time? Is Petaybee mad at us?"
"I don't know, pet," Clodagh told her. "I don't think so. Perhaps it just wanted to talk to grown-ups tonight.'
"Oh." Murel thought that over. "But it's always let us come before. And it is our birthday."
Over her head, Marmie exchanged glances with Mum and Da. "I have something I'd like to talk to you about, Murel, Ronan."
Ronan arose, giving Coaxtl a pat as he did, and stretched. "What, Marmie?"