Changelings

He and the otter swam on, their noses and eyes barely above the water. They dived under the ice whenever possible. On the banks, the sleds shushed along beside and slightly behind them. Otters and seals were both very fast swimmers, while dogs had to stop to sniff things and take turns yellowing the snow and making their deposits.

Nanook and Coaxtl ranged along with the others, leaving a scallop of tracks along the river as they ran half circles around the dogsleds. Nanook ran along the side of the river where the mushers were, Coaxtl took the opposite side. Away they'd race to the surrounding woods, sniff a few rocks and bits of vegetation, and then return to the river. A half a klick before Sean and the otter reached the ruined tunnels, Nanook spoke to Sean.

There. They are back there. I smell them. I smell otters too. Frightened, angry otters. Now the men will smell like them.

Does the scent grow stronger or weaker the farther downriver we go? Sean asked.

Nanook sniffed for a moment longer, then replied, Weaker.

Can you pick up the trail at that point?

I can. I am standing on it now.

Otter, did you understand Nanook?

Cats do not speak as clearly in the mind as otters or river seals, but the cat's meaning was clear. Do we leave the river now?

I will, at least. You may stay here if you wish.

No, my family will feel better if I am near to reassure them. Also, other otters may speak to me when we are closer and I can speak to you.

Fair enough, Sean said. He dived, leapt, and landed on the ice, then slid across to the bank, where he shook off the water and donned Marmie's silver warm suit.

It felt almost too warm to Sean but he was glad of the cover and admired the way it kept out the wind that stirred the light dusting of new snow across the ice.

Something low and brown streaked past him. The otter. Hah! Come, Father River Seal, I'll race you to the cat, he called.

Nobody races anybody, Otter, Sean told him. We must go quietly and carefully, stalk these men as if they are prey.

Fish? the otter asked.

Very slippery fish.

Slippery fish who steal otters.

Keep trying to talk to the other otters. Let me know when you get a response, if they can tell us anything about where they're being held, what kind of condition they're in, how many men there are.

How many? A hundred, Father River Seal. A hundred otter-stealing men all with big tight nets.

I can see this might be a problem, Sean said. Murel had told him about the otter and counting.

Can you get them to say, "the man with the torn coat" or "the man with the beard," and tell us who each of them is that way? Then we'll have a better idea how many there actually are.

Otters can do that. Otters have good eyes.

And try to stay back here near us, Otter. If you run ahead of us too far, the men might capture you too.

Otters can be very fast, but otters can also be sloooow, like men and dogs and cats.

Carrreful who you call slow, little beast. This cat can run down a caribou herd, Coaxtl grumbled.

The woods were still, as if holding their breath, when the rescue party, dog teams, and the curly coat slipped into the forest almost as silently as falling snowflakes.

The otter chirped and gibbered seemingly to himself, but Sean realized these were the outward manifestations of the little creature's attempts to link minds with his family members.

My mother! She is alive! the otter declared at last. She did not want me to come because she feared I would be captured too, but at the same time she was thinking that, she was thinking,

"Get me out out out." And she did not know until I told her that the father of river seals and his hundred friends with their sharp-toothed dogs and their long-clawed cats are with me.

She was afraid of you too until I told her that you are the father of Murel and Ronan River Seal, the friends who attack wolves who try to eat otters.

I trust she was reassured by the news?

Oh, yes.

Did she give you any idea of how far away the men took her and the others?

Otter didn't answer for a moment, then said, Not far. Otters had no time to bite through nets before they were put in dens with heavy bars on them.