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.
Uh, not yet, Ronan replied, feeling incredibly stupid. I was- was waiting for you.
Let's get some air, then we'll try, she said, but she had begun to sound less direct and certain and more as if she too had been mesmerized by the city and its lights.
This time when they surfaced, he was aware of the yacht, a slightly darker shape through the smoke, with figures moving purposefully about there.
River seals! River seals! Sky called to them. Have you found the deep sea otters? Have they seen your father?
No, but Ronan has found something else very strange, Murel said. She was about to suggest that they return to the yacht to tell their mother about the city when there was a splash that sounded more like otter than rock, and presently the sleek brown head of Sky peered at them out of the smoke.
I thought river otters didn't swim in salt water.
Normally we don't but this was just a short swim, just a little ways and besides, if there are deep sea otters here, maybe they only speak to otters. Maybe they don't know that river seals don't eat otters.
What we've found isn't exactly deep sea otters, Murel told him. Come.
The three of them dived back down to the city, which was still there.
It's almost like it's not real, Ronan said. I tried over and over again to swim into it but I couldn't.
But Sky was not interested in the city as much as he was in contacting its inhabitants.
Standing on the ocean floor on his hind paws, he moved the top of his body to the right and then to the left, then back again, inspecting the entire thing. Finally he sent out his message, Deep sea otters, deep sea otters, it is your cousin Sky the River Otter who is also a sky otter, calling you. Our cousins the sea otters say that you live here. This otter has braved the salt water, which is not the element of river otters, to find you. Please answer. Your cousins have a problem and seek your help.
From within the city came the first thought any of them had sensed. Do you think deep sea otters are so easily tricked, little cousin? We know you brought that boat full of scientists to study us. We know there are seals out there with you.
Hah! That is so. But the boat is full of rescue people and family members, not science people looking for you. The seals are only partly seals. Partly they are two-legged children. Their father, also only -partly a seal, is missing and was last seen swimming your way. Did you see him? Do you know what became of him?
Maybe. The thought was cautious. We don't want boats and seals around our den, though.
Those seals, especially the one, have been here staring into our den for a long time.
Murel said, It's a -pretty exotic-looking den, deep sea otters. We were just wondering how it got there and if our father might have found shelter there.
If he did, if deep sea otters helped him, then his children wouldn't tell the scientists about our den?
If you don't want us to, we won't, Murel said. Nobody wants to hurt you or molest you, and we won't let anybody study you if you don't want to be studied. We just want our father.
You will tell no one else about us? No two-legged people?
No one, she said.
Not even Mum, Ronan promised.
River Otter, you believe these seals? the alleged deep sea otter asked.
These are the seals that save the lives of otters. They do not lie. They do not tattle. But they will keep searching until they find their father, and so will the big boat. There are other men too. Men who can enter the water and swim like otters.
Deep sea otters are very shy, the thought came to them, but to Murel, it sounded more sly than shy. No men must come and find our den.
They won't come if we don't tell them to, Murel replied. But we need to find our father. He is a very important man to this world and none of us will rest until we know where he is and how he is. If we don't find him, she warned, there will be more men and women here than any deep sea otter has ever seen before. It was a safe threat. Since no people had ever seen deep sea otters that she knew of, it stood to reason that deep sea otters had never seen all that many people either.
Above them, through the murky water, she saw two new shadows-a large human-shaped one and a round one, which she recognized as being turtle-shaped. One of our friends is seeking us now, she said. You know what?
She received an image of otter ears pricking forward as if to say "What?"
I think you know where our father is. I think you found him and took care of him in your secret den and he is still alive. That would he very good for deep sea otters, you know. It would make my brother and me and the sky otter here and even all the men who don't know about you owe you big-time.
She got the impression of confused inter-otter chittering. We would be your friends and wish you well and maybe do something for you sometime.
You must keep us a secret, the thought returned clearly. If you do this, we may be able to help you with what you seek.
Great. She looked up and saw the Honu and more of Ke-ola than she had before-hands and upper torso gaining shape. Oh look! One of the divers is coming now! What do you say? Shall we keep him away? He'll go away if we say so.
Yes. He must not find our den, the spokes-otter replied quickly, though again she felt there had been some excited consultation before he spoke.
Okay then. We're all going to surface for air now and to keep our friend up there from finding you. You otters think it over.
She conveyed this, and the three of them lofted themselves toward the surface. It was none too soon, as the ocean floor rolled and fiery liquid belched beneath the city/den. Strangely, the eruption didn't seem to hurt or move the odd collection of lighted towers in any way, but it splashed upward. Had they delayed another moment, they would have been burned.
The three of them rose straight up underneath Ke-ola and the Honu, nudging Ke-ola back up into what could now only loosely be called fresh air.
"Ronan and Murel! River Otter! The Honu felt that you were in clanger. We came to help you. We must go back to the boat. The Honu and I would be fine but the boat could sink from the falling rock. It's very hot, you know."
They couldn't answer him. The waves swelled like angry cats and attacked them, driving them apart and spinning them around with the force of the tormented water.
Hah! River otters are not meant for salt! River otter fur is full of dirty ashen stuff that stinks and stings. Sky was fretting, but neither Murel nor Ronan could see the otter or each other because of the water and the steaming ash.
Only the Honu bobbed on top of the waves, sliding down them and riding back up.
But more than anything they were actually experiencing was the pressurized sensation that something ominous was building very near them, something about to explode.
Why is Petaybee so furious with us? Murel couldn't help but wonder.