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.
Everyone seemed to be carrying the melody of Ke-ola's chant, which was a good thing, because strong as he was, their classmate was beginning to droop a little.
But reinforcements came just in time. Clodagh climbed over the side of the boat, as always amazingly graceful despite her great size, and, singing and stamping as she went in a kind of a dance, she joined Ke-ola, singing the same words he sang. The first time he faltered, she touched his shoulder to signal him to sit.
She sang only a few lines more before the cherry red of the volcano faded to orange, then yellow. The rumbling quieted, the smoke cleared, and a shallow star of land rose above the ocean's surface, its rays spreading from the central crater, while the sky's bloody fever receded to a rosy blush.
CHAPTER 23
A bsolutely nothing happened next, because nobody who was at the volcano was able to talk or move around much for the next couple of weeks.
The fishing boats rescued the yacht crew and passengers and relayed them back to shore. The copter, which Johnny had left near the river otter dens when he and Yana finally joined up with Marmie and the yacht, once its motor was also cleaned, returned them all to Kilcoole.
But nobody talked, because nobody could. It was even too much trouble to thought-speak for a long time because the chant was burned into their brains. Murel's feet hurt up to her tonsils.
Clodagh's student, Deirdre Angalook, under the drooping eyelids of her teacher, made up salves, tinctures, syrups, and packs for everyone's lungs, throats, and muscles. By the time she had everyone dosed, she needed sleep and the muscle salve herself.
Finally, Murel, Ronan, and their dad were able to walk as far as the river and change to seal form, which was easier because then they wouldn't have to walk and their seal muscles were configured differently. The river was silvery and cool, the slender trees on the banks a hundred shades of green-evergreen, or variegating from silver green to grass-as they flipped back and forth in the wind. Mum put on a wet suit and joined them since even in the summer the water of the Kilcoole River was too cold to brave for long in just human skin. The sky was the blue of a glacier, with fluffy clouds and no hint of smoke or steam, but the light faded far more quickly than it had just two weeks before. Some of the leaves on the deciduous trees were already yellowing where the sun lingered on them the longest.
A little after the twins and their parents entered the river, Clodagh, Dierdre, and Ke-ola ambled down to meet them. Ke-ola actually looked great for a guy who'd done all that stomping around.
"Did Dierdre give you extra salve while you've been staying up at Clodagh's?" Murel asked him when she'd dragged herself out of the river, dried off, and put on the change of clothes she'd brought along. Her voice was still a bit husky, but at least audible now.
"Naw, it's that gravity thing," he said, sounding almost normal. "I'm used to being heavier so I'm way stronger than you wimpy Petaybee guys. I could go back out and talk to Pele Petaybee some more right now if I wanted to."
Ronan was out of the water now too, and said, although he was once more in human form, "I flash my furry seal butt at you, big fella, and flap my hind flippers in your general direction. I don't want to see anything hotter than a teakettle for the rest of my life."
Ke-ola laughed and waded in, turned the color of the sky and waded out again.
"We can take you to the hot springs if you fancy a dip," Murel offered. "And there's parts of the river warmer than this, but this was the closest place with any privacy."
He nodded and lay back on the grassy bank with his head cupped in his palms.
Mum used the newcomers' arrival as an excuse to escape the water. She did her best, but she just wasn't a watery person at heart. "Clodagh, I need to know something."
Clodagh lifted her eyebrows. She never used words where an expression or action could do the job, and seldom used two words when one would do.
"Why did all of you show up in the fishing boats the way you did, when you did, and how did you learn Ke-ola's chant?"
"Petaybee told us," she said simply.
It was Mum's turn to raise her eyebrows. "It did?"
"Sure. We were all down in the caves when the drumming started coming through the walls, and the words. We knew you were out there with that volcano, so that was the only place it could be coming from. Petaybee echoing the words back was a good sign that the planet liked what you were doin', so we joined you." She shrugged. "That's all."
"Well, of course," Mum said. "Silly me. Who wouldn't mount a major rescue operation on the basis of an echoed chant heard inside a cave from hundreds of miles away. Why didn't I think of that?"
Clodagh patted her on the shoulder. "It's okay, Yana. You're not a cheechako anymore, but you didn't grow up here. You'll get used to our ways one of these days."
A wistful look spread across Ke-ola's big face, but he said, "You folks think I could borrow a boat to go check on the Honu?"
Clodagh surprised him. "Not now. Maybe later. Fall latchkay time now. Lots of people coming and we gotta get ready."
He nodded but Murel could see he was disappointed.
"But latchkays are wonderful, Ke-ola. You'll like them and- Ke-ola gets to come, doesn't he, Clodagh?"
"Sure. Marmie isn't leaving until after so you can all come."
I don't like the sound of that, Ronan said. What does she mean "all"?
They wouldn't make us go hack to the space station now. Not after we saved Da and everything. They can't! And Ke-ola saved all of us. They can't send him hack too. He likes Petaybee. I know he does.
It's too cold for him, sis, and winter's coming.
Well, but- well, it just wouldn't be fair. He should get to pick.
When the humans returned to Kilcoole, Sky and the Honu stayed behind so the Honu could swim and commune with the sea otters and absorb more information about the place he felt would become his new home. Sky had remained behind to tell his hundreds of relatives and the sea otters all about his adventures,
Sky otters, he told his hundreds of relatives, now including the sea otter cousins, know all kinds of creatures, like this big shell one. He is not a big clam and he is not to eat. He is a turtle and a very important creature. He came with his own human from a place far away that is not our home. But he helped keep the volcano from killing everybody, otters, humans, everyone, so he must belong here. So otters can play with him and talk to him but not harm him.
What happened out there after we left? the sea otters wanted to know. And Sky had a long and enjoyable time of it telling them in great and colorful-and because he was an otter, somewhat smelly-detail of the adventures they missed.
While the others prepared for the latchkay, Johnny Green and Marmie accommodated Ke-ola by taking him out to visit the Honu. When they returned, Sky came with them.
Ke-ola was looking a little more satisfied. Sky scampered off the copter ahead of him.
Ke-ola had no fancier clothing than his bright colored ship suit and the flowered shorts he swam in, but Clodagh said she thought he could wear some of her things.
However, when the drumming began at the longhouse and everyone filed past the stew steaming in the cleaned-out fuel drum heating over the open fire, Ke-ola wore his ship suit.
One of Clodagh's extra snow shirts was draped over his lap, humped up in the middle.
"We looked for you all day long but couldn't find you anywhere," Murel whispered fiercely.
"Where were you?"