Fatal Tide - Iris Johansen [72]
He shrugged. “Maybe I was wrong. I didn't want to stay away from you long.”
“Or maybe you were right.” She could feel excitement stirring as she thought about it. “If the subadult groups are that large, can you imagine how many dolphins are down there?”
“Why didn't you want to stay down and check them out?”
“Males can be aggressive. They might have taken alarm and ganged up on us and attacked.”
“Why haven't they surfaced?”
“I don't know. They might have their own fixed behavior patterns. Maybe they'll surface miles from here.”
“Are Pete and Susie safe down there with them?” Nicholas asked.
“I hope. They must feel safe with them.” She shrugged. “I thought Pete and Susie were just playing, but maybe they wanted to introduce us.”
“It would take a while to do the introductions to that many dolphins,” Kelby said dryly. “I might pass on it.”
She shook her head, excitement growing. “I don't think you would. Dolphins were the little brothers of Marinth. They were protected by the Marinthians, so naturally they would increase in population. These kinds of numbers are unusual. We're looking for the unusual.”
“But they haven't been protected for a couple thousand years.” He added thoughtfully, “Once established, though, the basic numbers might stay close to the same.”
She nodded eagerly. “And there's a large amount of silt down there.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” Nicholas asked.
“If an entire island was washed away, wouldn't there be a bigger silt factor?”
“Works for me.” Kelby frowned. “Let's go back down.”
She shook her head. “Tomorrow. With Pete and Susie. I want to give them a chance to act as buffers for us. Don't make the mistake of thinking all dolphins are like Pete and Susie. They've always been unusual. Dolphins can be as deadly as sharks in some situations. For all we know, those dolphins might have some ingrained genetic instinct to protect Marinth.”
“Weird,” Nicholas said.
Kelby's brows lifted. “You claim you're a shaman and it's the dolphins that are weird?”
“It's not a claim. And I reserve the right to be weird.” He turned the tender. “And I also reserve the right to stay above-water while you're playing with the dolphins. Thanks to Melis, I've already had an experience with Pete and Susie that's unforgettable. I don't need to be assaulted by a hundred or so.”
They'd been back on board the Trina for two hours when Pete and Susie finally surfaced next to the ship.
“They seem okay.” Melis's gaze raked the two dolphins as they came up to the rail and clicked at her. “No wounds. No trauma. They seem perfectly normal.”
“That's good.” Kelby's tone was abstracted. “I've been thinking. Maybe we won't go down with the dolphins tomorrow.”
“What?” She turned to look at him. “Why not? You were all set to go back today.”
“And you said that the dolphins could be aggressive. Let's make a try at letting technology determine if it's worth our while.”
She sighed. “The dodo bird.”
“I paid a hell of a lot of money for that dodo bird. One day. It can't hurt. It might give us an idea if there's anything unusual on the ocean floor.”
“And it might not.” Trust a man to be besotted by gadgets. She shrugged. “I guess one day can't matter after thousands of years. Okay, we'll try the dodo.” She saw Nicholas jump into the tender. “Where's he going?”
“Just a little reconnaissance. We don't want to give Archer the advantage of surprise.”
She had been so absorbed with the dolphins she'd forgotten about Archer. She wished with all her heart she could afford to do that permanently. “No, we don't want to give Archer anything.”
Golden fretwork.
Drums.
Kafas.
She sat straight up in bed, her heart pounding wildly.
“Okay?” Kelby was wide-awake. “Bad dream?”
She nodded jerkily and swung her feet to the floor. “I'm going on deck.” She grabbed her robe. “I need air.”
He got out of bed. “I'll go with you.”
“You don't have to.”
“Yes, I do.” He slipped his robe on. “Come on. We'll do some deep-breathing exercises