"I did not say Eadro cares about the reef," the locathah countered. "I said only that the humans will poison it, as they poison everything in the water. What Eadro cares about is the Enemy Above. If they want the island, then Eadro does not want them to have it."
"And if they go away?" asked Tanetoa.
"Then there will be no need to defend the island. Can you make the Enemy Above go away?" There was a certain buoyancy in the locathah's gestures that suggested he wanted this as badly as Tanetoa.
"I will try."
Tanetoa ascended to the surface and took a great breath, pausing to look back at the ships. They were just over two hundred yards away, close enough that had the sun been higher in the sky, the lookouts in their crow's nests might have seen the locathah slipping into the channel. As it was, the glare on the water prevented that-which was certainly the only reason the emir had not ordered his men into their skiffs already.
A tiny figure in the bow of the emir's ship waved to Tanetoa. The gesture seemed a nervous one, and the giant dared hope it meant the humans had taken the point of his little display. He returned the wave, then kicked into the channel and followed the great school of locathah into his lagoon.
Kani was waiting on the shore, and Tanetoa swam toward her, heart pounding with fear and anger. Only a few hours remained before high tide, and he could not bear the thought of what the coming battle would do to his reef. The clumsy skiffs would crash about madly, tearing the tops off the corals, and wizards would fire lightning bolts and magic rays at the lo-cathah hiding in the thick cover deeper down. The stunning formations would shatter into luminous sprays of shrapnel or simply die of shock. The reef fish would perish from the explosive concussions and float to the surface in schools. The sponges would burst, the anemones would be blasted flat, and the destruction would not end there. The locathah would capsize the human boats, turning the lagoon into a frothing mass of thrashing blades and flailing tridents that would smash whole swaths of brittle coral. The water would turn scarlet with blood and entrails, and the sharks would come, smashing headlong through the delicate garden in a feeding frenzy that could well do more damage than the battle itself.
The reef would be destroyed, and Tanetoa could not permit that. He had to convince the humans to leave- but how?
As Tanetoa neared the shore, Kani waded out to meet him. "You have spoken with the locathah?"
Tanetoa stood and nodded. "They have come to defend the island."
Kani's gaze shot at once to the warships, and she said nothing.
"The humans are determined to occupy the island for its own protection," Tanetoa said glumly.
Kani furrowed her brow. "They will fight for this island?" She shook her head in amazement. "Why?"
Tanetoa shrugged. "Because their caleph ordered it."
Kani considered this for a moment, then said, "There must be more to it than that. Tell me what they said."
Tanetoa recounted the conversation, relating everything from "declaring sides" to warning the emir against trying to land his forces without Tanetoa's consent. Kani listened carefully, asking for clarification only twice, once regarding the emir's reaction to hearing that Tanetoa could sing with the whales, and the second time regarding the man's reluctance to come ashore alone.
When Tanetoa finished, Kani considered the account for a time, then said, "Whatever his master wants, the emir must be afraid we won't allow it. That's why he refuses to come ashore until he can bring his men."
Tanetoa's eyes went wide. "You think he means to attack us?"
"If we don't give him what he wants."
"How can we?" So overcome with frustration was Tanetoa that the question rumbled from his mouth like a peal of thunder. "He won't tell us what it is!"
Kani spread her palms in a gesture of helplessness. "We will find out at high tide."
Tanetoa remained silent for a moment, then shook his head. "No, we won't. The locathah will attack while the boats are still in the lagoon." He stared across the water at the war fleet. "I must stop the humans from coming."
"How?"
"I don't know. Maybe I can sink their ships."
Kani paled. "Tanetoa, I may not love your island, but I do love you. Attacking the humans is too dangerous."
"I could do it from underneath," he explained. "If I took a sharp boulder — "
"You might sink two or three, but what of their wizards? If it were that easy to destroy an entire fleet, the
Enemy Beneath would not let the humans venture onto the water at all."
"I could ask the locathah for help."
Kani rolled her eyes. "And how would that save the reef? Without their ships, the humans would have no place to go but our island." She paused, then took Tane-toa's hand. "There are other reefs, Tanetoa, on larger islands-with enough wood to build a proper house, and with oyster beds rich in pearls."
Tanetoa pulled his hand away. "But there is only one Crystal Reef. There are corals here that grow in no other part of the sea. If that is not wealth enough-"
"It is more than enough wealth, as long as we are together," said Kani. "But it means nothing without you."
Tanetoa instantly regretted his tone. Kani's sisters all lived on larger islands, in great mansions furnished with elaborate furniture and priceless treasures. But Kani had lived with him on this island, in near poverty, for more than seven decades. The mere fact that she stayed was proof enough of her loyalty.
Tanetoa took his wife's hand. "I'm sorry for speaking harshly. You are not the one who swore to protect this reef. Sometimes I don't know why you stay with me."
"I stay because I love you, and I love you because you are the kind who would guard an island with no pearls." Kani squeezed his hand. "Besides, the reef is the most beautiful one in the Shining Sea. Even my sisters say so."
Tanetoa raised his brow, for he had never heard them speak of anything beautiful except their mansions. "Truly?"
"Would I lie to my husband?" Kani's voice turned from playful to serious. "I don't want to lose you to this war. Promise me that if you cannot persuade the humans to go, you will not be foolish enough to attack them."
"But I must protect the reef."
"You cannot protect the reef if you are dead," Kani said. "Promise, and I will tell you how to stop this battle."
Tanetoa cocked his brow. "You will? Then I promise."
Kani smiled. "You must give them your whale horn."
"My whale horn?" The whale horn was the single treasure Tanetoa's reef had ever yielded, the magic conch shell that allowed him to sing with the whales. "Why would that make them leave?"
"Would not an alliance with the whales benefit the humans?" asked Kani. "You said yourself the emir and his officer exchanged looks when you told them of singing with the whales. Perhaps the horn is the real reason they have come."
"Of course," Tanetoa answered, beginning to feel hopeful. "But if they wanted the whale horn, why not ask for it?"
"Because humans are greedy and cunning," answered Kani. "They feared you would refuse to give it to them and hide the horn where they could not find it. Perhaps they think it is surer to come ashore and steal it before you know what they want."
Tanetoa nodded. "That sounds like the emir." He started toward the hut to retrieve the horn, then stopped short. "But what of the locathah? If the humans want the horn, the locathah will want them not to have it."
Kani considered this, then motioned Tanetoa back into the lagoon. "Swim out past the reef. I will throw the horn out, and you can take it to the ships before the locathah catch you."
Tanetoa eyed the reef. Like all giants, reef giants could hurl boulders a great distance-more than three hundred yards-and it was only two hundred yards to the far side of the reef. It would not be difficult for Kani to throw the conch shell to him.