Fatal Tide (15 page)

She nodded. “
Kafas
. I half expected it. We’re getting close to Marinth. I can’t stop thinking about it.”

“I could try going after it alone. Pete and Susie know me now.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

She wearily shook her head. “I don’t know.” She thought about it. “Yes, I do. It’s one of the things I’ve been hiding from all these years. I was as excited as Phil when I first thought we’d found Marinth. Then I let
Kafas
poison it for me. I shouldn’t have let that happen. Hell, men have been sons of bitches to women all through history. Back in the Middle Ages, a council of noblemen even met to decide whether women were beasts or human. The only reason they decided we were human was that they didn’t want to be charged with bestiality. But we still managed to survive and gain our independence.”

He smiled. “Because you learned to deal with it.”

“In spades.” She turned to look at him. “So I’ll give you your Marinth, and you’d damn well better find something wonderful there. Wonderful enough to make up for those women who didn’t get their chance to overthrow those blasted male chauvinists.”

“I’ll do my best.” His hand, warm and comforting, covered hers on the rail. “Are you ready to go get some coffee?”

“Not yet. I need a little time.” But the terror was fading, she realized with surprise. It usually took much longer for her to come to terms with it. She gazed out at the water. “Archer didn’t call again tonight. It worries me.”

“That’s probably what he wants to do. He seems to have mental torture down to a science.”

She nodded. “He’s a terrible man and he must hate women.” She grimaced. “I bet he’d be lobbying at the council for the beast theory.”

He chuckled. “No bet.”

They were laughing at Archer. The knowledge stunned her. Yet letting in the possibility of humor made Archer seem smaller, less intimidating.

“He’s just a vicious little man, Melis.” Kelby was studying her expression. “We can take him down.”

She nodded and smiled with an effort. “Sure we can. I’m ready for that coffee now.” She turned and headed for the galley. “I’ll make it. You’ve been very self-sacrificing, listening to my lecture on women’s lib.”

“Hey, you’re preaching to the converted. I’ve never run across any weakness in my experience with women. I’ve just tried to survive them.”

His mother and grandmother. She had a sudden surge of anger as she thought of that child ripped between the two of them. “There’s independence and then there’s sheer bitchery.” She frowned. “And I don’t think I like the idea of you calling your ship the
Trina
. I know it’s kind of a twisted joke, but she shouldn’t even have that much place in your life.”

“You’re angry.”

“Yes, I am.” Angry and protective and scared that she was feeling this way. She drew a deep breath. “Why not? You were nice to me. Usually, I have to rely on the dolphins to keep me company when I have a nightmare.”

“Here we go again. Just a substitute for Pete and Susie.” He opened the door of the galley. “The story of my life.”

She stopped. “You weren’t a substitute for— I didn’t need Pete and Susie. Even when I was with them after a nightmare, I felt . . . sort of hollow. But I didn’t feel alone tonight.” She was stumbling and she was probably saying things he didn’t want to hear. She hurried past him toward the coffeemaker on the counter. “That’s all. I just wanted to tell you I don’t think you’d have given the beast vote at that council. And for the right reason, not the wrong.”

“I’m grateful,” he said quietly.

“You should be.” She turned to face him. “Where’s the coffee canister in this stainless-steel jungle? I expect it to—” She inhaled sharply. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“What?” He glanced away from her. “Oh. Lust. Sheer unadulterated lust.” He sat down at the table. “But I’ll try to restrain myself while you make the coffee. It’s on the top shelf to your left.”

“We’re within a mile of where we saw the dolphin band.” Kelby left the bridge and came down to where the screen was set up on the main deck. “Now we’ll see about dodo birds.”

The yellow sonic imager was being dragged behind the ship, its huge extensions looking like a pelican’s wings.

“Yes, we will.” Melis was beginning to be a little excited in spite of her doubts. She glanced at the graph. “It seems to be working okay. Maybe technology
will
triumph.”

“It had better. The navy charged me a fortune for this dodo.” He shook his head. “Dammit, now you’ve got me saying it.”

“Perhaps you’re not as machine-oriented as you’d like to believe.” Nicholas leaned on the rail, his gaze on the imager. “It’s really pretty stupid-looking. Would you like me to do a little magic to give it soul?”

“No, I would not,” Kelby said. “All we need is one of your incantations to make this attempt a disaster.”

“Incantation? I was thinking more on the lines of clipping a Stevie Wonder CD to the dodo’s neck.”

Melis smothered a smile. “Good idea. But I prefer Aretha Franklin.”

“Very funny,” Kelby said sourly. “We’re over the site. We’ll see who has the last— Shit!”

Melis’s gaze flew to the dodo. “Oh, dear.”

Nicholas started to laugh.

Pete had erupted out of nowhere and rammed the imager with full force. The dodo swayed drunkenly before righting itself.

Kelby was cursing. “Call him off. He’s trying to sink it.”

Melis was afraid he was right. Pete was swimming away to where Susie was waiting, but it was only a matter of time until he’d turn and ram it again.

“No, Pete.” She blew her whistle.

The dolphin ignored her. He swam in circles, gaining momentum.

She blew the whistle again.

Nicholas was laughing so hard he had to hold on to the rail. “He looks like a bull pawing the ground before going after the matador.”

“I’m going to murder you, Nicholas,” Kelby said between his teeth. “Why the hell is he doing it?”

“I don’t know. It looks like a bird. But perhaps he’s confused. It could be he thinks it’s some weird kind of dolphin or shark. Maybe it’s territorial.” Melis could no longer hold back the laughter. “I’m sorry, Kelby. I know it’s a valuable piece of—”

“Stop laughing.”

Melis was trying desperately to do that.

Pete rammed the dodo again, sending it spinning drunkenly in a dizzy circle.

“Jesus.” Then Kelby started to laugh. “Oh, what the hell. Sink it, you neurotic mammal.”

“No.” Melis wiped the tears from her cheeks. “We’ve got to save that poor, silly dodo.” She kicked off her deck shoes. “Faster than a speeding bullet . . .” She dove into the sea and struck out for the dodo. “Hold on. Fear not. I’ll rescue you.”

“You won’t rescue anyone or anything if you don’t stop laughing.” Kelby was in the water beside her. “I’m going to remember this.”

“Is that a threat? I didn’t know Pete was going to get pissed.”

“No, it’s a statement. It’s the first time I’ve seen you really laugh. I like it.” He struck out ahead of her. “Now, how do we get Pete to stop ramming the dodo?”

“I’ve no idea. Swim along with it to show him it’s a friend?” The idea was so ridiculous she started to laugh again. “Get in his path and try to deter him?” That wasn’t so funny. “Maybe we can use Susie to disarm him. We’ll think of something.”

“I hope so.” Kelby gave a lethal glance back at the
Trina
. “Because Nicholas is getting far too much entertainment out of this.”

Chapter Fourteen

It took them over an hour to persuade Pete to leave the imager alone. Melis tried everything from hanging on to the dodo herself to getting Susie to swim beside it. Pete was his usual stubborn self and refused to give up. Finally, Nicholas drove the tender out to the dodo and tossed Pete and Susie fish until the male began to associate the imager with something pleasant.

“Just a fishmonger again,” Nicholas said as he helped Melis into the tender. “I was going to bring out the Stevie Wonder CD. You know that quote:
Music hath charm to soothe the savage beast
.”

“It’s
breast,
not
beast,
” Kelby said. “And I think Melis would object to you calling Pete savage. He’s just misunderstood.”

“Well, I guess the fish worked better anyway,” Nicholas said. He glanced at Pete and Susie playing in the water. “He seems to have forgotten the deadly dodo. Do you think it survived Pete’s attack?”

“It’s supposed to be very sturdy,” Kelby said. “We’ll see when we get back on board and check out the instruments.”

The green light was still lit on the control board when they reached the
Trina
ten minutes later.

“By George, it’s alive,” Nicholas murmured. “This dodo is definitely not extinct. You saved it, Melis.”

“Why don’t you go tell Billy to fix lunch?” Kelby’s gaze was on the panel. “And then bring us a couple towels.”

“Are you trying to get rid of me? First a fishmonger and then a cabin boy.” Nicholas strolled down the deck. “You’ve got to promise you won’t do anything that might amuse me while I’m gone.”

“I’m surprised it’s still working.” Melis took a step closer to the panel. “If it’s as sensitive as you say.”

“The imager is sensitive, but the casing is built like a tank and should withstand most things.” Kelby bent down and adjusted a knob. “Evidently, including a dolphin trying to sink it.”

“Are you saying I didn’t save the dodo?”

“Heaven forbid. I wouldn’t presume. You’re faster than a speeding bullet. . . .” He’d moved around to the graph. “It’s just that you had a little help from the lab that— I’ll be damned.”

“What is it?” She went to stand beside him and looked down at the graph. “Something?”

“We were over the site area all during the time we were trying to finesse Pete into leaving the dodo alone.” He pointed to a jagged line on the graph paper. “Something’s down there.” He pulled up more paper to examine. “Except for a couple of minutes when the dodo was spinning like a top, the imager indicates the same irregularities. Higher and more extreme to the west.”

“You’re getting excited. It could be another—”

“And it could be the jackpot.” Kelby’s gaze never left the graph. “Go down and change, Melis. We’re going to take the dodo for a little ride to the west and see what we come up with.”

Two miles west, the jagged variations on the graph sharpened and horizontal lines appeared.

Another half mile and they saw the dolphins.

Hundreds and hundreds of them, sleek bodies shimmering in the afternoon sun as they swam and jumped and played. Joy. Grace. Freedom.

“My God,” Melis whispered. “It makes me think of the beginning of creation.”

“Last Home?”
Kelby asked.

“It could be,” Melis said. The sight of the dolphins was awe-inspiring. She couldn’t take her eyes off them. Rays of sunlight were filtering through gray-blue clouds and touching the sea with radiance. The dolphins had been impressive deep below the water, but this display was truly remarkable. It made her throat tighten with emotion. “I guess we’ll see tomorrow when we go down with Pete and Susie.”

“If those other dolphins let us near it.”

“We don’t have to use Pete and Susie.” She didn’t look at him. “You could get a diving bell or one of your other fancy submersibles to explore it.”

“No, I can’t. It wouldn’t be the same. I don’t want to be surrounded by a steel cage when I see Marinth for the first time.”

She smiled. “The dream?”

“What else?” His voice was suddenly vibrating with intensity. “My God, it’s
here,
Melis.”

“I hope so.” Lord, he was happy. His expression was glowing, and warmth flowed through her as she looked at him. She couldn’t share the dream, but she could share his joy. It reached out and embraced her, enfolded her. She moved a step closer and took his hand.

He looked down at her inquiringly.

“No big thing.” She smiled. “I just wanted to touch you.”

“That’s a very big thing.”

“Not right now.” She looked back out at the sea and the dolphins joined together in an eternal circle of life and renewal. “Not here. But it’s very good.”

“Our watcher is using a Ballistic 7.6-meter monohull tender,” Nicholas told Kelby when he came back to the ship that night. “Actually, there may be two sentries.”

“Two?”

“I saw another motorboat some meters distant, but he was gone before I could get close. It makes sense that there would be two if they needed to keep a twenty-four-hour watch.”

“Did they see you?”

“I don’t know. But it’s no big deal if they did. It would be natural for us to mount our own watch.” He made a face. “I don’t think I scared anybody away. That tender has as much power and range as yours, Jed. Give him a head start and he’s out of sight.”

“Can you follow one of them back to the
Jolie Fille
?”

“Maybe. But I’ll start my own search anyway. As soon as you come up from the dives at the end of the day, I’ll be out of here.”

Melis could barely see Pete and Susie swimming ahead of her through the silt-clouded water.

So much for using them as buffers, she thought ruefully. Ever since she and Kelby submerged this morning, the dolphins had practically ignored them.

No, that wasn’t true. Because they were moving with purpose. They were intent on something, some destination. They had the same attitude they’d had the other day when Melis thought they were leading her somewhere. When she first noticed that intensity today, it filled her with hope.

Kelby, who had gone ahead, swam back to her and shook his head.

What was wrong?

He made a swimming motion with his hand.

Shark?

Then she saw them herself. The dolphins. A band as numerous as they’d seen yesterday afternoon, here in the depths.

And only yards ahead of them. The sheer mass was intimidating.

And so was the unfriendly interest of one of the males who was swimming toward them.

Jesus.

The male bumped hard against Kelby and then swam toward her.

Kelby unholstered his shark gun.

She emphatically shook her head. The next minute the male hit her rib cage.

Pain.

Then the dolphin was gone.

But he might be back again, maybe with reinforcements.

Kelby was signaling for them to go up.

It might be the smart thing to do. They could come back tomorrow after they figured a way to—

Pete and Susie were back.

Pete was swimming around them in a protective circle while Susie came and swam beside Melis.

Melis reached out and patted her nose.
It’s about time you got here, young lady.

As if in answer, Susie came closer and rubbed against her.

Melis hesitated and then made a motion for Kelby to go on.

He started to shake his head and then shrugged and started forward.

Would Pete and Susie stay with them?

And would it make any difference to the other dolphins if they did?

She swam slowly toward the band of dolphins.

Pete continued his protective circling, and Susie stayed on Melis’s left side.

Then they were in the center of the mass of dolphins. It was incredible.

And absolutely terrifying.

Please don’t leave us, guys,
she prayed.

Pete and Susie were still with them.

A female detached herself from the outer perimeter of the band and swam toward them.

Pete instantly swam toward her and made her swerve away from Kelby and Melis. Then he continued his circling around them.

Ten minutes later the dolphin band began to lose interest in them.

Five minutes after that, Pete began to widen his circle as if he sensed they were safe.

But he and Susie still remained with them as they made their way slowly through the band of dolphins.

Then they were on the other side and following Pete and Susie through a grotto and back into the open sea.

But they saw nothing.

The water was murky but clear enough to see the bottom. But the bottom was silt. No columns. No ancient city. No ruins. Silt.

Jesus, Kelby was going to be disappointed, Melis thought.

He didn’t show any signs of it. He was swimming faster, stronger, going deeper, closer to the bottom. He was skimming, looking, and then he turned and swam back to her and jerked his thumb upward to indicate they should surface.

Kelby didn’t speak until they were back on board the
Trina,
but she could sense an undercurrent of excitement.

“I think it’s there,” Kelby said as Nicholas helped them strip off their tanks. “Marinth. I’m almost sure it’s there.”

Melis shook her head. “All I saw was silt.”

“Me, too, until I got closer. I saw glimpses of metal fragments jutting up through the silt. You said the tablets were bronze. They could have used metal for other things.”

Nicholas nodded. “Microwaves and washing machines.”

Kelby ignored his levity. “Maybe. We won’t know until we dig Marinth out of that silt.”

“Providing it’s Marinth and not the remains of a World War Two sub,” Nicholas said. “You’re not sure.”

“I’ll have a good idea after I go down again and retrieve some of that metal. I want you to go down with me as soon as I restock the air.”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Nicholas said.

“No,” Melis said. “I go back with you.”

Kelby shook his head. “We don’t know that the dolphin band will be as tolerant as they were after Pete and Susie appeared.”

“And we may need Pete and Susie again. They don’t know Nicholas well enough.”

“Well, they know me better than I’m comfortable with,” Nicholas said.

“I go,” Melis repeated. “Someone has to stay on board in case we run into equipment trouble. After we’re sure this is the location and that the dolphins are tolerating us, Nicholas can take his turn.”

Kelby hesitated. “How are your ribs?”

“Sore. But I’m going.”

Kelby looked at Nicholas and shrugged. “She’s going.”

They brought nothing up but shards of bronze and some other unidentifiable metal on the next two dives.

On the third dive Kelby brought up a long slender cylinder made of the same metal.

Nicholas and the entire crew were waiting as they boarded the
Trina
.

“Something interesting?” Nicholas edged closer to the object in the net. “It doesn’t look too corroded. Bronze?”

“It’s some kind of metal alloy.” Kelby knelt beside the cylinder. “And it doesn’t look like a World War Two submarine part to me. Come here, Melis.”

She was already beside him. “What?”

“Take a look at the script along the rim of the cylinder.”

She inhaled sharply. She hadn’t noticed the tiny marks.

“Hieroglyphics?” Kelby asked. “The same as on the tablets?”

She nodded. “They look the same.”

“Hot damn.” Kelby’s smile was exuberant. “I knew it. We’ve
found
it.”

A cheer went up from the crew.

“Go break out the champagne, Billy.” Kelby was still examining the cylinder. “I wonder what this is. . . .”

“A spice jar?” Nicholas pointed to one of the hieroglyphs. “I’d guess this one says chili powder.”

Kelby laughed. “Hell, you’re probably right. I’m trying to read something profound into it. I guess I’m a little off balance at the moment.”

“I think I’ll go help Billy choose the champagne. It has to be very special to suit this occasion.” Nicholas’s expression softened as he said over his shoulder, “I’d say you have a right to go a little dizzy. Congratulations, Jed.”

“Thanks.” Kelby looked at Melis. “And thank you.”

She shook her head. “You don’t have to thank me. I made you a promise. You really think this is proof?”

“I think it comes damn close. If we turn up more objects tomorrow, I’d bet we’ve found it.”

“So what’s next?”

“I call Wilson right now and send him to Madrid to get me salvage rights and whatever else I need to protect my right to explore it. Otherwise, if there’s a leak, the whole area will be teeming with salvage ships trying to strike it rich.”

“Will it take long for him to do that?”

“Not if he greases the right palms. Wilson is an expert.” His smile faded. “I haven’t forgotten Archer. Give me one more day here, Melis. That’s all I’ll need.”

“I wasn’t pushing you.” She smiled crookedly. “I wish I could forget Archer. I can’t do it. He won’t let me.
I
won’t let me.” She paused. “Marinth isn’t what you thought it would be, is it? I expected broken columns and ruins. Not just silt.”

He shook his head. “When I was a boy, I dreamed of an arched doorway leading to a beautiful city.”

“But you don’t seem disappointed.”

“That was a dream. This is reality, and reality is always more exciting. You can take it in your hands and touch it, mold it.” He shrugged. “Maybe I needed the dream then, but I don’t now.” He grinned. “And who knows what’s under that silt? It could be an arched doorway.” He took her arm. “Come on, let’s get into dry clothes and go drink some champagne.”

Kelby wasn’t in bed beside her.

Melis glanced at the clock. It was a little after three in the morning, and Kelby seldom got up before six.

Unless something was wrong.

The dolphins.

She sat up, swung her feet to the floor, and reached for her robe. A moment later she was climbing the steps leading to the upper deck.