Oliver, Albi, and Martha slipped into The Deep, crossing what once marked the line between light and darkness. Blinding beams from an enormous construction project forced them to squint, the stark glow swallowing every hint of the ocean’s natural hues. Keeping to the edges, they tried to remain in what shadows they could find, taking it all in with disbelief, along with a begrudging sense of wonder.

  Men stationed around the perimeter wore the uniforms of workers, but their rigid postures and wary glances betrayed their true purpose. These were guards—ones who looked like they wouldn’t hesitate to act. The two teachers, on the other hand, were not the least bit adept at violence of any sort, let alone combat. Even their sentinel friend wasn’t much of a fighter, city aquasentinel being more of a ceremonial position than anything.

  So without the desire to do any sort of fighting, they had to rely on stealth. Fortunately, they also had in their possession a distraction of the adorable variety, the dolphin known as Salty.

  “Okay Salty,” Oliver ordered, “go distract those guards!”

  Salty tilted his head, his eyes brimming with mischief, but stayed stubbornly in place.

  “Salty, Look!” Albi tried, pointing. “Look at the guards! Go get ‘em!”

  Salty just floated there.

  Oliver and Albi waved fish treats and glittering trinkets, but Salty stayed unmoved, his tail flicking with deliberate disinterest.

  Suddenly, for no apparent reason, Salty swam over to Marla, planted a kiss on her, and dashed off towards the workmen-guards.

  The two men looked at Marla with questioning eyes.

  “I dunno,” Marla answered their unspoken question, “I just sort of thought about distracting the guards, like I was a dolphin or something.”

  “The dolphin’s a psychic?” Albi said.

  While they were talking, their newfound friend had managed to distract the guards with playful banter, and the trio was able to slip past without notice, heading further down into the main site of construction.

  Reaching the floor of the chasm, they stared in dismay. The majestic cove had been reduced to rubble—its walls stripped of bioluminescence, jagged rocks scarred by machines. Even the sand below had been blasted into clouds of silt, smothering the ocean’s life.　The harsh, artificial light drenched the ruins, stripping the ocean of its natural hues, so opposite to the way the lovely biolum’s had filled the place with warmth not long ago.

  Salty had finished playing games with the guards, and had rejoined his companions. Not bothering to ask, Oliver instead thought up an image of the merboy, and Salty gave a knowing squeak and shot straight downward, heading for the largest machine.

  The trio were confused until they saw the merboy trapped in the cab. Marla gasped. The boy’s skin shimmered with scaly patches, his small frame shivering in the cramped cab. The water surrounding him was murky and foul, like the dregs of a forgotten tank.

  Salty darted in frantic circles, his sharp, agitated chirps cutting through the water. The teachers waved their hands in a futile attempt to soothe him, their movements only adding to his distress. Marla closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, her calming presence radiating out. Slowly, Salty’s erratic patterns softened into gentle arcs, his chirps quieting into a tentative calm.

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  “Come help with this,” Oliver said to Albi. The two men swam up to the door of the cab and began working at the bar that forced it closed. It didn’t come easily, but when it finally did, fresh ocean water flooded in, waking the boy from his misery.

  He flipped around happily, willing the men to finish breaking him out. They did so, and allowed the fouled water to spill out and dilute into the open sea. The boy caught sight of Salty and gave the dolphin a slippery hug. Then he turned to the adults, tugging at Oliver’s shirtsleeve as if he knew the headmaster was a kind of a leader.

  Staring intently at the headmaster, Kyle’s thoughts surged into Oliver’s mind—a vivid, unsettling vision of warriors preparing for battle. He nodded over at the portal entryway, affirming the truth of what he’d conveyed.

  “What is it?” Albi asked, as all four huddled closer.

  “It’s awful is what it is,” Oliver said. “He showed me what’s going on down there. There’s a cove beneath us, and in that cove are hundreds of mermen. Gathering their forces to strike.” He nodded at Kyle. “They want him back, and they’ll bring the fight here if they have to.”

  “Then we’ve got to return him,” Marla said. “Now! He belongs with his family anyway.”

  Kyle gave a headshake, frustrated. He stared into her eyes and projected something more.

  “This isn’t just about Kyle,’ Oliver said grimly, relating the worsening news to the group. ‘They believe the city will attack first unless they strike preemptively. They’re preparing for war—to take the city and end the threat before it begins.’”

  “They may well be right,” Albi said.

  “What are we supposed to do, then?” Marla asked. “Are we just going to let them take us to war?

  Kyle tugged at Oliver’s sleeve once more.

  “Kyle, what are you trying to say?” Oliver asked.

  The boy thought—hard—and words came forth in all their minds.

  I swam from family. My fault. I talk to legged city. I sorry. Please make machines go. No war today.

  “I’m afraid I’m not sure that’ll do the trick, son,” Oliver said.

  “Maybe it will,” Marla said, her disagreement confident enough to get their attention, “if we back him up. He wants to make it right, after all, and if the people just knew what they were doing out here. Once we’re attacked it won’t matter. Nobody will believe him then. It’s got to be now.

  “But how can we get the word out?” Mr. Albi wondered. “Is it really possible for you to talk to the entire city?”

  Center. From there, can.

  He frowned, frustration evident, and tried again.

  I can do it—from the center.

  “Great,” Oliver quipped, “so we just march him into the center of the city, plain as day.”

  “We may not have to,” Marla said, looking over Oliver’s shoulder. “We may just have some help here.”

  Beyond the four of them and their circling dolphin, the two aquasentinels of the city floated, looking particularly unhappy with their lot in life. Marla stole off to have a word.

  * * *

  “But somebody has to pay for the damage to the city. What about that?”

  Lam was still unconvinced, though Alyson was warming to the idea. At least they hadn’t darted off to grab the child the moment their friend Marla showed up. Then again, she’d given them fair warning about the army massing below their fins. That was enough to give anyone pause.

  “What about the damage we’ve done to their home?” Marla asked sharply. “The boy was scared and alone—desperate to get back to his family. Wouldn’t any child act the same?”

  “That frightened child poured filth all over me,” Lam protested.

  But Alyson motioned for her partner to stand down. “As long as we send him home. No more flitting around the city breaking things. We’re agreed on that? If he stays, he’s getting arrested.”

  Agreed, came the projected thought of Kyle. His telekinesis was growing stronger. And I sorry.

  “Well, that should be enough to go on, wouldn’t you say?” said Marla. Her aquasentinel friends agreed.

  “So now we need to come up with a plan for getting him in. Something that’s less than obvious. A way to get him all the way through the city without indicating he’s the merboy we’ve all been looking for.

  “And don’t forget,” Oliver said, swimming up to the sentinel and her friends, “we won’t have the use of city systems. Not most of them, anyway. They’re still out of commission.”

  This pointed fact annoyed the aquasentinels, and Marla shot Oliver a dirty look. Bad topic.

  “So we’ll have to use the pools,” he finished sheepishly. They’ll have their own filtration systems, and won’t be affected.

  “Fine,” Aquasentinel Lam said, “we use the pools. But how do we disguise the boy?”

  Kyle’s mind pulsed gently, planting the image of Salty into their thoughts. It was so subtle they each believed it to be their own sudden inspiration.