Drowned Wednesday(91)

‘I hope Scamandros is still alive,’ said Arthur. ‘The Balaena probably just had to leave for some reason . . . oh! You don’t know. The Doctor survived the battle with Feverfew. He escaped to me, and . . . I’ll tell you later. How exactly does legend say this disc worked?’

‘You speak into it, and the Mariner hears you,’ said Sunscorch.

‘I’ve already done that!’ protested Arthur. ‘Heaps of times when I first got swept up! Carp, you have to contact the Mariner!’

‘Did he have grey hair or was it more white?’ asked the Carp.

‘I reckon that whale is shrinking,’ said Suzy.

Everyone swam around to look.

‘I don’t know,’ said Arthur. ‘She looks just as big to me.’

‘Keep watching,’ said Suzy. ‘She’s getting smaller.’

‘Aye, she’s shrinking,’ confirmed Sunscorch. ‘But will she shrink enough?’

‘Okay,’ said Arthur. ‘Even if she is shrinking, we don’t want to tempt her with lots of Denizens to eat up. So I’m going to take the Carp and swim towards her, and everyone else can swim off at a right angle. Okay?’

‘No way,’ said Leaf. ‘I’m sticking with you, Arthur. You’re my ticket home.’

‘I want to see what happens,’ said Suzy. ‘Besides, if she’s normal size we might be able to help fight her, if we have to.’

‘Sunscorch, can you at least start organising all the Denizens to swim away?’ pleaded Arthur. ‘I really do think Wednesday might not be able to resist temptation.’

‘Aye, aye, sir,’ said Sunscorch. He touched a knuckle to his head in salute and dived under.

‘That’s what you two are supposed to do,’ said Arthur. ‘Say ‘aye, aye’ and swim away.’

‘Yeah, as if we would,’ said Leaf. ‘You don’t have to do everything by yourself, Arthur.’

Arthur didn’t answer. He just started swimming towards the approaching Leviathan. But secretly he was glad not to be alone. And Wednesday was getting smaller, so perhaps it would all be straightforward after all.

‘Does this mean I don’t need to try to reach the mind of the Mariner?’ asked the Carp. ‘Have you regained your faith in me?’

Arthur spat out some water and said, ‘Yes. You could say that.’

He paused to tread water for a while and rest, and looked behind. The Denizens were very slowly beginning to swim away in the other direction. But that wasn’t all that caught Arthur’s eye.

‘Is that a ship on the horizon?’

‘A three-masted brigantine, under full sail,’ said Leaf, shading her eyes with one hand. ‘See, I didn’t waste my time on the Mantis. Albert . . . Albert was a good teacher too.’

‘The ship’s boy,’ said Arthur, suddenly horror-struck. ‘I haven’t seen him! We couldn’t have left him behind, could we?’

‘No,’ said Leaf in a very small voice. Her eyes grew red, though Arthur could see no tears on her sea-washed face. ‘He . . . Albert got . . . Albert got killed when Feverfew attacked the ship. I’ve been trying not to think about . . . that’s why I want to go home . . . I . . . I don’t want any more adventures.’

Arthur was silent. He didn’t know what to do or say.

‘He lived a long time,’ said Suzy. ‘I reckon he would have had a lot of good times, even if he couldn’t remember a tenth of ’em, cos of the washing between the ears. And like all of us Piper’s children, he would’ve died long ago if he’d been back on the old Earth. Remember what he taught you and he’ll always be with you. That’s what we say, when one of us goes.’

‘Drowned Wednesday is almost upon us,’ boomed the Carp suddenly. ‘The time has come to release me from my bowl! Lord Arthur, please unscrew the cap.’

Arthur wiped his eyes, kicked hard with his legs, and picked up the jar.

‘Feverfew is dead, and his bindings with him,’ said the Carp. ‘I have grown used to the bowl, but no more shall I be imprisoned in any way!’

Arthur unscrewed the lid as he sank, getting it off just as Leaf and Suzy helped him back up. They could kick much more efficiently than he could, and he appreciated their help, even if every now and then one of their kicks connected with him rather than a vacant patch of seawater.

The Carp swam free. A tiny goldfish that turned to face the onrushing whale.

‘Wednesday!’ roared the Carp. ‘I, Part Three of the Will of Our Supreme Creator, the Ultimate Architect of All, do summon thee to fulfill thy duty as Trustee of the said Will!’