Stormy Skies

For the Troths, Dianne, Richard, Eleanor and Isabel

Table of Contents

Cover Page

Title Page

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Copyright

About the Publisher

Prologue

A small dolphin was tugging at a piece of seaweed half buried under a rock. It was the longest piece he’d ever seen and just right for a game of seaweed tag.

“Hurry up, Bubbles,” called his sister Dream. “Any piece of seaweed will do. It doesn’t have to be that bit.”

“It does,” clicked Bubbles, scraping away at the sand. “This bit’s perfect. Come and help me dig it out.”

Dream sighed, but to speed the game up she swam over to help her brother, digging up the sand with her nose.

“It’s nearly out,” grunted Bubbles.

He tugged harder until, in a sudden flurry of sand, the seaweed came free. Bubbles jerked backwards, spinning into Dream, who then crashed into their friend Phantom.

“Ouch!” squeaked Phantom, falling into the path of Spirit and Star.

“Watch out!” clicked Spirit, but it was too late. The dolphins bumped heavily into each other.

“Help!” whistled Star, who was squashed between the two of them.

Bubbles righted himself then swam over to help his mum.

“Thank you,” she clicked, flexing her bruised tail.

“Sorry, Mum.” Bubbles hung his head in shame. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

“I know you didn’t,” clicked Star kindly. “You weren’t thinking. Next time maybe you will.”

A cold feeling came over Spirit. The oceans were suffering because people didn’t stop to think about their actions either. It was lucky they had the Silver Dolphins. They had made a huge difference to sea life. Spirit sensed greater challenges lay ahead, but knew they would do their best to meet them. With every new challenge the Silver Dolphins grew stronger.

The thought warmed him.

Chapter One

Antonia waved goodbye to her mum then closed the front door. She turned to her friend Hannah Davies and said excitedly, “I can’t believe we’re actually here. We’ve been counting the days, haven’t we, Cai?”

“You bet,” said Cai. “It seems like ages since we last saw you.”

It was the half-term holiday and Antonia and Cai were staying with Hannah for a few days.

“I can’t believe it either,” said Hannah. “It’s going to be great. Come on. I’ll show you your rooms. This is yours, Cai.”

She opened a door on to an airy room with a small double bed, wardrobe and a chest of drawers. “Antonia’s sharing with me.”

“Cool,” said Cai, dumping his bag on the floor.

“My room’s got a balcony, so if you stand by the rail, you can just see the sea through the trees,” said Hannah, leading the way out of Cai’s room and across the hall. She threw open a door, revealing a pretty room with blue walls and an enormous metal bunk bed. “You can have the top bed if you like, Antonia.”

“Thanks. This is a great room, Hannah. You’ve got loads of stuff.” Antonia stared at the flat-screen television, mini sound system and shelves bulging with books and trinkets.

Hannah blushed. “That’s Mum’s fault. She buys me things to make up for hardly ever being around. I can’t believe she’s managed to arrange to work from home this week. She’s so busy at the moment. I told her she didn’t need to as we’d be spending our time helping Kathleen, but she insisted.”

“I can’t wait to meet Kathleen,” said Antonia. Her fingers strayed to the silver dolphin charm she always wore round her neck.

Antonia, Cai and Hannah shared a magical secret. They were Silver Dolphins, guardians of the sea. This meant that they had special magical abilities that allowed them to swim and communicate with real dolphins so they could look after the ocean and the creatures living there. Silver Dolphins were rare; only someone who believed in magic and was in tune with nature could be one.

Cai’s great aunty Claudia had been a Silver Dolphin once, but now she ran a marine conservation charity called Sea Watch. Kathleen, a friend of Hannah’s mum, had also been a Silver Dolphin and Antonia and Cai were staying with Hannah to help Kathleen set up her own marine conservation charity.

“Kathleen can’t wait to meet you too,” said Hannah. “You should see her new house. It’s got a huge garden overlooking the estuary. It’s the perfect place for a marine charity. Did I tell you she’s decided to call it Ocean Watch to avoid confusion with Sea Watch?”

“Ocean Watch.” Antonia tried the name out. “I like it.”

“Me too,” said Cai. “When do we get to meet Kathleen?”

“Tomorrow. Mum’s taking us out for tea now. She’s hopeless at cooking. We’re going to a little café at the top of the cliffs. It does great food and the views are amazing. You can often see dolphins in the sea. We used to go there all the time, but we haven’t been for ages. I hope they still do their lasagne. It’s the best ever.”

“Let’s go then,” said Cai, who was always hungry. Antonia and Hannah laughed.

“I’ll go and see if Mum’s ready,” said Hannah. “It gets dark really early these days. If we don’t go soon, we won’t be able to see the view.”

Lottie Davies, Hannah’s mum, was in her bedroom working on the computer.

“Have a look at these, Han,” she said when Hannah knocked on her door. “They’re the photos I took for that new clothes range. What do you think?”

“Nice,” said Hannah politely. “Can we go out for tea now?”

Mrs Davies glanced at the clock on her computer. “Goodness! Is that the time?” she exclaimed. “You must be starving. Let me just email these pictures to work and I’ll be right with you. Go and get the car keys, Hannah. They’re in the kitchen drawer.”

Hannah and her mum lived in the first-floor apartment of a smart block of flats. While her mum sent her email and shut down the computer, Hannah collected the car keys then took Antonia and Cai outside to show them the shared gardens.

“There’s a gate at the bottom that leads to a public footpath. If you follow it all the way down, it comes out at the beach,” said Hannah. “I can get to the sea within five minutes of Vision’s call.”

Antonia felt a shiver of excitement. Vision was the leader of the dolphin pod that Hannah swam with and he knew Antonia and Cai’s dolphin leader, Spirit. Antonia was longing to meet him.

The café was a short drive from Hannah’s apartment; dusk was already beginning to fall as Mrs Davies drove her car up the winding road to the cliff top. In the front passenger seat Hannah eagerly craned forward as the car pulled into a large car park.

“Here it is—” Hannah broke off suddenly. “But it’s shut!”

“Hop out and see when it opens,” said Mrs Davies, switching off the engine.

Pushing her long blonde hair over her shoulder, Antonia climbed out of the car and followed Hannah across the car park to the café. She passed a rusty litter bin surrounded by weeds and a wooden bench with broken legs. Antonia shivered. This place had a sad, empty feel to it.

“It’s closed down,” wailed Hannah, who’d reached the café first and was peering through the window. “There’s nothing here.”

Cai pointed to a large sign mounted on the corner of the building. “It’s for sale,” he read. “Cliff-top café with parking; includes three acres of land with planning permission for twelve houses.”

“More houses!” exclaimed Hannah. “There won’t be any countryside left around here soon.”

“It’s a fantastic location,” said Cai, making his way round the side of the café until he was standing at the back of the building. “Come and look at this view.”

“Oh, no!” Hannah gasped in dismay. “Look what they’ve done! They’ve chopped all the trees down. You can see even further now. I never knew there was a cove down there. And what’s that on the beach?”

“Seals,” said Antonia. “A whole colony. Can we go down for a closer look?”

“We can’t from up here. There’s no path,” Hannah answered.

As Antonia stepped forward for a better look at the seals, a strange sensation swept over her. She froze, her hand lightly covering her silver dolphin charm as she waited for the call of the dolphins. But there was no sound in Antonia’s head and the dolphin charm, with its silky-soft body, lay silently against her neck. Antonia’s skin prickled with foreboding.

“Whoa!” cried Cai, reaching out and catching hold of her arm. “Don’t go any further. It’s not safe. Look how the ground is crumbling away.”

“Thanks, but I wasn’t going to,” said Antonia. “I bet that’s happened since the trees got chopped down. Tree roots hold the soil together and stop erosion.”

“We’re learning about that in geography,” said Hannah. “I’ve even got holiday homework on it. I should get Mum to come and take some photos for me. Not now though – I’m starving. I can’t believe this place has closed, especially as all the outside tables and benches are still here. I hope someone buys it quickly and opens it up again.”

Disappointed, she headed back to the car. Cai followed, but Antonia hung back for a moment, apprehensively watching the seals on the beach. There were so many of them in such a small space. Although it was getting difficult to see in the fading light, Antonia spotted some seal pups. They were very sweet, all snuggled up with the adults. Antonia grinned to herself. She was being silly. There was nothing to worry about here, except where to go for tea now the café had closed down!

Chapter Two

Darkness was just beginning to lift when Antonia woke. Sleepily she opened her eyes, wondering why her room felt different. Then she remembered. She was staying at Hannah’s. She sat up as a familiar sensation nudged her fully awake. The dolphins were going to call. Hurriedly she swung her legs over the side of the bunk and climbed down the ladder. As she reached the floor, her dolphin charm began to vibrate and an unfamiliar voice sounded in her head.

Silver Dolphin, we need you.

Vision, I hear your call, Antonia silently answered, guessing it must be the dolphin leader. His voice was higher than Spirit’s and he spoke more quickly.

Antonia searched for her clothes, rummaging in the drawer that Hannah had emptied for her the night before. It was difficult to see clearly, but she didn’t switch the light on. Antonia’s silver dolphin charm fluttered against her neck. As it began to beat with a steady rhythm, the charm emitted a high-pitched whistle. Hannah’s charm whistled too, waking her. She jumped out of bed in a flash.

“You heard first?” she asked as she pulled on a pair of grey cargo trousers hanging from a chair.

Flushing with embarrassment, Antonia nodded. She didn’t want Hannah to think she was showing off, but Hannah grinned, happy to accept that Antonia was a more powerful Silver Dolphin than her. They finished dressing in silence and crept into the hall, meeting up there with Cai, who came out of his room carrying his shoes.

“Let’s go,” whispered Hannah, unbolting the front door.

“What about writing a note for your mum?” Antonia reminded her.

“No need,” said Hannah. “Mum’s used to me doing my own thing. And it’s Sunday. She never gets up this early!”

Hannah closed the front door of the flat and led the way along the corridor, down the stairs and across the lobby to the apartment’s communal front door. Even though only a Silver Dolphin could hear the call, the shrill whistle still made Antonia nervous. Wincing, she followed Hannah outside. The grass was heavy with dew and by the time they reached the gate at the end of the garden, Antonia’s trainers were soaked.

Hannah pelted down the public footpath, Antonia and Cai hot on her heels running side by side. Soon the ground began to level out, and as the trees thinned, Antonia caught the smell of the sea. She inhaled deeply, loving its sharp, salty tang and the mewling cries of the early morning gulls.

The path ended in a kissing gate. One by one the Silver Dolphins squeezed through it. Hannah didn’t wait for Antonia and Cai, but sprinted up the sand dunes rising before her.

Antonia followed, the soft sand shifting under her feet. Her calf muscles protested at the unfamiliar sensation of running uphill on moving sand. Spiky green marram grass grew everywhere and it whipped against Antonia’s trousers as if urging her on. Panting with exertion, she arrived at the top of the dunes and stood there for a moment, her eyes scanning the vast expanse of sand ahead.

“Wow!” exclaimed Cai.

“It’s huge,” Antonia agreed. The sand spread before them like an enormous yellow canvas, the sea a splash of blue on the horizon.

“Hurry,” urged Hannah, pulling off her shoes and socks.

Antonia and Cai did the same, leaving their shoes hidden in a clump of marram grass. Antonia’s bare toes found it hard to grip on to the powdery dunes and she kept sliding backwards. At the bottom the sand was much firmer. Antonia pounded across the beach with Cai, catching up with Hannah and running alongside her as she raced towards the flat sea. The water was icy cold. Gritting her teeth, Antonia braced herself and dived in.

Silver Dolphin, we need you.

I’m on my way.

The shock of the freezing water made Antonia gasp out loud, but seconds later her legs melded together like a dolphin’s tail and she stopped noticing the cold. She was a Silver Dolphin! Antonia whistled for joy as her body arched in and out of the steely-grey sea.

“Over there,” panted Hannah after they’d been swimming for ages.

Antonia had felt the dolphins’ vibrations long before she spotted their four silver heads anxiously bobbing in the water. Hannah swam towards the largest, a proud-looking common dolphin whose wise eyes were lined with stripes that ran to his mouth.

“Welcome, Silver Dolphins. Thank you for answering my call,” clicked Vision. After quickly greeting everyone by rubbing noses, he clicked, “Follow me.”

Chapter Three

Vision led the Silver Dolphins to a large rock rising from the sea like a jagged mountain. An animal was floundering around on top and, as the Silver Dolphins came closer, Antonia saw it was a grey seal. She swam faster, reaching the rock ahead of Cai and Hannah.

It was a struggle to clamber out of the water and up the rock’s barnacle-encrusted side. Antonia’s foot slipped on a strand of wet seaweed and she started to fall backwards. Cai saved her by putting his hand on her back and pushing her up again. Gratefully Antonia regained her balance on the rock and held out her hand to help Cai then Hannah up too. There wasn’t much room and the seal eyed them warily, her whiskery nose quivering with alarm.

“Steady,” crooned Antonia, holding out her hands palms upwards to show the seal she meant no harm.

The seal didn’t move, but her grey-tan sides heaved fearfully as she breathed in and out.

“You’re a big girl.” Antonia spoke in a low, calm voice as she took a step closer. The seal had an enormous belly and Antonia guessed she was carrying a pup.

“Oh!” Antonia’s breath caught in her throat as she spotted a long scratch on the seal’s flipper. The seal had been lucky. Something sharp had done that and it could have caused a much nastier injury.

“Here,” said Hannah, pulling a small plastic pack of tissues from her pocket.

“Thanks.” Antonia took them and cleaned the dirt from around the scratch. The seal flinched, but Cai and Hannah reassured her with calm words.

“There,” said Antonia, putting the tissues in her pocket.

The seal seemed in no hurry to leave the rock. She nudged each of the Silver Dolphins, her whiskery nose tickling them and making them giggle.

“Another job done,” said Hannah with a grin.

“Not quite. We don’t know what injured the seal. It had to be something caused by humans or pollution or we wouldn’t have been called to help.” Antonia peered into the sea as if the answer might be obvious.

“You’re right,” said Cai. “We’d better have a look around.”

One at a time they lowered themselves from the rock and into the sea. Antonia was last, holding back to say goodbye to her new friend. When she finally splashed into the water, Vision had been joined by the three dolphins Antonia had seen earlier. Hannah swam among the dolphins as she introduced them.

“This is Dancer, Vision’s wife.” Hannah pointed to a pretty dolphin with a rich gold blaze and dreamy eyes. Dancer bobbed forward and greeted the Silver Dolphins by patting their heads with her flipper.

“This is Lulu, Vision and Dream’s daughter,” Hannah continued.

Clicking a laugh, Lulu rolled in the water, flashing her silver belly at them. Then, righting herself, she squeaked, “And this is Rolly, my best friend.”

“And that’s Lulu’s friend Rolly,” said Hannah, laughing.

“Hi, Silver Dolphins,” clicked Rolly, smacking the water with his fin.

“Can we play with the Silver Dolphins?” asked Lulu.

“We haven’t finished yet,” said Antonia. “We have to find out what scratched the seal’s flipper before another animal gets hurt.”

“We’ll help. We’re good at looking for things, aren’t we, Rolly?” clicked Lulu immediately. Rolly nodded enthusiastically.

“Calm down, Lulu,” clicked Vision. “You can help the Silver Dolphins, but please be careful. If you find something that shouldn’t be in the sea, don’t touch it. Call the Silver Dolphins to deal with it.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Lulu splashed her delight. “Come on, Silver Dolphins – let’s go!”

Antonia, Cai and Hannah dived down to the seabed where they spread out and began searching for the object that had injured the seal. The water was murky and for a long while no one spoke as they concentrated on the task. Cai found a length of fishing twine which he coiled up and put in his pocket. Hannah rescued a small crab from inside a discarded crisp packet and Antonia found a wad of newspaper that disintegrated as she picked it up.

“None of this injured the seal.” Feeling frustrated, Antonia stuffed the bits of newspaper inside the crisp packet then shoved it into her pocket.

“We’ve been looking for ages and there’s nothing here. Can we play now?” asked Lulu.

Antonia had one last look around. “OK, let’s play Sprat.”

“Bubbly!” clicked Lulu. “I’ll be it. I’ll give you a three waves’ head start.”

“I’m gone!” With a flick of his tail, Rolly swam away quickly, followed by Cai and Hannah. Antonia hesitated. If only she could find what had injured the seal, she would feel much happier. But she wanted to play Sprat with Lulu and Rolly too and they had searched the seabed for ages.

“Coming to get you,” clicked Lulu.

Promising herself she’d have another look around before she went home, Antonia ducked behind a rock, then changing direction, swam away. Lulu wasn’t that easily fooled. She hared after Antonia, tagging her with a flipper.

“Sprat, you’re it,” she whistled then darted away before Antonia could tag her back.

Antonia cruised in the water. She couldn’t see anyone, but she could sense vibrations to her left. Quietly she swam towards the movement, startling Rolly, who was hiding in a bed of seaweed.

“Tag,” clicked Antonia, stretching out her hand, but Rolly was too quick for her and swam away before she could touch him. Antonia gave chase, churning up the sea as she went after him.

The gap was closing when Rolly turned a somersault and veered off to the right. It was a neat move and it was a few seconds before Antonia realised what had happened. By the time she’d changed direction again, Rolly had disappeared. The water was even cloudier here and Antonia slowed as she navigated her way along the seabed. Something large loomed before her. Cautiously Antonia swam towards it until she was close enough to see a large metal shape.

“Truce!” she clicked excitedly. “I’ve found what injured the seal.”

Chapter Four

Immediately Cai and Lulu swam up from behind a rock. Hannah appeared from the other direction. “

What is it?” asked Lulu curiously.

“It’s a metal sign,” said Hannah. “People stand these outside shops to show what’s inside. This one’s advertising coffee. No wonder the seal was hurt. It looks like she got her flipper caught in the bit that swings.”

“How did it get here?” Antonia wondered aloud.

“Someone probably threw it into the sea for a joke. The big question is – how are we going to get it out?” asked Cai, running a hand through his dark curly hair.

“With great care,” said Antonia, gingerly holding the sign’s metal middle so that it couldn’t swing shut and trap her fingers. “Keep back, Lulu and Rolly.”

Lulu had been edging closer, but moved away as the Silver Dolphins closed in and prepared to move the sign.

“Ready?” asked Cai. “Lift.”

Grunting with effort, Antonia, Cai and Hannah swam, lifting the sign up to the surface. It was heavy and awkward to hold. They swam slowly to avoid injuring themselves. Once they surfaced, they laid the sign flat then trod water to get their breath back.

“Phew! It’s heavy,” Antonia panted.

Hannah was scanning the coastline with her piercing grey eyes. At last she said, “We’re near the café we went to last night. If you look up, you can see where the trees have been cut down. And to the right is the beach with the seal colony. I think this sign came from that café. There used to be one exactly the same outside it.”

“You’re right,” said Cai excitedly. “I can see the back of the café from here.”

“I wonder…Do you think the sign might have fallen off the cliff? Only the ground wasn’t very safe up there,” suggested Antonia.

“It might have,” said Hannah. “I don’t suppose we’ll ever know. The important thing is not to leave it here to hurt anyone else.”

“Does that mean you have to go home now? That’s the shortest game of Sprat ever,” grumbled Lulu.

“We’ll have a longer game next time,” Hannah promised her.

It was a slow swim back to the beach. Antonia’s fingers ached from keeping them clamped round the sign’s metal middle. Once she let go and nearly trapped her fingers. Lulu and Rolly swam alongside, clicking encouragement. When the beach came in sight, they said goodbye, but without the usual rubbing of noses.

“We won’t come any closer,” said Lulu warily. “See you soon, Silver Dolphins. Dad’s going to be very pleased when we tell him you’ve made the sea safe for us again.”

“Bye, Lulu, bye, Rolly,” everyone clicked back.

They trod water, watching the two dolphins swim away, their bodies a silver blur as they raced back to their pod.

“Better get this ashore,” said Antonia when the dolphins were tiny specks on the horizon.

As the water grew shallower, the sign became heavier and more cumbersome to move. They paddled through the surf and up the sand, water pouring from their clothes until they were totally dry with only their hair feeling slightly damp.