Cephalox the Cyber Squid Read online

  Two torpedoes streaked through the water. There was a twin explosion of yellow and orange flames, spreading like underwater clouds.

  Max pumped his fist in the air. “Got you!” he shouted out.

  The creature stopped. Was it dead?

  No — in fact, it had turned around and was swimming toward him. Max got closer and closer, still hurtling along at full speed. He couldn’t see his dad. Perhaps he’d broken free and swum up to the surface….

  The creature was huge, even bigger than he’d thought. A giant squid with eyes the size of dinner plates. Its mantle — the tall, cone-shaped body above its head and tentacles — had a kind of harness over it. The harness was made of silver metal, and the straps plugged directly into its black body. Some sort of Robobeast, Max thought. Half animal, half machine. Which meant someone must be controlling it. But who?

  Just then, he spotted a glass bubble on top of the harness, and inside it — Max gasped with relief — were his dad and Rivet.

  So the squid — or whoever was controlling it — wanted his dad alive. It hadn’t attacked the city randomly. His dad had been kidnapped!

  Max’s dad was gesturing at him, telling him to turn back. Easier said than done, Max thought as he hit the brakes — but still the creature drew closer.

  Something crashed with brutal force against the side of the sub.

  Max was thrown from his seat. The beam of the sub’s searchlight swayed through the dark water, picking out the shape of a coiling black tentacle. That must be what just hit me, Max realized. The sub was still tumbling over and over from the impact. Max rolled around inside, desperately trying to grab the throttle and regain control.

  His head crashed into the Plexiglas dome.

  Everything went darker still….

  There was a trickling sound. Freezing cold water swirled around Max’s legs. He opened his eyes and fumbled for the control panel. He pushed buttons and the thrust lever, but nothing happened.

  No sound, no light.

  The engine was dead and the hull was cracked.

  His heart was thumping. He’d have to open the dome and swim for it. He had no idea how deep he was. But it’s my only chance! he thought.

  He took a deep breath and pulled at the catch. The dome didn’t move.

  He tugged harder.

  It was stuck fast. Black water seeped into the cockpit.

  THE WATER WAS UP TO MAX’S KNEES AND STILL rising. Soon it would reach his waist. Then his chest. Then his face.

  I’m going to die down here, he thought.

  He hammered on the dome with all his strength, but the Plexiglas held firm.

  Then he saw something pale looming through the dark water outside the sub. A long, silvery spike. It must be the squid creature, with one of its weird robotic attachments. Any second now it would smash the glass and finish him off….

  There was a crash. The sub rocked. The silver spike thrust through the broken Plexiglas. More water surged in. Then the spike withdrew and the water poured in faster. Max forced his way against the torrent to the opening. If he could just squeeze through the gap …

  The pressure pushed him back. He took one last deep breath, and then the water was over his head.

  He clamped his mouth shut. He struggled forward, feeling the pressure in his lungs build. Something gripped his arms, but it wasn’t the squid’s tentacle — it was a pair of hands, pulling him through the hole. The broken Plexiglas scraped his sides — and then he was through.

  The squid, with its huge tentacles and spikes, was nowhere to be seen. In the dim underwater light, he made out the face of his rescuer. It was the Merryn girl, and next to her was a large silver swordfish.

  She smiled at him.

  Max couldn’t smile back. He’d been saved from a metal coffin, only to swap it for a watery one. The pressure of the ocean squeezed him on every side. His lungs felt as though they were bursting.

  He thrashed his limbs, rising upward. He looked to where he thought the surface was but saw nothing, only endless water. His cheeks puffed with the effort to hold in air. He let some of it out slowly, but it only made him want to breathe in more.

  He knew he had no chance. He was too deep; he’d never make it to the surface. Soon he’d no longer be able to hold his breath. The water would swirl into his lungs and he’d die here, at the bottom of the sea. Just like my mother, he thought.

  The Merryn girl rose up beside him, reached out, and put her hands on his neck. Warmth seemed to flow from her fingers. Then the warmth turned to pain. What was happening? It got worse and worse, until he felt as if his throat was being ripped open. Was she trying to kill him?

  He struggled in panic, trying to push her off. His mouth opened and water rushed in.

  That was it. He was going to die.

  Then he realized something. The water was cool and sweet. He sucked it down into his lungs. Nothing had ever tasted so good.

  He was breathing underwater!

  He put his hands to his neck and found two soft, gill-like openings where the Merryn girl had touched him. His eyes widened in astonishment.

  The girl smiled.

  There was something else strange. Max found he could see more clearly. The water seemed lighter and thinner. He made out the shapes of underwater plants, rock formations, and schools of fish in the distance, which had been invisible before. And he didn’t feel as if the ocean was crushing him anymore.

  Is this what it’s like to be a Merryn? he wondered.

  “I’m Lia,” said the girl. “And this is Spike.” She patted the swordfish on the back and it nuzzled against her.

  “Hi, I’m Max.” He clapped his hand to his mouth in shock. He was speaking the same strange language of sighs and whistles he’d heard the girl use when he first met her — but now it made sense, as if he was born to speak it.

  “What have you done to me?”

  “Saved your life,” said Lia. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

  “Oh — don’t think I’m not grateful — I am. But — you’ve turned me into a Merryn?”

  The girl laughed. “Not exactly — but I’ve given you some Merryn powers. You can breathe underwater and speak our language, and your senses are much stronger. Come on — we need to get away from here. The cyber squid may come back.”

  In one graceful movement, she slipped onto Spike’s back. Max clambered on behind her.

  “Hold tight,” Lia said. “Spike — let’s go!”

  Max put his arms around the Merryn’s waist. He was jerked backward as the swordfish shot off through the water, but he managed to hold on.

  They raced above underwater forests of gently waving seaweed, and hills and valleys of rock. Max saw giant crabs scuttling over the seabed. Undersea creatures loomed up — jellyfish, an octopus, a school of dolphins — but Spike nimbly swerved around them.

  “Where are we going?” Max asked.

  “You’ll see,” Lia said over her shoulder.

  “I need to find my dad,” Max said. The crazy things that had happened in the last few moments had driven his father from his mind. Now it all came flooding back. Was his dad gone for good? “We have to do something! That creature … or whatever it is … has got my dad and my dogbot, too!”

  “It’s not the squid who wants your father. It’s the Professor, who’s controlling the squid. I tried to warn you back at the city — but you wouldn’t listen.”

  “I didn’t understand you then!”

  “You Breathers don’t try to understand — that’s your whole problem!”

  “I’m trying now. What is that creature? And who is the Professor?”

  “I’ll explain everything when we arrive.”

  “Arrive where?”

  The seabed suddenly fell away. A steep valley sloped down, leading way, way deeper than the ocean ridge Aquora was built on. The swordfish dove. The water grew darker.

  Far below, Max saw a faint yellow glimmer. He watched it grow bigger and brighter, until it became a vas
t undersea city of golden-glinting rock rushing up toward them. There were towers, spires, domes, bridges, courtyards, squares, gardens. A city as big as Aquora, and far more beautiful, at the bottom of the sea.

  Max gasped in amazement. The water was dark, but the city emitted a glow of its own — a warm, neon-red and yellow glow that spilled from the many windows. The rock sparkled. Orange, pink, and scarlet corals and seashells decorated the walls in intricate patterns.

  “This is — amazing!” he said.

  Lia turned around and smiled at him. “It’s our home,” she said. “Sumara!”

  SO THIS WAS THE FABLED CITY HIS MOTHER HAD set out to find, years before. She was right all along, Max thought. If only she could have lived to see this. A painful lump grew in his throat.

  They descended farther into the city. There were thousands of Merryn. Max gazed in fascination. Some Merryn swam purposefully, carrying large clamshells under their arms. Max saw a Merryn man guiding a school of puffer fish along, just like farmers led flocks of sheep on the cultivated areas of Aquora. There were shops selling trays of different-colored seaweeds. They passed a playground, where Merryn children chased each other through a maze of coral. They stopped and stared as he and Lia rode past.

  The buildings had arched doorways at every level, from the seabed to the highest tower. Of course, Aquora was built on many levels, too, but there you had to wait for the elevators or climb up long staircases to get to where you wanted. Here, the Merryn just swam up or down as they pleased. It was like flying underwater, Max thought.

  Lia placed her hands on Spike’s neck and guided him down to a wide, spacious square in the heart of the city. There were grand buildings on every side, and in the center a tall statue of one of the strangest creatures Max had ever seen. It stood on two flippers, had a body like a giant dolphin, and a long, swanlike neck. Its head was small and ended in a sharp beak.

  “This is where we get off,” said Lia.

  Max slid off the swordfish’s back, noticing that the Merryn people floating about the square were staring at him. Some stood close together and muttered. Max knew they were talking about him, and he could tell from their expressions that their conversation wasn’t polite.

  “They don’t seem to like me much,” he said to Lia.

  “Ignore them.”

  Lia gave Spike a handful of seaweed she’d pulled from a pocket. She patted him on the head. “Go and play, Spike.”

  Spike flicked his fins and shot away. Soon he was swimming happily with a group of swordfish on the far side of the square.

  “This way,” Lia said.

  She led Max across the square to an avenue lined with plants, waving lazily in the current. They swam along it, just above the ground.

  “That was Thallos Square back there,” Lia said. “The oldest part of the city. This is Treaty Avenue — it was built after the peace treaty with the humans.”

  “What treaty?”

  Lia looked at him oddly. “Don’t they teach you any history in your schools?”

  “Yes, about Aquora.”

  “Ah, but that’s only half the story!” Lia said. They passed under a huge arch of smooth white rock. “This is the Arch of Peace,” Lia said. “It was built after the last great battle with the humans. The seas were red with blood. After that battle, both sides agreed to stop fighting.”

  “Why isn’t that in our history books, then?” Max demanded. The talk of war between the Merryn and the humans made him uneasy.

  Lia gave a wry smile. “Perhaps they don’t want you to know.”

  Max frowned. Could it be true? Could there really be a whole history of his people that he didn’t know about?

  “How long ago was this?” he asked.

  “Thousands of years. After the war, it was agreed that the Merryn should keep the underwater realm, and the humans should stay above the sea.”

  “So I’m the first human to come here since the war? No wonder your people stared at me!”

  “Not quite the first,” Lia said. “There was the Professor.”

  “Will you tell me who he is now?”

  “He is the enemy of the Merryn,” Lia said. “He found his way here once — but since then, we use all our skills to conceal this place. Here, at the bottom of the sea, our powers are at their strongest. We are masters of the ocean, thanks to our aqua powers. The Professor will never find Sumara again without a Merryn guide — and you can be sure no Merryn would guide him!”

  That’s all very well, Max thought, but if that squid really is controlled by the Professor, I need to find him, so I can rescue my dad. He was about to ask Lia how he could do that when she said, “Here we are.”

  The avenue rose up in a slope which led to a palace. It looked as if it had grown out of the ocean floor, a huge structure of towers and spires carved out of one enormous piece of coral.

  “What is this?” Max asked.

  “The royal palace,” Lia said in a tone of surprise, as if he ought to have known that.

  Two guards stood at the palace door. They bowed when they saw Lia and lowered their spears to let her and Max pass.

  They went into a chamber hung with pictures of Merryn kings and queens riding dolphins.

  “Come and meet my father,” Lia said. “King Salinus. He’ll look after you. Just remember to call him ‘Your Majesty.’”

  Max’s heart leaped. Her father was the king of Sumara! Surely he would be able to help Max track down the Professor and find his father. And Rivet. Max hadn’t forgotten Rivet.

  Lia brushed aside a curtain of dangling seaweed, and Max followed her into a lofty hall. King Salinus sat on a throne carved from white bone, on a rocky mound at the end of the hall. Guards with spears stood in line along the walls. Two of them, taller than the rest, stood on either side of the throne. A number of Merryn in rich robes — courtiers, Max guessed — walked around the hall. They were talking, but a hush descended as Max and Lia entered.

  In the center of the hall was a stone platform. It looked as if a statue or monument should have been standing on it. But it was empty.

  The king looked older than Max had imagined Lia’s father would be. His eyes were sunken, and he wore a crown. As Max drew nearer, the king sat upright, the color draining from his face.

  “Father — it’s all right,” Lia began.

  “Guards!” The king clapped his webbed hands.

  The two tall guards shot forward. Within seconds, the tips of their spears were pressed hard against Max’s throat.

  FATHER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

  “You have given this Breather the Merryn touch!” the king said angrily. “Don’t you know what could come of that? Turning him half Merryn? Have you forgotten the Professor?”

  “I had to do it, to save his life!” Lia argued.

  “The life of a Breather is worthless,” the king said. This drew a murmur of agreement from the courtiers. “Not only that, you have been foolish enough to bring him here — to Sumara — to the palace itself!”

  “Your Majesty —” Max began.

  “Silence, Breather!” the king commanded. The spears at Max’s neck pressed a little harder.

  “Just because the Professor is evil, it doesn’t mean all humans are evil,” Lia said.

  “Enough,” King Salinus said. “Guards! Take the Breather to the prison cells. And — and the princess. Lock them both up.”

  There was a buzz of noise from the courtiers.

  “Father, how can —”

  “You have endangered the safety of the Merryn. You must be punished, as any Merryn would be punished.” But Max noticed that he didn’t look at his daughter as he spoke.

  “Your Majesty, don’t blame Lia —” Max began. The guards seized his arms and dragged him out of the hall, with Lia alongside him.

  They were taken through another seaweed curtain at the side of the hall and down a long, dark corridor. The corridor went steeply downhill, growing colder and colder. Soon Max guessed they were beneath the seab
ed. The guards swam with them through a maze of tunnels. The rocky walls were covered in algae, which gave off a dim green glow.

  Finally, they arrived at a small prison cell, cut into the rock. The guards pushed them inside and locked the barred door with a key of carved stone. Max and Lia were left alone in the cell, which had nothing in it but a couple of boulders to sit on. The water was freezing. Max shivered. Lia drifted over to a boulder and sat down with her head in her hands.

  “I — I’m sorry,” Max said.

  “What for? It’s not your fault, it’s my stupid dad.”

  Max thought of his own dad, kidnapped and locked away somewhere — perhaps in a cell just like this one — by the Professor.

  “So come on,” he said, “tell me more about the Professor. Your father said he was given the Merryn touch — is he human, then?”

  “Yes. He is an evil, clever man, who makes many strange and powerful machines.”

  “You mean — he’s a scientist?”

  Lia shook her head. “Scientists should study nature to understand it. The Professor does not wish to understand nature, but to conquer it. Like the giant squid he has turned into a cyborg. And it is us he wishes to conquer next. He has captured many Merryn and forces them to toil like slaves for him — we have heard from the few who have escaped — somewhere in the ocean, they are building weapons which will be used to destroy Sumara!”

  It’s not only Merryn he’s captured, Max thought. He began to understand why the Professor had taken his father. As Chief Defense Engineer of Aquora, Max’s dad was an expert in weapons systems, missile launchers, force fields … he’d be very useful indeed to the Professor. Max felt a surge of anger at his dad’s skills being put to such evil use.

  “But I thought you said Sumara was safe,” he said. “You told me the Professor would never find it again, because your aqua powers had been hiding it from him.”

  Lia sighed. “Well … not exactly. We do still have our aqua powers, but they are not as strong as they were. Our strength comes from the Skull of Thallos — and the Professor stole it with one of his devices. I told you he had found our city once. He used some sort of transporter to steal the source of our abilities — some of our people saw him and reported back. Without the skull, our aqua powers are much weaker than they were. Just look at my father — he looks like an old man, but before the skull was stolen, he was strong and full of energy.”