Page 27 of Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm

“What is it doing?” Lucy wondered as the mako circled around again, passing in front of the camera. The chills on

the back of Shinji’s spine intensified; the shark was definitely looking at him as it went by. He didn’t know how he knew this, but he did.

“It’s a shark,” Roux said again. “It’s probably thinking how it’s going to eat the drone. Hope you guys have insurance on that thing.”

“It’s not going to eat the drone,” Oliver said just as the shark bumped its pointed nose against the glass. It was more curious than aggressive, but it did knock the drone back and cause Lucy to wrench at the controls to keep it level. “Okay, maybe I was wrong,” Oliver admitted. “Lucy, get the drone out of there. The last thing we need is for an expensive piece of equipment to end up in shark poop.”

Follow, something whispered in Shinji’s ear.

Shinji jerked up. The others, gazing intently at the screen as Lucy struggled with the drone, didn’t seem to notice. The mako wheeled around, came right at the drone, and smacked it with its nose again, sending it tumbling through the water.

“Darn it,” Lucy muttered, struggling to keep the drone upright. “Why does it keep doing that? It’s like it’s trying to stop me from leaving.”

The shark poked the drone with its nose once more.Follow, insisted the voice as Shinji realized he wasn’t hearing the voice in his ears; it was in his head. And he was pretty certain he knew whose voice it was.

He bit his lip. Should he say something? If he admitted he was hearing voices, especiallysharkvoices, in his head,

would his friends believe him? They all knew he had the power of a guardian inside him. Maybe talking to sharks was a perfectly normal thing for guardians?

Not for the first time, he wished the Coatl had given him clearer instructions.

Follow, the shark insisted again.Now.

Shinji sighed. “Hey, guys? I think the shark is trying to tell me something.”

Silence fell as they all turned to stare at him. For a moment, no one said anything. Shinji could sense their disbelief along with skepticism and a wary amazement.

Then Roux snickered. “Is it telling you to bring it a can opener?”

“The shark is talking to you?” Phoebe’s voice overrode Roux’s, an eager look on her face as she peered down at Shinji. “How marvelous! Oh, this is so exciting. The guardian’s power must be manifesting as we speak. How is it talking to you? Is it a different language that you are hearing, or is it more telepathic? Perhaps sharks use sonar to communicate like dolphins, though that’s never been confirmed. Also, how would you be able to hear sonar, Shinji? Is that a guardian power we don’t know of?”

“I don’t know.” He glanced back at the screen, watching as the shark circled the drone again, eyeing him the whole time as it passed. “I just know it’s talking to me. It wants us to follow it.”

“Follow it?” Lucy echoed, frowning. “Where?”

“I don’t know,” Shinji repeated with a helpless shrug. “I guess we have to follow it to find out.”

Oliver sighed and ran a hand down his face. “As usual, I have no idea what magical mumbo jumbo is happening right now, but I guess we should do what the shark wants.” He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “Well, that’s something I never thought I would say.”

The shark bumped the drone again, a bit more gently this time, though the voice in Shinji’s brain echoed loud and clear.Follow. Follow now.

“All right!” Shinji said aloud. “We’re following. Lead on.”

He didn’t know if the shark would hear him, but instantly, it wheeled around and glided toward the back of the room. Reaching the far wall, it turned and swam back a bit, as if waiting for them. Shinji looked at Lucy, who raised her eyebrows.

“Okay,” she muttered, grasping the controls again. “Following a shark into a dark, abandoned shipwreck because it told us to. This is normal.”

The drone moved forward. The shark waited until it was almost upon it, then spun and glided through a doorway, vanishing into the shadows.

They trailed the shark through the wreck of the ship. Or rather, Lucy maneuvered the drone through the wreck while theBeetlestayed put. The drone dodged beams and schools of fish, following the shark as it flowed gracefully through the water. It led them up a flooded stairway, down

a tight corridor, and into a chamber that looked like it had once been the captain’s quarters. Gliding to the far wall, it began swimming back and forth in front of a rotted, broken cabinet. Two heavy, waterlogged doors had been wrenched off and were lying on the ground, and the shelves inside were empty.

“What is that?” Phoebe wondered. “There’s nothing inside. Why did the shark lead us here?”

“Therewassomething there,” Roux said, and pointed at the screen. “Look, the drawers around it have all been tossed…opened and rifled through. Your Hightower people have already searched the place.”

“They’re notmyHightower people,” Lucy said through clenched teeth.

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