7
Surfman and Diana were flying patrol out over the Aleutian Islands with Terry and Tosaki. The sky was clear, and the water below bright blue. They soared above and dove below gliding above the water, searching for Enaj. Terry loved to watch Diana and Surfman in the skies. They were flawless in flight and fierce in battle.
“There is nothing here Surfman,” she said petulantly, “why do they send us out every day?” Diana was bored, a dangerous thing in itself. “Perhaps we should go further down, below the Aleutian peninsula?”
“No,” Surfman said forcefully, “you heard Wolf, only go in this area, do not go below.” Surfman did not want to get into any trouble this close to battle. “We will do as we are told this time Diana,” he said forcefully.
“Oh, you are no fun! I am bored with all this,” she turned to Terry, “We are accomplishing nothing here.”
Terry laughed at her, “Diana, we can’t have a battle every day. Wolf said we must stay here in this area. Enaj will surface here somewhere when he is ready.” Remembering what Kyra had told her, Terry used all her wiles to keep Diana from taking off.
A faint darkening of the water below caught Surfman’s eye. The darkness was very deep, and it was moving along thru the Bering Straits. He remained above but continued to follow it to make sure that his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.
“Surfman, look below,” cautioned Diana suddenly, “there is something down there moving below the water. Terry,” she called to her, “look below,” she said pointing.
“I know, I just spotted it myself. It’s very deep, but it casts a large dark shadow nonetheless. We should follow for a bit and see if it is Enaj.” Terry flew along keeping tabs on the dark shape. “Ah, it seems to be getting bigger,” alarm showed in Terry’s voice. “Perhaps we should call to Wolf.”
“No, not yet; I think it is surfacing, that’s why it is getting larger.” Diana observed. They continued to watch from high above.
The thing, or whatever it was, was gigantic in size. As it got nearer to the surface it began to take on a shape. Diana and Terry watched in fascination as the shape became clearer. It had two huge flippers, or wings, extended from its body; much like a dragon’s wings. There was a long tail that appeared to be propelling it thru the water. There was a long graceful neck and a huge head. It appeared to be greenish blue in color and seemed to glow in the water. Diana was curious about the strange creature.
“Let us go below and take a better look,” Diana said curiously.
“No, I will not risk your life before we know what it is,” replied a cautious Surfman.
Enaj’s head surfaced in the Chukchi Sea, its huge body now changed to deal with the cold ocean it swam in. It raised its massive head and opened its mouth. A small child scampered out and climbed up the side of its large head and sat on the ridge just above its eyes.
Diana squealed with delight. “Oh no,” exclaimed Surfman knowing full well that that squeal meant trouble.
“We must get closer Surfman,” Diana was enthralled with the size of the creature.
“No Diana,” Terry said sternly, “Wolf said to just observe and report back to him.”
“We have observed, you go back and tell Wolf Enaj has surfaced. I will stay here.” Diana said defiantly.
Come Tosaki, we must hurry and tell Wolf before Diana does something crazy, Terry told her dragon as they raced for the island.
Diana should not be left alone with the large beast for long, Tosaki commented. There is no telling what she might do.
“Please, Surfman, just a quick pass, and then we will go,” Diana begged.
“Oh all right,” Surfman relented, “but a very quick pass.”
He banked right and flew below, and as they got closer they saw the child stand up and wave. Diana waved back, and before he could stop her, she dove off of Surfman and into the water below.
“Diana, no!” screamed Surfman in horror.
He circled back and looked below, searching for her. Diana surfaced and swam towards the colossal creature. As she got closer a giant wing/fin came up under her and raised her up to the child waiting above. Diana stepped off the wing and went to the child dripping water and smiling broadly.
“Hello! I am Diana of the Blue Dragons, you and your friend are wonderful!” She said excitedly. The child smiled and laughed at her childlike way and greeted her warmly.
“Enaj bids you welcome,” she said smiling. From below they heard a deep rumble, “see he greets you!”
Diana squealed again in delight.
“We have been waiting for you. Flying above is Surfman, he is worried about me.” She turned and waved at Surfman to reassure him.
“Oh good Lord,” he said in despair, “what have you done now Diana?”
Enaj surfaced his long back out of the water and the child said, “Tell your friend he may land and pick you up. We know how to get to the island from here. Please tell T’kai and B’nal we will surface in the deep lagoon.”
Diana turned around and waved to Surfman, beckoning him to land. He did so after a bit of hesitation. She climbed on his back and they were soon off, waving goodbye to the child as they sped away.
“They have a message for T’kai and B’nal. We must hurry, Surfman.”
They raced for the island. When they landed Diana jumped off Surfman and ran to a stern-faced Wolf and John. She quickly gave them the message. Wolf immediately flew over the inlet to the lagoon and relayed it to T’kai. T’kai and B’nal swam to the large lagoon where the ship was docked and warned Ian of the arrival. The ship was moved from the center of the large lake and placed to the side of the mouth of the large ice cavern.
Ian stood on the deck of the Glacier Queen and watched. Wolf inquired if he could land on the large deck to observe and Ian gave him permission gladly. Ian and Big John had become fast friends in the previous weeks; and Ian had to admit that he liked Wolf’s way of thinking.
“So how big is this Enaj-thing supposed to be?” Ian asked curiously.
“Very big,” said Wolf dryly.
Ian looked at John questioningly, with raised eyebrows. Big John laughed and said,
“Enaj is supposed to be the biggest thing on this planet; makes S’ana look small by comparison.”
“And this creature we fight is bigger than him?” John nodded and Ian whistled, “Now that I want to see!”
Suddenly the ship lurched backwards and began to rock back and forth as thousands of gallons of water were displaced by the rising creature; a great churning began in the center of the lake. Ian’s face drained of color as he and John held onto the railing of the great ship as she was tossed about.
They could hear Wolf laughing behind them. “Enaj rises!” he shouted loudly.
A large head broke the surface slowly, and Ian almost fainted. It was the size of the Glacier Queen. He watched in stunned awe as it opened its mouth and a small child stepped out and climbed to the ridge above its eyes. The child stood and looked about and then bent and gave a command. The rest of the body of the large beast slowly came to the surface.
“Good God Almighty!” exclaimed Ian incredulously. “Is… is it a dragon?”
“It will be when we are done with the Krakin,” said Wolf. “It will change when it is finished here and will go with us to free the lands of the East from the black menace.”
Enaj reared back its head and a loud rumbling could be both heard and felt throughout the area. The dragons lined up along the beach all reared back their heads, roared and shot a flame into the air.
The Dolphins and Orcas, with their riders on their backs came forward and approached the large behemoth. Enaj lowered his head and the child stood and greeted them all.
“Enaj thanks you for your warm welcome,” she said in a singsong voice smiling, “We are honored to join you in your hunt. The deadly Krakin now swims in the depths of the Indian Ocean.” Enaj rumbled long and the child translated. “Enaj asks if S’ana will be joining us in the hunt.”
T’kai swam to the large beast and Enaj lowered his head allowing the child to come forward. She knelt and bowed, Greetings to the great T’kai, we are honored.
Little one, you and Enaj do us the great honor. You may tell your friend that S’ana had found a rider and she will join in the hunt. T’kai clicked several times and continued, my soldiers are ready, and the rest of the sea is prepared. The Orcas have over three hundred sharks on the beast’s trail. They keep it moving and herd it to the place of our choosing. We have kept it from feeding so it would not grow; it is not happy. We are prepared to begin immediately.
The child smiled, reached out and gently touched T’kai’s head with her own; you have done very well Prince of the Seas. Enaj believes that together we will be able to destroy it easily. A good nights rest and we will begin the hunt tomorrow morning.