Suddenly the window burst open. Rio wasn’t sure if the latch hadn’t been shut properly or if it was just the wind sweeping in off the ocean, delivering messages from far out to sea and howling in his face. But it wasn’t the normal sea wind that Rio heard most nights. This was different.

Somewhere, wrapped up in the breeze and whispering something in his ear, he could have sworn he heard his mother’s voice calling for him to save her.

He took a short, sharp breath. It was his imagination. That was all. The wind couldn’t speak. Rio banged the window closed, snapped shut the blinds, and climbed back into bed.

But it was too late.

The wind bumped and shuddered against the house, making the shutters rattle and the windows scream as the air squeezed its way through. Lying under the covers, Rio could almost feel that the house was shaking, the very foundations shifting somehow.

He rolled over onto his side and found himself looking square in the eye of White Beak. She was staring at Rio. Not just looking at him. But pleading with him.

Whether it was because it was the middle of the night and Rio was tired, or because the wind was so powerful it could pass through walls, or whether it really was his mom talking to him, it was as if the wind and the picture of White Beak merged into one. So it was no longer the wind who was speaking, but White Beak herself.

And White Beak was telling Rio that it wasn’t too late.

29

The Plan

“You want to do what?”

Even though they were standing at the end of the pier with no one else in sight, Rio grabbed Marina’s arm and pulled her closer.

“I want to go and look for White Beak,” he repeated. “But I need your help.”

Marina narrowed her eyes and gazed at him so hard, he almost wanted to take the words back. But then he remembered the feeling of being in the water with the whale—how she had gently nudged him toward the safety of the boat. He straightened his spine.

“And how do you think we can find her?”

“You said no one had seen White Beak since she passed Los Angeles.”

“That’s right. And?”

“And that means we have a search area—from Los Angeles to the lagoons.”

Marina looked carefully at him and then burst into peals of laughter. Which wasn’t quite the reaction he’d been hoping for. “Are you even thinking straight? Do you know how HUGE an area that actually is? It’s nearly a thousand miles! You heard my dad. She could be anywhere!”

“I agree it’s a large area,” Rio answered, determined not to be put off. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.”

“We don’t even know for sure White Beak is in danger,” she replied. “Even if she has gone off course, she’ll probably redirect herself. Dad says it’s best to leave nature to it rather than interfere.”