Stolen Treasures by Summer Waters Read Free Book Online

net and the dolphin were heavy and Antonia wished she was stronger, when suddenly she realised more help had arrived.
    “Cai!” she gasped. “Thank goodness.”
    Cai caught hold of a piece of the net, adding his force with everyone else as they pulled upwards. Gradually, Topper began to calm down. Glancing across, Antonia realised it wasn’t a good sign. The baby dolphin’s eyes were glazed and his nose had turned a strange colour.
    “Hurry,” clicked Antonia, pulling the net with a strength she never realised she had.
    At last they surfaced. Topper lay very still.
    “Hold the net tight, don’t let it sink,” said Antonia as she edged her way closer to him.
    Moving across the wet rope was harder than it looked. It was slippery and Antonia’s feet caught in the squares. Cai, Spirit and Cracker stretched the net as taut as they could, while Antonia clambered towards Topper. She moved quickly but carefully, knowing that Topper’s life depended on her, and finally, she reached the dolphin. He was still breathing, but only just. Antonia clasped his tiny head in her hands and very gently breathed into his partly opened mouth. Topper didn’t stir. Antonia continued to help the dolphin to breathe until Topper made a funny choking sound, then gulped at the air.
    “Steady,” soothed Antonia, stroking the side of his face. Topper’s eyes rolled and Antonia felt his body stiffen as he focused on her.
    “You’re safe now,” she whispered. “The Silver Dolphins are here to help you.”
    Antonia began to work the net away from Topper’s body. It was a slow process. The wet rope bit into her fingers and she had to be careful not to damage Topper’s soft skin as she worked to free him.
    “I need something sharp,” she said, vowing to carry a small pair of scissors around with her, in future.
    “A rock would do,” called Cai. “If Spirit and Cracker can manage here, I’ll go look for one.”
    “Arrow can take your place,” clicked Spirit.
    Antonia looked up and saw that they were surrounded by anxious-looking dolphins. Spirit’s pod must have followed them to the surface. Arrow, a muscular animal with a bold yellow stripe, swam forward and took Cai’s place. Antonia continued to work on the ropes, even as the saltwater made her sore fingers sting. She’d half-freed Topper when she noticed a red stain leaching towards her. Casually, Antonia moved along to examine Topper’s tail. It was worse than she’d thought. A nasty cut stretched the length of Topper’s tail fin so that it dangled like a broken limb. He also had rope burn and ugly wealds stretching across his silver skin.
    Antonia looked to the bleeding first, laying her hands on Topper’s tail, willing the cut toheal.
Mend
, she thought and in her mind, imagined the damaged skin coming together to stop the bleeding. The picture in her head became more and more vivid and a warm feeling spread down Antonia’s hands. Her fingers began to prickle. The sensation wasn’t as painful as it had been the first time she’d done this—the first time she used her Silver Dolphin powers to heal. She must be getting better at it!
    Antonia continued to press firmly down on Topper’s tail until the prickling sensation in her fingers calmed and the warm glow spread again through her hands. She held them against Topper for a minute longer, then slowly pulled them away. The tail had healed cleanly, leaving only a faint puckered line ofskin. Antonia healed the rope burns next. When she’d finished, she was exhausted and her hands were as limp as seaweed. Topper stared at Antonia in awe, then weakly flapped his tail.
    Cai had returned and was watching Antonia while clutching two small rocks.
    “Wow!” he clicked. “That was fantastic. How long did it take you to learn to do that? Will you teach me?” He faltered, as Antonia shook her long blond hair over her face.
    “Oh, you can’t, can you?” Cai said wistfully. “It’s one of your extra powers, isn’t