Cai and Hannah shared a magical secret. They were Silver Dolphins, guardians of the sea. This meant that they had special magical abilities that allowed them to swim and communicate with real dolphins so they could look after the ocean and the creatures living there. Silver Dolphins were rare; only someone who believed in magic and was in tune with nature could be one.
Cai’s great aunty Claudia had been a Silver Dolphin once, but now she ran a marine conservation charity called Sea Watch. Kathleen, a friend of Hannah’s mum, had also been a Silver Dolphin and Antonia and Cai were staying with Hannah to help Kathleen set up her own marine conservation charity.
“Kathleen can’t wait to meet you too,” said Hannah. “You should see her new house. It’s got a huge garden overlooking the estuary. It’s the perfect place for a marine charity. Did I tell you she’s decided to call it Ocean Watch to avoid confusion with Sea Watch?”
“Ocean Watch.” Antonia tried the name out. “I like it.”
“Me too,” said Cai. “When do we get to meet Kathleen?”
“Tomorrow. Mum’s taking us out for tea now. She’s hopeless at cooking. We’re going to a little café at the top of the cliffs. It does great food and the views are amazing. You can often see dolphins in the sea. We used to go there all the time, but we haven’t been for ages. I hope they still do their lasagne. It’s the best ever.”
“Let’s go then,” said Cai, who was always hungry. Antonia and Hannah laughed.
“I’ll go and see if Mum’s ready,” said Hannah. “It gets dark really early these days. If we don’t go soon, we won’t be able to see the view.”
Lottie Davies, Hannah’s mum, was in her bedroom working on the computer.
“Have a look at these, Han,” she said when Hannah knocked on her door. “They’re the photos I took for that new clothes range. What do you think?”
“Nice,” said Hannah politely. “Can we go out for tea now?”
Mrs Davies glanced at the clock on her computer. “Goodness! Is that the time?” she exclaimed. “You must be starving. Let me just email these pictures to work and I’ll be right with you. Go and get the car keys, Hannah. They’re in the kitchen drawer.”
Hannah and her mum lived in the first-floor apartment of a smart block of flats. While her mum sent her email and shut down the computer, Hannah collected the car keys then took Antonia and Cai outside to show them the shared gardens.
“There’s a gate at the bottom that leads to a public footpath. If you follow it all the way down, it comes out at the beach,” said Hannah. “I can get to the sea within five minutes of Vision’s call.”
Antonia felt a shiver of excitement. Vision was the leader of the dolphin pod that Hannah swam with and he knew Antonia and Cai’s dolphin leader, Spirit. Antonia was longing to meet him.
The café was a short drive from Hannah’s apartment; dusk was already beginning to fall as Mrs Davies drove her car up the winding road to the cliff top. In the front passenger seat Hannah eagerly craned forward as the car pulled into a large car park.
“Here it is—” Hannah broke off suddenly. “But it’s shut!”
“Hop out and see when it opens,” said Mrs Davies, switching off the engine.
Pushing her long blonde hair over her shoulder, Antonia climbed out of the car and followed Hannah across the car park to the café. She passed a rusty litter bin surrounded by weeds and a wooden bench with broken legs. Antonia shivered. This place had a sad, empty feel to it.
“It’s closed down,” wailed Hannah, who’d reached the café first and was peering through the window. “There’s nothing here.”
Cai pointed to a large sign mounted on the corner of the building. “It’s for sale,” he read. “Cliff-top café with parking; includes three acres of land with planning permission for twelve houses.”
“More houses!” exclaimed Hannah. “There won’t be any countryside left around here soon.”
“It’s a fantastic location,” said Cai, making his way round the side of the café until he was standing at the back of the building. “Come and look at this view.”
“Oh, no!” Hannah gasped in dismay. “Look what they’ve done! They’ve chopped all the trees down. You can see even further now. I never knew there was a cove down there. And what’s that on the beach?”
“Seals,” said Antonia. “A whole colony. Can we go down for a closer look?”
“We can’t from up here. There’s no path,” Hannah answered.
As Antonia stepped forward for a better look at the seals, a strange sensation swept over her. She froze, her hand lightly covering her silver dolphin charm as she waited for the call of the dolphins. But there was no sound in Antonia’s head and the dolphin charm, with its silky-soft body, lay silently against her neck. Antonia’s skin prickled with foreboding.
“Whoa!” cried Cai, reaching out and catching hold of her arm. “Don’t go any further. It’s not safe. Look how the ground is crumbling away.”
“Thanks, but I wasn’t going to,” said Antonia. “I bet that’s happened since the trees got chopped down. Tree roots hold the soil together and stop erosion.”
“We’re learning about that in geography,” said Hannah. “I’ve even got holiday homework on it. I should get Mum to come and take some photos for me. Not now though – I’m starving. I can’t believe this place has closed, especially as all the outside tables and benches are still here. I hope someone buys it quickly and opens it up again.”
Disappointed, she headed back to the car. Cai followed, but Antonia hung back for a moment, apprehensively watching the seals on the beach. There were so many of them in such a small space. Although it was getting difficult to see in the fading light, Antonia spotted some seal pups. They were very sweet, all snuggled up with the adults. Antonia grinned to herself. She was being silly. There was nothing to worry about here, except where to go for tea now the café had closed down!
Darkness was just beginning to lift when Antonia woke. Sleepily she opened her eyes, wondering why her room felt different. Then she remembered. She was staying at Hannah’s. She sat up as a familiar sensation nudged her fully awake. The dolphins were going to call. Hurriedly she swung her legs over the side of the bunk and climbed down the ladder. As she reached the floor, her dolphin charm began to vibrate and an unfamiliar voice sounded in her head.
Silver Dolphin, we need you.
Vision, I hear your call, Antonia silently answered, guessing it must be the dolphin leader. His voice was higher than Spirit’s and he spoke more quickly.
Antonia searched for her clothes, rummaging in the drawer that Hannah had emptied for her the night before. It was difficult to see clearly, but she didn’t switch the light on. Antonia’s silver dolphin charm fluttered against her neck. As it began to beat
