Island of Legends (The Unwanteds) (8 page)

“That’s good to hear,” Lani said.

“Henry’s really developing his skills for medicine,” Carina added. “He’s keeping everybody comfortable and relatively free
of pain, which is something we weren’t able to do last time we had a battle, so I think we’re really improving.”

“That would be good,” Samheed said, remembering the fight he once had with his father, when Mr. Appleblossom had come to his aid. His face had ached for days.

“Are you feeling all right, Sky?” Sean asked.

“I’m totally fine,” Sky said. Her bronze cheeks deepened in color. “I just feel kind of stupid about it. I mean, what kind of idiot inhales a rock?”

The group laughed, and Meghan said, “Well, that boulder did explode into a billion pieces right in front of you as you were casting a tuba spell. How could it miss? Well done on that, by the way.”

Alex glanced sidelong at Sky. “You’re casting spells now?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I had the components. Figured I’d try, at least.”

“She did it, too,” Meghan said.

“Third attempt,” Sky added.

Alex smiled. He knew not to say anything—he’d learned a lot about when to shut up from Lani since they’d first found
themselves here in Artimé. He knew that Sky had jumbled feelings about whether she belonged in Artimé, and whether she was creative enough to do magic. As much as he and Meghan had tried to explain to her that everybody in the world was creative in their own ways, Sky had kept her distance when it came to embracing the Unwanted status. Not because she didn’t feel worthy, but because she wanted to prove herself valuable without being magical. Which she had, multiple times.

“When the rocks started coming at me, I figured I ought to give it a try before getting crushed to death,” Sky said agreeably. And then she added as a warning, “Don’t get used to it, though. I tried it once, but I didn’t really enjoy it, so I probably won’t be doing that again.”

“You never have to,” Alex said. He sipped his orange cream, and the others fell into a pleasant silence. It was good to be together. “I saw my father today,” he said. “First time since the Purge.”

Meghan frowned. “On purpose? Did he come here?”

“No, I ran into him when I went into Quill to take care of a few things.” He rubbed his sore knuckles. “Aaron, for one. He’s planning on walling over the gate between Artimé and
Quill. He’s going back to Justine’s ways, and then some.”

“Fear, fear, fear,” Sean said, his voice angry. “And what about the people who like to go back and forth now? They have to choose one place or the other, permanently?”

Alex shrugged. “Don’t get too worked up. I figure we can blast the wall down anytime we want. It’s not like they’ll notice—nobody in the government ever comes near the gate anymore.”

“Oh,” Sean said. After a moment he chuckled. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

Alex sniffed. “That’s why I’m the mage around here.”

Sean punched him lightly in the arm. “I guess that’s why they pay you the big bucks.”

Samheed frowned. “Huh?”

Carina waved him off. “Never mind Sean. He’s been reading some of the new books that washed ashore this afternoon. That was a line from one of them. We have no idea what it means, but it seems to fit.”

“New books?” Lani exclaimed. “Where?”

“They’re spread out on a table in the dining room, drying.”

“Where’d they come from?” Alex asked.

“Probably that thing that exploded in the sky,” Meghan said, slurping the last of her drink.

“Ah,” Alex said. He’d forgotten about that in all the craziness of the attack. “I suppose in the morning we ought to recover it and pull it ashore.”

“The plan is already in place,” Carina said. “I’m going to head it up, if that’s okay.”

“That’s great,” Alex said. “Thanks. Now I just need to figure out what to do with all the Warbler children in the long term. I talked to Mr. Appleblossom, and I think we should observe them for a while before we trust them to run around completely freely, don’t you?”

Everyone but Sky nodded in agreement.

“It’s not like they’re in jail or anything. Mr. Appleblossom is keeping them entertained,” Meghan said. “I’m helping, along with a bunch of others.”

“I think they’re telling the truth about their parents sending them,” Sky interjected, “but I understand why you need to be careful.”

Alex flashed her a sympathetic smile. “If they’d all washed ashore on rafts, it would be different.”

“I know. I get it.”

Alex reached under the table and squeezed Sky’s hand. She squeezed back. “Good,” he said. “Well, that frees me up to prepare for the next big thing.” He turned to look at Sky full-on. “Are you finally ready to rescue your mother?”

“Not quite,” Sky said, rolling her eyes. “Let me think of five other life-threatening things to do first.” She grinned.

Alex blushed in return. Every time Sky smiled at him, he felt like he lost half his brain.

“Well, I’m ready,” Samheed said, excitement building in his voice. “Ms. Octavia says we’re good to go whenever you are.” He was eager to be on the rescuing end of things this time.

“We should be all set to go in a day or two. I just have a few things to prepare first,” Alex said, turning his focus back to their next task. “How does that sound?”

No one hesitated. They were ready and eager.

He shoved his empty glass to the middle of the table and got to his feet. “Carina, keep me posted on that . . . that
thing
out there in the water. And Meg, let me know how it’s going with the Warbler children. Make sure they have everything they need, you know, to give them comfort, or whatever.” The
idea of Warbler parents trying to give their children a better life still astounded Alex.

When they’d tubed back to the main entryway of the mansion and said good night, Meghan pulled Alex aside. “That must have been quite a shock, seeing your father. What did he say to you when you saw him?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Alex said. “Not one thing.” He thought about the strange, frightened look on his father’s face. “He took one look at me and went the other way.”

Meghan nodded sympathetically, both of them sorely reminded of the fact that there are some things magic can’t fix.

I
n the tube in Haluki’s office, Aaron hit the tube’s single button, which took him to the kitchenette in Artimé’s mansion. He poked his head out of the opening in the glass to make sure no one had noticed his presence. It was deserted and quiet. Aaron turned his attention to the buttons before him, wondering which of them would take him back to the jungle. He’d forgotten about his mad dash to push them all at once, which is what had brought him there in the first place. This might not be quite as easy as he thought. He studied them, wiping his clammy hands on his pants, and then, in a moment of brilliance, he took a deep
breath and pressed them all at once, like he had done before.

In an instant he was thrust into the musky-smelling jungle. A few thin streaks of bright sunlight made their way through to the jungle floor, but most of the area surrounding Aaron was shaded by a canopy of leaves.

Aaron stood completely still, hand poised on the button that would take him back to the mansion. Only his eyes traveled as he canvassed the area, looking for anything that moved.

When his gaze passed over the ground directly in front of the tube, he saw the shackles. They were intact, not smashed. The cuffs were open, as if their locking mechanisms had been released. Cautiously, Aaron crouched down, picked up the shackles, and pulled them inside the tube. They could be useful someday.

While crouched, Aaron dared a glance behind him through the glass. Nothing moved.

After a moment, Aaron stood up. He took a few steps outside the tube, ready to bolt back inside it again at the sight of anything alarming. It was then that he realized the gigantic rock was gone.

Aaron’s lips parted in surprise. Where could it be? He
looked all around. Was he confused? He couldn’t have imagined it. He took a few steps toward the clearing, then a few more, and peered down a path. There was no big rock anywhere to be seen.

When he heard a rustling in the leaves, Aaron whirled around, realizing how far he’d strayed from the tube. His eyes scanned the jungle floor, unsure where the rustling noise came from. He crept toward the tube, looking in every direction as he moved. “Who’s there?” he called out in a loud whisper.

From a clump of brown and orange leaves, a small body emerged with exactly the same colorings as its background. He had the floppy ears of a dog and the wagging tail of a dog, and for all manner of speaking he quite probably
was
a dog, though his strange brown and orange coloring threw Aaron a bit. The dog smiled, his two perfect rows of tiny, pointy teeth fitting together like puzzle pieces.

Aaron ran for safety in the tube. The creature continued smiling pleasantly and dipped his head, almost as if to bow. His ears brushed the ground.

“D-d-do you know who I am?” Aaron asked.

The dog tilted his head.

Aaron took a step toward it. “I’m the high priest of Quill.”

The creature’s back end wagged, his tail slapping lightly against a sapling.

Aaron looked around. He didn’t see the large black creature anywhere, so he took another step toward the friendly little thing.

The dog stepped closer to Aaron, too. Just as Aaron leaned forward to pet him, the dog leaped at him with a shriek, mouth open wide. He dug his tiny, sharp teeth into Aaron’s arm.

“Ow!” Aaron yelled. He shook his arm, trying to get the dog to let go, but the dog hung on. He was much heavier than Aaron would have guessed, but Aaron didn’t have the wherewithal to speculate about that. His arm hurt terribly. “Let go of me!”

The dog didn’t obey.

Aaron tried to kick the dog off but succeeded only in hurting his toes. The thing had to be made of cement. “Release me!” he cried.

And just like that, the creature’s jaw unhinged and the dog dropped to the ground.

Aaron grabbed his throbbing, bleeding arm and held it to
his body. “What in the name of Quill is wrong with you?” He stepped back as the dog retreated, still grinning. Then the dog jumped straight into the air and bit into a tree branch. He hung there, swinging and grinning, as his body slowly changed to the solid brown color of the bark on the tree behind it.

“Evil thing,” Aaron muttered. Keeping one eye on the dog in the tree, he inspected his arm. Dozens of miniature puncture wounds dotted his skin, and droplets of blood oozed from them. Aaron lifted his shirttail and carefully wrapped it around his arm, holding it tight, and wished for some water. This visit was not turning out like he’d expected.

When a shadow fell over him, Aaron turned and looked up. His mouth dropped open.

It was the rock, its cavelike mouth agape.

And on top of the rock stood the black creature, crouched low and ready to pounce.

A
aron gasped. “No!” he cried out. “Don’t hurt me!” He scrambled toward the tube, losing his footing more than once on the uneven ground. When he reached it, he turned swiftly with a feeling of dread, fully expecting the paws and mouth of the creature to be upon him. He stretched his hand toward the button but stopped short of pushing it when he saw that the black creature hadn’t moved. She stayed on top of the rock, watching Aaron.

The rock remained still, also watching Aaron. And then its cavelike mouth moved, and groaning noises emerged.

Aaron’s heart thudded. He knew he should push the button.
He knew he should get to safety. But he was mesmerized. Where had they been? How did the rock move? And was it . . . speaking to him?

In a rumbling voice like distant thunder, the rock spoke. “Where’s Marcus?”

Aaron nearly leaped out of his own skin. “Wh-what?”

The rock repeated the words, louder this time. “Where’s Marcus?”

Aaron stared. “He-he’s dead.”

The rock grumbled in disbelief, and the dog dropped from the tree branch and started running around howling. The panther lowered her head.

Aaron scrambled to read their reactions. “He—he was a good man. Wasn’t he? I mean, don’t you agree?”