Island of Fire (The Unwanteds) (30 page)

“It’s okay,” Meghan said softly. “Really. I understand how you must have felt.”

Her words struck him like a slap to the face. He wanted to laugh. “Um, no. I don’t think you do,” Samheed said, unable to keep the bitterness from rushing out. He pulled his arm off her shoulders and let it drop to the railing, bouncing his fist on it a few times. And then he turned his head to face her, his lost eyes searching hers. “Is anybody ever going to explain what took so stupid, blasted long?”

Meghan looked at him, her expression unreadable, and pulled her arm from his waist. She put her elbows on the railing, taking care to put space between them. She tapped her lips, eyes narrowed, reminding herself that they knew nothing, and that this was going to be hard. She wanted to yell, but in an even voice, she continued, pretending like he hadn’t just been a total jerk. “When I got to the boat, I was too weak to climb in, so I hung on to the ladder.”

Samheed shuffled his feet and said nothing.

“I don’t know how many hours passed,” she continued. “Eight? Ten? I was delirious and freezing and bleeding, and nobody knew we were gone. They were all busy with preparations for Mr. Today to go on holiday.” She sniffed, but didn’t cry. “Amazingly enough, when they saw the boat was missing, Alex managed to figure out from our comments earlier in the day that we were going on an adventure and we’d taken the boat. He and Simber began searching. Finally they saw it in the Warbler lagoon.”

Samheed gazed out over the water, unblinking.

“So Simber dropped Alex into the empty boat and went flying over the island looking for us. It took Alex a while to notice
me. I couldn’t speak. I managed to make a splash, I guess—I don’t remember that part. Alex heard it and found me clinging to the ladder. He hauled me into the boat. When Simber came back without you guys, they didn’t know what to do, but I was unconscious, and they finally decided they had to get me home before I died.”

Samheed closed his eyes. “Okay, yeah, I’m sorry. I mean, I know it was hard for you, and at least Lani and I didn’t have to sit in cold water for half a day. But that doesn’t explain why it took a
month
for you guys to come back. I mean”—his still hoarse voice grew louder and cracked, and he held his head as if it were about to explode—“I mean, Lani sent those stupid seek spells day after day after day! And nobody—
nobody
—”

He put his hands over his face, and his voice grew dark and cold, booming over the calm sea. “Meghan, you cannot
possibly
imagine, not in a million years, how helpless and horrible it felt to be blind and alone and to call out for help with that spell and have no response, day after day after day, not one hint that you were getting them—” The tears overflowed his red-rimmed lids and ran down his cheeks. He turned to face her. “And I can take it, okay? I’m tough, I don’t need anybody, I don’t
need you guys,” he said, sounding like the old Samheed, not knowing what crazy words were falling out of his mouth, “but how—
how
could you do that to Lani? How? I can’t imagine a single reason big enough that would keep you guys from helping us for so long.”

He was growing hysterical, and he couldn’t stop. “Where
were
you? Where were Lani’s parents? Where was Mr. Today?” He ripped his hands through his hair and then held them out, like a plea. “Don’t make up some crazy story just to try to get me to calm down, okay? Just admit it. Somebody, will you please just admit it? Say you screwed up and you’re sorry, and I’m telling you, Meg, I’ll respect that a whole lot more than this junk we’re all dancing around now—this ignoring it, or pretending like everything’s fine, and I promise you that’s all I need to hear and it’ll be all good again.” He sniffed hard and swiped his arm across his face. “It’ll be good again.”

Meg closed her eyes and dropped her head.

Samheed’s voice softened and he put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I’m not mad at you, Meg. I know you couldn’t do anything. But what about them?” he turned and waved his hand across the ship, seeing for the first time that
Florence, Simber, Sean, Ms. Octavia, and Henry were all standing nearby listening to them, the most somber looks on their faces. Beyond them Lani was sitting up, watching with her fingers at her lips. And Alex—Alex was awake and on his feet, leaning over the railing, Sky and Crow holding him up as he vomited into the sea.

After a moment, Sky shot a sad glance over her shoulder toward Samheed, and then she pulled a small towel from her back pocket and helped Alex wipe his mouth. She and Crow eased him into a chair, where he put his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.

Samheed paled when he saw Alex, knowing his friend had heard him. He turned away, pressing his fingers into his eyes and fighting an inner war once again.

Meghan’s lip quivered but she stood tall, not sure what to say. She glanced at Simber, and then at Sean, and then at Alex, whose long dark ringlets were tangled once again and hung down over his fingers. With effort, he lifted his head, looking at Simber, who nodded back to Alex.

Alex held up a shaky hand, taking a gentle breath and focusing on speaking. “Thanks, Meghan,” he said. He paused
as a wave of nausea passed over him, and sweat beaded his forehead. When he could speak again, he said, “Sean can take it from there.” His voice quavered, but his words were quiet and decisive, like a leader’s. “But first . . . ” He looked at Samheed and weakly held his arms out to his friend.

When Samheed hesitated, Alex said, “Come on, man.” He took another painful-sounding breath and tried again. “I just hurled, and my head is split in half. Help a guy give a proper greeting, will you?”

S
amheed lowered his head and shuffled off toward Alex. “I’m an idiot,” he said, kneeling down in front of Alex’s chair. He reached out and the two friends hugged, Alex wincing only a little when Samheed patted him on the back. “I’m glad you’re okay.” Sam sat back and looked at his friend. “You look terrible, though,” he remarked.

Alex gave him a shaky half grin. “At least I don’t smell like you.”

“Hey,” Samheed said. The others nearby snickered. “I worked hard all day to smell this manly.” He let his smile fade,
then said earnestly, “I’m sorry for sounding like a jerk.”

“Well, under the, um, circumstances,” Alex said, “I—” He turned green. “Oh no. Hold on a second.” He looked for Sky, who saw his face and rushed over, helping him to the railing just in time.

“It’s the medicine,” Henry said, nodding importantly. “He might yodel groceries all night long!”

Alex groaned from the railing, letting his arms dangle over it. “Somebody kill me now.”

“No!” shouted Florence, Octavia, Simber, Rufus, and all the humans who had lived through the disaster on Artimé. Death of the mage was no joking matter. Their faces reflected the fear that it could happen again.

Lani shot Samheed a quizzical look. “I think maybe we should let them do the talking now.”

The light moment of banter faded. Carina got up and offered her seat to Samheed so he could sit next to Lani. Sky helped Alex ease back into his spot on the other side of her. He wiped the sweat from his brow with his shirt and let his head rest on the back of the chair. He closed his eyes. “I drove the boat with Meg,” he said, his voice wrecked and full
of grit. “Simber flew above us. And slightly to the right,” he said, his hand stretching out before him, placing Simber in his mind. “He was guiding us home in the dark. We made plans to come back for you the next day. And then—and then Simber—” He heaved an uneasy breath, and brought his forearm to cover his eyes as the memories flooded back. Alex began to shake uncontrollably.

Lani looked up at Henry in alarm. “Is that the medicine too?”

“No,” Henry said softly. At that moment his face wore the experience of an old man. “He’s crying.”

“Why?” Lani reached a hand out and slipped it in Alex’s, her face filled with concern.

Samheed watched, surprised. He’d never seen his friend like this. Sky put her hand to her mouth and looked away, crying too, and Crow slipped his hand in hers.

“Sean,” Simber said. The cat growled, watching Alex relive it all again. Florence wiped a tear and flicked it overboard, and Octavia blew her nose loudly into her handkerchief.

Samheed looked around at everyone and his heart slammed in his chest. “What happened?” he whispered.

Sean took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and then he
began. “In one instant, everything changed. Simber froze and fell into the sea. Claire’s boat that Alex was driving at full speed stopped running, throwing him and Meghan, who was unconscious, into the water. On land, the mansion disappeared in a poof, turning into the gray shack, and Artimé was gone. Completely wiped out, except for the people. And then a group from Quill attacked.”

Lani’s mouth hung open. “You’re not serious,” she breathed. “How could that have happened?” She looked around, bewildered and scared. “Sean?” she prompted. She stared at Henry, but he only looked at the deck.

Samheed’s eyes were wild. He stood up and looked all around, as if he might have missed someone. He looked at Alex, shaking in the chair, arm still flung over his face, and he grew pale. “Rufus called Alex . . . No. No way,” he mumbled, thinking. And then he gasped and went up to Sean, gripping his shirt, eyes begging the older boy to lie as he whispered, “Where’s Mr. Today?”

W
hen it was over, the ship was wet with tears. Alex had finally had a chance to grieve without having to be the brave one, while Samheed and Lani sat in shock. At Lani’s feet Henry fidgeted, his face wearing the strain of one final secret.

They sat like surviving comrades of a lost war, silent, finding comfort in the existence of the others.

One by one the Artiméans realized what hadn’t been told, and they slipped away to the lower deck. Even Simber tried to give them time alone by creating a job for himself. With his teeth, he grabbed a rope that was tied to the bow
and began pulling, flying out ahead, helping the ship home.

Sky hesitated and then went belowdecks, knowing Samheed could help Alex if he needed it. Even though she’d spent a lot of time with Henry, Sky was a stranger to Lani, and she hadn’t earned the right to be in this conversation.

Meghan stole away, finding Sean and Carina standing quietly at the stern.

Soon only Alex, Lani, Samheed, and Henry remained. Alex forced himself to be strong. He gave Henry a long look. Henry returned it with sorrowful eyes and nodded. He scooted over to Alex and rested his chin on Alex’s knee, wrapping his arms around Alex’s lower leg like it was a security blanket. Alex rested his hand on the boy’s head, mussing his hair a little in a comforting way.

“We have one more thing we have to tell you, Lani,” Alex said. He breathed shallowly, lungs searing with every breath, his whole skeleton in pain, but he’d turned down a second dose of the medicine because throwing up endlessly was worse.

Lani looked up at him, her face going blank with fear. “What is it?”

Alex leaned forward slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose,
thinking. He edged his body up and out of the chair, trying not to gasp in pain, Henry reaching out to help him kneel on the deck next to Lani.

“Al,” Samheed said, scrambling to help, but Alex waved him off.

“It’s cool. I’m fine,” he lied. He rested his elbow on Lani’s good leg and took her hand, and then he turned his head to look at Henry, giving him a sad smile and reaching out to bring the boy closer.

Lani couldn’t speak.

Alex looked deep into her new orange eyes, feeling the most tremendous sorrow, knowing the next few minutes would change her life drastically, and hating to have to be the one to bear the news. Finally he could delay it no longer. “When Quill attacked us after Artimé disappeared,” he said, “the Unwanteds fought hard. They gave everything they had. But they’d lost their magic and were unprepared to fight Quill’s way. We had no weapons,” he explained. “Because of that, we lost some of Artimé’s bravest, who fought to the death for the sake of all of us.”

Lani’s lip quivered and her already red-rimmed eyes filled
again. “No,” she said. A tear escaped, and she looked at Henry. “No,” she pleaded.