Island of Shipwrecks (24 page)

Aaron thought about the sack of magical components that Liam had stolen from Artimé and nearly mentioned them as a potential surprise attack weapon, but then thought the better of it. Instead he added more generically, “Magic itself might not be a bad idea, either.”

The general leaned forward, the scar at his throat pulsing. “Is that what you think?” he asked. “Magic is for Unwanteds who deserve to die. There's nothing wrong with our weapons,” he said again. “And even if there was, it's not your worry. Got it, High Priest?”

Aaron didn't like the general's tone. They were supposed to be a team now, but the general still seemed to be running everything. It was unsettling, but Aaron didn't know what to do about it. “Fine,” he said, frustrated. “What'll
I
worry about, then?”

The general glared at Aaron. “You'll worry about getting your weak little self back to the palace,” he said. “You'll make
me some more oil. And you'll stay out of my way. That's how this team is going to work.”

Aaron narrowed his eyes and set his jaw. He hated General Blair now more than ever. But he needed General Blair. Now more than ever.

When Aaron held his tongue, the general smiled. “Good. I'm glad we've reached an understanding.” He stood up, signaling the end of the meeting. Reluctantly Aaron and Liam stood too, Aaron fuming over the shoddy treatment, but unable to do anything about it. General Blair ushered them roughly to the door with a final, ominous warning: “Prepare to secure the palace, locking yourselves inside. I'll send soldiers when the time comes. We attack in four days.”

A
fter adding magic to the extra magic carpet components Sky had made, Alex's ability to concentrate was spent. But even as tired as he was, he tossed and turned all night, knowing that the morning could potentially bring disaster. What if he transported the ship too far away? What if the Artiméans couldn't reach it with their flying carpets before the spells wore off and everyone crashed into the sea? What if Spike couldn't swim out of the grasp of the rough undertow, or Florence was too heavy for the carpets, or the wind was too strong and swept them up into the sky? What if Alex couldn't get to sleep tonight,
leaving him without the proper concentration in the morning to transport the ship?

And where was Simber? Alex had been tempted multiple times to send a seek spell to Artimé, but he didn't want anyone to worry or think there was trouble here—especially if it was trouble
there
that was keeping Simber away. So he refrained. But now, thinking of all the things that could go wrong, Alex wondered if he'd made a mistake by listening to Sky and trying to handle this escape without the giant beast.

But then again, everyone was beyond restless. The rain was driving them mad. There was no way they could stay here indefinitely. Florence and Sky were both right—they didn't need Simber. They could do this.

“It still wouldn't hurt if you showed up, you know,” Alex muttered. He rolled over and tried anew to sleep. But there was always so much to worry about. At least he didn't have Sky on his mind constantly.

Yeah, right. But thankfully she didn't seem to be as miserable without him as he was without her. And they were working at becoming friends again, so that was good, wasn't it? It would have to be enough.

Finally Alex fell into a deep sleep. And when he woke up, it was very nearly time to go.

» » « «

With the hour of calm fast approaching, the Artiméans said hasty good-byes and thanks to Ishibashi, Ito, and Sato, who offered them a crate of food to store on the ship to keep them from starving on the way home. Soon Florence announced that the storm was lessening, so they all filed outside, hopefully for the last time.

“You all know what to do,” Alex said, knowing there was no time for a lengthy announcement. “Teamwork. Let's go! See you all safely on board within the hour.”

With that, Lani peeled off from the group and sprinted to the leeward side of the island to give Spike her instructions. The others quickly made their way to the shore where the ship sat. It was not pristine and polished as it had once been, but hopefully with a bit of magic and a little luck, it was sound and functional. They'd find out soon enough.

Alex didn't waste any time. “Squirrelicorns, to the sky!” he cried. “Everybody else stand back and be ready with your carpet components. You have about ten minutes of flying time
to make it all the way to the ship before the spell wears off, so don't waste a second.”

Florence hoisted the crate of food to the main deck and stood back as Alex patted the ship's side. “Everybody ready?” he called out.

“You can do it, Alex,” Florence said. “Just like last time. You've got the touch.”

Alex grinned. Her confidence in him erased some of his jitters. “Okay, here goes,” he said, glancing one more time at the spot he'd been envisioning for days—the spot where the sunlight made the waves sparkle beyond the oppressive weight of the storm.

He let his hand rest on the side of the ship and closed his eyes, feeling the light rain against his cheek, and the wind, steady but not overpowering. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Alex cleared his mind of everything except that spot in the sunshine. He concentrated on it, picturing the ship sailing there, outside the realm of crashing waves and under the clear skies and warm sun. He could feel peace come over him, and when he was ready, he whispered, “Transport.”

In a flash, the ship disappeared. Alex opened his eyes and
put his hand to his forehead, squinting to watch for it. It would be hard to see from this distance, but hopefully not impossible.

“Does anybody see it?” Alex called anxiously.

The others were straining to find it too, but so far no one had spotted it. Not even Florence from her height.

Alex looked up. “Squirrelicorns?” he called. “Anything?”

Florence signaled everyone to be ready to throw their carpet components down.

After an agonizing minute of silence as the squirrelicorns glided in a circle overhead, one of them nosedived toward the ground and swooped in front of Alex. “It's in the water, but on the opposite side of the island, sir!”

“Drat!” muttered Alex. “There always has to be some problem.” He looked in the other direction, but couldn't see over the rock shelter. “Is it clear of the storm, at least?”

“It looks to be, sir! Enjoying open water, nice and calm.”

“And not sinking?”

“It doesn't appear to be.”

“At least there's that.” Alex looked at the others, rapidly reassessing the situation. “Change of plans. Let's save the spells for now and run to the other side of the island. Then
cast your components and go—you're on your own! There's no time to waste.”

The Artiméans made a frantic dash for the other side of the island while the precious minutes of the hour of calm ticked away. Alex followed the others, hanging back with Florence, who was trying to help Captain Ahab maneuver over the rocky ground more quickly.

When they'd made it halfway to the other side and it was clear that Captain Ahab could move no faster on his wooden leg, Alex called out to the squirrelicorns. “Three of you take Captain Ahab now, will you, so he doesn't get left behind?”

Three squirrelicorns soared down and quickly picked up the captain, allowing Alex and Florence to try to catch up to the others. While they ran, they caught glimpses of the squirrelicorns swaying through the wind as they carried the statue out over the waves, heading toward a dot on the horizon that Alex could just barely see. The other three squirrelicorns flew down to fetch Copper and carry her away.

Just as Alex and Florence reached the other side, Samheed threw down his carpet. It expanded. He sat on it and gathered Fox and Kitten on board. “To the ship,” he commanded.
His carpet lifted him several feet above the waves and puttered toward the ship. Alex watched intently, hoping the wind would stay quiet enough not to upset the carpet and knock them to the sea.

Lani went next. “Come on, Crow!” she said. She threw down her carpet, and when it expanded, she sat down and patted the space in front of her. Crow hopped onto the spot and soon they were off, following Samheed. They tipped a bit, but both hung on tightly to the sides of the carpet, and it righted itself again.

Henry followed, flying solo, and soon overtook Lani and Crow.

Octavia threw her component down, climbed on, and whisked away, leaving Sky, Alex, and Florence on the island.

“So far so good,” Florence said, gathering her components. “Sky, keep your eyes on the ship and let us know if anybody fails to make it. Let's get mine started, Alex.”

It was nearing the halfway point in the hour of calm, and there was no time to lose. Alex and Florence marked off an area on the rocks and began throwing magic carpets down at breakneck speed, overlapping them slightly for more stability,
five across and six deep. Florence sat down on them, trying to spread her weight evenly over the thirty carpets. “I sure hope this works,” she muttered.

“Go!” Alex said. “Hurry!”

“To the ship!” cried Florence.

Sky and Alex held their breath.

The magic carpets strained and wiggled beneath the warrior. The ones around the edges lifted her up an inch, maybe two . . . now three . . . but the ones in the middle didn't budge.

“Come on,” Sky pleaded.

“You can do it, Florence,” Alex said. “Lie flat on your back! That might help the ones under your—you know what.”

Florence shot Alex a look, but did what he suggested. All the carpets rose a bit with Florence lying stiffly on top, and then lifted a little higher and began to move toward the ship, just barely clearing the rocks and shipwrecks that jutted up above the waves. She was moving very slowly.

Sky gripped Alex's arm. “If she doesn't speed up, she's not going to make it, is she?”

Alex shook his head. “I don't know.” He glanced into the distance, looking at all the dots in the sky and counting them.
“Everybody's still flying,” he said. A few of the dots bounced around a bit in the air with the wind. Florence's ride continued steadily, but very slowly.

“Alex,” Florence called out. “I don't think this is going to work.”

“Think positive, Florence!” Alex called out in desperation. “You can do it!”

Sky looked at Alex. “Can you send a few more carpets out to go under her?” Do you have extras?”

“A few,” Alex said. “We already used some of the ones you made last night.” Alex rummaged in his vest pocket and grabbed four carpet components.

“Florence, catch!” he called out. He tossed the four components to Florence, and she caught them. Soon she had a second small layer of carpets under her center of gravity.

“I think that helped a little,” Sky said. “Maybe.”

Thunder rumbled, a little louder than before, and a gust of wind blew Sky's hair across her face.

“Storm's picking up. We should go,” Sky said.

Alex strained his neck, looking at the darkening skies, and worrying over Florence, whose journey was frustratingly slow.
He turned to Sky. “Okay. But there's one more thing I forgot to do before we go. I think I have just enough time. Wait here and keep an eye on Florence—I don't want you to get hurt.”

“What?” cried Sky. “Alex, don't be crazy—what are you doing?”

“I'll be right back,” Alex promised, and with that, he dashed off at a mad pace, back to the windward side of the island, leaving Sky standing on the shore alone.

C
learly Alex had lost his mind, and he knew it. Yet he ran as fast as he could to the other side of the island, past bewildered Ito and Sato who were collecting moss during the hour of calm. “Stay back!” he said to them, and ran straight into the water. As soon as he was deep enough, he dove and swam with all his might to the scientists' ship.