The Unwanteds (20 page)

Florence cleared her throat. “I’ve spoken to the girrinos down at the gate. Arija says the Blair boy is acting suspiciously.
He’s been to the gate twice in the past week. And the ostrich statue in the library reports that Blair has convinced young Samheed to help him on an art project.”

“Samheed’s working with Blair?” Mr. Today asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

Florence shrugged her massive shoulders. “Looks that way.”

Claire interrupted. “What is Will Blair’s issue? I’m afraid I don’t quite understand.”

“It’s a bit complicated,” Mr. Today said. “You see, Blair’s father is the general of the Quillitary. Blair’s been bitter since he arrived here three years ago, because if he had been Wanted, he’d naturally be sitting in Aaron’s place right now by default of his heritage. Will has gotten more bitter since he discovered Aaron has clearly ‘stolen’ his seat of honor.” Mr. Today pointed to the blackboard of the palace. There, in the High Priest Justine’s own private office, sat Aaron, in earnest discussion with the ruler of Quill herself. “Aaron’s made quite a name for himself. Gunnar reports the boy has just been appointed assistant secretary to the high priest. No one so young has ever held so high a position.”

Mr. Today turned back to face the group. “Will is extremely
jealous, seething so hard he no longer sees things as they are, but as he wants them to be. When he reunited with Samheed, his former neighbor and friend, they began to talk about Quill. Will found out that Aaron was the one who reported Samheed’s infraction, which put Will over the edge. He’s become obsessed with watching this screen, watching Aaron in the palace having lunch with the High Priest Justine and with Will’s own father, General Blair himself.”

The room was silent for a moment before Claire spoke. “So he wants revenge on Aaron?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

Mr. Today pursed his lips. “That, I do not yet know.”

“Shouldn’t we try and stop him? Can we?”

“Yes, we can stop him. You know we
can
,” Mr. Today said carefully.

Claire shook her head. “I also know we won’t.”

“That’s correct.”

“But—why?” Claire sighed impatiently. “When we have the means to stop him—to stop
both
Will and Alex! Before Quill discovers and ruins Artimé. Before they put us all in danger.
Some of us are sure to be killed! Everything will change. Everything.”

Mr. Today bowed his head into his hands and said nothing. His shock of white hair pointed at the wall behind his friends.

After a moment Simber responded in an uncharacteristically soft purr. “Because, Clairrre. Because neitherrr boy has brrroken the law. Because we don’t punish bad ideas, orrr thoughts, orrr intentions. Because the moment we do, that’s the moment ourrr worrrld takes its firrrst step towarrrd becoming like Quill.”

“But if it’s for our own good and safety—”

“Claire,” Mr. Today said quietly, “once we start inter fering with free thought, where do we stop? Believe me, I’ve been down this road.”

“But you know yourself that you can protect our world without a war at all! You could wipe out the entire land of Quill and we could be safe forever, if you just choose to stop it.”

The mage smiled sadly. “And you know, Claire, that I will not be around forever to protect Artimé from what’s beyond Quill. Each person here must have something at stake in order to take ownership of our land. If our people have nothing to
sacrifice, nothing to protect, what will happen to Artimé when I am gone?”

The office was stifled in heavy silence.

“Then what do we do?” Claire said, finally.

Mr. Today scratched his chin. “We prepare. And who knows, maybe something good will come of it.” He took a deep breath. “Florence, have you begun the lethal-weapon training?”

“Yes.”

“Very good. I want everyone to have the knowledge and ability, whether they choose to use it or not. Claire, find Gunnar in the forest and ask him to come see me. Simber, keep a close eye on Will Blair and Samheed. I’ll put up a shimmer shield in the entrance to this hallway so you can tell if someone invisible walks through it.”

“And the boy … hmm …” Mr. Today thought out loud. “Yes. I’ll take care of Alex myself.” He clasped his hands together and met the solemn eyes of his comrades. “All right, then. Let’s be as ready as possible, shall we?”

Together each person, statue, and creature in the room nodded.

N
early every night when his eyes and hand gave out from working on the doorway, Alex agonized over Aaron. “How?” he asked himself over and over after weeks of failure to produce a doorway that would lead him to his brother’s dormitory room—or anywhere, for that matter. He shook his head. “I know I can rescue you. But how do I get to you? There’s got to be another way.”

One night Alex had had all the tossing and turning he could stand. He left his room, walked down the stairs, past the two statues, who both nodded civilly, and went outside
for a walk to clear his mind. He didn’t see Simber and Florence exchange a glance, nor did he see Simber leap nimbly from his pedestal and pad up the stairs to the mage’s private quarters.

Alex roamed along the seashore, and then, instead of going into the jungle, he turned back and walked diagonally in a direction almost no one cared to go because of the awful memories that accompanied it—to the giant iron gate. In the light from the stars Alex could make out the shadowy figures of the four girrinos, keeping guard as they did endlessly, seemingly without rest.

Alex cleared his throat.

“We see you, Mr. Blair,” one said in a pleasant voice. “You may approach without fear.”

Alex bit his bottom lip and stepped out of the shadows. “Hi—I’m, um, not Will Blair,” he said, not knowing quite what else to say. “I’m Alex Stowe.”

“Oh, so you are,” said one whose name was Tina. “Look, ladies, a new one has come to face his fears.”

The girrinos smiled. The one named Arija asked, “What brings you here tonight, Alex? Can’t sleep? Feeling wonky?”

“How—how did you know?” Alex could feel the ground shiver just slightly as two of them sat down hard and turned their attention back to the door.

“We rarely get visitors. When we do, it’s usually for one of two reasons. Most often someone comes to face the iron door in hopes of seeing it in a different light, from the good side of things, and thereby casting out the horrid memories of Quill.”

“Does it work?”

“For some, yes.”

“What’s the other reason?” Alex asked presently, hoping the ladies couldn’t read his mind.

Arija blinked her milky chocolate eyes solemnly. “To escape.”

Alex’s heart throttled, but he held his expression firm. “Oh. That seems strange,” he said. His voice sounded a wee bit thin in his ears, so he tried to breathe in using his diaphragm, like Ms. Morning had taught them in choir. “I didn’t think the door would work as a way out. Isn’t it locked from the other side? And who would want to escape to that awful place?”

Tina grinned, her teeth like glowing rectangles in the star-light.
“Right on both counts, Alex. He’s a clever one, isn’t he, Arija?”

“Indeed.” Arija nodded. “There are two ways out of Quill, but only magical ways to get back in—we can’t open the gate from our side. Unless, of course, someone from the other side unlocks it.”

Alex furrowed his brow. “Two ways out of Quill? What’s the second? We were told the only way out was through elimination—through this gate.”

“Well, of course you were
told
that, my boy. I don’t think even the governors know about the other way. And if they did, they wouldn’t tell the people of Quill,” said Tina.

Arija gave Tina a stern look. “Don’t tease the boy, Tina. How would he know?” She turned back to Alex. “There’s a secret passage from the palace to beyond the walls that the High Priest Justine and Marcus created long ago, when Justine took over the rule of the land. As far as the high priest knows, Marcus is the only other person in Quill who is aware of it.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “But … the palace,” he said, thinking. “What lies beyond it? Where does the passage lead? To the great forest? To enemy territory?”

“Why …,” Tina began. “To the sea, of course!”

“What?” Alex asked, incredulous. “But what about the threat of the borderlands? The Quillitary? That blasted barbed-wire ceiling that protects the entire land from intruders?”

Arija stepped over to the boy. “There, now, dear,” she said, and sort of nuzzled his shoulder comfortingly, as if Alex were her own son, until Alex had quite calmed down. “I’m afraid it’s all a ruse to control the actions of the people of Quill.” She sighed. “The land of Quill—and Artimé, attached—is an island. It’s one in a chain of islands. We once traded goods with other lands, but that was before Justine had the walls constructed, I’m told.”

Alex shook his head, defeated. “I can’t believe it. Why would they lie to us?” he whispered. “What about the old people? Don’t they remember?”

Arija shook her head, her black, silky fur catching the starlight. “No, Alex. They were made to forget.”

“What, you mean …”

“Magic.”

Alex stood there, blown away by what he was hearing.
Magic? In Quill? He shook his head in shock. “But … who? Who would do such an awful thing, taking people’s memories?”

The ladies were silent, and then suddenly they stood at attention, peering into the shadows beyond Alex.

“Me,” said a voice from the dark.

C
ome, walk with me,” Mr. Today said, stepping out of the shadows. “We have a lot to talk about.”

Alex froze. He felt now like he had felt every time he’d been discovered committing an infraction back in Quill. His heart sank as he turned around slowly, only to find a grim look on Mr. Today’s face.
Caught
.

Mr. Today waved to the girrinos and began walking across the lawn toward the mansion. He didn’t appear worried that Alex would follow, and it was Mr. Today’s nonchalance that compelled Alex to tag along after him rather than run away or hide. Alex hurried through the grass and caught up to the mage’s brisk pace.

“It’s a gorgeous night.” Mr. Today breathed deeply the salty air. “I should remember to come out more often at this hour. I love the sound of the sea in the dark, when all the other creatures are quiet, don’t you?”

Alex swallowed hard. “Yes,” he said. And then, because it sounded funny, that word hanging out there alone, he added like a dutiful student, “It’s sort of musical. Like a new kind of instrument.”

“Indeed!” Mr. Today said approvingly. “My, but you’ve come a long way in almost a year. Can you see it in yourself, my boy?”

Alex was quiet for a moment, pleasantly confused by the turn in events, but a little suspicious all the same. “I suppose I can, sir.”

“Of course you can.” The old mage stopped at the shore and looked out over the sea. “Have you discovered Claire’s boat in the lagoon?” he asked. “She’s a real beauty.”

Alex squinched his eyes shut. “Um, y-yes.” Was that the right answer? Alex wasn’t sure.

“One day we’ll go for a cruise, maybe to one of the neighboring islands with whom we used to trade goods. I’ve been
wanting to go back for years,” Mr. Today said, almost as if to himself. “But I imagine they had hard feelings when we cut off our communications with them.… I wonder if anyone there would remember me.” And then he roused himself from his thoughts and turned sharply, back toward the mansion. “But first we have some business to take care of.”

Alex stumbled after him. “We—we do?”

Mr. Today reached the walkway, climbed the steps, opened the mansion door with a sweeping gesture, and ushered Alex inside. “To my office,” he said.

“Your office?” Alex blushed as he entered the mansion. “Um, I guess I don’t know where—”

Simber cocked his head at Alex and growled.

Mr. Today held up his hand and chuckled. “No need, Simber. The boy needs his dignity.”

Alex stumbled up the staircase as his face burned. Without another word Mr. Today nimbly took the stairs two at a time and walked into the secret hallway. Alex hesitated, turned and looked down at Simber, and realized how stupid he had been to think no one had ever seen him go in. Simber grinned cheekily at the boy.