Island of Legends (The Unwanteds) (24 page)

Simber hit the glass at full speed and broke through. The impact shook the entire underwater island—it was like an explosion. Alex covered his face as giant chunks of glass flew in slow motion through the water and Simber came to rest on the floor of the cage, like a perfect fire-breathing origami dragon coming in for a landing. Sean and Carina closed in, waiting for the debris to stop flying. Alex joined them.

Inside the reverse aquarium, there was a sudden flurry of movement, enough to make Alex look over. There, pirates began running about, pounding on the walls, trying to pull
the seats out so they might secure themselves. At first, Alex didn’t understand what they were doing, but then he realized that they thought the tremor was a signal from the volcano that it was about to move again. When no seats dropped into place, chaos broke out. People began running every which way, trying to find a place to strap themselves in for the ride, but to no avail.

It was during this that Alex saw the tiniest movement from within the glass island. A little white dot, jumping up and down, waving her little paws. Alex could see her pink tongue as she no doubt cried out, “Mewmewmew!”

Alex poked Sean with his elbow. “Kitten,” he mouthed.

They watched as Kitten ran away from them, straight toward the fishing hatch.

Alex looked at Simber, who had gotten to his feet by now, though slowly.

“Okay! Get sea creatures out,” Alex mimed. “I go help Kitten.”

Sean and Carina nodded. They went around to the hole and inside the cage. Sean darted up, grabbed Ms. Octavia, and headed to the surface, while Carina spoke to Spike the way
Alex had, telling Spike to tell the sea monster and the giant squid and the other creatures to escape. While Alex swam toward the fishing hatch, the sea monster and squid darted out at Spike’s urging and headed west. The last thing Alex saw was Carina, hopping onto Spike’s back and riding toward the sky.

Alex rounded the glass island, running too low on oxygen, he could tell. His lungs burned. His eyesight dimmed. He pressed the door to the fishing hatch, and when it slid open, he moved into the box of water, then pressed the second button and fell into the island, gasping for breath. There was so much chaos inside, nobody even noticed him.

Except Kitten, of course. “Mewmewmew!” she cried. “Mewmewmew!”

Alex didn’t have a clue what she was saying. “Show me,” he said when he could catch his breath.

Kitten pranced through the chaos with a soaking-wet Alex on her heels. He dodged and weaved, keeping his arm near his face so he wouldn’t be noticed. An alarm sounded, and pirates everywhere were becoming hysterical trying to find safety seats before their sickening ride upward. If Alex hadn’t been so overwhelmed with everything else, he might have thought this was
the most inconvenient and annoying island he’d ever seen. He never wanted to see it again.

Kitten darted down the spiral staircase, jumping from one step to the next, and raced up a hallway past a few panicked people wearing the brown uniforms of slaves. Kitten stopped at a door. “Mewmewmew!” she cried, throwing herself at it.

Alex grabbed the handle and pushed open the door. He nearly fell inside when he saw the scene before him.

I
t didn’t take long for Aaron and his new governors to make up a variety of atrocities to pin on the unsuspecting people of Artimé, painting them as a looming threat to the people of Quill. Aaron worked and reworked his speech, knowing he needed to be alarming yet appear totally in control, and also instill trust in his new team of leaders so that when Aaron wasn’t around, the Quillens would listen to the governors.

When it came time to address the people, Aaron, his three new inductees, and Secretary, of course, rode to the Commons of Quill, arriving just slightly late as Justine would have done.
Aaron knew it was the little, consistent details that proved to gain the trust of the people of Quill. Being late was one of them.

Flanked by guards and wearing one of Justine’s robes, Aaron stepped out of his car, followed by Secretary. The crowd in the amphitheater murmured and then was quiet. The next car pulled up, and Gondoleery, Liam, and Strang got out.

Aaron nodded to them and began walking to the amphitheater. They followed. When the high priest approached the podium, he didn’t smile or frown. He looked over the crowd. The Wanteds stood in the front as usual. Behind them were the Necessaries in their assigned spots, and beyond the Necessaries were a small group of tattered-looking Unwanteds who had come crying into Quill when Artimé disappeared. Aaron had quickly turned them into slaves. The high priest narrowed his eyes in their direction, seeing a boy who had been in his own class in school, Cole Wickett, standing there. He wondered how Cole was liking the little deal the high priest had made with the returning Unwanteds. Not that he cared.

As usual, Aaron’s eyes sought and found the spot where his parents always stood. The sun beat down on them now.
The last time Aaron had seen his parents, his mother was very pregnant. Now his mother and father each held a baby girl with dark brown ringlets. One of the girls squirmed, while the other sat pacified, looking in Aaron’s direction. Aaron frowned and looked away. It was strange to know he had sisters. Identical twins once more.

When all was silent and the governors stood behind him, Aaron focused on a very different spot in the crowd and began his address.

“People of Quill, I come with news,” he began. “As your high priest, I must tell you that our neighbors in Artimé are plotting to attack us.” He let the words sink in and the murmurs die down.

“We don’t know how or when, but we do know that they have been plotting this for some time. They wish to take over Quill, get rid of us, and expand their hideous world. And”—he paused for effect—“they are using
you
to do it.”

Again Aaron waited in the thick silence.

“Those of you who have been visiting Artimé or accepting Unwanteds as visitors in your homes here in Quill—you are our weak link. I am asking you to cease these visits immediately
without letting on to Artimé that we know about their plans. If we tip them off, they may change tactics and put us into more danger. As it stands now, there is nothing to fear in the near future. We are watching them very closely. But we can also use your help.”

Aaron flicked away a bead of sweat that dripped down his cheek. “In addition to ceasing your contact with to Artimé, I’m asking each of you to watch your neighbors to make sure they are not sneaking off to visit the Unwanteds or inviting them into Quill. If you suspect someone is making contact with the people of Artimé, please come to the palace with your information and you will be rewarded with Favored Farm food for your efforts to make Quill a safer place to live.

“In addition, I have appointed three new governors to help protect you and serve our land.” Aaron stepped aside to point them out. “Liam Healy, Gondoleery Rattrapp, and Septimus Strang.” The governors bowed when their names were called. Aaron continued. “They are your advocates, and together we are working tirelessly to eliminate the threat from outside our walls. We will not let the people of Artimé try to control us! We will not let the Unwanteds take over an inch of our world!
People of Quill, we must come together for the sake of our land and our traditions. We need to act as one body in opposition to the enemy who is out to destroy us. And together we will become a stronger society, eliminating once and for all the enemy that has plagued us since they killed our beloved High Priest Justine.”

Aaron pressed his lips together and leaned forward. “People of Quill, vow with me now to work only for the best interests of our land.” He paused for effect, and then said with a flourish, “May Quill prevail with all we have in us!”

The people gathered there did not cheer, but if they looked deep within their hearts, almost everyone present could feel something strange welling up inside them—something that felt like anger and loyalty and courage. They used the courage to beat down the anger, saving it for another day and knowing instinctively that they would need a large supply when the time came.

Aaron stepped back, spent. The seeds were sown. The reaction was exactly as he had wished it to be. He sent the three new governors out into the crowd to greet the Wanteds. They would be the temporary face of the palace. For a short
time, anyway. Long enough for Aaron to build and grow his secret weapons.

And then all manner of war would be released alongside the collected anger of the people of Quill, and the Unwanteds would be gone and Artimé would be his.

I
n the dark room on the lowest floor of Pirate Island, Sky, Samheed, and Crow were frantically tending to Henry, Lani, and Copper, who were covered in bruises and blood.

Sky looked up. Her breath caught. “Alex, thank goodness.” She waved her hand at the injured. “They weren’t strapped in when the island plunged,” she said. “They went flying.”

Samheed looked at Alex. “They’re all conscious now, at least. Henry was still out cold when we got here, and he’s bleeding pretty badly. We’ll have to sneak out in the middle of the night when we can go slowly.”

Alex looked on in alarm. “No, we can’t wait. They know we’re here. That tremor you felt wasn’t the island about to go up, it was Simber breaking through the cage glass. The eel got Octavia and, well, another creature, and we had to get them out or they’d die.” He wiped the drips from his face with his sodden shirtsleeve. “Seriously, guys—we have to go now.”

“I don’t think we should move them,” Samheed said, his stubbornness coming out.

“Sam. Listen. There’s total chaos out there,” Alex said. “Nobody will be paying attention to us. We can get out safely right now. I don’t have time to explain, but we
have
to go. We have to.” When Samheed hesitated and Sky didn’t say anything to help, Alex repeated in a stern voice. “Now.”

Samheed looked at Lani. She nodded and struggled to her elbows. “Alex is right. If they know we’re here,” she said weakly, “they’ll find us.”

Alex breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up Kitten and handed her to Crow. “Sam, take Lani. I’ve got Copper. Sky, you grab Henry. Let’s get out of here. Don’t stop for anything.”

The three able bodies picked up their battered friends, Alex quickly yet politely introducing himself to Copper before he
picked her up, explaining to her what his plan was. They left the room and made their way down the empty hall, then crept up the spiral stairs to where the chaos was.

Samheed reached the top first and waited for the others. Lani, despite her injuries, strained over the railing at the top of the steps to look inside the glass case nearby, which had caught her eye earlier. She struggled in Samheed’s arms to see better as they waited for the others to reach them.

“Ouch. What are you doing?” Samheed whispered.

“Trying to see that drawing,” Lani said, digging a knee into his ribs. “Boost me up!”

“No!” Samheed said. “Stop wriggling or I’ll drop you.”

Lani frowned and wriggled more, finally getting a long look at what was inside the case.

Samheed looked down the stairs as Sky struggled with Henry to reach them. He shifted Lani and held out a hand to assist Sky as Alex climbed past them all to take the lead with Copper.

“Everybody,” Alex hissed, “keep your heads down and push on, no matter what. Do what you have to do to get out of here. Just stay close.” He set off, with Sky on his heels.

Lani settled back down in Samheed’s arms, spent from her efforts, and Samheed sped after Alex and Sky.

“My mother can’t swim,” Sky reminded Alex in a low voice as they dodged a wailing child who’d been separated from his parents in the confusion. “How will we get her all the way to the surface?”

Alex twisted left and right, moving through the crowd, his heart pounding. “I’m wondering the same thing about myself,” he said. After two lengthy dives already today and little recovery time, he didn’t have much energy left in him. And they couldn’t afford to rest.

“Put a helmet on Sky’s mother,” Lani said, her head resting on Samheed’s shoulder now. “I meant to tell you—there’s air inside. She’ll be able to breathe.”