Claire put her hand on Alex’s arm. “You’ve got plenty of components?”
“Yeah, thanks,” Alex said. “Though . . .”
“What is it?”
“Maybe I ought to take some heart attack spells with me, just in case.”
Claire nodded. She knew why he didn’t use them. She didn’t like them either, for the same reason. But this was different. “I would if I were you,” she said.
» » « «
That evening, with his vest loaded and an extra sack of spell components packed, Alex shoved a large handful of books into his rucksack. He included the sign language book, though with Sky along, he wouldn’t need it quite as desperately as he’d thought. But he still needed to learn the language. Maybe Sky could help teach him on the boat. Alex packed a few more personal items and some clothes, and then sent an order to the kitchen for his favorite to-go meals for the trip.
He checked his pants pocket to make sure he had Simber’s dewclaw in there in case he had to summon the cheetah with a seek spell. And then he loaded his rucksack on his back and headed out.
Sky met him on the lawn. She had her things packed too, and she didn’t hide her grin when she saw him.
“Ready for some excitement?” he asked her.
“Ready,” she said.
Simber, Florence, Copper, and Ms. Octavia were there to send them off, as well as Samheed and Lani and the others who wanted to wish the travelers well on their journey. Crow was nearby with the twins to say good-bye too.
The boat floated in the lagoon, ready to go.
Ms. Octavia was all business. “I’ve installed a magical water fountain on board so you’ll have freshwater to drink at all times,” Ms. Octavia said. “It’ll never run out. And I’ve got boxes and boxes of food that the kitchen delivered. Most are in the cabin and a few are in the hold as backup in case you get lost or stranded somewhere and it takes us a few days to get to you. You’ll find blankets, toiletries, music and art supplies, tools, a healer’s kit—everything you could possibly need.” She smiled proudly.
“Sounds like we’ll have enough food for an army,” Alex said. “At least we know what’s important.” He gave his instructor a hug and planted a kiss on the side of her snout. “Thank you, Ms. Octavia. We’ll survive any disaster with this.”
Florence spoke up. “I’ve put a sword and a dagger belt in there for you, Sky. Those weapons might also come in handy in case magic doesn’t affect certain creatures you run into, like that eel.”
“A sword! Good thinking, Florence,” Sky said. “Thanks.” She’d done some sword training with Mr. Appleblossom’s stage combat class and knew how to use one—in a play, at least. She wasn’t so sure about real life.
Simber frowned at the mention of the eel, but they’d seen no sign of any ominous sea creatures since they had left the Island of Legends, which led them to believe they really had killed it. “That boat can outrrrun any eel,” he said. “Be surrre it does.”
“I will,” Alex promised.
Fifer toddled over and grabbed on to Alex’s pant leg. Alex picked her up and tickled her. She giggled.
“I’m going away for a week or so, little Fig, but I’ll be back,” he said to her, and sang in a silly voice, “I’m off to fetch my evil brother.” Then he froze. “I mean, our brother,” he said in his normal voice.
“That’s weird,” Sky remarked.
“Yes, very,” Alex said. He walked with Fifer toward Thisbe and knelt on the ground by her.
“Good-bye for now,” Alex said. “Do either of you have a hug for me?”
Fifer threw her arms around his neck. Alex laughed and kissed her cheek. Sisters weren’t so bad, he decided.
He gave Thisbe a hug as well, and tried to kiss her cheek, but she was having none of it, preferring instead to pick a nearby reblooming flower—every time she picked it, another flower of a different color immediately bloomed in its place. It was an endless game for the little ones as the pile of picked flowers grew larger by the minute.
“The chefs can use those discarded petals for something, I’ll bet,” Alex said.
“I’ll have the twins help me bring them into the kitchen,” Crow said.
Alex grinned at the boy. “Thanks for taking care of them. They love you.”
Crow shrugged. “I like taking care of them. They’re all right when they’re not both screaming at once.”
“I agree,” said Alex. He slapped Crow’s shoulder and turned to the rest gathered there.
“Where’s Charlie?” he asked.
“He’s in the boat already,” Sky said. She hugged her mother, and then hugged Crow. “And Spike is out there waiting.” She looked at her little family. “Alex and I will be all right,” she said. “See you soon. Find Matilda anytime if you want to check in and see how we’re doing.”
Copper gave Sky’s arm a squeeze. “We will. Be smart like always.”
“I will.” Sky set down her rucksack, patiently waiting for Alex to finish saying his good-byes.
Florence picked up Alex’s and Sky’s personal items. “I’ll put these in the boat,” she said, and waded out into the water.
When all the warnings and reminders had been given, and all the hugs had been warmly received, Alex and Sky struck out in the water for the shiny white boat, climbed in, and got settled.
Alex took the wheel, and soon, with the sunset at their backs and with Spike’s faux-diamond spike glinting fifty yards off to starboard, they were on their way.
Just Friends
Once Alex manually had the boat speeding over the waves at a brisk clip, he commanded it to aim for the nearest island to the east. He hoped that was enough information, and it seemed to be, for as soon as he said it, the boat adjusted its direction slightly, the wheel moving of its own accord.
Alex took his hands off it and watched. And to Alex’s great surprise, part of the dashboard slid aside, revealing a miniature blackboard. There was no face or personality to this blackboard, unfortunately—or fortunately, as the case may be—but there was, in fact, a map that appeared. And on the map were seven islands. They were headed directly for the cylindrical one.
“Wow,” Alex said, and motioned Sky to come over. “Check out what happens when you use the direction spell.”
A gauge appeared in the corner of the blackboard. Estimated time of arrival: 9 hours, 14 minutes, it read.
“This is cool!” Sky said. “Does it give any information about the islands?”
“No. It just marks their location in the sea.”
“Oh.” Sky was less than impressed. She’d gotten used to the conveniences of magic and had high expectations.
“I’m sure Claire would have told us if it had that,” Alex said. “It could have saved us some trouble.”
“The waterfalls aren’t on here, though, so that wouldn’t have helped us.”
“Yeah. The strange block of land isn’t on here either. Nine hours, thirteen minutes now.”
“Sure isn’t.” Sky yawned and dropped into the passenger seat. It was soft and cushiony. She leaned her head back and breathed in the salty air. “This is awesome,” she said. “So we can sleep while it’s driving us places?”
“Sure,” Alex said. “Spike will let us know if danger’s afoot.”
“Or afin.” Sky wrinkled up her nose and laughed. “Get it? Never mind. That was dumb.” She picked up her rucksack and pulled out a book to read.
“It was kind of dumb,” Alex admitted. He sat across from her and began to unpack. “Look, there’s room to put your things away if you want. And each seat folds all the way flat like a bed for stretching out.”
He lined up his books on a small shelf, and then stowed his extra clothing in the tiny cabin at the front of the boat. Charlie had claimed the cabin space immediately upon boarding, saying he didn’t like looking at the water very much. But he was happy to share it with all the supplies they’d brought along.
Sky put her books on the shelf next to Alex’s, except
for the one she was reading. It felt a little awkward being trapped on a boat for days with the person she liked, so she immediately grabbed a book and curled up with it.
As darkness fell over them, the dashboard glowed with enough light to read by. The two lounged on opposite sides of the boat with an aisle between. They maneuvered their seats to fold down into beds, which felt almost as soft as any bed in the mansion. They both read their books intently, saying little to one another. Occasionally Alex glanced at Sky, and if she looked up, he pretended to check the dashboard map to see their progress and make sure they were still on course. They always were.
After a time, Sky drifted off to sleep, and her book tumbled to the deck. Alex reached over to pick it up, and then he stood at the ship’s wheel for a long moment, gazing into the darkness, and laughed a little at his full trust in the boat’s ability to keep them from crashing into something.
From the side of the boat, Spike called out, “Is everything all right, the Alex?”
“Yes, it’s perfect. Is it all right with you and the sea?”
“It is,” replied the whale.
Alex smiled and glanced at Sky, whose back moved gently with her breathing. He turned back to the water, but he couldn’t see Spike. “Good night. Wake me if anything seems unusual.”
“I will,” said Spike.
Alex pulled two blankets from the tiny cabin. “Good night, Charlie,” he said, signing it at the same time.
Charlie signed good night.
Alex closed the cabin door and draped one blanket over Sky. He pulled the other over himself as he lay down. The sea air filled his lungs, and soon he was asleep as well.
It seemed like only a minute had passed before he was opening his eyes to daylight. The boat had slowed considerably, and as Alex sat up, he saw the towering wall of the cylinder island only feet away—almost close enough to touch.
What he didn’t see, on the opposite side of the island, was a floating creature unlike anything the Unwanteds had ever seen before.
Island Number Seven
Alex balled up his blanket and threw it at Sky’s head. “Wake up!” he called. “We’re here!”
Sky groaned. She pushed the blanket aside and yawned.
Alex rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at the towering island. It was huge—much larger than he had remembered, but he’d never seen it close-up before. The smooth, sheer cylindrical island appeared to be entirely formed from light brown rock, with muted orange waves of color swirling through it, void of any particular pattern. It rose straight up into the air hundreds of feet.
The boat slowly moved around the perimeter of the island, and the map on the dashboard flashed the word “ARRIVED” in green letters, which disappeared when Alex took over the steering wheel. He increased the speed slightly, staring at the immense wall before him for any clues on how he and Sky might be able to land. Was there an opening in the wall somewhere?
Sky got up and stretched. She took in the new scenery for a moment, looking all the way to the top of the island at its spikey crown, where flowering ivy dangled down a short distance. She folded and put the blankets away. “See anything?” she asked.
“Not so far,” Alex said.
“What did Spike say about it?”
Alex turned and scanned the water. “I haven’t seen her yet this morning.” He sped up the boat a bit more to see if the whale was visible around the curve. “Spike!” he called.
“There she is,” Sky said, moving to Alex’s side and pointing to a flash in the morning light. She opened the center of the windshield and hopped onto the bow, where there was even more cushioned seating. Straining forward over the railing at the point of the bow, she tried to see what was around the curve.
Spike saw them moving in and came toward them. “There is a something floating,” she said, moving alongside the boat.
“What is it?” Alex asked. “A boat?”
“No. It is alive,” Spike said.
“A floating, living creature?” asked Alex. “Like a duck of some sort?”
“Oh, no, the Alex. It is not a duck. It is hiding from me. I cannot see it, but I know it is there.”
Alex’s lips twitched. He glanced at Sky, who was trying not to smile at the whale’s odd way of speaking. Turning back to Spike, he said, “Do you think it’s afraid of you? Is that why it’s hiding?”
“I do not think so.” Spike ducked under the water for a moment, disappeared, and came up on the other side of the boat. “I think it does not want to be seen by anybody. When I follow it, it stays out of sight around the curve of the island, even when I go very fast.”
Alex wasn’t sure what to make of it. “Do you think it’s dangerous? Like the eel?”
Spike blew water from her blowhole. “It is not like the eel. I cannot tell if it is dangerous, but it does not want to attack us.”
“How do you know that?” asked Sky.
“I can feel it in the water.”
“She’s intuitive,” Alex reminded Sky.
“Can you talk to it?” Sky asked Spike.
“I cannot get close enough to talk,” Spike said, “but if I go one way around the island and you go the other way, one of us might.”
Sky raised an eyebrow at Alex. “Is that a wise idea?”
Alex shrugged. “We need to go around the island anyway to see if there’s anyplace where Aaron might have accessed it.” To Spike, he said, “Okay, you go around to the right, and we’ll go around to the left, and if at any time you think there is danger, just make a loud noise or something. Hopefully we’ll hear you.”
“I will do that,” Spike said.
The two parties split up, with Alex and Sky spending more time looking at the rock face than worrying about whatever floating nonduck thing was out there.
As they scoured the rocky cylinder, Sky and Alex became more and more sure that Aaron couldn’t possibly be on this island. The only way to access it was to fly up to the top, it seemed, like the birds that circled overhead.
Sky absently combed her fingers through her hair before securing it in a ponytail. “Do you think there’s any sort of door under the water, like with the Island of Fire?” she asked.
Alex peered into the water. He could see a short distance underneath the surface, but the smooth rock looked no different below the water than above it, except for some wispy green algae growing on it. “I can’t see any openings,” Alex said. “But I haven’t been looking all the way around. I’m not sure we want to waste much time checking, either. Remember, as far as we know, Aaron can’t swim. His chances of finding an underwater entrance to this island are about a million to one.”
“That’s true,” Sky said. She leaned forward over the bow. “Can you go a little faster? I want to see this creature Spike’s talking about.”
Alex increased the boat’s speed, and soon they were on the shady side of the island a quarter of the way around from their starting place. The sheer wall didn’t vary much. There were few cracks or crannies, and the divots and irregularities that could be used as hand- or footholds were too far apart to be used for climbing. Eventually Charlie emerged from the cabin, and he helped study the island, looking for a way in.
As the boat continued, Alex became more and more certain this seventh island was determined to keep everyone out. “I wonder if we could scale the wall in some other way,” Alex mused. He thought about spells that might help with this, but he had nothing prepared that would do the trick.
Sky looked up and blanched. “That’s an awfully long way to fall,” she said. “I hope you’re not thinking about trying.”
“I don’t have any components that’ll work,” Alex said. “Unless you want to try scatterclips on me at just the right angle.”
“Um, no, thank you,” said Sky.
Alex grinned. “Besides, Aaron wouldn’t be able to get up there either.”
The two of them stared at the crown of the island, contemplating their options.
In their s
ilence, a faint, faraway noise could be heard.
Alex looked at Sky. “Did you hear that?”
Sky tilted her head, trying to identify the noise. They heard it again. “It’s just a bird, I think,” Sky said after a while. “It didn’t sound like Spike.”
Alex nodded. He turned the wheel to follow the island’s curve, and the sound came again, louder this time.
“Wait—it is Spike,” Sky said, sitting up. “Isn’t it?”
Charlie nodded emphatically.
“I wonder if she found the floating creature,” Alex said. He increased the boat’s speed, and Sky went up to the bow and leaned forward, straining once more to see around the curve.
A moment later she reared back with a shout and tripped over her feet trying to back up. “Stop!” she cried to Alex. “Go back! It’s huge!”
Charlie ran into the cabin and shut the door.
Alex slammed the boat into reverse, but not before he caught a glimpse of what was most certainly the floating creature Spike had been talking about.
This was definitely not a duck, nor any other type of bird. Curled up like a snake with four short legs and floating completely on top of the water, the black, shiny creature had a giant, gaping mouth filled with multiple rows of teeth, a regal plume of scales, like feathers, shooting up from the back of its head, and a thin tail that was so long it appeared to have no end.
It made a strange cry, and fire shot from its mouth. Its tail lifted into the air like a rope lasso, and the creature headed straight for the boat.
The Mysterious Coiled Water Dragon
Aaah!” Alex shouted, and cursed under his breath as he fumbled with the boat’s controls. “It’s a dragon!”
“Like the origami fire-breathing kind?”
“Yeah, only a thousand times bigger and alive!”
“Why is it in the water?” Sky asked, frantic, scrambling over to grab the sword Florence had given her.
“Does that matter right now?” Alex asked. The magical boat skimmed backward over the water, and Alex and Sky remained frozen face-forward, unable to take their eyes off the dragon.