Island of Graves (40 page)

F
rom the direction of the Ancients Sector, Gunnar and Henry Haluki were the first to arrive in the Commons with upwards of twenty elderly Quillens. The Ancients stood proud as they accepted the weapons offered, and their eyes widened at the sight of the sacks of food they were given. Some began eating right away, and others held their goods close while studying the strange lights and the Artiméans who held them. They didn't seem particularly fearful, having been swept away from certain death. They were almost animated. Almost.

From the other direction a small group approached slowly. The Artiméans
gave them plenty of room to get by and make their way to the huge pile of crates in the center. Wordlessly they accepted the food first, and then, more tentatively, the weapons. They seemed confused about the weapons, but they took them without question.

“I count thirty-one so far,” Alex said to Aaron, who was still leaning over the podium, face hidden by his hands.

Aaron didn't respond. He could feel his stomach churning. The pressure was intense.

“Three more people just stepped into the lighted area,” Alex reported. He strained to see in the darkness beyond the amphitheater. “Good night!” he said. “They're coming. Hordes of them. Aaron, look! The place is filling up!”

There was no way to turn back. Aaron tried to breathe through his cold sweat and nausea, and finally convinced himself he was going to be fine. He looked up and saw the faces of more than a hundred Necessaries peering up at him, with more Necessaries streaming into the amphitheater from all directions.

When the people saw Aaron lift his head, a murmur arose. “It's true,” they said. “He's here!”

Finally, even though there were still Necessaries arriving
and collecting their promised food, Alex put his hand on Aaron's shoulder. “We need to get started,” he whispered.

Aaron nodded.
Be your own strong.
He wiped his hands on his pants, located Kaylee and Sky in the audience, and put on the face of the old Aaron. Then he took a deep breath and began.

“People of Quill,” he said, his voice shaking slightly. The murmuring in the amphitheater quieted. “People of Quill,” Aaron said again, “thank you for coming here. You've risked your lives for me. I cannot thank you enough.” He frowned as Necessaries looked around uneasily, and realized he didn't sound anything like the old Aaron. He needed to stop thanking them.

“People of Quill,” he said again, harsher this time, “I have heard about your troubles with the new High Priest Gondoleery, and I've returned because you need my help to survive. She may have told you I was dead, but I am alive and well, as you can see. I was kidnapped by pirates because they were threatened by Quill's strength and dominance in the world. And my brother, Alex, the mage of Artimé, and some of his people risked their lives to save me. We owe them a debt. And we owe ourselves one too.”

The Necessaries looked lost and shifted uncomfortably.

Claire Morning and Gunnar Haluki frowned and exchanged glances.

Aaron's mind raced. He'd done better that time, but then strayed too far from the old Aaron again at the end. He had to pull the Necessaries back in. He continued. “In your hands is the food I promised. There will be much more food available to all the Necessaries once we destroy the High Priest Gondoleery.”

A new murmur arose, and Aaron allowed it, giving himself time to gather his wits. He had to keep things simple. A dirty gust of wind rattled the podium, and Aaron coughed to clear the dust from his throat.

“You have been given weapons,” he said. “These are to be used to defend yourselves against Gondoleery and anyone who tries to help her. Once we have done away with her, you will have access to the Favored Farm whenever you want. Do you understand?”

This, apparently, was something all the Necessaries understood. The murmur grew, and Aaron didn't stop it. He had them, just barely. It had to be enough. When the crowd quieted, he said, “Good. You have one hour to bring your
goods home and return with your weapons. Do not go to work. Come straight here, and we will travel together to seize the palace. Go quickly now!”

The Necessaries looked at one another, waiting to see if anyone was going to do what Aaron said to do. Finally a few began to walk uncertainly toward home, and then others started to follow.

“Hurry!” Aaron called out, silently begging them to obey.

As Necessaries began to scurry toward their homes with their goods, Aaron relaxed a little, relieved to be finished. He'd done the best he could.

But in the audience, Samheed turned sharply toward a cluster of people who hadn't moved. He leaned toward Lani and whispered a question. She looked where he pointed. Her eyes widened and she nodded.

“Stop! Everyone stop!” Samheed cried. “Alex, she's here! Gondoleery's here! Attack or take cover!”

Alex spotted the cluster. As he ran to the front of the stage, it dawned on him that the people surrounding the evil woman must be her new protection unit made up of university
students. And there were more swarming toward her, surrounding her, and brandishing the weapons the Artiméans had given them.

Oh no!
Alex thought. He waved his arms wildly to gain control of the crowd and repeated Samheed's words, shouting over the uproar.

Lani pulled components from her vest and split away from Samheed, trying to get to a spot where she could take the high priest down. Carina, Sean, and others followed her lead.

All around, people dove to the ground as a woman in the middle of the pack threw her dust veil back, revealing the evil Gondoleery. A fireball burst from her fingers and hit Samheed in the chest, throwing him to the dirt. And then she turned toward Aaron.

“How dare you,” she sneered, and sent a bevy of fireballs toward him. Aaron ducked behind the podium as the fireballs thwapped against it.

Alex shot off a round of scatterclips, catching a few of Gondoleery's guards and sending them flying backward into the night, but he couldn't get a good shot at Gondoleery behind her layers of protection. She turned her focus on
him and shot several spears of ice from her fingertips.

The head mage dodged and dove toward the back of the stage and leaped off, hitting the dirt behind it as the ice sailed over his head. Once protected from Gondoleery's attack, he dug frantically in his pocket for Simber's dewclaw. When he found it, he held it tightly, closed his eyes, and whispered, “Seek.”

A glowing orb shot out from Alex's hand and disappeared in the storm, heading to the road where Simber and Florence were stationed. As soon as he saw the seek spell was successfully launched, Alex grabbed a handful of heart attack spells and crept around the side of the stage, clearing the dust from his eyes and trying to assess the situation.

In the amphitheater, more fake Necessaries in the audience revealed themselves as Gondoleery's palace guards. They surrounded her as well, forming several additional rings of protection around her while still allowing her to shoot ice spears and fireballs over their heads and between their bodies.

Gondoleery uttered a chant, and the blowing dust grew stronger. As Artiméans everywhere began flinging spells, Gondoleery and her people dodged them. The Unwanteds'
accuracy was off because of the dust, which only made the high priest cackle. Just a few of her guards had been taken down so far.

Gondoleery scanned the stage, trying to find the one person she knew she had to kill in order to stop the Artiméans' magic from working, but she no longer saw him. And then her eyes alighted on the podium again, behind which she knew Aaron was still hiding. She slammed a dozen fireballs at it, and finally the old dried-up piece of wood caught fire. The strong wind fanned the flames.

“Get down here!” Alex shouted to Aaron. He jumped onstage and nearly tackled his brother, pulling him off the back to give him the protection of the structure. “What is this, your first battle?”

“Pretty much,” Aaron said, feeling completely out of his element. He scrambled to his feet.

Alex stayed low and grabbed his brother's arm. “Come on. Stay protected. Follow me!”

The Necessaries and Ancients who'd remained in the Commons were running everywhere, disoriented and useless, and often getting caught in the crossfire. In the midst of the confusion, Simber swooped in overhead with a tremendous roar,
causing the Necessaries and Ancients to run away in fright. Aaron watched helplessly as his entire recruiting plan backfired, leaving him the sole Quillen to fight with the Artiméans.

Lani, Sean, and Carina had managed to put out the fire on Samheed's chest, and he was back on his feet, a bit singed but saved by the extra protection from the vest. They took cover behind the rows of seats that made up the curve of the amphitheater, as did the other Artiméans who were still standing and able to fight. Alex and Aaron stumbled across Henry, gripping his side where an ice dagger had glanced off him, and they dragged the boy to safety so he could get bandaged up.

Not long after Simber's appearance, Florence came thundering in. Gondoleery turned all her attention on the warrior, and Florence took the brunt of Gondoleery's fireballs for several seconds as she tried to weave through the throngs of hysterical, retreating Necessaries. Gondoleery soon discovered that her magic had no effect on Florence, but during the time she'd spent firing spells at the warrior, Sean, Carina, Samheed, and Lani had managed to take down several of her guards.

As Florence took on a handful of university students while trying to get to Gondoleery, Simber dove down from overhead in
an attempt to grab the old woman. But she turned her weapons on the cat, sending a stream of ice spears at his underbelly. They clinked off him and dropped back to the ground, several pieces striking one of her guards and impaling him.

Gondoleery switched to fireballs. Simber dipped his wings and curved sharply, the fireballs missing him and being carried by the squalls into the Necessary quadrant nearby. Smoke added to the dust in the air, which made the visibility even poorer.

With her ranks thinning, Gondoleery paused in her firing and shouted something to her remaining protection crew. They lifted their rusty weapons and began to slice through the crowd of advancing Artiméans, traveling as a unit and heading toward the road in the direction of the palace.

Sean and Carina, anticipating Gondoleery's move, had slipped ahead to find barriers to hide behind. They reloaded their components, and once Gondoleery's pack came into striking distance, they began pelting her guards with heart attack spells, trying to cut deep enough into the layers of protection around the high priest to enable them to get to the woman herself.

With guards falling all around her, Gondoleery didn't seem to be bothered. She sent a dozen ice spears at a group of hidden Unwanteds, aiming for their arms so they wouldn't be able to throw their components, and she hit her mark.

The crowd scattered as Gondoleery began attacking anyone in the way, and soon she and her protectors were moving swiftly through the quadrant. Florence, who kept having to dodge guards swinging sharp objects, grabbed her bow and nocked an arrow so she could take a single deadly shot if presented with the opportunity. But Gondoleery was clever and kept moving constantly, avoiding spells cast her way and keeping a tall guard between her and the towering ebony warrior at all times. To her great frustration, Florence never had a clear shot.

By the time Gondoleery and her thinning ranks reached the road, Alex understood why she had decided to move in that direction. Stationed there, with a fleet of Quillitary vehicles, was Governor Strang and the new Wanted Quillitary recruits. With horns honking, engines revving, and a whole new battalion of guards running toward Gondoleery to fill in the holes in her human shield left by the fallen, Gondoleery's company took on renewed strength. Things began looking bleak for Artimé.

“Everybody take cover!” Alex cried, Aaron at his side. “Regroup! Reload!”

Simber flew over their path carrying wounded Artiméans and depositing them in a safe spot for Claire and Henry to attend to, seeking but not finding any opportunity to pluck the high priest from the ground.

Seeing Gondoleery's reinforcements arriving, Florence thundered out to the road to try to weave her way into the inner circle of human armor before it closed up again. As she ran, Governor Strang shouted a command, and suddenly a swarm of vehicles peeled out on the loose gravel road and charged toward the ebony statue.

“Florence, look out!” Lani cried. But it was too late.

The vehicles rammed at the statue's legs, trying to stop her. Florence nimbly jumped up and landed on the hood of one, smashing it and cracking her foot. She leaped to the next hood, crushing it, and then tried running across the tops of all of the vehicles that stood in her way. But the drivers began to anticipate her moves, and at the last second, a vehicle she was aiming for quickly slammed into reverse. Instead of stepping on the hood, Florence landed off balance with a jolt on the
ground. Her already cracked foot shattered. Her knee buckled, and all her weight slammed down on that one point. It cracked and her lower leg broke off, leaving her helpless to walk and surrounded by vehicles.

Simber flew to Florence's side, roaring at the drivers, but they all rolled up their windows and were safe inside their vehicles for the moment.

“I'm fine!” Florence yelled to Simber. “I'm just stuck here. Follow them! I'll do what I can to help!”

Upon overhearing this, the drivers in undamaged vehicles raced around Florence to catch up to Gondoleery and her remaining posse of guards, while Alex shouted for all spell casters to huddle up if they were able.

Unwanteds, covered in a layer of dust and shielding their eyes from the wind, darted from their hiding places and found Alex. It was a decidedly smaller team than what he'd started out with this morning, but it was a strong one.