Island of Graves (8 page)

“What is it?” Alex asked him.

Liam hesitated, then put a finger in the air. “I think, actually . . . ,” he began, his eyes darting from Lani to Alex to Lani again. He leaned even closer to them, as if he had a secret to tell. “That is,” he said, and cleared his throat, “I believe there is a tiny ch-chance that I might actually be able to help you . . . perhaps even more than you anticipated.”

W
hile Florence and Claire held the first Magical Warrior Training for the newest members of Artimé—the Warbler children who had been catapulted to Artimé's shores a few months before—Alex, Lani, and Liam headed west along the shoreline, staying low and close to the water. They picked their way over the rubble from the destroyed wall, keeping watchful eyes on the land and the road that ran parallel to their path up the hill a few hundred yards to their right.

“Maybe we should have taken the boat,” Alex said. “We'd get there faster.”

“No way,”
Lani said, hopping deftly from one rock to the next. “Someone would be sure to see it buzzing on the water, and knowing the people of Quill, the sight of it would cause a panic. We're much less noticeable walking along the shore.”

They continued to where the shoreline curved and the elevation increased slightly, indicating they were on the approach to the palace end of the island. Now and then they heard the echo of the portcullis clanging open or shut.

“Guards and palace workers coming and going,” Liam explained. “The gate to the palace is useless now that the wall is down, but I'm not sure anyone has figured out quite yet that you can just walk around the south side of the portcullis now, if you really want to.”

“No wonder Justine was afraid of the creative thinkers,” Lani muttered.

Alex kept a wary eye on the rise of land, but no one seemed to be guarding the palace grounds along the place where the wall used to be. When at last they could see the turret directly up and to their right, they turned toward it and began climbing the rubble-covered hill, staying low to the ground. They could hear the rumble of a jalopy revving up and fading into the distance.

“Aaron
figured out how to get the vehicles running more smoothly,” Liam whispered to the others as they neared the top of the hill and peeked over, witnessing the plodding of workers around the palace and the vehicle disappearing down the hill. “H-he made a . . . a contraption to squeeze the oil out of nuts. I've never seen anything like it.”

Alex shot Liam a quizzical glance. “He did?”

“I swear it,” Liam said.

“Shh,” Lani said, pointing to the door to the palace.

A guard stood on either side of it. A few yards closer to Alex, Lani, and Liam, three drivers congregated near a line of vehicles. They didn't speak; they merely stood together, waiting to be called upon.

“Sometimes they stand there all day with nothing to do,” Liam whispered.

“It doesn't look like we can get any closer without being seen,” Lani whispered. “Do they ever walk over here?”

“They might,” Liam said, very seriously. “Then again, they might not.”

Lani and Alex exchanged raised eyebrows and went back to
studying the drivers. Alex took a tiny sketch pad and pencil from his robe and began to draw.

Once Lani had fully scoped out the area, she pulled an invisibility paintbrush from her vest pocket and painted herself with it. “Back in a few,” she said, and Alex could hear her climbing up the rocks. But when she started across the gravel driveway, her footsteps were painfully loud over the loose rubble, and rocks tilted and moved under her. The drivers didn't seem to notice or care, but one of the guards looked up. Lani stopped moving.

When the guard turned back to her thoughts, Lani tried to get closer, but the fresh rubble was like crunching across a layer of spun-sugar brittle. The guard heard her again and took a few steps toward her, beginning to peer about.

Lani froze and was forced to wait several minutes until she was certain the woman had forgotten about the noise. Finally, with every ounce of caution and care in her step, she retreated back to the hiding spot where Alex and Liam waited.

“That's not going to work,” she said. Over the next few minutes the spell wore off and she reappeared, a bit at a time.

Liam frowned as he watched the drivers. “I'm going to try
to get the attention of the one on the end nearest us,” he said. “Follow me.”

Liam slid down the rocks so he could stay hidden and moved farther west, past the side of the palace. Alex and Lani followed close behind. When Liam climbed back up to look over the top of the hill, the other two remained crouched on the rocks.

Seeing that there was no one guarding this side of the building, Liam ran the short distance to the palace, pressed his body against it, and slowly peeked around the corner. After a minute he picked up a pebble and tossed it toward the drivers. He waited, and when nothing happened, repeated his actions, hitting the driver on the end. When the startled man turned to look, Liam frantically waved him to come over.

The driver's face slacked in fear. He looked all around to see if anyone else had noticed Liam.

Alex and Lani ducked. Slowly they lifted their heads again, finding the scene irresistible. Was the driver going to come closer? Alex readied his pencil and sketch pad, straining to get a good glimpse of the man's face and uniform, and hoping they wouldn't have to take off running.

After a moment, the driver mumbled something to the
others and walked slowly along the front of the palace toward the side where Liam was hiding. When the man reached the corner, he turned nonchalantly, and when he was safely out of sight, he looked at Liam, face awash with fear.

“I thought you was sent to the Ancients,” the driver whispered harshly.

“I didn't go,” said Liam.

“But you have to!”

“I won't. Keep my secret, I beg you.”

“You're putting me in danger,” the driver said, his eyes darting this way and that. “Her greatness ain't sending people to the Ancients anymore—she kills 'em outright if she don't like 'em now.”

Alex and Lani looked at one another in alarm.

Liam paled. “Oh dear. I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you someday, I promise. But I need your help.”

The driver silently considered the plea. “What 'appened to them babies?” he asked, eyes narrowed.

It took Liam a moment to realize that the driver was talking about Fifer and Thisbe. “They're safe too. But you must never tell anyone.”

The driver's face
softened. He looked at the ground. “What do you want?”

“Come with me. Just right over here. Only for a moment.” Liam pointed down the embankment to where Alex and Lani were hiding. “Hurry.” He started down the hill and motioned for the driver to follow him.

With a panicked look on his face, the driver hesitated, looked around, and then followed. A moment later, Alex and Lani were face-to-face with the man Lani would soon impersonate.

Alex began sketching at a frantic pace.

“Don't be afraid,” Liam said. “This is
Alex
Stowe, not Aaron. Alex is the leader of Artimé, where Secretary . . . well, you know. And this is Lani Haluki.” Liam hesitated as he realized that even after all this time, he didn't know the driver's name.

No one noticed, for the driver had started at Lani's familiar surname. “Haluki?” he asked. “Like the old high priest?”

“He's my father,” Lani said, holding out her hand. “What is your name?”

The driver looked surprised to be asked such a question, for
he was accustomed to answering to “Driver!” most often. He shook her hand. “I'm Sully,” he said, his voice hushed. “Your father was a kind man.”

“He still is,” Lani said. She smiled and, after a moment, removed her hand from Sully's grasp, all the while studying the man carefully, noting his mannerisms and gestures so she could imitate them properly. The man gazed at her with respect.

Seeing an opportunity, Lani caught Alex's eye, wondering if he saw it too.

Alex nodded ever so slightly and held back, giving Lani the reins to present their predicament.

“We've got a big favor to ask you, Mr. Sully,” Lani began.

“Just Sully,” said Sully.

“Sully,” Lani agreed.

“What is it?” Sully grew fearful again. “I ain't sure if I can . . . You see, since the ice disappeared, High Priest Gondoleery's been fuming, and striking people down . . . dead.” He looked at Liam. “Now you—you been good to me too, Governor, but I can't risk no more trouble for my family. Not with her shooting fireballs this way an' that wherever her whimsies takes her.”

Alex's face
clouded over, and he stopped sketching. “It sounds even worse than I imagined. What else is Gondoleery doing to the people of Quill?”

“So far it's just the ones what get in her way,” Sully said. “Palace workers and whatnot. But she's plotting to do a full sweep of Quill, pretending to ask the people what they are needing, then shooting them down with her magics if they say anything.”

A burst of wind seemed to come from nowhere, sending up a cloud of dirt and nearly knocking Alex and Lani over. Silt rained down on them.

Sully looked fearfully over his shoulder at the upper floor of the palace. “That kind of thing ain't natural—that wind. It's her doing,” he said.

Alex and Lani exchanged a serious glance as they righted themselves and shook the dirt from their clothes.

“Sully,” Lani said, taking the man's hand.

Sully looked at her. “Yes, miss?” He seemed to gain confidence being so close to an offspring of the one good high priest Quill had ever seen.

“We need you,” Lani said earnestly. “We want to overthrow
Gondoleery Rattrapp before she hurts anyone else. She's gone too far.”

Fear sparked in his eyes. “Overthrow?”

“Destroy,” Alex said.

Sully looked at Alex and cringed—the young man looked exactly like Aaron, who was awful. “And then what?” he asked. “You take over the island with your killer beasts and monsters?”

Alex reared back. “Wait. Killer beasts?”

“The one that killed Secretary. We heard all about 'em from Governor Strang. What else do you got in there? No, sir. Nobody here trusts your crazy world full of Unwanteds and monsters.” He said it matter-of-factly.

Liam cringed, and Alex's pencil froze in his grip. He cast his glance away, looking over the gentle waves of the sea as he recovered from the verbal blow. He knew the man didn't know any better. But would it always be this way? It would, he decided, until somebody taught them, like Mr. Today had taught him and his friends.

Lani dropped her eyes, but her temper rose. Keeping her voice low, she said, “If the Wanteds are really so intelligent, why can't they see we're trying to help them? Aren't you afraid
Gondoleery will take you down next?”

A weary look came over Sully's face, and he sighed. “I work long days for a little food and water for my family. Every day of our whole lives we live in fear: Will the high priest let me go home today? Or will she find a reason to send me to the Ancients? Now she's gone even further. But . . . ,” he said, and lost himself in thought for a moment.

“But what?” Lani asked softly.

Sully looked at her. “Sometimes I think the high priest striking me down without warning might be the best thing that could 'appen to me.”

L
eaving Liam, Alex, and Lani with nothing to say, Sully wearily climbed up the hill behind the palace and returned to his post. The three stood for a long moment, then soberly picked their way down the hill and walked back to Artimé.

Upon their return, Lani and Alex met with Mr. Appleblossom to give him the drawings and to begin working on Lani's disguise. She'd use magic to transform her features, and Mr. Appleblossom would help with the costume.