Island of Silence (Unwanteds) (20 page)

Allies or Enemies?

T
he sprightly Eva Fathom, former secretary to the High Priest Justine, smiled warmly at the girrinos at the gate as she strolled past them on her way into Quill. She walked alone for a short time until she was out of sight of Artimé, and then she was joined by a young, reddish-haired man who appeared to have been waiting for her.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“I’ve convinced him to put the gate back up. He and I are leaving first thing tomorrow for a few days.”

The young man was silent for a long moment. “I’m worried.”

“Don’t be. All is well. The plan is solid.”

“And Aaron?”

“This is sooner than he’s expecting, but he’s as prepared as he can be.”

“Will you tell him about the gate?”

Eva Fathom looked at the young man warily, as if the question were some sort of test. She responded in turn, “Would you?”

The young man scowled.

They walked a few minutes in silence. The wavering heat hung low on the road in front of them, forming a mirage, from which a figure emerged.

“I should go,” the young man said.

Eva nodded. “Good luck,” she said.

“You too. I hope you know what you are doing.”

Annoyed, Eva responded, “I should say the same to you, Mr. Ranger.”

He turned off at a footpath, a shortcut to the housing quadrants. Eva kept walking toward Quill and the approaching figure.

» » « «

“Hello, Aaron,” Eva said brightly when the two met up. “What news?”

“Our army is growing, and we are all working feverishly to create adequate weapons.”

“Will you be ready for an attack tomorrow?”

Aaron hesitated. “So soon?”

“It was a split-second decision. I think we should take it. I’ll be leaving with Marcus in the morning.”

Aaron hid his alarm. He thought for a moment, and murmured, “Of course. Well done. We’re always ready.”

“Excellent.” The old woman pulled a handful of small clay hearts from her pocket and held them out to Aaron.

Aaron narrowed his eyes. “What about the thin metal clips’scatterclips, they call them? That’s what I wanted. What are these?” He picked one up and examined it. “They don’t look very fierce.”

“It’s the component for a spell called heart attack,” Eva said. “Your brother made them for my daughter at her request. She claims it’s the best spell Artimé has ever had. So I stole some.”

“Have you tried it?”

“No. I didn’t want to waste any.”

“Is it lethal?”

Eva Fathom hesitated. “Of course it is. It must be, if it’s the most powerful spell ever created.”

“Well, what’s their . . . what’s the little
saying
that goes with it?” Aaron’s annoyance grew. He had plainly instructed Eva to bring him scatterclips since he knew their power and how to use them. And he hated that he couldn’t think of the word the Artiméans used. It made him feel uncomfortable and ill-prepared. With this sudden opportunity, he wasn’t sure if he could pull everything together by tomorrow. But he’d have to.

“Heart attack,” she said. “Throw it at the person, it grows wings or some such thing and strikes your opponent in the chest. He then collapses. And . . . is dead.” She glanced over her shoulder and pressed her lips together.

“You kept one for yourself, I hope. The only way we’ll gain the power we need is by getting rid of all the key players, especially Mr. Today. He’ll never expect it from you.” Aaron smiled. “He’ll never know what hit him if you do it right.”

“That’s the plan,” Eva said. “I’ll take care of him, don’t worry. I’m more worried about you mucking things up.”

Aaron narrowed his eyes but said nothing. It was just the challenge he needed. He might be up working all night, but tomorrow . . . tomorrow he’d be turning Artimé into a disaster zone, causing Necessaries to flock back to Quill, and once again he’d climb his way up the ruling ranks when the Quillens saw how he saved them.

And, if all went well, he’d also rid the world of Alex, Mr. Today, and all of their stupid Unwanted friends, once and for all.

Meanwhile

T
he white boat flew over the waves, almost as if it were skimming the surface, giving Samheed, Meghan, and Lani a smooth and most enjoyable ride. It had been a cinch to start it’the instructions and spells were posted right next to the compass, practically begging them to take it for a ride.

“This is more fun than flying on Simber’s back,” Lani shouted from the helm. She turned the wheel slowly from one side to the other, leaving a lazy
S
wake behind them.

Meghan agreed. Her face, now rosy from the wind and sun, looked decidedly healthier than just hours before. She stood on the seat next to Lani, gripping the top edge of the windshield and letting the wind rush past her, trying not to smile too much in case there were bugs.

“It’s not bad,” Samheed said. He sat in a seat near the back of the boat, leaning forward and gripping his stomach. His face looked anything but healthy. “Can you stop going back and forth like that, though?”

Lani glanced over her shoulder and straightened out the wheel immediately. “Sorry’hey, you’re not about to glug up your lunch, are you?” She slowed the speed a hair as well. “Because if you do, try going for anywhere except inside the boat, right?”

Samheed scowled. “I’m fine. Just stop the spinning already.”

The girls exchanged smirks but kindly left poor Samheed to suffer the queasies in private.

After a quarter of an hour or so, Meghan scanned the horizon and turned to Lani in surprise. “Are you aiming for the island?”

Lani shrugged. “I thought we could get near it. See what’s there.”

Meghan squinted. “What if people are
there? That would be so weird.” They’d never seen people from other lands before the two visitors landed on the shores of Artimé. They’d never even known there were other lands, or other people, until recently.

“Yeah,” Lani said. “This is where Mr. Today came from. He said it was beautiful and the people were nice.” She stared ahead at the looming island, every now and then looking back over her shoulder so she would know how to get back to Artimé. She watched the compass too, having learned a little bit about sailing in her vast amounts of reading.

After a while, Samheed got up and walked to where the girls were. He stood behind Lani, taking mental notes on how she was driving.

“Feeling better?” Lani asked kindly.

“Yes, now that we’ve stopped rocking side to side,” he said. “Thanks.” He looked around at the vast ocean, then ahead at the island. “It’s so strange to see it getting bigger,” he said.

Lani nodded. She didn’t quite understand the feelings that were swirling around inside her stomach. She was nervous and excited. And scared, too. But most of all she was intrigued to learn more, as was often the case with her. She couldn’t get enough stories of other worlds, like the ones they’d read in her literature class and Actors’ Studio, and the ones that she’d made up and told to friends and neighbors back in Quill, which got her sent away. Now she was determined to see another new world for herself, rather than just read about it, or make it up in her head. It was a lofty goal, and it was happening right now.

By midafternoon they drew close enough to see that there were few visible rocks along the shore and lots of sand. There was no lawn, no mansion, no people or creatures walking about as far as they could tell. Just a length of beach and a grove of palm trees behind, and then the land built up toward the middle of the island, where enormous rocks rose grandly into the air. Water tumbled from the rocks and rich green vegetation grew thick and tall all around.

Lani slowed the boat and they drifted toward the island. It was so quiet that they couldn’t even hear the calm lap of the waves on the beach. The three began to whisper without realizing it as they grew near, perhaps feeling the sacredness of their discovery, realizing this truly was the same paradise that Mr. Today had talked about. It was pure beauty to look at.

There was no thought now of Mr. Today or Claire Morning perhaps being upset that they’d borrowed the boat without asking. No imagination of what might be happening back in Artimé at this very moment. And only a little trepidation from these adventurers regarding the unknown. There was just this one beautiful cove they were in, blissful and quiet, warm sun and light breeze, rocking gently on waves.

It was exactly what Meghan needed. She closed her eyes and breathed in the tropical scent. It was almost like Artimé, but after a few hours at sea it felt fresh and new. And splendidly free of Sean and her mean, stupid parents, and all the stresses that hung on her back in Artimé. She felt like a new, energized Meghan. A bold, invigorated Meghan without a care here in this new place.

“Let’s go ashore,” she whispered.

Lani and Samheed stared at her.

“What?” Lani asked, incredulous.

“I mean it,” Meghan said. “Let’s go. Let’s do it.”

Lani and Samheed caught glances and stared for a moment, trying to get a sense of how the other was feeling. Was it a reckless move? Samheed worked his jaw, his eyes intense, reading hers. Lani couldn’t look away. She knew there were risks. What if it wasn’t as nice as Mr. Today remembered it?

“Well?” Meghan said, breaking the stare-off.

Lani and Samheed looked at Meghan, then back at each other. Lani started laughing lightly, trying to get Samheed to soften the intensity around his eyes that they all knew so well. “I’m game,” she said. She reached out her hand and brushed his elbow, trying to communicate without saying blatantly,
I think this would be good for Meghan.
“Sam? Are you in?”

“Guys, I don’t know. We don’t know anything about this place. What if the strangers came from here?”

“Mr. Today said this was a good place. It’s exactly as he described it to me and Alex’the rock formation in the middle, the waterfall, the beauty of it all . . .” Lani bit her lip.

Samheed closed his eyes and sighed, shaking his head the smallest bit. “Okay,” he said finally.

Meghan’s grin was payment enough to make everyone feel like they’d just made the best decision of their lives.

Speeding Up

T
here were a baker’s dozen thoughts whipping through Alex’s head when Mr. Today asked him and Ms. Morning if they were ready to take over Artimé. His first thought:
NO!
His second:
Well, it’s only for a short time.
His third:
NO, NO, NO!
His fourth:
At least he’s putting the gate up.
His fifth:
Absolutely NO WAY!
And so on and so forth, all the way to thirteen.

The good news was that Alex was obviously maturing to the point where he didn’t have to say all of these things out loud in order to process them. That was a relief for all involved, and, in a strange little way, it gave him some confidence in himself.

The bad news was that Alex’s stomach churned, and he very nearly felt light-headed at the thought of something going horribly wrong, so much that he had to resist the urge to stand and leave the room.

“We’re in good shape, Father. Aren’t we, Alex?” Ms. Morning gave Alex a look that told him exactly what to say.

“Fine shape,” Alex said, his voice cracking under the pressure of her stare.

“Good!” said Mr. Today, practically giddy. “Simber, Florence, Octavia, and all of your friends will of course be on hand for whatever you may need. I expect things will go on quite as they do when I am present. You truly won’t even notice I’m gone. Artimé is a well-oiled machine. And if anything should happen, you know how to fight . . . and how to read. I’ve given you every command I can think of, and both the library and Museum of Large hold additional clues that I’m sure will help you, should you be attacked while I’m away. But,” he said triumphantly, “that won’t happen, because of the gate.” He very nearly hummed with excitement.

“That sounds lovely, Father.”

Alex gulped and nodded.

“I’ll gather up some students and we’ll make you a takeaway lunch for tomorrow’how exotic!” Ms. Morning said. “We’ll pack up the boat tonight with every supply you could possibly need so you’ll be all ready in the morning.”