The Book of Wonders (27 page)

A shock of silver hair popped up from behind the chest. “She's asleep,” Rhidan whispered. “Get the spelltrap. I'll listen at the door.”

The queen was snoring as Zardi reached out from behind the chair, straining for the spelltrap. Trying to keep her hand steady, Zardi placed her thumb and forefinger on the clip that linked the spelltrap to the queen's belt and gently began to press it open.

The queen muttered something in her sleep and shifted in her seat, pulling the clip from Zardi's fingers.

Zardi pursed her lips, trapping a swear word she'd learned on the
Falcon
.

A movement glimpsed out of the corner of her eye made her look up. Rhidan had his ear to the door and was waving urgently at her. “Something's coming,” he mouthed.

Zardi looked down at the spelltrap. She was so close! Her hand reached for the clip again.

“Get down!” Rhidan's voice was low but sharp. He dropped to the ground and rolled under the bed. Zardi slipped back behind the chair just as the chamber door crashed open.

Satyan slithered in, accompanied by Nadeem and six large ivory snakes.

The red and gold snake raised his head, as if sniffing the air for something.
Can snakes smell?
Zardi wondered desperately.

Satyan glided forward and hissed loudly in the queen's ear. She awoke with a start.

“I can't believe I fell asleep,” the queen hissed to Satyan, her voice blurry and thick. The snake hissed something, and Zardi's mind was filled with images of herself, Rhidan, and the crew of the
Falcon
, their faces pinched with fear. The queen rose from her chair.

“Are you sure that everyone and everything is where it should be?” the queen asked. “I cannot afford any mistakes. We're too close.”

Satyan hissed again.

“Nadeem,” Zardi heard the queen say, “Satyan tells me that you checked the prison and that everyone has been accounted for.”

“That's right, my queen.” Nadeem's voice betrayed no hint of his deception.

“And how did my flying machine look?”

“Perfect, my queen. When I went to collect it from the prison only the shipmaster was awake. He was putting the final touches to it.”

Zardi frowned. The machine had been finished earlier that evening.
What had Musty been doing to it?

“And have you taken it to the launch point?” the queen continued.

“It's in position, ready for tomorrow.”

The Queen of the Serpents clapped her hands like an excited child. “Then we're one step closer to executing my plan.” She paused. “Our work is not finished, though. I must blend the plague that I will take to the Black Isle.”

She went to Nadeem and stroked him under the chin. “You've been most helpful and will be rewarded. Tomorrow, once I'm gone, some rather unpleasant things are going to happen to your crewmates. I have given orders that you are to be spared, but if you try to interfere you will be killed. Understand?”

Nadeem nodded.

“Good, and make sure you look after Sinbad.” The queen looked fondly at the captain before slithering out of the door, the snakes and Nadeem following behind her.

Zardi watched, sickened, as the spelltrap, their last hope, left her sight.

Z
ardi's whole body shook. “What are we going to do? The spelltrap's gone!”

“I don't know.” Rhidan's face was pale. He looked over at Sinbad on the bed. “Maybe he'll have some ideas.” He shook the captain's shoulder roughly, but Sinbad did not stir.

Zardi rubbed her face, hard. She needed to feel something. She needed to start thinking. “That's not going to work,” she said wearily. “Don't you remember? Nadeem said you'd need a hot iron to wake him.”

Rhidan's expression was thoughtful. “We have the Windrose.”

Zardi took it out and looked at it uncertainly.

“Give him the lightest of touches,” Rhidan said firmly.

Zardi took a breath and touched the Windrose to Sinbad's bare arm. The captain let out a surprised gasp of pain.

“Sorry, Captain.” Rhidan put a finger to his lips. “We had to wake you.”

Sinbad sat up, rubbing at the red welt that had sprung up on his arm. He had lost a lot of weight, and Zardi tried not to stare at the bones that she could see under his skin. Sinbad, who'd always seemed so strong and capable, now looked like a fragile bird.

“I can't believe you're really alive.” Sinbad's voice was croaky. “Nadeem told me that you'd come back, but I didn't trust his words. How could I? He betrayed us all.”

“He said he didn't mean for any of this to happen.” Zardi slipped the Windrose into her pocket. “He's the one who helped us get out of our cell.”

“And then you came to free me?” Sinbad said.

“Um, actually we came to try to steal the queen's spelltrap,” Rhidan explained. “There's a lot you don't know.”

“Then tell me,” Sinbad insisted and Zardi could hear a trace of the old authority in his voice.

As briefly as possible, Zardi and Rhidan told Sinbad all that had happened since they'd seen him last.

“We thought that if we could get the spelltrap and give Khalila back her magic, she would be able to get us all out of this place,” Rhidan finished.

“But the queen does not intend to sleep again tonight,” Sinbad murmured.

“That's right,” Zardi said. “We need a new plan and we were hoping you could help.”

Sinbad snorted. “Look at me.” He held out his bony arms. “I'm as weak as a babe in swaddling. Every time I stand my legs feel like dough.”

“How did this happen?” Rhidan asked.

Sinbad shook his head. “I had the run of the place at first. Like a favorite pet. I found an abandoned tunnel that led me to an unguarded exit next to a volcano. I began to look for a way to get my crew out, but she must have gotten suspicious because she started drugging my food. I'd pass out for hours at a time, sometimes days.” The captain rubbed at the burn on his arm. “For a long time, I stopped eating or drinking so that she and Nadeem couldn't drug me, but then I got weak and had to eat again.” He hung his head. “I've let everyone down.”

“No, you haven't,” Zardi insisted. “But your men do need you. Tomorrow the queen is leaving and her snakes will slaughter your crew. We need to get them out of here.”

“The abandoned exit!” Some of the old fire returned to Sinbad's eyes.

“We could go now and sneak everyone out while the snakes are asleep,” Rhidan said excitedly. “The ship is practically finished. If we can get them off this island they'll be fine.”

“We can't forget Nadeem. He helped us,” Zardi said firmly.

“We won't.” Sinbad threw his long legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He swayed dizzily, and Zardi and Rhidan reached out to steady him. They exchanged a worried glance.

Sinbad threw off their arms impatiently. “I'll be fine. Let's go.”

They cracked open the door and saw that all was clear. As quickly as Sinbad's legs would allow, they headed down the tunnel toward the prison.

Suddenly, something large, red, and gold dropped from the ceiling in front of them.

Satyan
.

He gave a high-pitched hiss, so piercing it forced Zardi, Rhidan, and Sinbad to their knees. Out of every crevice and hole in the walls, a tide of snakes filled the darkness.

Zardi, Rhidan, and Sinbad staggered to their feet. Standing back-to-back they were ready to fight, but the serpents did not attack. They were waiting for someone.

The queen did not leave them waiting for long. The army of snakes parted as she glided toward Sinbad, her face twisted with fury.

Satyan hissed something at her, and she nodded before he slithered away.

The queen's gaze moved over to the captain. “And where did you think you were going?”

“My sweet, I have no idea,” Sinbad replied, with real dread and confusion in his voice. “They came to me while I was asleep and dragged me out of my bed. I could not stop them. I was far too weak.”

The queen frowned, weighing his words.

Sweat trickled down between Zardi's shoulder blades. Sinbad couldn't afford to lose the queen's favor. It was the only card they still had. But would the queen believe him?

Sinbad held out his arm where the angry red welt was still visible. “Look what they did to me,” he practically sobbed out. “They told me they would do the same to my face unless I went with them.” He pouted sadly. “They hate me for leaving them in that prison. They all do. I can never go back to being their captain.” He looked at her with big eyes. “They wanted to ransom me to you for the freedom of the crew.”

His last words cracked through the queen's reserve and she slithered forward and caressed Sinbad's cheek. “I couldn't bear it if they had done anything to you.”

Sinbad turned his face and kissed her scaly fingers. “I'm just so grateful that you saved me from them.” For a second Zardi was reminded of that dashing sailor in Taraket, the actor who convinced a crowd of people that he had fought a mighty beast and had real treasure on his ship.

The queen beamed with pleasure at Sinbad's words and brought him to her side. “I will protect you from them. They'll be taken back to their prison. You'll never have to see them again.”

“Let me go!” a panicked voice cried. Zardi turned to see Nadeem coming down the passageway, being led by Satyan. A large ivory snake was wrapped around his arms and chest.

“Ah, the little traitor has finally joined us.”

“I'm no traitor, my queen,” Nadeem rasped.

“So, how is it that these two are free?”

“I'm not sure, my queen.” Nadeem groaned as the ivory snake squeezed his body.

Sinbad took the queen's hand and stroked her palm. “My sweet, Nadeem has been a loyal helper to me. I cannot believe that he would betray you and let these two go free. Believe me, there is no love lost between them.”

“Well, how did they get out?” the queen demanded.

Sinbad interlocked their fingers. “Perhaps he accidentally left the door unlocked. These things happen.”

The queen narrowed her eyes. “Then that makes him a fool if not a traitor. Regardless, he's going to prison with the rest of them.”

“My queen, please—”

The queen shook her head.

Nadeem turned to Sinbad. “Captain, don't let them put me in the cell,” he pleaded. “She's going to kill the crew.”

Sinbad looked at Nadeem coldly. “The ship is dead to me, and so are all those that served on it.” His gaze swung over all of them. “The
Falcon's
cry is now silent.”

Zardi felt chilled despite herself. She knew Sinbad was acting, but his words held a note of intensity. She suddenly remembered him explaining why he'd chosen a falcon as the namesake of his ship. He'd said that the falcon was fiercely loyal and could never be silenced. That it would fight for its master until its last breath. Despite everything, Zardi had to stop a grin from tugging at her lips. Sinbad was giving them a message. He would be coming for them.

“Captain, please,” Nadeem wailed.

“Silence him.” At the queen's command, Nadeem's mouth was covered by the snake that encircled his chest.

Sinbad sighed. “I want to go to my chamber.”

“We'll go in a moment,” the queen trilled. “I will put these little annoyances into their cell first.”

The queen let forth a series of orders. The meaning was clear:
Remove them
. The snakes charged at Zardi, Rhidan, and Nadeem, taking their legs out from under them. They fell backward onto a carpet of scaly skin. Moving as one, the serpents carried them along the tunnel and into their cell, tossing them onto the hard prison floor. The door then slammed shut, the key turning fully in the lock.

“I can't believe he abandoned us.” Nadeem clutched his arms around his legs.

Zardi ignored him and put her ear to the door. The faint breathing of the two snakes guarding the prison was audible but all else was silent. She turned to Nadeem. “He hasn't abandoned us. All that talk about the falcon was a code. He's coming back.”

There was a cough behind them, and Zardi turned to see Khalila and Musty coming out of the shadows. Behind them stood the whole crew of the
Falcon
.

“You didn't get the spelltrap,” the djinni stated flatly.

Rhidan's mouth dropped open. “How did you know we even went to get it?”

Khalila smiled grimly. “I may not have my magic, but I've been alive for a long time. I know human nature.” She folded her arms. “Time has also taught me another lesson. Always have a plan B.”

“K
halila told us what the queen has in store for us, and we're not just going to sit around waiting to be eaten,” Zain said. “Tomorrow morning we're going to bust out of this place.” He picked up one of the heavy tools that they had used to build the flying machine and slapped it against his hands. There were whoops and growls of agreement from the others.

“They'll rip you to shreds,” Zardi said, imagining this tired and weak crew going up against the tightly honed skills of the queen's killer snakes.

“Wait, it's not such a crazy idea,” Rhidan said. “Not if you couple it with Sinbad's abandoned tunnel.”

“Sinbad?” Musty asked. “What of him? Is he all right?”

Rhidan quickly told them about their meeting with the captain and his promise to come back for them.

Nadeem held out a golden key. “We can get out of here easy enough, but even if we fight our way through to the tunnel and get outside, the snakes will hunt us down before we get to the
Falcon
. You have no idea how fast they are.”

“No, you're the one who knows everything about the snakes.” Tariq glowered at Nadeem. “They're your friends.”