The Journey to Dragon Island

by Claire Fayers

  “Isn’t he in his room?” Kaya answered too quickly, and avoided her gaze.

  Brine turned cold. “You know he’s not, don’t you? What have you done with him?”

  “What makes you think I’ve done anything with him? I’ll take you back to your room. You’ll feel better in the morning.”

  His staff began to glow. Brine stumbled back, her heart suddenly pounding so fast, it made her dizzy. She didn’t know where the fear had come from; she knew only that it was threatening to swallow her whole.

  Tom grabbed her hand and ran. They tore up the stairs and burst out onto the battlements. There, they had to stop. There was nowhere else they could go.

  CHAPTER 25

  GRILLED DINOSAUR FEET

  One dinosaur foot per person, depending on size of dinosaur. Use the rest of the dinosaur to make pies or doughnuts. Wrap the feet in leaves and grill over a slow fire for an hour or more until cooked through. Season with seawater and curry powder.

  Note—due to the size and speed of dinosaurs, this recipe hasn’t yet been tested.

  (from COOKING UP A STORME—THE RECIPES OF A GOURMET PIRATE)

  There was probably some sort of battle cry for this situation, Peter thought. The situation being the sight of Trudi, Bill, Rob, and Stella all clinging to the tops of trees while two very angry dinosaurs rampaged about on the ground, trying to get to them. They were quite big dinosaurs—each one the size of a large rowing boat, if you can imagine a boat with teeth and claws. But the dinosaur Peter rode was as large as a ship.

  “Avast!” shouted Peter. His dinosaur squealed in terror and tried to run away, but it was so big that its tail swept through several trees on the way around and knocked one of the smaller dinosaurs headfirst into a pile of mud.

  Stella’s tree started to bend and crack. She yelled, and Peter urged his dinosaur forward. Stella landed on top of him. He untangled himself just in time to see the two smaller dinosaurs run at him, but Boswell swooped down and blew a torrent of flame right in their faces. They let out twin roars of surprise, and bolted.

  “Peter!” shouted Trudi. She slid down from the tree. “Boswell flew away and … I see you’ve found him. How are you doing a disguisosaurus spell without magic?”

  “It’s not a disguise,” said Peter, sliding down off the dinosaur. Boswell landed on Trudi’s shoulder and started chewing her sleeve.

  “Spider legs,” she explained, tearing open a grease-soaked bag and offering the contents to the dragon. “You lot didn’t like them, but Boswell has discernment.”

  He’d also gotten bits of spider stuck to his nose. The dragon licked them off and sneezed.

  Trudi held out Peter’s starshell. “We brought this, too. We thought it’d help find Boswell, and it worked, sort of.”

  Peter could have hugged her. Trudi seemed to guess what he was thinking and backed away hurriedly. “I suppose we should return to the Onion now.”

  “No,” Peter replied. He cradled the box of starshell, letting the warmth of magic wash into his hands, and looked up into the sky. Tom and Brine were still up there, and they had no idea what was going on. He had to reach them. “Stand close to me,” he said.

  If you get the spellshape slightly wrong, you might translocate yourself to multiple places at once, Marfak West had said. But Peter wasn’t going to get it wrong. He didn’t even need to draw the spellshape. He didn’t have to do anything except think about how desperately they all needed to get back to the castle. The magic did the rest. It poured out of the box around them, turning the forest amber, and then the night closed back in around the space where five people and one dragon had been standing.

  * * *

  It took a few seconds for Peter to adjust to the fact that they were back on the castle and all of them in the right number of pieces. For those seconds it seemed that the whole world was shouting. Brine and Tom were yelling, Hiri and Ebeko running up the steps and shouting back, while Kaya stood in the middle of it all, both hands gripped around his staff. Kaya was the only one who was silent.

  Peter stepped forward and Kaya saw him, then the magus’s gaze fell on Boswell, who was still draped around Stella’s shoulders, and he froze.

  “That’s a dragon.”

  “You’re not the only magician who has them,” said Peter, enjoying the magician’s surprise. Then Brine grabbed him.

  “Peter, what happened? We found Kaya’s notebooks in the library—well, Tom did. He’s been experimenting on people.”

  “Tom’s been experimenting on people?”

  “No, stupid. Kaya.” Her words washed over Peter in a flood. Magic coiled around his hands and flared away like the Stella Borealis.

  It wouldn’t take much to start another fight—but they’d already started several fights on this island, and none of them had done anyone any good. Peter drew in a steady breath and released the magic from his hands.

  “Kaya is keeping dragon eggs,” he said. His voice shook a little. “Four of them, at the bottom of the castle. I wondered how this castle could stay in the sky—that’s how. He’s using their magic.”

  He saw the confusion on Hiri’s and Ebeko’s faces. They hadn’t known. It made Peter feel slightly better that they’d believed Kaya’s lies as well.

  Kaya slumped down over his staff. He looked very old all of a sudden, and very tired. “Yes, there are eggs. The secret has been handed down, First Magus to First Magus. The last remaining dragon eggs, kept safe while their magic keeps Marfak’s Peak from erupting.”

  “But their magic isn’t enough anymore, is it?” said Tom. “Magic is increasing in the world, but not as fast as you’re using it. So you took it from people—the special magic that makes someone who they are. Brine first, and when she escaped, you used Ren and the other children.”

  At least Kaya didn’t make excuses. The magus faced Brine squarely, not flinching from her furious gaze.

  “It was my decision alone,” he said, “so don’t blame the others. Think what will happen if Marfak erupts. The whole island destroyed—every animal, every plant, every person. It’s a case of trading one small evil to prevent a much bigger one.”

  Peter thought about it. Then he thought about the four dragon eggs, and about Brine, everything inside her slowly drained away to feed the castle’s need for magic. “Evil doesn’t come in sizes,” he said. “You don’t get small evils and big evil, like they’re fish or apples. Bad is just bad.”

  “Really?” asked Kaya. “It seems to me that you’re willing to sacrifice this whole island for the sake of four unhatched dragons.” He shook his head wearily. “Sometimes we have to make the best of bad choices. I don’t like what I’m doing here any more than you do, but the castle must not fail.”

  “Then we have a problem,” said Cassie, stepping out from the doorway behind him. “Because letting you continue is the one thing we cannot do.”

  CHAPTER 26

  According to not-quite-reliable sources (pirates), when you’re stuck in sinksand, you should stand perfectly still because any movement will make you sink faster. The problem is, though, that standing still will make you sink anyway. Just a bit slower. If you’re stuck, it’s always better to try something than to do nothing.

  (from BRINE SEABORNE’S BOOK OF PLANS)

  The meeting the next morning must have been the first of its kind on the island. The three magi sat on one side of the long table in the castle hall. Stella and Cerro stayed close together, Cerro’s broken legs stretched out on a stool. The fact that he was inside the castle seemed to bother him far more than the splints. Brine tried not to stare at Cassie and Ewan, who were standing on either side of the door, but she couldn’t help noticing how Cassie kept her right hand on her sword hilt. Not threatening, not exactly: just reminding everyone it was there.

  Boswell squirmed in Brine’s lap, trying to get across her to Peter. It was strange how quickly people had adjusted to the presence of a dragon. Last night the magi couldn’t stop staring, but today, apart from an occa
sional glance, they treated him as if he’d always been here.

  This meeting was getting them nowhere, she thought. Everyone had been talking for hours already. Shouting, mostly. Cassie had threatened to take the eggs by force, and Kaya had promised he’d kill the first pirate who tried.

  Tom leaned toward Brine. “I know a story about a ship caught between a whirlpool and a great sea-monster. If the ship turned to the left, it would be crushed, and if it turned to the right, it’d be eaten.”

  Brine knew exactly how the ship felt, if ships could feel anything—trapped. “What happened to it?”

  “I don’t know,” said Tom. He pushed his glasses back up his nose and threw a glance around the room. “The ship’s crew thought they only had two choices—left or right—but if it was up to me, I’d lure the monster into the whirlpool.”

  Kaya frowned. “We’ve tried everything.”

  “No, you haven’t,” said Brine angrily. “You’re doing what you’ve always done. You think the castle has to be saved and Marfak mustn’t erupt, whatever the cost. But what if that’s not true? What if you can make the volcano erupt and save the island, too? Then you won’t need the castle anymore.”

  Kaya sighed and rested his forehead on his hands. “We can’t save the island if Marfak erupts. That’s the whole point. I know this situation isn’t perfect…”

  “Not perfect?” Brine jumped to her feet angrily, spilling Boswell onto Peter’s lap. “Dragon eggs lying unhatched when the world needs them, children losing their minds. It’s a lot worse than not perfect.”

  “I thought we were going to discuss this calmly,” said Kaya.

  “I am calm!”

  Tom pulled her back into her seat. “Actually,” he said, “Marfak is going to erupt whatever you do. Haven’t you noticed the loose stones in the castle? This place is starting to fall apart.” He spread his notebook on the table. “By my calculations, you have a month or two at most before bits start dropping off.”

  “He’s right,” said Peter. “The volcano has been dormant—but it’s going to erupt again. If you really want to save the island, you have to do something now.”

  “And you think we should force an eruption?” Kaya rose from his chair. “It won’t work. All our magic is tied up in spellstones.”

  “Not all of it,” said Peter calmly. “You’re drawing magic out of the eggs to feed your spellstones, but if you take the eggs away from the castle, their magic will be free. Marfak West was going to use one egg to blow up an entire island. We have four eggs and just one volcano. We can blow a hole in the side so big that the inside of the volcano will pour straight out into the sea. And then, when the island is safe, we’ll hatch the eggs.”

  “Wild magic,” said Kaya. He sat down slowly. “You still don’t understand, do you? The moment the eggs leave the castle, the spellstones holding everything together will begin to fail. Orion’s Keep will fall, and when the castle falls the island will be destroyed. Use your own magic to blow a hole in Marfak’s side if you must, but you cannot take the eggs.”

  “I’m not powerful enough,” said Peter. “Even if I took every piece of starshell here, I’d barely make a dent. But with the eggs, I can do it.”

  Brine’s heart raced. Was this even possible? It had to be when the alternatives were to do nothing or to fight Kaya for the eggs. “Peter can do it,” she said. She leaned half across the table, willing Kaya to listen. “Once Marfak’s Peak has erupted safely, you won’t need the castle. It doesn’t matter if it falls.”

  “And if you fail?” asked Kaya. He fixed his gaze on Peter, his eyes bright with rage. “You just want the eggs for yourself. You’re no different from your friend Marfak West. You think you can come here and take everything we have.” He wheezed for breath. “I won’t allow it.”

  Brine slumped back. This was useless—they’d never persuade him. Magic corroded, and Kaya had spent his whole life with more magic than Brine could imagine. Maybe he’d started off meaning well, but now his whole mind was fixed on the notion of preserving the castle, no matter the cost. Even if Marfak’s Peak wasn’t a threat, Kaya would want to keep the eggs, just in case. And then there’d be another crisis, and another.

  Peter saw it, too, and his mouth set with his own variety of stubbornness.

  “You see how impossible this is?” said Kaya. “Even if I gave you the eggs, what would you do? Climb halfway up Marfak’s slope with the eggs and hope to magic yourself away before you drown in lava?”

  “No,” said Stella. “We’ll use the balloon. I can fly Peter right across Marfak’s Peak.”

  Peter grinned. The three magi stared at Stella in astonishment.

  Cerro shifted position and scowled. “I never thought I’d find myself agreeing with a magus, but no. This is madness.”

  “Blowing up a volcano using dragon eggs and a balloon is actually quite sane by our standards,” commented Cassie, studying her fingernails.

  Brine’s head was beginning to ache. Kaya could have tried to find a way to save the island and hatch the dragons years ago. Instead, he’d kept things exactly the same. He was like a man caught in sinksand, not moving in case it made him sink faster. And now it was up to the rest of them to pull him out of this mess. He was her father, she reminded herself. This was her home.

  Kaya stood up and reached for his staff. “You are not taking the eggs.”

  “You say that as if you think you’ve got any choice,” said Cassie. She stepped away from the wall, her smile bright. “We are taking the eggs. Your only choice is how painful you want this to be.”

  Hiri and Ebeko both jumped up. Ewan drew his sword. Kaya’s staff flared with magical light.

  “Stop!” shouted Brine.

  Kaya was going to get himself killed. He couldn’t beat Cassie, but he’d die rather than hand over the eggs. Unless they offered him something he wanted more—but what could he possibly want more than dragon eggs?

  The answer scorched across her mind. It was her. His daughter. She’d saved the castle all by herself, at the cost of her memories. The dragon eggs absorbed magic, but she created it.

  Brine stepped away from Tom and Peter. “What if you had another source of magic?” she asked. Her throat felt painfully tight all of a sudden, making it hard to get the words out. “You said you never found another child like me—so what if you had me again? Give us the dragon eggs and I’ll stay here. If we succeed, then you won’t need Orion’s Keep anymore, and it can safely fall. But if we fail, you can use me to create the magic you need. That should keep the castle aloft for a while longer—long enough for you to make other plans.”

  Tom’s face turned pale. “Brine, you can’t! You’ll lose your memory again.”

  “I know,” she said, “but it’s the right thing to do. Anyway, it won’t happen, because we won’t fail.”

  It felt like someone had hit her in the stomach as she said those words. She saw Cassie and Ewan start forward, and Kaya staring at her in openmouthed astonishment. Now she was between a whirlpool and a monster. She could spend the rest of her life here and never see the Onion again, or she could let Kaya drain all her memories—those were her only choices. But Kaya was her only family, and it was right to make sacrifices for family, wasn’t it? Especially if it was the only way to stop a war between the pirates and the magi. And it might not be so bad living here with Boswell and the new dragons to look after.

  She faced Kaya. “Everything changes,” she said. “You can’t fight it, any more than you can change the tide. Sometimes you just have to accept that and do the best you can.”

  Kaya had the look of an animal backed into a corner; his gaze flicked between Brine and the pirates. “This could kill you,” he said. “I took your memories once. I won’t do it again.”

  A small flame of warmth lit inside Brine. She’d worried that Kaya had only wanted her for her magic, but he really did care about her, she thought. “Peter won’t fail,” she said. “Marfak will erupt out to sea, and we’ll hatch the
dragon eggs and make a new home for ourselves in the village.”

  “A new home,” echoed Kaya, his voice harsh. Then, as if he finally accepted he really had no choice, he let go of his staff and gave her a strange, frightened smile. “Very well,” he said. “We’ll try it.”

  “I haven’t agreed to anything yet,” snapped Cerro. “I came here for my son. I’m taking the children back to the village, and you won’t stop me.”

  “You can have them,” said Kaya. “And these.” He set two starshells on the table. “Healstones.”

  He must have had them waiting all along, Brine thought. He’d planned to give them to Cerro, whatever happened. That was something good, wasn’t it? She needed something good to fill the great hole that had suddenly opened up inside her.

  Cerro picked up the stones and turned them over in his hands. “Stella, do you really think this plan will work?”

  Stella nodded. “If Peter can handle the magic, I can handle the balloon.”

  Cerro let out a breath. “You’ll fly from here to the seaward side of Marfak’s Peak, and as soon as Peter has cast his spells you’ll land safely. If you get into trouble, you’ll abandon the plan straightaway. I don’t want you taking any risks.”

  Brine wasn’t sure it would be that straightforward, but Stella’s face lit up. “I’ll be careful, I promise.” She reached out to stroke Boswell’s scales. The little dragon squirmed and blew fire into Peter’s lap.

  “What about Marapi?” asked Stella over Peter’s yelp of pain. “If Marfak is going to erupt, shouldn’t we warn her?”

  Cerro raised one shoulder. “Why? She won’t leave the village, and she’ll blame us for everything.”

  “On the other hand, she is your sister,” Cassie pointed out. “And when this is over, you’re going to have to live with her.”

  Cerro glowered at the table, then nodded. “I’ll speak to her.”

  Cassie gave him her sunniest smile. “Good, then it’s all decided. Peter will take you back to the village with all the children. You should get everyone to the coast, as far from Marfak’s Peak as you can. That way, if things go wrong, you’ll still have a chance.”