by Lisa McMann
“She’s going to be okay,” Thisbe whispered comfortingly from behind him. She recognized the panic signs and understood what was happening to him. “Focus on something and take slow, deep breaths.”
Seth gulped and nodded and tried to breathe more slowly.
“Come on, Talon!” Samheed shouted, jiggling the end of the rope. “Almost there!”
Finally, with a huge lurch, Talon reached for the rope that Samheed held out to him. But the eel began to slip from his other hand, so he grabbed on again. Neck outstretched and mouth open, Talon lunged and grabbed the end of the rope in his teeth. The eel switched and twisted, yanking Talon and hauling Samheed off the magic carpet, but the theater director hung on and dangled from the rope until his magic carpet caught up to support him.
“Everybody pull!” Samheed shouted to the others on the side of the volcano. “As hard as you can!”
They pulled, and slowly they began to reel in Samheed and Talon. Once Samheed was above the side of the volcano, he hopped off the magic carpet and helped the others pull Talon and the eel and whoever else was still attached to the submerged end onto dry land. Everyone stared at the rope as they strained, pleading silently that Carina would soon surface.
With its tail fully out of the water, the eel fought harder than ever. But Simber soon appeared, his jaws clamped around the eel’s throat and his wings flapping wildly. A second later Carina surfaced, even more tangled in the fishing line that was hanging from the eel’s mouth. She drew a few ragged breaths before being dragged back under.
“She’s breathing!” Thisbe said, giving Seth an encouraging look. “She’s going to be fine.” She pulled on the rope as hard as she could—she wasn’t about to let Seth lose his mother. Not if she could help it.
Seth nodded, unable to speak. But he felt a little better.
As they strained and pulled Talon and Simber and Carina toward them, the volcano shivered. The still water on the opposite side of the volcano tremored. But because everyone was singularly focused on the rescue, none of them noticed it.
The volcano trembled again, then shook harder and plunged swiftly downward. The Artiméans screamed. Fifer’s birds scattered into the air, while everything and everyone else was swallowed up by a heavy rush of water.
No one let go of the rope.
No one let go of the eel.
Everyone but the falcons went together into the volcano network with no warning and no plan and no idea which portal to exit through and no clue if Carina and Simber were still attached to the other end of the eel.
But someone else knew. A sleek, smooth, brown-and-purple-polka-dotted sea monster had been circling the volcano network on a continuous loop on a mission from Sky, who’d sent her in search of this very group to guide them to the right volcano. But Isobel the sea monster wasn’t expecting them to be dragging one of the horrid, deadly eels with them. She nearly passed them by in her hurry to get away from it, but she knew these humans were important—maybe even more important than her fear of eels. Isobel guided herself toward the front of the team near the twins, as far from the eel as she could get. Thisbe caught sight of her and, with a joyous look on her face, alerted Fifer and Seth, indicating they should all follow the sea monster. Isobel took the lead, steering the group away from several portals until finally aiming for one very specifically.
Oh, please, let this be home, thought Thisbe.
Oh, please, let my mother be okay, thought Seth, struggling even more to breathe now that he was in the shallow pod.
Oh, please, let this strange monster thing get me out of this mess, thought Fifer.
As they followed Isobel, Fifer felt in her gut that this time she wasn’t making a mistake like she’d done before. With confidence, the leaders aimed for a bright, fiery ring and went through it, exploding out and flying through the air. And then they landed in the familiar clear, cool waters of their own world. They were home.
But they were still in a mess of trouble.
As soon as Talon and Simber emerged from the top of the volcano, the two began flapping their wings, holding a strong grip on the giant eel, straining to keep the thing out of the water so they could control it better.
Carina dangled by the fishing line a short distance from the eel’s mouth. But now that she could breathe, she came to her senses and tried to untangle herself. Frustrated and getting nowhere, she grabbed hold of the line and concentrated, then whispered, “Dissipate.”
The magical fishing line vanished into thin air. Carina dropped to the water below. Talon and Simber forced the eel back into the volcano’s gaping maw, hoping to contain it at least momentarily while they collected their team.
As they attempted to do so, the volcano spat out one last round of passengers—the huge flock of Fifer’s falcons, who had immediately plunged after their leader. They dragged the torn hammock with them. Red and purple feathers flew everywhere. The birds appeared bedraggled but unhurt.
Simber dodged the squawking blast and loosened his grip. Sensing it, the eel yanked free of its captors and dropped hard onto the side of the volcano, then bounced into the water and slithered away, nursing its wounds.
At long last, everyone had made it to the land of the seven islands. Battered but alive.
As they all swam to the volcano’s shore, Isobel, who didn’t normally like being touched by humans, dove underneath Thisbe and Fifer and lifted them up to ride on her back. Then she went to gather Carina as well. She brought the three of them to safety and climbed on shore, knowing Sky would want her to take care of them. Isobel worried over the group for several minutes as they recovered and squeezed the water from their clothes. Then something caught the sea monster’s eye. Isobel bounded several yards away and looked sharply out to sea, detecting something.
“What is it?” asked Thisbe.
The sea monster pointed a flipper, but Thisbe couldn’t see anything.
Several minutes later, Thisbe could just make out a bony spike slicing the water, and a person holding on to it. Soon a familiar voice called to them. “The Fifer! The Thisbe!”
Everyone turned to see Spike Furious speeding toward them. Standing on the whale, gripping the spike, was Sky. Tears of joy and relief spilled from her eyes. Rather than go home to Warbler, she’d remained with Spike in the area and waited for the volcano to emerge, hoping to see Thisbe arrive safely with Isobel. When Spike drew close, Sky dove off and scrambled ashore, grabbing Thisbe in a tight embrace, never wanting to let go again. Then she tackled her brother and the others.
Isobel looked all around. Satisfied that she’d completed her task, she slipped unnoticed into the water and disappeared.
• • •
Not yet visible on the horizon, but coming swiftly from the west, Drock the dark purple dragon sniffed the air sharply, picking up a new but familiar scent. Somewhere ahead of them were the three young mages he’d come to know in the dungeon—the ones that Aaron was seeking. The memory of them freeing him from his muzzle and giving him new wings was sharp and clear. Seth’s scent, in particular, which was laced with anxiety and a good variety of cheeses, was more distinct than any other. Drock would know that boy’s smell anywhere after the stressful time they’d spent together. He knew the goodness level in that one was very high. They’d come to an understanding in that dungeon stall—they were more alike than different in those difficult moments.
Drock thought he could detect a similar level of panic from Seth as he’d noticed that day in the dungeon—or perhaps the boy lived in this constant state of anxiety always, which would be regrettable. The dragon pushed onward toward the scent.
Soon the tip of the volcano appeared on the horizon. Drock squinted, searching for the children, wanting to be certain before he said anything. He sped faster. When he finally caught sight of the flying cheetah up above the volcano, he craned his neck to look at the riders on his back. “Aaron,” said Drock with a rare bit of warmth in his voice, “it is good we left the land of the dragons. I think we’v
e located the ones you seek.”
Together Again
The volcano-hopping group couldn’t see Drock coming, nor did they expect him. With a lengthy journey ahead, an eel in the waters, and no telling when the volcano would sink again, and with Spike there to help transport people, they kept their greetings brief and all headed to Warbler Island, going at top speed aboard flying and swimming creatures. Everyone was ready for a proper reunion and some much-needed food and rest.
Copper, the ruler of Warbler and mother of Sky and Crow, had been alerted to the approaching eclectic group. She and several other Warblerans were waiting to greet the visitors and offer a warm meal. And while she’d hoped to see some Artiméan friends returning home, she hadn’t imagined she’d see Sky among them. When Copper realized Sky was there on Spike’s back, she nearly fainted from the shock. Word spread quickly, and the island exploded with the amazing news that Sky was alive and well.
Sky ran onto the beach and fell into her mother’s awaiting arms, and Crow followed when he made it to shore. The three were reunited again.
When Sky and Crow finally let go of their mother, they returned to the others who’d trickled to shore by now. Sky took the opportunity for a less hurried greeting this time, smiling through tears as she accepted condolences from her friends over the death of Alex and their apologies for not knowing how to begin to look for her and for assuming she was dead.
Soon Copper’s chefs were serving up a feast on the beach for the entire crew.
The Artiméans ate heartily, but there were many questions and much to talk about. Before they could begin to share their stories with Copper and the other people of Warbler, Spike, from the water, alerted them to an approaching dragon flying toward them. Simber confirmed it. Soon even the humans could see the speck in the sky.
“Who is it?” Fifer asked Simber.
“It’s Drrrock the darrrk purrrple,” said Simber, frowning. “He has passengerrrs.” Wondering why Drock would be coming from that direction and who his passengers might be, they waited impatiently for him.
As Drock drew near, Simber detected who his riders were. Despite his concerns over seeing Drock without the other dragons, he let a rare smile escape and refrained from announcing the identities of the passengers to the others, thinking they would be more delighted to discover them with their own eyes. Soon the six mages on board stood up in the hollow of the dragon’s back, peering anxiously around the beast’s neck at the group gathered on Warbler’s shore.
Kaylee shaded her eyes with her hand, then exclaimed, “Oh my God! Aaron! It’s Aaron!” She dropped her plate of food and ran for the surf. The dragon glided down and skidded across the water. Then his tail began to churn, propelling them forward. Kaylee turned back and hollered, “Everybody! Henry’s here too, and Sean! And Scarlet! And Ibrahim and Clementi! I can’t believe it!”
The battered people from Thisbe and Fifer’s group felt new energy surge through them. Thatcher, Carina, and Seth all exploded to life and ran into the surf to greet their loved ones. Crow, straining to catch a glimpse of Scarlet, followed a bit tentatively, then abandoned his shyness and broke into a run when he saw her dive off Drock’s back and start swimming toward him.
The two people in the slowest-moving relationship ever recorded reached each other, waist deep in waves. They faced one another for a second, then relinquished all decorum and embraced, holding each other like they never wanted to let go. Then Scarlet pulled back, took Crow’s face in her hands, and as seawater streamed down them, she planted a kiss firmly on the young man’s lips. Crow looked shocked for a second. Then he gathered Scarlet up in his arms. With a grin he kissed her back.
Fifer cheered at the sight of her beloved former caretaker looking so perfectly happy. But Thisbe’s eyes were elsewhere. She caught Aaron’s eye, and a lump formed in her throat. Aaron put his hand to his heart in silent gratitude at seeing her. Then Thisbe and Fifer ran into the surf and skirted Crow and Scarlet, who were kissing again, and joined Kaylee in hugging Aaron. Thisbe couldn’t stop her sobs, and after a moment Aaron let go of the others and picked her up as if she was a little girl. He held her as they cried together. Fifer watched her brother and sister, her eyes filling with tears. But she didn’t worm her way into the embrace. It had been a very long time since Thisbe and Aaron had seen each other.
Thatcher tackled Henry and their children in a huge group hug. They staggered through the water to Lani, who’d gone as far into the water as her magical wheeled contraption would take her. Henry broke away and threw his arms around his sister, and they all continued slogging to shore.
Samheed had stayed behind, waiting with Simber and Kitten on shore. They’d opted to watch the dearest loved ones reconnect first before joining in. Samheed wore a bittersweet expression as he took in the scene: Aaron was wearing the robe of the head mage, and he looked so strikingly like Alex in it. Samheed glanced at Simber, then tipped his head toward Aaron. “So it was Aaron who brought things back,” he said. “Not Claire.”
Simber nodded. “It appearrrs to be.”
Samheed no longer held a grudge against Aaron—those feelings had subsided years ago. But the two had never been close. Samheed had always been much warmer and friendlier toward Alex—once they’d become friends, that is. And while Samheed could say with a fair amount of confidence that he trusted Aaron, he felt a slight prickling at the back of his neck seeing the man in Alex’s robe. “I’m not quite sure how I feel about it, Sim.”
Personally, Simber was glad to see Aaron in control as head mage. But he heard the hitch in Samheed’s voice and eyed the man carefully. He knew the history between the two as teenagers. Simber had felt similarly about Aaron in the past as well—they all had.
But the cheetah possessed information about Aaron that Samheed didn’t: Aaron was potentially immortal because of the magic seaweed that the scientists had used to save his life many years ago. And for Simber, the thought of never having to lose another head mage again was a great relief. Beneath Simber’s stony, gruff exterior was a soft heart. He wasn’t sure he could go through it again. And he’d grown fond of Aaron over the years. “He’ll make a good mage,” Simber said carefully.
“I know. It just seems . . .” Samheed didn’t finish. Although he was thrilled to see everyone, he was feeling sort of down about it. Now that they were all reunited, he had an even greater urge to get home and have things return to normal. Back to the theater. Back to teaching students. And maybe pretending like everything was okay, even though he knew it would be a long time before he could say that. He missed Alex deeply.
He wasn’t sure what was prompting his negative feelings about Aaron—perhaps it was just the surprise of discovering he’d become the new mage instead of Claire. As Aaron broke away from his family members and came onshore to greet the rest of them, Samheed tried hard to shake off his uneasiness.
It was just that Aaron looked so much like Alex with that robe on. Samheed’s heart throbbed painfully, but he attempted a grin and embraced Aaron. Then he took a few steps back as the new head mage and Simber exchanged an awkward hello. Feeling entirely out of sorts, Samheed kept walking backward to give the two privacy and allow Aaron to talk with his new right-hand statue. As Samheed turned away, tears pricked at his eyes and momentarily blinded him. He stumbled in the sand and moved more quickly as a huge wave of grief washed over him. Seeing Alex’s identical twin wearing the robe was truly jarring. All of Samheed’s worst memories of Aaron came flooding back: The time Aaron pretended to impersonate Alex in the first battle with Quill. The time Samheed first learned of Mr. Today’s death at Aaron’s hand—they’d told him and Lani just moments after Alex had risked everything to rescue them from Queen Eagala. And there was Aaron’s absolute heartlessness with his parents and family when he was leader of Quill. Yet Alex had kept giving Aaron chance after chance after chance.
And now Alex was gone, and that same person who’d committed all those horrible acts was in charge of Artimé. It was sho
cking to think of it like that, but those were the facts. Samheed continued to flee the celebration gathering, reprimanding himself. He should feel excitement—they’d found Thisbe and Sky, and they’d be home soon. But he couldn’t shake the troubling thoughts. Surely he wasn’t alone in thinking them. Many people disliked Aaron because they didn’t know all the intricate details of how Aaron had come around to being a good and worthy person.
Eventually Samheed waded out into the water, not far from Drock, who appeared to be brooding too and not inclined to talk. Samheed dove under a wave, trying to clear his head. Trying to talk himself out of this funk. Aaron had been bad once, but he’d changed. And he’d sacrificed a lot for Artimé. Samheed knew this intellectually, but his heart still yanked around inside him. Was Aaron right for Artimé? Could he be effective as a leader after the choices he’d made? After the history he’d had?
Samheed couldn’t shake the doubts, though he vowed to himself to try. He owed it to Aaron. After all, Aaron had totally turned his life around and had played things right for over a dozen years. He’d apologized profusely for his wrongs, and he’d done everything in his power to make up for his misdeeds. Claire had forgiven him—that was a big moment. Kaylee had fallen in love with him, and she was one of the smartest people Samheed knew . . . though it was true she’d never known him when he was a horrible person. Aaron had even moved away from the island of Quill, showing no interest in ever wanting to be involved in the politics of Artimé—either with the magical world or against it. So why was Samheed so apprehensive about this appointment?
He floated on his back for a few moments, searching for answers, until he heard Lani calling for him. He flipped up and waved to her, then wiped his face and sloshed toward the shore so he could greet Henry and the others. And hopefully soon he’d be able to push the harsh feelings toward Aaron away for good.
