by Lisa McMann
“You caused it,” said Frieda, “and the only way to fix it is if you go away. So I say you should all leave!”
Fifer gasped. Frieda’s people started to chant: “Leave! Leave! Leave!”
Frieda smirked at her. “See? The people have spoken. You must leave! Or else we’ll hand you over to the Revinir when she gets here.”
Threats and More Threats
Move back!” Florence warned Frieda and the other dissenters. “Please! Allow us to figure out our plan so we can stop the Revinir from coming! We need silence! Your treasonous threats aren’t helping anything.”
“We need a new mage!” shouted someone from the group. It was met with raucous agreement. “Sacrifice the Stowes to save our land!” hollered someone else.
Fifer’s eyes widened, and she hung back behind her brother. She’d faced a lot of things in her life, but never betrayal by people who were supposed to be on her team. It was greatly unsettling. Even Seth looked frightened on her behalf, which was a relief. Samheed and Lani arrived to see what was happening. Samheed eyed Aaron suspiciously—he seemed to be the cause of all of Artimé’s problems lately.
Simber returned and forced his way between the dissenters and the ones trying to stop the Revinir. He let out a huge roar, which was effective in getting some of the protesters to back up a bit, if not scare them away completely.
Sky pushed her way through the crowd behind him and came up to Fifer. “What’s going on? Where’s Thisbe?”
“She’s off with Drock,” Fifer said, flipping her hand toward the water. “Everybody’s lost their minds. They’re blaming us for the Revinir coming.”
Sky regarded the girl thoughtfully. “Well, they have a point. She wouldn’t be heading this way if it weren’t for Thisbe and Drock escaping.”
“Sky!” said Fifer, appalled.
“I’m just trying to understand where they’re coming from!”
Fifer frowned. “That’s impossible, and it won’t do any good. They’re not making sense.”
“Well, it doesn’t hurt to try to reason with them. But I need to understand them first if we’re going to make any progress there.”
Fifer rolled her eyes. “We don’t have time for that! Simber, can you please get Frieda’s people out of our faces so we can figure this thing out?”
Simber didn’t oblige and instead looked at Aaron.
“Leave them be,” said Aaron. “They have a right to be here.”
Fifer crossed her arms over her chest in frustration. She could feel her face burn.
Seth sighed, exasperated. Samheed and Lani looked uneasily at each other.
Florence shook her head and went to Aaron. “Then let’s go to Karkinos for a little while, where it’s quiet. We don’t have time for this fight right now.”
After a moment, Aaron agreed. He climbed on Simber’s back, then helped Fifer and Sky up too, and they flew to the nearby Island of Legends, where they could hopefully talk in peace. Samheed watched Aaron fly off, the troubled look on his face remaining. Then he and Lani pushed the crowd away from the mansion door so people could get in and out and went back inside to load up their component vests.
• • •
Thisbe and Drock joined the group on the shore of the giant crab island. A bit later, Ibrahim and Clementi learned of the gathering and came with Scarlet in her skiff. Back in Artimé, Florence got Seth and Carina and a few others working on the obliterate spell. Once the chaos was somewhat controlled, she walked along the sea bottom to Karkinos to help the ones there.
After a couple of anxious hours, they still had no quick solutions other than the obliterate spell. Every now and then Aaron rose to look anxiously toward Artimé. “The crowd along the shore seems bigger.”
They could faintly hear the chanting from the dissenters.
Simber paced the shore. “Theirrr numberrrs have been incrrreasing everrry hourrr,” he growled.
“I don’t care,” said Aaron recklessly. “Let them shout until their voices are gone. We’ve got more important things to worry about right now.” He scratched his head and turned to gaze at the group with him. “We might want to hide Thisbe.”
“What about Drock?” said Thisbe. “He’s in just as much danger.”
“He can defend himself,” said Aaron.
“So can I,” Thisbe argued.
Simber, who had stationed himself on the edge of the crab island to watch Artimé, shook his head. “We shouldn’t have left.”
Florence looked up sharply. “What? Why not?”
“They’ll say they’ve drrriven us off.”
“That’s ridiculous,” said Thisbe. “They haven’t done any such thing.”
“Well,” said Fifer, going to stand next to Simber, “they sort of did, I guess. Look at us.”
Sky nodded. “It does seem that way,” she said. “Does it matter?”
“Of courrrse it does,” said Simber. “They werrre trrrying to drrrive the Stowes away, and they’ve succeeded.”
“Not technically,” said Thisbe. “We’re just at our friends’ island.” But no one seemed to think that mattered.
Florence got up too and joined Aaron, Simber, and Fifer, looking out at Artimé. “Hmm,” she said, growing increasingly troubled. “You may be right, Sim. I wish I’d thought of that before suggesting we come here.”
Aaron frowned, and his face retained a troubled expression. “I’m honestly not sure what to do. Should we go back and try to deal with this? We need our people prepared for this attack. But if I get caught up in the shouting match, we waste even more planning time.” He hung his head, exasperated. “I wish they would just try to understand that and give us some time to take care of this immediate problem before it’s too late for everyone. It’s so frustrating!”
“How many of them are there, Simber?” Fifer asked.
“Overrr a hundrrred now, and grrrowing. This is a rrreal issue, Aarrron.”
Thisbe looked up but remained with the other young mages and Drock to try to come up with a new spell that would stop the Revinir.
“Samheed and Lani came out of the mansion a while ago and werrre trrrying to calm them down,” said Simber. “They gave up and went back inside.” He growled under his breath. “This is out of contrrrol.”
“But what should we do?” said Aaron, raising his voice in frustration. “I don’t know what you want me to do, Simber. You seem to have thoughts—why not just say them?”
Simber glanced at Aaron. “I’m not the head mage of Arrrtimé.”
“I’m asking you for advice!” Aaron said.
“Fine. Then I think you should go back and take charrrge of the situation. Don’t stop until you have the people underrr contrrrol.”
Aaron worked his jaw. He had no idea what he could possibly say to stop the people from protesting him and his sisters.
“And,” Simber continued, “Florrrence and I should go with you forrr prrrotection and intimidation purrrposes.”
“But what about the Revinir?” Aaron spat out.
Florence stepped in. “If you don’t take control of this situation and get everyone prepared as much as you can, there will be mass casualties.” She paused to let the words sink in. “We have to expect the worst, and we need to communicate that clearly. We must get these people settled down and ready to fight for their lives.”
Aaron felt his face grow hot with anger. There was no time for this. He had never asked for this job, and he hated that he was forced to do it, especially under such stressful times. But he wanted to go back to Artimé for a different reason—to tell Kaylee to take Daniel back to the Island of Shipwrecks for a while. For their safety.
“I’ll go with you, Aaron,” said Fifer.
Thisbe shot her sister a frustrated glance. She needed more help than Aaron did. But it just proved even more solidly to Thisbe that Fifer no longer cared about the land of the dragons or their people. And there was nothing that could happen that would change that—Fifer had to want it. Thisbe could
n’t want it for her. But clearly Fifer had a much stronger connection to Artimé than to the black-eyed rulers of Grimere.
“I think you’d better stay with Thisbe,” Aaron told Fifer. He turned sharply to face the others. “I need all of you to work harder than you’ve ever worked while I’m gone.”
Fifer sighed. She was no longer calling any shots—not just in leadership, but even when her own life choices were involved. Her time as group leader was deader than dead. She glanced at Simber, who wasn’t paying any attention to her, then threw her hands up and went back to the small group of mages.
As precious time ticked away, more and more people of Artimé joined the dissenters in condemning the head mage and demanding his resignation. Florence quickly started walking toward Artimé, and Simber and Aaron prepared to fly back to settle things there once and for all.
Everything Is Awful
With the Revinir gaining ground, Simber and Aaron approached Artimé from the sky, and Florence emerged from the sea. Aaron could hear the chants loud and clear. “Down with the Stowes! Fire the mage!” Samheed and Lani had returned outside with Carina this time to try to control the protest. But they weren’t having any luck.
Aaron felt terrible that the people had not only turned on him, but on Thisbe and Fifer, too. It was so strange that Frieda had implicated their mother as her reason to despise them—he’d never heard anyone speak like that about her before. Aaron had only known his mother to be a quiet, obedient, selfless person. Sure, she hadn’t tried to stop Alex from being sent to his death, but no parent would’ve survived after standing against that practice back then. And she had died protecting her daughters. Perhaps that was her way of making up for past regrets. They’d never know.
But who had she been? Had she really been a pirate, as Frieda seemed so sure about? Where had she come from? The Island of Fire? And how had she gotten to Quill?
None of it mattered now. Simber flew over the people’s heads and found a clear spot on the lawn to land. The protesters turned around and moved toward them, making a circle around the group. Florence reached the shore and ran to the crowd, shouting for the people to be quiet for a moment so they could communicate.
Aaron wasn’t sure what he was going to say. He had no idea what kind of response could work with such rabidly angry people. Was there anything he could convey that would calm them? It didn’t seem likely. Their minds were made up. If only Alex were here to fix all of this. . . .
Eager for something new to be angry about, the crowd quieted enough for Aaron to speak. He slid off Simber’s back but stayed close. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he looked into the eyes of the people who hated him. “People of Artimé,” he said, “I understand your anger. I know why you hate me.”
A murmur went through the group.
“I believe you have a right to speak your mind, even if what you say hurts me. That’s what Alex would’ve said too.”
“He’d still be here if you hadn’t killed him!” shouted one man, and a few others echoed their agreement with the statement.
“I did NOT kill Alex!” Aaron said sharply, and several dissenters began to argue. It was the worst accusation of all of them, and the way they so falsely and blatantly threw it out there hurt more than all the others combined.
“You had him killed, then!” said Frieda Stubbs.
“That is preposterous!” said Aaron, spit flying. Rage grew, and he felt himself losing all sense of decorum. “I loved him more than I can express!”
Simber emitted a low growl, perhaps trying to get Aaron back on track. But Aaron was tired and hurt and absolutely furious. His heart had been broken by his brother’s death, and these people had spread such horrible rumors, not caring how much their words hurt him. This wasn’t what Artimé was about at all. When had this happened to these good people?
Aaron tried to breathe, tried to control his tone while struggling to be heard against the voices around him, which were rising again. “Listen, everyone. I’m asking for you to delay your protest for a few days so that we can focus on stopping the Revinir from attacking all of us. I want you to prepare to fight and protect yourselves. Please! I’m begging you!”
“You’re planning to have us all killed now by this Revinir dragon-person. Is that right?” said Frieda with a sneer. “Is that your answer to everything? If somebody bothers you, you just kill them. You know what you need to do to fix this, Aaron, but you’re too cowardly to do it.”
Aaron focused on the woman who had started Artimé’s descent into madness and felt suddenly very weary. “I am trying to prevent you all from being killed,” he said, his voice ragged, “while also protecting the Revinir’s targets. Just as Alex would have done.”
“You lie!” cried Frieda. “Alex would have gone immediately and destroyed that monster and saved all of us. You’re just standing here, drawing her to us, when you could sacrifice yourself and your evil sisters, and we’d be safe!”
The chants began again. “Fire the mage! Sacrifice the Stowes!”
Aaron felt like he was about to explode. “You have no idea how leadership works! And I didn’t even want this job!” he yelled. “If anybody else would like to be head mage and can save Artimé from this attack, just say the word, because I have had it with all of this!”
There was a split second of silence in which everyone digested the mage’s words.
“Aarrron!” roared Simber. But it was too late for Aaron to take the words back.
Samheed looked aghast. Lani’s jaw dropped. She’d once wanted the job a long time ago, but not now. Not like this.
“Where’s Claire?” Samheed whispered to Lani. “Claire!” he shouted. “Are you here?” But the woman was not present.
Frieda Stubbs stepped forward. “I’ll do it.”
Aaron stared at her. Everyone gasped. And then slowly Aaron took off the robe.
“Aaron, stop!” said Florence.
The head mage handed the robe to Frieda Stubbs.
“No, Aarrron!” said Simber. “This is disastrrrous!”
“I don’t need a robe to try to save Artimé,” said Aaron quietly. “It’s better for everyone that this distraction ends now. Good luck, Frieda. You’re going to need it.”
Frieda grabbed the robe and held it up triumphantly, and the people on the lawn erupted in cheers and shouts and expressions of disbelief and horror. People began to panic. “But she’s not even very magical,” said one. “How is such an untalented person going to be in charge of all of us?” shrieked another. “This is crazy!”
“Aarrron!” Simber said once more, his voice awash in desperation and pleading.
Aaron turned to the winged cheetah. In that instant his face fell as he realized what he’d just done to the beast. His face flooded with regret. And then the regret cleared and turned to resolve. “You heard me, Simber. It’s done. I’m . . . I’m done.” He swallowed hard as the cheetah’s face betrayed his feelings.
“Why?” said Simber softly. “Why did you do this?”
Aaron’s face broke, and he covered his mouth with trembling fingers. Then he dropped his hand and turned sharply. “Go, Simber. Frieda is your new mage. I hope you’ll help her like you’ve helped every mage of this land.” He paused. “Please know I’ll be fighting for Artimé more than ever. Believe it or not. We just couldn’t go on like . . . that.”
Florence was speechless. One hand went to her hip and the other to her forehead, and she watched in shock as Aaron turned away. Then her eyes widened as chaos continued all around them. “Get him out of here!”
Before the protesters could descend on Aaron in a frenzy, Lani, Carina, and Samheed pressed through the crowd and grabbed Aaron by the elbows. They dragged him toward the water—it was his only means of escape. Lani stayed at the shoreline to help Florence hold the crowds at bay as Samheed and Carina swam out with Aaron to protect him.
“You really did it this time,” Samheed muttered.
“Give him a break,” Carina snapped at him
.
Samheed frowned but was quiet, and Aaron didn’t say anything either.
Once they’d swum halfway to Karkinos, Aaron stopped them and treaded water, breathing hard. “I can make it the rest of the way,” he said. “Go back to Artimé and stay with Simber. And please . . . please find Kaylee and tell her to go to the grandfathers as soon as possible. She and Daniel aren’t safe here. Tell her . . . tell her I love her. And I’ll see them when all of this mess is over.”
Time Ticks Away
Reluctantly Carina and Samheed let Aaron continue to Karkinos alone. Once they returned to Artimé’s shore, Carina went to the mansion to help Simber and Florence in whatever way she could during such a disruptive time. But Samheed broke through the crowds of protesters and kept walking into Quill to find someone who could go in search of Claire Morning.
On his way, he had a lot of soul-searching to do. He felt angry at Aaron for messing this up without regard for anyone else, just like he always used to do. But Carina’s reprimand had jerked him back to reality, and now he felt a little bit guilty for acting so mean after all Aaron had been through. It was obvious Samheed hadn’t wanted Aaron as head mage—the guy had brought a lot of baggage and complications to that position. But Samheed also hadn’t wanted anything like this to happen. It was frightening to watch strong Artimé unraveling.
And as much as he’d preferred the idea of Claire as the head mage, Samheed wasn’t going in search of her now to defy Aaron in any way—he would have never done this if Aaron hadn’t resigned. He was doing it for the sake of Artimé’s existence, because under Frieda Stubbs, it was only a matter of time before the magical world became a complete disaster. Sooner rather than later if they didn’t stop the Revinir.
Knowing that many of the dissenters thought fondly of Claire and preferred her to Aaron, Samheed felt there was a good chance for Claire to smooth everything over between the Frieda supporters and the Aaron supporters. And with any luck, she could step in and take charge before the Revinir destroyed them all.
When Samheed reached the outskirts of Quill’s neighborhood quadrants, he found a Necessary to go in search of Claire Morning and ask her to come to Artimé as soon as possible. Then he turned back and went to help Florence try to control the crowd and get everyone settled down.
