Aaron pulled the robe from his vest and looked at it, then he pressed it to his face and breathed in. The fabric was still silky and soft against his skin, but it smelled like sweat from being trapped inside his vest for days. Aaron shoved it back in place with a frustrated groan that woke Earl.
“What’s your problem?” asked Earl, a bit grumpily. “Lounge is closed for the night.”
“Sorry,” said Aaron. He fled to the tubes and went to the mansion entryway, where a glance out the shiny new windows gave proof of the sun rising on a new day. Artimé began to stir.
Aaron turned to look into the hospital ward, expecting to see Alex asleep in his bed, but instead found him up and about, doing what he could to help the people of Artimé.
Aaron watched them for a long time—the way the injured people’s faces lit up when Alex came by their beds. The way he comforted them and soothed their fears. The way they responded to him and worried over his injury as if . . . as if they were all family.
Aaron slipped his hand inside his vest and his face cracked in pain. Something inside him fussed and roiled and wouldn’t settle.
“Good morning, Aaron-san,” said a soft voice from the stairs.
Pain spiked inside his chest as Aaron whirled around. “Ishibashi-san,” he said, incredulous. “You’re here!”
“I fixed the tube,” said Ishibashi with a grin.
“I can’t believe it,” said Aaron. He tried to smile, but his face was strained and his lips trembled. He jerked his fingers away from his vest and shoved his hands in his pants pockets, his heart engulfed in warring emotions. “I’m really glad to see you.” His voice was thin.
Ishibashi came toward Aaron. He squinted, searching the young man’s face. “Something is troubling you,” the scientist said.
Aaron’s vision blurred. He couldn’t deny it. He turned his gaze away.
Ishibashi tilted his head an inch, studying Aaron. His eyes were filled with compassion as he seemed to read Aaron’s expression. After a moment he said quietly, “Your applecorn is exploding.”
Aaron stared at him. And then he broke down and launched himself into Ishibashi’s arms.
A Grand Reunion
After a while, Ito and Sato joined Ishibashi and Aaron, and word of the scientists’ arrival began to spread. Kaylee came running when she heard the news, for she had often thought of the men since her short visit to their island. They were glad to find Kaylee alive and well and in such good company.
The five of them spent a good part of the morning at the kitchen bar, eating breakfast and drinking tea that Aaron made for them—real tea this time. Aaron and Kaylee filled the scientists in on everything that had happened since they last saw them, from Kaylee’s extended stay on the Island of Graves, to the battle and win over Gondoleery, to Aaron constructing dragon wings.
And then it was Aaron’s turn to ask Ishibashi a question. “I worked so hard trying to get that tube to work, and I couldn’t figure it out. How in the world did you manage to fix it?”
Ishibashi smiled. “You had it mostly fixed. All it needed was a spring.” Which was entirely true, though Ishibashi decided not to mention that it was he who had the missing spring all along.
Kaylee leaned forward. “And how did you get from the tube in the kitchenette into the rest of the mansion? Could you see the balcony from the hallway? I’ve only ever seen a wall there. If you could see the balcony, you must be very magical.”
Ishibashi translated the question to Ito and Sato, and all three men had a hearty belly laugh. Ishibashi turned back to Kaylee to answer. “We did not see the balcony. But we did see a large hole in the wall of a bedroom, so we climbed down that way.”
Kaylee and Aaron laughed. “Well, don’t worry if they patch that hole up,” said Kaylee. “There’s another way in through a 3-D door that I’ll show you later.”
Aaron grew somber. “We haven’t found a way back to your original world, though,” he said, and then he looked down. “I hope you don’t mind that I know the truth. Kaylee figured out where we are. It’s called the Dragon’s Triangle.”
Kaylee nodded, a sad look in her eyes.
Ishibashi pressed his lips together and then spoke to his friends for a moment. “It is as we suspected all these many years,” he said after he told Ito and Sato. “But now that we are no longer stranded by the hurricane, we have renewed hope that we may be able to find a way out. Perhaps we could borrow one of your many extra ships? Ito, Sato, and I would like to take a journey and see what we can find to the north and south.”
Aaron looked up. “And me. Right?”
Ishibashi’s eyes burned into Aaron’s. “Do you wish to abandon this island?”
Aaron held his gaze. After a moment he nodded. “I do.”
Ishibashi smiled and patted Aaron’s arm.
Sato said something to Ishibashi. Ishibashi laughed and translated for him. “Sato wants to know why you would want to leave now that you have found . . . a friend?” He smiled, indicating Kaylee, and Aaron could feel his face heat up.
“I want to go with you,” Kaylee declared. “Even if Aaron doesn’t. I want to find a way home too, if there is one. Will you take me, Ishi? Please? I’m an excellent sailor. Well, I mean, obviously I ended up here, but . . .”
“We ended up here too,” Ishibashi reminded her. “The storms are insurmountable in the Dragon’s Triangle. It is nothing to feel shame for.” He turned to speak to Ito and Sato, and the men nodded emphatically. Turning back to Kaylee, he said, “We would be honored to have your expertise on board our ship. I am sure you will bring us luck.”
Kaylee pumped her fist. “Yes!” she said. And then she realized Aaron was quiet. She looked at him. “Is that okay with you? I mean, I don’t want to intrude. I know you have a special relationship with the scientists, and I know how much you like to be quiet and alone and—”
“I think it would be okay,” said Aaron, feeling suddenly bold. The turmoil in his mind about being the head mage had turned to turmoil of the heart over the proposition of Kaylee being around indefinitely. He definitely preferred this kind. “It might even be nice.”
Kaylee raised an eyebrow. “Dude,” she said. “You have no idea just how, ahem, nice, it’s going to be. Ishi,” she said, looking up, “we have a lot of work to do with this one. Good thing you’re patient.”
Aaron frowned. “What are you trying to say?” But then he thought he knew, and he couldn’t help the silly grin that crossed his face. He leaned to the side and made another bold move, lightly bumping shoulders with Kaylee.
Kaylee looked sidelong at him. “What did you just do there? Are you flirting with me?”
Aaron looked back, suddenly suspicious. “What does that mean?”
Ishibashi laughed loudly and shook his finger at the teenagers. “This is going to be a very interesting trip,” he said.
Proper Paths
While Aaron was catching up with the scientists, Alex abandoned all intentions of rest in favor of savoring his last moments acting as head mage to his people.
It was a decent run, he thought. He’d been a good mage, for the most part. He was happy with his time as their leader, once he’d found his footing, at least. But now they needed someone who could actually fight in a battle. Someone who wouldn’t struggle to cast spells. Someone whose creativity hadn’t been yanked away for good.
Yes, Aaron was the right mage for the job. And his immortality made him the perfect leader for the magical world. With Aaron in place, the island of Quill and Artimé might never have to see another transition of leadership again. There was some relief in that kind of stability.
Once Alex had visited with all the patients, he kept working to keep his mind occupied, scrubbing and cleaning until his good arm felt like rubber. Finally Simber ordered him to take a break and get something to eat. Wearily, Alex decided to listen for once.
» » « «
Aaron’s party eventually broke up to help clean up the lawn. But Aaron had one thi
ng he needed to do first. Tired, but feeling much relieved, he ran up to his room, then went in search of Alex. He found him in the dining room, slumped over a table in the corner away from everyone else, fast asleep. Next to him were the remains of what looked to be a hastily eaten meal. The room was filling up with people eating breakfast, but they were uncharacteristically quiet out of respect for their exhausted mage.
That expression of respect didn’t go unnoticed by Aaron. He gave a sad, crooked smile at the sight of Alex’s limp arm in the sling. His heart broke for his brother and the difficulties he would face learning to work with his new set of circumstances. But Alex was the most creative person Aaron knew. He’d figure it out in time.
Aaron sat down across the table from Alex, hesitating to wake his identical twin. “Identical,” he murmured ruefully. “Not so much anymore.” With Aaron’s permanently scarred forehead and Alex’s useless arm, it was easy to tell the two boys apart now.
“Alex,” Aaron whispered.
Alex didn’t move.
“Alex,” Aaron said, a little louder.
Alex’s head popped up and his eyes shot open. “What? What happened?”
“Nothing happened,” said Aaron. “Take it easy.”
Alex blinked a few times, took a deep breath, and relaxed. He looked down at his arm, and his face fell as he remembered. “Oh,” he said.
“Does it hurt?” asked Aaron.
“Not anymore. It’s . . . it’ll be fine.” He looked at Aaron. “I think we should do the announcement this morning, don’t you? I really just . . . ,” he sighed. “I want to get it over with, to be honest. I’m going to tell Simber first, of course, and some of the others—”
“Alex,” said Aaron. He reached across the table to his brother. “Listen. About that—I have to tell you something.”
Alex looked up. “What?”
Aaron glanced over his shoulder to make sure nobody was watching or listening too closely, then reached into his vest and pulled out the robe and the Triad spells book. He put them firmly in front of Alex and sat back. Without faltering, he said, “I don’t want to be head mage.”
“What?” Alex’s face fell. “Aaron, why would you say that? You’re perfect—”
“No, I’m not. I’m not perfect for it. I would be bad at it, actually. It’s a terrible idea. And it’s just . . . it’s not something I should do. For my own personal reasons. So I declare—”
“Stop!” said Alex, alarmed. “What are you talking about? Who am I supposed to appoint, if not you?”
An incredulous look crossed Aaron’s face. “No one,” he said. “You are the clear leader of this island, Alex, and the head mage of Artimé.”
“But I can’t do anything anymore!” Tears sprang to Alex’s tired eyes, and he appeared even more frustrated by their unexpected presence. He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “I’m not fit for this job. Artimé needs someone with incredible magical abilities and strong leadership experience. With my arm like this, I’ll never . . .” He faltered, then sniffed and forged ahead. “I’ll never be what I was. And even then, I’m not as good as you. That’s what makes you so perfect. Don’t you see?”
Aaron’s face softened. His heart ached for his brother. But he also knew the truth. “The people of Artimé would never follow me,” he said softly. “Nor should they. Being the head mage, the leader of a place like this—it’s an all-encompassing job that takes way more than just some dumb luck with magic like I’ve had in order to succeed. It takes the kind of person who can lead people unselfishly, with goodness and love and the best intentions for them. The kind of person who cares deeply about them, no matter if he’s in the depths of personal misery, or at the height of mutual harmony and peace.”
Aaron leaned forward. “And that person is you, Alex. I’ve been watching you for years—seeing how your people respect you. How they’d do anything for you. They’ll fight anyone you ask them to fight, and they’ll work tirelessly together to build a stronghold of a nation just to hear one word of praise from you, and that word stays with them for a lifetime.”
Aaron gripped Alex’s wrist and spoke with his heart wide open for perhaps the first time, but certainly not the last. “I used to be jealous of your relationship with your people. But now I’m just proud to be your brother. And that’s all I want to be when it comes to this island. You could lose all your limbs, Alex, and you would still hold more esteem and authority with the Artiméans than anyone else here, because you’ve built it. Don’t you see that you’d only hurt them by stepping down, after all they’ve done for you? Do you want to give up like this, right in front of them? And try to explain that you, Alexander Stowe, can’t overcome this setback after that impossible victory you just managed to pull off?”
Alex’s jaw slacked. He wet his lips and closed his mouth, then swallowed hard and looked down at Aaron’s hand on his arm. After a moment he turned his gaze to the robe and the book in front of him.
His brother was right. What kind of example would Alex be if he stepped down now? His people had lost friends and family and had suffered just as many injuries as Alex and his friends had, but they weren’t giving up. They were stronger than ever in their loyalty—to him and to Artimé. And now they were finally at peace.
“You deserve to lead in a time of peace, Alex,” said Aaron, as if he could read Alex’s mind. “You have to at least try.”
Alex’s eyes remained on the robe and book. Slowly he nodded. “You’re right,” he said softly.
Aaron smiled. “I declare,” he began again, and this time Alex didn’t stop him, “that Alexander Stowe is now the head mage of Artimé.”
Alex slid his hand out from under Aaron’s grasp and picked up the robe and book. After a moment he looked up at his brother, whose expression was sober but whose eyes were bright. Alex pressed his lips together, then held the items to his chest and closed his eyes. He took in a solid breath and let it out slowly, then opened his eyes. “Thank you,” he said.
The End of the End
The scientists decided to go home for a while before embarking on their great adventure, though they didn’t know which tube button to push to get there. Alex explained that there was no book in the Museum of Large that addressed the subject, not that he’d ever found anyway, but clearly he hadn’t made it through all of them yet. He warned the men to be very careful, though, for no one knew where most of the buttons went—if anywhere.
Aaron and Kaylee puzzled over it with the scientists for a while, and then Ito said something to the others and pointed at the blue button.
Ishibashi looked at Aaron. “Ito thinks it’s this blue one because the button in our tube on the island is also blue.”
“That makes sense,” said Aaron. He thought about the other remote tubes he’d been in. The button in the jungle’s tube was white, but there were no white buttons in the kitchenette tube—they were the colors of the spectrum. Aaron frowned. Pushing all the buttons at once would be akin to mixing all the colors of the spectrum, and doing that most certainly would result in white—Aaron had learned that much about color and light in his short time in Artimé. So perhaps there was something to the color matching.
Aaron tried to remember what color the button had been in the tube in Haluki’s closet, but it had always been so dark in there that he’d never noticed it. Was it red, like the first button in the kitchenette’s tube? He had no idea. And that tube had been destroyed by fire, so there was no way to check.
Ito spoke again, and Ishibashi translated. “Ito says he’s willing to risk it.” He grinned, and he and Sato stepped aside to let Ito get into the tube. Ito smiled brightly and waved, and then pushed the blue button. He disappeared.
Kaylee looked at the others. “Aren’t you nervous for him?” she asked, incredulous.
“Nah,” said Ishibashi. “He’s one hundred and eleven years old. Good time to die.” He and Sato began laughing uproariously. Aaron joined in, as if he were in on some sort of joke. Kaylee looked o
n in confusion.
A moment later Ito returned. He spoke to Ishibashi, and Ishibashi looked at Aaron. “He says he found the right button!”
With promises to return in a month to join Aaron and Kaylee and set out on their journey, the three scientists went home, leaving Kaylee shaking her head in wonder at the bravery of the three old gentlemen.
She and Aaron left the kitchenette and walked down the hallway. When they reached the 3-D door, Kaylee said good-bye to Aaron and disappeared through it just as Alex exited his partially repaired private quarters.
Alex closed his door and looked up, seeing Aaron. “Did they make it back to the Island of Shipwrecks?”
“They did—it’s the blue button. How’s the construction going?”
“It’s coming along,” said Alex. The brothers walked together past the two doors that had never been seen open as long as Alex had been accessing this hallway.
“Do you think you’ll ever figure out how to get in there?” asked Aaron, pointing at one.
“I hope so,” said Alex. “Now that life is settling down I’ll have time to try, at least.” And then he chuckled. “And if not, we’ll just have to bring Thisbe or Fifer up here.”
“Yes,” said Aaron with a wry smile. “Either a ‘boom’ or a piercing scream ought to bring the doors down, I’ll bet.”
» » « «
With everyone on the island pitching in, even the Wanteds and Necessaries, it didn’t take more than a few weeks for the entire island of Quill to be restored, and soon Artimé was back to looking its best, too. The fountain was flowing properly, the lawn was lush, Henry’s greenhouse garden had been replanted, and the mansion appeared even better than new. Alex’s living quarters now included a circular glass door where the hole had been, leading to a private balcony where he could sit and enjoy the sunsets. Sky often joined him to watch.