The jungle residents settled back to life as usual. While Aaron waited for the scientists’ return, he introduced Alex to the creatures there and explained how to handle the toothy dog, how to fix Panther’s tail, and how to make the rock feel important now and then to boost his spirits. He reminded Alex that the six dropbears in the jungle were carnivores, not herbivores like the ones on the Island of Legends, and suggested it might not be a good idea to let them mingle—at least until things settled down and the island needed a bit of excitement.
Karkinos decided to stay nearby, which made it very easy for the Artiméans to visit whenever they wanted to—and for the inhabitants of the Island of Legends to visit Artimé. That suited Talon and Florence perfectly.
And all but one of the Warbler ships that hadn’t been destroyed had been moved to the lagoon, near the Claire, until they were needed. It was a very impressive fleet. Alex had instructed Captain Ahab, who had been put back together, to leave one of the ships out front so Aaron and Kaylee could paint and decorate it to their liking and supply it with all sorts of comforts for their upcoming journey.
The hospital ward slowly emptied out one last time. Alex was able to shrink it back to the size Henry liked. The only frequent visitor was Lani, who still couldn’t walk or move her legs at all. She kept a brave face and a strong attitude about it with her brother and her friends, and she wasn’t in pain. But when she was alone or with her father and she let herself think about it, she cried quite a bit, especially at first. But then she pulled renewed strength from somewhere deep inside her—perhaps it was the spirit of Meghan that propelled it—and she carried on with her life, discovering new ways to live it, though not without immense frustrations.
Watching Lani figure out life in a new way helped Alex tremendously, and it reaffirmed his decision to remain head mage. What was Artimé if not creative enough to thrive with change? They were a people who had survived against the odds since their first infractions under High Priest Justine’s rule.
And while Henry, Carina, and the nurses puzzled over Lani’s injury, as they’d done with Alex’s, they could come up with no way to heal her. But Aaron, ever the designer, was struck with an idea. Inspired by Lhasa the snow lion, Ms. Octavia, and the contraption Ms. Octavia had made for Sean Ranger back when he’d had a broken leg, Aaron began tinkering. With a little help from the octogator, he designed and built Lani an intricate but minimalistic contraption, which she wore like a belt at her waist. It allowed her to move about Artimé in a standing or sitting position, floating just slightly above the ground like Lhasa did. Ms. Octavia added magic to it so that Lani could control it with a few key commands. The contraption could even help her climb the stairs to her room. As Lani got used to it, she began buzzing around Artimé almost as often and as speedily as she used to, just in a different way. And once that happened, it was back to work for her—which was exactly what she wanted.
Often she and the group of friends gathered together in the dining room or the hospital ward to work together. Henry, Carina, and Sean experimented with medicine. Alex, Samheed, and Lani created the concepts for new spells, and Sky, Kaylee, and Aaron executed the designs of the components. Thatcher joined them now too, interested in learning more about how to create spells. It didn’t hurt that he and Henry had become close friends in the time since the war ended, and they were often seen having deep, philosophical talks together.
Soon Claire was well enough to remove the thornaments on all the Warblerans who had survived the great battle. Thatcher’s sister, Yazmin, had recovered nicely and was on her feet not long after the battle ended. Their parents were among the Warblerans who had switched sides during the fighting, and both made it through, scarred but alive. Scarlet’s mother, who’d grabbed on to Simber’s mouth from Queen Eagala’s ship, had fought alongside her daughter. Both Scarlet’s and Thatcher’s families decided to stay in Artimé.
Copper and Daxel, along with several other Warblerans, chose to take one of the ships back to their home island and start life anew with Copper in charge of things. To their great joy upon returning home, they discovered that Fifer’s spell-breaking scream had not only turned the ravens to smoke, but it had also broken the silence spell that had covered Warbler for years. With all the thornaments removed, the Warblerans were well on their way to peace within their own vast caves. And Copper, Sky, and Crow made plans for frequent visits between the two islands.
The Island of Fire never saw the return of its pirates. Spike went to check on the inhabitants, and she returned to report that the few elderly people and young children who hadn’t joined the attackers continued to live on without trouble in the reverse aquarium, riding the whim of the plunging volcano with no way to escape. Alex decided that once things were under control at home, he’d pay a visit to the residents of the Island of Fire to see if anyone wanted to leave their home and join them in the outside world, living in peace in Artimé. But that time had not yet come.
Life in Quill was back to normal—the only thing missing was the threat of attack. Gunnar Haluki strolled around the almost pleasant streets of Quill, often with Claire Morning at his side for company, making sure the people there had what they needed. Well, most of the people, anyway. He left the few ornery Wanteds alone on their patch of soot.
Crow thrived in his role as caretaker to the twin girls, and his secret admiration for Scarlet grew. He was thrilled to discover that she was staying in Artimé, though of course he said nothing to anyone about his feelings. He liked to daydream that she stayed because she liked him, even though he knew that wasn’t the reason. Once in a while she smiled his way, and that alone energized him for days.
Sean and Carina grew closer than ever and decided to stay together, wherever life would lead them. They hoped for some quiet before they took on any new adventures, though. And Carina’s son Seth began to think of Sean like a father. Sean thought that was the greatest thing since magic was invented.
Claire Morning and Ms. Octavia were back in their classrooms as usual, teaching those who wished to be taught, both young and old. The library buzzed with frequent visitors, and the lounge was much less crowded than it had been during the final battle. Kitten and Fox rejoined the lounge band, and Earl the blackboard was slightly less grumpy than before.
But the theater was dark for now. Former students scribbled poems and stories in iambic pentameter on tissue paper and brought them in to place them on the stage, under a single spotlight. The papers fluttered about at the slightest breeze in butterfly-like tribute to Mr. Appleblossom. And mounted on the walls all the way around the auditorium were the many hundreds of swords and shields left by the pirates—for decoration, but easily accessible just in case they should ever be needed again.
Florence and Simber were most often found perched on their glorious pedestals inside the front door to the mansion, as they were meant to be. New to the entryway was Talon, who often came for his morning visit to gaze upon Florence’s great beauty and be charmed by her wit. Sometimes the gazing and charming was more than Simber could take, so he went for frequent walks. Once he even ventured into the deepest, darkest part of the jungle to say hello to Panther, whom he thought was quite striking, though he had his reservations about her violent impulses.
Panther screamed in his face.
Spike was thrilled to have underwater friends nearby, and she spent her days as the great communicator between crab, giant squid, and sea monster. She delivered the squid’s report to Alex that Queen Eagala had indeed ridden the whispering ship straight into the volcano and disappeared, hollering most of the way.
Sometimes Spike helped Issie look for her baby, though the sea monster mostly kept to herself. Every now and then Issie would disappear for several days at a time, but she always returned. No one ever learned where she went—or if they did, they kept silent about it. Kaylee had a pretty good guess, though.
Pan and her children roamed the sea and airspace around the islands. Pan made sure all five of the young
dragons had met the people and creatures of Artimé and Karkinos and understood that they were friends.
Thisbe, Fifer, and Seth grew very fond of the young dragons, and quite vociferously wished they would visit more often. The girls especially took to Arabis the orange, who was the calmest among the five, and who even let them ride upon her back as she floated gently in the shallow water.
» » « «
On the morning that Aaron and Kaylee were to depart with the scientists, Alex and Sky sat on the lawn with Samheed and Lani, all of them working on projects of some sort. Samheed ignored everyone as he desperately wrote the last scene of the play he’d been working on so that he could reopen the theater and get the new young students to test it out. It was a daunting task, but Samheed was determined to fulfill his mentor’s dying wishes, and he could think of nothing else.
Sky studied the ship’s logbooks that Kaylee had recovered from the Island of Graves, wondering if there were any clues inside that would help them understand how people from the outside world first came to be here in the Dragon’s Triangle—and if there was any way out. As an added bonus, she learned a lot of strange things about circus people.
Lani was penning a book of her own. “It’s for the library,” she explained, “like Mr. Today’s journals. So one day after we’re all gone, people will know what happened here. And even though I’m writing it down, we have to promise to tell the stories about our battles and adventures and about the way life used to be on the seven islands. We must tell them over and over again,” Lani implored, “so they aren’t forgotten. Maybe if we tell the stories, things won’t ever get as bad as they have been.”
Sky and Alex nodded and promised to communicate them to everyone who would listen, starting with Thisbe and Fifer. Secretly Alex wasn’t worried—he knew the stories would live forever with Aaron. Samheed grunted in agreement, but didn’t look up from his work. Lani watched him, laughing softly. She’d have plenty of time to remind him once he was finished writing his play.
Alex sorted spell components in front of him so he’d have something to give Aaron to magically protect the ship from whatever unknown enemies still lurked in the waters.
Thisbe, who was playing with Fifer and Seth Holiday, saw what Alex was doing and sidled up to him. “Dat?” she asked, bending over and picking up a heart attack component.
“Hmm?” said Alex. He looked up at her, and his eyes widened in fear. “No, no, no! Don’t throw that!” He lunged for her chubby fist, trying to get the component away from her, and she giggled and threw it at him. Wings sprouted from it, and it sailed at Alex, hitting him in the chest. “Aaauuugh!” he cried, shuddering and falling back on the lawn.
Sky gasped. Lani and Samheed looked up from their work. Thisbe came closer, still giggling, to see what Alex was doing, and Lani quickly realized what had happened. She released the spell.
Alex sucked in a ragged breath and opened his eyes, finding Thisbe, Lani, Samheed, and Sky all looking down at him. “Ouch,” he said, clutching his chest with his good hand and giving Thisbe a look. “No more spell components for you!” He coughed weakly and sat up, and quickly grabbed Thisbe when she reached for the sack of scatterclips. “Oh no you don’t.” He snatched it away and looked at his friends. “This kid is dangerous,” he said, shaking his head in wonder. “She didn’t even have to say the verbal component—did you notice that?”
“I sure did.” Lani nodded and scribbled furiously in her notebook.
Sky leaned over her. “What are you writing now?”
“I’m making sure that if we all wind up dead,” said Lani, “people will know it was Thisbe who did it.”
“This is going to be very interesting, raising these two,” Alex muttered. He put all of Aaron’s components into one sack and all the rest into another, and looked around very carefully to make sure he hadn’t left any on the lawn.
» » « «
A short while later, Aaron and Kaylee came out of the mansion, each carrying a few crates. Simber flew them out to load the supplies onto the ship, which was anchored in front of the mansion between Artimé and Karkinos.
When the two returned to shore, Alex got up and took the girls with him to the front of the mansion. Ishibashi, Ito, and Sato emerged from it, having come from their island through the tube and the magical 3-D door, all packed for their first adventure.
Alex looked at their excited faces. “Are you ready?” he asked.
“Yes, we are ready,” said Ishibashi. “Thank you again for your hospitality and the use of your ship.”
Ito and Sato smiled. “Thank you,” they repeated.
“We have more than enough ships to spare,” said Alex. He shook hands with each of the men. “Thank you for giving me my brother back.”
“He was not ours to give,” said Ishibashi modestly. “He gave himself back to you.”
“With a lot of help,” Alex said.
Ishibashi conceded the point with a toothless grin. “And with Kaylee aboard, I am quite sure we will return Aaron to you somewhat changed again.”
Alex snickered. “I’m excited to see what he learns along the way,” he said. “I wish you all the luck in finding what you are looking for.”
“Thank you,” said Ishibashi. “I do not hold out hope, though it’s true the pirates were selling sea creatures somewhere. Perhaps we will find the hidden land, perhaps not. But it will be a good adventure for us, and one we never thought we’d get to take until you came along.” He adjusted his suitcase and looked eagerly at the ship.
“Someone will check on your island a couple times a week,” Alex promised. “And Henry’s going to take care of your greenhouse plants and your new outdoor garden. He can’t wait.”
“We are most grateful,” said Ishibashi. He leaned in. “Henry is a special young man. He is a grand prize.”
“Yes,” said Alex. “He’s quite something. I’m very proud of him.”
By now a small crowd had gathered to wish the explorers well. The scientists said good-bye to everyone, and then they climbed onto Simber’s back for their first exciting cheetah flight ever.
Aaron and Kaylee hugged people all around, until only Alex was left. Kaylee leaned in and kissed Alex on the cheek. “Thanks for saving me,” she said.
“Thanks for fighting with us,” said Alex. “We needed you. Stay safe. And take care of the scientists for me. And this one,” he said, pointing at Aaron.
“I will.”
“I can take care of myself,” said Aaron.
“Oh, believe me, I’m quite aware,” said Kaylee. She gave Alex a look. “This is either going to be amazing or awful. I can’t quite tell which yet.”
“I wish you two would stop talking about me like I’m not here,” said Aaron.
“It’s only because we care,” Alex replied with a grin.
Kaylee ignored Aaron and said one last good-bye all around, then left Aaron and Alex face-to-face, with their sisters on either side. Aaron knelt down to hug the girls and say good-bye. Then he stood up again. The brothers looked at each other.
“I’ll miss you,” said Alex. He hesitated, then added with a secretive look, “Don’t die.”
Aaron smiled and dropped his gaze. “That’s what Clive used to tell you.”
“Yes,” said Alex.
“I guess it worked.”
“Not for Clive, though.” Alex thought about that for a moment. “I hope that doesn’t mean I’ll kick the bucket before you return.”
“What bucket?”
Alex laughed. “Ask Kaylee.” He reached out to hug his brother. The two embraced, and when Alex tried to pull away, Aaron hung on.
“Thank you,” said Aaron quietly as Simber returned to the shore.
“Thank you,” said Alex. He blinked hard.
When they finally pulled apart, Aaron’s eyes were wet. He flashed a sad half smile, and then pressed his fist to his chest.
Alex did the same. And then Aaron was off.
» » « «
Alex stayed with his sisters. Sky, Lani, Samheed, and Simber rejoined them on the lawn to watch the ship take sail.
“Do you wish you were going?” Alex asked.
“No stinking way,” said Samheed vehemently. “I’m still tired.”
“I’m good right here, thanks,” said Sky.
“No, I guess not,” said Lani with a little sigh. “Though we never found the big mass of land on the pirate map.” She glanced at Alex. “Why do you ask, Alex? Do you wish you were going?”
Alex shook his head. “Not even a little.” He was done with exploring and done with rescuing and done with fighting. He had new challenges to face. “This peace we have here now? This is what I’ve always wanted. I hope it stays this way forever.”
“So do I,” said Simber.
“It will,” said Lani. “At least until the next ship or airplane from Kaylee’s world gets caught in the terrible storms of the Dragon’s Triangle.”
They all thought about that for a while. And while they sat there, Pan’s enormous body moved into view on the water, her five children flying above her in V formation. Arabis the orange led the way to the west, her wings flapping elegantly and her scales sparkling. They weren’t stopping.
“Dat!” cried Fifer, pointing. She jumped to her feet.
“Dat!” echoed Thisbe, and the girls ran down the shoreline, chasing after the dragons.
Pan looked back at Alex, her face full of sorrow, and then she nodded regally. This was her good-bye day too. She would return alone.
Coming from a long walk around the island, Florence and Talon saw the twin girls running toward them. They each caught one and held them up high so the girls could see their precious dragons one last time, and perhaps pretend that they were flying too. Sky watched teary-eyed as the beautiful creatures disappeared in the distance. “I wonder where they’re going?” she said.
But no one knew, and the question hung in the air unanswered. Pan’s secret remained a mystery, perhaps to be solved another day by a very different pair of young magical twins.