In spite of the darkness, Alex had remained on the shore, watching out over the water. At first he had thought the whale might come back, but after several hours reality set in, and eventually Alex had stopped looking out to sea to watch for his shiny creation. He’d gotten up and went inside to bed.
It was so strange how much Alex cared about the whale, even felt he knew the whale personally, but the whale knew little or nothing of her own creator, or how much work he’d put into her to make her just so. Would she even know him if they met again? Alex doubted it.
But there was plenty of work to be done to distract Alex from Spike’s short life in Artimé. It was time to pack up the pirate ship and get everybody on board with the plan.
Alex walked down the boys’ hallway to Samheed’s room and knocked.
Samheed opened the door to let Alex inside.
“Hello, Alex Stowe,” said Samheed’s blackboard, Stuart. “It’s especially nice to see you.”
“Nice to see you, too, Stu,” Alex said. “Clive says hello.”
Clive hadn’t said hello, but Alex knew Clive would be annoyed by Alex’s saying it, so he did.
Stuart looked suspicious. “Oh, really?” He pressed his face out a little farther to get a better look at Alex.
“Oh, yes,” Alex said. “He thinks you’re pretty neat. He told me the other day how much he admires you.”
At this, Stuart looked almost frightened. “Oh. Dear me. I have to go.” He slid back and disappeared into the blackboard.
Samheed raised an eyebrow and whispered, “Clive didn’t say any of that, did he?”
“Nope.”
“What is it with those two?”
Alex shrugged. “No idea. Maybe they’re too alike to be friends.”
“Unlike us.”
Alex laughed. “Right.” He flopped onto Samheed’s couch and pulled the list of Artiméans from his robe pocket. “Okay, see what you think.” He handed it to Samheed.
Sam sat in the chair, put his feet on the coffee table, and picked up a pen. His brow furrowed and he chewed on the end of the pen as he read.
When he was finished, he looked up. “So Mr. Appleblossom and Ms. Morning are staying here to keep watch over the Warbler kids. Are they going to take off their neck things?”
“I thought it would be fine to do that. What do you think?”
“Oh, yeah, totally fine. I don’t think those kids have any secret plan at all to do anything to us. I believe what they say about their parents tricking Eagala. Problem is, she won’t make that mistake again.”
“Yeah.” Alex jiggled his foot. “I worry that she’ll attack again to get the children back. What if she comes when we’re gone?”
“We can’t sit around waiting for an attack.”
“True.”
“Besides, she probably doesn’t know what to do next. Maybe she’ll figure she should cut her losses.”
“Maybe,” Alex said. He pointed to the paper. “Any other comments?”
Samheed looked at the list again. “Any squirrelicorns?”
“Rufus and five others.”
“No Fox or Kitten on this one?”
Alex pursed his lips. “Can you think of a use for them?”
“Well, there’s always comic relief.” Samheed smiled. “Besides, Fox can swim. Probably forever—he’s made out of driftwood, isn’t he?”
Alex sat back and tapped his lips thoughtfully. “I suppose they don’t weigh much, so they wouldn’t slow the ship down.”
“And you never know about Kitten. She can get into some really small spaces that nobody else can. I say she’s pretty valuable to have.”
“I’m just afraid of losing her or having her get swept away.”
“Yeah,” Samheed agreed, “good point. But Henry’s pretty good about keeping her in his pocket.” He studied the list again. “Wait. Where’s Florence? You’re not taking her? Are you crazy?”
“Nope. I was just trying to think about who would be most useful for an underwater fight and rescue, if it comes to that. Plus, she weighs a ton, and the ship is always tipping—”
“I think she’d be useful in smashing the crud out of some glass walls.”
“Well, that’s true.”
“She’s good at pretty much everything.”
“Except maybe hiding.”
Samheed laughed. “Fair enough. And what about Meg?”
“She asked to stay back if we could spare her. She really likes spending time with the Warbler kids and thinks she can help them adjust to Artimé. Besides, she knows how to get the thornaments off.”
They lapsed into silence as Alex reconsidered his choices for the journey. He took the list back from Samheed and added Florence, Fox, and Kitten to it. “All right, I think we’ve got a team.” He stood up. “I’ll go run it past Ms. Octavia and Simber and then send out a blackboard announcement.”
At the word blackboard, Stuart’s face pushed out. “You rang?”
“No, I was just talking about Clive. I’ll be sending out an announcement later.”
Stuart frowned. “You know, if Clive ever has a problem living up to his duties—”
“Easy there, Stu,” Samheed said. “What, you’d leave me just like that?”
“Oh, heck yes,” Stuart said. “No offense, but you’re kind of difficult.”
Samheed laughed. “What? I’m totally offended! That was only when I first got here. I’m cool now.”
“Eh,” Stuart said, looking away.
Samheed shook his head and grinned at Alex. “You see what I have to deal with?”
Alex grinned back. “I’m with Stuart. You were a real pain in the neck back then. It was really great here when you and Lani were missing. So quiet, no drama . . .”
Samheed punched Alex in the arm and they left the room together, laughing and shoving each other like they had no problems to worry about, not noticing Stuart’s longing glance following Alex out the door.
Another Journey Begins
In the morning, as Captain Ahab brought the ship around from the lagoon, the warriors lined up on the shore. They were a determined bunch. Next to them were stacks of crates full of supplies. They weren’t sure how long they’d be gone.
“Charlie knows you’re in charge,” Alex said to Ms. Morning. “If he hears from Matilda that anything strange is happening in Quill, he’ll go straight to you.”
Charlie moved to stand at Ms. Morning’s side and gave three thumbs up.
“And you can use a seek spell to reach me,” Ms. Morning said. She presented Alex with a small piccolo charm. “Here,” she said. “I made this when I was about your age. Now it’s my gift to you. You can use it to let me know if you have an emergency, and if you’re not too far away I’ll send squirrelicorns out to see what’s happening. I’ve got Meghan here too, to help Mr. Appleblossom and me with the Warbler children, so I think we’ll be all right.”
Alex nodded. He handed Ms. Morning a gift as well—a tiny stone that he’d painted to look like a spider. “And you can use this to send a seek spell to me.” He also handed her the Triad spell book. “Take good care of this, and don’t forget to wear a robe while I’m gone.”
Ms. Morning smiled. She looked healthy again, and happy, too, though there was a hint of sorrow still in her eyes. She put her hand on Alex’s arm. “I feel like we have come a long way, don’t you? Like we can handle things now . . . without him. I mean, I know you did it all alone, but now it just feels . . . I don’t know. Easier somehow.”
Alex smiled. “I know what you mean. We still have a lot to figure out, but we just know more now. I don’t think he expected any of it, or he would have prepared us.”
“He would have, Alex, I’m sure of it. He tried with me, you know. He was getting anxious about training someone, just in case, and of course he trusted me. But I was always too busy with my music or my classes, or simply not interested. . . . I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry I wasn’t more help.”
“I’ll try to get y
ou back for that,” Alex teased.
“I believe you will.” Ms. Morning grinned at him.
Alex held out his hand. “We’ll see you when we see you, Ms. Morning.”
Ms. Morning took it. “Claire,” she said.
Alex nodded. “Claire,” he repeated. He felt like a grown-up.
“Take care, Alex. Make wise choices and you’ll be fine.”
Alex nodded, surprised by the welling of emotion in his chest. It made him think of his father . . . and the Warbler children . . . and how Claire’s words were something a parent should say. Words Alex had never heard from his own parents. “Thanks,” he said, turning away.
He looked at the lineup of the crew. “My, we are a motley bunch,” he said, making a joke to chase away the lump in his throat. From giant Florence to tiny Kitten, from gruff Simber to a half-dozen rigid squirrelicorns, from crazy Captain Ahab fresh from the prop closet to efficient Ms. Octavia and her flying appendages, and from Unwanted boy-mage Alex to brave-hearted Sky and Crow, the Artiméan army came in all shapes and sizes and colors and origins. But they were the strongest assembled crew Alex had ever seen. It occurred to him that he should tell them that.
He looked at each person and creature, really looked at them, thinking about their strengths. And then he addressed them in a strong, steady voice. “You make me feel safe,” he said. “You bring honor to Artimé and to those who are in need of our help.” He scanned the group, all of whom stood in silent reverence as they listened to their mage. He noticed a tear slipping down Sky’s cheek, and it almost made him choke up once more. He cleared his throat and continued. “There’s no place I’d rather be than on a rescue adventure with you.” He paused. “We have a hard journey ahead, and we don’t know what will happen. We’ll face lots of trouble, I’m sure—it seems to follow us, doesn’t it? But I won’t despair if you don’t.” He smiled and brought his fist to his chest.
The others, even the statues, did the same.
“Any questions?”
There was silence.
Alex nodded. “Well then, crew, all aboard.”
A New Energy in the Palace
When Aaron woke, safe in the palace despite his nightmares, it felt like his brain had sorted out a dozen things for him. As if an instruction book had been handed to him overnight, Aaron knew what he had to do. It was so clear!
He propped himself up in bed, took a piece of paper and a pencil from his bedside table, and let the pencil roam over the paper like he’d done before, drawing bloblike circles and crooked triangles and squares. It helped him think.
And that’s exactly what he needed—to think just a little bit differently, like he’d done when he came up with the plan for the Favored Farm. Only this time, Aaron needed to realize all of the potential that was right in front of him. To be clear, he knew that following Justine’s ways in Quill was still the best plan. And he would continue following that. But Aaron had a new element to consider, which Justine never could have dreamed of. And being the strong, intelligent Wanted that he was, his very own mind had come up with it. Aaron needed to be in that jungle, winning over and training that army of misfits. That was all there was to it. Those creatures were his secret weapons, and he would tell no one about them.
But he couldn’t neglect Quill, because his people needed some direction too, and definitely some nudging and motivation to get them ready for the ultimate fight. So while Aaron was out training the jungle creatures, somebody had to be in the palace to watch over things in Quill—to slowly mold the Wanteds and Necessaries into a stronger, more loyal society, and to get them angry again. They needed to build up their anger to an intensity to want to fight, like before. It might take a while, but with perseverance and a solid plan that included Aaron’s secret weapons of the jungle, all of Quill would one day come together for a major attack on Artimé from all directions. The Unwanteds wouldn’t know what hit them. It was absolutely, utterly the most perfect plan in the history of Quill.
Aaron set his scribblings aside and got out of bed. He hurried to wash and dress, and he headed straight to his office.
“Breakfast!” he barked at a passing maid, and then, “Secretary!”
Eva Fathom was in earshot. She hurried over to Aaron’s doorway. “Yes?”
“Has the work begun on the opening to Artimé?”
“Yes,” Eva said. “People are moving as quickly as they can. We had to assemble—”
“I need you to halt the work immediately.”
Eva’s mouth hung open. Slowly she closed her lips. “May I ask why?”
Aaron leaned back in his chair. “I’ve decided that while it’s important to close off Quill completely from outside aggressors, we need to deal with the ones encroaching on our own island first. Obviously, we can’t take over Artimé if we don’t have access to it. Once we have control of their property and we do away with all the Unwanteds, we’ll build a new length of wall to enclose everything, including that mansion, within Quill.” He folded his arms, pleased by his own cleverness.
Eva blinked. “That makes a lot of sense,” she said evenly. “Do you mean to take over the mansion? It’s quite stunning inside.”
“Perhaps I will. Seems a shame to let it go to ruin outside the wall.” Aaron knew well enough what it looked like, but Secretary didn’t need to know that.
Secretary hesitated. “I’ll stop the workers right away.”
“Have them take down whatever they’ve put up so far.”
“Right.” She turned to go.
“Wait. Tell me—who of the former governors was most loyal to Justine?”
Eva thought for a moment. “Strang, of course.”
Aaron nodded. “That’s my thought too. Please invite him for dinner.”
“Tonight?”
“Tomorrow. Also, who from our Restorers might be interested in a government job? Bethesda or Liam, perhaps?”
“You sent them to the Ancients Sector, sir.”
Aaron tapped his lips. “Ah, yes. So I did. I’ve forgotten why.”
Eva Fathom remained quiet as he pondered. She was not about to remind him. “I could see if they’re still alive,” she said, “though it’s been quite a while, so it’s doubtful.”
“Yes, do that. If they’re still biding their time, order the sector overseer to hand them over to you.”
“If you’re sure.”
“Of course I am.”
The maid came in with a tray of breakfast for Aaron, set it on his desk, and left. Eva waited at the door to see if there was anything else.
Aaron picked up a spoon and stirred something mushy in a bowl. He tasted it and made a face. “Also, Gondoleery Rattrapp.”
Eva narrowed her eyes. “What about her?”
“Invite her to dinner as well.”
Eva pursed her lips but said nothing. She’d told Aaron that Gondoleery was up to something strange. But she couldn’t force the high priest to make wise choices. “Very well,” she said. “Anyone else?” She refrained from suggesting every ridiculous thought that came to her head now that Gondoleery had been brought into the picture. Claire Morning, perhaps? How about Alex Stowe?
“No, that’ll do for now. If you do find Bethesda or Liam alive, invite them as well.”
“For dinner tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“With Governor Strang and Gondoleery.” Eva couldn’t imagine a more dreadful grouping of guests.
Aaron was beginning to look annoyed. “Yes.” He shoved a spoonful of gruel into his mouth. “And get some decent food from the Favored Farm, since our kitchen staff doesn’t seem to understand what good food tastes like. This is disgusting.”
» » « «
Eva Fathom began with the easiest task—lugging armloads of fruits and vegetables from the Favored Farm to the Quillitary vehicle, and then stopping for chickens as well. It wasn’t her job to get the food, but she didn’t trust the kitchen staff to know ripe from rotten, so it was easier to do it herself.
&nbs
p; Next her driver took her to former governor Strang’s house. He still lived in the governor housing, but he hadn’t been seen much since Aaron had taken over. No one knew, or seemed to care, what he was doing after he got fired. Eva walked up to the front door and knocked.
No one answered, so she knocked again. This time she heard a noise inside, and soon the door opened a crack. “Who is it?” came Strang’s familiar voice. It sounded duller than usual, if that were possible.
“It’s Eva Fathom. Secretary, that is.” Eva tried to peek through the crack in the door without appearing to be nosy.
“What do you want?”
“The High Priest Aaron Stowe would like to invite you to dinner tomorrow evening.”
The door opened farther and Strang stuck his head out. Eva Fathom tried hard not to stare, for the young man’s appearance was quite different from before. His hair was long and unkempt, his face unshaven. His eyes were bloodshot, and he had gained quite a large girth since Eva had seen him last.
“What for?” Strang asked.
“I’m not exactly sure,” Eva said. “Something about a job in the government. He knows you were loyal to Justine, and he’d like to talk with you.”
Former Governor Strang narrowed his eyes. “What time?”
“Eight o’clock.”
Strang hesitated. “Fine.” He nodded once and shut the door in Eva’s face.
Eva smiled condescendingly at the door and went back to the vehicle. “To the Ancients Sector, please,” she told the driver.
At the Ancients Sector, Eva hesitated before she went inside. She had been very close to being sent here by Justine, and Eva didn’t look at this place with any amount of warmth, that was for sure. No one did.