Island of Shipwrecks

  Simber spoke for the first time. “You sound as if you don’t believe herrr, Clairrre.”

  Ms. Morning raised her chin. “I admit I find it hard to believe after what she allowed to happen to me, locked in Gunnar’s pantry all that time. She was well aware of my presence, and of Gunnar’s in the closet, and she did nothing to help us. But I’m trying to keep an open mind in hopes that her so-called confidant comes forward.”

  She looked around at the small group and went on. “I can only assume that person is on the ship with Alex—or perhaps it is Alex—for no one so far has come to vouch for her honor in the days since the attack.” Her eyes landed on Sean, but she didn’t offer him up despite Mr. Appleblossom’s previous suspicions.

  Carina’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the railing harder. “Because there isn’t anyone! I don’t believe her. She was lying. She must have been. I bet she lied about having to go to the Ancients Sector, too. She was Aaron’s little slave—he would never get rid of her.” She shook her head. “How could a woman—a mother—do such horrid things, and lie so complexly, so frequently, that she’d lose her own child’s devotion . . . ?” She trailed off and clutched at her heart now, as if it were being torn out. “For what purpose? Wasn’t giving me up at the Purge enough? Did she have to come back into my life, only to betray me a second time? What absolute heartlessness, which is just so typical of someone loyal to Quill! Is there any purpose great enough to cause someone to turn her back on her family for the sake of it?”

  She turned and looked at the others, her eyes rimmed red. “Well?” she demanded. “Is there?”

  Simber, Ms. Morning, Mr. Appleblossom, and Meghan had no answers. They could only reply to Carina’s tormented gaze with sympathetic eyes.

  “I didn’t think so,” Carina muttered. “Her whole life was dedicated to hurting as many people as possible.” She looked up at the ceiling to contain her tears and sighed bitterly. “Excuse me. I need to get out of here. I need to see my son—someone I would never betray.”

  Simber moved aside to clear a path for her escape. As she reached the door, a hoarse voice called out after her.

  It was Sean.

  “Carina,” he said, his breath labored. “Wait.”

  Sean Shares a Secret

  At the sound of Sean’s voice, Carina paused in the doorway to the hospital ward. She turned and looked at his bed, and saw that his eyes were open.

  “You’re awake,” she breathed, and rushed past Ms. Morning, Meghan, Simber, and Mr. Appleblossom to Sean’s side. “Are you feeling any better?”

  The others crowded around to see him, conscious for the first time since well before arriving in Artimé.

  Meghan reached out and ruffled her brother’s hair. “He’s looking a little better, at least.”

  “Yes, he is,” Carina said. “Sean, I’m so glad to see you awake. I was awfully worried. . . .”

  He lifted a weak hand and Carina grasped it. They stared into each other’s eyes.

  “Excuse me for a moment, Artimons,” Mr. Appleblossom said gently. “Carina, I shall go and find your son.”

  “Oh, thank you, dear Mr. Appleblossom,” she said, offering him a half smile in spite of the tears that were still wet on her face. “Bring him here to me right away, will you? I miss him so.”

  He nodded and slipped away without another word.

  Carina turned back to Sean. “You’re feeling better, then?” she prompted.

  “Yes, a bit better,” Sean said. His eyes remained half-closed and his speech was slower than usual, but the color was back in his face, and the near-constant grimace he’d worn since the ride around the world was gone.

  “You should rest. Can you sleep? Were we talking too loudly? I’m sorry.”

  He shook his head and gripped her hand tighter. “No, it’s okay. I have to tell you something,” he said. “I heard you all talking . . . about Eva.” His chin quivered. “I’m so sorry.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Carina said. “We can talk about it another time, when you’re well. I’m—I’m fine. Really. She means nothing to me.” She set her jaw. “She was an enemy of Artimé.”

  Meghan watched her brother’s face carefully, and wondered. Had Mr. Appleblossom guessed right the day of the attack? Was Sean the one working with Eva? “I think he really just needs to say something,” Meghan said carefully. “Don’t you, Sean?”

  Sean turned his head. His eyes connected with his sister’s, and she nodded encouragingly. He frowned, puzzled that she seemed to know something, but too tired to contemplate it. “Yes,” he said. He turned back to Carina. “Please. Let me explain.”

  Carina glanced from Sean to Meghan, and back to Sean again. “All right, if you’re sure you’re feeling okay.”

  He nodded. “Now that Eva’s gone, I-I feel like it’s my duty to defend her.”

  Carina turned sharply back to Meghan. “Do you know what he’s talking about? Is he delirious?”

  Meghan shrugged.

  “Carina,” Haluki said in his fatherly voice, “let him speak.”

  “Please,” Sean said. “I am—I was—your mother’s confidant.”

  Carina’s lips parted in shock.

  “It’s true,” Sean said. He struggled a little, and Meghan quickly slipped an extra pillow under his head and shoulders to prop him up. “Thanks,” he murmured. “I’d been meeting in secret with Eva since the rise of the Restorers, back when you were high priest, Gunnar.” He paused, breathing hard from the effort, and continued.

  “Eva was a spy. She told me everything Aaron was doing. She’s the reason Aaron held off from fighting us all this time. The reason,” he said, taking several breaths, “we are not under attack right now.”

  This was news to everyone. They all listened intently, waiting for more.

  When Sean was able, he continued. “She knew Alex and the rest of us were going to be gone, but Aaron didn’t. And we didn’t want him to find out. He’s planning to fight. She convinced him to wait to attack us. I spoke to her the night before we set out, and she promised to do everything she could to keep Artimé safe for as long as possible.”

  Simber and Claire Morning exchanged glances. Carina stared, unbelieving.

  Sean took a sip of water and continued. “She felt her days were numbered, so she took a chance on saving Liam Healy, knowing how remorseful he was about the part he played. Eva had secretly kept him alive in the Ancients Sector, waiting for a chance to get him out of there. And it finally came. She convinced Aaron that he was loyal, and talked him into taking Liam on as a governor.”

  Claire Morning stood abruptly and began to pace, visibly angry but keeping her thoughts to herself.

  Sean struggled to lift himself on one elbow, and Meghan hurried to help him. “Claire,” he said. His face cracked as he watched her begin to cry. “Claire, please listen.”

  Ms. Morning blew her nose in a tissue and nodded.

  “Eva Fathom was our friend. And Mr. Today knew it.”

  “Don’t,” Ms. Morning said.

  “She and Mr. Today had a plan.”

  “It’s her fault he’s dead!”

  “No. No. I know it looks that way, but it wasn’t her fault.”

  Ms. Morning paced a bit more, then stopped at the end of Sean’s bed and folded her arms. “All right. Tell me, then.”

  Sean closed his eyes momentarily to collect his thoughts, and then opened them and spoke. “Aaron had been plotting to kill Mr. Today for a long time. When it all came down to the final planning stages, he didn’t dare. So he told Eva to do it to prove that she was truly on his side, because he didn’t trust her.” He leaned forward and winced. “And we needed him to trust her.”

  “We?” Carina said sarcastically. “You mean you.”

  Sean winced. “I’m sorry, Carina.”

  She held up a hand to stop the apology. “Just . . . just go on.”

  Sean nodded and turned back to Claire. “Like I said, we needed Aaron to trust Eva. So she and Mr
. Today concocted a plan: They would go on holiday together. Eva stole heart attack spells from Carina to show Aaron she had the means to kill Mr. Today. He took some from her, so she lied and told him that one heart attack spell was deadly, in case he ever decided to use it. Then she told Aaron she’d kill Mr. Today on their holiday, and when she returned to Artimé, she’d tell everyone he’d died on the journey.”

  Simber frowned but said nothing.

  Sean went on. “But really, Eva and Mr. Today planned to fake his death. They were going to send Mr. Today to another island for a time, where he knew and trusted the inhabitants. He’d bide some time there until word got back to Artimé and Quill that he was dead, which would give Aaron a false sense of security, and perhaps he’d delay an attack, thinking he had more time to build up support.”

  Sean looked around the room at the faces. “I promise every word of this is true.”

  “Why wouldn’t my father tell me about this plan?” Claire asked, eyes blazing. “Or Simber, for that matter?”

  Simber lowered his head. “If only I had known . . . ,” he said, but didn’t finish.

  “He was going to tell you and Gunnar at your meeting at the palace that night,” Sean said to Claire. “And I’m sure he planned to tell you, Simber. I’m sure of it. And maybe even Alex, too.”

  “So Alex doesn’t know any of this?” asked Claire.

  Sean shook his head. “If he does, he never said anything to me about it.”

  “Not about your secret cavorting with the enemy either?” Carina asked sharply.

  “He knew I was up to something from the time Artimé disappeared, but I begged him not to ask me about it, and he trusted me. Besides, he had a lot of other stuff to handle back then.”

  Claire frowned. She looked at Gunnar, who was listening intently, reserving judgment for the full story.

  After a moment, Claire nodded. “All right. Go on, please, if you’re feeling up to it.”

  Sean nodded and took another drink of water. He sank back in his pillows and closed his eyes. After a moment of rest, he continued, his voice softer now, and pained. “No one but you and Haluki and Mr. Today knew about the tube in Haluki’s office, Claire.”

  Meghan’s eyes darted from one face to another, then back to her brother’s.

  “No one expected you and Mr. Today to magically appear smack-dab in the enemy’s headquarters. Mr. Today had always walked into Quill when he met with Haluki. Always. Why would anyone expect there to be a different route?”

  Claire’s face was ashen. “Did you know Aaron was working from Gunnar’s house?”

  Sean shook his head. “Only a few of the Restorers knew. Eva didn’t—not until after. When Mr. Today walked out of that closet, he couldn’t possibly have been more surprised in his life to see the house lit up and Aaron standing ten feet away. And Aaron, even in a state of panic, actually managed to do it. To . . . to kill him.” He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. A tear dripped from the corner of his eye, and he didn’t wipe it away. “If Aaron had only used one heart attack spell, Mr. Today might still be alive . . . but he didn’t. He lunged for the pile and threw a handful of them. He used a lethal dose without even knowing it.”

  The room was silent. Claire’s lips twitched, and tears streamed down her face.

  After a while, Haluki looked up. “He used two more heart attack spells the other day,” he said, “to subdue the panther.”

  The others turned toward him.

  Meghan nodded, thinking back to her secret visit to the palace. “Yes, I’m pretty sure it was him.”

  “I’m almost positive of it,” Haluki said. “I saw him later in the jungle by the tube.”

  “There’s a tube in the jungle?” Meghan asked, incredulous.

  “There are tubes in several places,” Haluki said. “I’m sure I don’t know all of them. But there’s definitely one in the jungle. I’ve used it myself.”

  “Whoa,” Sean said. “I didn’t know either.”

  “Almost nobody did,” Haluki said. “Marcus had many secrets. I imagine there are hundreds of things we’ll never know. Unless he wrote things down, his secrets went to the grave with him. Perhaps we’ll stumble across some now and then.”

  Carina, who had been silent and brooding during this last bit, stood up, her face a mask. She looked at Sean. “Well,” she said, her words cold and sharp, “this has been a very informative session.” She struggled to control her anger. “I’m just so glad to know you were such great friends with my lying mother. Nice of you to tell me—it’s not like you and I had anything else to talk about during the entire time I took care of you.” She clenched her jaw. “And to think I could have had the chance to . . . to understand all of this and maybe speak to her before . . .”

  She shook her head and pointed a shaking finger at Sean. “You are quite possibly the worst person anyone has ever known. You’re a worse human than . . . than Queen Eagala. You’re a . . . you’re a world-class jerk, Sean. An absolutely hideous man, inside and out. And I never want to look at your ridiculous lying face again.”

  She looked like she wanted to say more, but instead she turned and walked swiftly toward the hospital wing doorway, where Mr. Appleblossom stood with Seth, listening to the conversation from afar.

  “Mama!” cried the toddler.

  “Thank you, sir,” Carina said to Mr. Appleblossom as Seth reached out to her in glee. She took him and held him tightly, then retreated into the mansion’s entryway, ran up the stairs to the family wing, and disappeared.

  Sean, weak and exhausted, could only watch her go, and when she was out of sight, he put his hand over his eyes and groaned. “Crud,” he muttered.

  Aaron Strikes a Deal

  You want me to do what?” Aaron asked the general, trying not to sound incredulous. But what General Blair was asking was something Aaron, even on his most adventurous days, had never seriously considered. Tear down the wall? Completely? That went against everything Justine had taught him—everything Justine believed in. The wall was their infallible protector. Their safety. Their hope, for Quill’s sake. Sure, he’d taken down a tiny portion in the past. But even opening that window in the wall near the palace had made Aaron so uncomfortable he’d filled it again. It was dangerous! Clearly the general had lost his mind. Maybe the gunk oozing from his wound was his brain leaking out.

  That forty-foot-tall wall that encircled Quill had taken months, maybe even years to construct. It had kept them safe from enemies for Justine’s entire reign. And clearly there were enemies out there. Aaron knew well enough that Artimé was fighting them. Did Aaron really want to go that route, when that route looked like the most wrong of all possible wrong ways to go?

  “Take down the wall,” General Blair repeated. There was menace to his voice. A dare. Almost as if he expected Aaron to say no.

  And why wouldn’t he? It was a ridiculous request.

  Yet the general had a point. The bottleneck issues of the original battle had been Quill’s downfall—that was easy to see when the general pointed it out. Once vehicles had been rendered useless inside the gate, there was no way to get the working ones out past the ones that had broken down. And each platoon that entered was small compared to the Artiméan groups that awaited them. No wonder they’d lost that battle. They couldn’t descend on the enemy in any sort of successful way.

  What Aaron had to decide now was whether it was worth it to take down the wall and risk being attacked from other islands in order to defeat the one true enemy, Artimé.

  Liam fidgeted next to Aaron. Aaron averted his eyes. He had to concentrate. He had to think this through. What was more important? Protecting Quill from some unknown enemy who might not ever attack—and had no reason to attack Quill, because they hadn’t done anything? Or giving Quill the opportunity to control the entire island, including the magical world . . . and the beautiful mansion?

  And even more important—if Aaron said no to General Blair, would that alienate their relationship f
orever? General Blair was Aaron’s last possible ally. The Quillitary was his only remaining option for ultimate success.

  Aaron frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose as a headache began to pound. Was this his moment to make a bold move? Was this his moment to shine? Was this the moment he would look back on one day and say, “That’s when I really took over. That exact moment, when I decided to tear down the wall.”

  Even though it was basically the only option he had left, he could still say no and hope for something better to present itself. But he didn’t expect there would be anything. He’d exhausted his other resources—the Restorers, the jungle creatures—and now the Quillitary could be his with a single nod of his head. The question was, did he dare?

  Did he?

  Aaron looked up at the general. “All right,” he said, his words like ice.

  Liam sat up straight. “But, High Priest—” he began.

  Aaron held up a hand to the governor, shushing him. “Please,” he said with disdain.

  Liam was silent.

  “I’ll order it done,” Aaron said. “First thing in the morning, the stretch of wall nearest Artimé will come down.”

  “That’s not good enough,” General Blair said. “We need the entire wall removed. All of it.”

  Aaron scowled. “Why the entire wall, if the problem was in the area around Artimé?”

  “Because,” General Blair explained with an air of annoyance, “think about it. If the wall stays up around part of Quill, the Artiméans can fan out around the perimeter of the island, behind it. They can use the wall as a bunker. They’d be able to hide behind the two ends of the wall and set up sneak attacks. And with their quick method of warfare, they’ll take us down every time. Our Quillitary fights better in the open. So it’s all or nothing, High Priest.” He leaned toward Aaron. “And if it’s nothing, then you may leave now, and good luck making it to adulthood.”

  Aaron studied the general’s stony face. His lungs felt like they were squeezing all of the air out of him, and his heartbeat pounded in his eardrums. The entire wall? Under the table, Aaron gripped his kneecaps until his fingers were numb. “What about outside enemies?” The words came out almost in a whisper.