Island of Fire (The Unwanteds)

by McMann, Lisa

  Samheed had to keep swinging his ax or someone would notice he was just standing there. He pounded the log halfheartedly, glancing at the woodpile now and then. After a minute, he looked again, and the ax nearly fell out of his hands, for there, peeking around the edge of the logs, was the ugliest, yet most adorable gargoyle face Samheed had ever seen.

  “Hello,” Charlie signed. He waved his two-thumbed hand.

  Samheed ducked down and signed a greeting back to Charlie, wondering, Does Warbler use the same hand signals as the gargoyles?

  Charlie confirmed it in an instant. Samheed couldn’t understand everything the statue was saying, but he got enough of the message to figure out that help had finally, finally come.

  But he had no idea how they were going to get him out of there. And he certainly wasn’t going anywhere without Lani.

  A second later, the kitten and Charlie disappeared behind the logs, and Samheed saw a brief flash of light and a seek ball skirting around the ships and disappearing. Samheed stood on his tiptoes, trying to see where the statues went, hoping they understood he couldn’t follow. And then he felt a hand on his shoulder.

  “Looking for something?” the project manager asked, his eyes like slits.

  Finally, the Beginning of the Third Rescue

  Samheed shook his head, pretending to be bewildered. He began signing random words. “Water, left, chicken,” he said. He panicked, wishing he hadn’t said “chicken,” or any kind of animal that might make the manager think of living statues. “Morning, rain,” he added.

  The manager gave him a puzzled stare. “You’re not very smart, but at least you can swing an ax,” he muttered. “Back to work.”

  Samheed began swinging his ax again, chopping with all his might. The dull edge of the ax made it bounce back hard without splitting much. His arms reverberated with the hit, making his fingers and wrists ache, but he kept going, thinking over and over to himself, Please, please, please.

  From the corner of his eye he thought he saw a fox slinking away, and then he was sure he saw Charlie running back to the woods. Charlie inched his way up a tree in the distance, near a clearing, until Samheed could see him. Charlie waved again and pointed. He signed something quickly with one hand, the other holding tightly to the tree.

  Samheed didn’t understand, but he also didn’t dare ask questions of the gargoyle. He hoped it wasn’t important. Soon enough, the gargoyle slid back down the tree and disappeared, and Samheed kept his head down, not noticing the long shadows of squirrelicorns circling on the ground in the open area around the covered work space. Soon it would be dark and his workday would be over. Then how would they find him? And what about Lani?

  Lani tried to shrug her hair from her cheek, but it had stuck fast to her skin with sweat and grime from the melding fires. In less than an hour and she’d be free of this cave for the day. She paused as she worked, and asked herself for the hundredth time how it was possible that her life had become like this.

  She slid the still-glowing thorns into a tub of water to help them cool, and then she went back to the fire, loaded her mold with gold coins, and pushed it into the flames, holding it by its long handle until she could bear the heat no longer. Her face felt like it was about to melt. She closed her eyes and willed herself to stay there a minute more.

  And so it was that when a ball of fire streaked into the room and exploded in front of her, she didn’t even see it.

  On the beach, four visible Unwanteds and their two almost invisible friends stared at the seek spell’s burning portrait of the kitten. Alex watched it sputter out and disappear. “She did it,” he whispered. “Do you think she’s in trouble already?”

  “I don’t think she did it for fun,” Sean pointed out. “Though she is kind of a silly kitten.”

  “Crud,” Alex muttered. Had he been too ambitious to think they would all come out of this easily? He looked at Sean and Carina. “Okay, well, let’s proceed as planned. You guys stick with assisting anybody heading back this way and help Meghan and Ms. Octavia defend the ship if the Warblerans come to attack. We’ll see you soon. I hope.” Alex’s voice faltered, and he felt an invisible hand on his arm. He brightened with courage he didn’t really have and said, “Come on, Henry. Lead the way, Sky and Crow.”

  Sky grabbed hands with the younger boys, and Alex followed behind as Sky led them on a stealthy journey off-path.

  What they didn’t see was Sean and Carina flinch, one after the other, and crumple to the sand. A single remaining guard skittered down his tree and ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the other side of the island.

  Sky moved swiftly, leading the way. “I’ve been thinking a lot about how much time has passed, and about where the new captures like Sam and Lani would be stationed,” she said in a low voice as her feet flew expertly over the brush. “They’re probably still tethered to a wire—it’s like a wire leash. It helps them find their way around the tunnels, and it also keeps them from trying to escape. They don’t usually get that taken off of them for a few months, until they can be trusted.”

  “Great,” Alex muttered. He wondered if there was a wire cutter on the ship that they could use. But it was too late now to go back. Darkness was threatening. He fingered his spell components, keeping something in his hand at all times in case they were surprised, and changing his mind every other second on what would be the best spells to have in hand.

  After several minutes of following the kitten’s seek line, Sky whispered, “It’s leading us to the shipbuilding yard by the water. Be careful now. Stay low and don’t speak. This place is teeming with brutes.”

  They neared an area of trees that had been freshly cleared. In the distance Alex could see dozens of men and women working silently on various types of watercraft. Sky stopped and pointed to where the string of light was leading. Alex peered through the trees, looking for signs of the fox and Charlie, knowing the kitten would be hard to spot.

  As he stood there looking all around for anyone or anything that was remotely familiar, the hair on the back of his neck started prickling. Alex whirled around as someone—or something—came flying at him, hitting him square in the chest. It knocked him down, and before Alex could get a shot off, Henry had the creature frozen in a crunchy chocolate shell. It rolled off Alex.

  “Oh no!” Henry whispered. He released the spell immediately, and the fox sprang to life again, hopping about. On his back was the kitten, and standing ten feet away was Charlie, waving.

  “Sheesh,” Alex said. “I’m glad Kitten is okay, but please don’t do that again. This is a stealth mission, okay?” He scrambled to his feet and wiped the dead leaves and dirt from his clothes.

  “Mewmewmew!” the kitten said.

  Alex looked at the fox. “What did she say?”

  “She said Samheed is working on the other side of that ship and he knows we’re here, but he has a leash stuck to his neck thing and there are lots of others about. Also, she heard the manager say it was nearly time to quit for the day.”

  Alex looked skeptical. “She said all that with three tiny mews?”

  The fox nodded. His face was very serious. “And Charlie can talk to Samheed in the sign language.”

  Alex didn’t want to know how the fox found that out, but he was glad. “Okay. Kitten, you did good to send out the alert.”

  The kitten hopped up and down on the fox’s back.

  “Let’s move around so we can see him,” Alex said.

  The fox tilted his head when he noticed the two arms floating in midair. He sniffed, and then followed them, along with Alex and Henry. They got down on their hands and knees and snuck around to the back of the woodpile where the statues had been before. In front of them was an enormous covered pavilion, where a dozen young men and women chopped logs. A large shadow passed over the trees, and Alex looked up to see Simber, who had spied them as well. Alex signaled to Simber and whispered, knowing the cat had amazing hearing. “There’s no open place for you to land without
everybody noticing. Can you go and tell Sean and Carina that we’ve found Samheed? Then come right back and see if we need help.”

  The cat circled and flew off.

  “Psst,” someone said.

  Alex looked all around. Up in the trees he saw them—a dozen squirrelicorns, including Rufus. Alex flashed a shaky grin. He was suddenly feeling better about this.

  “Okay, team. You run and fly out there and distract them while I get Samheed off his leash. Henry, as soon as you’re close enough, hit everyone else with everything you’ve got. I’ll help as much as I can. Ready, everyone?”

  They all nodded, and Rufus circled a paw in the air, commanding his team.

  “Go!” Alex said.

  Like a disturbed beehive, the shipbuilding area was suddenly swarmed with screaming squirrelicorns and a few hopping, yelling statues. The Warblerans dropped their axes in fright as Samheed started throwing punches at anyone within reach.

  Waiting for his cue from behind the woodpile, Alex grinned as he watched Samheed fight with every ounce of energy he had. “Man, have I missed you,” he whispered.

  The First Loss

  Alex leaped over the end of the woodpile, casting blinding highlights on his way to Samheed. “Sam!” he said as he ran up. “Stand still now, don’t move an inch.” Samheed dropped his fists and began to shake, overflowing with adrenaline. The Warblerans he’d punched came to their senses and began to fight off the winged, horned creatures that stabbed at them.

  Alex shot off a few more spells, and when it looked like he had a few seconds, he touched Samheed’s thorns. “Hold very still,” he whispered. He took a breath, and whispered, “Dissipate.”

  Just as he breathed the dangerous magical word, a Warbleran grabbed a squirrelicorn from the air and threw her at Alex. The squirrelicorn’s horn hit Samheed’s neck, jolting them all. And as the thorns vanished, so did the creature.

  Alex pulled his hand away with a gasp. “No!” He looked all around, as if the squirrelicorn might be hiding somewhere, but she was gone. The leash dangled from the overhead wire, and Samheed was free.

  “Alex!” Rufus cried out. “Let it go and carry on!”

  That brought Alex to his senses. He shrugged off his vest and shoved it at Samheed. “You can speak now, or at least whisper,” he said. “Fire away!”

  Samheed wore a dazed expression, not sure what had just happened, but at Alex’s words he came back to life and shoved his arms through the vest. He brought a hand to his neck, feeling the dents and holes in his skin. And then he grabbed components and started fighting.

  Alex, who had padded his other pockets, began pelting Warblerans with spells. But when he heard a cry, he turned, finding Henry dangling from the arms of an enormous man, who held the boy out in front of him like a shield as he ran for a tunnel. “Alex!” Henry screamed.

  Alex didn’t have a clear shot at the man. He whirled around frantically, searching the area. Finally his eyes alighted on the one he was seeking. “Kitten!” he cried. “Go!”

  The kitten didn’t need any more instruction. She tore after the man, climbed up his leg, and wriggled her way into Henry’s pocket. Alex shot off a round of shackles at the man’s feet, but the man was running in a zigzag pattern. The spell missed and bounced off the ground. There was nothing else Alex could do without risking Henry. Then he thought of one thing. “Freeze,” he called out, holding his hand in the direction of the escaping man. But the man ducked down a hole in the ground and disappeared, and the freeze spell hit the side of a ship and shattered like ice to the ground. Alex grabbed a few more spells from Samheed’s vest and chased after them.

  Meanwhile, Samheed found his whispery voice and began casting spells with gusto. He was a little rusty with his aim, but he soon got back into the rhythm. He mounted the log pile for a better view of his attackers. As more Warblerans came running, Samheed blinded, shackled, scatterclipped, and froze them before they had any time to fight back. It was a bizarre, quiet fight, the only sound coming from the very few who had voices. When at last Simber returned, Samheed had polished off everyone in the area.

  Samheed ran up to the giant cat.

  “Had a minorrr incident to clearrr up at the beach with some of our fighters,” Simber told him. “Climb aboarrrd,” he said. “We’ll get you to the ship.”

  Samheed shook his head violently, and then remembered he could speak. “Not without Lani,” he rasped, his voice trying hard to come back. He coughed a few times, attempting to clear his throat, and wished he could get his body to stop shaking. “I’m not going anywhere without her.”

  Simber frowned, but then he nodded. “Do you know where she is?”

  “Fire cave. Deep down below. But I’m sure word is spreading that you’re here. We have to hurry.” He thought for a moment. “Oh—but you can’t fit down the tunnels. If you can find the exit hole on the south side of the island by the lagoon, I’ll try my best to bring her out there.”

  Simber nodded. “I will be therrre if I am not needed elsewherrre. Otherrrwise head straight to the lagoon wherrre you arrrived a month ago. Do you know how to get therrre? The pirrrate ship belongs to us.”

  “I’ll find it.” Samheed started to run, and then he turned back. “Is Meghan … ?”

  “She’s waiting forrr you on the ship.”

  Samheed sighed heavily. “Thanks. Thanks for coming back for us.”

  Simber nodded. “Go.”

  Samheed grabbed spell components in both hands and jumped down the entry hole, sliding on his back and landing on his feet. He ran down the tunnel, seeing frozen and shackled Warblerans everywhere, no doubt thanks to Alex. He saw Warblerans huddled in caves, peering out, and ducking when they saw him wearing the strange vest. Some of them signaled to him as he passed, pleading, “Save me.” “Let me come with you.” It was heartbreaking. But Samheed couldn’t risk saving anyone else right now. He had to get to Lani.

  Alex chased after the man and Henry, getting farther and farther behind as Warblerans tried to stop him. He shot spells left and right and pressed his way through the crowds, closing off caves with glass spells and locking the people inside when he started running out of components. He felt terrible about it, but it was the only way to keep up.

  But in the maze he lost them. He kept running, unsure of where to go. “Kitten!” he yelled. He waited at a circle where several tunnels came together, having no idea what to do, which way to go, and constantly turning to make sure no one was coming up behind him. He was starting to panic.

  And then the ball of light arrived. Kitten again, this time to save the day.

  Alex sped down the proper tunnel, eventually hearing Henry’s screams once again. He snuck up to the entrance of a cave, finding himself in a hospital room of sorts. The brute held Henry down on a table, and another Warbleran reached into a cupboard, pulling out a handful of braided thorns.

  Alex’s eyes widened. “Get your hands off him!” Alex yelled, furious. He blasted the brute with an encasement spell and hit the other with a dog collar shackle that stuck her to the wall, her feet dangling off the floor. Henry scrambled off the table, a look of terror in his eyes. Alex grabbed him by the arm and ran to the nearest opening, having no idea where on the island they were but hoping one of the statues would be around to help. They emerged to find Florence stacking frozen bodies like logs.

  “Don’t shoot!” Alex cried. “It’s us. Get Henry to the ship, fast! I’m going back down.”

  “Good luck!” Florence picked up the boy and ran, her steps shaking the earth, while Alex dove back underground.

  Finding Lani

  Finally it was time. Lani cleaned up her thorn station for the day with the other melters. She was running behind because at the last minute she’d decided to get one more mold of thorns made, hoping her manager would notice. Maybe then she’d get the leash off sooner. If anyone could fake being the model of good behavior, it was Lani, and she was doing everything she could to get the leaders of Warbler to trust her. />
  The others finished up, and one by one they left, until finally Lani was alone. She jiggled her sizzling mold, trying to get the stupid thorns to solidify and come loose without burning her hand off. While she waited for it to cool, she wiped up her table and scrubbed it with her scraper to get the tiny drips of gold off before they stuck there for good.

  When she heard a voice coming from the tunnel outside the cave, her heart raced. She hoped it was one of the leaders, who would see that she was still hard at work. She began scraping harder.

  Then she heard the voice again. “Glass,” it said. The voice was familiar, but she couldn’t quite figure out which of the leaders it could be. She picked up her thorn mold and went to swish it in the water to help it cool and loosen from the mold. And then, from the doorway, she heard her name.

  “Lani.” It was a whisper.

  She looked up. Her fingers trembled and went to her mouth. The mold slipped from her other hand and hit the floor without a sound, thorns popping out like toothpicks and scattering on the floor. And then she ran to him and jumped into his arms, her lips mouthing his name as her heart screamed it.

  Alex.

  He held her, laughing and crying as she sobbed silently into his neck. He twirled her around in the doorway, knowing they had to hurry and wanting to get her neck thorns off, but she clung to him and wouldn’t let go. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling her shuddering breaths against him, wishing he could fix it all so this had never happened. He smoothed his fingers over her hair as her sobbing slowed, and then he opened his eyes and whispered, “We have to hurry.”

  He turned to look down the tunnel, hoping none of the spells had worn off, and then his jaw dropped as he saw two arms on the other side of the glass barrier, with other body parts of Sky and Crow beginning to appear as their invisibility spells wore off, including Sky’s face. Clearly, she didn’t know he could see her.

  He set Lani down hastily. “Let’s get this thing off you. Please don’t move, not even a fraction. This will only take a few seconds.”