by Lisa McMann
“Oh,” said Alex, concerned. “You won’t be staying with them?”
“I’m afraid I cannot,” Pan said. “I have other things to attend to.” She gave a wistful glance in the direction of the cylindrical island.
“I hope everything is all right,” Alex said, remembering for the first time in months her request for wings.
“It has to be,” said the dragon. With a regal nod to the Artiméans, Pan called for Spike to lead the way at her top speed, and she would match it.
Spike set off with Henry, and soon Pan and Florence, propelled by Pan’s extraordinary tail, pulled up beside the whale in the sea, heading west at an astounding clip.
Talking Dragons
When Henry and Florence and their unusual rides were growing small in the distance, Alex, Sky, and Aaron sat on the lawn to contemplate the fate of the giant crab island. Soon Samheed and Lani joined them, and Kaylee meandered over as well.
They talked for a while about Pan, and Alex and Sky relayed the whole story of how they first met her at the cylindrical island to the east of Artimé.
“Who do you think she was catching fish for?” Sky asked Alex. “She doesn’t live on that island, does she?”
“I don’t know if she lives anywhere,” Alex mused. “She’s a water creature who rules the sea. I wouldn’t think she lives on land at all. Maybe someone helpless lives on top of the island and she provides food for him.”
“Could that be the one she wants the wings for?” asked Lani. “I mean, what kind of wings does she need?”
Samheed raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure the wings aren’t for her?”
Alex shrugged. “She said she was asking for someone else. Besides, I don’t think it would be possible to make wings for a dragon. Dragons are real creatures.”
Kaylee cleared her throat. “Um, news flash, Mr. Head Mage: No, they’re not. Not in my world anyway.”
“What a boring world,” Samheed remarked. Aaron frowned at him, and Lani poked him with her elbow.
“You really have no idea what you’re talking about, Samheed,” Kaylee said lightly.
“That’s very likely true,” Samheed admitted.
“I mean that dragons are born,” Alex went on, “like people and nonmagical animals. “They’re not created out of materials, or sculptures brought to life.”
“So?” asked Lani. “Does that matter?”
Alex knit his brow, trying to figure out how to explain what he meant. “It’s like with you, Lani. Say you decided you just couldn’t live another moment without a third arm. Could I make a human arm for you and attach it and have it become part of you?”
Lani frowned. “Why would I want a third arm?”
“That’s not the point,” said Alex.
“Why would anyone want a third arm?” Lani went on. “Where would you put it? On your back? You’d always be uncomfortable sleeping, and I doubt it would be all that useful.”
“Ms. Octavia makes it work with eight,” Kaylee said. “She’s very efficient.”
“But she’s not human shaped,” Lani said. She thought for a moment. “I wonder how she sleeps? With all the arms splayed out, do you think?”
Alex sighed. He glanced at Aaron, who was lying on his back looking at the sky, content to listen to the conversation. Aaron noticed Alex looking at him and winked.
“The point is,” Samheed said, “you don’t know what or who Pan wants wings for. That cylinder could be an island filled with statues just like ours. Mr. Today probably had a whole secret world next door that he never bothered to mention to anybody.”
Aaron turned his head and glanced at the jungle. “Like that one?” he almost said. But he wasn’t sure Alex and the others knew about all the creatures in the jungle. Some of them must have seen Panther coming from it firsthand. Had none of them ever tried to go there? He doubted it, because the rock certainly would have mentioned it the other day when Aaron had paid them a visit.
“I wonder what other business Pan has to attend to that would force her to come back here so soon,” said Sky. “Maybe the wingless inhabitant of the cylindrical island is dependent on her. After all, she was feeding him.”
Alex nodded, then stared out over the water, lost in thought. “Is it even possible?” he mused after a bit. “The wings?”
Aaron had been thinking about that as well. Attaching wings to a creature and making them come alive couldn’t be all that different from turning a vine into a tail. “Sure it is,” he said softly.
Alex looked curiously at his brother. Aaron seemed so confident—it was almost disconcerting. “How do you know?” Alex asked.
“Yes,” added Lani. “How would you know?”
Aaron sat up on his elbows, but remained silent for a time. “It’s just . . . it’s logical,” he said, sounding a bit off. “I could make wings work.” The others just looked at him.
“You’re so sure,” prodded Alex. “But you’re not answering the question. How do you know? Because I admit I don’t.”
Aaron flashed Alex a quizzical glance. “Well, how do you not know?” he asked. “I try things, and they just . . . happen. But you should know—you’re the head mage. You can do anything.”
“That’s not exactly how it works,” Alex said, sounding defensive. “I mean, obviously things come more naturally to you. Like—like accidentally turning a scatterclip into a lethal weapon and nearly killing me with it, remember that one? Or being able to see out of the secret hallway from the moment you first stepped into it. Or killing Gondoleery when none of us could do it, or putting Simber back together from a giant pile of sand . . .” He trailed off. Impatiently he batted at a lock of hair that had fallen into his face. “But apparently the rest of us have to actually learn things, okay? From instructors and books. Or by experimenting. And we don’t get it right every time.”
Aaron was sitting up now. “Okay, okay. Sorry,” he said. He wasn’t ready to explain how he knew the wings would work. And he didn’t feel like arguing that magic didn’t always come naturally to him—he’d worried and failed plenty of times, but Alex hadn’t witnessed those moments. “Beginner’s luck, I guess,” he said lightly. “I probably don’t know what I’m talking about.”
“Quite right, you don’t,” said Samheed.
The air prickled uncomfortably.
Aaron looked down. “I didn’t mean to upset anyone,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
Alex sighed. “No, it’s all right.” But something in the conversation wouldn’t leave him alone. When he’d listed all of Aaron’s seemingly effortless feats of magic like that, he’d realized the increasingly broadening scope of things Aaron could do. And it was beginning to dawn on him that perhaps Aaron was actually much more magical than anyone knew . . . more magical than Alex was. The thought made Alex’s insides hurt a little. He shifted, adjusting the robe that fastened at his neck.
The group grew silent again.
After a while, Aaron excused himself and went inside the mansion, past Simber and up the staircase to the balcony. He entered the not secret hallway and walked to the end of it, then turned into the kitchenette and got inside the tube. He pushed all the buttons at once and found himself in the jungle.
He sucked in a deep breath of the familiar, musky jungle scent, and let it out. Panther bounded over and screamed in his face, and the rock rumbled and rolled into sight.
“Panther has been very anxious to play stay and attack with you again,” said the rock in its deep voice. “None of us have heard the end of it.”
“Is that right?” Aaron smiled, and his shoulders relaxed. “I can help with that.” He picked up a stretch of vine and began shaping it into a spider. It was good to be with friends.
The Big Map
As the afternoon wore on, Lani and Kaylee went off to the library together to look for maps, and Samheed left to talk with Mr. Appleblossom about a play he’d started writing. Alex and Sky stayed in the grass, lying on their backs and watching a wisp of a cloud pass by slowl
y overhead. They hadn’t had much time alone together in months.
But Alex was distracted, bothered at first by the conversation with Aaron, but then his thoughts turned sharply back to the looming situation with Karkinos. “I hope Henry’s all right,” he said. “Maybe I should have gone with them.”
Sky stared at him. “Alex, please. Florence is there. Who could possibly offer more protection than Florence?”
“She’s great as long as she doesn’t get snagged by an eel. Did you hear? Multiple eels in these waters, according to the ruler of the sea.”
Sky smiled. “That’s such a great title,” she said. “Ruler of the sea.”
“It’s even greater when Spike says it,” said Alex.
“Spike is a seriously awesome creature. You really did a good job with her. I’m glad Pan is there to help her and the other sea creatures.”
“Sounds like Pan has got as many problems as we do,” said Alex, “with those eels working for the pirates and capturing her people.”
“Her people?”
Alex laughed and rolled on his side toward Sky. “Her sea people. Creatures.”
“People of the sea,” said Sky, rolling to face Alex.
They shared a kiss.
“I’m really liking this whole peace thing,” Alex said, lightly bumping his forehead against hers. “And having time to be with you.”
“Me too,” said Sky. “Both of those. And mostly I’m glad you stopped being ridiculous about us being together.”
“I am dumb; you are smart,” said Alex with a laugh. “At least I’m learning.”
Sky grinned. “At least there’s that,” she agreed.
They spent hours being lazy, then went to the dining room for a snack. There they found Lani and Kaylee standing over a large map that they had spread out over one of the tables.
Lani looked up excitedly. “Kaylee found this map up on the third floor of the library—she said her land of America is on it! Come over here and see.”
Alex and Sky exchanged quizzical glances and hurried over.
“This map is huge,” said Alex. “Look at all the land.”
“And the water,” said Sky. “Where is your America, Kaylee?”
“That’s it,” Kaylee said wistfully. She outlined a portion of land on the left half of the enormous map. “It’s this section of the continent of North America, called the United States.” She moved her finger to the right. “And I live here, along the east coast.”
“Is that where you ran into the hurricane?” Sky asked.
“Oh no,” said Kaylee. “I was far from home. You see,” she said, “I’m not sure if you know this, but the world is like a ball. This side of the map connects to the other side. It’s just lying flat on this paper.”
“Okay,” Lani said, sounding skeptical.
“I was in a race—a solo race around the world,” said Kaylee. “All the water in the word is connected, you see. It’s kind of like sailing from island to island here, only on a much larger scale.
“The race started in Newport, Rhode Island. From there I headed east across the Atlantic Ocean to the coast of Spain.” She pointed to it and traced her route. “Then I sailed south around Cape Town, South Africa. Then up to Abu Dhabi, and then around India and Singapore and the Philippine Islands to South Korea. I had just left there and was on my way to New Zealand when the storms hit.”
“That’s an incredible distance,” marveled Lani, who was using the map’s key to figure it out. “You were very far from home.”
“I was at sea for months,” said Kaylee, “except for restocking supplies in the ports. I was the youngest sailor to ever attempt this race alone.”
“You didn’t have anybody with you at all?” exclaimed Alex. “We’d never do that here. Too dangerous.”
“My instructor and team were in a boat nearby most of the time, following me in case anything went wrong. But the rules stated that I had to do everything alone.” Kaylee studied the map and shook her head. “I was doing fine. I don’t know what went wrong, exactly. The storm came out of nowhere, and I got separated from my team. But I’d been in lots of storms before. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Where were you on this map?” asked Sky. “Maybe we can find our island.”
Kaylee gave a grim smile. “South of Japan, northwest of the Philippines,” she said, and touched the spot on the map. “I realize all these place-names don’t mean anything to you. But Japan—that’s where the scientists are from.” She hesitated, then added, “This area of the sea is also where the circus ship had been when it hit a storm. Before it ran ashore on the Island of Graves, I mean. I read about it in the ship’s log.”
Alex took a closer look and pointed to some dots on the map. “There are islands there, right? See? Could this cluster be us?”
Kaylee laid her hand on Alex’s shoulder, realizing he wanted Artimé to be on her map almost as much as she did. “Those are islands, yes,” she said gently. “But they’re not your islands.”
Alex frowned. “How do you know?”
“They’re labeled, see?”
Alex looked at all of the land around the dots, reading the unfamiliar names aloud.
Sky gave Kaylee a solemn look. “So, have you figured out where we are if we’re not on your map?”
Kaylee shoved her hands in her pockets and sighed. “Yeah, I have, actually. It’s been in the back of my mind since the storm, but I didn’t want to believe it. However, after reading the ship’s logs I started to reconsider. And finding out that a dragon not only exists here, but is the actual ruler of the sea? That pretty much solidified it in my mind.”
Alex and Lani looked up from the map. “Where are we, then?” asked Alex.
“Well,” Kaylee said, pointing to a triangular shape made of faint, dotted lines on the map, “I’m afraid we’re lost about a hundred miles south of Tokyo in the Devil’s Sea. Also known—quite fearfully by sailors, I’m afraid—as the Dragon’s Triangle.”
Trouble at Sea
Henry was glad for the cocoon, which was more like a giant wind sock than a chair, because it allowed him to stretch out and relax without fear of flying off Spike’s back. He had never gone so fast in his life. His eyes watered in the wind, and after a while he just curled up and put his arms over his face to shield them.
“Are you okay?” Florence called out to him.
He nodded and gave Florence a thumbs-up.
Before dark, Warbler Island was growing large off to their left. Pan and Spike decided to go around the island at a bit of a distance to keep from being noticed by anyone there.
Spike slowed and cleared her blowhole, drenching Henry, though he was wet anyway from the sea spray. “Something is not right at Warbler,” she said.
Pan slowed as well and swung her head around to look at the silent island. Florence and Henry looked too.
Pan’s yellow eyes narrowed. “Ships,” she said.
“In the water?” asked Florence. Neither she nor Henry could see them.
“Yes,” said Pan. “Lined up around the east side. They’ve moved some of their fleet offshore, it appears.”
Florence looked troubled. “I wonder why?” She thought about the Warbler children in Artimé.
No one had an answer.
“I’ll take a closer look on my return,” said Pan. “There are no people on board the ships that I can tell, so likely they won’t be going anywhere tonight.” They sped up again, anxious to get to their destination.
With Warbler behind them, the Island of Fire grew larger, and the Artiméans and Pan noticed more ships, this time sailing from the pirate island toward Warbler.
Florence pointed them out to Henry, and Spike and Pan changed course to make sure their group wasn’t detected.
“This doesn’t look good,” Florence said to Henry.
“It could be nothing,” Henry said. “Or maybe the pirates are buying more slaves, like Copper.”
“I doubt they would need multiple ships for tha
t,” Florence said. It was worrisome.
The party continued traveling swiftly as darkness fell. Henry curled up once more and fell asleep, and Florence sat quietly, thinking about seeing Talon again.
Deep into the night, Spike called out, “Something bad is coming.”
“What is it, Spike?” asked Pan, her head darting around. “An eel?”
“Ye-e-s!” Spike yelled, her voice panicky. She jerked. A second later, something slithered around her tail. The whale twisted in the water, rousing Henry from a deep sleep, and then without warning she jumped into the air with the eel wrapped around her. Spike submerged with a giant splash and dove deep, trying to shake the eel. Henry hadn’t had time to scream—or breathe.
“Henry!” yelled Florence, sitting up in alarm.
“Hold on tight, Florence!” Pan commanded. Florence leaned forward and held on to Pan’s neck. Together they dove underwater to find him.
Startled, Henry sucked in seawater and choked as he was dragged inside his cocoon at full speed. His lungs and throat burned, and water pressed against him like a thousand-pound weight, forcing its way into his mouth and nose, pushing against his eardrums and eyeballs. Blind and disoriented, Henry wound one arm through the straps of the cocoon and desperately swung out with the other, trying to connect with whatever was dragging them down. Don’t breathe! he told himself, but his body reacted in its own way.
With no air, Henry sucked in more water until his chest and head threatened to explode. Black spots wavered before his eyes. His thoughts became dull and jumbled. The pressure was daunting, and he felt himself slipping away. Knowing he was drowning, he tried to fight it, tried to strike out with his arm again, but he couldn’t get his body to move. Soon both arms slacked and the thudding pressure of the water pounded the consciousness from him.
Under the surface of the water, Pan went for the eel’s head. The eel dodged and sent out an electric shock, but Pan narrowly avoided it. Then the dragon struck out, weaving and striking again, and finally grabbed the eel’s face in her mighty jaws. The eel screamed. Pan clamped down hard, crushing its sparking head.