Island of Fire (The Unwanteds) (14 page)

“You should burn those clothes. They’re practically rancid,” he heard Clive point out from the other room.

“Shove a sock in it, Clive!” Alex called back, before sinking deep into the fresh water such that only his nose and
mouth remained above it. His body ached terribly, and he was exhausted. Now that he had a few moments alone, he never wanted to go back out there again. But he had so much more to do before things got back to normal. As he soaked, he made a mental list.

1. Get the thorn necklace off Meghan.

2. See if Sky and Crow want theirs off too.

3. Figure out how to find Lani and Samheed.

4. Find them.

5. Rescue them.

6. Sleep.

7. Do something about the . . .

He drifted off. Half an hour later, he jerked awake. The water was cold. “You’d think there’d be a spell to keep bathwater warm,” he grumbled.

After another ten minutes his hair was combed, his body was clean, his clothes were fresh, and he felt like a new mage. He smiled at Clive as he headed for the door, and then he stopped
and turned. “Do you know, uh, what happened?” he asked the blackboard.

Clive’s eyes darted around the room. “When? Where? What?”

Alex sighed and added a note to his mental list. “Never mind.”

“Come on, tell me. I won’t tell anybody. I don’t even know anybody.”

Alex flashed a grim smile. “Not yet. I don’t have time. Soon.” He opened the door and slipped out.

He made his way out of the boys’ hallway and into the not-very-secret-anymore-but-still-mostly-hidden hallway. It was quiet there. Alex walked toward Mr. Today’s office, his footsteps echoing, and then he stopped in front of Mr. Today’s private quarters.

“Charlie!” he exclaimed.

The gargoyle approached and began speaking with hand signals.

“I don’t understand,” Alex said. “I— There’s a book somewhere, I’m sure . . . ”

Charlie pointed to Mr. Today’s door and then lifted his shoulders in question.

“Oh no,” Alex muttered, his heart sinking.
Is it ever going to end?
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go in here. I’m going to explain everything.”

Charlie loped alongside Alex, snapping his finger and thumbs.

Alex had avoided the office so far, but now he took a few tentative steps inside. It was painful going in and seeing all of Mr. Today’s things. He glanced at the wall behind him, and there, as always, were the crazy, stupid dot pictures that were the answer to the riddle that had driven him nuts for the past month. If only he’d been more observant, he might have figured out the clue much faster.

Alex took off Mr. Today’s robe and hung it next to a spare one on the rack in the corner. He ran his fingers along the fabric and let the sleeve drop, and then he turned away. The blackboards were in order as usual. Alex had no idea how they worked. Or how anything worked, really. He had a lot of books to read, for sure. And hopefully, once Ms. Morning was feeling better, she’d be able to help.

Alex looked at Mr. Today’s chair. He’d sat in it before once or twice, during his nightly visits alone or with Sam. But now
it seemed too big to fill. Instead he sat in the armchair on the other side of the desk, which was his usual spot. It felt more comfortable for now.

One by one the others trickled in—Florence, Octavia, and Simber—and they sat down in their usual spots as well. Claire Morning’s chair remained empty, and so did Mr. Today’s.

For a few moments, no one said a word. And during those minutes, Alex finally accepted the truth—that from this point forward, he would lead the meetings. He would be the caretaker of Artimé. He would have to protect, provide for, and serve the people here. He would be in charge of everything, and he would be responsible. He would make decisions that could save lives, or cost lives. It was he who would take the wheel and keep Artimé going in the same direction, or change it. He, young Alexander Stowe, Unwanted, was the new mage of Artimé. Like it or not.

There was no time to look back. Only to move forward, to the dots on the horizon, and steer for them.

W
hen the next breeze came, Samheed opened his eyes and sat up, hoping it was Lani. He peered around the dimly lit cave, and his newly seeing eyes alighted on a hulk of a man. Samheed stared at him and swallowed hard, trying not to react. But the man was staring at Samheed as well, as if he expected the boy could see.

The man’s orange eyes glowed faintly, and he took three or four rapid steps toward the boy.

Samheed couldn’t help it. He cowered and drew back.

The man gave a sinister smile, reached out as Samheed
scrambled to get away, and scooped up the boy with little effort.

Samheed fought, but not as hard as he could—there was really nothing to fight for. He didn’t want to stay in the cave alone. He’d rather die than be stuck there forever. So after a time, he stopped struggling and just watched as the man opened the secret door and took him through a maze of tunnels.

Thorn-necked, orange-eyed people walked about, a few of them chained to the wire above Samheed’s head, but most roamed independently. Some of them carried things like buckets of gold coins, baskets of bread, or armloads of clothing or firewood. Others walked with purpose as if they were in a hurry to get somewhere. He saw one woman with scars around her neck, but no thorns.

Samheed took in everything he could, trying to understand why anyone who had gone through the process of the thorns and the eye colorization would not try to run away. He didn’t understand it.

Then again, he’d been a big supporter of Quill even after he’d been Purged—for a short time, anyway. He wondered what kinds of lies
this
island’s ruler was telling these people to make them want to stay here.

After a few minutes, the man turned into a cave where a woman sat on a throne watching them. The man set Samheed down and hooked a wire around the boy’s thorny necklace. He locked it with a tiny key, and then connected the other end to the wire above their heads and did the same.

“Well, well, well.” The woman’s voice boomed like a cannon in the silence, startling Samheed. “Your healing period has ended. Time to put a strong young person like you to work.”

Samheed stared. He tried to respond, thinking maybe if the woman could speak, then he might be able to as well, but no sound came out. He wanted to know where Lani was, and if she was okay.

The stately woman narrowed her eyes. “There’s a reason we don’t allow you to speak, you know. I trust you’re smart enough to figure out why eventually.” She rose from the throne to her full height. “Follow your orders and you’ll be treated fairly. If you don’t? It’s back to the dark cave. Simple enough.” She descended from the throne’s platform with languid strides and walked in a slow circle around Samheed.

He stared straight ahead, some of the old anger beginning to stir inside him once again. But he’d follow the rules. For now.

“Oh, your friend,” the woman said, drawing a ridiculously long, curled fingernail across her lips so that it almost disguised a cold smile. “I nearly forgot. She’s fitting in just fine in the women’s compound. Very obedient now, that one. I’m sure you, dear boy, will do just as well in the men’s compound.” She stopped circling when she reached the throne platform once again, and held Samheed’s gaze. “If you wish to see her again, that is.”

Samheed’s face betrayed him. He turned away, glaring at the floor as his stomach clenched for Lani. Did this mean he wouldn’t see her? How long would they be separated? In the absence of Lani’s cool fingers entwined in his, he folded his hands together in front of him and sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He knew what this woman was saying. Obey or else. It was exactly like Quill here, only there were no walls—instead the “safety” came from living underground.

Is every island in the world like this?
he wondered.

The brute led Samheed to the men’s compound. He pointed to the wire along the ceiling that Sam was connected to. It was purple. There was another wire next to it that was green. Both
wires had elaborate roundabout intersections every twenty feet or so, which would allow two people on the same wire to pass each other.

After walking for a few minutes, they came to a circular cavern with hallways branching off in multiple directions. The purple and green lines split up.

Samheed peered down the green hallways to see if there was any sign of Lani, but there was no long black hair to be seen anywhere. The man pointed to the hallway that he wanted Samheed to take, and they walked down it to a large room filled with cots in neat rows. The man brought him to an empty cot that had a book lying on top of it, titled
Handbook for Vagabonds
. Samheed sat down on the bed. He picked up the book and looked at the man.

The man nodded, and then he turned and left.

Samheed opened the book and read the first page.

Welcome, wanderer, and congratulations. By setting foot on our shores, you have become the sole property of Warbler Island and Queen Eagala. As you have likely discovered in your travels, there is no way to leave the sea that surrounds
Warbler and the other six islands contained within.

We wish to inform you that Warbler has a growing fleet of ships. Escapees will be hunted and killed. Your orange eyes will forevermore be proof that you are the branded property of Warbler.

Your golden thorns are for your protection and the protection of Warbler. As travelers land on our shores, they are removed of the burden of speech in favor of a simple, quiet life of quality without distraction. Indeed, a spell of silence has been cast over the entire island, quieting all incidental sounds except for human voices, allowing Warblerians to work in the most optimal conditions. As a possibly unwilling newcomer, you will learn to appreciate that we’ve removed the temptation to speak ill of Warbler or its leader to anyone passing by our shores. It was a necessary move to keep Warbler strong and loyal after the recent revolt.

Samheed’s mouth hung open.
This place is nuts,
he thought. He looked back at the opening paragraph, which contained a line that was news to him.
“As you have likely discovered in your
travels, there is no way to leave the sea that surrounds Warbler and the other six islands contained within.”

Sam had never thought about traveling beyond the seven islands. Until recently he’d never even thought that there could be more than one island, and that was Quill. But now, thanks to Artimé and Mr. Today, he knew how to think, how to use his imagination. Obviously, based on this book, someone must have tried going beyond the other islands. But what did it mean,
“there’s no way to leave” 
? How would anyone know there was another place to go to? And if there was no way to leave, did that also mean there was no way to enter? And if so . . . how did everyone get here in the first place? It was extremely puzzling.

Plus, there was magic here—a spell of silence, which explained why nothing made a sound except Queen Eagala’s voice. Samheed had thought he’d lost his hearing. But he’d always equated magic with good places. This was no good place, that was for sure.

He turned the page.

Warbler uses a simple system of sign language created by Queen Eagala. You will be taught a small vocabulary of
signs that pertain to your personal needs and the work to which you are assigned. You will find a loose piece of paper inside this booklet instructing you about your job, hours, requirements, and behavior expectations.

Samheed turned the page and a slip of paper fluttered to the floor. He picked it up and read:

SHIPBUILDER

Report immediately to shipbuilding. Hours are sunup to sundown with one break at midday. You are not allowed to touch any tools until you have been assessed.

Sunup to sundown? How was anybody to know when the sun was up or down, here in this warren of caves? Samheed sighed. He looked at the bottom of the note, where there was a makeshift map guiding him to the shipbuilding area.

After a cursory glance around his new living quarters, Samheed stood up. He tugged at the thin chain that connected his thorn necklace to the wire above. It was locked, stuck fast. Finally he started walking, carrying the note with
the map, weaving his way through tunnels. Straining his eyes for a glimpse of Lani and hoping she was okay.

When he neared the end of the directions, he squinted. Afternoon sunlight poured in through a hole above his head. He hadn’t seen sunlight in weeks. As he stood there at the base of the stone-carved ladder, basking in the warmth of the sun, taking a moment to enjoy it before starting his new job, a bright ball of fire whizzed past his ear and flew up through the hole, leaving a faint trail of light skating down the passageway behind it.