Island of Dragons (Unwanteds #7)(18)

Aaron gave a sharp nod. He stood up. “Thanks,” he said. “It’s been . . . nice. I mean, well, you know. Good spending time with you, anyway. And . . . and the girls.” He cleared his throat. “But yes, it’s time I go.” He took a step toward the door.

“Okay,” Alex said, his voice strangely hollow.

At the door, Aaron hesitated. He desperately wanted to tell Alex about the jungle, but at the same time he desperately wanted to wait until the last possible minute so that he would be long gone by the time Alex made his first visit there. Yes, it was cowardly leaving Alex to explain to Panther and the rock that the person they thought was Mr. Today’s successor was really a fraud. But Aaron couldn’t bear to do it. The more time he spent with his jungle friends, the more Aaron knew he could never tell them the truth.

“Is something wrong?” Alex asked.

Aaron closed his eyes briefly, pained. Then he met Alex’s gaze once more and shook his head. “No, nothing. Good night, brother.” He left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

“Good night, friend,” Alex said softly, and stared at the door, feeling empty. After a moment he sat down at the desk, turned back to his open book and closed it, and put out the light.





Return to the Island of Legends


The hours of the night passed smoothly. Before the sun rose, Spike could sense Karkinos’s nearness in the waters. She adjusted her direction. “Karkinos is moving quickly toward the danger of the waterfall,” said Spike in a worried voice. “He is far from where he is supposed to be.”

“He is a long distance from where I saw him last,” said Pan, lifting her head high in the air and straining her eyes. “We must move swiftly!”

Spike lowered her head and put all she had into increasing her speed. Pan stayed with her. Florence hung on and leaned forward in anticipation while Henry slept. Florence would wake him when it was time.

It wasn’t long before they came upon the giant squid, which normally lived under the crab’s protection, out in the open sea. He was agitated. Spike slowed for a moment to speak with the sea creature, and the animated conversation roused Henry. As soon as Spike finished talking, she sped up once more. The squid followed as quickly as he could, but fell behind.

“The crab no longer has strength to fight the current,” Spike informed the others. “He is moving faster toward the waterfall. He is still alive, according to the squid.”

Henry sat up and gripped the tin through the fabric of his vest. “We have to make it,” he said. “We have to. Do they know what they are in for?”

Pan edged ahead of the whale. “When I discovered what happened to your ship, I informed Talon of the dangers.”

“Let’s hope they’re anchoring everybody to the island,” Florence muttered. She looked at Henry. “How long before the medicine works?”

“Fairly quickly . . . I think,” said Henry, remembering the sea turtle that Ishibashi had healed. “But it won’t fully restore his strength immediately. It’ll keep him from dying. Whether or not he’ll be able to resist the current is something we’ll have to find out.”

“Pan, can you go any faster?” asked Florence.

“Perhaps a bit,” said Pan.

Florence thought for a long moment. “Here’s what we’re going to do,” she said. “Henry, crawl out of your cocoon and give me your hand. I’m going to pull you over here with me.”

“Okay,” said Henry, feeling a bit uncertain about jumping from one creature to another at this ridiculous speed. He began climbing out.

“Pan,” Florence went on, “once Henry’s over here, can you push yourself to your top speed? Then Spike can follow and meet us there.”

“Your idea is wise,” said Pan.

“I agree,” said Spike. “I will try to hurry so that I can explain to Karkinos what is happening. I can go faster when fully submerged, so perhaps I will keep up all right.”

“Perfect.” Florence held her hand out to Henry. He grabbed it tightly, closed his eyes, and jumped. Florence pulled him in front of her and he landed hard on the dragon’s back. “Have you got the medicine?” she asked.

He tapped his vest. “I have it.”

“Hit it, Pan!” Florence shouted.

Pan wasted no time. She pulled ahead, and soon they were speeding faster than before.

Spike disappeared under the water, but an occasional splash behind them assured Henry and Florence that the whale was nearby.

Finally, as the sun rose, Henry and Florence could see the island not far off. Pan put forth an extra burst of speed.

“Henry,” said Florence, “go straight to Karkinos’s mouth and give him the medicine. I’ll try to help from land and explain everything to the others. I hope I can find them. . . .” She trailed off, worried, and peered around the side of the dragon to see if she could find the telltale glint of bronze coming from Talon’s body. But he was not near the shore.

“Listen,” Henry said as they approached the crab island’s shore. “The waterfall. Can you hear it?”

Florence stood up on the dragon’s back and looked beyond Karkinos. “I see it,” she said. “Pan, do you feel the waters pulling you?”