Island of Dragons (Unwanteds #7)(38)

Pan watched from a short distance away, her eyes shining.

When Aaron looked up, he said, “You’ll want to give them some lessons before they are suited to fly long distances. We tested the wings at home and discovered that the wearer must command the wings to go to a certain place or to fly in a certain direction. And they must concentrate and think about flying.”

“I will teach them the requirements,” said Pan.

Alex looked up. “I’ve made the wings a little larger than necessary to accommodate small amounts of growth. Unfortunately, because the wings are magical and not real appendages, I was unable to give them the ability to grow along with the dragons. But you had mentioned that the young dragons would remain this size for about ten years before they begin to grow rapidly, so these wings should be sufficient to last them until then.”

“It is long enough,” said Pan humbly. “Thank you.”

Alex bowed. “If you are able to bring the dragons back to me in Artimé when they’ve begun their growth spurt, we will happily make new wings to suit their larger size.”

Pan bowed in return. “We shall never forget your kindness. Both of you.”

Aaron cleared his throat. “We should probably finish the job before you thank us,” he said. “Which one is next?”

“Yarbeck, the purple and gold,” said Pan. “And then Ivis, the green. Then we’ll do the males, Hux and Drock, after the females are done. I’ll help you bring the rest of the wings.”

While Arabis the orange experimented with moving her wings, Pan wrapped her tail around the boys and went back to the boat, returning a short time later with the other four sets. Over the course of the morning, all five young dragons received their magical appendages, and Alex and Aaron finished up their work getting only a tiny bit singed by Drock, the dark purple dragon, who seemed the most temperamental of the entire cylinder of dragons.

The dragons were clever, and soon Arabis and Yarbeck were managing to take short, awkward flights around the inside of the island. Pan left them to their antics. She brought Alex and Aaron back outside of the island and delivered them to their boat.

As she set them gently into the Claire and thanked them once more, Charlie exited the cabin and began signing to Alex.

Alex concentrated, trying to decipher Charlie’s sign language. “What is it?” he said. “Is something wrong? Slow down a bit, will you?”

Charlie began again, slower this time, and Alex followed along, mumbling a word or two under his breath. And then he relaxed a bit.

“What is it?” asked Aaron.

Pan’s eyes blazed with concern. “What’s happened?”

Alex put his hand in the air to reassure the dragon. “I don’t think there’s cause to worry,” he said. “A visitor has arrived on the shores of Artimé.”





Surprising News


What sort of visitor?” demanded Pan.

Charlie signed again.

When he finished, Alex looked up. “The unconscious sort,” he said. “This isn’t the first time it’s happened. Charlie says the folks at home are certain she’s an escapee from Warbler. She’s wearing rags and a thorn necklace, just like Sky and Crow were when they arrived on a raft.”

“I see,” said Pan, settling down. “Is she expected to survive?”

“I hope so,” said Alex. “Claire and Carina are working on her.”

Pan blinked slowly. “I wish her the best. Perhaps she can shed some light on the recent activities on Warbler.”

“We’ll pass that on,” said Alex. He turned to Charlie. “Did you get that?”

Charlie nodded.

Alex glanced at Aaron. “Ready?”

“Ready,” said Aaron. His stomach fluttered with excitement. He lifted a hand in farewell to Pan.

“Thank you,” Pan said to them. “You’ll never know the depth of my gratitude.”

“We’re glad we could help,” said Aaron.

Alex smiled at the dragon. “I’ll stop back to see you on my way home in case there’s news,” he said. And with that, the brothers were on their way to the Island of Shipwrecks.

? ? ? ?

The rest of the journey was uneventful. Alex was tired and fell asleep early, and Aaron stared out over the water in front of them, fretting about Panther and the jungle. Finally he decided he’d confess right before Alex left the Island of Shipwrecks. That way Aaron wouldn’t have to witness Alex’s disappointment for long.

With his mind finally settled, Aaron slept. They passed the Island of Graves without incident, and by morning they awoke to the sight of shipwrecks.

Aaron jumped to his feet and combed his hair with his fingers. Alex offered him breakfast, but Aaron was too nervous to eat. He strained to see if there was any movement on the island. Were the scientists still alive and healthy?

His fears were soon assuaged when he saw them emerge from behind the rocks, moving swiftly toward the shore to greet them.

Aaron sighed with relief and bounced on his toes, leaning forward over the bow, as Ishibashi lifted a hand to his eyes to shield the sun.

Alex shoved his hands in his pockets and glared at the water, trying to swallow the lump in his throat, and let the boat steer itself carefully around the wrecks and rocks near the shore. Soon they were within spitting distance, floating close enough to walk across a handful of rocks to the island. Before the boat stopped, Aaron hopped out and rushed across the rocky path toward the scientists. He caught the old men in a giant group embrace, almost knocking them down.