Island of Dragons (Unwanteds #7)(55)

“You put a lot of thought into it,” said Florence, growing serious, “and you did well. This is very close to what I would have done, except for one thing.”

“What?” asked Alex.

“Well, from the looks of the line of ships as they draw closer around the island, and from the directions the outermost ships are heading in, I don’t think they’ll only stick to the south and west sides of our island.”

“You don’t?” asked Alex.

“No. Look how a few ships are fanning out as if they plan to continue past our island. I think they’ll land on the north side, too. Once they reach the shore, it’s not that far overland to reach the mansion.”

“So we’ll be surrrounded,” said Simber. He began to pace.

“Time will tell,” said Florence, looking at Alex’s chart. “But I’m going to rearrange things a little to cover our vulnerable spots.” She looked up. “And that means I need some more team leaders. Let’s pull Carina off the ship and Sky and Kaylee off the mansion and have them take teams to the north side of the island.”

“Whatever you think is best,” said Alex.

Sky, standing nearby guarding the door, overheard. “But I’m not magical,” she reminded Florence.

“You don’t need to be magical to stop pirates,” said Florence. “You thought about that, right, Alex? Pirates fight with swords and knives—close-range weapons. So even our best mages should be armed with some type of weapon.”

Alex froze, then glanced at Simber. “Crud. We didn’t think about that,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

Florence barked an order to three squirrelicorns on the roof to go into the mansion and find whatever swords they had and deliver them to Samheed’s and Lani’s teams, since they were the shortest on nonmagical weapons.

Then Florence turned back to Sky, who still appeared uncertain about being a team leader. “Okay, look. You fought off saber-toothed gorillas, didn’t you?”

“Well, yes,” said Sky.

“These attackers are much smaller,” said Florence. “And they won’t try to eat you. So this will be easy for you, especially with that sword you wield so well. I wish we had more close-range weapons for this enemy, but we can only make do with what we have. I’ll be sure you have spell casters on your team as well. I think you’ll make an excellent leader, because you’re smart and you think well on your feet. Sound okay?”

Sky nodded. “I guess you’ve convinced me.”

“Good.” Florence went to get Kaylee, and Simber flew off to collect Carina, and by the time he was back, Florence had the three new teams identified. She instructed the squirrelicorns to fly out to each of the other teams and send a few members to one of three locations on the north side of the island. “Their team leaders will meet them there,” she told them. The squirrelicorns were off.

With another glance at the ships, it appeared certain that the enemy was going exactly where Florence said they would. “They’ll avoid the east side of the island because of the jungle,” Florence said wisely to Carina, Kaylee, and Sky, “so we don’t have to worry about that.” She showed them the chart and the map, pointing out where she wanted each of them to go.

By now Alex was even more relieved that Florence had returned. He watched the planning over Sky’s shoulder.

“The north side of the island is rocky, and there are only a few places to come ashore. I want the three of you to stay within sight of each other,” Florence said. “Once the attackers make their move you’ll be able to tell if you need to spread out to cover a wide area or concentrate in one place. Send a squirrelicorn to find me if you run into trouble.”

“Why don’t you think they’ll land on the jungle side?” asked Alex.

“Too easy to get lost,” said Florence, “and too thick to run through. They wouldn’t be able to get here very handily. And even if they did, why—let them! It’s a lot easier to fight them once they break through to the lawn than trying to throw spell components through brush and trees. I doubt they’ll land there—pirates are seasoned fighters. They’ll know better.”

“But what about the mansion?” asked Kaylee. “Who’s going to keep the people inside safe?”

Florence frowned. “Simber and I and the teams here will have to take care of it.” She looked up. “Siggy?”

Mr. Appleblossom poked his head over the side of the mansion roof.

“If you see pirates getting past us and breaking in,” said Florence, “strike them down.”

Mr. Appleblossom nodded and went back to his observation area.

“Any more questions?” asked Florence.

Carina, Kaylee, and Sky said no, so Florence sent them and a few members of Alex’s, Simber’s, and Mr. Appleblossom’s teams north. Sky glanced over her shoulder at Alex as she set out with the others toward Quill.

Alex held her gaze. He couldn’t bear to think of this as their last moment together, but with the dire situation at hand, the thought wouldn’t leave him. He wanted to run after her. He wanted to kiss her and tell her to be careful and tell her to come back to him and a hundred other things. But there was no time to waste. He lifted his hand, willing her to promise him all the unspoken things.