Island of Dragons (Unwanteds #7)(86)

Alex sighed. He was amazed by all that had taken place. Amazed by all he had accomplished since that day in the Commons of Quill when he had been sentenced to die.

Little did Alex know back then that he’d see his brother again. Little did he know that life was just about to begin, and that it hadn’t ended for him, after all. Little did he know, on the bus to the Death Farm, that the blue-eyed girl connected to him by a rusty chain would become his fierce friend. That Samheed, whom Alex never liked in school, would become one of his closest confidants. And that Meghan, Alex’s best friend from early childhood, would die fighting for a land no one in Quill could have dreamed up . . . except for a man named Mr. Today.

“Is everything okay, the Alex?” asked Spike.

Alex pulled out of his reverie and looked over the edge. “It will be,” he said with a languid sigh. “Very soon it will be. I’ll get Captain Ahab.”

“Good, because something seems strange here.”

“Something strange?” Alex almost laughed. “Do you really think so?” He looked around at the twenty-four foreign ships in the water, the Island of Legends sitting off the coast of Artimé, and six water dragons not far from that. Nah. Not strange at all.

Spike circled the ship as Alex gathered up Captain Ahab’s body. Then Alex brought it to the side of the ship where Spike had settled and lowered it over the side, letting it drop gently into the shallow water that covered Spike’s broad back. The whale rose up slightly to ground it.

“Something is not right,” Spike said.

Alex frowned. “Something new, you mean?”

“Yes.”

Alex groaned. “Okay, let me grab the head and we’ll go figure it out.”

“You should come right now,” said Spike.

“Okay. One second.” Alex quickly went to get Captain Ahab’s head. He picked it up and tucked it under his arm, and then hurried back to the side of the ship. He tossed Captain Ahab’s head to Spike, who caught it gently with her tail so it wouldn’t break.

But just as Alex reached for the rope to climb overboard onto Spike’s back, he heard the horribly familiar zing of swords being pulled from their scabbards. He froze for a split second. His heart raced, and without turning around, he lunged for the railing. A second later he was jerked back, choked by the robe around his neck. Somebody was pulling him.

He stumbled and tried to yell as the unknown attacker grabbed him around the chest from behind and pinned his arms down. Soon Alex felt the cool edge of a sword sliding across his neck. Alex closed his eyes and swallowed reflexively, and then he was being turned around.

His eyes flew open. In front of him on the right was Twitch, the pirate captain’s first mate. And on the left was another pirate, a woman he didn’t recognize. Standing directly in front of him was Queen Eagala herself. Alive and well.

Alex’s heart sank.

Eagala folded her hands around the hilt of her sword and held it in front of her, pointing upward, like a prized possession, guarded by her strange, long, curling fingernails that snaked through the air.

Alex opened his mouth to tell Spike to go for help, but Eagala pressed her sword to his lips, silencing him.

In her most sinister voice, she said, “Your creature had better stay still and silent, or I’ll kill you right now.” It was loud enough for Spike to hear, and Spike didn’t move.

Alex blinked. He didn’t dare speak with the blade against his mouth. All he could do now that he’d gotten over the shock of seeing Eagala was curse himself for not making sure she was dead. But how did she get from her ship to this one if she, like all Warblerans, couldn’t swim?

Out of the corner of his eye, one of the tenders floated into view, and Alex had his answer. His stomach twisted. Maybe somebody on land would look this way. Was he visible to land? With his back turned to them, he wasn’t sure. Certainly Simber would notice if he was anywhere nearby. But who knew where Simber could be, collecting pirate bodies from all over Quill.

Slowly Alex moved his left hand a fraction of an inch at a time, closer to the hilt of his sword. Eagala had apparently begun talking to him, as she was spitting in his face. Alex tuned in.

“. . . my count, you have eighty-seven of my people on your island. You will have your creature bring them to me now—all of them, including your friends who caused me so much trouble. But the one I want the most is the child who shattered my raven curse. If you return them all, including that one, I may let you live.”

Had Eagala seen the twins? Did she know who they were? Alex was furious, but he knew he couldn’t show it. There was no way he’d let Fifer anywhere near Eagala, or any of the Warblerans who had fought for Artimé. He’d never give them up.

Eagala leaned forward, putting her face directly in front of his. Alex leaned back, but was immediately punished for it by First Mate Twitch, who stuck the point of his sword into Alex’s neck and flicked it away, leaving a cut. Eagala’s sword slid across Alex’s lips and left blood trickling from the bottom one. Sweat mingled with the cuts and stung him. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t move. His hand was still inches away from his sword.

After a long moment of Queen Eagala staring into Alex’s eyes and Alex trying not to flinch, she finally pulled her sword away from his face. Slowly and deliberately she withdrew a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the blade clean of his blood. “Tell your creature to fetch my people.”