Island of Dragons (Unwanteds #7)(87)



Alex could barely breathe. He closed his eyes, and when Twitch returned his sword’s blade to Alex’s neck and pressed down, Alex lifted his chin. “Spike,” he said.

“Yes, the Alex?” said Spike.

Alex swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing over Twitch’s blade. His mind whirred. “Did you hear what the queen said?”

“Yes.”

“I’m in some pretty big trouble here,” said Alex, his voice quivering, “so let’s do what we need to do to get me out of it, then.”

“Are you sure you want that, the Alex?” asked Spike.

“I’m sure,” Alex said, trying to sound very unsure.

Spike hesitated. “All right. I will go . . . right . . . now.”

Alex’s eyes widened at the way Spike responded. He held deathly still as Spike shot away from the ship, and then, after a moment of suspended silence, something slammed hard against the hull, and Alex’s world began shaking and rocking uncontrollably. The sword pierced Alex’s neck a second time before the pirates lost their balance and their grip on him.

Alex pulled from their grasp. He shoved the female pirate into Queen Eagala, sending them both sprawling and tangling in a pile of ropes, and he unsheathed his sword, lifting it up and swinging wildly. He caught Twitch off balance as the ship rolled and bounced, and flipped the pirate to the deck. Twitch kicked Alex’s sword into the air and got back up, but the ship lurched again, throwing them both down. Alex’s sword clattered nearby, and Twitch kicked it away again, out of reach.

Alex had no time to search for a component. He slammed his fist into Twitch’s face as the other pirate returned, slicing Alex across the shoulder, just missing his neck thanks to the rocking boat. Alex lit into her and knocked her sword overboard as Eagala came running at him. Alex sidestepped her and grabbed for her sword, wresting it from her and ripping off two of her fingernails in the process, making her scream out in pain.

Alex threw the disgusting fingernails to the deck and ran at Twitch, who was struggling to get to his feet. Alex didn’t flinch. He stabbed the sword into Twitch’s stomach and ran him through. Twitch wavered on his knees, then clattered to the deck. Alex tugged at the sword, trying to pull it out, but it was stuck fast. He whirled about, looking frantically for his own sword, and dodged the other pirate, who was running at him. He shoved her into Queen Eagala again, and when she came rebounding back, he grabbed the pirate by the jacket and ran her to the railing, her fingers digging at his eyes and throat. With all his might he lifted her up and threw her over the side of the ship into the water.

Queen Eagala regained her footing and grabbed Alex’s sword from the deck. When Alex turned to fight her, she slammed the sword down hard on Alex’s already injured left shoulder. The pain sparked and burned through Alex, and he cried out as his left arm flopped uselessly to his side. He kicked Queen Eagala’s hands with all his might, sending the sword flying into the air.

“Jump now, the Alex!” cried Spike.

“She’s not dead yet!” Alex screamed. He couldn’t feel his left arm. He dove for the sword, retrieved it with his right hand and swung, hitting Queen Eagala awkwardly, just hard enough to throw her off balance.

“Jump now, the Alex!” said Spike again, more insistent this time.

Alex frowned and tried gripping the sword with both hands for a final swing, but his left arm wasn’t working at all. He couldn’t hold it.

“JUMP NOW, THE ALEX!” shouted Spike.

Alex stopped questioning Spike. He threw the sword in Eagala’s face and kicked her in the stomach, giving himself enough time to dive blindly over the side of the ship. He sucked in a breath, landed in the water, and sank down, all the while hoping that Simber was on his way to finish the job.

With his good arm, he pulled himself to the surface, and soon Spike was pushing him up and sliding him onto her back. When Alex broke the surface, he opened his eyes and twisted around to see Eagala cackling madly above him. It was all he could do to stare in horrified silence.

And that’s when he heard it.

And that’s when he saw it.

The pirate ship was whispering. It began tugging against the anchor.

Alex’s eyes widened. The ship was whispering. Alex knew the story behind that now—it only whispered when someone on board had died, and then it automatically headed home to the Island of Fire. To the volcano island that randomly spewed fire, then plunged under the surface of the ocean, dragging everything nearby it into its watery, cavernous mouth.

“It says it wants to go home now,” said Spike, who could understand all languages, apparently even the language of ships.

“I know!” said Alex. “Oh, Spike, this is perfect! Can you break the anchor chain?”

“Yes, I can,” said Spike. She swam over to it, slid the point of her faux diamond–encrusted spike into a link, and began sawing back and forth. After a moment the chain snapped. The ship lurched and began heading in the direction of the pirate island.

“There it goes,” said Alex, gripping his useless arm, almost mad with joy.

On board, Queen Eagala’s laughter died in her throat. “What’s happening?” she cried out. “Where is this ship taking me? Who’s driving this thing?” She ran over to the ship’s wheel and tried to steer, but that didn’t affect its direction. The ship had a mission that it had to complete, and it wouldn’t change course for anything—Alex and all of Artimé knew that well enough.

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