Island of Fire

mask off and placed it on a shelf, and then walked around a corner

with the fish. “That hook is his hand,” Alex said, intrigued. “He

caught the fish right where I was standing, there.” He pointed. It was Crow who noticed the creatures. In a real aquarium

attached to the reverse aquarium, Crow could just barely see

things swimming around. “I can’t see what those things are, but they don’t look fish-shaped,” he reported.

“I wonder if anyone down there can help us,” Alex said. “I

suppose we could dive down and see if they notice us through

the glass wall.”

Everyone was quiet, wondering if these people were friendly, or if being seen would only get them into more trouble. “They seem . . . normal,” Carina said weakly. She looked

over her shoulder at Alex. “I think we have to try. We don’t

have a choice.”

Alex nodded. “I can try right here, I suppose.” He scratched

his head, thinking. “No, this spot is where the guy was fishing.

It didn’t look like anyone else was over there.”

“The ship took us to a cerrrtain spot,” Simber said. “Perrrhaps forrr a rrreason.”

“Good point,” Alex said. “Let’s go back there. And then

we’ll have help from our army in case we need it.”

While Carina, Alex, and Simber plotted, Sky stared

through the glass, frowning. She nudged her brother and

pointed. He turned to look, and then he gasped. Before anyone could stop him, Crow began pounding on the glass with

all his might.

Sky whipped her hair out of her eyes with her hand and

stared, then grabbed Crow’s arm to stop him from pounding.

“No,” she said. “We don’t want them all to see us. Watch.” When a woman walked on the floor nearest them, not twenty feet away, Sky leaned over the glass, stretching her shirt wide to block the sun. “Watch,” she whispered again, “I’m a

cloud.” Her heart thumped.

The woman, in a sudden shadow, looked up. She frowned, and then her mouth slacked and her orange eyes grew wide. Sky choked on a sob, which caused the others to turn and

see what was happening. Immediately, through her tears, Sky’s

hands flew through the air, speaking a language few of the others knew.

The woman held a finger to her lips and looked all around.

Alex went to Sky’s side and put his hand on her shoulder, feeling it quake. Crow simply clutched the rocks on the edge of the

pool and stared, a look of agony on his face.

Then the woman signed something very quickly and scurried away to a set of stairs. When she disappeared, Sky slumped

back into Alex’s arms and sobbed.

He pulled her to him and patted her back, unsure what to

do.

Carina knelt next to Crow. “What’s wrong?”

Crow’s face crumbled. “That stupid creep told us she was

dead!” he cried, his face hot with anger.

“Who is that woman?” Alex whispered into Sky’s hair, though he thought he knew.

She took a deep breath and pulled back, still clutching

Alex’s shirt. “Our mother,” she said.

Waiting

I

told her about the ship,” Sky said. She let go of Alex, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and sniffed a few times. She slid back to the edge of the glass so she could see. “She said don’t dive down. Don’t let anyone

The others stared at her.

“She’s going to try to find out how to disenchant the ship so we can get away, but she’s only—she’s a—” Sky pounded her forehead and took a few deep breaths, blowing them out. “Come on, Sky,” she muttered.

Alex had never seen her so upset before.

“She’s a slave to the pirates,” Crow said. His fiery eyes narrowed into slits.

Carina put her hand on Crow’s shoulder, and he let her leave it there. “I’m sorry,” she said. “And I’m sorry someone told you she was dead. What a horrible thing to do.”

“It was Queen Eagala.” He nearly spat the words out.

Carina said nothing. She only lowered her head and rested it on her free hand, closing her eyes.

Simber perched on a nearby rock, not wanting to be seen through the glass. “Did yourrr motherrr say how much time the volcano stays above the surrrface?” he asked in a rare gentle voice.

Sky shook her head. “There wasn’t time to ask. She had to hurry.”

“That’s okay,” Alex said. “We’ll wait. And then, once we’ve got Sam and Lani, we’ll figure out how to get her out of here.” His stomach felt like he’d just swallowed a dozen lead milk shakes. One more impossible thing.

Sky looked up at him, her bottom lip quivering.

He read the question in her eyes. “I mean it,” he said.

The look she gave him was enough to warm Alex through. He glanced at Carina, who was watching them curiously with a little smile. Alex bit his lip. It didn’t matter what anyone thought. He would be the same as before with Lani until Lani figured out that he was never around to hang out with anymore, which wouldn’t take long because Lani was pretty brilliant. And even if he wanted to, there was no way Alex could go running to spend all his free time with Sky after that—it would hurt Lani’s feelings and make him seem like a total flake. Not a good look for a leader. Maybe that’s why Mr. Today had stayed alone for so long.