Aaron didn’t like the general’s tone. They were supposed to be a team now, but the general still seemed to be running everything. It was unsettling, but Aaron didn’t know what to do about it. “Fine,” he said, frustrated. “What’ll I worry about, then?”
The general glared at Aaron. “You’ll worry about getting your weak little self back to the palace,” he said. “You’ll make me some more oil. And you’ll stay out of my way. That’s how this team is going to work.”
Aaron narrowed his eyes and set his jaw. He hated General Blair now more than ever. But he needed General Blair. Now more than ever.
When Aaron held his tongue, the general smiled. “Good. I’m glad we’ve reached an understanding.” He stood up, signaling the end of the meeting. Reluctantly Aaron and Liam stood too, Aaron fuming over the shoddy treatment, but unable to do anything about it. General Blair ushered them roughly to the door with a final, ominous warning: “Prepare to secure the palace, locking yourselves inside. I’ll send soldiers when the time comes. We attack in four days.”
A Messy Escape
After adding magic to the extra magic carpet components Sky had made, Alex’s ability to concentrate was spent. But even as tired as he was, he tossed and turned all night, knowing that the morning could potentially bring disaster. What if he transported the ship too far away? What if the Artiméans couldn’t reach it with their flying carpets before the spells wore off and everyone crashed into the sea? What if Spike couldn’t swim out of the grasp of the rough undertow, or Florence was too heavy for the carpets, or the wind was too strong and swept them up into the sky? What if Alex couldn’t get to sleep tonight, leaving him without the proper concentration in the morning to transport the ship?
And where was Simber? Alex had been tempted multiple times to send a seek spell to Artimé, but he didn’t want anyone to worry or think there was trouble here—especially if it was trouble there that was keeping Simber away. So he refrained. But now, thinking of all the things that could go wrong, Alex wondered if he’d made a mistake by listening to Sky and trying to handle this escape without the giant beast.
But then again, everyone was beyond restless. The rain was driving them mad. There was no way they could stay here indefinitely. Florence and Sky were both right—they didn’t need Simber. They could do this.
“It still wouldn’t hurt if you showed up, you know,” Alex muttered. He rolled over and tried anew to sleep. But there was always so much to worry about. At least he didn’t have Sky on his mind constantly.
Yeah, right. But thankfully she didn’t seem to be as miserable without him as he was without her. And they were working at becoming friends again, so that was good, wasn’t it? It would have to be enough.
Finally Alex fell into a deep sleep. And when he woke up, it was very nearly time to go.
» » « «
With the hour of calm fast approaching, the Artiméans said hasty good-byes and thanks to Ishibashi, Ito, and Sato, who offered them a crate of food to store on the ship to keep them from starving on the way home. Soon Florence announced that the storm was lessening, so they all filed outside, hopefully for the last time.
“You all know what to do,” Alex said, knowing there was no time for a lengthy announcement. “Teamwork. Let’s go! See you all safely on board within the hour.”
With that, Lani peeled off from the group and sprinted to the leeward side of the island to give Spike her instructions. The others quickly made their way to the shore where the ship sat. It was not pristine and polished as it had once been, but hopefully with a bit of magic and a little luck, it was sound and functional. They’d find out soon enough.
Alex didn’t waste any time. “Squirrelicorns, to the sky!” he cried. “Everybody else stand back and be ready with your carpet components. You have about ten minutes of flying time to make it all the way to the ship before the spell wears off, so don’t waste a second.”
Florence hoisted the crate of food to the main deck and stood back as Alex patted the ship’s side. “Everybody ready?” he called out.
“You can do it, Alex,” Florence said. “Just like last time. You’ve got the touch.”
Alex grinned. Her confidence in him erased some of his jitters. “Okay, here goes,” he said, glancing one more time at the spot he’d been envisioning for days—the spot where the sunlight made the waves sparkle beyond the oppressive weight of the storm.
He let his hand rest on the side of the ship and closed his eyes, feeling the light rain against his cheek, and the wind, steady but not overpowering. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Alex cleared his mind of everything except that spot in the sunshine. He concentrated on it, picturing the ship sailing there, outside the realm of crashing waves and under the clear skies and warm sun. He could feel peace come over him, and when he was ready, he whispered, “Transport.”
In a flash, the ship disappeared. Alex opened his eyes and put his hand to his forehead, squinting to watch for it. It would be hard to see from this distance, but hopefully not impossible.
“Does anybody see it?” Alex called anxiously.
The others were straining to find it too, but so far no one had spotted it. Not even Florence from her height.
Alex looked up. “Squirrelicorns?” he called. “Anything?”
Florence signaled everyone to be ready to throw their carpet components down.