Island of Fire Read online

  Samheed was still for a moment, and Lani watched him bring his free hand to his bowed head. She could almost feel his longing. Then he dropped his hand to his lap, deadweight, and tapped, “Tell me everything you see. And—” He stopped.

  Lani waited. “And?”

  Samheed turned his blind eyes toward her. She could see the outline of his body, feel his breath on her bare arm, his hand on her knee. Slowly, softly, he tapped, “Please don’t leave me.”

  Together, Apart

  Lani squeezed Samheed’s arm. “Of course I won’t leave you!” she tapped. She flung her arms around his neck, surprising him, catching him off balance. He righted himself and, after a second, hugged her tightly, squeezing his eyes shut and biting the inside of his cheek, wishing he weren’t so helpless. He hated this feeling—had always hated it. Before today he could be thankful that Lani couldn’t see the fear on his face, but now . . . He didn’t want to have to count on anybody at any time, not after all that had happened to him.

  But when he was truthful with himself, and when he remembered that Lani hadn’t left him the last time she’d had a chance, while he lay helpless and knocked out on a table, and when he thought about the past weeks in this stupid, horrible cave of darkness and silence, no one coming to their rescue, only Lani there, and the two in turn acting both vulnerable and strong, he knew that Lani was probably the one and only person in the whole world with whom he could truly let down his guard.

  He clutched at her, devastated that she could see shadows and he couldn’t, yet trying not to lose hope. If she could see, she could try to escape. But if she had to drag him with her, he was only a liability. And despite her response, despite knowing deep down that she wouldn’t leave him willingly, he was still scared beyond anything he’d ever been through—beyond the Purge, beyond the battle, beyond the excruciating implantation of the necklace of thorns. Samheed was frightened that something would separate them, and that he would be left blind, deaf, mute, and alone in this stark cave once again, this time forever.

  Lani’s lips parted in surprise when Samheed didn’t let go of her. And even though she’d been concentrating, straining her eyes to see more and more as the light slowly increased, something in her stomach flitted about just then, and she became highly aware of Sam’s warm cheek against hers. She swallowed hard and her breathing grew shallower, almost as if she was afraid her intake of air would disturb the moment or cause Sam to come to his senses and let go. But he didn’t. Lani’s eyes fluttered closed, and she turned her attention from things she could barely see to things intangible and invisible inside of her, and for the briefest of moments, the two breathed together in time.

  When they drew apart at last, it was with a somber realization that they were alone in this strange and horrible world, and that hope for rescue was waning. That despite the trauma and horror of their predicament, all they had was the person sitting next to them. And all they could do was wait for Alex.

  But Alex hadn’t come.

  Neither needed to say it. They sat side by side, backs against the wall, fingers intertwined, with no pressing need for sight or sound in this moment, as long as they had each other.

  It was perhaps an hour later that a towering shadow darkened the brightening space in front of Lani. She startled with force and scrambled closer to Samheed, gripping his hand tightly as she tried to explain what was happening with taps from her other hand on his knee. But it became apparent that the figure, in the process of setting down a tray of food, noticed her commotion. In the grainy light, Lani saw the black holes that were his eye sockets, two dull orange spots coming from the depths of them, and a slow, evil smile spreading across his face.

  He lunged at her, snatching her by her free arm, and pulled her toward him. Lani’s mouth opened wide in a silent scream, her body being pulled upward by the figure and down again by Samheed, who hung on to her hand and arm with all his might, knowing only that his worst fears must be coming true.

  Pain tore through Lani’s body as the figure grasped her around the waist and yanked her up and away from Samheed. He stomped on Sam’s foot and kneed the boy in the stomach, but even breathless and racked with pain, Samheed hung on to Lani’s arm. “I’m not letting go!” he screamed, but the words could be heard only in his head. He kicked out wildly, trying to connect with whatever it was that was taking Lani away, but he missed over and over. Sweat slickened his grasp, and with one lurch into the air and a kick from the enemy, Samheed lost his hold and hit the ground hard.

  Lani nearly went flying in the other direction, but the figure tightened his grip around her waist as she kicked and pounded at him, and he carried her away, leaving Sam motionless on the stone floor of the cave.

  In a Word

  Breathe,’ ” Alex murmured. He looked up at Sky. “It says ‘breathe’!”

  Sky looked back at him, her eyes shiny. She nodded. Then she pointed at another picture inside the miniature mansion.

  Alex turned back to Mr. Today’s tiny office and aimed the magnifying glass on another picture. Sweat poured down his face as he concentrated, then tried not to concentrate too hard. This picture was similar to the first, but the colors of the dots were different, as was the pattern. Alex wiped away the sweat that dripped into his eyes, which made him have to start over. “Crud,” he muttered.

  The girl rested her hand on Alex’s arm and gave him a stern look. He took a deep breath and relaxed. “I know,” he said. “I know.” He closed his eyes and focused his thoughts on being calm. Then he started again.

  After a few minutes, something wavered before his eyes, and then it turned cloudy. Without warning, Sky pulled the magnifying glass from Alex’s hand and started blowing into the mansion with all her might.

  Alex, startled, was mad. “What? I almost had it!”

  She spoke with her hands furiously fast, even though Alex couldn’t understand what she was saying. Then she jabbed her finger at a black spot on the wall of Mr. Today’s office just below the picture Alex had been focusing on. It was a scorch mark. Alex sniffed and smelled smoke.

  “Oh,” he said. “Wow. I almost burned the place down.”

  Sky rolled her eyes and pointed down to the roof of the shack.

  “Go inside the shack?” Alex guessed.

  Sky answered by leading the way down the statue.

  Inside, on the floor of the little kitchen, they found an unoccupied niche in which to sit. Once their eyes adjusted to the difference in lighting, Alex tried again. This time it took only a few moments for the dots to start swimming around. Alex strained to hold the connection, and soon enough, letters popped out into space, danced, and then formed another word. This time, the word was “BELIEVE.”

  “ ‘Believe!’ ” Alex whispered to the girl. She nodded excitedly and prodded him to go to the next one. He did, and a few minutes later, he had deciphered the third: “COMMENCE.”

  Alex said the words in his head several times so that he wouldn’t forget, and he said them to Sky as well so that she could memorize them. He chose a new picture and soon he had his fourth word: “IMAGINE.” When he had that one, he glanced at the Silent girl. “Which one haven’t I done?” he asked, his voice pitching high with nerves. He didn’t want to waste any time by doing any of them more than once, but he’d been too shocked and excited at the beginning to keep track of where he’d started.

  She pointed to the one in the middle.

  Alex grinned. Sky was amazing, he thought. No wonder she’d been to able escape from Warbler. “You are the best,” he said.

  She nodded.

  Alex laughed softly. He loved that she knew she was smart and clever. He turned back to the miniature and trained the glass on the middle picture. He was getting quite good at it now, and within moments the last one jumped to life. “ ‘WHISPER,’ ” he whispered.

  Alex scanned the other walls of the office to see if there were any more dot pictures. When he was quite certain there weren’t, he said all the words alo
ud. “Breathe, believe, commence, imagine, whisper.” He pulled Mr. Today’s spell from his pocket once more and read it through silently.

  Follow the dots as the traveling sun,

  Magnify, focus, every one.

  Stand enrobed where you first saw me,

  Utter in order; repeat times three.

  With every line, Alex’s heart pounded faster. He’d found the dots, magnified, focused on all the pictures, he had the robe . . . Now all he had to do was figure out what the sun had to do with the dots, and remember where he first saw Mr. Today, then say the words in order three times, and Artimé would be back.

  He looked at Sky. “We’re so close,” he whispered, and he could feel the intensity about to burst through his veins. He stared at the first line. “The traveling sun . . . ” He pressed his fingers to his temples. “How does the sun travel?” he asked himself. “Actually, it doesn’t travel,” he mused, having read about it in the library once. “It only appears to.” He shook his head. “No, too technical. This is simpler than that. How does the sun appear to travel? In a line. In the sky.” He mumbled a bit more, thinking aloud. “Wait.” His eyes sprang open. He grabbed the mini mansion and turned it. “This is the way it sat on the property,” he muttered, placing it just so and looking over his shoulder out the window to make sure he had his bearings. “The sun travels from east to west. So that means . . . if Mr. Today’s office stands like this, which it does, or it would if the mansion were here, the first picture if we follow the sun is the one on the east end of the wall. So, that one. ‘Imagine,’ wasn’t it?”

  Sky nodded with enthusiasm. She pointed her forefinger to her temple, then fluttered her fingers like a bird, stretching her arm away, teaching him her silent word for it.

  “Cool,” Alex said, delighted. “Okay, so ‘imagine’ is the first word, and then we go in order to the west. Does that sound right to you?” Alex asked.

  Sky agreed, and pointed at the pictures in that order. Then she went back and pointed to the second one. She looked up at Alex, as if willing him to say the right one. She made fists and brought them together, knuckles to knuckles in front of her, then pulled them to her chest.

  Alex took a deep breath, thinking back. “ ‘Believe,’ ” he said. He imitated the word in her language, bringing his fists together.

  Sky smiled and pointed to the one in the middle, then held a finger to her lips. “ ‘Whisper,’ ” Alex said with confidence.

  She moved her finger to the fourth one.

  Alex looked at it. His mind drew a blank. “Um . . . crud.”

  Sky shook her head in mock disgust, a wide grin on her face. She put her hand on Alex’s chest, pressed gently, then released.

  “Oh! That one is ‘breathe.’ ” He flashed her a sheepish smile. He had such trouble remembering that word sometimes. “And that means the last one is ‘commence.’ Right?”

  Sky rolled her hand in the air, doing the sign for it, then clapped her hands.

  “Okay. Help me remember the order.” He glanced back at the clue and frowned. “Stand enrobed where . . . ,” he said, trailing off. “Hmm.” He scrambled to his feet and looked around. “Where’s Meghan?”

  Where You First Saw Me

  Alex didn’t see Meghan anywhere near Henry and Crow or among the fifty or so other sleeping Unwanteds inside the shack. He weaved through the people on the floor and slipped outside, Sky following him. Together they ran, zigzagging through the crowded property.

  “Alex!” someone shouted. “We’re out of water!”

  Alex felt his stomach churn at the words he’d been dreading, but this time a wave of hope followed it. “Okay!” he shouted back. “I’m working on it. Don’t panic!”

  Three others tried to stop him with the same complaint, but Alex hurriedly thanked them for the information and explained that he was working on it. Finally Alex and Sky found Meghan on the sand at the water’s edge, sorting through the collection of shells, seaweed, branches, and tiny fish in a net.

  “Meg!” Alex said, breathless. “I think we almost have it!” He and Sky slid to a stop at Meghan’s feet, chests heaving, throats parched.

  Meghan’s eyes widened. “Well?” she mouthed. She gripped Alex’s arm.

  “We’ve got the dots, the rising sun part, everything! Except I don’t know where we first saw Mr. Today. That day was so crazy. I remember the bus, and walking in and seeing the Eliminators,” he said, shuddering. “But the sight of them about put me into a coma. Everything after that is a little fuzzy, with Jim and the world swirling around. Was Mr. Today at the gate with Jim? Do you remember? Please say you do.” Alex pressed his lips together.

  Meghan’s face grew thoughtful. She looked at the sky for a long moment as Alex tried not to rush her. Her brows knitted together, and she ran her finger over the thorns around her neck, as if that helped her concentrate. She closed her eyes and let out a breath of impatience. Not only was it difficult for Meghan to think back to that frightening moment, but also it was so incredibly frustrating not being able to speak, especially when speaking was crucial to helping Alex get Artimé back.

  She pictured the moment they’d shuffled into the Death Farm all shackled together. She saw the Eliminators coming toward the Unwanteds, their beady red eyes glowing, their black cloaks dragging on the ground as they walked. She remembered her heart pounding, her breath stopped in her lungs as she awaited the end. She remembered her surprise when the Eliminators stopped and turned to look at the sky, and then Jim landed. She remembered how agonizingly slowly he spoke when he called out for Mr. Today.

  Meghan’s eyes flew open. She grabbed Alex’s and Sky’s arms and tugged at them to follow as she ran toward the gray shack, straight to the door that faced the gate, where Mr. Today had first appeared, his shock of brilliant white hair standing on end, his bright-colored robe, his gentle words.

  When she reached the spot just outside the door, she stopped and pointed to the ground below her feet, and nodded.

  “Here?” Alex asked. He scratched his head. “I thought he came from the seaside door and walked the along the path around the shack.”

  Meghan shook her head, her eyes flaring, her lips moving at great speed, scolding him without making a sound.

  “Okay, okay,” Alex said. “I’m sorry. You’re right.” It was horrible to watch Meghan trying to ream him out and being unable to. It was worse than being reamed out the old way. But he didn’t have time to think about it now. He took a deep breath, attempting to remember the words and their order. “Ready, guys?”

  Sky grabbed her head in frustration. She waved her arms, calling it off. Then she feigned putting on a . . . a coat?

  Alex frowned, and then his face cleared. “Oh. Geez! The robe. I’m an idiot. Hold on a minute.” But Meghan held out her hands, telling him to stay put. She flung the door open and ran inside the shack. A moment later she was back with the robe. From the doorway, she made Alex twirl around so she could help him put the robe on. It was a bit too long, a bit too wide, but it draped nicely.

  Alex took another deep breath as he looked first at Meghan to his right in the doorway, then at Sky on the other side of him. He nodded. “Ready.”

  Sky nodded back, touched her finger to her temple and fluttered her fingers away from her head to remind him.

  Alex felt faint. But he began nevertheless. “Imagine.” The word wavered a bit in his throat but it seemed clear enough, so he continued. “Believe.”

  And then he paused. “No, wait. I need to start over.”

  Repeat Times Three

  Meghan rolled her eyes. Sky raised a brow.

  “I think I need to do more than say the words,” Alex explained. “I need to act them out in my head, like when I made the hospital wing. I bet that’s what Mr. Today did when he first created Artimé.”

  So he closed his eyes and imagined Artimé, the way it had been, the way he wanted it to be again. His hands reached out to include the entire plot of land. “Imagine,” he s
aid in a soft voice, picturing it all, room by room, the lawn with the fountains, the trees, the creatures. When he was certain he’d imagined it all, he went on.

  “Believe.” He believed with all his heart that Artimé could exist again. Believed that when he was finished with the spell and he opened his eyes, it would be there.

  “Whisper.” Alex imagined Mr. Today whispering these words over the desolate plot of land so many years ago, calling it to live a new, vibrant life, and he realized that he’d been whispering the words all along.

  “Breathe.” Alex took in a deep, satisfying breath and let it out slowly. He didn’t forget it this time. He pictured himself breathing life into the world, giving it the air it needed to flourish once again.

  And then: “Commence.” The command to make it all happen. The beginning of everything.

  Alex waited a moment, and very nearly opened his eyes before he remembered the clue. Utter in order, repeat times three. Hoping he hadn’t messed anything up, he began the second round and went through the five words in order, all the while imagining, believing, whispering, breathing, and commencing with all his might.

  When he finished the second round, he started one last time, his voice remaining soft. “Imagine. Believe. Whisper. Breathe.” He hesitated, swallowing hard, before the last one. And finally: “Commence.”

  Nothing happened. All was deathly silent.

  Alex remained very still, eyes closed, arms outstretched, feeling a sort of calmness inside him that he hadn’t felt ever before. It almost seemed like he was beginning to float, peacefully alone in the world.

  And then something did happen. The light through his closed lids grew pinkish-white, bright, and soon lights swirled around him, faster and faster, with colors joining in and growing stronger. He opened his eyes just as the land in front of him turned a luscious green and, with a great rumble, the enormous fountain broke through the ground, spewing up from the earth, the growing expanse of lawn rippling and resettling around it. The land spread farther, making Unwanteds along the shore lose their footing and tumble to the ground. Trees popped up to dot the lawn and form the jungle on the opposite side of Artimé. The gray shack spun and grew into the enormous mansion once again. The heat dissipated in an instant, and a cool breeze rushed in from the sea.