Pan bowed in return. “We shall never forget your kindness. Both of you.”
Aaron cleared his throat. “We should probably finish the job before you thank us,” he said. “Which one is next?”
“Yarbeck, the purple and gold,” said Pan. “And then Ivis, the green. Then we’ll do the males, Hux and Drock, after the females are done. I’ll help you bring the rest of the wings.”
While Arabis the orange experimented with moving her wings, Pan wrapped her tail around the boys and went back to the boat, returning a short time later with the other four sets. Over the course of the morning, all five young dragons received their magical appendages, and Alex and Aaron finished up their work getting only a tiny bit singed by Drock, the dark purple dragon, who seemed the most temperamental of the entire cylinder of dragons.
The dragons were clever, and soon Arabis and Yarbeck were managing to take short, awkward flights around the inside of the island. Pan left them to their antics. She brought Alex and Aaron back outside of the island and delivered them to their boat.
As she set them gently into the Claire and thanked them once more, Charlie exited the cabin and began signing to Alex.
Alex concentrated, trying to decipher Charlie’s sign language. “What is it?” he said. “Is something wrong? Slow down a bit, will you?”
Charlie began again, slower this time, and Alex followed along, mumbling a word or two under his breath. And then he relaxed a bit.
“What is it?” asked Aaron.
Pan’s eyes blazed with concern. “What’s happened?”
Alex put his hand in the air to reassure the dragon. “I don’t think there’s cause to worry,” he said. “A visitor has arrived on the shores of Artimé.”
Surprising News
What sort of visitor?” demanded Pan.
Charlie signed again.
When he finished, Alex looked up. “The unconscious sort,” he said. “This isn’t the first time it’s happened. Charlie says the folks at home are certain she’s an escapee from Warbler. She’s wearing rags and a thorn necklace, just like Sky and Crow were when they arrived on a raft.”
“I see,” said Pan, settling down. “Is she expected to survive?”
“I hope so,” said Alex. “Claire and Carina are working on her.”
Pan blinked slowly. “I wish her the best. Perhaps she can shed some light on the recent activities on Warbler.”
“We’ll pass that on,” said Alex. He turned to Charlie. “Did you get that?”
Charlie nodded.
Alex glanced at Aaron. “Ready?”
“Ready,” said Aaron. His stomach fluttered with excitement. He lifted a hand in farewell to Pan.
“Thank you,” Pan said to them. “You’ll never know the depth of my gratitude.”
“We’re glad we could help,” said Aaron.
Alex smiled at the dragon. “I’ll stop back to see you on my way home in case there’s news,” he said. And with that, the brothers were on their way to the Island of Shipwrecks.
? ? ? ?
The rest of the journey was uneventful. Alex was tired and fell asleep early, and Aaron stared out over the water in front of them, fretting about Panther and the jungle. Finally he decided he’d confess right before Alex left the Island of Shipwrecks. That way Aaron wouldn’t have to witness Alex’s disappointment for long.
With his mind finally settled, Aaron slept. They passed the Island of Graves without incident, and by morning they awoke to the sight of shipwrecks.
Aaron jumped to his feet and combed his hair with his fingers. Alex offered him breakfast, but Aaron was too nervous to eat. He strained to see if there was any movement on the island. Were the scientists still alive and healthy?
His fears were soon assuaged when he saw them emerge from behind the rocks, moving swiftly toward the shore to greet them.
Aaron sighed with relief and bounced on his toes, leaning forward over the bow, as Ishibashi lifted a hand to his eyes to shield the sun.
Alex shoved his hands in his pockets and glared at the water, trying to swallow the lump in his throat, and let the boat steer itself carefully around the wrecks and rocks near the shore. Soon they were within spitting distance, floating close enough to walk across a handful of rocks to the island. Before the boat stopped, Aaron hopped out and rushed across the rocky path toward the scientists. He caught the old men in a giant group embrace, almost knocking them down.
Alex lagged behind on the boat, heaving two sacks of the dirt they’d transported and bringing them onto the shore, then going back for more. He wanted to give Aaron a moment to catch up. He also selfishly wanted Aaron to feel sad about leaving him, but that didn’t seem to be happening. Alex was miserable, and Aaron seemed actually . . . joyful.