“Perhaps you’d like to explain.”
Alex nodded. “It’s easy, really. You’re immortal. If you’re the mage of Artimé and you can’t die, then Artimé will never disappear again like it did when you—” He stopped abruptly. “When you killed Mr. Today.” He grimaced, and for an instant he thought he truly must have lost his mind to offer the head mage position to the person who had killed the very man who had created the magical world.
Aaron stared. He shook his head.
“Plus, to be honest, you’re a stronger mage than I am, so you’d do well in the position in case you’d need to take it on long term.”
“Wait. Stop.” Aaron put up his hand to argue, but Alex waved him down.
“No, I’m serious,” Alex said. “I’ve known it for a while—I just didn’t like it all that much. But it’s true. You’re better at magic than most of us. All of us, maybe. And you have leadership skills—just look at how you handle the people of Quill.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” said Aaron. But his eyes flickered, and his mind began to whir.
“No,” said Alex, “I’m being unselfish for the sake of Artimé. Picture it: If the pirates kill me, Artimé will disappear until Lani or Claire has a chance to get to the shack, stand on the step with a robe . . .” He shook his head. “That spell is quite complicated, and if we’re in the midst of battle, no one’s magic will work until the world is brought back. And I doubt the pirates are going to sit idly by, waiting for Lani or Claire to do all the rigmarole, ‘repeat times three,’ et cetera, and for the magic to start working again. Anyone doing such an obvious thing will be tackled too, in an instant. And then what? Artimé will be defenseless if the mages keep dying. And it’s not just Artimé now—it’s all of Quill, too, that will disappear, leaving the Wanteds and Necessaries with no place to hide.”
“Why not just appoint Claire or Lani now? So they don’t have to restore the world?”
“The same thing will happen if they die fighting. That’s why it’s got to be you, don’t you see?”
“Hide them away, then.”
“No way. They’re both way too strong, and both team leaders. I can’t spare either one. We’re going to need everyone fighting who is willing to fight.” He knit his brow. “Plus, Artimé doesn’t hide.”
Aaron sat dumbfounded. He turned and looked back over the water, thinking. It all made sense. But him, the head mage of Artimé? Even temporarily, what sort of uproar would that cause? He turned abruptly to look at Alex. “It won’t work. No one will allow it. You know that well enough. Simber, Claire, Carina, Samheed—they’d throw me over the waterfall before they’d let me wear a robe in Artimé.”
Alex grew troubled. “True,” he said. He thought for a long moment. “But remember what Ishibashi said? He said not to tell anyone about the immortality. We don’t want the news of the power of the seaweed to get into the wrong hands. We need to keep this information between us—at least for now. Since we can’t explain why we’re doing this, we won’t actually tell anyone. We’ll make the transition a secret.”
“A secret?”
“Yes. And if I don’t die, I’ll just take the position of head mage back again after we win the battle, and no one will ever know. But in case I do, Artimé won’t disappear. I’ll appoint you tonight—I’ll give you a robe and everything, just in case. Keep it with you, but don’t wear it unless you hear of my death.”
A myriad of emotions filled Aaron—more than he’d ever let himself feel before. Anger and fear came out first. “You’re not going to die,” he said. “Stop talking like that!”
“Aaron, please. I’ve been in enough battles to know people die—even the ones you wouldn’t expect to. As the leader of Artimé, I have to be practical. Don’t you see?” He gripped Aaron’s shoulder. “Say you’ll do this. I need you to. For Artimé.”
Aaron sighed, exasperated. He pulled away and walked to the front of the boat, letting the cool spray of the sea hit his face, his skin. He didn’t know what to think. He didn’t want to picture his brother dying. He didn’t want to think about what Claire and Carina and Samheed and all the others would do or say if it happened—would they believe Alex had given him control? He doubted it. Simber would no doubt eat him immediately.
As if Alex could read his mind, he called out to Aaron, “I’ll give you a letter of proof that explains everything so you can show the others. It’ll be in my handwriting. Simber will know I mean it. He’ll help you if I ask him to. So don’t worry about that.”