Aaron’s team members crouched behind rocks and buildings, and when Ms. Morning signaled to her team to move, Aaron did the same to his.
Together they ran toward the melee from opposite sides, components drawn, and when the pirates turned to see Claire’s team emerging from the sea, Aaron raised his dagger in the air. “Now!” he cried. With his other hand he flung three heart attack components at the biggest pirate near Kaylee. Wings sprouted from the heart-shaped components and they flew straight and true, and struck the pirate in the back. His body jerked, and then his sword fell from his hands, and he hit the ground.
Everyone in Aaron’s and Claire’s teams dove into the fray. Aaron sent off another round of heart attack spells, hitting the next pirate near Kaylee, and then he did it once more, striking a third, his pockets emptying rapidly. Kaylee, realizing what was happening, focused on the fourth pirate. She kicked the woman’s shield aside and stabbed her sword into the pirate’s ample girth. Aaron saw it happen, and sent a single scatterclip flying at the pirate to finish her off, crying, “Die a thousand deaths!”
The woman fell, and all of Kaylee’s opponents were down. Kaylee wiped the sweat from her forehead and took a breath or two before continuing on. Aaron pivoted and began to work on the next group of pirates. Soon out of heart attack components, Aaron switched to scatterclips.
The other Artiméans were quickly running out of their strongest components as well. The battle raged on, though the numbers grew to be much more even than they had been. With few components left, the Artiméans made use of the swords and shields strewn about, with varying degrees of success—some had never touched a sword until that moment, while others had taken several classes with Mr. Appleblossom. Still they struggled to fend off the remaining pirates, with Kaylee and Sky taking point and Claire consistently firing noncomponent spells until her concentration was shattered by lack of sleep and the intensity of the battle. But their efforts paid off, and the pirates dropped one by one.
Out of components, but armed with his immortality and swift healing, Aaron valiantly threw himself in front of several of his comrades in danger, taking the brunt of many swords and saving a few lives in the process. He cringed and fought off the pain, and checked to make sure the wounds were shedding little blood and closing up as swiftly as the first one had. They were.
Momentum grew on the side of Artimé, and finally the last of the pirates dropped. The north-side Artiméan teams had prevailed, but barely. There was little celebration. Everyone was exhausted, and no one noticed that Charlie the gargoyle had been waving from the boat for the past thirty minutes to try to get the attention of anyone who could understand him.
Finally, as Sky limped to the sea to wash the blood off her hands and face, she saw the gargoyle and signed back to him.
Charlie went on a tear, signing desperately, but Sky knew the language well and followed it all. After a quick response, she turned to the ragged crew of Artiméans.
“Everyone!” Sky shouted, her voice crackling with dust and fear. “We have to hurry! The head pirate, Captain Baldhead, is attempting to take over the mansion. He has hundreds of pirates still coming ashore!”
A Solemn Discussion
The remaining members of the teams of Aaron, Liam, Gunnar, Sky, Kaylee, Carina, and Claire counted off. There were fewer than fifty of them in good enough shape to continue fighting. Several squirrelicorns circled above them, waiting for instructions.
Claire took everyone’s canteens to the boat just offshore to refill them from the fountain. “I can take ten of you with me,” said Claire, handing the full ones to one of her team members to distribute. “We’ll go east around the jungle side of the island to the lagoon so we won’t be seen, and then we can attack from that end of the lawn. The rest of you will have to cross the island on foot. We’re exactly straight across the island from the mansion right now—it shouldn’t take you too long to get there. Then, if our timing is right, we can do the same thing we did here and attack from multiple directions.”
Aaron frowned. “We need more components.” He called out to a squirrelicorn. “Can you find a way to get us some spell components? I know Alex has sacks of them in his living quarters. Maybe you can figure out a way to get up there and bring them to us.”
“Yes, sir!” said the squirrelicorn. “There’s a hole in the side of the mansion that leads right into Alex’s living quarters. Two of us can go. We’ll deliver the ammunition to you before you arrive there.”
“A hole in the mansion?” said Sky, eyes wide. “I’m afraid to know what else has happened.”
Carina gave the squirrelicorn a grim smile. “That’s perfect. Thank you,” she said. “Scout out the situation and let us know if we should take a different approach.”