“Jump now, the Alex!” cried Spike.
“She’s not dead yet!” Alex screamed. He couldn’t feel his left arm. He dove for the sword, retrieved it with his right hand and swung, hitting Queen Eagala awkwardly, just hard enough to throw her off balance.
“Jump now, the Alex!” said Spike again, more insistent this time.
Alex frowned and tried gripping the sword with both hands for a final swing, but his left arm wasn’t working at all. He couldn’t hold it.
“JUMP NOW, THE ALEX!” shouted Spike.
Alex stopped questioning Spike. He threw the sword in Eagala’s face and kicked her in the stomach, giving himself enough time to dive blindly over the side of the ship. He sucked in a breath, landed in the water, and sank down, all the while hoping that Simber was on his way to finish the job.
With his good arm, he pulled himself to the surface, and soon Spike was pushing him up and sliding him onto her back. When Alex broke the surface, he opened his eyes and twisted around to see Eagala cackling madly above him. It was all he could do to stare in horrified silence.
And that’s when he heard it.
And that’s when he saw it.
The pirate ship was whispering. It began tugging against the anchor.
Alex’s eyes widened. The ship was whispering. Alex knew the story behind that now—it only whispered when someone on board had died, and then it automatically headed home to the Island of Fire. To the volcano island that randomly spewed fire, then plunged under the surface of the ocean, dragging everything nearby it into its watery, cavernous mouth.
“It says it wants to go home now,” said Spike, who could understand all languages, apparently even the language of ships.
“I know!” said Alex. “Oh, Spike, this is perfect! Can you break the anchor chain?”
“Yes, I can,” said Spike. She swam over to it, slid the point of her faux diamond–encrusted spike into a link, and began sawing back and forth. After a moment the chain snapped. The ship lurched and began heading in the direction of the pirate island.
“There it goes,” said Alex, gripping his useless arm, almost mad with joy.
On board, Queen Eagala’s laughter died in her throat. “What’s happening?” she cried out. “Where is this ship taking me? Who’s driving this thing?” She ran over to the ship’s wheel and tried to steer, but that didn’t affect its direction. The ship had a mission that it had to complete, and it wouldn’t change course for anything—Alex and all of Artimé knew that well enough.
As the ship grew smaller, Alex watched with giddy satisfaction. He wasn’t worried about her jumping overboard. She couldn’t swim. She’d ride that ship all the way down into the volcano, and then be covered by tons and tons of water. “Good-bye, Queen Eagala,” he said, holding his lifeless arm closer to him, trying to ignore the increasing pain in his shoulder. “Not gonna miss you.”
After a moment the giant squid surfaced next to Spike.
Spike spoke to it in a strange language, and then the squid disappeared.
“What was that about?” asked Alex. “And how did you get the ship to rock so much? Did you do that all by yourself?”
“No,” said Spike. “I called to the squid underwater so nobody would hear, and she came to help me.”
“That was so smart of you,” Alex said. He grimaced with pain, and readjusted his body to take the pressure off his arm. “And did you know I didn’t really want you to go get the Warbler people?”
“Oh yes,” said Spike. “I am intuitive. And you have taught me your different voices. The voice you used was not your voice of truth.”
Alex smiled and shook his head, amazed by the creature he’d created. “And where did the squid go now?”
“He is giving Queen Eagala a little push to help her along and to make sure she arrives at her destination. The squid knows all about the workings of the volcano after being trapped in the aquarium for so long.”
Alex marveled once more. “Thank you, Spike. You never stop amazing me.”
“You are welcome, the Alex. I am just doing the job you gave me.”
“Well, I have one more job for you,” said Alex wearily.
“Taking you home,” said Spike.
Alex’s voice grew faint. “Yes, please.”
So Much to Do
When Spike dropped Alex off in Artimé, the mage gathered up his strength and stumbled ashore. He stopped and looked at the island. It was a disaster. The mansion was in ruins. The lawn was a mess with very little grass left, and all of Henry’s greenhouse plants were destroyed. The fountain was dismantled and water sprayed everywhere. And Issie the sea monster roamed the land, calling out in her strange, forlorn voice.
Pan floated in the water next to the Island of Legends with her children, all coiled up, teaching them to use their tails to fish as dusk gathered around them. Alex lifted his good hand to the great dragon in thanks for her help. The dragons had saved them.