The Journey to Dragon Island Page 16

  She didn’t look at Brine, thank goodness, because Brine wasn’t sure she could answer if anyone spoke to her. Cassie’s voice seemed to come from the other side of the world.

  “We’re not leaving you here,” said Peter in her ear. “We’ll blow the volcano and hatch the eggs and then you can tell Kaya you’re not staying. Cassie won’t let you stay.”

  “Cassie won’t have any choice,” Brine muttered. She’d made Kaya a promise, and she couldn’t go back on that. When this was over, the Onion would sail away and Brine would stay here. Never sail on the open sea again, never hear Ewan Hughes singing when he thought no one was listening or suffer Trudi’s recipe experiments. Never argue with Peter or laugh with Tom.

  Boswell butted into her from behind. She bent to pick him up and buried her face in his scales, feeling her tears trickle down over him. She wasn’t doing this for Kaya, she thought: She was doing it for Boswell and for the four dragons yet unhatched. She’d be saving the dragons, and losing everything else.

  Possibly even her mind.

  CHAPTER 27

  Reality turns into stories all the time. There are stories about Orion the mariner and Orion the dragon. Stories about Cassie O’Pia and the Onion. Can it work the other way around? Can a story gain so much life, so much magic, that it becomes real?

  (from THOMAS GIRLING’S BOOK OF PIRATING ADVENTURES)

  The usual excitement Peter felt when using magic was missing as he prepared to take Cerro, Stella, and the group of children to the village. Brine was leaving the Onion. It was all he could think of.

  Then do something about it, Marfak West’s voice rang in his mind. You’re the magician: You think of something.

  Peter wished he could. He’d stay here with Brine, of course, and keep her safe from Kaya. It was an odd thing, though—he’d thought of leaving the Onion before, but he’d never realized how much he would miss the ship and her crew.

  “Are you just going to stand there?” asked Stella. The children were gathered around her, staring blankly into space. Cerro waited behind, leaning on his crutches. Once Kaya had explained how the healstones would make him sleep, Cerro had refused to use them until he knew everyone was safe.

  Peter pulled his thoughts away from the Onion. One thing at a time, he reminded himself. First save the eggs, then the island, and then Brine.

  He drew magic into his hand and let it spread out around them all. The castle blurred and vanished, and the next moment they were standing in the middle of the village. Marapi was bearing down on them, her face twisted with fury.

  “We’re back,” said Cerro. “Before you start screeching, we need to talk.”

  Peter quietly magicked himself back to the castle. Cerro and Marapi would have to sort things out between themselves, he thought.

  Given the chance, he’d have found somewhere quiet to sit, but Tom was waiting for him on the castle battlements and Peter had to appear pleased to see him even though he felt like he had a rock in his stomach.

  “Where’s Brine?” he asked.

  Tom looked like he had swallowed several rocks himself. “With Kaya. And Cassie and Ewan are making plans, so I thought I’d come out here. Boswell needed some air.” He pointed to where the little dragon was bounding about excitedly, taking off into the air every time they heard a teradon call.

  “Why isn’t he taking magic from the castle?” Tom asked.

  “He probably is. It doesn’t really matter now.”

  Peter watched as the dragon soared into the sky. He was outgrowing them, Peter thought, and it was a good thing, even though it hurt to think about it.

  Tom hunched into his library robe. “Do you really think we can do this? Save the island and hatch the eggs?”

  “We have to,” Peter replied.

  If they failed, Orion’s Keep would be the only thing standing between the island and several tons of molten rock. And without the dragon eggs, the only source of magic was Brine.

  “We’ll do it,” said Peter, more firmly. “And then, when the Onion leaves, Brine and I will stay and look after the new dragons.”

  He didn’t ask Tom if he’d stay, too, because he knew Tom wouldn’t.

  Tom was a bit like the messenger gulls at Barnard’s Reach—caged up in the library, all he’d wanted was to escape into the world, but now that he was flying free, part of him would always want to return home.

  Tom took off his glasses and polished them furiously. “Let’s not think about later. Anything could happen.”

  Then Peter saw Brine and his heart jumped. She’d changed out of her usual sailor clothes and was wearing a dress. Kaya must have found it for her. It was a mix of faded yellow and blue stripes, and the long skirt seemed to be mostly lace and holes.

  Peter stood up quickly. “You look, um…”

  “I look stupid,” she said. She tried to smile, but her lips trembled. “Kaya said I ought to dress like a lady. Even Cassie doesn’t wear this much lace.” She tugged awkwardly at the skirt. “You can tell me I’m wrong if you like.”

  Peter shook his head. “No, you’re right. Even Cassie doesn’t wear that much lace.”

  She punched him.

  “You know what I mean. I made him a promise. I can’t just go breaking promises. Anyway, this is my home.” She heaved a sigh. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not.” Peter pulled his face into a grin even though it felt like something was breaking inside. “You got me into all this, and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

  “Oshima,” Kaya called from the doorway. “I need you.”

  Brine sighed. “I’d better go see what he wants. Can we talk later?”

  “Of course,” said Peter. It already felt like there was a distance between them. He sat back down and wrapped his arms around his knees. After a while, Boswell flapped down and set fire to his shoes. Tom halfheartedly patted out the flames.

  Cassie put her head out of a door. “What are you two talking about?”

  “Nothing much,” said Peter. “When are we going to do this?”

  She thought for a moment. “At sunrise. Dawn is the traditional time of day for death-defying adventure.”

  CHAPTER 28

  Though dread Marfak’s Peak is preparing to wreak

  Destruction most awful and dire,

  Yet never you fear, for Cassie O’Pia

  Will save you from lava and fire.

  (from THE BALLAD OF CASSIE O’PIA, Verse 317, Author Unknown)

  The sky was only just turning light. Stella’s balloon tugged impatiently at the ropes mooring it against the castle battlements. Brine stood and watched it while Peter, Tom, and Stella swapped stories around her. They were trying to cheer her up, Brine thought, and she wished they wouldn’t. She didn’t feel like being cheered up right now. Even the sight of Boswell setting fire to Peter didn’t help.

  “Cerro and Marapi had the most tremendous row yesterday,” said Stella. “Cerro wanted to take everyone to the coast and Marapi wouldn’t listen. You’d think it was Cerro’s fault that Marfak is going to erupt. They yelled at each other for ages, and then Cerro said he was going to the coast and people could either come with him or stay with Marapi. So now the village is split. About a quarter of them left.”

  Brine had been secretly hoping that everyone would have gone with Cerro. “How is your brother?” she asked. “Are the children getting their memories back now that they’re out of the castle?”

  “Not yet. Cerro tried using the healstones on Ren, and they did nothing. He still won’t use them on his legs. He said he’ll sleep when the island is safe, or when he’s dead—whichever comes first. This is so typical of my father—he rushes into things without thinking, and half the time he causes more trouble than he solves.”

  “He’s just like Cassie, you mean,” said Brine, and for a moment she was able to smile. “Cassie tried to sell me and Peter once because she thought we’d be better off living on a rich island than on the Onion. And then she went sailing off to Magical No
rth because her worst enemy dared her to.”

  “And she took me off Barnard’s Reach because Brine told her to,” said Tom.

  Stella laughed. “Maybe Dad and Cassie should get together?”

  “Not going to happen,” Ewan Hughes interrupted.

  “But—” Stella fell silent.

  Ewan gave them all a stare that lasted half a minute, then nodded as if he’d just won the argument and stamped away.

  Stella gazed after him. “Is he in love with Cassie?”

  Brine had never even thought about it. Now that she did, she noticed how Ewan was never more than two steps away from Cassie, always watching her in case she needed him.

  Peter shook his head and laughed. “Cassie’s only in love with the Onion.”

  Brine supposed he was right. She knew how Cassie felt because she loved the Onion, too, and every time she remembered that she was never going to see the ship again, it felt like a sword had gone through her.

  Don’t think, she reminded herself. Or, at least think about the stories if the plan succeeds. Because if she thought about what would happen to her if the plan didn’t work, she would be tempted to give up now.

  Just then, Kaya, Hiri, and Ebeko came onto the battlements. Kaya carried the four dragon eggs in a basket of sand, and he wore an expression Brine had never seen before. The deep lines of tiredness around his eyes and mouth had gone. When he caught Brine’s gaze, he smiled. He looked almost free, she thought with surprise.

  Boswell went mad, roaring and blowing flames, turning frantic somersaults in the air until Peter caught him.

  “How long until the castle begins to fall?” he asked.

  Kaya laughed. “I have no idea. I’ve never done this before. An hour at most, I’d guess. Hiri and Ebeko will take everyone down to the island. Brine and I will stay here until the end, in case we need to maintain the castle.”

  Cassie strolled out behind him. “One hour until everything falls apart or blows up,” she said. “It could be worse. Ewan and I will stay here with you, in case you need help.”

  Her gaze hardened as she looked at Kaya, and Brine recognized the silent message. Betray us, it said, and you will be sorrier than you can possibly imagine.

  Brine didn’t know whether Kaya got the message, but he said nothing. Turning away from Cassie, he gestured to Hiri and Ebeko, and the three of them walked away, joining the group of castle guards and servants who were gathering on the battlements. A staff flared with magic and two people vanished.

  “Tom,” called Hiri. “Your turn.”

  Tom stepped back. “I’ll wait until Brine leaves.”

  Brine squeezed his hand, grateful to him for staying, though wishing the magi would hurry up so they could get this over with.

  Stella swung herself into the basket, and Peter handed her the dragon eggs. Then Peter hugged Brine quickly. “See you on the ground.”

  He climbed into the basket and Stella cut through the rope that strained from balloon to battlement.

  The balloon began to rise at once. Boswell shrieked and flapped after them.

  “Send him back!” shouted Brine.

  “I can’t. I’m sorry. We’ll see you…” The rest of his words were lost as the balloon was swept away.

  “Wait!” Brine cried, but her voice was swept away as well. Tears filled her eyes. “I was going to say good luck!”

  “You can say well done when they’re finished,” said Cassie, gazing out after the balloon. “I guess now we wait and see what happens.”

  Kaya took Brine’s hand. “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “Sorry about what?” asked Brine as the castle vanished around them.

  The next moment, Brine found herself standing on the deck of the Onion.

  CHAPTER 29

  I must go into the sky again, though I don’t want to go,

  When all I have is a patched-up balloon and a basket hung below,

  And the cold wind and the hot fire, and the mountain shaking,

  And I cannot shift the constant dread that the ropes are breaking.

  I must go into the sky again, though I fear this won’t go well,

  Sustained with hope of dragons and the stories we will tell.

  And all I ask is a balloon that holds and keeps on flying,

  And a weak spot on the mountainside and us not dying.

  I must go into the sky again, above the rolling sea,

  And all I ask is for dinosaurs to stay away from me.

  And a low breeze and a calm flight and a victory splendid,

  And a long sleep for a week at least when this is ended.

  (from THE SKY’S THE LIMIT by Peter Magus)

  The lurching basket had been bad enough before. Peter had been afraid he was going to die. This time, he was afraid he wouldn’t and he’d have to live through the next hour in stomach-jolting misery.

  He put his hand on the box of dragon eggs to keep it steady. Boswell’s egg had been so cold, it had stripped the skin from his hands. These eggs were hot. The flecks of gold in the sand were starting to blur together and a coil of smoke rose.

  “Better hurry,” said Peter. Much longer and the eggs might burn through their bed of sand, through the box, through the basket, and send them all plummeting to the ground. He put his hands in his pockets, feeling the pieces of starshell there. He’d taken as many as he could carry, and his trousers would probably fall apart soon, which was a more embarrassing problem.

  Marfak’s Peak rushed up beneath them, a black cone spewing smoke into the sky while, high above, the castle teetered. The cloud it had rested on was already starting to thin. Cassie was with them, Peter reminded himself. Cassie would make sure everyone got out safely.

  Then the balloon swung around, racing on until they were over the sea. Peter took a long look at the sapphire waves and the Onion waiting offshore. He wished he knew what was happening on board right now.

  He moved back from the eggs as the heat coming off them was making him sweat, and he took a piece of starshell out of his pocket. “I’m going to cast a finding spell to look for a weak point on the volcano. Once you get us there, you’ll need to hold the balloon as steady as you can while I hit the spot with magic. The force of the blast will throw us backward, and I don’t want us to crash into the sea. Then once we’re sure the volcano is erupting out to sea, we’ll land the balloon and I’ll hatch the eggs.”

  The balloon wobbled. Stella pulled on a rope and they steadied. “You really mean to hatch the eggs?”

  “Of course. What else would I do?”

  She shrugged and pushed her hair back. “Kaya would have kept them for himself. You saw his face, didn’t you? He didn’t want to give up that much magic. With those eggs, you’d be the most powerful magus alive.”

  “I don’t want to be the most powerful magician alive; I want there to be dragons.” The truth of it hit Peter and made him smile. Take that, Marfak West, he thought, I’ll never be like you. “This will be easy,” he said. “I’m not going to let Marfak erupt over the island. The dragons will need somewhere to live once they hatch.”

  “Do you care about anything apart from dragons?” asked Stella, smiling. “Come on, then. Let’s do this. You see that rope by your head? Grab it and pull it toward me.”

  Having something to do helped. Peter followed Stella’s instructions and avoided looking down. Every so often he caught sight of the Onion, still waiting, and the sight opened up an empty space inside him. He was saving the dragons only to leave them here with Brine. This island, with its mountains and forests, and its gold-filled sand for nesting, was exactly right for them.

  Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad living here. Cassie could even come back to visit, and the island would have new stories to hear of the Onion’s adventures.

  “Peter,” said Stella.

  Peter looked up and saw dark shapes coming toward them. Teradons.

  CHAPTER 30

  Necessity is the mother of invention, and the father of evil. Sometimes, i
t is easier to do the kind thing or the good thing, but we must always do what is necessary.

  (from RECORDS OF ORION’S KEEP— First Magus Belen Kaya)

  Brine turned a slow circle, trying to believe what she was seeing. She was back on the Onion. Around the ship, the crew stood as still as statues while the castle servants and guards waited quietly. Hiri and Ebeko stood in the middle of the deck.

  “What’s going on?” asked Brine.

  The air shimmered beside her and Kaya appeared. Brine swung around. “Kaya, what’s happening? You said you couldn’t send us straight to the Onion. You said you needed a movestone at each end.”

  “We do have a movestone at each end,” said Kaya. He walked across to Tim Burre, who was standing stiff and still, and took something out of the pirate’s hand.

  Ewan Hughes’s voice came out of it, tiny and distorted. “Anyone? Can anyone hear me?”

  “Ewan!” cried Brine. She started forward, but Kaya tossed the stone to Ebeko.

  “The speakstone I sent back with your friends also had a movespell engraved into it,” he said. “I thought I might need a way to get onto the ship, and it turned out I was right.”

  “But why are we even on the ship?” asked Brine. “We should be back at the castle. You need me there in case Peter fails.” She reached out to take his hand, but Kaya drew back and then limped slowly away from her.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, not looking at her. “There’s been a change of plan.”

  Brine felt a creeping chill up through her legs. Hiri stared down at the deck, his face ashamed, but Ebeko looked right at Brine and her face was filled with a spiteful triumph.

  “Orion’s Keep is finished,” Ebeko said. “Your friends saw to that. They forced us into a corner. We had no choice. Did you really think we’d abandon the castle and everything in it so we could live quietly on the island, answering to Cerro or Marapi? Your friends took our castle; we’re taking their ship.”