Alex knit his brow. “Like us?” He didn’t understand. “You mean like Unwanteds? I didn’t know we had a look.”
“No,” Lani said. “Like Henry and me. Most of them have our skin color, and, well, they just look like us.”
“A lot of the kids down there have straight black hair, like Lani and me,” Henry explained. “And many of the pirates we can see have blue eyes, like us. You know what I mean? Like they could be in our family.”
“Okay . . . ,” Alex said, still unsure why they needed to have a meeting about this. “Do you think you have relatives here too, who need rescuing? Is that what you’re saying?” If so, Alex was getting a bit tired of this rescue game.
“I—” Lani started to say, then paused, considering Alex’s question for a moment. “Well, I don’t know about that, but I just noticed the resemblance, and I said something to Sky about it. And she came up with a remarkable plan. Tell him, Sky.”
Sky’s orange eyes lit up. “Well, I was thinking, if Lani and Henry were willing, and if you didn’t think it was too dangerous, that maybe they could go inside disguised as some of the people who live here. They could find my mother and explain who they are, and then plot an escape out the fishing hatch.”
Alex pondered the idea. “Yes,” he said slowly, “and they could help her with the underwater part. I’ve been very worried about that—I assume your mother is like other Warblerans and never learned to swim?”
“Right. She can’t,” Sky said. She flashed a grateful smile at Alex.
“Henry and I can take her right through it and swim her to the surface fast,” Lani said. “She’ll be fine, right, Henry?”
Henry nodded.
“But how are you going to get inside?” Ms. Octavia asked. “You’ll be soaking wet if you just dive down and go in. The pirates use waterproof suits and helmets when they go out to fish. I’ve been watching.”
“I’m going to sneak in through the hatch and borrow them,” Sky said. Her voice held an edge to it, as if daring Alex to say no.
Alex stared at the water, lost in thought. He didn’t say no. He thought it was a great idea, actually. “Fine. I’ll go with you. We’ll get two suits in one trip—that’ll be the best way.”
“But then there’s the matter of our clothes,” Lani said. “Once we get in there and get the suits off, we won’t look like pirates. Our clothing will make us stand out.”
“I can sew,” Sky said. “I did it all the time on Warbler. We’ve got to have some clothes packed on the ship that I can fashion into something similar to what the pirates wear—bright, solid-colored shirts, gray or black pants. It won’t be hard once we have the materials to work with.”
“I can help you with the sewing,” Ms. Octavia said. “I’m quite good. And rather fast.” She waved four or five tentacles as proof.
Sky grinned. “Then let’s not waste any more time here. Everyone’s gone to bed anyway, it seems.”
“I was just about to say that,” Alex said. “Let’s see what we can do. I haven’t felt any tremors at all, have you? Maybe we can get in and out of there before it sinks. I saw Copper head down the spiral stairs to somewhere below that main floor where the trees and plants are. At night would be an even better time to sneak in and rescue her, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes,” Henry said. “Let’s do it. I’m tired of sitting around this stupid volcano all day.”
With that, Simber delivered Octavia, Sky, Lani, and Henry to the ship so they could get started right away, and the rest of the crew so they could get some sleep.
» » « «
Five hours later, when sunrise was still a long way off, Sky shook Alex awake. “We’re ready,” she whispered.
He flashed a sleepy smile at her—there was no better face to wake up to. And then he remembered. Focus, Stowe. The smile slipped away, and he scrambled to his feet, serious once more.
Alex, Sky, Lani, Henry, and Ms. Octavia climbed onto Simber’s back, and they soared out into the night. Simber first circled the skylight to see if anyone was strapped into the wall seats. Seeing only a few pirates meandering about, Simber landed on the island, directly above the fishing hatch. He stood there for a few minutes to check for tremors, and when he was satisfied that all was well, he gave the go-ahead for the group to pile off.
“You guys totally look like pirates,” Alex said to Lani and Henry. “We’ll be back soon with the suits. He turned to Sky but didn’t look her in the eye. “Ready?”
Sky nodded. “Ready.” Her fear of the water was long gone, and she could swim with the best of them. Plus, she was so eager to finally get this rescue started that it didn’t really matter how Alex was acting.
Alex turned to Ms. Octavia. “You’re the lifeguard in case something goes wrong, okay?”
“Of course,” Ms. Octavia said.
Then Alex took off his robe and draped it over Simber’s shoulders. “And you’re the mage,” he said.
“We know how well that’ll worrrk out if we lose Arrrtimé,” the cat said dryly. But he held Alex’s gaze for the first time since they’d lost Florence. “So be carrreful.”
Ms. Octavia nodded. “Yes. And watch out for eels.”
“Believe me, we will,” Alex said. He hesitated, then held out his hand to Sky. She took it, and together, on three, they dove into the water.