Island of Graves by Lisa McMann Page A

to breathe normally, and she reinforced her role as Sully. By the time she had her wits about her again, Lani remembered that she was supposed to be going somewhat slowly to give Alex time to get to the meeting spot. But this vehicle wasn’t moving anywhere nearly as slowly as her father had said it would—they were speeding along. She wondered if Aaron’s new oil was responsible. They certainly hadn’t factored that in.
    Meanwhile, as Alex raced around the curve of the island on his way to Haluki’s house, Charlie on his hip, he heard the shouts of the gate guards and the subsequent crash, and he saw one part of the portcullis come flying down the hill toward him.But he also heard the vehicle chugging away, so he didn’t stop to investigate what had happened. Instead he continued along the shore until the line of rooftops that covered the governors’ houses came into view, then dashed up the hill to the main road.
    When he saw that the road was clear and the dust was rising toward Artimé, he knew Lani was well on her way. He shifted Charlie to his other hip and dashed across the road to Haluki’s house. “What’s happening with Matilda?” he asked the gargoyle as he jiggled the door handle.
    Charlie signed something, but Alex was so busy trying to get into the house that he didn’t catch anything the gargoyle was saying—not that he understood much sign language, anyway. And there was no time to try to decipher it now. Lani must have been going a lot faster than Alex anticipated to have been raising dust that far down the road, and he was starting to worry that he wasn’t going to make it to the desolate area in time.
    Once inside Haluki’s house, Alex ran straight to the office. Holding Charlie to his chest, he entered the tube in the closet and slammed his hand down on the button. Instantly he was transported to the mansion. Wasting no time, Alex sprinted out of the kitchenette, past his office and private quarters, pastthe Museum of Large and the two mysterious doors, and out onto the balcony. He raced down the stairs, crying, “Open the door, Sim!”
    Simber obliged. “Need help?” he growled.
    â€œNo thanks!” Alex yelled, running through the open door. “She’d know something was up if she caught sight of you.”
    Simber shook his head, eyes worried, but Alex was long gone and didn’t see it.
    Once outside Artimé, Alex turned a sharp left on the road that led to the palace. It wasn’t far to the desolate area.
    From under Alex’s arm, Charlie frantically began signing.
    â€œShe’s almost there?” Alex guessed. He pushed his body even harder, his lungs and thighs burning, and his arms aching from carrying the heavy statue.
    Charlie nodded.
    â€œBuckets of crud,” Alex muttered. “She’s driving way too fast!” Still running, he adjusted Charlie and reached into the pocket where he kept the special dangerous component. He pinched it between his fingers and carefully extracted it.
    In the distance Alex could see Sky, Carina, and Samheed standing by the road facing away from him, watching a dustcloud that rose up, growing steadily closer. They appeared ready to fake an emergency and flag the vehicle down. Thankfully, without any help from Alex, they’d seen the dust and figured out Lani was coming. Alex felt a moment of relief. But soon the outline of a vehicle pushed out in front of the dust and an occasional glint of the morning sun bounced off the rusting chrome.
    Charlie signed frantically with his two-thumbed hand in front of Alex’s face, but Alex only picked up on a few words like “fast” and “soon.” “Got it,” he panted, even though he hadn’t. He hoped Gondoleery wouldn’t look past Lani’s head to see him running toward the vehicle, but it couldn’t be helped. He had to get there!
    The young mage pressed on as the vehicle grew