Island of Graves by Lisa McMann Read Free Book Online

he said, pointing to his friends.
    â€œBut won’t we look conspicuous with our orange eyes and scars?” Lani asked.
    â€œCome on,” Alex said. “You’re all mages—well, Sky not so much, but we’ll help her, and she’s creative. Can’t you each come up with a disguise? Think back to Will Blair’s days.”
    â€œHey,” Samheed muttered. “Take it easy.”
    â€œOh, I see,” Lani teased. “You want us to disguise ourselves as Aaron and take over?”
    â€œUm, no, please,” Alex said. “That plan didn’t really workout well for Will, did it? I want you to look like ordinary Quillens walking around, which shouldn’t be hard to do. Most of you have done it before.”
    Sky looked bemused and a bit uncomfortable. She was beginning to wonder what use she could be. “You could paint me invisible,” she said.
    â€œWhere’s the sport in that?” Samheed said. “Besides, the invisibility paintbrush spell doesn’t last long enough, and wears off without warning. I don’t even carry it anymore. It’s a fun spell for goofing around, but not really meant for serious stuff.”
    Alex gave Sky a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. I’m sure Mr. Appleblossom has some costumes and can help you all with whatever magic you might need to keep you from being recognized.”
    Florence glanced at Simber. “I still have my mask from the masquerade ball. Maybe I can be a part of this.”
    â€œThat’ll worrrk,” Simber said dryly. “Nobody will suspect a thing.”
    Alex grimaced. “I’m afraid you two will have to stay here. You’re way too hard to disguise.”
    Sky couldn’t holdback her reservations any longer. “I don’t do magic,” she said. “Not well, at least, and I don’t know my way around Quill at all. Are you sure I’m the right person for this?”
    â€œOh, Quill’s easy,” Samheed told her. “It’s one big oval road around the perimeter of the island, with quadrants of houses inside.” He scratched his head. “Anyway, the palace is at the far west end. Just go left out of Artimé and follow the road—you can’t miss it. It’s the uninviting gray structure on the hill, with the crooked turret that sticks up quite high. Maybe you can stay on this half of the island so it’ll be easier to find home again in case you get lost.”
    â€œWill we be working all together or separated?” Lani asked.
    â€œYou’ll likely be together some of the time,” Alex said. “But it depends on our approach. Let’s figure out our plan of attack, and then we can look at that.”
    He addressed Sky specifically. “Yes, Sky, to answer your question, you are right for this job. I want you as a lookout. You’re stealthy, you can run fast, and you’re extremely clever—you’ll be able to get yourself out of any situation easily. That’s why I chose you, okay? Don’t worry about the magic. The rest of us will have it covered.”
    Sky frowned. “Okay,” she said, still a bit dubious. “Keep going.”
    Alex moved to continue, but before he could, Simber cleared his throat.
    Everyone looked at him. After a moment, Alex realized the cat was waiting to be asked his opinion. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Simber, what concerns do you have?” he said, only a little patronizingly.
    Simber ignored the tone. “We haven’t seen evidence of it, but accorrrding to Liam, Gondoleerrry might have firrre powerrr of some kind. In a deserrrt land like Quill, that can be verrry dangerrrous.”
    Alex nodded and waited to be sure the cat was done. “Right,” Alex said. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, Lani—is there anything in that Element-ary book about fire?”
    â€œI don’t think so. It’s more weather