Island of Legends (The Unwanteds) by Lisa McMann Read Free Book Online Page A

injured and its new inhabitants, called out to him—he had to get back.
    As Alex turned out of row eighty-nine, a familiar, stooped figure caught his eye. Alex’s stomach clenched and he took in a sharp breath.
    The man looked up at the noise. His tired eyes widened and then flitted to Alex’s robe, and a sense of recognition spread across the man’s face.
    “Hello, Father,” Alex said.
    The realization on Mr. Stowe’s face turned quickly to fear. He looked around wildly, this way and that, as if he were being watched, and then darted up the steps to the burial building and disappeared inside.
    Alex stood for a moment, trying to figure out what had just happened. Trying to determine what he was supposed to donow. Go after him? Not a chance. Alex had been just fine with not seeing his parents ever again. Although, he had to admit he was curious about his new siblings. Had his mother had the babies yet? She must have, by now.
    He frowned at the door to the burial building. When his father didn’t return, Alex shrugged and headed down a street that cut through the heart of Quill, out of the Ancients Sector, and through the Wanted Sector. He skirted the amphitheater in the Commons where he’d been Purged and went down a row of houses in what looked to be a deserted Necessary neighborhood.
    Deserted, Alex thought with a snort, because all the Necessaries had escaped from Quill to Artimé, not the other way around. Sure, Artimé had lost a few people to Quill during the tough times, like Cole Wickett. Alex wondered what Cole was doing now. But the majority of the movers were moving into Artimé, not out of it.
    As he pondered the whereabouts of Cole Wickett and company, Alex came across two neighboring houses with a strange, bluish-white glow coming from the windows. He looked from one house to the other, scratched his head, and looked again,wondering if the desert heat in Quill was making him see things. After a moment he shuffled off, leaving the mystery unsolved, and pushed onward to Haluki’s house.
    On the step he hesitated, thinking about Aaron’s plan to cut all ties. “Good-bye forever, I guess,” he said to nobody. With a shrug, he went inside the house to Haluki’s office, stepped into the tube, and went home.

Seeds of a New Plan
    T he High Priest Aaron, straining for breath as he stared at the gray ceiling of his office, muttered, “Well, I suppose I deserved that.” After a moment more, he picked himself up off the floor, using the corner of his desk to pull himself up to standing. He leaned against the desk and gently fingered his cheek, then opened his mouth, gingerly testing his jaw’s hinges to see if anything was broken. It was a pretty impressive punch, he had to admit. He picked up the paper from his desk and turned it over, looking at his scribbles for a long moment. Then he folded it and put it in a drawer, slipping it under his two remaining heart attack spells.
    He wasn’t sure why he wasn’t mad at Alex for punching him. Truth be told, as much as he pretended to have it all together, Aaron had been constantly second-guessing himself lately. He’d felt driven by fear, and frankly, that bothered him some. But now going back to Justine’s ways seemed right. If only he could be absolutely sure that he could protect himself and Quill from everything, he’d be able to relax a little. Because right now, after that attack on Artimé, things were way too dangerous. He just had to get the last reinforcements in place. Once Quill was stabilized, Aaron could focus on his future plans . . . taking over Artimé and getting rid of the Unwanteds once and for all.
    He thought about the dark, musky-smelling jungle where he’d been last night, and fear tore through him anew. He’d been so close to getting attacked. What luck that the creature had backed off at the last moment. The night was a blur to Aaron. He still wasn’t sure how he’d managed to get his shackles off.
    “Secretary!” he