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Aaron didn’t like the general’s tone They were supposed to be a tea It was unsettling, but Aaron didn’t knohat to do about it "Fine," he said, frustrated "What’ll I worry about, then?"

The general glared at Aaron "You’ll worry about getting your weak little self back to the palace," he said "You’ll make me some more oil And you’ll stay out ofto work"

Aaron narrowed his eyes and set his jaw He hated General Blair now more than ever But he needed General Blair Now eneral s" He stood up, signaling the end of theover the shoddy treat about it General Blair ushered the: "Prepare to secure the palace, locking yourselves inside I’ll send soldiers when the time co ic carpet components Sky had made, Alex’s ability to concentrate was spent But even as tired as he was, he tossed and turned all night, knowing that thedisaster What if he transported the ship too far away? What if the Arti carpets before the spells wore off and everyone crashed into the sea? What if Spike couldn’t swih undertow, or Florence was too heavy for the carpets, or the as too strong and swept theht, leaving hi to transport the ship?

And where was Simber? Alex had been tempted multiple times to send a seek spell to Artimé, but he didn’t want anyone to worry or think there was trouble here--especially if it was trouble there that was keeping Sis that could go wrong, Alex wondered if he’dto handle this escape without the giant beast

But then again, everyone was beyond restless The rain was driving them mad There was no way they could stay here indefinitely Florence and Sky were both right--they didn’t need Simber They could do this

"It still wouldn’t hurt if you showed up, you know," Alex muttered He rolled over and tried anew to sleep But there was always so much to worry about At least he didn’t have Sky on his ht But thankfully she didn’t seem to be as miserable without hi friends again, so that was good, wasn’t it? It would have to be enough

Finally Alex fell into a deep sleep And when he woke up, it was very nearly tio

» » « «

With the hour of calood-byes and thanks to Ishibashi, Ito, and Sato, who offered them a crate of food to store on the ship to keep the on the way ho, so they all filed outside, hopefully for the last ti there was no tio! See you all safely on board within the hour"

With that, Lani peeled off froroup and sprinted to the leeward side of the island to give Spike her instructions The others quickly made their way to the shore where the ship sat It was not pristine and polished as it had once been, but hopefully with a bit of ic and a little luck, it was sound and functional They’d find out soon enough

Alex didn’t waste any time "Squirrelicorns, to the sky!" he cried "Everybody else stand back and be ready with your carpet co time to make it all the way to the ship before the spell wears off, so don’t waste a second"

Florence hoisted the crate of food to the main deck and stood back as Alex patted the ship’s side "Everybody ready?" he called out

"You can do it, Alex," Florence said "Just like last tirinned Her confidence in hilancing onefor days--the spot where the sunlight ht of the storm

He let his hand rest on the side of the ship and closed his eyes, feeling the light rain against his cheek, and the wind, steady but not overpowering Thunder ru except that spot in the sunshine He concentrated on it, picturing the ship sailing there, outside the real waves and under the clear skies and warm sun He could feel peace come over him, and when he was ready, he whispered, "Transport"

In a flash, the ship disappeared Alex opened his eyes and put his hand to his forehead, squinting to watch for it It would be hard to see from this distance, but hopefully not impossible

"Does anybody see it?" Alex called anxiously

The others were straining to find it too, but so far no one had spotted it Not even Florence froht

Alex looked up "Squirrelicorns?" he called "Anything?"

Florence signaled everyone to be ready to throw their carpet components down