“Oh,” Alex murmured.

“What, oh?”

“Never mind. What’s up?”

Meghan tilted her head and flashed Alex a quizzical look. “What’s going on with you and her?”

“Her who?”

“Sky. Duh.”

“Nothing.” He didn’t know why he felt guilty.

“So you still like Lani?” Meghan’s sharp green eyes bored into Alex’s soul.

“Of course,” Alex said.

Meghan looked like she didn’t believe him. “You know, if she and Sam are alive, and if we are able to rescue them, it would be really bad timing to suddenly stop liking her.”

“She’s my friend. I’m not going to stop liking her.”

“You know what I mean.” Meghan narrowed her eyes.

“So?”

“So I’m telling you as your best friend that you shouldn’t do anything dumb. I mean, I really like Sky. She’s great. But it would be really dumb to, you know, like her right now. So maybe you should stop.”

“I don’t like Sky,” Alex said, growing exasperated. “I still like Lani, okay? I’m not going to—Bah! Whatever, okay? I miss Lani. I miss her like crazy,” he said, and he meant it. “You have no idea how much I miss her and Sam, or how horrible it’s been for me knowing we couldn’t do anything to help them. I don’t even have time to like anybody, okay? Because this dumb job that got forced on me never, ever ends. There’s always some crisis, and there’s always some problem, and there’s always some—”

“I’m sorry. Wow,” Meghan said. “Calm down.”

“No! You know what? Who am I kidding? Look at Mr. Today—he left his family to do this job, and he never seemed to have time to like his wife or anybody again, and I know why. It’s because this job is endless. So don’t even talk to me about who I should like or shouldn’t like, because I’ll never be able to have anything resembling . . . that. Ever.” Even as he said it, he began to realize the truth in his words. He made a quick move to his feet, nearly taking a blow to the head from the tip of Simber’s wing. He ducked and shuffled off to go belowdecks. “I’m not going to do anything to hurt Lani’s feelings,” he said over his shoulder. “But she’ll figure out eventually that I’m going to pretty much be a big loner for the rest of my life.”

He stepped down, barely catching sight of a familiar piece of clothing disappearing around the corner in front of him. He hurried down the step and saw Sky running at full speed toward the bow. He watched for a moment, mouth open, and then he wrinkled up his face and cursed his stupidity under his breath, pounding his forehead against the cabin wall.

A Small Problem

An hour into the journey, Alex began meeting with each group to give them a copy of the map and go over the plan. They would arrive by late afternoon and enact the plan before dark—Sky had told them that would probably be the best time. Each group would be

responsible for different parts of the plan, and each leader had the authority to call off a part of the plan that wasn’t working. They had brought plenty of food along, so everyone ate a hearty lunch as they went over their directions with their leader. Alex sat quietly alone in the spot he’d been sitting in before. Meghan came up to him, apologized, and left again after Alex apologized too. Simber flew overhead, quiet as ever, noticing everything, saying nothing, as was his modus operandi.

It was midafternoon, after a zillion thoughts had flown through Alex’s head that kept him from concentrating, when Simber spoke.

“Alex,” he said.

Alex looked up. “Yes?”

“Something’s off.”

Whenever Simber said those words, it was never good. “What is it?” Alex said.

“We’rrre strrraying off courrrse. Just a little. But enough to

be a concerrrn.”

Alex looked up at the sails. “Is it the wind?”

Simber was quiet for a moment. “No.”

“Is it the crazy captain?”

“That would be my firrrst guess.”

Alex got to his feet. “Thanks. I’ll go talk to him. Though I

don’t know what good it’ll do. He doesn’t exactly know how to carry on a conversation.” He made his way to the ship’s wheel. As he grew close, he could hear the mutterings and outbursts of Captain Ahab.

“Shred my beard and call me Ishmael!” the captain shouted.

He leaned heavily on the wheel.

“Excuse me, Captain,” Alex said. “It seems we’re off

course.” He put a hand to his brow to shield the sun. “We

need to go to that island over there.”

“It’s haunted! Teeming with ghoulies.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “No, it’s not. It’s an island whose people have captured our friends. We need to rescue them,” he

said. He was beginning to get nervous. “Where are you taking

us?”

“Crack ye pea-size brain! Not the island, boy, the ship. The

ship! She’s of a mind, and the rudder’s in her ghosty grasp.”

Ahab grabbed Alex’s shirt with a wild look, and whispered, “’Tis the doings of the white whale!”

Alex’s eyes grew wide in fright, though he wasn’t quite sure

what he was frightened of. He tugged his shirt loose from the

captain’s fist. “Are you saying you can’t get us to the island?” “Blast ye to the deadly triangle’s grip!” he cried. “Your