Florence shifted in the sand. The firelight danced on the sheen of her body. “After weeks of work,” she went on, “he found the end of the black stone. He chipped away at the rock surrounding it until finally the enormous piece of ebony was freed. Once it was loose, Marcus realized it was way too big for him to move. So he used the transport spell to bring the ebony stone to the mansion.”

“Wow,” Alex said under his breath. He caught Samheed’s eye, and the two shared a moment of amazement as Florence’s story unfolded.

“Marcus wanted to keep as much of the stone intact as possible. He’d never seen a piece of ebony so large before, and he wanted to respect its grand size. He envisioned a giant warrior to complement Simber inside the front door of the mansion, and began carving ever so carefully. Once he had chiseled out my shape, he began the painstaking work of sanding and smoothing hundreds of rough edges to give me this sleek, polished look. It took him years to finish me.”

She smiled. “He always called me his most frustrating project ever, and he told me he’d thought about giving up on me several times. But then he said, ‘Florence, every night, when I wanted to give up on you, and give up on my art because it was so difficult, I always told myself that if I still felt like quitting in the morning, I could quit. But I had to sleep on it first.’

“I remember feeling really strange that he’d admitted this to me. But then he said, ‘But, Florence, every time I looked at you after a night of sleep, I could only see how beautiful you were, and how much progress I had made. And that kept me going.’ ”

Florence paused, a bit choked up. And then she continued. “When he finally finished me and was ready to bring me to life, he said, he wrote out everything he wanted me to be, so he could read it as he was casting the spell. He didn’t want to mess up or forget anything after all that work.”

She smiled and looked at Alex. “I miss Marcus. We all do. And I’ll never forget everything he sacrificed to make me. But we continue on with our memories of him, and you are a worthy successor, Alex. I wouldn’t want anyone to take your place.”

“Hearrr! Hearrr!” Simber said.

Those around the fire murmured in agreement.

Alex looked down at his hands. He didn’t feel very worthy. “Thanks, everyone. I’m just trying to do my best to not make mistakes. It’s hard not knowing all the secrets. But I’m getting there.”

“Well, Alex,” Ms. Octavia said, her pride for her student evident on her face, “you did a fantastic job bringing Artimé back from ruin and rescuing Samheed and Lani from Warbler. And creating Spike.” She beamed. “I can’t wait to see what you do next. You have my full support.”

“That’s very generous of you, Ms. Octavia,” Alex said. She’d taught him so much, yet he knew she could teach him so much more. “I hope you all will tell me if you think I should do something differently. I’m really still learning, and I count on everyone to help me figure out this job.” He turned to Florence. “I’m so glad to know how he made you.”

Alex looked at the others who had shared stories over the past days. “It helps so much to understand what he was thinking and how you all came to be. I wish I’d thought to ask before. Talon, you are really cool for introducing this storytelling thing to our evenings by the fire. Thanks.”

Talon reached out to shake the boy’s hand. “It is nothing compared to the service you and your people have done for me,” he said. He looked at Lhasa, and then at Florence, and spoke from the heart. “You have given us new life and new reasons for living. There is not enough thanks in the world for that gift.” Talon’s words were positive, but Alex couldn’t help but notice the tinge of sadness that went with them. It made him more determined than ever to figure out a way to save the giant crab island.

By and by, the tired creatures, statues, and humans made their way to their resting places for the night, until all who remained by the fire were Alex, Lani, Samheed, Sean, and Carina. Alex lay on his back on one side of Sean’s chair, Lani and Samheed on the other, looking at the stars.

Alex wished Sky had stayed by the fire. Just having her nearby seemed to take some of the ache away. But she stayed away from him. He couldn’t blame her at all. He’d been a total jerk to her, not giving her any explanation at all for his distant behavior after the Spike and Florence incidents. Here, under the stars that he’d so often shared with Sky, it was all he could do to stop dwelling on it and try to make conversation, just to keep the misery at bay.

“Are you sure you’re feeling well enough to sail home?” Alex asked Sean.

“I’m ready for anything, really,” Sean mused. “Anything that doesn’t require fighting an eel, that is.” He yawned. “It’s been nice resting up on this island, but I’m getting a little bored. Isn’t there something exciting we can do before we head back?”

Alex narrowed his eyes. “Like what?”

Carina looked at Sean in much the same manner. “Yeah, like what? It sounds like you have an idea.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Sean said. He looked off over the water to the west and began to whistle a slow tune.

Lani propped herself up on her elbow. “What—you want to see what’s out that way? Let’s do it! I’m in!”

Samheed groaned. “There’s nothing out there. It says so in the Warbler handbook.”