There was no thought now of Mr. Today or Claire Morning perhaps being upset that they’d borrowed the boat without asking. No imagination of what might be happening back in Artimé at this very moment. And only a little trepidation from these adventurers regarding the unknown. There was just this one beautiful cove they were in, blissful and quiet, warm sun and light breeze, rocking gently on waves.

It was exactly what Meghan needed. She closed her eyes and breathed in the tropical scent. It was almost like Artimé, but after a few hours at sea it felt fresh and new. And splendidly free of Sean and her mean, stupid parents, and all the stresses that hung on her back in Artimé. She felt like a new, energized Meghan. A bold, invigorated Meghan without a care here in this new place.

“Let’s go ashore,” she whispered.

Lani and Samheed stared at her.

“What?” Lani asked, incredulous.

“I mean it,” Meghan said. “Let’s go. Let’s do it.”

Lani and Samheed caught glances and stared for a moment, trying to get a sense of how the other was feeling. Was it a reckless move? Samheed worked his jaw, his eyes intense, reading hers. Lani couldn’t look away. She knew there were risks. What if it wasn’t as nice as Mr. Today remembered it?

“Well?” Meghan said, breaking the stare-off.

Lani and Samheed looked at Meghan, then back at each other. Lani started laughing lightly, trying to get Samheed to soften the intensity around his eyes that they all knew so well. “I’m game,” she said. She reached out her hand and brushed his elbow, trying to communicate without saying blatantly, I think this would be good for Meghan. “Sam? Are you in?”

“Guys, I don’t know. We don’t know anything about this place. What if the strangers came from here?”

“Mr. Today said this was a good place. It’s exactly as he described it to me and Alex’the rock formation in the middle, the waterfall, the beauty of it all . . .” Lani bit her lip.

Samheed closed his eyes and sighed, shaking his head the smallest bit. “Okay,” he said finally.

Meghan’s grin was payment enough to make everyone feel like they’d just made the best decision of their lives.

Speeding Up

There were a baker’s dozen thoughts whipping through Alex’s head when Mr. Today asked him and Ms. Morning if they were ready to take over Artimé. His first thought: NO! His second: Well, it’s only for a short time. His third: NO, NO, NO! His fourth: At least he’s putting the gate up. His fifth: Absolutely NO WAY! And so on and so forth, all the way to thirteen.

The good news was that Alex was obviously maturing to the point where he didn’t have to say all of these things out loud in order to process them. That was a relief for all involved, and, in a strange little way, it gave him some confidence in himself.

The bad news was that Alex’s stomach churned, and he very nearly felt light-headed at the thought of something going horribly wrong, so much that he had to resist the urge to stand and leave the room.

“We’re in good shape, Father. Aren’t we, Alex?” Ms. Morning gave Alex a look that told him exactly what to say.

“Fine shape,” Alex said, his voice cracking under the pressure of her stare.

“Good!” said Mr. Today, practically giddy. “Simber, Florence, Octavia, and all of your friends will of course be on hand for whatever you may need. I expect things will go on quite as they do when I am present. You truly won’t even notice I’m gone. Artimé is a well-oiled machine. And if anything should happen, you know how to fight . . . and how to read. I’ve given you every command I can think of, and both the library and Museum of Large hold additional clues that I’m sure will help you, should you be attacked while I’m away. But,” he said triumphantly, “that won’t happen, because of the gate.” He very nearly hummed with excitement.

“That sounds lovely, Father.”

Alex gulped and nodded.

“I’ll gather up some students and we’ll make you a takeaway lunch for tomorrow’how exotic!” Ms. Morning said. “We’ll pack up the boat tonight with every supply you could possibly need so you’ll be all ready in the morning.”

Mr. Today beamed with happiness. “Delightful. Simply a dream.” His eyes grew moist for a moment. “While we will be out exploring on serious business, I must tell you, Alex’getting away is something I’ve longed to do since the walls went up. I’ve never felt more confident than I do now that Artimé will be in the best hands with you and Claire.” He reached out and took Alex’s hand, shaking it solemnly. “Thank you.”

Alex wanted to say, “But I don’t know half of how to run this place!” He wanted to say, “There’s so much you haven’t explained!” He wanted to say, “Please don’t go. Please don’t go!”

Instead, he did his best to smile confidently. He reached out and hugged the old man, patting his back quite hard a few times in the embrace. Mr. Today chuckled, the laugh rattling soundly in his chest. Finally Alex came up with what he thought were the perfectly grown-up words to say. He released the embrace and looked at the mage. “I hope you find everything you are looking for, sir. Thank you for believing in me.” He smiled, and some of his jitters went away.

Mr. Today nodded solemnly. “Never forget, my boy. I chose you for this. There will always be times we struggle, make bad decisions, even fail. What’s important is not that we fail, but that we learn and grow. And that we know that there is always someone out there who believes in us.”