Alex shivered, even though the day was still warm. He thought about his twin brother, Aaron, and felt a sharp pain run through him, as if half of his own body had been severed from the rest. But he knew that Mr. Today was right. And there was no way he would jeopardize the life of the man who had saved him, or the lives of the others here. Alex nodded very seriously along with the rest of the group. But part of Alex wished that Aaron could have shared in this good fortune.

“My second request,” Mr. Today said, “is this: Please take the classes I offer. Train with my warriors and learn how to fight. Because if the High Priest Justine, the governors, or the Quillitary does discover that you have not been eliminated,” he paused, letting the words sink in, “they will kill me for deceiving them. And then they will kill you once and for all. And if that happens, Artimé will disappear.”

Samheed, who had been silent ever since his whispered oath, now stiffened. “Fight against the Quillitary?” he sneered. “Impossible.”

Mr. Today cocked his head. “Ah, Samheed,” he said. “The realm of possibility here in Artimé is only limited by our imaginations. You’ll get used to it after a time. But you seem quite disturbed, my friend. Why is it that you think fighting is impossible?”

“Look at us!” Samheed waved his hand around at the group. He stopped and pointed at Alex, glaring. “In case you don’t know, we’re the rejects from Quill. We’re not strong or intelligent. We’re not capable of fighting. We’re worthless! And you think we stand a chance against the Quillitary?” Samheed rose to his feet. “What you have here is all really impressive, Mr. Today, but come on! You don’t seem to have any soldiers except for that group of oversized animals at the gate. No tanks, no weapons—they’ll destroy us in about one minute!”

Alex shifted uncomfortably and looked down.

The small smile on Mr. Today’s face remained hidden by his hand as he stroked his chin and grew thoughtful. “Hmm,” he said, almost as if he expected Samheed to say more.

And the boy did. “This place is ridiculous. I’m not taking your stupid classes.”

At the word “stupid,” and all the words around it, the other children’s eyes widened in fear. In Quill an outburst like this was against the law and a most egregious infraction that would seal a child’s fate, with no exception.

“It’s not stupid,” Lani burst out, without meaning to. She clapped her hand over her mouth.

Alex, feeling both a bit protective of Lani and a bit miffed at Samheed for always glaring at him, shifted on the picnic blanket in case he had to do something—although he had no idea what “something” might be—and shot a look of support at Lani.

Samheed laughed sarcastically. “Not for a baby, maybe.” He looked Mr. Today in the eye and said, “I think you are a complete lunatic.” And then, as if he knew where he was going, he stalked off down the lawn to the seashore and kept walking along its edge.

The Unwanteds watched, stunned. Every one of the children knew that people in Quill were not allowed to argue or become angry with other Quillens. They were taught to bank their rage and keep it somewhere deep inside, so that in case of attack they would, with one unified surge, pour the rage out upon the heads of their enemies. Of course, Quill had quite a lot of rage saved up, since there had been no sign of enemies in the entire fifty years of High Priest Justine’s reign. Yet the government instilled much fear into the people about evil foreign lands beyond the protective walls of Quill—unimaginable places like the great desert and the dark forest—as if an attack were imminent. And who were the people of Quill to question the rulers who had kept them safe all this time?

But here in Artimé, nothing was as the Unwanteds expected.

The other children began chattering, shocked at Samheed’s actions and words. “What is he doing?” “Is he allowed to go off like that?” “Isn’t someone going to stop him?” “Why does he have to be so mean?” This last one from Lani, who felt wounded, having just been called a baby.

Samheed’s outburst was foreign to the Unwanteds, and they watched Mr. Today, waiting for him to punish Samheed for the infraction. But to their great puzzlement Mr. Today did nothing.

As the old man watched the children react to the scene, it was hard for him to hide the mirth that crinkled around his eyes. “Bravo! Bravo, my dear boy!” he called in the direction of Samheed. “That’s the way!” Perfect, he thought. Even better than he had hoped for the first day. He put his hands together and began clapping and shouting.

Samheed flung up his hand in disgust and continued walking.

The others, startled, had no idea what to think, but after a moment Meghan began to clap too, for there was something inside her churning mind that just about, but not quite, understood why. Soon Alex joined in as if he almost understood it too, and a curious look passed between Meghan and him, one that made them both want to laugh out loud.

Home in the Stone Mansion

It was near dusk when the Unwanteds followed Mr. Today toward the mansion. Samheed had not rejoined them. Some of the children murmured their concerns. Mr. Today smiled. “He’ll be fine; there’s no need to worry. He needs to think and walk, and that is a good thing for a strong, angry fighter like him.”

“But what if he gets lost?” Lani asked, feeling quite comfortable in her new surroundings already. And though she was curious, she didn’t particularly care whether the sullen Samheed ever returned.