“What do you think of Spike?” Alex asked after a bit.
“She’s verrry smarrrt,” Simber said. He clamped his jaw shut.
Alex felt the cat tense underneath him. “Yes, she seems to be picking up on things at lightning speed.” He frowned, puzzled by the cat’s reaction to the question. “I imagine she’ll be a big help to us in the future,” he continued.
Simber was silent. Alex could see him working his jaw.
“I would have told you more about her, really,” Alex offered. “Eventually. I felt foolish, is all. About bringing her to life and losing her immediately.”
“It’s not a prrroblem,” Simber said. “You don’t have to tell me everrrything about yourrr plans.”
“I almost always do, though,” Alex said. He had no idea what was happening with this conversation. Simber seemed almost hostile.
“Well, now you won’t have to.”
“What?” Alex exclaimed.
“I assume you intend to rrreplace me.”
Alex nearly fell off the giant cat’s back. “Don’t be insane!” he cried. He flung his arms around the giant statue’s neck and held on. “Simber, you’ve gone completely bonkers if you think I would ever want to replace you! Is that what you’ve been thinking?”
Simber growled, but his neck and back relaxed a bit. “It crrrossed my mind.”
Alex closed his eyes and held the beast, pressing his cheek against the smooth stone of his neck. “Oh, Simber,” he said in a quiet voice. “I wouldn’t want to live without you by my side. You’re my best friend. I . . . I love you.”
Simber was silent as they soared through the air toward the red island. After a while, he cleared his throat and said in the gruffest voice Alex had ever heard, “I’m sorrry about the way I trrreated you.” The cat swallowed hard. “I was wrrrong to speak to you that way in frrront of everrryone. I won’t do that again.”
A smile tugged at the corner of Alex’s mouth. He knew how hard it was for Simber to say that. He stroked the cheetah’s neck.
“And . . . ,” Simber said.
Alex waited a beat. “And?” he prompted.
“And . . . I love you, too. Harrrumph!”
Alex’s smile spread across his face.
The Island of Legends
When Spike began to jump through the water, Simber turned his ears toward her. A moment later, he slowed. “Hang on,” he said to Alex.
Alex hung on. Simber swooped around and headed back toward the ship. “Ease up, Ahab,” Simber called out.
The captain adjusted the sails and the ship began to slow.
To Alex, Simber said, “Spike noticed something strrrange about the island too. We’rrre going to apprrroach with caution.”
“Good call,” Alex said. “Did she say what was strange about it? I can’t hear what she’s saying.”
Simber swooped down near Spike so that Alex could speak to the whale directly.
“Spike, what’s happening?” Alex asked.
“It is moving.”
“What is? The island?”
“Yes. But not up and down like other islands do.”
Alex squinted at the island, which wasn’t far off now. “Simber, do you notice that?”
“I’d thought it as well but wasn’t surrre. It’s verrry slow, like it’s floating. It’s just . . . strrrange.”
They continued on. Spike disappeared beneath the surface to check things out from below, while Simber and Alex flew back to the ship to update the others. As the ship drew close to shore, they could begin to see details on the lush plants and trees growing both on the mainland and also along twin reefs that jutted out into the water. The reefs formed a large lagoon where the water was calm. Captain Ahab guided the ship into the calm water.
Soon Spike surfaced alongside the ship. “The squid is here. He’s in a lot of pain.”
Carina looked over the railing. “I can help him.” She glanced at at Alex. “Is it all right if I go?”
Alex knit his brows together, thinking. He was extremely wary about this island, based on his past experiences with the other islands. But Spike was there. “Spike,” Alex called.
The whale surfaced.
“I want you to stay close to Carina, and if we retreat, I want you to take her and follow us right way.”
“And me,” Sean said. “I’d like to go too.”
Alex nodded. “That’s fine. You guys see if you can help out the squid. I’m going to take a team on shore. If you see any danger, get out of there.”
“Aye, aye, boss,” Sean said.
The squirrelicorns lifted Sean and Carina and lowered them to Spike’s back.
“Hold on. We can zoom together. The Alex made me very fast,” Spike explained.
Sean and Carina exchanged amused looks and grabbed on. Soon they and Spike disappeared.
Alex turned his back to the island and surveyed the group that remained, looking first to the injured. “Ms. Octavia, Lani, Henry, Copper, you’re staying here. Sky and Crow, now that you have your mother back, you’re not allowed to risk your lives for at least a week, so you stay too.”
Sky didn’t smile. She didn’t even look at Alex.
He hurried on with his announcements. “Squirrelicorns, stay put for now. Ahab will stay with the ship as usual. So who . . . ,” he said slowly, as if he were thinking very hard, “am I going . . .”—Fox scrabbled to his feet—“to bring with me?” Alex gazed at the remaining Artiméans.