Read Island of Graves for Free Online

alarmed. “What?”
    â€œDo you mean you wish to kill her?” Simber asked.
    Alex hesitated. It sounded horrible to put it that way. They could try putting her in a permanent freeze spell. But all it would take was one person with magical abilities to release the spell, and that could be any number of people—surely Gondoleery had supporters in place by now who could do such simple magic as release spells. It was too risky. So Alex stood firm. Gondoleery Rattrapp was dangerous, unpredictable, and way more powerful than anyone they’d ever come up against. Potentially, she had the power to destroy Artimé if she chose to do so.
    Finally, Alex nodded. “Yes, Simber. We need to kill her.”
    The room was silent.
    Only Simber spoke. “Well, it’s about time.”

The Plan
    Y ou want to assassinate Gondoleery Rattrapp?” Claire said, shaking her head slightly. “That’s not going to be an easy task. Do you realize what could happen if you fail?”
    Alex had thought plenty about it. “Yes. It means we’d be in deep trouble.”
    â€œAlex,” Claire said, leaning forward, “Artimé has seen enough trouble in the last few years. Gondoleery has power and magic we’ve never faced before. If you attempt this and fail, she’s not going to give you a free pass. It could mean the end!”
    â€œThe end . . . of what?” asked Alex, confused.
    â€œThe end of Artimé,” said Claire. “The end of us.”
    Alex, taken aback, was silent for a moment. Then he frowned. “I understand your concerns, Claire,” he said. “Thank you for voicing them. But if we attempt this, we cannot allow ourselves to fail. And if we don’t attempt it, we also risk losing Artimé. The stronger she gets, the more danger our people are in. It’s only a matter of time.” He paused for breath, then added, softer, “I think we need to take her out as swiftly as possible before it’s too late to stop her.”
    Claire considered that for a long moment, frowned over it as she ran through it once more in her mind, and then reluctantly nodded. “All right,” she said, giving up. “All right. I see your point. Do what you have to do. You have my support. And I’ll continue to work on defense with the Artiméans as always.”
    Alex gave her a solemn look. He didn’t need her permission, but he respected her greatly and wanted it. “Thank you.”
    Claire nodded. “Just . . . get it right. The first time.”
    Alex nodded. “We will.”
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    â€œSo you’re really for it, Sim?” Alex asked later, after Claire and the others had gone and only Florence and Simber remainedto help Alex plan the attack. “You believe we should take down Gondoleery?”
    â€œYes,” growled the cat. “We prrrobably should have done it weeks ago.”
    â€œWhy didn’t you say so before?”
    â€œYou didn’t ask.”
    Alex blinked. For a moment, he was speechless. He looked at Florence, who seemed just as surprised. “What?” Alex asked finally. “You’re saying now I have to ask you every time I want your opinion? Even if you have something vital to say, you won’t say it unless I ask the right question? When did this start?”
    Simber sighed. He’d been quiet during the meeting and seemed more grumbly than usual now. “It’s how you learrrn best,” he said. “If I speak up too much, you count on me morrre than you should.”
    â€œOh, come on. That’s ridiculous.” Alex shook his head, more frustrated than ever. “I haven’t done that since before Mr. Today was killed and you sank in the sea. You’re full of yourself.”
    â€œAnd you’rrre too comforrrtable,” roared Simber. He got to his feet. “I might not be herrre foreverrr, you know!” The windows