Free Island of Fire (The Unwanteds) by lisa Mcmann Page B

the other men working and struggling below to finish their job before they collapsed.
    He was so deep in thought, he didn’t notice that a little gargoyle statue named Matilda had climbed up and out of a box in the closet and now stood very still, ear pointed at the opening in the door.

The Gray Shack
    S ean met Alex, Simber, and Sky at the door to the mansion. Hundreds of Unwanteds celebrated beyond the entryway, spilling out of the dining room and kitchen. “Simber!” Sean exclaimed. “Man, I’m glad to see you.” But he looked more distracted than glad. He turned to Alex. “We’re missing people,” he said, getting back to business. “Meghan, Henry, Crow, Mr. Appleblossom, and dozens of others.”
    Alex’s eyes widened. “Meghan? She was with me when I changed the world back.”
    “Well, she’s not here now. She’s nowhere.”
    “She was standing right inside the doorway of the shack,” Alex said, alarm growing in his voice. “Henry and Crow were sleeping on the floor inside. They can’t have gone far. Did you check their rooms?”
    Sean reached out and shook Alex’s shoulders. “I’m obviously not explaining this right. Yes, we checked everywhere. They’re gone now. Everyone in the gray shack—all of them are gone. Disappeared. Wiped out.”
    Alex gaped. “What?”
    “Gone.”
    “B-b-but,” Alex sputtered, “why wouldn’t the people inside the gray shack just turn up inside the mansion once Artimé is back? It’s basically the same house, isn’t it?” The Silent girl grabbed his hand and tugged at him.
    Sean raised his voice. “They’re not here, Alex! That’s all I know. My sister is not here. I’ve been all through the place.”
    “Okay, okay,” Alex said. “I’m worried too, I’m just trying to figure it out, is all. Did you call out for her or the others?”
    “Of course I did,” Sean said, annoyed.
    “What’s shaking the mansion?” Simber growled.
    Sean turned to Simber. “I don’t feel anything shaking.”
    Sky stomped her foot and jumped up and down, waving to get their attention. She pointed up the staircase.
    “I think you ought to be paying morrre attention to the young woman,” Simber remarked.
    The girl started up the stairs, looking over her shoulder to see if anyone was coming. Simber bounded up the stairs after her, with Sean and Alex right behind. As they neared the top of the staircase, they too could feel a bit of a tremble in the floor.
    Sean and Sky stopped on the landing, the girl feeling along the wall where the mostly secret hallway was. Sean pressed his ear up against what was an open space to Alex. “It’s behind this wall,” Sean said.
    Alex gave Simber a questioning look. Simber’s eyes narrowed. He nodded at Alex, urging him to take the lead.
    “There’s a secret hallway here,” Alex said quietly to Sean and Sky. “Simber and I can see it. You guys stay here. If anything weird happens, or if we don’t come back, find Octavia and Florence. They can get in too.”
    Sean raised an eyebrow. “Well. I guess I never knew about that.” He seemed a bit put out.
    Alex smiled grimly. “Not many people can see it.” He turned to Simber. “Let’s go.”
    They entered the mostly secret hallway, leaving Sean and a very startled Silent girl watching them disappear through the wall.
    Simber and Alex both glanced to the left at the door to Mr. Today’s private chambers. They caught each other’s eye but didn’t speak. They would have to pay a visit to that room eventually, when things settled down. But now Simber stopped in front of the door across the hallway from it. “Have you everrr been in herrre?”
    Alex nodded. “Once. It’s the Museum of Large.” His memory of that visit was foggy after all he’d encountered in the past weeks.
    “Can you get in?”
    Alex thought hard. “I can . . . if I remember the spell.” He pressed his ear against the door but heard nothing, only feeling the shaking against his cheek. He racked his