The Indigo King - James A. Owen [33]
“The animals have another name for it,” said Fred, peering underneath John’s arm. “We call it Sanctuary.”
“Sanctuary?” asked Jack. “From what?”
“From the world,” said Fred. “Both literal and otherwise.
“When Ordo Maas took us into the Archipelago, he gave us many gifts—but they were things unearned. We wanted to grow up, to have a place that was ours, and no others. A place to do our own work, and to learn to be better than we are. And so the animals went sailing through the Archipelago with Nemo’s great-great-great-umpteen-grandfather, Sinbad, and he found this uncharted island. He named it Noble’s Isle, but we called it Sanctuary. And when the map was made, we asked that it be kept secret, private-like. Only the High King ever had a copy of it.”
“And it was the one thing Jules Verne most needed when he opened the Serendipity Box,” John mused. “Interesting. Let’s hope that when we get there, more of these mysteries become clear.”
* * *
Bert had spoken true—all the other islands, everywhere, were gone. There was no frontier to cross, no boundary. And the Red Dragon never wavered in its course. The only island left in the natural world, or in the Archipelago itself, was Noble’s Isle.
“Impossible,” said John. “He can’t have destroyed them all. He’s not that powerful, is he?”
“The king may not be,” Chaz said from the rear, “but she is.” He was pointing to the deepening sky, where the moon was beginning to rise. “Before the seas went dry, there was a great flood.…”
“Of Biblical proportions?” Jack said wryly, leaning over the rail and dipping his hand into the waves. “What the good Lord giveth, he also taketh away. Then he puts it back again.”
It took only a few hours for the ship to reach Noble’s Isle. “Land ho!” Uncas called out from his perch high atop the mast. “Sanctuary, straight ahead!”
The island was covered with palm trees that thinned out closer to the center as more cultivated gardens took over. The beaches were shallow, of dull gray sand, and offered no easy access for the Red Dragon.
Here Uncas took charge and steered the ship (in a more expert fashion than even Fred was expecting) to a narrow inlet on the southernmost tip. The waterway led to a deepwater dock that was both well lit in the approaching twilight, and well cared for.
The companions tied down the ship and stepped onto the sturdy dock, where they were greeted very smartly by a large fox, who bowed deeply at their approach.
He was walking on his hind legs, as the badgers did, and was dressed similarly in a waistcoat, blazer with tails, and trousers.
“I am Reynard,” he said in greeting. “Welcome to Noble’s Isle, Children of the Earth and Sons of Adam.”
The companions returned the bow and, at Reynard’s prompting, followed him off the dock to an awaiting principle. It was large and elegant and hummed like a cat. They clambered aboard, and Reynard pulled onto a paved lane that led directly to the center of the island.
The inlet had lain between two ridges, which flattened out as they passed upward along the road. To one side was a foul-smelling swamp, and to the other, they saw various cultivated gardens, which were punctuated here and there with greenhouses and outbuildings.
As they drove, Reynard kept up an amiable chatter with Uncas, who talked with the fox as if they were long-lost war veterans who’d been separated for a lifetime and had only an hour to catch up. In less than ten minutes, however, the road widened into a circular drive, which was surrounded by a cluster of buildings. These, Reynard explained, were the main dwellings of Sanctuary, and he’d been instructed to bring the visitors there.
“Instructed by whom?” John asked as they climbed out of the principle.
“By the Prime Caretaker, of course,” said Reynard, gesturing toward the main house, “and at the request of Ordo Maas himself. Otherwise you would not have been allowed to set foot on this island.”
Reynard bowed again as he spoke, but the companions realized that as respectful as he was, he was not altogether pleased that