Page 7 of Dark Island: Rescue
He left Okidu to his magic show and headed to their room, where Syssi was surrounded by suitcases that had been closed only a short while ago and were now all open again.
He shook his head. "There is food on the island, and we won't go hungry. Do you really need to take a whole suitcase of energy bars?"
She glared at him. "I'm not taking an entire suitcase. Just two boxes."
"Then why is everything open again?"
"I don't know where I put Allegra's teddy bear. If we arrive there and it's not in the suitcases, we will have one hell of a tantrum on our hands."
He sat on the bed, eyeing the open luggage that was overflowing with clothing, toys, and the Fates knew what else. "It's only five days, Syssi. We are not moving there permanently."
She sighed and leaned back. "Jacki said that they have laundry facilities on the island, but there is no washing machine in the house we will be staying in. I'd rather pack too much than too little and be without. I'm also worried about the food situation. I'm willing to bet nobody there knows how to make proper vegan food. We should take Okidu with us."
"I already told him that he can use the time to scrub the keep's underground clean. It's gotten a little neglected lately. Besides, many of the construction crews are from India, and they eat mostly vegetarian diets. I'msure the kitchen staff can cater to them and therefore to me."
Syssi didn't look convinced. "Vegetarian is not the same as vegan, and you hate cheese. I packed one box of bars just in case, but that's not enough. I'll get the other box from the pantry."
"I'll get it." He rose to his feet.
When he returned, he found Syssi frowning at one of the open suitcases. "What's the matter? Are you having second thoughts?"
She turned to look at him and smiled. "Not about the trip. I'm excited to see the island. But I was thinking about the lame name you and Kalugal chose for it without consulting Jacki or me."
"Lame?" He handed her the box of bars. "What's wrong with Safe Harbor?"
She wrinkled her nose. "It's so uninspired. We have Safe Haven, now we have Safe Harbor. What's next? Safe House? Safe Zone? We should be more creative than that."
"I will do whatever makes you happy." He sat on the bed again. "But I think it's a good name. Easy to remember and it conveys exactly what it is. Plus, the parallel structure works—Safe Haven and Safe Harbor. There's a certain elegance to it."
"There's a certain laziness to it," Syssi countered. "But fine. I suppose it's too late to change it now anyway. Everyone's already calling it Safe Harbor."
A knock at the door interrupted their debate. Kian opened it to find Anandur on the other side, with Brundar rightbehind him.
"Okidu said you are still packing." Anandur eyed the mess. "Need help closing suitcases? I can sit on them if you'd like."
Syssi laughed. "Please don't sit on any of my fine luggage. You'll squash it."
Anandur huffed in mock indignation. "Are you calling me heavy?"
"I'm calling you massive," Syssi teased. "Enormous. Kian will close the suitcases for me. And just so you know, most of this is not my stuff. Allegra's wardrobe took two full suitcases."
Syssi might have exaggerated, but not by much. Their daughter was a tiny fashionista with very decisive opinions on what she wanted to wear.
"Daddy!" Allegra's voice carried from down the hall, followed by the patter of small feet running at full speed. She burst into the room, her blond curls bouncing, her face alight with excitement. "We are going on an airplane! A big one! With big wings!"
Kian swept her into his arms, marveling at how much she'd grown in just the past few months. "That's right, princess. We're going to visit the clan's new island."
"Are we going to see mermaids?"
"Not likely." Kian kissed the top of her head. "But there are monsters."
"Kian!" Syssi admonished.
"She likes monsters." He leaned away to look at his daughter's little face. "Don't you, munchkin?"
"Big ones." She lifted her arms in the air and twisted her fingers to look like claws. "Ex scowls."
She couldn't pronounce 'exoskeletons,' but she knewwhat they were. Kian had shown her recordings of the Guardians training with their exoskeletons so she wouldn't get scared when she saw a scaled-down version of them on the island.
