The eight of them continued on their way to the beach, passing over the last remnants of the city on their way. Soon they had passed over the beach itself, and all of them began scanning for Royan island. No one was quite sure who spotted it first, but they were all soon aware of the dark, lumpy shape on the horizon.
It took them half an hour of determined flying to reach Royan, and Marco had been the first to note the stunted, twisted trees and the lack of a beach, which he surmised was the reason that this place had never been particularly popular with tourists. The eight of them flew over a sparse growth of pine trees, with waving grass and wildflowers, and in the distance they could see a large mansion with outbuildings surrounding it on three sides.
Closer to their flightpath, they could see a small inlet that housed a dock with a pair of boats moored there. There was a huge yacht opposite a smaller, sleeker speedboat.
(So, I guess that's Mr. Royan's house?) Rachel queried, looking toward the mansion.
(No. The original Royan was a bootlegger back in the twenties. According to the guidebook, the house is owned by the Marquez family now. Whoever they are,) Marco said.
(Let's land as far away from the buildings as we possibly can,) Jake said, always the one to be wary of possible danger.
Continuing on their way, seven of the eight of them landed on the far side of the scraggly pine forest. Under enough tree-cover that they would be hard to spot from the air, but close enough to the beach that they wouldn't have to walk too far to reach the water. Tobias stayed in the air to watch for any threats to the group, and also to learn the lay of the island.
(There are people in the house,) he reported, struggling slightly with the dead air around the island. (There's a guard posted on the roof. There's another down at the dock, both of them are carrying concealed weapons.)
"The guards don't mean anything," Jake said, having demorphed along with the other six Animorphs who had taken on seagull forms about half a minute hence. "Whoever owns this place is going to want to protect themselves, and they're rich enough to have these people."
"Real useful, having you in the air to look out for us," Marco said, grinning.
(Don't try to butter me up,) Tobias drawled, and Marco could tell he was just playing around himself. (Dolphin rodeo.)
"Have I mentioned that I meant that in the nicest possible way?" Marco shot back.
"According to Erek, what we're looking for is underwater," Jake said, before the gentle ribbing could go any farther. "We might as well get going now as ever. Let's head for the water," Jake paused for a moment, looking at Ax, then at his hooves. "We need to get rid of those hoof-marks. A Yeerk might see them and recognize them as Andalite."
(Yes, Prince Jake,) Ax said.
"Just Jake," he said tolerantly, turning to head for the open water.
"So," Marco said, turning to look toward the pair of untransformed Teknomen that were walking at the forefront of the group. "Any words of wisdom from the strong, silent types?"
"Wouldn't that spoil the mystique?" Shara asked, smirking slightly in his direction.
Marco laughed. "Nice comeback."