The men stared at the deck planks, as if they were visualizing people hiding out below. But I was looking at the ocean instead, and the figures floating beside the hull of the Sumter ship. Rose lay on her back in the water, eyes closed; it was probably only her element—water—that prevented her from drowning. Ananias and my father continued to watch me, waiting for the sign to board. But with Dare still on the Sumter ship, that would be suicide.
“Let’s go,” the first man said. “Now!”
Head down, shoulders slumped, Alice led us to the hatch.
If the men were suspicious, they didn’t show it. But they weren’t taking any chances, either. Two of them pointed their rifles at her, while the others nudged me along behind her.
I stole a final look at the Sumter ship, and our families bobbing up and down in the water. There was nothing I could do to help them, or to warn them that Dare was still on board. It seemed obvious now that someone would stay to secure the Sumter ship. But why did it have to be Dare?
A rifle barrel snapped against the backs of my legs, urging me onward. Alice and I pulled open the large hatch door and let it swing onto the deck with a crash. I figured that Father would know that sound and realize we were heading below deck. Since I hadn’t signaled to him, he’d also know there was a problem.
I was first through the hatch. I walked down the stairs slowly, keeping the others close behind. Although I couldn’t see them, I was sure that if we were bunched up, it would be harder for the men to move their weapons about.
The worn wooden stairs creaked under the weight of six people. The men were breathing heavily—was it from exhaustion, or fear? True, they had guns, but they must have realized that they were heading into the bowels of the ship, where they’d be outnumbered by elementals.
Sure enough, the footsteps stopped. “I’ll wait here,” said the last man in the procession. “We need to cover ourselves.” There was a murmur of agreement. “I don’t think the girl should go on, either. Doesn’t take both of them to show us where everyone’s hiding.”
I craned my neck to check out the men’s positions on the stairs: two immediately behind me, rifles raised; another two behind Alice, also poised to fire if provoked. Each man grasped his weapon with both hands, which meant that they didn’t have hold of the rail that ran along the wall.
Alice gave a slight nod and flexed her fingers in readiness. “Go ahead, Thom,” she said calmly. “I’ll be right here.”
I spun around and grabbed the two rifle barrels immediately behind me. My pulse was racing and my element surged through them, shocking the men. Alice whipped her hands back and jerked the other men’s rifles forward. Off-balance and without a free hand, all three of them tumbled down the stairs and careened into my two guards. I jumped out of the way as the five bodies crashed to the base of the stairs.
Alice seemed to take the brunt of the fall, but she was also the first to emerge from the pile. One guard separated himself from the others and tried to extricate his rifle, but he was still fumbling with it as I kicked it into his chest. Another man ripped it from him and swung it toward me.
I grabbed Alice’s outstretched hand. Even before we combined—before the fire leaped out—I imagined it. Felt it, even—the shape of the flame and the intensity of the heat. And as the fire burst through the air, it was exactly as I knew it would be.
The men shrank back. Not one of them held on to his weapon.
It was tiring to combine, though, and Alice seemed surprised by it, maybe even unsettled. Barely a moment passed before the flame weakened. Sensing it, the men shielded their faces with raised arms and edged toward us. Alice and I backtracked halfway up the staircase, anxious to escape while we still had control.
One of the men retrieved his rifle, but the wooden stairs were smoldering. Smoke obscured his view. He aimed the barrel in our direction, but there was only a harmless click as he pulled the trigger. It must be the heat, I thought, but neither Alice nor I waited to find out. As he roared in anger, we scrambled up the remaining steps and rolled onto the deck.
I slammed the hatch door and Alice slid the large steel bolt across, imprisoning the men below.
“Let’s go,” she said.
We were halfway across the deck when there was a new sound: blunt objects pounding against the hatch door. It bulged slightly with each strike, straining the hinges.
“They’re going to break through,” said Alice. “We need to get everyone on board the other ship, and quick.”
“Are you crazy? Dare’s still on it.”
She ran a few steps and peered at the ship. “He’s not on deck.”
“So?”
“So this is our chance. Give me a moment and signal to the others to get on board. And whatever happens, keep that hatch door closed.”
Right on cue, the men struck it even harder than before. One of the hinges came up with it, freeing the metal screws from the splintered wooden deck.
Alice took off running. She stretched one foot onto the deck railing and launched herself across the gap between the ships. I held my breath as she landed on the other deck with a thud and rolled to a stop.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away until she stood. Favoring her left leg, she hobbled over to the stairwell and out of sight.
Beside me, four rifle butts drummed in alternation, rocking the hatch door. The men were like trapped hornets, growing fiercer with every passing moment. They would break through soon, it was obvious.
I scanned the deck for something to use against them. There were no weapons here. No other elementals with whom I could combine. But there was a large wooden crate, so I pressed my back against it and drove with my legs, sliding it toward the hatch.
Another hinge broke free from the deck, but with some of the crate resting against the hatch, the door didn’t budge at all as the men pressed against it. I took a deep breath and pushed again so that the crate was centered over the hatch. Enough to hold them back for a little while longer.
I sprinted across the deck and leaned against the rail. Father was signaling frantically from the water. Tarn cradled Griffin in her arms. With only one good arm each, Ananias and Jerren struggled to stay afloat.
Where was Alice? Where was Dare?
I was scared for her, but she was right: We couldn’t wait any longer. No shots had rung out from below deck, so maybe Alice hadn’t found Dare. Or he hadn’t found her. Either way, getting everyone on board would increase our chances of overpowering him.
I climbed over the rail and jumped onto the deck of the Sumter ship—not as dramatic as Alice’s leap, but the landing hurt plenty. There was a lightweight metal ladder hooked over the deck rail, so I unclipped it and carried it to the bow, secured it to the rail, and extended it into the water.
Father drew the others closer to him. I would have stayed to help them climb, but a loud crack from the other ship confirmed what I’d feared: The crate wasn’t heavy enough to keep the men trapped.
It was hard work to climb back up the other ship. The rope tethering them together was thick, with razor-sharp wisps that pierced my skin. No wonder the Sumter men had labored to cross from one vessel to the other.
As I reached the deck, the chest moved slightly. A hard thump from below and it dipped as though it were sinking.
“You need to go,” I yelled to the elementals on the next ship. For a moment I wasn’t sure that anyone except Ananias had made it on board, but then Jerren climbed over the rail as well and the two of them sprinted to the mainmast, following my instructions. I released the metal grappling hook that held the ships together and tossed it onto the deck of the Sumter ship.
Still no sign of Alice or Dare. Something was terribly wrong.
I grabbed a wooden pole from the deck and stood guard beside the crate, which was perched precariously above the hatch. I just needed to give the others time to get the Sumter ship mov
ing, but with each strike from below, the crate shifted. As a narrow gap opened up to one side, I drove the pole through and stabbed blindly. One man cried out. Another grabbed the end of the pole and wrenched it, dragging me forward. I landed on the crate. Hard.
The hatch door finally gave out.
Sprawled across the crate, I dropped onto the top stair, which promptly collapsed under the weight. I reached up and grabbed the edges of the deck as the staircase crashed to the ground.
My legs dangled uselessly below me. I knew that if I let go, I was as good as dead. It wasn’t a question of if the men would kill me, but how. One of them broke free from the carnage and found a rifle.
Ananias was shouting my name. Father too. Even with all the other sounds—the men’s groans and the creaking ship—I clearly heard the fear in their voices.
Summoning all my energy, I swung one leg onto the deck, and then the other. I kept waiting for the man to fire. He wouldn’t miss from such close range.
The bullet never came.
I pulled to a stand. The Sumter ship loomed large before me, but not as close as before. Too late, it dawned on me that the reason they’d been shouting to me is because they were leaving. Everyone stood against the railing, arms stretched out as though they might catch me as I jumped.
As I ran across the deck, the last thing I heard was the men screaming Dare’s name. Maybe they were imploring him to stop us, or maybe they were angry for listening to him. I didn’t care anymore. I was too focused on getting away.
Just as Alice had done, I drove one foot onto the top railing and launched myself at the Sumter ship as it eased away. The air rushed past me, the ship seemed to draw closer, and I honestly believed that I was going to make it across.
Instead I came crashing down in the water. I was close enough to feel the hull as it brushed past my fingertips.
I sank under and resurfaced as the stern glided by.
I was stranded.
CHAPTER 6
I floundered in the ship’s wake. Whitecaps lifted and dropped me. Water swirled around me. And the Sumter ship, crewed by elementals, pulled away.
From behind me came the sound of breaking glass. When I peered over my shoulder, the men we’d trapped inside Dare’s ship were smashing the portholes.
“Thomas!” someone shouted.
I turned back in time to see my father launch himself off the back of the Sumter ship. Clasping a rope in his right hand, he sailed over me and landed a couple yards past me. For a moment, he was still, the rope slack in the water. Then it pulled taut, wrenching his arm.
I grabbed his free arm as he skimmed past me. Dragged along behind the ship, we slipped under and resurfaced again, over and over, stealing a breath every chance we got. Father’s face was a mask of pain as he fought to keep hold of both the rope and me.
I lunged for a piece of the rope and caught it in my free hand. Ahead of us, Alice, Tarn, Ananias, and Jerren pulled the other end toward them.
I blocked out everything except my hand on that rope and the desperate need to breathe.
“Take it, Thomas,” Father said.
There was another rope in the water just ahead of us. I slapped at it and wrapped my fingers around the end. Straightaway, Ananias tied off the rope securing our father and turned his attention to me. With everyone else helping, he dragged me toward the ship’s stern. I was so close that I could literally touch the hull, but there was nothing for me to hold on to.
“Don’t you let go!” Ananias screamed. “You hear me?”
I didn’t answer. Just clasped the rope in both hands as they pulled me from the water. Inch by inch I broke free of the undertow, first my shoulders, then chest, and waist, and legs. Progress was quicker now, but I was forced to take my full weight or risk losing my hold on the rope. I hugged it tight against me, and shut out the pain from the wounds on my chest.
“I can grab his arm.” This from Tarn as she leaned over the metal rail. “I’ve got you, Thomas.”
She pressed her claw-like fingertips deep into my arms, securing me. I focused on keeping my element inside me, limiting the echo. Even so, it seemed like an eternity passed before I was able to get a hand onto the railing, and Tarn grimaced the whole time.
The others grabbed my tunic and legs. They pulled me over the railing and deposited me roughly on the deck. There they left me so that they could attend to my father, who was still floundering in the swell.
I tried to keep my eyes open but the sun was bright and the salt stung. I gave up fighting and filled my lungs with the fresh breeze instead. In the background, voices grew louder and more excited as my father’s rescue progressed.
Someone touched my arm. Fingers ran across the back of my right hand. “I was scared we’d lost you,” said Rose.
It was a relief to feel her there beside me. “Uh-uh. Seems like everyone wants to keep me around.”
Her breath tickled my ear. “You and Alice did it. I don’t know how, but you pulled it off.”
“So they’re not following us?”
There was a moment’s pause as she adjusted her position to regard the ship. “They’re opening the sails right now. They’re going to follow, all right.”
I punched the deck. “I trapped them. How did they get out so soon?”
“Dare probably helped them.”
“What?” For a precious few moments, I’d forgotten about Dare. Now the name set my pulse racing so fast that Rose pulled away from me immediately. “When did he cross to the other ship? How did he cross?”
Before she could answer, there was a loud groan as my father collapsed onto the deck a couple yards away. I should’ve been overjoyed that he was safe, but I couldn’t get Dare out of my head.
“Hey,” coaxed Rose. “This ship is faster, remember? We’re free now.”
Free. I could tell that she meant it, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was wrong. I opened my eyes and looked around me, still searching for Dare even when he was gone.
Father was wheezing. “Thomas?”
“Here,” I answered.
Just hearing me speak seemed to calm him. He lay still as the giant sails above us flapped in the wind, and the ocean slid by, putting precious distance between us and our pursuers.
While Ananias and Tarn tended to my father, Alice approached me. I shielded my eyes as I looked up at her, silhouetted by the bright midday sun.
“Your chest is bleeding nicely again,” she said.
I touched my tunic, and felt the telltale sticky wetness. It would hurt even more once the rest of me stopped aching. “How about you?” I asked. “I saw that crazy jump you did between the ships. You didn’t have to be so dramatic, you know.”
She stared at her left foot. “I didn’t want to give Dare extra time to react. Anyway, I thought I’d nail the landing. Serves me right.”
“Where is Dare now?”
“What?” Alice tilted her head. “You didn’t see him?”
I was sure my heart skipped a beat. “No. Why?”
“I heard him below deck,” she explained, “so I went down. Couldn’t find him anywhere, though. Then I heard footsteps on deck. Figured it was you. By the time I got back up, you’d gone. And Dare was following you onto the other ship.”
I couldn’t bear to look at the others. “Did anyone else see him?”
“No,” said Ananias. “He was out of sight by the time we got on deck. . . . You really didn’t see him?”
“I was kind of busy, you know? The hatch door gave out, and I fell. I only just got away before one of the men fired at me.”
“I’d say you had a lucky escape,” said Alice.
“Lucky? Don’t you get it? Dare’s a seer. What if this is all part of his plan?”
Ananias smiled. “Then I like his plan. Sure beats blowing us out of the water.”
T
he others seemed satisfied by this. More than that, they seemed relieved. But I wasn’t.
How had I missed Dare? Why had he allowed me to escape? For that matter, why did he let me live at all?
And how long before everyone else started to ask the very same things?
Alice saved me from the silence. “Come on,” she told Jerren. “There’s work to do.”
“Where are you going?” demanded Marin.
“To find the galley. The Sumter colonists kept this ship stocked: food, water, maybe even medicine. No one’s eaten since yesterday. Rose’s and Griffin’s wounds are going to get infected if we don’t clean them soon.”
“What about the other ship?” asked Ananias.
“We’re faster,” said Alice.
“But we don’t know where we’re going.”
Alice didn’t miss a beat. “Yes, we do. We’re going back to Roanoke Island.”
Marin snorted. “In case you’ve forgotten, we risked everything to leave that place.”
“Then where else should we go?”
“There must be other colonies.”
“Sure. Just like Sumter. And look how that turned out.”
“Pirates control Roanoke now,” said Tarn. “It’s why we left.”
“No. We left because you were too weak and injured to fight back,” spat Alice, waving a finger accusingly at her mother and Marin. “And now my sister is dead, and my father too.”
“But Roanoke Island is in ruins.”
“So we’ll rebuild.”
Tarn placed a hand on her daughter’s arm. “We don’t have the technology.”
Alice shook her off. “We don’t need technology to survive. To eat.”
“There’s nothing there for us anymore!” shouted Marin.
“You sure about that?” Alice took a step toward Marin. It was a signal that she wouldn’t back down anymore; a reminder that she was taller and more powerful too. But as Alice turned her gaze to me again, I knew exactly what she was about to say, whether or not the time was right. “The pirates have a prisoner on Roanoke,” she announced. “A Guardian, no less.”