Firebrand (16 page)

G
et off the ground,” yelled Alice.

She leaped against the bars and pulled herself up so that she was half a yard off the ground. I followed her lead. Jerren launched himself at the bars on the other side of the corridor.

Nyla was still staring at her parents. She seemed locked in, and no words, however horrifying, could reach her. As the rats closed to within a couple yards, I jumped down and lifted her up so that her feet rested on the horizontal bar.

The rats were right underneath us now. Kell had warned us that they were growing desperate and aggressive, but the way they loitered just below our feet didn't feel desperate. It felt calculated, like they were conserving energy, just waiting for their prey to fall to them.

“We've got to get out of here,” I said.

Alice looked along the corridor. “If we stay on the bar, we can make it to the stairs.”

“And then what?” demanded Jerren.

There was no good answer to that, but staying still wasn't an option. So Alice began the slow process of shimmying along, feet sliding by tiny degrees along the horizontal bar as she moved her hands from one to another vertical bar.

I wanted us to move quickly, but Jerren and Nyla were looking back at the place that had become their parents' tomb. He'd just wanted to know the truth, to give his parents the burial they deserved, but now it would never happen. Especially not when the rats divided, some lingering around us, while others scurried into the room. A moment later, snuffling sounds were replaced by the noises of something, or someone, being consumed.

I meant to tell Nyla that she needed to keep moving, but what came out was “I'm sorry.”

She seemed to look straight through me. Escaping was going to be impossible if I couldn't get through to her.

Alice climbed back to us and placed a hand on Nyla's arm. “Come,” she said gently. “It's time.”

Nyla didn't say anything, didn't even blink, but she followed Alice now, placing her hands and feet precisely where the older girl showed her. On the other side of the corridor, Jerren continued his progress. No one commented on the sound his breath made as it caught in his throat, or the way he sniffed back tears. Or the way his sister showed almost no emotion at all.

We kept going and the rats followed, patient and organized, flanking us on all sides. We were within three yards of the stairs when Jerren stopped suddenly. “No more bars,” he said.

Sure enough, the bars on his side ended. There was no way he could get to the stairs without first dropping to the floor, which wasn't an option.

“You have to jump to this side,” said Alice.

We were less than two yards away, but there was no room for error. “I don't know if I can,” he admitted.

“We need you to.”

Jerren took a deep breath and braced himself, lowered to a crouch and prepared to leap across. With one hand he clung to the bar behind him, while the other stretched out before him, ready to grab something on the other side.

A distant scream filtered into the corridor. It was faint, but the suddenness of it surprised us. Nyla slipped from her perch and onto the floor.

The rats, so lethargic a moment before, whipped themselves into a frenzy. She tried to pull herself back onto the bars, but before she could clear the floor, one of the rats jumped. It scrabbled at her leg, nothing but beady black eyes and sharp teeth.

There was a deafening sound and the rat exploded in a mess of blood and fur. Jerren was still stretched out across the corridor, but now there was a gun in his right hand, pointed at the carnage.

I pulled Nyla up to the bars and she gripped them tightly. She was shivering. The rats had retreated along the corridor now—not hiding, but keeping a safe distance, weighing up our ability to kill them all.

“That was Rose's voice,” I said. “We need to get back.”

“The rats'll chase us,” replied Alice.

Jerren stared at the gun in his hand. “I don't have enough bullets to kill them all. I don't even have enough to kill more than two or three.”

Another scream. It was definitely Rose, and there was only one reason for her to scream.

“We go,” I yelled.

Alice stared at me then. She raised her left hand, palm out, and I understood: She wanted us to combine elements. But fire was her secondary element. Even on Hatteras she'd found it hard to conjure large flames. Who knew if she'd produce anything at all out here?

She tilted her head questioningly. It was a risky thing for us to try, but not as dangerous as doing nothing, so I nodded in response.

“Jerren, Nyla,” Alice said calmly. “On the count of three, jump down and run for the stairs. Don't stop and don't look back. You hear me?”

Jerren exchanged glances with Alice and me. Then he waited for Nyla to show that she understood too. She watched him blankly.

“One,” began Alice. “Two.” Her eyes were on me. “Three.”

Jerren jumped down and grabbed his sister roughly, dragging her along behind him. Straightaway, I leaped toward Alice. We landed awkwardly, but our hands were joined, and though I wasn't facing the oncoming rats, she was. Her teeth were gritted and her right hand was stretched out before her, fingertips pressed together.

As another scream from Rose pierced the air, I sent all my energy and anger and fear through Alice. I didn't know how much power we'd wield, but it was our only chance. With the rats almost on us, she summoned a single all-consuming flame. Fueled by our panic, it erupted before us, igniting at least half a dozen rats before it disappeared just as suddenly. By then, the other rats were scurrying away, retreating to the end of the corridor and the dead bodies of Jerren's parents.

“Go,” I shouted.

Alice spun around and we ran. We didn't get far though, because Jerren and Nyla were standing halfway up the stairs, watching us.

“I said, go,” I yelled, pushing them away.
“Go!”

Hand in hand, Jerren and Nyla sprinted after Alice. I stumbled along behind, the shock of losing so much energy slowing me down, making my steps awkward. The others waited for me halfway across the fort grounds. I wanted to scream at them to keep moving, to help Rose, but I could see that Alice was scared for me—that I wouldn't make it, or that the rats would regroup and catch up with me, the easy target in our group. She held out her hand, ready to pull me along if need be. I might have taken it too, but then I saw the way Jerren was staring at it, as though another flame might arise as suddenly as the last.

He wanted to ask me about it. His expression told me he needed an explanation, but just then, there was another scream.

Now I was as fast as anyone. Pain and exhaustion were locked away. I didn't even scan the ground for rats.

Jerren pulled up beside me as I reached Rose and Kell's prison. He pointed his gun at Kell, only a couple yards behind the bars. But Kell just laughed at him. After all, he knew Jerren would never shoot. Not while he had Rose trapped in his arms. And a knife pressed tightly against her neck.

R
ecognize this, Thomas?” Kell snarled. “I think you used it to cut her hair earlier. Now look—so much more effective when you use it like this.” He pulled the knife tight against Rose's neck, and turned his attention to Jerren. “Don't tell me you thought the gun was my only weapon. Not on a mission as important as this one. I reckon you knew I had a blade up my sleeve. Probably wanted to see the girl get hurt. After all, Alice is the one you like, right?”

He was trying to turn Alice and me against Jerren. I wasn't falling for it, but a part of me
did
want to hurt Jerren.

Rose was looking right at me, large eyes wild with fear. What remained of her matted hair hung across part of her face, almost obscuring a bright red mark where Kell had struck her moments earlier. I fought back the urge to thrust my arms through the bars and send a jolt of energy into him. Even if I couldn't hurt him, I might shock him enough for Rose to escape.

Or more likely, he'd kill her first.

Kell was watching me again now. “Tricky, isn't it?” he teased. “To use an element from that kind of distance. So unreliable.”

I wanted to believe he'd used the word
element
by accident, but he knew what he was saying. If Jerren had harbored any doubts about what he'd seen back in the corridor, Kell had assured him that it had all been real.

“Hers is water, I'd guess,” ventured Kell, giving Rose a shake. “Made me choke on my own spit. Dried my mouth so quick I'd swear I hadn't drunk in days. Stupid girl's doing it right now, actually.” He tugged at the knife and Rose winced. A thin band of blood appeared from the shallow slice mark across her neck. “Ah, so
now
you stop? Guess I should've cut you up earlier.”

“There's no such thing as elementals,” insisted Jerren. “It's just a myth.”

Kell
tsk
ed. “A myth, huh? So how did they hear our message when the radio in Dare's cabin wasn't connected to solar panels?”

“Maybe they heard it somewhere else.”

“Sure.” Kell made it sound like they were playing a game. “I like that you're making excuses for them, Jerren. Tells me you know I'm right.” He lowered his voice, pretending to confide in us. “I must admit, I'm impressed. Chief said I wouldn't have to worry about all of you—too young to know what you're doing with your elements, he said. But I think he's wrong about that. Just as well we've got the adults under armed guard. If you can do this, who knows what
they're
capable of?”

“What do you want?” snapped Alice.

“For a start, I want Jerren to throw away his guns . . . both of them.”

Jerren tossed the weapons aside.

“Now I want you to unlock that door and open it nice and slow. This girl is in a bad way, but not as bad as she will be if you try anything. Once I'm out, I'll be sailing back to Sumter. Alone.”

“The rats are coming,” Nyla called from around the corner.

Kell didn't flinch. “Unlock the door, boy.”

Jerren did as he was told. Kell bullied Rose out of the room. Blood ran down her neck, but that wasn't all. Turning to the side, she revealed an enormous circle of blood that stained her tunic just below her armpit.

Nyla sprinted around the corner, her footsteps distracting us all. Rose dug her elbow into Kell's chest and threw herself onto the ground. I grabbed her hand and pulled her away as Kell swung his blade. It sliced through the air and connected with her upper leg. Blood blossomed on her pants. He raised his hand again, but didn't get in another swing before a shot rang out.

Kell stumbled back against the bars of the prison, left hand clasped against his leg. The wound wasn't as bloody as Rose's, but the bullet had done plenty of damage. Jerren stood to my right, holding the gun.

The older man grimaced. “Do you really think you'll be able to escape on that ship, Jerren? You know what Dare told us. You can't ignore it. This is our destiny.”

“Not mine, it isn't,” replied Jerren.

I knelt beside Rose and tore my tunic into strips, as the name Dare ran through my mind. I pressed the strips against her wounds to stop the bleeding. She swallowed hard and smiled through her tears. I was sure I was losing her.

“When did you see Dare?” Alice demanded.
“When?”

Kell ran a hand up the bars, pulling himself to a stand. “About a month ago. Said he'd deliver you to us. Why do you think you're here right now? Why do you think Chief made sure you each had a sibling stay behind on Sumter? They're our insurance. Anything happens to me, Chief'll make sure they suffer for it.”

“What does he mean,
deliver
us to you?” Alice asked Jerren.

Jerren shook his head, confused. “It's just what Dare said: That he'd return with something important. Something that would change the world.”

Alice looked at me suddenly. “That's why he tore the pages out of his log. He didn't want us to know he'd been here.”

“What kind of
something,
Jerren?” I asked.

Realizing we were all distracted, Kell lurched at Jerren. But when he placed his weight on his bad leg, he crumpled to the ground. Jerren towered over him, gun aimed at the man's head.

“What kind of something?” I asked again.

“I don't know,” Jerren snapped. “Dare just called it the solution.”

Alice froze. So did I. I'd been worried about getting us thrown out of Sumter. Instead, Chief had simply been plotting how to lose us while keeping Griffin.

“What's the solution?” I asked, playing innocent.

Kell laughed, which made him wince. “Nice try, Thomas. Actually, Chief thought it was
you
at first. But then a friend put us on the right track again. It was simple math, really.”

“Who told you? Was it Marin?”

“Help me get back to Sumter and I'll tell you.”

“Rats are getting closer,” yelled Nyla.

I wrapped an arm around Rose and tried to drag her away. She couldn't take her own weight.

Alice crouched beside me. “We'll carry her together,” she said.

“No. I've got her. Just help her up, all right?”

Rose groaned as Alice lifted her onto my back. She seemed unable to wrap her arms around my neck, let alone hold on tightly. I placed my hands under her and twined my fingers. Her shallow breaths warmed my neck as her head sank against my shoulder.

Nyla sprinted around the corner. “The rats are splitting into groups. It's like they're trying to trap us here.”

“You'll never make it out alive, Thomas.” Kell swallowed hard. “Some people say rats can smell weakness. Right now, I'd say it's your girlfriend they're smelling.”

When no one said anything, Kell seemed emboldened. He pulled himself up again and stared at Jerren, almost daring the boy to shoot. Jerren retreated, and Kell hobbled after him. “Last chance, Jerren,” he rasped. “Take me back and we'll forget everything.”

Jerren kept the guns trained on him as we backed toward the fort entrance. Nyla shadowed his every move. But Kell matched them step for step, his right leg dragging across the ground.

“Stay back,” growled Jerren.

“Or what? You'll shoot me again?” Kell's teeth chattered. “You chose the wrong side, boy. We had a visitor during the night, see? An old friend, you might say.”

I flashed Alice a look, but she shook her head. “Dare's dead, Thom. Kell's just trying to rattle us.” Her hands were shaking, though.

As we reached the tunnel that led out of the fort, Kell lurched forward, a grotesque smile stretching his sunburned skin. Jerren pointed one of the guns at Kell's head. Still the man didn't stop smiling. He simply eased forward until the barrel was pressed against his forehead. “Really think you've got it in you, Jerren? Really think you can be a killer too?”

Rose was heavy against me as I stepped backward from the scene, but I continued to watch. Somehow I knew that Jerren wouldn't kill his mentor.

“We need to run,” murmured Alice.

Before she'd finished speaking, Kell opened his mouth and bit on the barrel. He brought his hands around and placed them on the barrel too, so that when Jerren tried to pull away, he couldn't. He'd be disarmed at any moment, I was sure of it.

Jerren seemed petrified. Again he tried to pull away, but it was no use. He was crying too. After everything, this is how it would end for him. At the same place as his parents.

Nyla reached around her brother and wrapped her hands over his. I figured she was trying to pull the weapon away too, but when she stood on tiptoe and kissed her brother on the cheek, something in the air shifted. And I knew.

I tried to shout
no,
but the word wouldn't come out. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, because at that moment she pulled the trigger.