Firebrand (5 page)

“I don't understand.”

“We still have
something
. I can see the shore from miles away. If he concentrates, Ananias can make a flame. But the last time one of the Guardians' elements worked was when your father touched Ananias and Eleanor yesterday morning. And it very nearly killed him.”

A
lice spent the afternoon measuring our progress while Griffin and Ananias pushed and pulled the winches, adjusting the large sails according to her orders. Her parents ventured on deck at last. Dennis said that Marin would be well enough to help soon, but he said it to Rose, not to me. Rose may have ignored Kyte's dying wish to shun me, but it had taken root with Dennis.

After dinner, it was my turn to take the wheel. Everyone but me went to the cabins to sleep.

Clouds had been gathering throughout the afternoon and evening, smothering the sky in gray. I hadn't paid much attention really, but now it was dark and I couldn't see the stars. In less than one strike, the wind grew stronger too. I wished that I wasn't at the wheel by myself. Such a big ship. Such a precious cargo. I couldn't even be sure I was holding a steady course.

I heard footsteps on the stairs but didn't see who was there until Rose was only a few yards away. She stared up at the sails and gave an anxious smile. “Wind's picking up.”

“Yes.”

“Need a break?” She placed a hand on the wheel and sidled in front of me. Her hair blew back, brushing against my face.

No, I didn't need a break. I just needed her to stay in front of me, tunic fluttering, so close that I imagined I could feel her heartbeat.

She seemed to want the same thing.

It felt strange to be on the ocean together at night—just the two of us under the immense sky. Not that we could see the stars behind the thickening clouds. The wind was gusting too.

Rose took the wheel as well to hold it steady. “Thomas, I—”

A large wave crashed against the bow and the ship tilted up. The wheel torqued, spun wildly. We grasped it and regained control, but the ship had changed course slightly now. I reversed course, hoping to get us back on track, only I wasn't sure where we should be.

“I distracted you,” murmured Rose.

“No. It's . . .” The wheel felt heavier than before, obstinate, like I was fighting the weight of the ship. The vessel creaked, straining against the wind. “We need to raise the sails. This isn't good.”

“I'll get help.”

She disappeared below deck as another wave jolted the vessel. I thought of the sails tearing, of being cast adrift on the ocean with no way to control our course. I wondered why no one had foreseen the changing weather, but it was me who'd suggested we could live without elements.

Ananias and Griffin were first to appear. Alice was right behind them. Powerful gusts rocked the ship, so they ran to the mainsail winch. Eleanor and Dennis followed, looking lost and confused.

“Eleanor!” Alice screamed her sister's name. “The handle's not moving. You've got to take the strain off the sails. Use your element.”

Eleanor stared up into the darkness, utterly still. I couldn't tell if she'd even heard. Only Dennis raised his hands. He gritted his teeth, lips curled back as he struggled to get control.

“Why isn't anything happening?” shouted Alice.

“Dennis is trying,” I yelled back.

The Guardians were stumbling onto the deck now as well, but they could barely stand in the face of the wind.

“Please, Eleanor.” Alice sounded desperate. “We can't do this without you.”

Reluctantly, Eleanor reached for Dennis's hand. Bodies connected, they set about controlling the wind. I couldn't see what was happening, but a moment later I heard the winch spinning.

Alice leaped up. “Now the foresail.”

Dennis followed her, but Eleanor remained rooted to the spot, eyes fixed on the mast rising high above us.

Rose took Eleanor's hand. “Come on. They need you.” She tried to pull the older girl toward the bow, but Eleanor wouldn't move.

There was a lever to lock the wheel in place, so I activated it. I didn't know if we were on the right course anymore, but we needed all hands on deck. So I grabbed Eleanor's arm and forced her to move, even made it a few yards before her father, Joven, held me back.

“Leave her alone!” he yelled.

“We need her.”

“Look around you. What have you done to us?”

I pushed his hand away. “Given you a chance to live.”

“Does she look alive to you?” He cupped Eleanor's chin in his hand. “You know you can trust
me,
don't you?” he asked her coaxingly. “Just me.”

Eleanor shrugged all of us off and staggered toward the bow. Together once more, she and Dennis combined their elements, easing the pressure on the sail. For a moment, her face relaxed, as if she was remembering what she was capable of.
Who
she was.

It didn't last. Before Ananias and Griffin could spin the winch handle, the sail filled with a sudden gust. The ship lurched and we lost our footing. Above us, the ropes whipped against the mast.

When the wind eased again, the winch wouldn't budge. “Rope must've caught,” shouted Ananias.

Before the words were out of his mouth, Eleanor had begun to climb the rope ladder. It swung from side to side, but she moved swiftly.

On deck, Rose spread her legs wide for balance and closed her eyes. Channeling her element, she tried to calm the water around us, to make it easier for Eleanor to climb. But it wasn't working. The ship continued to rock as funnels of water rose high on either side. Her element was as unpredictable as the storm itself.

Eleanor was nearing the top now. I could just make out her white tunic against the dark mast. “Be ready to move that winch,” said Ananias. “I'm going up to help.”

He grabbed the ladder and climbed, grunting with every step. He hadn't even reached the top when the tangled rope eased.

“Eleanor's done it,” said Alice. “Turn the winch.”

The handle was heavy, but we got it moving. We were working so hard that I didn't even hear Ananias yelling. It was only when Rose screamed that we stopped.

I followed her eyes to the top of the mast. Ananias held the ladder with one hand while he produced a flame with the other. In the glow we had a clear look at Eleanor as she hung precariously from the rope. She was at least a yard from the ladder.

“What happened?” Dennis's voice was small. “Why isn't she on the ladder?”

Alice was already running toward the mast. She flew up the ladder as Ananias leaned farther and farther out, trying to reach Eleanor. Finally he extinguished the flame so that he could make a grab at her. The ladder stopped shaking as Alice reached the top too. Then there was silence.

“What happened?” repeated Dennis helplessly.

“I don't know,” I said.

“Please,” murmured Rose. She took my hand and held tight. “Please, please, please . . . pl—”

Something crashed onto the deck in front of us. The planks splintered under the shock. Screams filled the air, but they came from above us.

I took a tentative step forward. Eleanor's white tunic looked the same as it had only a moment before. But everything else about her was all wrong: twisted, mangled limbs and bludgeoned head. I knelt beside her and placed my fingers against her neck, but I knew I wouldn't feel anything. My element wouldn't bring her back from the dead, either.

Everything passed in a blur. Tarn collapsed beside her daughter. Ananias appeared beside me, sparks erupting from his shaking hands. Alice shook her sister as if she might somehow wake up. There were screams, so many that my skull vibrated from the noise. So many hands working feverishly, believing they might still help her, this battered girl bleeding out on the deck.

The only person who wasn't crying was her father, Joven. He simply turned his head and directed a shaking finger at Alice. “It should've been you,” he muttered.
“You!”

He thrust a hand around Alice's neck. She tried to fend him off but couldn't.

Using both my arms, I pulled his hand away. “It was an accident.”

His fist flew up and caught me across the face. I crashed against the deck. My already swollen cheek flared with a pain like liquid heat.

“This is your fault,” he yelled. “You and Alice—always plotting.” With each word, spittle landed on my face. His breathing was heavy and uneven. “You brought us here and you killed her.”

“It was an
accident,
” growled Ananias.

“Just like Kyte, I suppose. An accident that you drew him into the open, where your uncle's snipers could take aim.” He turned on Alice again, but before he could unleash a blow, Ananias pounced. My brother gripped Joven's fist in one hand and produced fire with the other. Tears streamed down his face.

Joven seemed amused. “Got plans for those flames, Ananias? Think you can hurt me?”

Ananias was shaking. “I don't want to hurt anyone.”

“Then get out of my way.”

“Stop!” cried Tarn. She was kneeling, hands pressed together. “What are you doing, Joven?”

“What I should've done years ago.” He lunged at Alice again, one strong hand wrapped around her neck. I saw it all in the light from Ananias's flames. Saw Joven strangling her. Saw Alice's eyes growing big. And then flames erupting from Ananias's hands as I grabbed my brother and poured all my energy through him and into the fire.

Ananias pushed me away and the connection was broken. For a moment, I couldn't understand why the fire was still burning, moving across the deck. But then a horrific figure emerged—a man engulfed in flames.

Ananias ran to him, tried to tackle him so that he could extinguish the flames, but Joven swung his fists, keeping him away. Rose ran to the side of the ship and engaged her element, searching in vain for the funnels of water she'd accidentally summoned only moments before. Now they wouldn't come. All the while, Joven staggered backward, gasping staccato cries that were more animal than man.

In the moment before he hit the rail, he stopped moving. It was only an instant, but through the flames I saw his eyes drift once more to Eleanor's body. And when he tipped backward and fell overboard, I would've sworn it was deliberate.

I don't think I was the only one who thought so, either. Only Rose stood beside that rail and scanned the ocean for his body.

She said he never resurfaced.

M
id-morning, and the entrance to Charleston Harbor opened up before us, just a gap between low-lying islands. The clouds were gone now. The wind had passed. Only the bloodstains on the deck remained.

The storm had died out as suddenly as it had arisen, and a night of drifting hadn't knocked us badly off course. Tarn had taken the wheel at sunrise and we'd lowered the sails. Alice had given instructions, we'd followed them, and if I hadn't known better, I'd have said that they were both all right. But then mother and daughter left us, and no one dared to follow. Alice wasn't the kind of girl to grieve with an audience.

Now Rose and Griffin sat beside me at the prow of the ship. From its position near the mouth of the harbor, I spotted the imposing outline of Fort Sumter.

“We need to release Eleanor's body.” Rose spoke and signed—hushed tones and hesitant gestures. We were in unfamiliar territory. “If we wait until we're in the harbor, it'll probably wash up on shore.”

She breathed in and out slowly, trying to stay in control. I was doing the same thing. I didn't want to tell Alice and Tarn that it was time to say good-bye. Or Ananias.

Griffin raised his hands, but a moment passed before he signed.
What. Happen. Last. Night?

I knew what he was talking about, but I didn't have an answer. Ananias had warned me that Joven was behaving strangely, but I never would've believed he hated Alice enough to blame her for Eleanor's death. It was crazy.

When I shrugged, Griffin coiled his arms around the deck rails and stared at the harbor ahead of us. He was constantly searching for answers, but some things couldn't be explained.

“Was it an accident, Thomas?” Rose whispered. “When you touched Ananias and combined to make the flames.”

She was giving me a lifeline. To everyone else I must have seemed like a child playing with a dangerous new weapon. But I'd wanted to hurt him, I knew that much. “I wasn't trying to kill him, Rose. I didn't want anyone to die.”

She gave a small, sad nod. “Me neither.”

I looked at my hands. There was no sign of the energy that had coursed through them ever since I was born. No scars from the pain I'd brought to others. “I hope our elements disappear completely. I hope whatever's left can fade away. I don't want this anymore.”

Rose didn't answer, but when she leaned into me and rested her head against my shoulder, I knew she was wishing for the very same thing.

»«

We formed a circle around Eleanor's body, just as we had for Kyte two days earlier. We were fewer now. With my father below deck, still too weak to move, only eight of us stood there.

I'd promised to bring everyone to safety. I'd convinced them that a better future lay ahead. But who was better off now?

All eyes turned to Tarn to offer blessings for safe passage. She couldn't seem to find the words, though. So Rose began to speak, words of comfort and, above all, love.

Across from me, Ananias kept his eyes closed, fists clenched at his sides. When Rose was done, he stepped forward and crouched beside Eleanor. He rested his elbows on his knees, head swaying slowly from side to side. From the way he stared at her, I imagined that he was committing her face to memory, already dreading the day when he'd forget how she looked.

Alice took a seat across from him. She held her sister's hand, turned it over and twined fingers. They'd never been as close as my brothers and me—too different from each other—but Eleanor had been patient with Alice. She'd tried to understand her sister's quirks, and she'd been there when Joven's temper threatened to boil over. Now a lifetime together was suddenly over.

Tarn knelt beside Alice. She placed one reassuring hand on her daughter's back, and the other on Eleanor's chest, right above her heart. “All of us pay for our sins eventually,” she said, though I was certain the remark was directed at us, not her daughter. Then, looking at the sky, she added, “Pity those that pay for the sins of others. Good-bye, my love. Good-bye, my Eleanor.”

A few steps away, Rose's mother gave a series of gentle nods. She didn't speak, or comfort Tarn, though. The two widows who had known each other for years behaved like total strangers.

Choking on her tears, Tarn wrapped an arm around Alice and eased her away. With a single nod, she gave us the signal to lift Eleanor's body.

No one had said a word for Joven.

Rose and Griffin held Eleanor's legs. Ananias and I held her shoulders. My older brother shook as if the load was the heaviest he'd ever had to bear. In a way, I suppose it was.

We shuffled over to the rail. Griffin and Rose placed Eleanor's legs on it, leaving it to me and Ananias to push her over. But he couldn't do it. And so with no other choice, I took both of Eleanor's arms. When she left us for the final time, it was me who pushed her over.

Eleanor's body crashed into the water and disappeared beneath the waves. A moment later, she emerged again, settling on the swell. Her tunic, rust red only moments before, appeared bright white in the morning sun. It billowed around her. With her long hair trailing behind her, she looked as beautiful as she had appeared in life, and for that I was grateful. It was how I wanted us all to remember her.

»«

The harbor appeared desolate. Gulls gave warning cries as we approached, but there were no boats on the water, or people on land. To the southwest, Fort Sumter rose fortress-like from the water. Its great brick walls pressed against the harbor swell, as if there were no island at all. A tall ship's mast peeked above the battlements on the far side.

With a turn of the winches, the ropes and pulleys lifted the sails and tucked them safely away. The ship continued to drift forward, but it was slowing. When we were a hundred yards from the island, Griffin and I lowered the stern anchor. The massive chain links clinked as the anchor splashed through the surface and continued dropping to the harbor bed. A moment later, the ship stopped moving and swayed gently in place.

I ran to the bow to lower the anchor there too, but Alice told me to wait. At first, I was confused, but as the tide pulled the ship's prow gently around, I understood. Always thinking ahead, Alice wanted us to face the harbor mouth, in case we needed to leave quickly.

The fort had the look of a place with history, and an unpleasant one at that. Even its location at the harbor mouth seemed threatening rather than welcoming. As the ship swung languidly around, the view shifted somewhat, but I still couldn't see anyone on the island. Instinctively, I scanned the ground for rats instead. There were no signs of life at all.

We lowered the second anchor and the ship sat idly in the calm harbor water. I joined Rose, who was leaning against the deck rail, hand shading her eyes from the sun. In the near distance, a door opened slowly in the fort's perimeter wall. A line of men snaked out. They strode toward the edge of the island, where a jetty protruded several yards into the water.

I was so focused on their progress that it took me a moment to notice the other faces gradually appearing above the walls: men and women, and even some children. Only their eyes and noses peeked out, as though they were curious but also afraid.

“I guess they haven't had many new arrivals recently,” said Rose, echoing my thoughts. “They're going to have a lot of questions.”

“I'm not sure what to tell them.”

“We could try the truth for a change.”

“That we have elements?” I glanced at my hands and thought of what they'd done. “I don't think they're going to trust us if they're afraid we might burn down their colony.”

The welcoming party stepped onto the jetty and arranged themselves in a line facing us, hands tucked neatly behind their backs. One of them, a man in his late twenties, I guessed, raised a hand and shouted something to us. I couldn't hear him, though. Again the man shouted, but we were a hundred yards away and the breeze, though gentle, smothered his words. I tried to shout something back, but he couldn't hear me, either. Beside him, the men shifted from foot to foot, growing restless.

“They're waiting for us to lower our cutter and row ashore,” said Rose.

“You can hear them?”

She gripped the rail. “No. But they're getting nervous. We need to let them know we're friendly.”

“How? We don't have a cutter.”

The men on the jetty muttered impatiently to one another. Their leader kept his eyes trained on us. Meanwhile, parents were pulling their children away from the walls, as though they didn't want them witnessing what was about to unfold.

We'd only just arrived and yet I could already feel the threat of what might happen if we didn't act fast.

I climbed over the rail and dived into the murky water. I sank low, then kicked to the surface and began to swim. My tunic weighed me down, but I concentrated on one stroke and then another.

Finally, I reached the jetty. I grasped one of the wooden stilts and caught my breath. Then I raised my hand in greeting.

In response, I heard a series of clicks. When I looked up, five slender metal barrels were trained on me.

So Dare wasn't the only one with guns.