Renegade (22 page)

W
e worked for six straight days. With all the rats cremated and the earthen pit filled in, memories of Jossi and Plague felt less vivid. The divisions between clan folk and elementals became blurred.

Every salvageable item in every building was stored and catalogued. While the buildings farthest from the water tower were cleaned out and made fit for living, the clan folk carpenters made snug-fitting shutters to replace the broken windows. By then they'd already built two fully operational water harvesters. Skeleton Town no longer belonged to the elementals, but it didn't feel much like a skeleton town either.

Mother worked hand in hand with Griffin and Nyla and me, until everyone was cured. No one who had been cured contracted Plague again, but with all the rats gone, it was impossible to know for sure if we were immune. Mother was optimistic, though. She was a seer, and she saw no reason to be afraid anymore. I just nodded and thought of the mainland, and a life without elements.

Every day, Rose watched me from the corner of her eye, settling for empty words when what we really wanted was so much more. For all the horrors we'd endured at Fort Sumter, I longed to recapture those moments when I'd woken beside her, and kissed her. Now I was caught in an endless in-between, neither elemental nor non-elemental, living with everyone but apart from them too.

On the seventh day we rested, and the clan folk spoke of a new world.

And I watched them.

• • •

I left two nights later. Griffin and Ananias were asleep. Mother was beside them. I felt guilty that we didn't get to say good-bye, but she knew me well enough now to know I'd be back. Or maybe she'd seen the future and knew it for a fact.

There was a light drizzle. Heavy cloud cover made it even darker than usual. I slung the bag of supplies over my shoulder and headed south.

The wind had changed direction and blew from the north, bringing the first hint of fall chill. Not cold, just a reminder that the seasons were changing, and that I shouldn't wait any longer to leave.

I only made it as far as the clinic when I sensed someone else on the street with me. I lightened my footsteps and honed in on the sound. Instinct told me it would be Alice, always alert, always watching, but I wouldn't have detected her until she was right next to me. No, this person wasn't a natural tracker. When I slowed down, my shadow kept up the pace.

“Who's there?” I turned around. “I know someone's out there.”

The footsteps drew closer, but the person didn't speak. I couldn't see who it was until she was about ten yards away.

“Rose?” As she pulled alongside me I realized that she was carrying a bag too. “What are you doing?”

“The same as you,” she replied.

“What are you talking about?”

She stood close to me. Her short, uneven hair was a mess and she carried an air of determination that hadn't existed a few weeks ago, but in every other way she was still Rose. Beautiful, caring Rose.

“I don't need to be a seer to know your mind, Thomas,” she said softly. “I've been watching you pull away from everyone. I've seen you gathering supplies. I know how you feel here, and I know you think there's another place out there for you. So I told my mother and Dennis, I'm going too.”

I didn't know what to say. I'd planned to go alone, but only because I hadn't dared to believe that Rose would want to come with me.

“There
is
another place,” I insisted. “Alice read about it in the third journal. It's the original non-elemental colony, about fifty miles west of here. People didn't just survive there, either. They thrived. And then they moved beyond it, to other parts of the mainland. If we're immune to Plague, we have to explore. We have to reclaim the mainland.”

“What about our elements?”

“What about them?” I started walking again, and she stayed with me. “We'll still be close enough to Roanoke to have some control over them. Tarn says there are machines out there that can do almost any task. I'll be able to make them work.”

“What if your element becomes too weak?”

I knew the answer, but it was a harder one to share. To explain why I'd surrender everything on Roanoke for a chance to find out who I was without an element. But with Rose beside me, the answer seemed simple. “Then I'll be able to touch you again,” I said.

We didn't say anything after that. There would be time for talking and planning, and for holding each other too. The future was uncertain, but with Rose beside me, it was much brighter than before.

We passed the remains of the water tower and the hurricane shelter, and kept heading south. I'd figured it wasn't going to be easy to find what I was looking for, but something was glowing above the reeds ahead of us. Rose seemed less concerned by it than I was.

As we drew closer, the source of the glow became clear. Alice held her hand above her. Flames danced on her fingertips. Jerren was preparing the kayak that she and I had found during a nighttime trip to Hatteras Island a few weeks earlier.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

Alice didn't miss a beat. “Rose told me what you've been up to. You can't do this alone.”

“I won't be alone.”

She and Rose sighed together. “You're paddling fifty miles with no way to measure distance,” Alice reminded me. “You never even saw the location of the new colony in the third journal—
I
did. I checked it against the clan folks' maps, and I can tell you right now, you'll never find it without me.”

I had to give it to Alice—even after everything we'd been through, no one was more effective at making me feel incompetent than she was.

Jerren took our bags and added them to several more that he'd attached to a sleek-looking raft. “We'll tow the supplies,” he said. “No need to crush everything into the kayak.” He took up position in the middle of the kayak, and made himself comfortable. It wouldn't be easy, with four of us fighting for space.

“What about Nyla?” I asked him. “Won't she miss you?”

“I told her I'll be back,” he said. “Your mother and Griffin said they'll look out for her.”

“Wait. They know about this?”

“Yes, Thom, they know,” scolded Alice. “They even made me promise to bring you back alive.” She suppressed the grin that was threatening to appear at any moment.

“But why do you both want to come at all?”

Alice took the place in front of Jerren. “You know the answer to that, Thom. I've spent my life waiting to escape, to see what else is out there. Now we need to know the answer to that more than ever. Elementals and non-elementals have fought for centuries. Griffin and Kieran are solutions for today, but they can't guarantee peace tomorrow. One day, something will happen that'll upset the balance. And when it does, we have to be willing to leave Roanoke once and for all. I'm ready for that. Are
you?
”

Yes, I was ready. So was Rose. Like me, Jerren had grown up with only the slightest understanding of what he could do, and seemed content to put it behind him. We were ready to move on. Together.

I took the place at the back of the kayak. It sunk lower into the water. “This is going to be impossible to paddle,” I said.

Rose looked at the small space in front of me. It was the only place remaining.

“I don't think you should—” I began, but Rose was already climbing in. She managed to leave a sliver of air between us, but how long could she stay like that before she needed to stretch out?

I took the paddle and pushed us free from the reeds. The water on the creek was still, but choppier water lay ahead. It would lap over the sides unless we could keep the waves behind us. What if the tide was going out? How would we make any progress at all?

Rose shuffled back slightly. She was already uncomfortable, but I couldn't risk her touching me. Nothing would doom our expedition quicker than that.

Still she edged back. “No,” I whispered. “You mustn't.”

She peered at me over her shoulder. Somehow she was smiling. “Give me that,” she said, taking the paddle. Then she whispered, “Now combine.”

Rose leaned back against me, melting into my arms. Beneath us, the sluggish kayak rose on the water, propelled by our elements. We moved faster and faster, as the reeds blurred and the salt breeze whipped against us.

As long as we held hands, there would be no need for paddling at all. Limbs coiled, hearts working as one, I honestly believed I'd never move again. I closed my eyes and clasped my hands with hers, buried my face in her hair and felt only the promise of what lay ahead.

We left the creek and entered the sound. The wind was strong and the swell was choppy, but my pulse was quick and we didn't slow down. Roanoke Island was passing to my left, but I didn't look at it, or spare a thought for what we were leaving behind. The future lay before us now, and for the first time in my life, I welcomed every part of it.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Writing a trilogy is a major undertaking, and I couldn't have done it without extraordinary support. Heartfelt thanks to . . .

My agent, Ted Malawer, who planted the seed for these books, and dispensed excellent advice as I was writing them.

The National Park Service rangers on Roanoke Island and in Charleston, who made my research trips such fun.

Audrey and Clare, who read and critiqued every book, often many times.

Tony Sahara, designer of the stunning covers; and Steve Stankiewicz, creator of the beautiful maps.

The librarians at St. Louis Public Library and St. Louis County Library, and the countless school librarians across Missouri who have encouraged teens to give these books a read.

The folks at my local indie bookstore, Left Bank Books—especially Kris Kleindienst, Jarek Steele, Sarah Holt, and Shane Mullen. I couldn't ask for more supportive neighbors.

Danielle Borsch at Vroman's Bookstore, for taking my books with her when she headed west.

The Dial team: Kate Harrison, Regina Castillo, Jasmin Rubero, Heather Alexander, Lauri Hornik, Kathy Dawson, and Scottie Bowditch.

Liz Waniewski, my extraordinarily talented, thoughtful, dedicated, and inspiring editor, for making the entire journey an unbridled joy.