Elemental

by Antony John

  Rose buried her face in her hands. She was ashamed of me.

  I glared at Tessa. “You don’t get to say that.”

  “Why not? It’s obviously true. Do you hear anyone disagree?”

  Now I walked toward her. I didn’t know what I was going to do, only that I couldn’t hold my anger back anymore.

  Alice ran between us. “No, Thom. Don’t touch her!”

  Before I could push her aside, Alice leaped back. She looked petrified.

  She wasn’t alone, either. Tessa grasped the lantern and shuffled back until she was pressed against the wall. Panicking, she held the lantern before her like a shield, and when I still didn’t stop, finally threw it straight at me.

  I raised my hands to defend myself, but it was a slow toss, and easy to catch. And once it was in my hands, I realized she hadn’t been trying to hurt me at all.

  The light was blinding.

  CHAPTER 34

  I couldn’t look directly at the lantern. It was far too bright. But in its glare I caught a glimpse of everyone’s faces—wide-eyed and afraid. They drew back from me, and flinched with every flicker.

  For a while I was frozen. Then my hand began to shake, and I became aware of the heat generated by the light and a weird sensation that my body wasn’t entirely mine. I dropped the lantern. It went out before it hit the ground.

  When my eyes got used to the low light, I saw Tessa leaning against the wall. “All this time, I thought it was impossible that . . .” She didn’t finish. She didn’t need to.

  How had I never realized what I could do?

  I drew several quick breaths. “What am I?”

  “An elemental. Same as everyone else.”

  “What kind of element is that?”

  “You can channel energy.”

  I looked at my hands. They seemed the same as before. “How did you know? How do the Guardians know?”

  “How do you think? You got your element the same way as everyone else.”

  “No. My mother was a seer.”

  “And your father?”

  “He’s Guardian of the Fire.”

  “Fire?” she sneered. “The man struggles to make a spark. That’s what happens when you have more than one element—the second is weak.”

  Somehow I knew she was telling the truth. I knew it because I’d seen Alice facing the same struggle. Griffin too. They both had abilities that superseded the element we’d always thought they had.

  I stole breaths, but couldn’t get enough air. “Why did my father hide it from me? Why hide it from himself?”

  “A good question. Or how about: Why did the Guardians keep Skeleton Town a secret? You must’ve realized that we all have reasons to keep secrets. All of us.”

  Was my element like Alice’s? Was that what this was about? Was it something that couldn’t serve the greater good? Even illuminating a lantern might have a purpose.

  I felt the way I did when I ran after Alice, always a step or two behind, unable to catch up. I looked around for some sort of help, but no one except Griffin would even look at me.

  “Why don’t you say something?” I shouted. “After all these years, I have something. Why won’t you look at me?”

  Rose opened her mouth to speak, but stopped herself. When she cast her eyes down again, I felt the full force of their silence.

  It wasn’t shock; it was shame.

  “Did you already know?”

  “No,” whispered Rose. “How could we?”

  “Then why aren’t you surprised?”

  As she approached, she reached out like she was going to touch me. But she didn’t. She turned her bangle around instead.

  Suddenly it all made sense. The way Rose always pulled back. The way Alice had gritted her teeth the night we’d touched. The shock we’d felt as we touched the metal mast of the sailboat—it wasn’t Alice who caused it, but me. And the pirate who attacked us near Bodie Lighthouse . . . had I done that to him? Had I killed a man?

  My mind swam. My father was the only one who’d ever really held me. Alice had tried, but I’d known something wasn’t right. But then, I was excited. Exhilarated. Where I’d felt heat and excitement, she must’ve felt only pain.

  “What’s wrong with me?” I shouted.

  “Nothing’s wrong with you,” said Alice. “Your echo hurts us, that’s all.”

  “When did it start?”

  “It’s always been there. But it’s gotten worse each year.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “The Guardians made us swear we wouldn’t,” said Rose plaintively. “They said it was a curse, and that we shouldn’t make you feel bad about it.”

  I looked at Tessa. “Are they right? Am I cursed?”

  She stared right back at me. “Is it a curse to create light in darkness?”

  My head spun with the possible meanings of who I was. How could I help? Would the others even trust me, when none of them knew what I could do? From their expressions, I was sure I knew the answer.

  I had to get away. I’d had years to get used to being an outsider, but this was different. I’d always known the Guardians didn’t trust me, didn’t value me. But I’d never thought I was a threat to them.

  I leaped up, and was almost to the steps when I heard Tessa calling to me. “I don’t blame you for feeling angry, Thomas,” she said. “You should feel angry. But anger is a powerful force. Use it wisely.”

  I took the steps three at a time. On the grass outside I looked around and tried to decide where to run next. I had to get away from them, the ones who’d lied to me my entire life. They were my world, but my world meant nothing.

  Behind me, the door clicked open, but I didn’t look. I simply turned another corner and hid. I wouldn’t speak to anyone anyway.

  It only took Griffin a moment to find me. He pressed his hands against the ground, and then pointed at me. I. You. Feel, he explained. He looked around before continuing. Feel. Everyone. But. You. Special.

  I guessed he meant that he could track me better than the others. Or maybe he was just warning me there was no use in running. One way or another, he’d find me.

  He sat down like he was planning to stay.

  Seeing the concerned look on his face, I calmed down a little. The Guardians may have told everyone else to keep my element a secret, but not Griffin. They barely had the skill and the patience to communicate with him. All he’d kept from me was an echo he couldn’t have understood. How could he when no one ever touched him either, for fear of triggering one of his seizures?

  I raised my shaking hands to sign. I. You. Hurt.

  He nodded.

  You. Me. Not. Tell.

  He shrugged. Hurt. Only. Little. He reached out and patted my hand, but he’d clamped his jaw shut so the discomfort wouldn’t show.

  I’d never felt as close to him as I did in that moment.

  He lay down on the grass beside me and stared at the fast-moving gray clouds. I did too. Normally they’d have seemed threatening. Normally I’d have been worried. Now, as my pulse slowed down again, I felt almost nothing at all.

  Finally I closed my eyes, just for a moment, to block out the thoughts crowding my mind. A few strikes passed before I opened them again.

  CHAPTER 35

  The others were on the grass beside the shelter. I heard them talking, smelled their dinner of fresh-cooked fish, but I didn’t join them. I didn’t want to see the way they looked at me.

  I walked through Skeleton Town. The storm was growing stronger. Gusts of wind kicked up dust. Clouds whorled low in the sky.

  Soon I reached the building with the storeroom where I’d found the cutlery. Alice had known the moment she saw the emblem on the handles that Skeleton Town hid secrets. But then, she’d known long before that. Perhaps that’s why she found it im
possible to respect the Guardians. Hard to see through lies and not hate the liar.

  We were all liars, though. Alice had been right: We all had secrets—every one of us.

  I entered the building and headed for the back. The storeroom looked the same as before. I wasn’t sure why I was there until I reached for the top shelf and ran my hand along it.

  The pendants were right where I’d left them.

  I took one and put it in my pocket. I didn’t look at the color, or the shape. It was a peace offering—nothing more. Rose would accept it or she wouldn’t.

  I stepped through the crushed glass and headed outside. Rose was on the street, peering through the broken windows of the clinic next door, long hair obscuring her face. When she turned her head toward me, she seemed surprised and then relieved.

  “I heard you wake up,” she said, walking toward me. “But you didn’t join us. I’ve been waiting for you all afternoon.” In her hands she held a cloth, filled with pieces of baked fish. “It’s still warm.”

  I ate greedily.

  “I think you should know: Alice has a plan. Once the pirates have imprisoned our families, we’ll let them get halfway to Skeleton Town and then take the sailboats down the west side of Roanoke. We’ll moor the boats near the ruins of Wanchese, and try to rescue everyone.”

  “Will it work?”

  She shrugged. “Tessa says that if we can free the Guardians, the pirates won’t want to fight us.”

  “Why? They didn’t seem to worry about fighting the Guardians on Hatteras. Captured them pretty easily too.”

  “We don’t know exactly what happened. Anyway, can you think of a better plan?”

  “No.”

  Rose fingered her bangle. Her eyes remained fixed on the ground.

  “How’s Dennis?”

  “Better. Whatever Tessa gave him was a miracle. He’s eating now, trying to make up for lost time.”

  “Well, there’s certainly enough fish to go around.” I quickly realized how that must sound to her—all those dead fish strewn along the shore. “I didn’t mean—”

  “It’s all right.” Finally, she looked at me. “I’m sorry I snapped at you down by the water. I know you kept things from Dennis and me, but I think I understand why. He can’t take much more. Neither can I, to be honest. To watch the sunrise this morning and realize how different today should’ve been . . .” She swallowed hard, fighting tears. “Anyway, I’m sorry. I just needed to vent. And who else could I vent to?”

  I wasn’t sure she expected an answer. Or that I could give her one. So I stuffed the remaining fish in my mouth and slid my empty right hand into my pocket. My fingers closed around the smooth, flat object inside. “This is for you.”

  For a moment, she just stared at the pendant dangling before her. Then she touched it with her fingertips and pressed it against her heart. “I knew it.” She tied the cord around her neck as though she’d been practicing for years. “I just knew that no matter what else happened, you’d be the one to remember my birthday.”

  Her words lingered. It was my turn to speak now, but I said nothing, because the truth would only hurt her. In spite of everything, silence—another lie—was the kindest thing I could offer.

  Rose reached out and took my sleeve. It was a careful, thoughtful move, and I didn’t stop her. Holding just the cloth, she raised my arm and brought it toward her.

  I touched her hair, ran my fingers through the strands draped over her shoulder. They were matted and coarse, coated in sand and blown dry with salt air, but it didn’t matter. Her hair felt as wonderful as I’d always dreamed it would.

  I raised a finger and eased the strands away from her face. She peered up at me with searching eyes, and I was sure I saw longing in her expression. Did she see the same thing in me?

  “I can’t braid my hair,” she said. She held up her injured hands, no longer bandaged, but with angry scabs across both palms. “Would you do it for me?”

  I moved behind her. She gave me instructions, and I followed them. I didn’t touch her skin because I didn’t need to. This was enough.

  When I was done, she handed me a piece of twine so I could tie off the end. She shook her hair, and the braid flapped behind her. She faced the clinic again, and with me standing beside her, contemplated her reflection in a piece of broken glass.

  “You make me feel pretty again,” she said.

  A shout from the water tower interrupted us: Alice announcing that the ship was getting closer. She didn’t sound panicked, but there was no doubt that the time for resting was over.

  We joined Dennis, who stood at the bottom of the tower, still eating. He looked well.

  Tessa was beside him. “The tide has turned, so the ship was finally able to get through the inlet,” she said. “I think we should prepare.”

  Rose collected the empty water canisters and placed them in a bag for me. I slung it over my shoulder and climbed the iron ladder running up the tower. It slid dangerously from side to side, the rungs so rusted that each one left a thick residue on my palms. The wind seemed to accelerate with each step. At the top, the whole tower shifted with each buffeting blast.

  “They’re moving fast,” said Alice, pointing to the south. “Too fast.”

  Through the binoculars, I watched the ship’s tiny flag dance along the treetops. Just ahead, there was a gap in the trees. I focused on it and waited for the ship to get there, so I could see the whole vessel.

  It passed through quickly, and kept moving.

  “The sails are full,” I said.

  Alice smacked the iron rail. “They’re not stopping to the south at all. They’re coming here, to Skeleton Town.”

  “But Tessa said—”

  “I know what she said. And we believed her.”

  “You don’t trust her?”

  “I don’t know. But that ship is heading this way. So we’re going to need a new plan.”

  We filled the canisters and dropped them to Rose. By the time we were done, the ship was racing along the western shore of Roanoke Island. I’d never seen a vessel move so fast.

  “What’s happening?” Rose shouted. Her voice was whipped away by the wind, but I still heard her.

  “We’re not sure,” I yelled back, stalling.

  Alice curled her lip. “Not sure? I think it’s a little late to protect her, don’t you?” When she stared at the ship once again, she seemed to have made a decision. “Stay here and keep us posted. I’m going to get us ready to leave. There’s no time to waste.”

  She climbed down the ladder with quick, confident steps. For half a strike I studied the ship barreling along the western shore. When at last they raised the sails and slowed down, I knew we had an even bigger problem.

  “They’re only four hundred yards south of the sailboats,” I shouted.

  I knew it would be difficult for us to sail away without being seen, but I hadn’t considered that simply getting to the boats might be impossible.

  “Come down,” Alice yelled back. “We have to leave.”

  “What about our parents?” Rose added. “Can you see them?”

  I focused on the ship, now anchored less than two miles away. The pirates had lowered a cutter—a rowboat—from the stern, and were climbing down a ladder to get in. Others slinked down a rope hanging beside it. Ten men squeezed inside the cutter and rowed to shore as a second boat was lowered.

  “Come down, Thom,” Alice yelled.

  Another ten pirates shuttled to the shore as two men returned to the ship with the first cutter. This time their cargo was a long wooden box; it must have been heavy, because it required four men to get it on board.

  “They’re putting a giant wooden box into the cutter,” I shouted.

  Tessa was first to reply. “Describe it.”

  “Rectangular. About the length of . . .” A bo
dy, I was about to say. But I stopped myself. There was something weird about the box, and the way the four men carried it, faces a picture of concentration and solemnity. Please, I thought, don’t let any of our parents be dead.

  The second cutter returned to the ship and collected another group of pirates. I knew that the Guardians would disembark soon, but once again the boat set off without them.

  “Have you seen our parents?” Rose called.

  “They’ll be next. I’m positive.”

  It took longer for the boats to return now. The water was choppy and they were fighting the wind, barely able to hold their course. By the time they made it to the ship, Dare was standing on deck. While more men boarded the cutters, he raised his telescope and surveyed Roanoke Island.

  I was about to hide behind the tower when I realized he’d already seen me. With the binoculars pressed against my eyes, I watched Dare watching me.

  Dare untied the rope ladder from the stern of his ship and let it fall into the cutter. Finally, he slithered down the remaining rope and onto the waiting boat. Then, in a gesture I remembered all too well, he raised his hands and clapped.

  The Guardians were still on board.

  CHAPTER 36

  I gripped the ladder and hurried down. The others had gathered at the bottom of the steps, awaiting news. Griffin was at their center, his finger running through lines in the journals.

  “They’ve left the Guardians on board,” I announced.

  “What?” Rose tugged my sleeve. “But if the ship capsizes, they’ll drown. Anyway, you heard them talking. They said the Guardians would live until they had the solution.”

  “And they’re coming here to get him right now,” Alice reminded her.

  Griffin watched us all. A moment before, he’d seemed energized by his journals. But panic had set in again now. He was aware of it, but not afflicted by it. And perhaps that was the key.

  Dennis gulped deep breaths. “We’re never going to see them again, are we?”

  “Yes, we are,” I replied firmly. I slowed down to make sure that I could sign to Griffin. He needed to understand. “This is what’s going to happen: Alice is going to lead you to the sailboats. Take the route through the marsh and woods; Dare and his men won’t cross a marsh with all their packs. When you reach the boathouse, wait for dark and sail out to the ship. Climb aboard and release the Guardians. Then take them ashore before the hurricane makes landfall.”