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.
CHAPTER 30
Recognize 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 tsked. “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.”