Read Online Renegade by Antony John - Free Book Online Page B

light that penetrated the darkness. There wasn’t time to warn him either. I grabbed his hand and poured my element through him.
    What happened next was a blur. A giant flame shot out from his fingers and incinerated the rats. The metal duct melted instantly. And from next door came an ear-splitting scream.
    Jerren sprinted back to the galley as Ananias pushed me away. My brother staggered back against the wall, petrified, both hands raised as if he was fending off an attack. “What did you do to me?” he yelled.
    I shook my head uselessly. I didn’t know what he was talking about.
    Footsteps pounded in the galley. “Help!” shouted Jerren.
    Ananias kept a wide berth as he slid around me and out of the cabin. I had to follow, but hesitated as I recalled the expression on Ananias’s face. It showed more than just anger. Ananias had been
frightened
.
    Ananias’s was the next voice I heard. “Oh no,” he cried. “Get her water. Now!”
    I could barely make my legs move, let alone carry me to the galley. I hadn’t even made it to the door before Tarn rushed by. “What’s going on?”
    Step by agonizingly slow step, I made it into the galley. Alice was trying to touch her face, but Ananias was holding her hands back. “Check her eyes,” he shouted.
    Tarn leaned over her daughter and stared into Alice’s eyes. Alice blinked several times and gave a slow nod.
    â€œWhat can we do for the burns?” asked Jerren.
    â€œCold damp cloths,” said Tarn. “Then ointment, if there’s any left.”
    Alice’s face was red and blotchy. There was a long cut across her cheekbone where an object must have hit her—probably the charred piece of wood beside her.
    â€œI thought it would hold,” said Jerren, pointing to the wood. He looked at Alice. “How can she be burned? She’s got the element of fire.”
    â€œIt’s lucky she does. Otherwise she might not have any face at all,” said Ananias. He breathed in and out through his teeth. “What just happened, Thomas?”
    Again, I had no answer. “We . . . combined?”
    Alice coughed gently. “Thom did it to me too, when we were changing ships. He took out the four Sumter men. I wasn’t ready to combine, but the fire came anyway.”
    â€œWhat’s going on?” I demanded. “Just tell me what I did!”
    Maybe Ananias was swayed by seeing that Alice was going to be all right, or by the fact that I had no clue what was happening. Either way, he grew calmer. “You took over my element.”
    â€œThat’s impossible.”
    He wouldn’t even look at me. “Clearly not.”
    I scanned the room for any sign of support. Only Tarn was watching me, and as our eyes met, she looked away quickly. “Did you already know?” I asked her.
    She licked her dry lips. “You should speak to your father, Thomas.” It was as close to yes as I would get.
    I wanted to get out of that room, and I wanted answers, so I ran to the stairs and went up on deck. Father was at the wheel again.
    My entire body was shaking, but not from fear or confusion. I was furious. “They say I can take over their elements. What are they talking about?”
    He kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, probably so that he wouldn’t have to look at me. “This isn’t the right time, Thom—”
    â€œIt’s
never
the right time. You’ve had sixteen years, Father. So tell me, when do I get to know who I am?”
    There were several sets of footsteps on the stairs. We were about to have witnesses. That suited me fine—why shouldn’t everyone else discover that I’d been lied to yet again?
    â€œRight now you’re too angry,” Father said. “You need to—”
    I didn’t let him finish. Just grabbed his arm and gave him a taste of that anger. He whipped his head around, eyes wide. We shared