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ask Alice if she’d noticed the men’s condition when she’d spied the ship. Was
this
why she wanted them to board—because they were possibly even weaker than us?
    As the fourth man joined the others I afforded myself another glance at the deck of the Sumter ship. I feared Dare more than all the rest of the men combined, but he wasn’t climbing the rope. I couldn’t see him at all.
    â€œWhere’s Dare?” Alice demanded.
    â€œPreparing,” replied the first of the men.
    â€œFor what?”
    â€œYou know why we’re here. Now where’s the solution?”
    Alice took a small step forward. Immediately, the men jammed the rifles against their shoulders, arms rigid, eyes wide. From their body language it was obvious that they were wary of us. Maybe even afraid. Alice shuffled back again at the sight of four restless trigger fingers. Whether or not they intended to harm us, it seemed all too possible that one of them might accidentally fire his weapon.
    â€œThe others are below deck,” said Alice.
    â€œThen bring them up.”
    â€œSo you can take the solution and kill the rest of us, you mean?”
    The man glanced over his shoulder. “We have other weapons than rifles. Less lethal, but possibly even more painful. Would you prefer it if we used those?”
    â€œActually, I’d prefer it if Dare came on board to bully us himself. He’s one of us, you know.”
    The man laughed. “An elemental, yes. And we can see how much he likes you. Enough to lure you to Sumter. Enough to watch you die—”
    He broke off at the sound of footsteps from the Sumter ship. Dare emerged from the stairwell, and regarded the men coolly. “What’s going on?” he demanded, voice smooth yet menacing.
    â€œThe solution’s hiding out below,” answered the man, sounding less confident than before.
    â€œSo what’s stopping you?
You
have guns.
They
are children. Get him now.”
    â€œWhat about our ship?”
    â€œI’ll guard this ship. Just make sure you take those two below deck to guide you. And if they resist or refuse,” Dare added, like it was an afterthought, “just burn the ship. Fire has a tendency to make even the smallest creatures scatter.”

CHAPTER 5
    Y ou heard Dare,” the man told us. “Lead on.”
    When Alice held her ground, he stepped forward and jabbed his rifle into her stomach. She stumbled and fell. Instinctively I reached for the barrel, but before I could pour my element along the metal shaft, shocking the man, Alice grabbed my ankle. “Don’t do it, Thom,” she muttered. “Think of the others.”
    The men stared at the deck planks, as if they were visualizing people hiding out below. But I was looking at the ocean instead, and the figures floating beside the hull of the Sumter ship. Rose lay on her back in the water, eyes closed; it was probably only her element—water—that prevented her from drowning. Ananias and my father continued to watch me, waiting for the sign to board. But with Dare still on the Sumter ship, that would be suicide.
    â€œLet’s go,” the first man said. “Now!”
    Head down, shoulders slumped, Alice led us to the hatch.
    If the men were suspicious, they didn’t show it. But they weren’t taking any chances, either. Two of them pointed their rifles at her, while the others nudged me along behind her.
    I stole a final look at the Sumter ship, and our families bobbing up and down in the water. There was nothing I could do to help them, or to warn them that Dare was still on board. It seemed obvious now that someone would stay to secure the Sumter ship. But why did it have to be Dare?
    A rifle barrel snapped against the backs of my legs, urging me onward. Alice and I pulled open the large hatch door and let it swing onto the deck with a crash. I figured that Father would know that sound and realize we were heading