Renegade Read Online Free Page B

below deck. Since I hadn’t signaled to him, he’d also know there was a problem.
    I was first through the hatch. I walked down the stairs slowly, keeping the others close behind. Although I couldn’t see them, I was sure that if we were bunched up, it would be harder for the men to move their weapons about.
    The worn wooden stairs creaked under the weight of six people. The men were breathing heavily—was it from exhaustion, or fear? True, they had guns, but they must have realized that they were heading into the bowels of the ship, where they’d be outnumbered by elementals.
    Sure enough, the footsteps stopped. “I’ll wait here,” said the last man in the procession. “We need to cover ourselves.” There was a murmur of agreement. “I don’t think the girl should go on, either. Doesn’t take both of them to show us where everyone’s hiding.”
    I craned my neck to check out the men’s positions on the stairs: two immediately behind me, rifles raised; another two behind Alice, also poised to fire if provoked. Each man grasped his weapon with both hands, which meant that they didn’t have hold of the rail that ran along the wall.
    Alice gave a slight nod and flexed her fingers in readiness. “Go ahead, Thom,” she said calmly. “I’ll be right here.”
    I spun around and grabbed the two rifle barrels immediately behind me. My pulse was racing and my element surged through them, shocking the men. Alice whipped her hands back and jerked the other men’s rifles forward. Off-balance and without a free hand, all three of them tumbled down the stairs and careened into my two guards. I jumped out of the way as the five bodies crashed to the base of the stairs.
    Alice seemed to take the brunt of the fall, but she was also the first to emerge from the pile. One guard separated himself from the others and tried to extricate his rifle, but he was still fumbling with it as I kicked it into his chest. Another man ripped it from him and swung it toward me.
    I grabbed Alice’s outstretched hand. Even before we combined—before the fire leaped out—I imagined it. Felt it, even—the shape of the flame and the intensity of the heat. And as the fire burst through the air, it was exactly as I knew it would be.
    The men shrank back. Not one of them held on to his weapon.
    It was tiring to combine, though, and Alice seemed surprised by it, maybe even unsettled. Barely a moment passed before the flame weakened. Sensing it, the men shielded their faces with raised arms and edged toward us. Alice and I backtracked halfway up the staircase, anxious to escape while we still had control.
    One of the men retrieved his rifle, but the wooden stairs were smoldering. Smoke obscured his view. He aimed the barrel in our direction, but there was only a harmless click as he pulled the trigger.
It must be the heat,
I thought, but neither Alice nor I waited to find out. As he roared in anger, we scrambled up the remaining steps and rolled onto the deck.
    I slammed the hatch door and Alice slid the large steel bolt across, imprisoning the men below.
    â€œLet’s go,” she said.
    We were halfway across the deck when there was a new sound: blunt objects pounding against the hatch door. It bulged slightly with each strike, straining the hinges.
    â€œThey’re going to break through,” said Alice. “We need to get everyone on board the other ship, and quick.”
    â€œAre you crazy? Dare’s still on it.”
    She ran a few steps and peered at the ship. “He’s not on deck.”
    â€œSo?”
    â€œSo this is our chance. Give me a moment and signal to the others to get on board. And whatever happens, keep that hatch door closed.”
    Right on cue, the men struck it even harder than before. One of the hinges came up with it, freeing the metal screws from the splintered wooden deck.
    Alice took off running. She stretched