Chapter 11

The time dragged on in that cell, making Gale and me antsier by the day. We came to know who each of the other Elemental Children around us were. We also discovered that we were in a part of the brig that was separated from any other prisoners. That meant my dad was on the other side of the ship. The image of him as I’d last seen him was burned into my brain. He looked so beaten, like he would fall apart if I touched him. It broke my spirit to see him like that and I often found it hard to keep my hopes up fro escaping that place. I felt a hand on my cheek and turned to look at Gale as he wiped a tear from my face. That was when I realized I’d been crying. I wiped my eyes, shaking my head. The last thing I needed was to break down now.

 

“I’m fine,” I mumbled.

 

“Ember, do you really think the one you sent Morph to get will be able to get us out of here?” Nyssa asked. She was the other Child of Wind and Ari’s younger cousin, being sixteen years old. She was probably the most hopeful of the group.

 

“I know Jim will get us all out of here, my father included. Then, we’re going to get rid of Pathos once and for all.” I wasn’t about to go into detail about how I wanted to kill Pathos in the most inhumane way possible. Nyssa was a kind-hearted girl with the gift of Healing. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her such gruesome things.

 

“We’re almost there,” Willow mumbled. “He said we should be arriving on Ementia by tomorrow.”

 

She was eighteen years old and very shy. That was one of the few times I’d heard her speak. Her gift was of Hearing, allowing her to have extrasensory hearing. She knew every conversation being spoken on the ship and could even hear what was happening back on the Argent. She had told me Jim’s reaction when Morph explained what happened. Let’s just say it wasn’t pretty.

 

“Tomorrow?” Gale asked. “So soon?”

 

“You’ve been here for about a week,” Ari answered.

 

“They’re coming,” Willow said and we all stopped talking.

 

It wasn’t long before the footsteps could be heard by the rest of us. Gale didn’t budge as the door was opened just enough for two trays of food to be slid across to us. The first couple of days, he’d tried to attack whoever came. He’d been stopped by the laser-tether around his wrists and quickly gave up on that option. He was on to working on a different way of getting out of the cell. He didn’t like the idea of waiting to be rescued, something I could sympathize with him.

 

“What? Nothing to spice up the gruel?” Griffon asked with what I could only guess was a smirk. Every day he made a comment like that and every day, the man who brought our meals would growl at him. Today was different and I could hear the low hum of some kind of gun. I assumed it was an EP, seeing as Pathos wanted us alive.

 

“Don’t,” another man ordered. “He’ll only use it against you.”

 

I cursed under my breath, causing Gale to glance at me in surprise. He wasn’t used to me using foul language as I just had. The two men finished their job and left the brig, leaving only silence behind them.

 

“So, we have a day,” I muttered as I picked at the strange, bland mush on the tray I held. Gale did the same, his lip curled in disgust as he stared at the ‘food’.

 

“Give or take,” Ari answered from his cell.

 

“Let’s hope your little plan with the other ship works out,” Ebony said in a bored tone.

 

“Jim is working hard to prepare your crew,” Willow whispered and I nodded, though she wouldn’t see it.

 

As we all ate in silence, I couldn’t help but wonder what my ability was. Willow had Hearing, Griffon had Absorption, Nyssa had Healing and Gale had Clairvoyance. I didn’t know about Ari, Ebony, Tobias, who was the other Child of Earth, or myself. Did I have anything useful, that might help us escape?

 

“Ari, what are some other gifts Elemental Children can have?” I asked, breaking the silence.

 

“Tobias has Strength, which makes him a lot stronger than most beings. Ebony’s got Pyrokinesis, which allows her to manipulate fire, but not create it. I have the gift of Reading, so I know what every Elemental Child I meet is gifted with,” he answered.

 

“So, what do I have?”

 

“I was wondering when you’d ask that. You have the gift of Empathy. You can read other people’s emotions. It makes you really good at finding out what makes people tick.”

 

“I thought that was natural!” I exclaimed. I’d never realized my accuracy in reading people was some kind of gift.

 

“Nope.”

 

“So… how does one become an Elemental Child?”

 

“It’s based off a parent’s name. My dad’s name was Blaise, which is related to fire. That’s why I’m a Child of Fire,” Ebony answered.

 

“But my mother’s name was Talia,” I mumbled.

 

“That means Heaven’s dew,” Willow answered. “It’s a water name.”

 

“What about you, Gale?” My brother glanced at me and scowled. I backed away slightly from his glare. I didn’t think he’d ever open up about what had happened to his mother, or any information on her for that matter.

 

“Siren Hollow,” he said simply. I blinked a few times in surprise. Then I realized that sirens were mythical creatures, sometimes said to be part mermaid. The were often seen as water-creatures.

 

“Wait a minute,” I said. “How do we gain these ‘powers’ if this is all based on a parent’s name, not blood?”

 

“Beats the s**t outta me,” Griffon muttered. I then heard the sound of a metal can knocking against something hard. “Ow! What the hell, Ari?!”

 

“They made a good choice putting you in the cell across from mine. Don’t speak like that to a woman,” Ari answered.

 

“F**k you!” Another clunk. “Ow! Where are you getting these projectiles?!”

 

“I have a pile over here. I’ve been saving them up because I just knew they’d be useful somehow.”

 

“I thought Gale was supposed to be the one with Clairvoyance!”

 

“I grew up with pirates. Language doesn’t bother me,” I said, hoping to stop their argument.

 

“Geez, Ari, why couldn’t you have Phasing?! That would’ve been a lot more useful!”

 

“I didn’t exactly get a choice,” Ari answered, though his voice was strained. I figured hew as trying not to yell at the sophomoric young man that was Griffon.

 

“Both of you shut up!” Gale yelled. “Now’s not the time for arguing. We need to plan out what we’re going to do when this ship lands on Ementia tomorrow.” I glanced at my brother and smiled, glade he wanted to put an end to the fighting among allies. We’d already had enough of that in the beginning of our voyage.

 

“Gale’s right,” Tobias answered, speaking for the first time since he’d first introduced himself a week ago. His voice was a smooth baritone, deeper than Ari’s but not as rough as Griffon’s. “The only way we can hope to live is if we come up with a way to help Ember’s husband from our end.” I smiled in the darkness and turned towards my brother.

 

“Any ideas?” I asked him.

 

“Actually, I’ve been working with a few,” Gale answered with a smirk.

Author's Note

First off, I want to talk about the whole siren-in-mythology thing. In Ancient Greek mythology... a lot of things get mixed around. There are two different main ideas around the sirens. Both of them have to do with luring sailors into the rocky cliffs on which they live. The reasons why vary. Anyway, the two main ideas are that the sirens were either part bird, like Harpies (I'm not going into those), or they were part mermaid. Both ideas are equally accepted, so I decided to go with a water-being because it fit in better with my story.

I just want to let you guys know what Phasing is, because I don't know if I'll mention it later in the story. Phasing allows the person to 'phase' through walls, doors, etc. In other words... if Ari had that, he wouldn't be there.