Chapter 17

“Ember… Come one, wake up,” a voice said and I felt someone lightly slapping my cheek. The tone of voice sounded similar to how one would speak to a pet. I slowly opened my eyes to see Griffin. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty.” He had a smirk on his features.

 

“Griffin?” I asked.

 

“Sleeping on the job? Tsk, tsk, tsk. I expected better from you, Ember.” I blinked a few times in confusion. When had I fallen asleep? Then it all came back to me and I sat up straight, panicking.

 

“Gale!”

 

“Relax, he’s alive. And so are you,” Griffin answered, gesturing behind him. I looked to see Gale lying on his back with Nyssa healing him. He was still unconscious, but I could tell he was still breathing.

 

“And what about Pathos?” I asked.

 

“I’ve been keeping him shocked into a coma,” Griffin answered dismissively. I moved to sit next to Gale, gently pushing his hair out of his face. He slowly opened his eyes and tears spilled down my cheeks.

 

“Those lying jerks… there’s not tunnel,” he said. I gave a watery laugh and hugged him tightly.

 

“Don’t ever do that again,” I cried.

 

“Alright. Note to self: Don’t ever die.”

 

“Good luck with that one,” Griffin muttered. “You guys missed most of the fighting. Get up and we’ll get your dad out of here.” I nodded and helped Gale up before the four of us began running back to where the others were. When we arrived, I could see that very few men remained from Pathos’ crew.

 

“What happened?” Jim asked when he saw me. He ran up and I wiped the tears that were still on my face.

 

“I’ll tell you later. Let’s go get my dad,” I answered.

 

“Ebony, bring a couple sparks for light,” Griffin said and she glared at him. She threw a fireball in his direction, but he jumped out of the way with a smirk.

 

“Cut it out!” Ari ordered. “We need to hurry up and get out of here!”

 

“Put your arguments aside until we’re on Ember’s ship,” Tobias added.

 

“Fine, but then Griffin’s dead,” Ebony muttered and manipulated a few fireballs to float above her head. I rolled my eyes and we all stole the two longboats Pathos’ crew had captured us in, starting back towards the Aurum.

---

 

Once back inside the hull of Pathos’ ship, we were forced to use Ebony’s flames in order to have any visibility. There weren’t any sounds, but for our footsteps. I didn’t find that comforting in the least. It was just as silent when Gale and I had first snuck onto the ship.

 

“Morph,” I whispered. “Go find Dad. Come back when you do and lead us to him.” Morph saluted me and darted off, slipping between the cracks of the walls. We all stood in silence for a moment, not daring to move. Gale and I were constantly glancing around, trying to find danger.

 

“He found your father,” Willow whispered, no doubt hearing Morph’s happy chattering.

 

“Great. Can you tell how far away he is?” Gale asked.

 

“Not very far. Morph is on his way back.” As if on cue, the little shape-shifter zipped in front of us, performing back flips in the air. He transformed into a miniature of my father, causing me to shudder at the sight of his frailty. Noticing this, Gale stepped forward.

 

“Take us to him,” he ordered. Morph turned back into his usual form and started flying through the corridors. All nine of us ran after him, quickly finding Dad’s cell. He looked even weaker than the last time I’d seen him. He was also more mangled, no doubt from the crash. Meltdown was dead the next time I saw him. I would personally make sure he never saw the light of day again.

 

“Dad,” I hissed. “Dad, please wake up.”

 

He slowly opened his eyes and looked up to see my probably frantic expression. I felt a hand lightly touch my arm, carefully pushing me away from the cell door. I looked behind me to see Tobias as he reached forward and easily ripped the door off its hinges. Once it was out of the way, Gale, Jim and I ran into the cell to help my dad. He smiled weakly at us and I had to fight back tears. None of his mechanical parts seemed to be functioning, even his right eye. His left eye had lost the spark I’d always seen when I was growing up, as though he was ready to give up on living. I couldn’t count the bruises and scrapes that adorned my father and he seemed even thinner than before. I wondered if he was fed at all the entire time he was held captive. I brushed the tears from my eyes before then could be seen and helped him into an upright position. His laser tether shackles were off, just as mine had done.

 

“Ya both escaped?” Dad asked weakly.

 

“Of course we did. You know us,” Gale answered and motioned for Tobias to enter the cell. “Tobias, we need you to carry him while we escape. He can’t move on his own. The Child of Earth nodded silently and we helped him get my father onto his back. That was when Ari leaned into the cell, his head showing through the doorway.

 

“We’ve got a problem,” he called, his voice sounding urgent.

 

I glanced at Jim and Gale with concern before running out into the hallway. Jim and my brother were right behind me. Standing before us, in front of the other Elemental Children, was a very muscular man with the features of a panther. He was wearing a pair of loose, tan pants and a red shirt, though he had nothing on his feet. I knew from experience that going barefoot made it easier to climb in the rigging. This man must have done so often, judging by the muscles built up in his legs. That put is at a great disadvantage for running away.

 

“D****t,” I muttered under my breath, staring into the panther’s yellow eyes.

 

He scowled at me and I was suddenly paralyzed by fear, though I didn’t understand why. I’d never seen this man, neigh… this monster, before in my life. Except… except for when Morph transformed to look just like him, back on Ethrum! That still didn’t explain my fear of him, though. Glancing around me, I saw Gale frozen, just as I was. I realized he was the one I was picking up the fear from. Never before had I felt his, or anyone’s, emotions so intensely. The scowl slowly disappeared from the panther’s features, only to be replaced by a frightening smirk.

 

“The Hollow boy. I thought you’d left the night I disposed of your mother,” he said.

 

His voice was a deep bass, but held a growl in it. I figured the growling undertones were because of his species and not any anger. I glanced between the two of them quickly, but Gale’s rage didn’t rise as I’d expected. Instead, he remained frozen. My own fear was growing. In the amount of time I’d known him, I’d never seen my brother like this.

 

“C-Charon,” Gale whispered.

 

“Now, I’ll finish what I started.” Before he could take a step, Ebony threw a fireball at him, hitting his face.

 

“Don’t even think about it,” she warned darkly, two more fireballs floating above her.

 

“Ebony, make an exit,” Ari ordered.

 

She nodded and threw another fireball at the wall, creating a large hole. Tobias ran through first with my dad on his back. I pushed Gale through our escape, causing him to stumble, and the others followed behind us. Running through the narrow corridors, I could hear more footsteps than I should have. There was more of Pathos’ crew following us. We passed through a doorway and Griffin slammed it shut behind us. He then drew on the electricity around us and shot it around the edges of the door, sealing it shut. As I ran, I glanced back at him to see him just standing in front of the door.

 

“Griffin, move it!” I yelled as I stopped running. The others did as well, now that I’d drawn attention to the Child of Fire.

 

“Nah. You guys go on ahead,” he answered over his shoulder, a smirk on his lips.