Firebrand by Antony John Page B

me.
    Why?
I replied.
    Rose. Element.
    My stomach knotted. Why would she risk revealing her element to the Sumter colonists?
    Chief cleared his throat, startling me. “Everything all right, Thomas?”
    I gave a halfhearted nod. “Rose isn’t feeling right, is all. I should . . . you know . . .”
    Chief waved his hand, giving me permission to leave.
    Griffin led the way. We passed the main gate and continued following the exterior wall. When we turned the corner to the fort’s next flank, I saw her.
    Rose was sitting on one of the large boulders at the base of the walls. Water swirled around her legs and up to her waist. The current was fast as the tide fell. Her tunic billowed around her. She held steady against the swell and kept her hands flat against the surface of the water.
    I kept my voice low. “What are you doing, Rose?”
    She didn’t answer. Probably didn’t even hear me. It was a stupid question anyway. We both knew what she was doing.
    I glanced at the battlements to make sure that no one was watching. “We mustn’t use our elements here. People won’t understand—”
    I broke off as a fish surfaced a few yards away from her. I’d seen her lure fish back on Hatteras, but I hadn’t expected her to be able to do it here. Not with her element so weak.
    Rose shut her eyes tight and grimaced as she channeled what little of her element remained. If anyone saw her, they would know that something strange was going on.
    With the fish floundering a couple yards in front of her, Rose eased forward to claim her prize. But as she moved, her concentration must have waned, because the fish pulled away.
    â€œRose!” Marin’s shrill voice filled the air. When she and Dennis pulled alongside me, she pursed her lips. “Did you and Griffin put her up to this?”
    I tried to keep calm. “No. I’ve been telling her to stop.”
    Rose was ignoring us both. Slowly, meticulously, she drew the fish toward her again.
    This time, Marin stepped gingerly over the boulders and brushed by her daughter. The water came up to her waist and then her chest, but she kept moving forward until the fish was within reach. She slid her hand under it and grabbed tightly. The fish struggled, but Marin had done this many times before. She didn’t let go.
    As Rose’s shoulders relaxed at last, Marin carried the fish back to the rocks. She paused beside her daughter. “No more, Rose. This is the last.”
    The fish struggled, silver scales reflecting in the sun, but couldn’t escape her grasp. Tunic slick against her, Marin raised the fish above her and brought it down sharply. She repeated the motion until the fish was dead.
    Something high above us caught my eye then. I glanced at the top of the wall in time to see a flash of bright clothing slide from view.
    Someone had been watching.
    I hurried to Rose’s side. “We mustn’t use our elements anymore. We talked about it, remember?”
    She wouldn’t look at me. Even worse, she was already channeling her element again. She clearly wasn’t content with just one fish, and wanted to feed the entire colony. But what would they make of that?
    I pulled her around. “Stop it, Rose.”
    She seemed to awake from a trance. “Let me be.”
    â€œNo.”
    She slapped the water, showering both of us. “We need to do something, Thomas. You haven’t seen the way these people look at us, like we’re a burden on them.”
    â€œI don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    â€œOf course you don’t. You’ve been with Chief all day. I’m pleased you two get along so well, but unless the rest of us can prove we’re useful, they’ll never welcome us. And then how long will we last?”
    â€œThey want us here, Rose.”
    She gave a wry smile. “Are you sure about that? Seems to me that only Chief really wants