I looked at Fang. “She’s extracting oxygen from the water.”
“Can you show us?” Fang asked.
Angel got up and trotted to the shore. She plunged in when the water was waist high. I was inches away from her, determined she wasn’t going to get lost again, even for a second.
She knelt down, took a big mouthful of water, and stood up. She seemed to swallow it, then blew air out of her nose. My eyes bulged until I thought they’d just fall out: Rivulets of seawater were seeping out of invisible pores on each side of Angel’s neck.
“Holy moly,” the Gasman breathed.
Nudge explained to Iggy what was happening, and he whistled, impressed.
“And I can do it and stay under and just keep swimming,” Angel said. She wiggled her shoulders, unfolding her wings so they could dry in the bright sunlight.
“I bet I can do it too!” the Gasman said. “’Cause we’re siblings.”
He dropped down into the water and scooped up a big mouthful. Then he swallowed it, trying to blow out air.
He gagged, then choked and started coughing violently. Seawater streamed out his nose, and he gagged again and almost barfed.
“You okay?” I asked when he had finally shuddered to a halt.
He nodded, looking wet, miserable, nauseated.
“Iggy,” I said, “touch Angel’s neck and see if you can feel anything, those pores that water comes through.”
Like a feather, Iggy skimmed his fingertips over her fair skin, all around her neck. “I can’t feel a thing,” he said, which surprised me.
So we all had to try it, just in case. No one except Angel could do it. I’ll spare you the revolting details, but let me just say that’s one stretch of ocean you won’t catch me swimming in for a while.
So Angel could breathe under water. Our abilities kept unfolding, as if certain things had been programmed to come out at different times, like when we reached certain ages. In a way it felt like being kinged in checkers—all of a sudden you had more strength, more power than you had before.
How weird.
Not weird, Max, my Voice suddenly chimed in. Divine. And brilliant. You six are works of art. Enjoy it.
Well, I would, I thought bitterly, if I wasn’t so busy running for my life all the time. Jeez. Works of art or freaks? Glass half empty, glass half full. Like I wouldn’t give up my wings in a second to have a regular life with regular parents and regular friends.
A tinkling laugh sounded in my head. Come on, Max, said the Voice. You and I both know that isn’t true. A regular family and a regular life would bore you to tears.
“Who asked you?” I said angrily.
“Asked me what?” said Nudge, looking up in surprise.
“Nothing,” I muttered. And there you have it. Some people get cool abilities like reading minds and breathing under water, and some people get annoying voices locked inside their head.
Lucky me.
What do you wish you could do, Max? asked the Voice. If you could do anything?
Hmm. I hadn’t thought about it. I mean, I could already fly. Maybe I would want to be able to read minds, like Angel. But then I would know what everyone thought, like if someone really didn’t like me but acted like they did. But if I could do anything?
Maybe you would want to be able to save the world, the Voice said. Did you ever think of that?
No. I frowned. Leave that to the grown-ups.
But grown-ups are the ones destroying the world, the Voice said. Think about it.
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