Marks of the Past - 6

Chapter 6

The vote results came in the following night. Just like James had predicted, I won by a landslide. 

James celebrated briefly with me, congratulating me on my increased chances of winning. No one stands a chance against you, he reminded me, easing some of the fear that had been building in my chest. 

He then went back to sitting at Anton’s beside in silence. 

Anton still hadn’t woken up yet, and the doctors weren’t expecting him too. That’s why I left James alone to hide his dignity. 

I spent most of the following day trying to figure out if I had a strategy for the Redemption. James let me go out of the house as long as I didn’t go alone so I took Kass - the maid - with me to the library. 

Together, we pored over books about the Redemption for a few hours, stopping at noon. Some information was helpful - like that an opponent could pull other’s surrender flags down and it was a legal play. Other information was simply intimidating or useless - like the fact that over 300 criminals had died during the Redemption. 

When I returned back to the manor, I confined myself to my room so I could work out a plan. 

The Redemption would take place in the arena right outside the city limits. It was a large stadium surrounded by seats for the Court and the citizens to watch. Generally, the arena landscape changed every year, but it followed the same pattern. Events had to be somewhat visible so spectators wouldn’t get bored - but there had to be some cover in case of gore. 

My mother had only taken me to one Redemption ever. All I remembered was the bloodthirsty roar of the crowd and the scent of sweat and blood. 

Mark was no help in giving me ideas, instead choosing to brood alone in the corner. 

I thought he was still miffed about the fact that I had ignored him when Anton first collapsed, but he still wasn’t speaking to me. 

“I think the surrender thing is useful,” I mumbled to myself, hoping for some feedback. “Is killing allowed?” 

Mark didn’t answer. 

I continued to bat around ideas on how to win with no avail. My advantages - while present - were still relatively few. I would be the last to enter the stadium at about eight at night. That would give me time to eat beforehand, and some of my competitors would probably already be eliminated. I also could receive some helpful items while in the stadium - courtesy of whatever James thought I needed since he was my sponsor. 

At dinnertime, James knocked on my door, startling me out of my thoughts. 

We ate a quiet meal together, trying not to make it awkward. He asked me about what I planned to do, and I told him the slivers of ideas that I’d come up with. 

“Have you ever sponsored before?” I asked him, playing with the food on my plate. 

James’s mouth twitched. “Once, actually. It was quite a few years ago, actually. My mother heard about this little boy who’d supposedly killed his brother. She’d treated his brother, though, and she knew it was the pox. My mom made us go and sponsor the boy.” 

“Did he win?” I couldn’t help asking. 

James paused. “He … he did almost win. Second to last. But the Redemption was longer that year and the crowds were getting bored. The Court had the brilliant idea to give the last competitors hallucinogens to make them fight. He saw his brother in the opponent and ended up taking his own life.” 

My chest felt cold. The Court was really going to go as far as poisoning people just to get a good show of blood. My stomach twisted itself into a knot. 

We were silent for a while before James said, “she would’ve liked you.” 

“What?” 

“She would’ve liked you,” he repeated. “My mom.” 

“Oh.” 

“I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t really know what my father was getting himself into when he first sponsored you,” James admitted. “I guess I believed the rumors about you - that you’re dangerous. He was the one to choose you, not me. But now I realize that he was right and you were wrongly imprisoned. That’s why I have to help you, Leila. I have to finish what he started.” 

A sense of duty. Was that all that James was doing this for? I felt a bit upset that he wasn’t doing this for me, but I understood he had a lot on his plate right now. 

“Thanks,” I mumbled. And that was the end of our conversation.

Back in my room about half an hour later, I was still no closer at figuring out how I wanted to play the Redemption. 

That’s when Mark flew into the room, practically glowing with excitement. 

The thought of him being excited about something scared me. Actually, the thought of him feeling any positive emotion was probably a bad sign.

“Where were you?” I asked him, pretending to be uninterested. 

Mark grinned. “Oh, just you know, exploring. I bet you’re just dying to know what I discovered.” 

“Not really,” I lied. He could probably tell that I was intrigued by his odd excitement.

Mark smiled to himself, definitely seeing right through me. He perched himself on the edge of my bed, crossing his arms and smirked as I spun my chair around with a sigh. 

“Fine, what did you find out.” 

“I found out that everything you thought about James is a lie,” hissed Mark, and then he actually giggled.

Ice filled my chest. It couldn’t be true. 

“And?” 

“After a fair bit of investigation, I have proved my theory of this family having ulterior motives,” Mark explained. “I found this notebook…” 

“A diary,” I clarified, feeling disgusted with myself for giving Mark such free reign. 

Not that I could control a dead dude anyway. 

“Does the form really matter?” I shook my head with another sigh. “The point is - James and Anton are planning a research project involving you.” 

I blinked. Mark couldn’t be telling the truth, could he? “Why?” 

Mark shrugged. “As far as I can tell, it has something to do with magic and the lady’s death.” 

James’s mother’s death then. Apparently, James thought it had something to do with magic. Still, I didn’t see how that related to me. As far as I knew, I wasn’t magical at all - far from it in fact. “I’m not magical though,” I argued. 

“Yes, but you’re related to me,” Mark pointed out, fingers brushing his scar. 

Of course that was the real reason James had sponsored me. It wasn’t because he wanted to be nice or because Anton wanted a daughter-in-law. They wanted me to become a test subject for their little experiments.  

A memory surfaced in my mind and I recalled seeing that weird machine in the laboratory like room. It made sense. 

“How do I know you’re not lying?” I asked softly. 

Mark gave me a look. “We both know that I’m not. This is why James wanted you here, why he’s helping you win the Redemption.” 

I felt sick to my stomach. It had seemed too good to be true, and I guessed that it was. 

“Maybe I should tell him I know,” I said. “I’ll confront him - let him know that I’m not magical and that this is a waste.” 

“You can’t tell them you know,” Mark interjected quickly. 

I raised an eyebrow and Mark sighed. “Leila, if James knows that you are aware of his plan, he’s going to let the Redemption go without his help. He’ll think you’re useless because you won’t be a willing subject.” 

“I won’t be willing even when the Redemption is over,” I pointed out. 

“Just don’t tell him,” Mark said through gritted teeth. “Win the Redemption and then you can run away.” 

“And leave Lexi, Liam, and my mom?” 

“You’re an endangerment to them if you stay,” Mark retorted calmly. 

I spat at him. “You’re just like the rest of them, aren’t you? No one - no one - is on my side. James wants to use me, you’re suggesting I leave my family behind. You called me an endangerment, the exact words that were used when I was arrested.” 

Mark’s smug smirk dripped off of his face as he realized his mistake. “I’m so-” 

“Forget it.” I got up, spinning my chair around and crumpled up the paper I’d been drawing on. “Leave me alone.”

Mark seemed to understand that I was upset because he disappeared like I asked. 

It didn’t feel right to stay up late and wait to talk to James again, so I showered quickly and then went to bed. The Redemption started tomorrow and I couldn't let James know what I’d discovered about his plans. 

The entire world was against me. James only wanted me to research and avenge his mother - whose death I was beginning to have suspicions about. Mark, well, I wasn’t sure what he wanted with me but there had to be a reason that he was helping me uncover this. The majority of the city wanted me dead in the Redemption - the only exception being those at the gala. 

I wondered briefly if my mom would bring Lexi and Liam to the Redemption. Would they watch it live from the stands, or would they find out what happened weeks later when the newspaper article printed? I couldn’t imagine my mom bringing two kids so young to watch a death match, but then again, I was in there. 

Sleep didn’t come and I tossed and turned all night, trying to figure out a way to prove to James that I wasn’t what he wanted. 

Just because I was Mark’s ancestor didn’t automatically make me magical, did it? I’d never shown signs of magic - the only extraordinary thing about me was the mark on my face and the Mark that haunted me. Neither of those things were my fault. 

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that weird things did seem to happen in my presence. It couldn’t be a coincidence that James’s mother died not long after she healed me - especially considering the cause was deemed unknown. Then there was Hazel’s odd illness, and Anton’s too. 

There were only two things in common with all of those. For one, they were all quick and unexpected, mysterious in cause too. 

The only other common factor was me. 

My fingers trembled as I paced back and forth behind the metal bars that separated James and I. 

We were under the stadium right now with about half an hour until I was scheduled to enter the Redemption. Overhead, I could hear the sounds of fighting and scream. Seven criminals had already surrendered and were removed. There was one criminal in critical condition. 

James was wearing what I assumed was his father’s suit. In his hands was a notebook, his pen in his mouth as he copied my pacing. 

The criminals in the Redemption were all given the same relative outfits to wear so no one had an advantage over another. This year we’d been given average shirts and trousers with a simple jacket and boots - all the same shade of black. Stuffed in the bottom of my boot was my white flag of surrender, which would signal that I was giving up if I let it hit the ground. 

In the Redemption I’d watched with my mother, some of the prisoners had worn these flags tied around their heads or arms, as if bragging about their confidence. 

Part of my strategy relied on the stupidity and arrogance of the criminals this year. I hoped I could use this to my advantage since all it would take was a quick distraction to grab their flags and drop them. 

Mostly, I just wanted to survive. 

“You’re going to be fine,” James assured me for the millionth time. At this point, I was pretty sure he was talking to himself more than me. “I’ll be right here and -” 

“I know,” I groaned, probably sounding more rude than I meant to. “Sorry, just scared.” 

“And you have every right to me,” James replied, not really helping. He’d been asking me what specific foods I thought would give me the most energy and what kind of daggers I wanted, recording it so he would know what to give me with. 

A gong sounded in the distance. I had fifteen minutes until my entrance was scheduled. 

My stomach churned and I wished I’d eaten more for dinner. Most of the day had been my outfit preparation, a goodbye from James’s staff, and a quick visit to Anton’s bedside. 

No matter where I went, Mark’s words came rushing back at me. 

I didn’t seem James in the same light now, and I began to notice more of his slips. He didn’t blush when I accidentally brushed his hand the way that I did. Never did he assure me that life would be perfect for the two of us when we returned to the mansion. 

Okay, so maybe they weren’t obvious things. But I’d wanted them. 

The more time I spent with James, the more I trusted Mark’s words about him. They made sense - as much as I hated them - all except for him telling me not to confront James. 

The thing was, I couldn’t hate him. Not yet, not after everything he’d done for me. Maybe it had been a lie and maybe James would never feel for me the same way I felt for him. But that didn’t mean that he was a bad person, and if he wasn’t “bad” then there was still the chance that he’d change his mind about using me. 

“I know why you’re doing this,” I whispered.

James turned to me, forcing a smile onto his face. I could tell it wasn’t really when he spoke through clenched teeth. “What do you mean?”

I gripped the bars that separated us and James came forward until we were less than three inches away from each other. I opened my mouth and began to whisper to him. “I know that you just want me for research, but that’s okay because I know that deep down in there you don’t actually want to-”

James didn’t let me finish. “How did you find out about that?” His eyes were narrowed. 

I stuttered for a response. “I, uh, found it that night I was up and exploring.” Not a complete lie, so I hoped it would be fine. “But I understand why you did it.” 

“You do?” James asked, raising an eyebrow. 

I nodded fiercely. Of course I understood that he was doing this for his mother, that he felt bad for killing her. 

He breathed out a sigh of relief. “So I can let your siblings and mother go then?”

I dropped the bars, stumbling backwards. Mark hadn’t told me that little nugget of information. “You … you took my family?” 

James paled and I struggled to realize what had actually happened. “It was just a precaution,” he said quickly. “I … I worried that you wouldn’t be willing to be our subject so I thought I would-” 

It was my turn to cut him off. “You kidnapped my family so you could use them to force me into being an experiment?” 

Mark had been right all along. My heart had led me astray. 

James hung his head. “I wasn’t going to kill them unless you weren’t going to cooperate. But if you’re going to do it willingly-” 

“No!” I shrieked. “I’m not doing this willingly. James, I was trying to admit that I liked you and that I wanted you to rethink your course of action.” 

Because I was stupid. Because I’d foolishly believed that Anton’s lie about me becoming his daughter-in-law would come true. Because, for some weird reason, I’d managed to fall for a guy who wanted me for an experiment. 

“Lei, I-” 

“Don’t call me that,” I spat. It was almost as bad as Mark calling me jenya. “I can’t believe I ever thought-”

“I can’t believe it either,” he mumbled in disbelief, brows creasing. “A girl like you and a guy like me. How could you ever think that was going to work out?” He scoffed and something inside of me cracked. 

“What … what do you mean?” 

There was a sneer when he looked back up at me. “You have no idea, do you? No one ever told you before. Well now I’m telling you that you destroy everything you touch.” 

The words felt like a punch to my stomach. “I-”

“Save your excuses,” he spat. “Your kind killed my mother. Are you trying to become the next King Mark?” 

The remark hit a little too close to home. I was becoming defensive now. “James, please. I just … Let my family go. They have nothing to do with this - and nor do I. Magic isn’t my thing, and I didn’t kill your mom.” 

James shook the bars angrily and I took another step back. “You want to know why I chose you for the Redemption?” he snarled. “I chose you because I thought maybe I could learn to see the good in the magical. I actually thought I would like you, and I did at first. Now I know you’re a monster, just like the rest of them. In fact, you're the worst of them all.” 

“You’re the one who kidnapped my family!” 

“You killed my mother, and now you’re going to do the same to my father!” James cried out. 

He let go of the cage bars and threw his hands up. “I can’t believe I ever trusted something like you.” Then he turned back to me, spitting at my feet. “Good luck winning without my help.” 

“James!” I shouted after him, confused, dazed, and terrified.

I hadn’t killed his mother, nor was I trying to kill his father. At least, I hadn’t thought about it and I had no idea how it was possible. 

James stopped when he reached the doorway. His eyes were red when he turned to me and I could almost believe that he’d thought of me the same way I thought of him. “You have two weeks,” he whispered. “Two weeks to win the Redemption and save my dad or I’m going to kill your family and all the other freaks like you.” 

The gong sounded again, right on time. It drowned out my sobs as James walked away, leaving me alone to face the Redemption. 

The doors opened painfully slowly. Immediately, the sunlight blinded me and the floor tilted under me, spilling me onto the ground. 

At least my family wouldn’t be here to see this. 

The roar of the crowd made it hard to think as I tried to get my bearings. You need to focus.

I was at the edge of the stadium, and all around me were stone walls about eight feet tall. So that meant that the plan for this year was a maze of some sorts. It made sense - the spectators could see over the walls but I couldn’t. 

Hanging on the stones directly in front of me was a leather belt with two knives. I grabbed it quickly, assuming it was my single gift from James.

Maybe he didn’t mean all that he said… 

I wasn’t fooling anyone with that thinking. The only reason he would want me alive was for revenge, and at this point that was entirely plausible. 

The lucky thing was that I was the last criminal to enter the game. For some reason, the crowd seemed to be pleased with my entrance so I could only hope they would pressure James into actually helping me. 

A scream echoed down the corridors of the maze, interrupting my thoughts. 

You’re in the middle of a stadium full of things that want you dead, I reminded myself, rubbing my temples. It was impossible to think straight with all the noise. You need a plan. 

Briefly I wondered if maybe I could climb the stone walls, but I quickly shot down the idea. Climbing up the walls would provide me a view of the arena, but it would also make me a visible target for anyone looking for easy prey. Not to mention the Court might see it as cheating and forcibly remove me from the Redemption - or worst. 

I decided my best bet was to hide and maybe do some random things to make the crowd cheer for me and pry at James to help me. If it attracted any attention from opponents, I would use my strategy of stealing their surrender flags. 

This idea proved harder than I thought. 

Whoever had designed the maze had clearly thought it out well. I was pretty sure the maze wasn’t meant to actually lead anywhere, so finding the outskirts of it would prove difficult. It didn’t help that the maze was designed to lead competitors to each other and not to the outside edges. 

After maybe an hour of walking in circles, I was beginning to feel the chill of the winter wind. The stadium was surrounded by mesh and a plastic-type covering designed to keep out the elements, but it did nothing for temperature. 

Fresh water and a jacket, I decided. If I made it to the edge, that’s what I would ask for first. 

Of course, that meant I had to get to the edge first. 

I walked for a little while longer, but night was falling quickly. Lanterns dangled from arches over the top of the maze, illuminating the path itself but making the shadows deeper. 

Another scream, and it sounded close to me. I froze.

Something was coming towards me, and it didn’t sound like it was one of my opponents. 

That was when something knocked me to the ground and nearly killed me.

Author's Note

Sorry if this chapter is a little longer than the others - I lost track of how much I actually had to write. The next two chapters will start picking up in the plot of the story (especially in terms of characters and an actual goal). Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!