Marks of the Past - 12

Chapter 12

“But I don’t have the Hidden Arts,” I protested immediately. 

Nik gave a frustrated chuckle. “Look, I don’t care what secrets you think you can keep from us, but this is important. I could’ve died if Jonah hadn’t recognized the magic.”

A shiver rolled through my body and I pulled the blanket up to my chin. 

Nik frowned, pressing his hand to my forehead. “You’re still feverish.” Then he quickly peeled his hand away and blinked a few times. “Leila, please. Tell me why you didn’t tell.”

I gave a small shrug. “I didn’t know about it.”

“You expect me to believe that?” Nik snorted. I gave him a look and he returned one of his own. “Every child is tested for magic at the age of six - whether Miryir or the Republic.”

“I was homeschooled.”

“And you’re telling me that they didn’t come looking for you? Every single registered child has to be tested.”

“Well I didn’t know until about a week ago.”

“Oh, so just about the time you came to live at the cabin, is that it? Did James tell you that?” He added a little snarl to James’s name, making it obvious what his opinion was. 

I shot him a glare. “You have to believe that I had no idea. Because I didn’t.”

Nik gave a small laugh. “With that scar on your face, every person you’ve ever encountered should know you’re magical. Why didn’t you tell us? And what else are you hiding?”

“Nothing.” My answer was too quick - Nik definitely wasn’t convinced.

“You talk in your sleep, y’know. I heard you whispering the name Mark over and over again, and you screamed a few times. The captain wanted to toss you overboard.”

I almost wanted to make a comment about he should’ve, but something else had piqued my attention. “Wait, you were watching me sleep?”

Nik’s cheeks flushed bright red. “Chelsea, Jonah, Rave, and I all took turns watching you and also Kyle.” He gestured to one of the hammocks where I could make out Kyle’s pale, freckled form. 

“What exactly happened on the docks?” I whispered. 

Nik ran a hand through his hair. “It’s kind of a long story.” And then he plunged right into it.

Nik and Jonah had just arrived at the boat when the dust was set off. They managed to get Kyle inside before attacking three of James’s soldiers who’d gone left just in case and steal their masks. Meanwhile, Rave and Chelsea had met up in the center and managed to find their way to the boat, where they’d hidden away. Nik had gone looking for me, claiming that I was a necessity for the mission. He’d found me right after James had stabbed me - though I was lucky because he hadn’t heard the conversation. Then he’d attacked the guards and tried to carry me to safety.

“The rest was a blur,” Nik admitted. “Once I stopped you from rolling into the water, one of the patrolmen grabbed me. Then there was this light … and it looked like it was coming from you.”

“Then everyone got knocked out,” I guessed. 

Nik nodded gravely. “It’s called a death sleep - which is how Jonah figured out that you had the Hidden Arts. Kyle managed to put someone into it a couple times, but he never truly knew how it worked.

“So James is still alive?” I asked, trying to keep the fear out of my voice. 

Nik narrowed his eyes. “Why do you always ask about James? Were you two a thing, or is it just my very realistic imagination?”

I honestly wasn’t sure how to answer that. Had James and I been a thing? Anton had offered me to James in marriage, which had to count for something. But then I’d killed Anton and so James had stabbed me and at this point whatever we’d felt for each other had shifted. If James had ever even felt positive towards me in the first place. I doubted that his heart ever fluttered when he thought about me. 

“Fine,” Nik sighed. “I don’t care about that. But were you the one who tipped him off? Chelsea said you two ran into him that night you snuck out.”

Of course she’d ratted me out. 

I shook my head quickly. “Nik, I promise that I never hinted at James that I was with you guys or that we planned to leave for Miryir at a certain time. Ask Chelsea, she eavesdropped.”

“We’ve already been over this,” Nik said. “She said that you killed James’s parents.”

“She told me she wouldn’t tell anyone!”
“Your life was in danger!” Nik argued back. “When we finally got you on the ship, you’d lost so much blood and the dust had done its damage on your lungs. We thought you were …” His voice cracked. 

I was a bit startled, actually. Nik had never really shown emotion like this before, and he barely knew me. 

And then, like a flip of a coin, he was back to his lips pressed together in a tight line. “We need you to get the Cursebreaker’s attention and save Kyle. That’s why I went back for you. The first thing they told us in the army was to never leave a man behind.”

“Wait, army?”

Nik raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t know I’m from Miryir?”

“What does that have to do with the army?” 

“They draft kids from the age twelve up,” Nik answered calmly, as if that wasn’t a big deal. “You train for a few years unless they're on a shortage like they are now, since they’ve been sending troops to the outer edges of the kingdom to quell the uprisings.”

I nodded, though my understanding of Miryir history was limited. From what I knew, Miryir was a super religious country that enforced the worship of some major deity. I guess there was a lot of dissent about whether the practice should actually be mandatory, and the king had decided to maintain his position so there were uprisings from the people. 

But I had know idea that they used children as soldiers. 

I was saved a response when Chelsea descended back into the room, a tiny pouch in her hands and Jonah and Rave following her. 

“I brought biscuits,” Chelsea announced, opening the pouch and showing me inside. My stomach growled and I reached for the bag, but Chelsea snatched it back before I could take it. “Only people who tell us what happened on the docks get fed.”

“C’mon, I’m starving,” I argued. 

“Food comes after answers,” Jonah said, making his stance clear. I stuck my tongue out at him. “Nik, did you get anything out of her?”

Nik shook his head. “Not much.” He quickly explained my claim that I had no idea that I had the Hidden Arts, but he made it clear that I wasn’t to be believed. Then he turned back to me. “Leila was just about to explain what her connection is to James and how he knew we were going to be leaving.”

“That was before you distracted me about Miryir!”

“And now you’re just trying to stall.”

There was no escaping this one. The Shadows wanted to know all about James and they wouldn’t leave me alone until I satisfied them with an answer. Maybe I could lie… 

That’s out of the question, a tiny voice protested inside of me. It didn’t seem right to lie to them when all they’d done was help me. Besides, I couldn’t carry this forever and at this point I don’t think there was any chance of my friendship with James being redeemed. 

“He sponsored me,” I said, though I was pretty sure I’d already told Chelsea that. My heart thudded wildly in my chest and my lips begged to spill the story. 

Suddenly, Mark was standing behind the others. It’d been so long since I’d seen him - besides the dreams, of course. He looked … paler, in a way. Slowly, he shook his head back and forth. A warning. 

“Chelsea was trying to rescue Becky, and she anonymously suggested James sponsor a dark haired teen girl.” I sent a glance her way, but she didn’t seem to care that I was telling so I plunged ahead. “James was so nice to me… he promised he would help me win the Redemption. He bought me stuff, talked to me like I wasn’t a monster - like he didn’t care that I was quite possibly a murderer. James was different, and I foolishly fell for his act.” 

My voice broke and I stopped as all the pictures of me and him together came surfacing back in my head. I saw him encouraging me to try new weapons. I saw him holding me in his mother’s office as I cried even though I shouldn’t have. I saw him injured in the garden, me standing over him as if to protect him. 

“He thinks … he knows I killed his parents, and that’s why he wants me so badly. James believes he can use my Hidden Arts to bring them back. I don’t know how he knew we were leaving when we did, but it doesn’t matter now.” No, because there was no going back. 

James had stabbed me, his point clear. He wouldn’t let feelings get in his way. 

Nik blew out a breath, rubbing his temples. “Well, it certainly complicates things. How far do you think James would be willing to go for you?”

I blushed at the question. It almost sounded like a good thing. 

“Pretty far,” I admitted. “You … you saw what he did to me at the docks. He’s not going to stop just because there’s an ocean between us.” He’d chase me to the edge of the world if he had to.

“We’ll just have to be extra careful,” Jonah decided, ever the optimist. 

Chelsea snorted. “Don’t tell Nik that. Extra careful means we won’t be leaving the safehouse until the day we find the Cursebreaker.”

“Speaking of playing it safe,” Nik interjected, “we need to keep our voices down. The captain and crew assume that we’re smuggling hostages across the border - which is the only way we were able to get Leila and Kyle on board while unconscious without raising questions. So don’t talk about the Cursebreaker, James, or magic at all.”

“Wasn’t it suspicious when you came aboard unconscious?” I pointed out.

Nik shook his head. “I had a black eye so Chelsea was clever enough to say I got in a fight on the streets with a drunkard. The crew bought it.”

“Got it,” Jonah affirmed. “So no talking about secrets or that kind of stuff in front of the scary men upstairs. Anything else you’d like to tell us?” He said it to Nik, but I could feel the question had a second target - me. 

“Nope,” I said. “But can I have the biscuits now?”

Chelsea gave a small sigh and tossed me the pouch. I immediately began shovelling the bread into my mouth, ignoring the stale taste as my stomach begged for more. 

“Anyway,” Chelsea continued, giving me a slightly amazed, slightly disgusted look. “Jonah’s on guard duty for Kyle and Leila right now. The rest of us should make our way around the upper decks so it doesn’t look like we were having a secret meeting.”

“Wait, but I’m not unconscious!” I argued, mouth still full of food. 

Nik laughed and stood, making his way towards the hatch. Before leaving, he turned to Jonah. “Leila is not - under any circumstance - allowed to get out of bed. She’s still healing. Understood?”

Jonah sighed but gave a nod. “Yessir.” 

And yet the second Nik, Chelsea, and Rave were out of sight, Jonah cracked a smile. “Do you know any good stories?”

My first interaction with the crew was … interesting to say the least. 

After the first day of me hiding in the hull with a comatose Kyle and a babysitter, it became clear that I couldn’t stay down there forever. The crew was apparently becoming confused as to why Chelsea was taking extra food at meals. 

Nik had paid the crew to not go below decks while we were on board, which probably increased their suspicions about us being part of illegal activity. Not that they didn’t already know, since they assumed that Kyle and I were kidnapped children. 

For that exact reason, I had to have my hands bound when we went to dinner the first night. 

The crew ate on the floor of the deck, the food scattered across the boards like feast on a nonexistent table. I wanted to ask what happened when it rained, but Nik had given me a few ‘rules’. 

“You can’t speak unless I tell you that you can,” he’d said as he wrapped a thin rope around my wrists loosely. “Act a bit dazed like you’re still under a sedative, but still polite enough to prove that you’ve been raised in a nice place. If you do end up talking, don’t insult anyone. Understood?” I’d nodded, even if I wasn’t happy about being silent. 

I was glad that I wasn’t supposed to talk, though. 

The crew consisted of mostly men - the exception being the captain’s wife and daughter who stood with him at the wheel as they ate. I guessed there were maybe ten total men, but they were hard to keep track of - rowdy and restless. 

Basti - the healer - and Chelsea engaged in a low conversation. Jonah was regaling a few other crew members with a rather loud story, and Rave was sitting beside him giggling. 

That left Nik to watch me, which was probably worse for him than it was for me. 

With my hands bound, I had little range of movement. That meant that Nik had to feed me himself, and I still had to act drugged while he did it. 

I forced all of my movements to be slow, forced my gaze not to focus, forced myself to be distant. Really, I wanted to talk to Nik about James and maybe defend myself, but I couldn’t with all of the crew members watching. 

Especially the captain’s daughter. 

She was a pretty girl for sure - I guessed that if she were in the Republic, she’d have boys lining up around the block to win her hand. But on this ship, she only had eyes for Nik. 

I noticed her staring at Nik as he pressed another piece of fish into my mouth. 

At first, she hung back with her parents at the wheel, but as the meal wore on and the sun began to set, she began to gain confidence. When lanterns were lit, she made her move, approaching Nik from behind before plopping down next to him. 

He fixed his gaze on me, pressing his mouth into a thin line. 

The girl cleared her throat and Nik gave me an annoyed look before turning to face her. “Yes?”

“You’re Nik, right? I’m Sophia.” 

He nodded. “I’m also busy, so if you don’t mind…” He made a gesture towards me and it took all of my self control not to blush. 

Sophia gave a small sigh. “It looks boring. Why of all people would you escort her?”

Nik shrugged. “It pays well.” 

“I’m sure it does. Y’know, if you ever need a job, my father hires. He pays his workers good wages, and I’m sure a boy like you would love a job filled with travel and riches.”

“Pass.” Nik tried to turn away, but Sophia grabbed his arm. I saw him flinch, his fists clenching. “Really, I’m a bit occupied at the moment.”

Sophia made an indignant huff. “Can’t you just knock her out again? She looks half asleep as it is, surely you can afford to put her back under.” 

“Low on sedatives.”

“Ah, that’s too bad. Well, I’m sure one of your … friends could watch her for you and we could talk elsewhere.” She gave a look around at all the crew members, and I had to admit that some of them were definitely eavesdropping. 

“Don’t you have someone else you can pester?” Nik growled. I could tell he was close to losing his temper, though I wasn’t sure why. 

“Pester? You think of me as a pest?”

“No, a rat is a pest. You are an absolute annoyance.” Nik was going to lose it soon. His face was growing redder by the second. 

Sophia gasped loudly, attracting the attention of several men. “You just insulted me! Father!” Her shriek caught her father’s interest and suddenly the captain was making his way to the deck. All conversation had screeched to a halt. 

“Sophia, is this boy causing you trouble?”

“He called me a pest - a rat.” Her bottom lip trembled and her eyes welled with tears, which only made Nik’s knuckles go whiter. I shifted so that my fingers rested right above his hands - a risk, but a necessary one. I doubted anyone was looking at me. 

“Do you want to get to Miryir?” the captain asked bitterly. “‘Cause if you do, I’d recommend that you don’t touch my daughter again.”

“I didn’t touch her,” spat Nik. 

“He’s lying, father! He tried to hit me when asked what his name was.” 

The captain’s lips drew up in a scowl. “Is that so?” Several of the crew members nodded in hasty agreements. “Apologize to my daughter right now.” 

Nik froze and Sophia whispered something in her father’s ear. 

“And tell her that she’s beautiful.”

I wanted to do something more comforting for Nik, to show him that he didn’t have to lash out. 

Apparently, we were past the point of peace now. “She looks like her father.”

I almost missed the captain’s sudden lunge. In less than a second, he had a sword pointed at Nik’s throat, the point grazing his skin. 

“Did you know I used to be an assassin? They called me the Silent Shock because by the time they knew I was there, they were dead.” The captain pressed his blade harder until a trickle of blood ran down the side of Nik’s throat.

I tried to reach for Nik’s hand, to grasp it in my own - momentarily forgetting about his warning to pretend to be drugged. 

It was a tiny movement, one nobody should have noticed. 

But the captain had eyes of a hawk, and then his attention was focused on me. I bit back a scream as he bent down to my level, face less than an inch from mine as his sword didn’t move from Nik. 

“She’s not drugged.”

Chelsea stepped in now, sensing the rising danger. “Running low on sedatives, Captain. Can’t waste ‘em before we get to Miryir or she’s gonna run away. Still under ‘em a bit though, she is.” The accent was poor, and the captain obviously wasn’t buying it. 

Once again, the captain moved faster than what should have been physically possible. Pain shot through my leg where he had punched my still healing wound. I bit back a scream, tears forming in my eyes. Don’t move, don’t let him know that you’re awake. But the pain was too great - a soft whimper escaped my lips. 

Then I was being yanked to my feet by the ropes on my wrists, leg giving out from underneath me as the pain radiated through it. 

Nik was at my side then, the sword clattering to the ground and a knife in his hand. “I thought I said you weren’t supposed to touch my prisoners. Wasn’t that one of the rules of our agreement?”

“She’s not a prisoner,” the captain argued, shaking the ropes. “Not drugged, not tied correctly. Some kidnappers you are. What are you playing at, kid? And who is she?”

Author's Note

The conversations between Nik and Leila and then Nik and Sophia felt a bit awkward to me, so if you have any suggestions, let me know! Also, I am in no way a pirate/boat expert so if you have anything that could help me (terminology, random facts, etc) I'd appreciate if you share just so I can make the scene more realistic. Thanks!