Marks of the Past - 17

Chapter 17

The jingle of the chains reminded me of the bells that signaled the end of the workday for the factories - a soft song that spoke of freedom that you could never really obtain. 

Monty had burst into the middle of our breakfast, cutting off Simone’s embarrassing story about Nik’s first words. In his arms were several bags of food and a singular wooden box. He looked so excited that it made me want to puke. 

“Isn’t it a little suspicious that all of the sudden you’re buying twice as much food and a bunch of magic restricting stuff?” Jonah pointed out. 

Monty sent him a glare and Simone answered. “Lots of people have been purchasing items for protection.”

I wanted to ask why magic was such a bad thing, but Simone and Monty didn’t know about mine or Kyle’s magic. Obviously Monty knew about Rave and Jonah’s magic, so it was likely Nik had mentioned them before. Had he sent letters home to his parents, asking to return? I had no idea. 

Monty placed his bags on the table with a loud clang, knocking Nik’s plate to the floor. 

Then he gently opened the wooden box, his smile growing as he removed two sets of pearly armbands and another set of rings. 

“Arms,” he demanded Rave. 

She drew back in surprise, just a little bit. 

“Arms!” Monty repeated. 

“Me first,” Jonah volunteered, holding out his arms for Monty to put the cuffs on. I knew he was trying to show no fear for Rave, but I didn’t miss the way his palms shook as Monty snapped an opalescent band over each of his wrists. I was sure Rave saw it too. 

“Try your magic,” Monty ordered harshly. 

Like an obedient dog, Jonah nodded and flexed his fingers. I wasn’t sure who he was focusing on or what magic he was trying to do, but a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead and he doubled over in pain a moment later, clutching his head. 

“What did you do to him?” Chelsea burst, but Monty ignored her, turning his attention to Rave. 

She blinked back tears as he clasped a pair of identical cuffs over her wrists. 

Rave didn’t try to use her magic - at least not that I saw. Jonah was still grimacing as Chelsea laid one of her delicate hands on her arm, attempting and failing to comfort him.

But Monty was focused on me now, his eyes dark like a shark’s as he approached with three tiny bands in his arms. Two of them were a dark, obsidian color and the other one was shiny and golden like a normal piece of jewelry. 

“The two dark ones can’t go far from the gold one,” Monty explained. “Someone will have to wear the gold one when you’re up and about, but other than that we can fasten it to something.”

Without even waiting for a response, he grabbed my arms with sweaty hands and snapped the two bands around my wrists before taking a step back. 

I moved my arms a bit and the bands - though not touching - made a loud noise like bells ringing in the chapels. It felt almost like the universe was laughing at me by making the chains sound like the bells. 

“I’ll wear the other one,” Nik interjected before anyone could stop him, snatching the gold band from his father and clasping it around his wrist. 

Nik was on the other side of the long table - which Simone had expanded to accommodate all of us. Apparently it was too far for the cuffs to go because I was yanked forward by an invisible force. I stumbled forward, crashing into the table as the color drained from Nik’s face. 

Monty clapped his hands together, excited. I wanted so badly to slap him hard enough that he wouldn’t smile again, but I was still busy trying to conserve what little dignity I had left. 

“Well, if we have no further objections, you’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like.” He paused, hands joined together like a prayer as his dripping smile passed over all of us, daring us to speak up. I think he was disappointed when we didn’t argue. 

The second he and Simone were gone, Nik was at my side, helping to wipe up some of the water I’d dumped when I’d hit the table. 

“I’m sorry,” he was whispering under his breath. “I didn’t think the chains were going to be that powerful. I’m sorry you have to wear them.” He said a few more choice words under his breath, no doubt thinking of Jonah and Rave too. 

“It’s fine,” I assured him, trying to ignore the bitter taste of the lie. “We’ll be okay, Nik.” 

“It’s not,” he argued back, earning a dark look from Chelsea. I turned away from her sharp gaze, I didn’t have time for her hatred towards me. 

“I guess we’ll be stuck together from here on out,” I tried, making a weak attempt at a joke. Nik didn’t laugh. 

“That just means I won’t be going on any missions,” he grumbled. 

“I’m sure Monty would gladly hold my leash if you needed to go somewhere.”

“I know, and that’s why I can’t leave.” He turned to me, big eyes meeting mine. They were filled with worry. “My father will tear you apart, Leila. He sees you as a threat and he doesn’t take well to that. Promise me you won’t do anything to purposely upset him.”

“As if you haven’t done anything like that,” I pointed out. 

Nik shrugged. “He’s my father. He won’t hurt me. But all he needs is one excuse before he’ll sell you out to anyone he can find and you’ll be gone.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I kept quiet. 

As we finished cleaning up breakfast, Nik announced the assignments for the day and who would be going where to begin bribery, stockpiling, and other illegal activities. 

“What are we going to do?” I asked when I realized that he’d sent everyone else away except for us and Kyle.

A small smile appeared on his face. “How well can you fight?” 

Apparently, Nik meant more than just throwing a dagger. 

Chelsea, Jonah, and Rave set off on their assignment to bribe some of the Miryirians into giving away the Cursebreaker’s location - as well as forming maps of the nearby towns and escape routes. 

“You’re not blocking right,” Nik said, snapping me out of my thoughts as he poked a dagger at my stomach. “I thought you said you trained for this.”

“To be fair, I had one day of training and it mainly involved throwing knives,” I argued, adjusting my position so Nik couldn’t gut me. 

We’d been practicing for about three hours at this point, just going through the basics of defense. Nik let me use his extra daggers for practice but so far he’d been pretty disappointed in my progress. When I’d trained for the Redemption, Hazel had only taught me the bare minimum and even then most of my “skill” had been instinct - which I assumed I’d somehow absorbed from Mark. 

We had limited space with Monty forcing us to practice in the shadow of the house to avoid being seen by passersby. The cuffs also posed an issue since I couldn’t go far from Nik. 

“But in a real fight you can’t just stand around and throw things,” Nik reminded me, twirling his knife around in his hands. I raised my own weapons to deflect his but less than a second later his blade was pointed at my side. “You keep dropping your guard.”

I gave a sigh and tried to adjust again but Nik shook his head. “Try pretending this is a dance of some sort.”

“I don’t dance.”

“Fine, imagine I’m James then. Pretend I have his lovely dark hair and his beautiful eyes and-”

“Shut up,” I retorted, blushing. “It’s not like that.”

“I beg to differ. I saw the way he looked at you at the docks in the Republic. The way he talked to you, touched you-”

“Stabbed me,” I added, giving a little flourish to see if he’d dropped his guard. He hadn’t. 

“There was a hunger in his eyes, Leila,” Nik said, raising an eyebrow as he tried a slick attack towards my stomach. I managed to block the blow, the blades ringing out against each other. “You may not want James, but he wants you.”

He’d cross oceans to find me. I had no doubt that James would come for me in Miryir, but I didn’t think it was because he liked me - rather for revenge. 

“Stop,” I said quickly, realizing I must’ve been blushing even more. 

I gave a few attempts at an attack, but Nik easily knocked my blows aside as if they hadn’t even happened. 

“When he stabbed you, I don’t think he meant it.”

I lunged forward, trying to knock his feet out from under him but Nik anticipated the move and hooked his own leg around mine, pulling me close to him. 

His skin was warm against mine and I pulled away, trying to force the memory from the previous night down and away to the darkest places in my mind. 

“The way he looked at you after, I think he was really sorry. Maybe he just has anger issues.”

“Trying to distract me won’t work,” I hissed through gritted teeth. 

“I’m not trying to distract you,” Nik said before slamming the flat of his blade into my wrist and knocking my weapon aside. He grabbed my arms and pushed me up against the wall of the house, his blade against my neck. “What are you going to do?”

I began to struggle against his hold but he gave a chuckle. 

“Pretend I’m James then. Pretend that you actually hate me - don’t worry, you shouldn’t be able to do much damage.”

Really? Did Nik think that I was useless and couldn’t handle a fight? 

I let myself still for a moment, pretending to think before driving my knee into his stomach, right where he’d been stabbed not many days before. A loud yelp escaped him as he stumbled backwards. I darted for my fallen blade and snatched it up before pointing both my weapons at his head. 

Nik gave a dull laugh as he rose to his feet. 

The sound sent a chill down my spine. It sounded so much like James… 

I didn’t even stop to think before throwing one of the knives straight at him. It struck the ground with a soft thud, dagger hilt deep in the earth between his feet. 

Nik looked up at me with wide eyes and a broad grin. “Now that was better.”

“Your … You sounded like James when you laughed and …” I struggled to find the words I wanted. How could I explain I’d somehow momentarily confused him for James? 

“I wanted to make you angry,” Nik explained. “It’s something my mentor used to do - but not often. Anger makes us irrational. It’s powerful, but it also leaves lots of room for mistakes. If you would’ve struck me down with that dagger, you would’ve been down to one weapon. Never throw them unless it's the last resort.”

He straightened, wincing as a small bloom of red appeared on his shirt. 

“You’re bleeding,” I whispered, pointing. 

Nik gave a small shrug, but his hands had started to shake. “I think I’m going to take a break…”

His knees buckled and I wasn’t fast enough to catch him. 

My heart was in my throat as I dragged his limp form to the side of the house and propped him up against the wall to the house. 

There was a possibility his wound was infected, but… 

I didn’t know why I couldn’t peel up his shirt just to look. I’d seen him in bandages in the bottom of the ship, but now it seemed wrong. 

It’s either his decency or his life, Leila. 

I allowed myself one deep breath before tugging up the bottom of his shirt. 

Warm fingers caught my wrist and I realized with a start that his eyes were opened and he had a dagger pointed at my heart. “Got you,” he laughed meekly. 

I wanted to sock him in the face, but his grip on my wrist was too tight. 

“You’re so stupid,” I muttered under my breath, only earning a laugh as he released me. “I thought you were actually dying.”

Nik laughed again. “I’m touched, of course, but always remember to make sure your enemies are actually dead.”

“So is the blood real?”
“Unfortunately, yes. When you kneed me in the gut you managed to open the wound again. It’s not that big of a deal, I’ll have Chelsea rebandage it later.”

As much as I wanted to hate him for that trick, I forced myself to admit he was right. I couldn’t trust that my enemies were dead. If I even had the guts to kill them in the first place. 

Images of the river of blood and Mark withering away surfaced in my mind. 

“What are you thinking about?” Nik asked, interrupting my thoughts. “You always get that face when you do deep thinking.”

“Oh yeah?” I asked meekly. 

“Yeah, you get a little frown and there’s a tiny crease on your forehead and you get this look like you’re afraid but you're also angry. It’s intimidating.”

Warmth rushed to my face. 

“So, what are you thinking about?”

“How we should probably be training some more,” I replied, trying to remind him that we had things to do. As much as I wanted to be done with the humiliation, this little talk was going somewhere bad, and fast. 

“Nah, I think you’ve earned a break.”

He brought his hands up behind his head, reclining on the side of the house. I let myself relax a bit too, though my weapons were still scattered throughout the yard. 

“I thought you were supposed to be training,” called a voice from the other side of the house.

I spun around to find Jonah standing with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

“Glad I checked in,” he said. “Have you learned anything?”

“You missed the part where she got all angry and tried to kill me,” Nik answered, gesturing to the blood on his shirt. 

“Nik’s the one who pushed me up against the wall in a chokehold.”

Jonah coughed and then Chelsea and Rave were at his side, both of them looking sweaty and bored. 

“What’s going on out here?” Chelsea asked, eyes flicking from me to Nik and back again. 

“All the fun, apparently,” Jonah replied bitterly. 

“Speaking of which, aren’t you guys supposed to be on a mission?” Nik asked. 

“Oh, we were, but then we found something I think you’ll want to see,” Jonah answered, his eyes darkening. “C’mon, I’ll show you.” 

“Why is Leila so much more expensive than me?” Nik complained. “I’m the brains behind all this.”

“James doesn’t think you're hot enough,” Jonah retorted. “He only has eyes for Leila.” 

“First of all, that’s gross and a lie,” I interrupted. “And secondly, don’t we have bigger issues?”

“Like the fact that our faces are plastered around the entirety of Miryir and we’re wanted criminals?” Chelsea asked. “Yeah, I kind of see how that could pose a problem. Ten thousands crowns is a good deal.”

“Notice how Leila is wanted alive and the condition of the rest of us is irrelevant,” Jonah pointed out. 

I gave a small shrug. “That’s just because James wants to torture me.”

The Shadows fell silent for a moment until Nik finally spoke up again. “It doesn’t change much. We’re already in hiding.”

“Will your parents care if they see?” I asked. 

Nik shook his head. “I doubt it. My father might have some questions, so it might be a good idea to prepare to run.”

“On it, boss,” Jonah said, giving Nik a small salute. 

He was just about to step out of the kitchen where the wanted posters were spread across the table when Rave grabbed his wrist. 

She made a soft shh and gave a subtle nod of her head toward the window on the far side of the room. I didn’t even have time to see what it was because a sudden pain shot up my leg. 

Nik had kicked me right in my wound. Although it had healed enough for me to walk without a limp, my leg still had a gash in it. 

A groan escaped my lips and then someone was yanking me backwards. 

“Grab as much evidence as possible and run,” I heard Nik order. My eyes were watering too much to see anything. “I’ll take care of Leila and Kyle. Go.”

Then I was being dragged to my feet and Nik was pulling me along upstairs. 

“What did you see?” I managed to ask him, biting back the pain. 

Nik threw open the door to the room where Kyle was staying and kicked the rug away until it revealed a wooden trapdoor beneath it. 

“Get in,” he said, voice gruff. 

I pulled open the trapdoor to find a small space maybe six feet deep and four feet wide. After I’d climbed inside, Nik passed an unconscious Kyle down to me and I propped him up against the wall. 

There was a loud crash downstairs. 

“Get in,” I hissed to Nik. 

“No time,” he growled back, throwing the door shut and plunging me into darkness. I heard the brush of a rug being pushed back into place. 

Then came the voices. “Search everywhere. We’re not leaving until we find James’s girl.”

Author's Note

Is there any way to easily punish fictional characters when they don't listen to you? They weren't supposed to do that...