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“And how would you ensure I’d return if I found it?” I asked.
“I’m quite the tracker when someone makes a deal with me, Captain.” He rolled up the sleeve covering his forearm. It was nearly bare, except for two tattoos in random places. He flexed his muscle to suddenly reveal an intricate assortment of tattoos that took up the entire length of his forearm. I’d never seen magic like it, but the way the ink appeared on his bare skin before quickly fading away, sent me a step back.
“Every mark bears a deal. Only when the deal is done does the tattoo leave the flesh permanently. Both on me, and on he who makes the deal. You can see how often that happens.” He looked up at me with the smirk of someone all too pleased with themselves. “And each tattoo binds the debtor to me until they fulfill their end of the bargain. So, I can always find them...if needed.”
“How?” I stammered. “This is some kind of strange magic...”
“Magic indeed,” Bastian spoke slow and smoothly, a taunting air in his voice. “Why do you think I want eternal life? My magic—my success on the seas—came at a cost like everything else.”
“You sold your soul to Davy Jones for power,” I uttered, looking again at the serpent tattoo on his hand. I never believed it was actually possible to make a deal with the sailor’s devil.
“Don’t worry, it’s not all bad. The debtor at least gets to choose his tattoo mark. Though it’s quite the painful process, so I’d advise something small.” He chuckled as he leaned forward, his eyes darkening in the dim shadows of the tavern that now felt so cold and lonely. “So, make your choice, Captain. Do we have an agreement?”
I hesitated, my stomach churning at the thought of tying myself to this lunatic in any way. He was more dangerous than I thought. And now I realized the only clue I’d left Katrina with would lead her right to him. My heart dropped. And suddenly my mission became of greater importance than ever. But I knew my time was running out. I didn’t have the luxury of thinking it over. I had to decide.
“On one condition,” I said finally. Bastian’s eyes illuminated with interest. “My tattoo will be the map to the Fountain of Youth.”
God help me.
Bastian tilted his head with a hollow look in his eye, taking in the answer he hadn’t expected.
“You must like pain,” he laughed. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Captain.”
I took his outstretched, ring-covered hand, shaking on the agreement as my blood swept through my veins like ice.
“Come on then, let’s seal it in ink,” he stood, motioning for me to follow. Everything in my body screamed against it, but I couldn’t find the Fountain without it. I glanced back to see Clara watching me as I exited the tavern with Bastian. The concern was clear in her eyes, but there was no time to explain or get her involved.
I turned back around, following Bastian to a dark empty spot on the docks. With my heart racing and my mind flooding with a mix of fear, curses, and prayers, I held out my left arm as Bastian readied needles with black ink.
Clenching my jaw through the first mark, I thought of Katrina, and I wondered in that moment if I was too far gone for her now. I’d spilled so much blood out on the seas, and commanded my men to do the same. It was the only way to build the wealth I needed to buy my way to eternal youth—the only hope I had of seeing her again.
“Don’t become like them.”
I recalled the way she begged me after I’d killed Thane’s men that attacked her. She would never want to see me like this, but this is what I had no choice but to become. I’d bought my ticket here with bloodshed, and now I was practically selling my soul for the rest of the way. And though the tattoo brought a searing pain unlike anything I’d ever felt, the fear that I may not be the man Katrina deserved stung so much worse.
I'm sorry.
15
Red Sky At Night, Sailors Delight
Katrina
Exhaustion washed over me like the dark waves we sliced across. The sun hung low behind the horizon, and we hadn’t lost speed since we’d set out again. I’d never controlled water for this long, and I didn’t know how much longer I could go. But I couldn’t lose time, not when Milo’s was running out. I focused with all my strength to keep from letting the water literally slip through my grasp.
I watched the crimson sunset tinge the rolling water below like blood. I remembered Bellamy saying something about the sky being red before nightfall. That it was a good sign for sailing. Conditions would be fair tomorrow hopefully. Maybe then I could get some rest and let the engine take over…If I could just hold out a bit longer…
But then something about the water looked so wonderful. I eyed the wake trailing behind us, rippling out into the sea like a spreading fan. I was so hot, so tired from standing in the relentless ocean wind. I could stop for a minute. Just a minute, and dive in for a quick swim…
A far, far swim. And never come back.
It was only when Bellamy appeared at my side that I dropped my guard. “You need to take a break, Katrina.”
A breath trapped in my chest finally released, and my shoulders fell as I leaned forward to catch myself on the stern’s railing. “I can’t,” I sputtered. “I have to…keep going.” I stretched my hand forward towards the water once more, trying to keep the power from dissipating from me. Bellamy snatched my wrist firmly before I could even fully extend my arm.
“No.” He stepped in front of me, “You know it’s impossible for you to stand out here all night every night. And it won’t matter how fast we get there if you kill yourself from exhaustion.”
The piercing desperation in his icy blue eyes made me take pause. He was right, but some part of me wanted to slap him for telling me what to do. How dare he think he knew better than me? I was the only one with the power here.
