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“Yes.” The man nodded. “It will serve as a veil between you and the dark one who marked you. And more importantly, he will not be able to see that you were here.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as the man continued.
“As long as you leave at sunrise.”
“You have my word. I’ll have my ship repaired and gone before the first light of dawn.” I nodded. “And Clara can be released now?” I asked.
The man raised an eyebrow. “The girl? She’s unharmed. Go back to her now and tell no one of our existence or this island. Swear it by the stars.”
“I swear it.” With a solemn nod of understanding, I hastened my steps back toward Clara. When I turned, the woman and man were gone, not a trace of them left behind. Before I could reach the area where we’d been surrounded, Clara came bounding through the brush.
“Thank God, there ya are,” she sputtered between hurried breaths. “They let me go and just vanished, they did. What did they do to you?”
“They swore me to secrecy. And made me promise to leave before sunrise.”
“Why not kill us and get it over with? Ensure their safety.” Clara looked around, seemingly still paranoid of their presence.
“Because they know better than to take a life lightly,” I uttered. “But the same can’t be said of those who would come here if they knew what treasures lay here. Come on.” I motioned, moving forward onto the trail. “Let’s get my things and head back to the crew.”
I regathered my weapons and shirt, keeping silent as I reflected on the things I’d just experienced. The islanders were here and gone, barely ghosts in my memory and yet they’d left me with such a heavy weight in my heart. The guilt of lives I’d taken for gold, not for greed, but to buy the mere chance to see the girl I loved again, was a burden I’d bear forever. But the true weight was the terrifying thought that she’d never look at me the same. These hands would always be bloody, and it didn’t seem right to hold her with them. Maybe this strange sun mark would help me find my way again. Maybe if Bastian’s darkness wasn’t the only darkness it could drive out…
Clara walked to my side as I turned over the thoughts in my head. Her voice tearing through the calm sounds of night. “What’s still gnawing away at ya? I’ve been around you long enough to see on your face when you’re frettin’.”
“If the island is truly hidden, I don’t understand why I was able to see it.” I brushed a branch aside for us to pass through.
“Didn’t those people go on about the power of sun and stars or something another? Maybe deep down ya already had a little ray of sunlight in there somewhere."
“Maybe.” I glanced down at my North Star tattoo, thinking of Katrina and my path back to her. “Or starlight.”
“So what exactly is it that you’re looking for so desperately, Cap’n? I’m no fool and I know yer not just sailing this way in such a hurry hoping to find more gold or riches.”
“If I told you, you’d never believe me.” I didn’t want her asking more questions, but it was clear she was catching on.
“I don’t think you give me much credit, Cap’n.” Clara paused to spit on the ground as we walked. “These past months I’ve watched you loot and plunder like a greedy dog. Hell I saw you shoot a man point blank for the key to his quarters. But ya never look pleased with what we take. No matter how valuable our prizes. You watch the ships we sink with a scowl while your men cheer in victory. You’re richer than most any pirate captain I’ve sailed amongst, yet you live like you’ve the weight of the world on your shoulders. Like it’s never ever enough. Whatever you’re after has to be something beyond what this mortal world can offer.”
“You’re too smart for your own good, Reid. I can’t imagine the trouble you’ve gotten yourself into…and out of.”
“Don’t try flattery to make me forget. I’ve watched ya sell your soul to the devil and agree to do his bidding for something. And I’ve done nothing but help you try to reverse it. So don’t I deserve to know what exactly I’m helping my captain accomplish when I’m puttin’ my neck on the line with yours?”
I breathed in a heavy sigh, looking ahead at the dying glow of the crew’s fires in the distance. Their silence told me they’d likely long succumbed to their drink and merrymaking. So I’d let them sleep it off for a few more hours. But we’d be back on the water before first light.
“I never asked for your help with any of those things,” I grumbled.
“True. But ya never ordered me to leave you alone either.”
She was right. I’d never quite found it in me to turn her away, truth be told. I was just as curious about her as she was about me, but I didn’t have time to pursue her secrets.
“Tell me where you came from and what it is you want with a life of sailing with a bunch of salty jackasses, and I’ll tell you what it is I’m after.”
Clara hesitated, surprise at my request clear in her eyes.
“You’ve been just as secretive as me, so don’t act so shocked.” I added.
“Fine,” Clara crossed her arms. “It’s not as daring and noble as you think, Harrington.” Her eyes fell downward, focused on our boots in the damp earth below. “I was the daughter of a wealthy family. Always creating mischief where I couldn’t find it. And when my mother tried marrying me off, I ran away, joining the first boat I could manage to sneak aboard. But adventurous as I was, I was naïve. My luck ran out soon enough and they found me...”
I wasn’t sure if she was going to continue, and I didn’t want to press her after the way she looked as her voice tapered off. But she went on, lip quivering for just a split second.
“The devils violated me and marooned me on an island. Said they couldn’t have a woman aboard bringing the devil’s curses. I was found by some traders, and they dumped me in Nassau, where I met a man I thought I loved. I joined his crew, and then I met her…a jewel of the seas. Just like me, she was. She knew all about scraping by and surviving this shite-hole of a man’s world. We had a good run, she and I.” Clara stared out into the blackness in the distance and smiled, as though reminiscing some cherished memory. “Until the Royal Navy found her…her and most the crew…hanged ‘em all for piracy, they did. I escaped—by nothing but pure luck and a too drunk jailer who forgot to lock my cell. I sailed on my own long enough to end up in Madagascar, where ya found me. After that, I swore I’d never trust another captain. And I’d never let another—man or woman—hold my heart again.”
