“Thomas,” Kirsten said in a hushed tone. “Are you there?” She couldn’t see anything through the coarse fabric that cloaked her eyes. Soldiers had placed burlap bags over their heads before carrying them onboard the ship. A terrible odor emanated from her surroundings and slowly oozed its way inside the scratchy burlap sack. Kirsten tried her hardest to avoid gagging. She didn’t hear a response from her brother, only heavy breathing from someone lying nearby on the floor.
Raising her voice slightly, but careful not to raise it too loudly, she said again, “Thomas, is that you?” The body on the ground next to her did not respond.
If that’s Thomas, Kirsten thought, he’s not conscious.
She wondered if it was safe for her to attempt to take the bag off. She didn’t want the soldiers to see her try, because Kirsten had seen what they would do to those who didn’t obey their commands. One young girl with fiery red hair and green eyes had thrown a fit when the soldiers separated her from her mother. A soldier clad in dark leather armor lacking any insignia or clan identification shouted at her to calm down, but she kept screaming, kicking and clawing at him trying to break free from his vice-like grip. Without hesitation, the soldier raised his wide grimy hand and silenced her. Kirsten didn’t want to have a terrible thing like that happen to her, so she was careful to not make any noise.
Her hands were chained behind her back so to take the bag off her head she would need to get them in front of her body. She figured it was safe to attempt it because she hadn’t heard any footsteps come back since they tossed her onto the cold hardwood planks of the ship and closed a gate before walking away.
Carefully she moved her wrists down below her waist. She could now lift her legs up, one at a time, and backward through her cuffed hands. Trying once but instantly having to place her foot back on the ground, Kirsten learned balancing was a little tricky due to the rocking ship and being blinded by burlap. Once she had successfully moved her hands in front of her body, she quietly reached them up to her head and took off the bag covering her face.
Her eyes took a few moments to adjust in the dimly lit room. She could see bars on the cell door and knew she wasn’t going to escape anytime soon. Light peeped through cracks in the wood panels above her head. She was in the hull of the ship. Pushing her face up against the bars of the cell door, she looked in both directions down the dimly lit hallway running the length of the ship’s belly. Prison cells lined both sides of the narrow passageway. An open door at the far end revealed a set of stairs leading up to the ship’s deck.
Having assessed her surroundings, Kirsten quickly turned to the person who had been lying silently on the floor next to her. She could tell right away from the dark silhouette that this wasn’t Thomas. The person’s figure was slender in shape; it was a girl. Bound in the same way she had been, the girl also had a burlap sack over her head. Dropping to her knees, Kirsten lifted the bag off the girl’s head. To her surprise, Kirsten recognized the girl, but she couldn’t remember from where. It was hard to know for sure in the dark, but she thought she remembered seeing the amber-haired girl in the crowd at the festival cheering loudly for Anders.
Kirsten shook the girl lightly by the shoulder and said, “Hey, are you okay? Hey girl, are you alright?”
The girl weakly opened one of her eyes and made a feeble noise. By the look of her, she needed serious help. The left half of her face was bruised badly and one eye was almost completely swollen shut. Kirsten’s first instinct was to call for help, but she stopped herself before shouting. Trying to recall what her father had done to treat Anders after a steer gored him nearly ten years ago, she remembered Theodor bringing him inside and laying him on the couch. He kept Anders warm and made sure he was breathing until he regained consciousness. Then he made Anders drink a lot of water.
Kirsten searched the cell for anything that might be helpful to her. She noticed the girl’s clothes were tattered and wet. It was damp and cold on the floor of the cell so she decided to try to dry her off. A pile of wicker baskets and a moldy sack of grain were stuffed haphazardly in the corner of their cell. She found a dry spot along one of the cell walls. Flattening out several baskets, Kirsten placed them neatly on the floor. Satisfied, she took off the girl’s wet clothes and wrapped the two burlap sacks meant to be their blindfolds around her body like a blanket. Kirsten moved the girl onto the dry pad she had created.
Feeling better about the girl’s condition, Kirsten thought next about the challenge of getting some water.
I could wait until the soldiers bring us some, she thought. Then she figured they wouldn’t be so kind as to provide their prisoners with that luxury. Seeing small puddles of water on the floor of their cell, Kirsten had an idea.
This must be rainwater, she thought to herself. The water seeps in through these cracks when it rains. She looked up at the cracks in the wood above her head where thin strips of light shone through. Feeling the cracks with her fingers she was able to locate a spot in the board that was saturated. She knew this was where most of the rainwater dripped down.
Now how do I collect it if the rain comes? Kirsten asked herself. She looked around the small cell, but didn’t see anything that would hold water. At least we have this pile of moldy grain, she thought. This was the source of the stench she smelled. She sat down on the ground next to the girl and rested her head against the wooden wall that separated them from the next cell over.
I hope she wakes up soon, Kirsten thought. It’s awfully dull sitting here with no one to talk to.
After what felt like several hours to Kirsten, she heard someone begin to shout. It was a man’s voice. Judging by his Rolloan accent, Kirsten knew him to be one of the Rollo Island warriors who had been competing in the Grandwood Games. He was calling out the name Tabitha. He shouted over and over again. Fellow prisoners in the cells near him tried to hush him up, telling him the soldiers would come if he made too much noise. Shortly after the man began shouting, soldiers came running down the stairs. Kirsten heard them throw open the cell door.
The man’s demands to see his daughter at once went unanswered and Kirsten put her hands around the bars of the cell door and watched as they dragged him out of the cell, down the hull and up the stairs. Shortly after the man was taken way, she heard the footsteps of someone walking down the stairs and watched as a soldier locked the door to the empty cell. Kirsten knew the man they dragged away would not be returning.
What kind of people are these, she wondered, to rip families apart and beat them when all they want is to be reunited. Nobody raised in the great nation of Westland would treat their fellow humans with such cruelty. Kirsten wanted to find out if her brother, Thomas, was on the ship with her, but she wasn’t about to get killed over it.
After the Rolloan left, it was quiet and dark for a long time. She could hear the waves rushing along the side of the ship. It rocked up, at first making her feel sick, but after a while she got used to the constant motion. Eventually she heard another pair of feet thudding their way down to the hull and she feared for herself and the other prisoners, but to her surprise the person was carrying a bucket and a stack of empty bowls. They placed a small bowl outside each door and then spooned in fresh drinking water before returning to the deck above.
Someone must want us alive, Kirsten thought, curious at the random act of generosity.
She took a sip from the bowl. The cold water soothed her dry, throbbing throat. Kirsten had to force herself not to drink all of the water, saving some for the girl who still lay unchanged on the floor. If she was this thirsty now, Kirsten could only imagine how thirsty the girl would be when she awoke.
The bright light of day had faded, barely peeping through the cracks in the ceiling when the girl finally awoke. As she opened her one good eye, her face belied her confusion as she examined her surroundings. When the girl’s scan of the cell landed on Kirsten, she attempted to speak, but her voice was so hoarse Kirsten couldn’t hear her. She handed the girl the bowl of water.
Kirsten whispered to her as she took small sips from the bowl, “We have to be quiet. The soldiers have been punishing everyone who makes too much noise.”
The girl nodded, letting Kirsten know she understood.
“I’m Kirsten,” she said quietly placing her hand on her chest. “You were soaking wet and the ground is cold, so I took your wet clothes off and put you on the dry pad. I hope that was okay?” she asked, trying to make sure that the girl knew the soldiers weren’t the ones to remove her clothes.
The girl pointed a shaky finger at herself, opened her cracked lips and whispered in a hoarse voice, “Maija.”
Kirsten smiled, “I remember seeing you in the crowd at the competition.” The girl nodded and took a small sip from the bowl before placing it back on the floor.
“I was one of the people working the event,” she said quietly sounding a little better after drinking some water. “Thank you for helping me. I’m very grateful.”
“Don’t mention it. I’m sure you would’ve done the same for me.” Kirsten said. “My cousin was competing in the games. He wasn’t in town when the attack began. He eventually found us but that was when…” she trailed off. “Well, never mind about that, we’re here now. Do you know anything about the people who took us and where they’re headed?” she asked.
“I don’t know who they are,” Maija said. “I saw their ships had black sails lacking any banners or sigil and they don’t wear any of the colors associated with the other nations of Kartania. Nobody saw them coming. Whoever they are and wherever they came from, they didn’t want anyone to know who they are associated with.”
“Why did they attack such a peaceful event?” Kirsten asked. “It doesn’t make sense. Grandwood has always been a peaceful place.”
Maija shrugged, “I don’t know. The attack came so suddenly. All I know is that they fought without honor. They killed unarmed men, women, and even children. I was trying to save a child when they captured me.”
“Is that how you got the bruises on your face?” Kirsten asked.
Maija nodded. As she nodded, a guard came down the stairs. They looked at each other wide-eyed and worried the soldiers knew they were talking. Nobody moved or made a sound as the soldier walked down the hallway. With a club gripped firmly in his hand, he looked into the cells for whoever made the noise he’d heard. Kirsten and Maija held their breath and tried to look asleep when the man peered into their cell.
They heard shouts coming from above. The soldier hustled back above deck, responding to the commotion and slamming the door behind him.
Within a matter of minutes, the ship began to rock more fiercely than before. Waves crashed over the deck and water spilled through the cracks in the ceiling. The shouts from the men above them were now drowned out by the howling wind.
“The sounds this ship is making don’t instill confidence,” Kirsten said. “I hope the ship doesn’t come apart at the seams.”
Night came and Kirsten and Maija closed their eyes hoping everything would be okay.
Kirsten awoke cold and dehydrated, her head throbbed. Water seeped through the crack overhead. She watched as the liquid formed into droplets and fell splashing into the small pool on the floor. The air in the hull was thick with damp wood and vomit. The storm had sent many people over the edge unsuccessfully fighting off seasickness. She tried to avoid thinking about the smell. Maija and Kirsten hadn’t been among those who became ill from the ship’s motion. Kirsten worried about some of the prisoners’ living conditions and feared that many of them wouldn’t survive. She could only guess at how long they would be locked up down in the ship’s hull. All she could do was take her captivity one day at a time. Make it through today, she kept telling herself. Just make it through today.
Once the ocean waves stopped crashing over the side of the ship, Kirsten and Maija heard rain begin to fall on the deck above. They figured the fresh water dripping through the cracks would be safe to drink. Using the bowl the guards had given them, they collected the rainwater. Over the course of the night, they collected enough to fill the bowl and took turns drinking its contents. Drinking the water helped Maija hydrate again and she seemed to be faring better than the day before.
Downing the last of the water from the bowl and placing it back under the slow drip, Kirsten said, “I didn’t sleep very well last night. It was the first time I’ve been on a ship during a storm. I thought we were going to sink.”
“I didn’t sleep that well either. Mostly because laying on cold hard wood that’s constantly wet isn’t exactly comfortable,” Maija said. “I overheard some of the soldiers talking late last night after the storm passed. They said three of their ships trailing us did not emerge from the storm.”
“Really?”
“I hope they weren’t carrying any of the people who were captured,” Maija added.
“I can’t imagine how scary that would be,” Kirsten said concerned. “I wonder where they’re taking us?” She looked up at the light now showing between the boards.
“I’m not sure,” Maija responded. “But wherever they’re taking us, it can’t be somewhere good.”
“I hope we’re not going to be cooped up in here much longer. I just want to stretch my legs and walk around. It’s hard to do that in this small cell,” she said as she demonstrated that it only took her three steps to reach the wall separating them from the next cell.
The two of them went silent when they heard several pairs of feet come stomping down the stairs and open the door. Two leather clad soldiers were dragging someone who looked to be unconscious. Kirsten watched as they dragged the person down the hall toward their end of the hull. They opened the cell door and tossed the person into it. She heard the limp body thud as it hit the ground. One of the men saw Kirsten was watching them from her cell.
He slammed the bars with his club and said with a thick foreign accent, unrecognizable to Kirsten, “What’re you looking at, darling?” Kirsten looked away trying not to provoke the soldier. The man said, “That’s what I thought,” and closed the cell door next to them. They left just as quickly as they came, remarking how bad the smell of caged humans had become.
Kirsten thought there was something familiar about the person they stuffed into the cell next to them. “I think that was my brother,” she said to Maija once the soldiers were out of the hull. She pressed her face up against the bars and whispered loudly, “Thomas.” She waited, listening intently for her brother’s voice to respond. For a moment there was no response.
She was about to call his name again louder when she heard his voice say, “Kirsten?”
“Oh, Thomas, it’s you!” Kirsten blurted out. Just then the door at the end of the hallway cracked open. A soldier popped his head in and listened for the noise he thought he’d heard. It didn’t take long before the soldier cursed the foul smell of the hull and gave up trying to catch whoever had made the noise.
“Shhhh,” Thomas urged her. “Keep quiet, Kirsten. It will anger them if they know I’m talking.”
“What did they do to you? Are you okay?” she asked him in a more hushed tone.
“Yes, I’m fine; a little banged up I guess, but I’ll be fine,” he replied. “When they brought us onto the ships, they didn’t bring me down here with the rest of you. They brought me to Thargon.”
“Is he the beast that killed father?” she asked.
“Yes,” Thomas sighed still coming to terms with what had happened to their father. “He questioned me for hours on end, torturing my mind with some kind of magic or something. He kept asking me where I got my powers. I didn’t know what he meant. It didn’t make any sense; I don’t have any special powers. I was so worried about you because he kept telling me he would kill the rest of my family if I didn’t tell him. Finally, when the storm came, something distracted him and he stopped interrogating me. I tried to escape when they weren’t watching, but they knocked me out and I just woke up when I fell on the floor down here. How are you doing, did they try to get anything out of you as well?”
“No,” Kirsten said. “They just put a bag over my head and tossed me in here. I’ve been trying to stay out of their way. The soldiers will beat you just for talking too loudly.”
“I don’t know who they are or what they want with us, but I’m glad they didn’t do to you what they did to me,” Thomas said. “They must think I’m someone else.”
“Did you happen to overhear anything about where they’re taking us?” Kirsten asked.
“There was some kind of two-way mirror or something that Thargon used to talk with someone. Unless he was just talking to his own reflection, which he very well could have been, because he’s clearly a psychopath.”
Kirsten chuckled a little at Thomas’ description.
“I didn’t understand most of what he was saying because he’s been speaking a strange language that I don’t recognize. It could be the soldier’s language, because Thargon speaks Landish with the person in the mirror but addresses the soldiers in the foreign language. When he was talking to the mirror, I heard him mention something about Dark Water Bay, I’m not sure if that’s a real place, but it could be where they’re taking us?”
“I’ve heard that name before,” Maija said, chiming in on their conversation.
“What does it mean?” Kirsten asked her.
“I remember my grandfather saying something about it being in the east. I can’t remember exactly, but I think he said it was along the Marauder Sea’s shoreline.”
“Who is that with you?” Thomas asked.
Kirsten answered, “Her name is Maija; she was working the competition when the attack started.”
“Thanks for the information,” he said. “And it’s nice to meet you.”
“Thank your sister,” Maija replied.
“I helped her out a bit,” Kirsten said.
“A lot, a bit,” Maija said. “I probably would’ve died had you not helped me.”
“I wonder what they’re going to do with us when we get there?” Kirsten asked. Neither of them responded to her question because they didn’t know what awaited them. One day at a time, Kirsten reminded herself.
For the next week, the three whispered back and forth. They kept a positive attitude considering the grave situation. One day, a soldier brought down several more prisoners and jammed them into the cells with others. The three were not the only ones whispering to each other. Soon there was conversation flowing among all of the people in the hull. They quickly found out who was in each cell and how they were faring. Many people were beat up, but didn’t have life-threatening injuries. Those who weren’t going to make it had already passed.
Kirsten and Maija had torn up part of their burlap sacks, tying them off to create smaller bags. They filled them with the rotting grain that was in their cell and passed it through the bars to those who needed it the most. Several people talked of escaping the cells, but their conversations didn’t last long before someone would dismiss the idea. Once a man had attempted to tackle a soldier who was putting a prisoner into his cell. The soldier was much stronger and apprehended the starving man. The soldiers took him up to the deck and he didn’t return. After that incident, many of the people who had whispered of escape stopped. They were beginning to lose hope that they’d ever get off the ship.
Almost two weeks had passed since they were forced onto the ship when Kirsten had the idea. She was thinking about how the man who had tried to tackle the soldier completely took him by surprise. Had the Westland prisoner been stronger, they might’ve succeeded. She knew their ship would eventually reach its destination and then the prisoners would be offloaded. When the soldiers came to accompany them off the ship, the prisoners would most likely be taken up as a group and then placed somewhere else. If all of the prisoners took on the soldiers at the same time when they were being brought off the ship, they might be able to take the soldiers by surprise. Kirsten estimated there were now about twice as many prisoners as there were soldiers. If she could convince the rest of the prisoners to follow through with her plan, they would outnumber their enemy two to one.
She shared her idea with Maija, who seemed to think it was about as good an idea as any.
“What do we have to lose?” Maija asked when she heard Kirsten’s idea.
Kirsten told Thomas next, who asked her more in-depth questions about timing and the signals that they would need to communicate with one another. Kirsten was feeling better about the plan already and now had something to look forward to.
The three of them began spreading the idea around to the other prisoners. It took a few days for each prisoner to get a clear idea of what he or she would be doing and how to do it. When they got the point across, it seemed like they had a good showing of support. All they had to do now was wait for the day they all would be transferred. Once they were above deck, the signal would be given and their rebellion would begin.
Nearly three weeks had passed since they’d been abducted when one evening the ship came to a complete halt. Maija and Kirsten woke to the sudden lack of movement. The prisoners began to whisper, asking each other what was happening. Kirsten knew this was it; they were going to be transferred off the ship. She listened intently, but no noises came from the deck above. Nobody came down to escort them up to the deck. Confusion and worry began to sink in.
“What’s happening?” she asked Maija.
Maija shrugged, just as confused as Kirsten.
A loud crash made them jump. The ship shook with tremendous force, so much so that they thought it was going to fall apart. Kirsten heard footsteps cross the deck, march down the stairs, and kick the door open violently. The light of the moon shone down through the opening and a dark outline of a person stood backlit in the doorway.
Kirsten held her breath in anticipation. This wasn’t how she’d imagined the transport to go. Usually several soldiers had come to take them away one at a time.
The man held out his arm and swiftly flicked his wrist. All of the locks on the cells simultaneously sprung open with a loud ‘CLICK.’ Those who weren’t already standing at their cell doors, ready to exit, were forced to rise and stand at the ready by some mysterious energy. Kirsten tried to move, but she was frozen in place. The more she struggled against the invisible force, the more strenuously it required her to obey its will. She panicked, unable to move a single muscle voluntarily.
What the hell is happening to me, she thought. How was she going to lead a rebellion against their enemy if she couldn’t even lift her finger?
All of a sudden, her arms shot outward and her hands pressed together like she was going to be shackled. All of the other prisoners experienced the same forcefulness and their hands collectively made a loud clap that echoed through the otherwise silent hull. The dark, shadowy figure in the stairwell commanded them. In an ominous voice, he said, “Come.” He walked back up the stairs to the top deck.
Single file the prisoners were forced to march out of their cells and up onto the deck. None of them could do anything to stop their bodies from marching. They were clearly under some kind of spell. When they emerged from the hull, the silver moonlight blinded them. They had been in darkness for so long that their eyes weren’t used to the light. Kirsten found she could do nothing, however, to cover her eyes from the bright light of the moon. Her eyes swelled and tears began to run down her face. Suddenly, all she wanted was to put something over her eyes, or close them, but the powerful spell she was under wouldn’t allow it. She thought the pain from the bright light would never go away.
The men and women held prisoner stiffly lined the ship’s deck. Kirsten didn’t know how long they’d been standing, but it was long enough for her eyes to adjust to the light. She couldn’t turn her head, but she could use her peripheral vision to see what was around them. To her right was open water. It looked unnaturally darker than she remembered. In front of her was the bow of the ship. The men who had once commanded it were nowhere to be seen. On her left, was a shoreline with dark cliffs rising from the edge of the rocky beach. It looked like the ship was docked at a large open gate at the base of the cliff walls. Beyond the gate stood some kind of castle or fortress. She couldn’t see much of it, but she could see dark stone spires climbing up from behind the cliff walls.
Kirsten strained her eyes to see who had come out of the gate and was walking up the dock toward the ship, but she couldn’t tell who it was. She heard the person come aboard the ship. Walking to the front of the ship and standing in front of them, Kirsten recognized it to be the same person who had descended the stairs and placed them under this spell. Her heart raced; yet she still couldn’t move a muscle. The mysterious man was accompanied by several other soldiers who stood just at the head of the line of frozen prisoners. The spell-caster looked at them and for the first time Kirsten saw his face.
The lines on his face told her he was older, but his strong jawline and proud cheekbones made him handsome. He wore his tawny brown hair slicked back across his head. His eyebrows, the same shade as his hair, came to a point. He had a short, well-groomed beard. Around his shoulders he wore a black cloak clasped together by an emerald jewel high on his breast. He was of average height for a man, and well dressed. Around his neck he wore a thin silver chain with several crystal-like stones attached at the base. He carried no weapons on his belt. He spoke for the first time directly to Thargon, who stood at his side.
“Which one is he?” the man asked in refined Landish tones.
Thargon snorted and walked down the line of prisoners. He stopped next to Kirsten and said, “This one.” Kirsten could not move her head to see who he was referring to.
The cloaked man stood at Thargon’s side silently looking at the person behind Kirsten. He said slowly at first, “You are correct. He is not the one I am looking for, but he does share the boy’s blood. I thought their family would produce more dominant specimens. This one is rather thin and shorter than I would expect.”
“I questioned him thoroughly, invading his mind for hours at a time. He does not possess the gift,” Thargon said.
“Were there any others?” the man asked.
“There was one other, but another hostile sorcerer showed up and I was unable to defeat him,” the beast said.
“I have a good idea who that was,” the man said, clearly irritated. “They will no doubt be searching for this boy. You did not totally fail me, Thargon. We can still use this one to our advantage.”
Without another word, the man made a flick of his wrist and the whole line of prisoners began to move. They were forced down the dock and across to the shoreline. Once on the beach, they were led through the gates and into a narrow stone entryway. After passing through the entrance, buildings rose up on either side of them. Kirsten couldn’t lift her head to see how tall the buildings stood above. The line of people was forced into a large courtyard.
The marching stopped and the dozens of Westland, Rolloan and Southland prisoners were put into a new row of cells that faced the courtyard. As the cell doors closed behind them, the spell was lifted and they were given back their own bodily control. Kirsten was placed in a cell with Maija again. She looked out of the barred cell door at the courtyard in front of them. At the far end of the courtyard, the cliff walls that surrounded the fortress rose high into the sky. To the right of their cell, Kirsten could see a large pit at the end of the courtyard. Kirsten called out her brother’s name, hoping he was still nearby. He responded from the next cell over. Kirsten sighed, as she knew they were going to be stuck here for a long time.