The Markings

by Catherine Downen

  Chapter 24

  After awhile Cooper wakes up and tells Alexander he should get some rest. Alexander doesn’t argue, and as soon as his head hits the pillow he falls instantly asleep. I turn so that I can rest my back on the side of the boat and look out to the other side of the ocean. Cooper sits next to me, facing forward. I pull my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around my knees as if I was just a little girl.

  “Why’s your hair cut like that?” I ask, looking closely at the intricate swirls cut into Cooper’s hair.

  “Why’s your hair cut like that?” he shoots back to me.

  I laugh and say, “Seriously, why’d you cut all the different swirls?”

  “When you’re put in a group of people who are all really the same as you, you have to find some way to show that you are more important then they are,” he says.

  “That’s awful,” I gawk at him.

  He laughs and says, “I know,” as he runs his hand through his hair. “I’m actually waiting for it to grow out.”

  “Why’s it so important that Alexander and I get to Libertas?” I ask him flatly.

  “What?” he says surprised.

  “I know that father was the head person in charge of getting people out of Garth, and so if he says Adaline and Alexander better get brought to Libertas then it better get done, but this has turned into so much more than the regular trip to Libertas. Now these innocent kids have been dragged in, and Paylon and King Renon are coming for us, and it just seems that it’s overly important we get to Libertas.”

  Cooper pauses before responding, “It’s kind of complicated. I mean seven years have passed since they made a big deal out of getting you to Libertas, so things in Libertas might have changed. It may not be so important that you make it to Libertas. That’s what still scares some of these people. They’re banking on the fact that it’s still incredibly important that you get there so that they can stay as a reward.”

  “But that doesn’t tell me why it’s important,” I push.

  “I can’t say, Adaline,” Cooper says sharply.

  “Sorry I asked,” I mumble.

  “I just promised our father I wouldn’t tell you in case we get there and things have changed,” he mumbles.

  “I understand,” I agree. We stay quiet for a second longer until I ask, “What’s going on with you?”

  “What do you mean?” he asks.

  “What happened with Paylon? You seem different since then,” I say carefully.

  “I’d thought I’d killed him,” he says flatly.

  “So you’re upset you didn’t kill him?” I ask.

  “At first it was eating away at me that I had killed him,” he says in an empty voice.

  “It was self-defense,” I cut in.

  Cooper shakes his head no and says, “It doesn’t matter Adaline. The feeling you get when you pull the life out of someone is something you can’t shake by giving it an excuse.”

  “I know,” I say as I remember the hallucinations I had when I’d killed Codian.

  “The thing is, I was sure I had killed him, but now I come to learn that he’s not dead. I don’t feel relieved Adaline,” he says, looking at me. “I wish I had killed him. Then, Sard would never have known we were there.”

  “We’re out of Sard now,” I say. “Paylon is the least of our worries.”

  He swallows, but the muscles in his neck stay tense. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  We let the sounds of the ocean surround us, and I look back out toward the horizon and can see hints of pink stretching into the sky. Mio wakes up and insists that I sleep for the few hours of the night that remains. I find an open spot on the floor of the boat and try to make myself comfortable. Even out here at sea, I keep my sword attached to my hip, just in case I need to draw it at a moment’s notice.

  I lay my head back on the pillow and look up into the night sky amazed that, if I could block out the sounds of the water, I could really be anywhere. I understand now what Alexander meant when he said that blue is his favorite color, so he can look to the sky and know that there is more to the world than this life. Looking up at this night sky I could be lying on the forest floor, looking out my old bedroom window, lying out in the field behind my house.

  Somewhere someone is looking up at the same night sky as me, and while we may be a small dot in the center of the ocean, this night sky connects us with everyone else in the world. I drift to sleep consumed by thoughts of my mother, father, and Titus enjoying this night sky with me.

  When I force myself to squint open my eyes I’m nearly blinded by the sunlight shining down on me. I sit up and look around the boat, which seems a lot smaller in the daylight. My face feels raw from the burning sun and my clothes are damp with sweat.

  Most everyone is already awake and eating what must be our breakfast. I roll up my blanket and pack it with my pillow in my backpack.

  I take a seat on the surrounding benches next to Molly and her friends. Cooper comes over and hands me a handful of berries that Kimberly had packed for us. He also hands me a handful of dry oats. When I pop some of the dry oats into my mouth I’m surprised by the sugary sensation that follows. I look down at the oats more closely and see that they have a glossy glaze on them.

  “It’s cereal,” Molly says. “You eat it with milk.” She holds up a little box that holds the white milk with her cereal floating inside.

  Cooper returns to me with a similar box to Molly’s and a spoon. “You open the carton like this,” she instructs pealing back the tab on the carton. “Then you add your cereal and berries in.” I do and watch the pieces float on top of the milk. “Then you use the spoon to eat it.” She says as she fishes out a spoon full of her own cereal.

  I lift my spoon and fish it through the milk to pick out the cereal and berries. “Thanks, Molly,” I say and smile to her.

  “I can’t believe you’ve never had cereal before,” she says in her light little kid voice. She finishes her cereal and looks up to me.

  “I didn’t grow up in Sard, so I don’t know a lot of the things you probably do,” I admit to her and she ponders this idea for a second.

  “So you came from Garth?” she asks softly.

  “I did,” I tell her.

  “Where are we going now, Adaline?” Molly asks me.

  I realize that no one probably explained it to them. “There’s an island out here called Libertas. My father organized this group of people to take me and my friend Alexander there before he,” I stop myself still not fully able to talk about my father’s death. Even though it has been seven years, I just found out days ago.

  “Before he what?” Molly asks innocently.

  “Before his ship crashed on his last trip,” Cooper finishes, taking a seat next to me.

  “And your mother?” Molly asks curiously.

  “She passed too,” I say.

  “So we both don’t have families,” Molly mumbles, stirring her milk with her spoon.

  I put my arm around her shoulder. Molly reminds me so much of Titus. They were about the same age and just as innocent in this world. She’s surely much smarter than him, growing up in Sard. I know I couldn’t save him and bring him to safety, but I can help Molly. “We’re each other’s family now,” I tell Molly and I mean it. I’m going to protect her like I would have protected Titus, like I should have protected Titus. Molly smiles up to me and I say, “Here, I’ll take your carton and throw it away.” She hands it to me and I walk over to Mio who is sitting next to a large black bag.

  “Adaline we need to talk,” Mio says not looking up to me.

  “What is it?” I ask, throwing my trash in the bag and taking a seat next to him.

  He hesitates and says, “I can’t promise those girls are going to get to stay with us in Libertas.”

  “What?” I ask shocked. Just seconds ago I promised her we were family and now Mio wants to tell me she won’t get to stay in Libertas.

  “I don’t get to say who comes and goes to L
ibertas. When we get there I’m just another person without a gift that is trying to get in,” Mio says tensely.

  “Why is it so impossible for people without gifts to get into Libertas?” I ask.

  “It’s complicated. The main reason is Libertas is somewhere for people with gifts to go so they aren’t taken in by King Renon. The rest of us don’t really have that problem so we are expected to make it work back in Garth. Plus, if you let one person in you have to let them all in.” Mio turns and scans Cinder’s boat, taking in all the people who may be turned away.

  “But it’s important Alexander and I get there, right?” I ask, the gears starting to spin in my head.

  “Yes,” he says questioningly, wondering where I’m going with this.

  “Then you all should get to stay as a form of gratitude for getting us there,” I say simply.

  “Those girls didn’t help you get there,” Mio says, meeting my eyes.

  I look away and say strongly, “They wouldn’t force children to go back without parents.”

  “You’d be surprised what some people are capable of,” Mio says and stands. He walks to the center of the boat and draws all of our attention to him.

  “We should be pulling into Libertas early tomorrow morning. If you’re not Adaline or Alexander I need you all to line up so I can distribute some paperwork to you for applying to reside in Libertas.”

  “But Toby and I are gifted. Do we still need to fill out the paperwork? I thought this was a place for people with gifts,” Zavy asks.

  “You two weren’t part of the original plan so yes you need to fill out the paperwork, but you will definitely be granted access. It’s more of keeping track of who goes into Libertas.” Zavy nods her head in response. Mio walks to the back of the boat and pulls out a grey binder from his bag with a black pouch, and everyone moves to line up to receive their paperwork. Mio begins to pull thick packets of paper from his binder and one by one each member of our group starts to fill out the papers that will determine their future.

  Alexander and I move to the front of the boat to get out of the way. We sit side by side and look out into the horizon, the wind flipping pieces of my hair off my shoulder.

  “I can’t believe they aren’t guaranteed access to Libertas,” I mumble.

  “Maybe they’ll make an exception when we get there. This could just be a policy everyone has to follow,” Alexander says.

  “I don’t know, I don’t feel like this is going to end well,” I say. I look over to the other boat and see that they are all filling out paperwork as well. I look back at our boat and see that Zavy is helping the younger girls fill out their paperwork since they can’t read or write. I remember that Zavy has an enhanced sense of hearing, and more specifically is a Communicator. Her gift might not have been extremely helpful before, but now she’s making good use of it. She still seems to struggle a bit with getting clear information from the girls, but she’s getting better at it. I glance back at the other boat and notice Cinder is doing her best with May and April as well.

  “None of these people have anywhere else to go,” I say to no one in particular. Cooper comes up and sits next to Alexander and myself. “What kind of questions are they asking you on this paperwork?” I gaze over his papers.

  “Just the basics. Our name, age, the date, if we have a gift or not, why we should be given access, how many others we arrived with, grades we got in school, previous jobs we’ve held. Kind of weird stuff to ask I guess,” Cooper says and starts filling out the paperwork.

  “Do you think Mio’s right about not everyone getting to stay?” I ask Cooper.

  “We’d be lucky if half of us get to stay,” Cooper says sharply. I look away from him and let the chill of his words settle on me.

  Half. We’re at seventeen right now, not including Alexander and myself. Could I really cut that down to eight or nine? I take count of my traveling group again and feel nauseous at the idea of having to get rid of some of them.

  “Who decides?” I ask Cooper and he looks off in the distance trying to process his next words.

  “There’s supposed to be a council that will review our answers,” Cooper explains. He squints in the sunlight and looks to me. “I actually don’t really know who will decide. I really don’t have any idea what Libertas is even like.” I nod, and as of right now I’m not getting the best first impression of the place we are hoping to find freedom at. They seem to isolate themselves and think that they are more deserving of a better life just because they have a gift. Life in Garth is awful whether or not you have a gift, because truthfully the King is watching us all in case we make one wrong move.

  “Adaline and I will do everything we can to make sure you all get to stay,” Alexander says over to Cooper. Cooper just nods his head as he continues working through his papers.

  Again I put myself in the shoes of the council at Sard. Which eight would I be willing to let stay? The leaders of the group? Maybe the hunters that kept everyone fed? I understand what Mio meant when he said he was afraid the younger girls would be the first to get cut. What have they done to help get me to Libertas?

  Abruptly I get up and walk over to Mio. “Do you have an extra application or paper?” I ask him and he tilts his head a bit confused.

  “I do,” he says and hands me a blank sheet of paper and pencil. I take them and return to Alexander and Cooper without giving Mio an explanation.

  I list out all seventeen members of the traveling group, excluding Alexander and myself, and start to decide why they should get to stay. I go down the list to each person and write down what they did to help me get to Libertas. The council will have to hear my explanation as to how this trip went, and they will want to know who I think deserves to stay. So, I will be ready to fight for every single member here, because like I told Molly we are all family now. I’m not losing my new family. Not a single member will be shipped back to Dather. We will stick together because I can’t bring myself to have to lose anyone else.

  Chapter 25

  “Would you and Alexander like to make yourselves useful and file these papers?” Mio asks, standing over us. Mio had been sailing our boat while the others worked on their paperwork. “Cooper, manage the sails this shift,” he adds and turns to head back to the end of the ship. Alexander, Cooper, and I get up and follow him. Cooper heads to the upper level where the sails are controlled and we take a seat on either side of Mio. He pulls his black bag up onto his lap and hands us each a pile of yellow manila envelopes. “When someone finishes their papers place them in the envelope, seal it, and print their name on the front of it.”

  “All right,” I say and look up to see that Mio has started to fill out his own paperwork. Not even Mio is guaranteed a place in Libertas.

  “Mio,” I start. He pauses from writing and looks at me. “I overheard you and Leo talking last night. What did he mean by Kimberly not wanting us there?”

  “Well, when Leo and Kimberly were dating he didn’t tell her he had the gift. He’s able to make things appear invisible. He’s a Vision Shifter, with an enhanced sense of sight.” He clears his throat before continuing and I wonder how his brother got the gift but he didn’t. “So when he finally told Kimberly about his gift it took her a long time to accept that. She knew that meant she’d have to live her entire life keeping this a secret and if it got out it would result in their deaths. When she finally came around to the idea I was just starting to work with your father. So she not only had to accept Leo’s gift, but also housing runaways. As you can imagine this new life was far from anything she could have imagined.”

  “So Leo’s gift was why the guard couldn’t see us?” I ask.

  “That would be correct,” Mio says, writing in some more of the answers.

  “So, your brother has the gift but you don’t?” I ask Mio bluntly.

  Mio lets out a dry laugh and says, “Please, don’t remind me.” I scan Mio’s face and see his mouth set in a thin line. I imagine that was a constant topic the
two argued about growing up.

  “If Leo has the gift why doesn’t he want to come to Libertas?” Alexander leans in and asks.

  “It would mean he’d have to leave Kimberly behind,” Mio says, still not looking up from his own paperwork.

  “After all that she’s done to help people get to Libertas, they won’t let her in?” I ask.

  “We’ve requested it many times before,” Mio says, and disgust fills his voice. “I asked them to come again because I was hoping maybe this time things would be different, but Leo doesn’t want to drag Kimberly out here again just to be turned away.”

  I’m silent for a moment as the realization that Libertas has turned away someone as significant as Kimberly in the past weighs on me. She’s been helping people escape for years and she still hasn’t earned her place.

  “What did Leo mean when he said, ‘They know’?” I ask, remembering that part of their conversation. Mio glances up at me and I know he’s lightly scolding me for eavesdropping on him and his brother. A long silence follows and Mio doesn’t answer. “Mio,” I start to push.

  “I’m not sure I should tell you this,” he says, hesitating.

  “What do you mean?” I ask in a broken voice because I can’t believe no one will tell me when it seems to have everything to do with me.

  “You and Alexander are very important to Libertas,” he says, carefully thinking through each word.

  “I’ve figured that much out,” I say.

  “Well, now we think King Renon figured it out as well,” he says.

  “Figured what out exactly?” Alexander asks. Mio starts to backtrack when Alexander pushes, “No, I want to know just what these people in Libertas are expecting from us.”

  Mio is quiet for a minute before letting out a long breath. “King Renon’s family is known for not only having ruled in Dather but the very first ruler, his grandfather, was a future holder like his wife.” Alexander tenses at the mention of his family’s history. “His grandfather, King Lux, had many visions of disaster for his family in the distant future. To warn his later family he wrote his visions into a prophecy that has been attempted to be deciphered for years. The prophecy was simply titled The Prophecy of Saviors.” He pauses and pulls out a worn piece of cloth from his bag. He hands it to me and I carefully unfold it. As my eyes gaze over the black ink Mio’s voice reads aloud: