When Stars Are Bright

by Amber R. Duell

  “What’s going on here?” the second man asks. “She says someone kidnapped her.”

  Walter’s eyes never leave mine. “I’m sorry to trouble you, gentlemen. My sister is ill.” He taps his forehead. “We’re going to see a specialist as soon as we arrive.”

  “I am not going to America,” I scream. “You can’t force me.”

  Walter moves to grab my arm, and I slap him across the face. The crack freezes everyone in place, myself included. I flex my stinging palm.

  “I’m not crazy,” I say in a measured voice. “My name is Lina Holt and this man is a stranger. He drugged me and stuffed me in a trunk.”

  Each breath is heavy. My lungs fight against it, telling me to give up. The four of us remain still, each taking in the other’s reaction. The men don’t seem to know what to do or who to believe. My appearance can’t help my case. Layers of oil cake my face, and I know my hair is a snarled nest. My new dress, the dress Christian gave me, is torn and wrinkled. I must be the portrait of insanity.

  I turn toward them and reach out. They shrink away. “Please. I’m telling the truth.”

  “Our mother died recently,” Walter says. He snaps my wrist up before I can slap him again. “It worsened her condition. The captain knows all about it.”

  The first man clears his throat. “You should get her below deck before she creates a bigger scene.”

  “Of course.” Walter drags me back toward the staircase, and I hear the men mutter, “It’s going to be a long trip.”

  I can’t let Walter take me back to the room. To the trunk. The darkness. “Don’t let him do this,” I scream. “You can’t let him.”

  But they can, and Walter does. The last thing I see before going back through the door is the two men turning their backs on me. I kick at Walter, screaming as loud as I can. At one point, a woman rushes by with a nervous glance, but a hand lands across my mouth. I bite down until I taste blood, and he pulls away. I call after her, but she’s either gone or pretending she can’t hear me.

  Walter shoves me against a wall the moment we’re alone. “What did I tell you?”

  “I—”

  His fingers dig into me, and my vision grows fuzzy. I try to blink it away. If I faint here, I’ll wake up in the trunk for sure. The ground disappears for what can only be a handful of seconds before my feet slap into a puddle of warm liquid. A bowl lays shattered on the floor in front of Walter’s room, the liquid assumedly soup with bits of carrots and peas. My jaw opens and shuts. We weren’t this far down the stairs a moment ago. I must’ve blacked out before… The thought sits wrong, but what other excuse is there?

  “Hope you’re not hungry,” Walter sneers.

  Yes.

  No.

  It doesn’t matter.

  He lifts me over the mess, tossing me inside. The door slams behind him so hard the pipes above my head vibrate. His hand closes around my neck, cutting off another scream before it can begin. Fire dances in his eyes, and my blood runs cold. Just because he isn’t planning to hurt me more than he already has doesn’t mean he won’t if he feels the need to.

  “I’ll kill you,” he hisses, almost as if he’s reading my mind. “I’ll toss you overboard, and let the fish pick your bones clean.”

  My breath wheezes as I try to suck in air. Murder is worse than kidnapping, but he’ll do it. It’s obvious with every strained muscle in his arm, each tight tendon on his neck, and the bulging veins on his forehead. The consequences mean nothing to him. Not when no one knows I’m here and everyone I love probably thinks I ran away.

  “Do you want that? A slow, painful death, freezing in shark-infested waters?”

  I shake my head as much as I’m able, tears welling. Nothing could be worse than that. Almost. He could lock me in the trunk before throwing me over. My bottom lip trembles, and I loosen my grip on his forearm.

  “Listen closely, you little hussy. Stay put.”

  Walter’s hand falls from my neck, and air whooshes into my lungs so quickly I fall into a coughing fit. He pinches my wrists together until my bones feels as if they’ll snap and ties the rope tightly. My fingers curl under the pressure, but I don’t fight him. Even if I wanted to, I’m too numb.

  “Keep your trap shut.” He waves a wad of cloth, a sock maybe, under my nose. “Or you’ll be eating this.”

  The edges of my vision blur. “Why?” I wheeze. “Why are you doing this?”

  He squats in front of me and grabs my chin. “I told you. I need your voice.”

  “You heard me sing one song. Less than that.” I swallow and wince against the new ache. My neck will be bruised before the day is over.

  “It was enough to feel the power of a Symric.” He drops my chin and pats me gently on the shoulder. The sudden kindness in his voice twists my insides. “I’m sorry for the way it had to happen, but it’s worth it. We can experience New York together for the first time. My mother’s written all about it and secured me a job with her boss. I haven’t seen her in years so I’m rather eager to get there. It will be an adventure, don’t you think? So many people would kill for a chance like this, and we have one.”

  “I just want to go home,” I whisper.

  “That’s not the right spirit. You’re a Symric. The world will bow at your feet for a small taste of your voice, and with me at your side, we can go anywhere in the world. Once the troupe is secure, I can transmit us into any city you want. You’ll get used to the quick hops, or maybe my mother can transmit us the longer distances. No matter. One thing at a time.”

  He’s cracked. Completely cracked.

  Walter stretches up on his heels. “I’ve got to clean the mess outside. Move so much as a centimeter while I’m gone, and I’ll lock you back in there for a week. I don’t want to do it, you know? We can be friends, but I won’t let you ruin everything.”

  Walter leaves, and I fold in on myself. Between the rocking of the ship and hysterical tears, my mind shuts down. I fall asleep on the crisp white sheet.

  “Get up,” Walter snaps.

  I pull my knees under my chin where I lay on the bottom bed and continue staring at the whitewashed wall. There’s no point moving. I can’t bring myself to make the effort. I’ve been stuck in this tiny room for so long I’ve lost track of the date. The sleepless nights blur one day into another. Walter belches constantly when he isn’t rambling on about magic and snores like a bullfrog. While I have no choice but to debase myself by using the chamber pot with him in the room, he hasn’t shown any qualms about relieving himself in the room. The only thing he does leave for is food.

  If Walter threatens to toss me overboard again, I’ll almost certainly take him up on the offer. Dying now would be better than slowly rotting away tied to this bed.

  My captor yanks on the rope. The knots dig into my raw flesh, and I cry out. I’m angry with myself for giving him a reaction, but the feeling doesn’t last. Nothing lasts anymore except the hollowness that’s taken up residence in my core. The empty hole in my abdomen keeps me company after everything else faded.

  “I said, get up.”

  The trunk creaks open, and my muscles stiffen. I’m afraid to roll over and see it, but I’m even more afraid not to listen to him. Four days into the journey, I thought he was asleep and made another break for it. I didn’t even make it to the door before he caught me and tossed me inside. The time locked in there broke something in me. Rolling over, I look up at Walter’s scruffy face with a tight chest.

  “It’s a shame I’m not able to clean you up first.” He looks me over with a sigh and gives the ropes a final tug. “I suppose they’ll have to look for your potential. We’ve docked, and there’s no time to waste. My mother promised someone would be waiting to give us a lift.”

  Tremors rattle my body, starting at my head and reverberating in my toes. I push myself to my knees, and clutch the sink for support while the room spins. My hunger strike hasn’t accomplished more than giving me a dozen dizzy spells a day. When my vision returns to no
rmal again, I peek out the window.

  A planked wall stands in the way of my seeing anything but heavy coils of rope holding us in place. Men shout at one another in the distance. The water I forced down earlier freezes in my gut. If I leave this ship, I’ll be leaving behind everything connecting me to Holland.

  Walter hauls me back by my neck, holding me against him. “I’m sorry, but I need to see my destination so we have to transmit from the dock.”

  There’s barely time to blink before another chloroformed cloth soars toward my face. I hold my breath, and kick out at him as it hits my face. I won’t go under. Not again. Not in that trunk.

  “Be a good girl,” he says in a strained voice. “We don’t have time for this.”

  I kick, elbow, and scratch until my lungs scream for air. The more I struggle, the harder he holds me. My eyes flutter. I can’t hold on much longer, but I can’t give in either.

  “There you go,” he whispers.

  I still haven’t taken a breath, but my body is shutting down all the same. I wrestle against the fog threatening my mind and will myself to fall limp. My muscles fight it. They remember the cramped box as well as I do, but if I want to stay conscious, I have to let it happen.

  Walter catches me with both hands as I collapse against him. My face slides down his stomach, and he hauls me over the lip of the trunk. I let myself flop, hard, into the bottom. He grabs at my limbs with sweaty palms, stuffing them haphazardly into the confines of the box.

  “There,” he says again when nothing is left over the side. He brushes the hair from my face as if he’s tucking a child into bed. As if my arms and legs aren’t screaming at the odd angles he left them in. “Sleep tight.”

  The top slams down, and I wince. I wait for the click of the lock, sealing me in, trapping me, but it doesn’t come. My eyes fly open. There’s nothing to see except the blackness, and I cover my mouth with both hands to keep myself from crying out.

  Wait. I have to wait. Because it’s not locked.

  One, two, three, four.

  Walter lifts one end of the trunk with a grunt.

  My eyes close, squeezing silent tears from the corners. The trunk smacks into something, a wall maybe, and the force makes my ears ring.

  Five. Six.

  Walter whistles as he walks. A bright, happy melody.

  Seven. Eight.

  The trunk bangs to the ground and stars burst in front of my eyes.

  Nine.

  Metal clatters and knocks. Two loud rings sound. The ground shifts. My heart leaps to my throat.

  Ten. Eleven. Twelve.

  We jerk to a stop, Walter still whistling cheerfully. There’s another clatter of metal. He lifts the end of trunk with my feet, and I brace myself against the sides.

  Thirteen.

  I take a deep breath.

  Fourteen.

  A seagull caws.

  I kick out at the heavy lid, and the trunk tips, spilling me on the rough deck of the ship. Walter gapes, too stunned to move, and I shove myself up. My feet pound against the polished wooden planks before his shock wears off, and the lightheaded sensation from before claws at my vision.

  “Help!” The scream comes out as a hoarse croak.

  Scanning the vivid white railings all around the deck, my eyes focus on the first person they see: A man in a white hat and dark blue suit with a bushy brown beard. Two rows of gold buttons run down the front of the jacket and four stripes embellish each cuff. “Please,” I call. “Please, you have to help me.”

  He frowns and looks me up and down. “Help you with what, pray tell?”

  Walter’s voice carries across the deck, and I grab the man’s arm. “Please, sir. I was kidnapped and held hostage downstairs. You have to help me.”

  He presses his lips tight. “What’s your name?”

  Lina sticks in my throat. My name shouldn’t matter. He has to see that I need someone to save me. “Help me. Please.”

  “Lina,” Walter shouts.

  “Ackerman?” The man huffs. “I expected as much. Your brother was supposed to keep you out of sight.”

  “What? No—Holt. Lina Holt, and I don’t have a brother.” I shake his arm. “I’m running out of time. Please.”

  “All right, miss. Let’s remain calm.” He squints over his shoulder then back at me. “Mr. Ackerman, I thought we had a deal.”

  “Sorry,” Walter pants. “I’m sorry, Captain. She got away from me in the lift.”

  The middle-aged man nods solemnly and checks the gold pocket watch attached to his jacket. “I thought you were on your way already. Make sure you two go directly down the gangway. I understand your troubles but, even with the other passengers gone, I don’t want my crew upset by an outburst. This line has a reputation to uphold, and I have an example to set.”

  “Of course.” Walter grips my upper arm, digging his fingers in tightly. “Thank you, Captain. I’ll just grab our things and we’ll be out of your hair.”

  The captain turns his back to us. I jump forward, reaching for him, but am wrenched back to Walter’s side. I had to try. We nearly trip over each other’s feet as he drags me back the way we came.“I told you,” he whispers in my ear. “The captain knows.”

  “What he knows is a lie,” I hiss.

  Walter lugs me toward the elevator. “Don’t make me regret keeping you alive. Your voice is important, but not as important as my life.”

  I suck in a breath. He may have beaten me down on the trip over, but now there’s a real chance to escape. Without thinking, I let my body fall limp again. Walter trips over my free arm, and I spin to land on my bottom. He flails, his hold on me slipping. I leap to my feet and race across the deck.

  “Stop her,” Walter screams.

  My legs pump nearly as fast as my heart. The shore isn’t far with its long docks and crowded wharf. If I’m leaving the ship, I’m doing it on my own terms. I refuse to let Walter drag me away to do who knows what. He kept his hands to himself on the ship, but there’s no telling what he’ll do when we’re away from potential witnesses. I’m not going to find out. Not if I can help it.

  “Grab her,” the captain shouts, his voice urgent

  I’m so close. Only two more steps until I reach the railing. Something heavy slams into my side, knocking the air from my lungs, and my body crashes to the floor. My elbow stings where the skin scraped off. Stars dance in my vision, and I reach up to touch the egg forming on the side of my head. A young sailor keeps me pinned down, his eyes wide with concern. Whether it’s for my wellbeing or fear I’ll fight him, I’m not sure. All I know is I won’t be moving at all if given a choice. My body has reached the end of its tether.

  The captain hovers over me, his face a blur. I only know it’s him because of the thick brown band of facial hair topped with the white of his hat. “Are you all right?”

  “Swell,” I wheeze.

  “Let’s get you up then.” He extends a hand and the sailor slowly eases away. I roll away from him. “The sooner you’re at the hospital, the sooner you’ll recover.”

  Anyone listening might think he means a hospital for the injuries I got when his man tackled me instead of the asylum Walter lied about. I drag my knees beneath me and push my torso up with shaking arms. “I’m not crazy, Captain. He’s lying to you.”

  He leans down and pats my back gingerly. “Sane people don’t try to swan dive off my vessel.”

  “I know how it looks but I swear to you, I was kidnapped. Please, don’t let him take me,” I beg.

  Walter limps into view. His lips pull back from his teeth, and he cracks his knuckles. “Enough,” he growls. “Stop embarrassing yourself.”

  The captain helps me to my feet. “Don’t be too hard on her.” He tugs my skirt back into place. My stockings barely have enough material left to be considered stockings at all. “It isn’t her fault.”

  “Thank you for all your help. I really do appreciate it,” Walter tells him. He lifts me over his shoulder and storms back toward the ab
andoned trunk.

  “Captain, please,” I screech. “Anyone!”

  Walter tosses me into the elevator. My shoulder bangs against the yellow wall, sending pain shooting down my arm. He lugs the open trunk in behind us and kicks it into the corner. His nose whistles as he drags in rapid breaths. In one quick movement, he slides the metal grate across the opening and pulls the lever to go back into the bowels of the ship.

  “Walter?” His name scrapes my throat. I press myself into the corner. “Walter, you don’t have to do this.”

  The elevator is still moving when he rounds on me, his face scarlet. “You. Stupid. Little…” A hum rises from his chest, and he slams the cloth over my face again. This time I’m not ready. I claw at his sleeve but within seconds, my fingers merely skim the fabric. Then they fall to my side and my feet slide out from beneath me.

  “Come on.” Walter’s voice calls through the fog. He taps my cheek. “Snap out of it.”

  I groan, and my chin rocks back and forth against my chest.

  “I’m not carrying you,” he growls.

  An engine purrs in the distance. Laughter. The stench of rotting fish and urine. I gasp and snap my eyes open. Walter holds me off the ground, shaking me like a rag doll. Bile rises, and I nearly vomit all over him.

  “Took you long enough.” He drops me on my feet.

  The shock of the fall shoots up my shins, and the hot pavement scorches my soles. I stumble back into a brick building nearly identical to the one on the other side of the alley. They reach into the sky, straining toward the heavens. Tears rush to my eyes, but I blink them away. I need clear vision if I’m going to get out of this. I have to get out of this.

  Walter grips my hair, pushing me forward. The ground rocks beneath me despite my feet being on solid ground, and I do my best not to stagger as we pass through a black iron fence. “Don’t try anything else. I’m warning you.”

  People peer at us, but no one tries to intervene. I think one woman wants to. She steps toward us instead of away like everyone else and opens her mouth to speak. As we go further down the street, she looks away. I’m not sure what shocks me more: being kidnapped in the first place, or people’s reaction to the obvious abuse I’ve endured. There are many people standing around—unlimited witnesses to a crime. Do they not know what they’re seeing? Do they really not care?