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  “Come on,” he said. “Bring the little one with you.”

  She took Max’s hand and brought him forward. Max went as he was guided, quiet and well-behaved as if he recognized the formality of the occasion. Wren thought it may have only been her imagination. They stopped in front of Rifter and the sword, and Wren couldn’t deny that she was shaking nervously as she put her hand on it. He looked at her affectionately, however, and it helped to soothe her fear.

  “You have no blood to prove your worth,” he said to her, “but an exception has been made. Our blood is your blood, and the price will be paid for you. Still, you will be bound by the same rules, and the little one must be as well. He’s bound to you. Though the two of you may not participate in battle, you must still uphold the laws, which are whatever I decide them to be. In agreeing to stay here, you must promise never to leave. You may not ever change; ever grow older. You will embrace forever. Do you swear?”

  He put his hand over hers, and as she looked into his eyes, she knew that she was making this promise for more than just the opportunity to stay here. She was swearing an oath to him. She was promising that she would be with him forever, that she would not ever leave him. She was giving her whole self to him – her whole heart.

  It was the closest thing to a marriage vow that she might ever get. Within herself, she knew that she was perfectly alright with it.

  “Yes,” she said. “I do.”

  He smiled at her, and she knew she had followed the true desire of her heart.

  “And you?” he asked the small boy at her side. Max nodded fervently, whether or not he understood what he was agreeing to.

  “It’s done then,” Rifter said with pleasure. “You three belong with us now.”

  Behind him, the others began to clap. They came to their feet, cheering and celebrating. Rifter lifted his face and howled at the moon, and the rest emulated him, crying out like a pack of wild dogs. Wren knew it was a celebration, but she did not contribute to the raucous din. She still had her dignity as a woman. Henry joined them, however, yelping energetically and Max laughed with glee. She only smiled, feeling content.

  They had finally made it to that place across the sea where their lives would be better. Her stories hadn’t been lies after all.

  The ceremony gave way to energetic festivities, during which the boys shouted and bayed. One of the twins produced a bottle of some strong drink, which Wren refused when it came her way, but the others were ready for it.

  When they took some of the liquid into their mouths and spat it toward the direction of the fire, it produced long strings of flame that shot forth like dragon’s breath. This kept them all amused for a long time.

  She would admit that she did feel a bit lighter now that she had taken the Vow, as if it had affected her supernaturally. She was certain of her future. Even though she didn’t know what would happen, she knew that her days would be spent here. She knew that she would not get older, and that she would never be ill. Her brothers were with her, just as she’d always wished for. They had escaped their former troubles.

  One of the twins lifted Max up onto his shoulders and began to dance around, and Wren was coerced into joining them as they dashed about, turning flips and being as wild as they dared – letting go. She laughed with them, feeling completely safe, fooling herself that there was no threat in the world.

  While the others were running about with fire on their breath, Rifter caught her by the arm and pulled her toward him, stealing a kiss from her mouth. She saw the way his eyes shined as he looked at her, and all the others disappeared.

  This moment was the climax of everything that she’d wanted, and finally it was hers. Now was the beginning of forever.

  Captain’s Log – Second Entry

  I remember it – this part of it – like it was yesterday, though I no longer know how many years it has been since the beginning.

  I awoke in the desert, though I can't say how I got there. Imagine, a man of the sea waking up in an ocean of sand! It was as if I had fallen from the sky. There was no ship in sight, but I am not one to be beaten. I have faced many horrors in my life, and this wasn't going to stop me.

  I saw the oasis in the distance and I rose up, knowing that it would be my only source of water. I walked on beneath the scorching sun, but before I reached those sacred trees, I saw a shadow coming toward me. There was a light circling around him, and I stared at the figure in confusion. I thought my mind was playing tricks. I stood there, not knowing what to expect.

  I'm not the sort of man who asks for help, but I had thought, at the time, that this person might tell me where I was, but all the same, I felt at my side for my gun. Oddly, it was not there.

  The figure continued toward me and eventually I realized that it was a boy. He couldn't have been much older than fifteen – a mere whelp – his clothes worn to rags, and bloody. I wondered what had happened to him, but once we had come face-to-face, I saw the way he looked at me. There was fire in his eyes – feral rage. I didn't know him, but he seemed to know me.

  The boy was mad – perhaps by the sun, or his wounds – but he was completely out of control. He came at me, shouting. I remember that he yelled the words: ‘You followed me!’, along with so many other curses and accusations common to a boy’s tongue. A defense for the defenseless – or so I had thought.

  Perhaps I am at fault as well for what happened that day. I didn't try to reason with him. He was fast, faster than I’d expected. In an instant, he’d picked up a rock and run at me. He wanted to kill me. It wasn't the first time. I'll admit that I have many enemies, but this boy was different.

  I’d be lying to say that he didn’t intrigue me. His pure, unreserved determination reminded me of myself.

  He swung the rock and I stepped aside. He missed, went sprawling forward. I pushed him and he fell down, but he was on his feet again swiftly, the lively reaction of youth. We fought each other with only our hands for a while, until we were both spent. We battled for what seemed like ages, and then…

  I regret to say that I don't remember all the details of it. The next thing I remember is being at the sea. I found my ship there, the great black vessel that I have named the Desdemona. She, at least, was familiar. I was alone there, but I took her as my refuge, even though she was grounded.

  But I never did forget about that boy. I never will forget him.

  Days passed, perhaps weeks. I fished to survive, but I did not venture beyond the ship at that time. I wasn’t sure what to do with myself, I suppose, but one day, it came to me. I came out onto the deck and looked on at the island where I’d found myself stranded. I saw that it was a lush, desirable place. I began to imagine making it my Empire.

  As far as I knew, it was only the boy and myself on the island, but I assumed there were others. I knew that if I wanted the land, I would have to take it by force. It is what I've always done. This sort of thing comes naturally to me. I suppose that's just the sort of man that I am.

  After a bit of searching, I eventually found that I was not the only one here. There were other people living on the island. Some had said they’d been shipwrecked; others had no idea how they'd come to be here. But among them, I found the makings of a worthy crew. With these followers, I began my conquest of the world.

  The only thing that I could think when I looked at the island was: Freedom – the ultimate sort that any man wants. I've always hated rules, unless they were my own. I wanted chaos to reign. I set out to make this world mine.

  The inhabitants called it Nevermor. I found out very quickly that it was an interesting place, full of things that one might only see in dreams, and childish dreams at that.

  I stopped dreaming long ago.

  With my people, I began to clear my way across the world, and I noticed something unusual about myself. Once I'd set my foot back on the land, I found that I had a curious effect on it. The world died beneath my feet. The grass withered and turned to ash. This frightened those in my company, but
it was all the better to have power over them. Because of their fear, they would not leave me. We moved across the world, clearing away the beasts and any indigenous peoples who stood in our way.

  I had thought that I was unstoppable. I had fear on my side. But then one day, there he was again.

  It was the boy that I had seen that first day, but he wasn't alone. There were three others with him and somehow those boys, together with a pixie, wiped out nearly half of my men! That was when I realized that the boy wasn’t human – perhaps just as I was not, but at the sight of him, there was an overwhelming feeling of hatred inside me. I hated everything that he was – everything that he stood for. We fought again that day, and the world reacted to it.

  Once again, I don't remember the outcome of that battle. It has been many years ago now. We have had so many battles since then, but that was when I began to understand.

  We are equals, and somehow we cannot kill each other.

  He can't get rid of me. He might drive me away for a time, make me forget him for a while, but these writings are to remind me not to overlook the truth. I'll be back. I’ll always return.

  When I do, I will burn him.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  1

  After they had taken the Vow, the days and nights began to blur together. Wren tried to keep up with them by marking the dates in a line on the wall, but there seemed no reason to do so after a while, and she finally abandoned it.

  Each day was like the day before it, but not in the way she’d once dreaded. There was no uncertainty over whether she would lose a limb at the factory or if she would see her brothers taken away from her. She lived as if there was no threat to her life – as if the nightmares didn’t exist.

  Aside from the initial horrors that she’d faced, she had come to find that life here was fairly routine and safe. The underground home was secure and well-hidden, and she did not worry that they would be unearthed. She had also stopped fearing for the safety of the boys when they went out to hunt. They always came back, and were never any worse for it. Sometimes they were covered in blood, but it was not usually theirs. If she put it away from her mind, she found that she could pretend there was no real danger at all.

  As the days went on, she found out that the boys had many skills, and each of them had a certain job to perform which contributed to the group’s needs. She had already learned that Toss was the blacksmith, which was an important job that did not only have to do with weapons, but since then, she had discovered that they all had hidden trades.

  Sly was skilled at tanning – in addition to keeping records of things they encountered on the island. He took notes about the people, plants and animals, even as far as documenting every time the world changed. This practice, however, seemed of no particular importance to anyone except him.

  Nix was the primary hunter – aside from Rifter – but Nix also made arrows and kept the projectile weapons in order. Finn was a tinkerer – an engineer – specializing in anything that had moving parts. The twins often helped him as if they were his apprentices, but they had been appointed as carpenters. Judging by the lack of furniture, however, they did not stick to their own jobs very often.

  There were many other things that the boys did, some of which were mere hobbies, but with all the time they had on their hands, why shouldn’t they have been masters of certain arts?

  Even Whisper had once held the job of sewing and weaving. Many of their clothes, including Rifter’s unique coat, had been made by her, but the wisp had not been welcomed back after her betrayal. Rifter had not mentioned her since. Wren guessed that the fairy had not actually gone very far away – unwilling to depart from Rifter completely – but as long as she was gone, Wren did not have to worry about her life being threatened, and that suited her fine.

  Wren had been appointed the official cook, and she was alright with that duty. It was good to be useful. She often bargained with the boys, promising them extra portions if they would skin the beasts for her first, but they doted on her without her having to ask, going out of their way just because they knew it would please her.

  They brought her gifts, some of which were very soft furs that she had begun to make herself new clothes with. She obtained cloth and leather as well, and she had several projects in mind. Soon, her gown would not be her only piece of clothing, and she couldn’t wait for that. It was starting to get a bit discolored.

  Wren was not the only one who had grown to love the new life. Henry was learning from the others, and he seemed to be a very receptive student. Wren was surprised at that, but glad, even though she’d had reservations about him going hunting with them. She eventually had to trust the others to look after him, and so far they had.

  The boys were teaching him to fight, and he spent much of his time watching Nix, who thought he might have real talent with a sword, but was also teaching him to use a bow. When Henry had shot down his first squirrel, he’d been very pleased with himself, and had presented it to Wren with a smile on his face.

  Max was as carefree as she had seen him in a long time. He laughed and smiled, and he slept soundly at night. He wasn’t afraid. The others had begun to think of him as their little brother too, and sometimes carved toys for him or engaged him in a game. He seemed to bring a childish spirit out of them all. Even Rifter had taken a shine to him.

  Rifter… There wasn’t a passing day that Wren didn’t want to be with him, and she thought he felt the same way too. He often went off with the others, but he always told her when he would come back, and when he did, he would find her to tell her what adventures they’d had. She appreciated his stories, and always made sure she was properly impressed. He was beginning to like telling her about himself – as far as what happened daily. He wouldn’t go too far into the past, but she was glad for his conversation.

  Though the boys often went to the beach at night to ward the nightmares off, Rifter still found time to show her around the island. They hadn’t gone very far yet and there was so much more to discover. He’d promised that he would show her all of it, and she knew there was plenty of time.

  But there was more to their time together than that.

  Rifter would gaze into her eyes under the moon and kiss her mouth, and she believed with all her heart that she loved him. He was not part of her original idea of bliss. She had not been looking for love, but she could not believe that what they had was anything else. She was willing to embrace it. When he smiled at her, all was right with the world.

  Wren loved her new life – she loved him. She’d thought that with her promise never to change, her life here never would.

  She was wrong. The night of the storm changed everything.

  2

  Wren was sleeping soundly in her room, the night as peaceful as all the others before it, when a crack of thunder jolted her awake.

  Once her eyes were open, she could hear the raging of the tempest – the howling of the wind and roar of rain as thunder complained with a throaty growl. She detected little patters of water as it dripped from above, and she guessed that there may have been places where rainwater was flooding into the tunnel. The downpour sounded fierce.

  Fearing that she might soon be ankle-deep in the flow, she decided to rise up and consult the others to see what was normally done when a torrent like this passed over. This was the first heavy rain that had fallen since she’d been here. They’d made no mention of it beforehand.

  Taking a candle, she left the room and moved toward the soft light that was radiating out from the den. Nix and Toss were seated on the floor, and both raised their eyes to her when she drifted inside. It was surprisingly dry there, though she was sure it should have been leaking, but she discovered why it wasn’t when the twins came in from the side tunnel, soaking wet.

  “We closed off most of the holes above the den,” Mech said. Wren could tell them apart pretty well by now. “If we missed any, too bad.”

  “Yeah, too bad. We’re not going back out there,” Mach
chimed in.

  They began to shed their wet clothes, but when they noticed that Wren was there, they shuffled out of sight to find something dry.

  “It’s really coming down,” Wren muttered, looking up at the dark roof of the tunnel. There was only a bit of water running down the roots at the walls, and though she was grateful that she was not being rained on, she could feel the dampness and the cold.

  “Better go get your brothers before they drown,” Nix suggested flatly. “Some parts of the tunnels do flood.”

  Though she was sure he hadn’t said it out of concern, she decided that it was good advice nonetheless. She went to fetch them but Henry was already awake and on his way to the den, looking tired and cranky. She didn’t try talking to him, only got out of his way when he went past. Max was still asleep, and though she hated to wake him, she didn’t want to leave him alone. She scooped him up, and he was awake for only a moment before falling asleep again in her arms.

  When she got back to the den, the rest of them were gathered there. A strong fire was going in the hearth, lifting the gloom. She laid Max down on the rug, where he curled up and slept on. She sat down with the rest of them, and something about having them all there together felt cozy and familiar. She supposed it brought back memories of being gathered in the closet with the other orphans back at the Home.

  Yes, she was still able to remember it.

  Finn smiled sheepishly at her, but the rest of them just sat there, languid and sober, listening to the storm over their heads. After several moments, Wren began to recognize their silence, and it was odd to her. Why were they so quiet? She decided that it was owing to the fact that they’d been roused from their sleep, but after looking around at them all, she noticed that one of them was missing.

  How could I have overlooked it?

  “Where is Rifter?” she asked. No one answered her immediately. She watched them shift around and eye each other. Some of them looked down at the floor as if to ignore her question, but she wasn’t going to let them do that. Hadn’t they learned that by now?