Born Magic (Chronicles of the Marked Book 1)

by S Lawrence

  He begins to talk, his voice low as he retells the story of how he first learned of me. I smile as he changes every ‘a woman’ to ‘you.’ His voice is low, mesmerizing, and it only takes minutes before I’m lost in a daydream, picturing myself in the story he’s telling.

  I wake hours later. The sky is still dark, and Wilder’s arms are still wrapped around me. I feel guilty that I fell asleep on him, but my mind and body are exhausted.

  A noise draws my eyes to the window, where some sea creature is calling. To me or other creatures, I don’t know. I slide carefully and very slowly away from the man at my side. Crossing the room on tiptoes, I open the door, glancing back as he shifts. I close it as quietly as I can and make my way to the side of the ship, looking around as I do. Sometime after we went inside, the other ships moved away from us and formed a circle, anchoring themselves so that the back of the ships are toward the middle. I make it by the night-watch and climb up onto the rail, letting my feet dangle over. I watch as dolphins play in the moonlight but I don’t miss the other things swimming below the surface. Much larger things.

  I hear the call again and this time I feel it through my entire body. Placing my hand on the stained glass window behind me, I stand and balance myself on the rail. I feel driven.

  “Reyna?”

  I look up and across the way. Hagen’s ship is directly across from us and he is standing on the very top of the deck looking right at me. I smile while shaking my head. I have no answer to his question.

  I can see him frown in the moonlight just as the water below splashes. Looking down, I see a huge creature I know from a book is a whale. It has rolled to its side, and a dark eye is staring at me. I stare back and see so much in it. I’m no longer scared.

  ‘I must go to it’ is my last thought as I dive off.

  Chapter 30

  WILDER

  She slipped through my fingers. I heard her hand hit the window and tried to reach her.

  But she jumped right as I reached her.

  Throwing myself forward, I watch as she shoots down toward the water, toward the unknown and the known. Both are terrifying.

  She hits the surface and disappears below it.

  “Wilder,” Hagen calls across the water to me, and as I look up, I see him repeat her actions.

  Fuck.

  Those creatures might welcome her with open arms, but they didn’t call him.

  “Get the skiff ready,” I call out, and the crew begins a flurry of movement. I’m at it just as they untie the ropes and swing it out over the water. “Get me down as fast as possible.”

  The commotion has lanterns flaring to life on the other ships. I can see my brothers coming out on their own decks, looking over in concern.

  “What’s going on?” Cyder calls out, his eyes scanning the water.

  “Reyna went in the water, and Hagen followed her.”

  “What the fuck?” He starts to move.

  “Stay put. I’ll get them,” I promise them all.

  My crew has me in the water in seconds, and I start paddling, making sure I don’t hit any of the animals that have come at her call.

  “Hagen.” My eyes scan the water. “Hagen.”

  I hear a gasp for air and turn on my seat, and there he is, trying to catch his breath.

  “I can’t find her.” He sounds both pissed and desperate. “I can’t find her, Wilder.” I paddle slowly to his side. A dolphin bumps against him as he reaches for my held-out hand. “What the hell is going on?”

  “I told you all I thought she had called them here.” I shake my head at the look of disbelief on his face as another dolphin pushes him up, almost helping him into the boat. “I think I was right.”

  “I guess you were.” He shakes the water from his hair and looks around. “She should have come up by now.”

  “I think it’s safe to say there’s nothing normal about any of this. She held her breath for a long time today. Not this long but longer than I thought she should have been able to .”

  “I’m fine.”

  Our heads whip around to see her bobbing in the water, a huge whale at her side. She grins when she sees our faces.

  “I’m sorry I scared you, but he was calling.” Her hand slides over the whale’s skin as she looks apparently ‘him’ in the eye. An eye that turns to us, and in it, I see intelligence.

  I see knowledge.

  “They will fight with us when the time comes.” She sounds both reasonable and certain.

  “Fight?” Hagen questions.

  Before she has a chance to elaborate, a tentacle flips out of the water and grabs the skiff, rocking it.

  “She is a baby. Tiny.” A much larger tentacle rises up out of the water. “Unlike her momma and daddy.” Reyna smiles as she is lifted up and placed gently in the boat. “I need to go to Fallon’s ship.”

  I don’t move for a long minute as I stare around her at Hagen, who finally shrugs and picks up an oar. Fallon’s, it is.

  “Drop the ropes,” I hear Fallon call out to his crew.

  We make it in record time, and as the crew raises us, I watch the sea creatures slowly disappear. She says nothing as Fallon helps her from the boat. As soon as her feet hit the rail, she leaps down and races across the deck. Throwing open the door to his quarters, she disappears inside before we can even get on the deck. She comes out in just a moment carrying the chest held close to her body.

  Sliding to a stop, she smiles at us. “We need the others to come over too.”

  “They are already on their way, princess.” Hagen is dripping on the deck, his clothes stuck to his body. She sits the chest on the deck and then straightens, and we all stare at her.

  Our beautiful queen, goddess of the sea. Her gown is stuck to her body, and water runs down her arms from her hair. She is glorious, cheeks pink from excitement.

  “Are you going to explain what just happened?”

  Chapter 31

  REYNA

  Hagen sounds angrier than he looks, but I still cross to him, stopping within a few inches.

  My hand rises, fingers playing against his collarbone while I stare into his eyes. He freezes for a moment before grabbing me and dragging my body against him.

  I can barely hear his words whispered against my hair. “You scared me.”

  “I’m sorry. So sorry, but thank you for trying to save me.” I kiss where my fingers had been and taste the salt left from the drying water.

  I want to say more, want to say I’m glad it was him that tried, but don’t want to hurt Fallon and Wilder. This relationship, if you can call it that, is fragile. I don’t want to destroy it.

  Hagen is something different. I don’t know why, but it’s almost like he calls me, like whatever is calling me from the sea. Maybe it’s his wild nature. I’m saved from trying to work it out when Cyder and Lash arrive. I smile at their wild hair as I turn in Hagen’s arms, leaning back against his chest. I like how his arms tighten around me.

  “What in the hell is going on?” Cyder grumbles, his hand raking through his wavy hair.

  Lash’s hair is braided and still looks neat and unlike Cyder, he doesn’t look as if he just woke. He must have still been awake.

  Stepping away from Hagen after squeezing his forearm, I return to the chest.

  They all move closer, standing opposite of me as they watch as I raise my left hand and hold it out. Slowly, I open my fist and reveal what I had been given. Six intricately carved keys, for lack of a better word. The missing pieces of the box.

  “They were hidden at the bottom. The whale took me down. I don’t know how to explain it but it was like I knew he was sent to show me. Something happened when I entered the water today. Something has been unlocked or awakened in me. It’s terrifying and yet so exciting.” They are still looking at the keys in my hand. “I think there is a specific one for each of you. I think it will call to you just like they did to me.”

  I keep my hand held up and watch as they all step back, except Fallon,
as they defer to their chosen leader. He glances back at them, shaking his head, but then steps closer, his own hand rising. He holds his fingers over my palm. I can feel a slight pulse coming from the wood or bone that the keys are made of. I was right; they are calling to him.

  This magic isn’t just for me, it’s for us. If there had been any doubt about their importance, this clears it.

  I didn’t have any doubts about their importance to me but I know they think this prophecy is all about me. But it isn’t. It is about us.

  Without them, there is no me. No magic. No queen.

  I feel something settle within me. Until those thoughts, I hadn’t really believed, even with everything that happened in the last few days. But something shifted when I dove beneath the water, when I felt the life that surrounded me, that came when I called.

  Fallon finally reaches for one, then pauses before moving to the one next to it. He uses his finger and thumb to pick up the delicate looking piece of art. When he raises it up, we both lean closer, trying to make out the design that was hidden on the underside, the side that had been facing down against my palm. I feel my jaw drop open when we both see it for the first time.

  A rose. I look up at him, and he looks as shocked as I feel.

  “Magic,” I whisper. “You each are as important to all this as I am. I know it.”

  The others are straining to see, but he closes his fingers around it, making a fist and hiding it until they all choose. Wilder is next. It doesn’t take him as long, but I’m not surprised. He is much more open to things I and the others didn’t believe in.

  I do now. I hope the box offers not only information but also guidance. I hope it explains why the water awoke whatever is pulsing in me. Looking down at my palm as Cyder steps forward, I wonder for a moment if I am the one bringing the magic from the keys.

  The very thought sounds crazy to me. Less than a week ago, I didn’t believe in magic and now I think it is coursing through me.

  Cyder is hesitant. “There is no wrong choice, Cyder. They won’t let you make a mistake,” I murmur, and his gaze flicks up for a moment before he focuses on the remaining four.

  He chooses and, like the others, is awed by what is revealed when it is turned over. Lash chooses his and steps back, letting Hagen come forward. Two keys remain, and he reaches out, picking up one without a thought. Decisive. As he turns it around we both see the wolf carved there. He grins and it’s wolfish, too.

  “Let’s see yours.”

  I hold it up, showing the image -- female figure with five stars around her. Five guiding stars. It’s beautiful.

  “I think this proves you are all just as important to this as I am.”

  They all glance at each other before looking back at me. Just as I start to kneel, the boy in the crows nest yells.

  “Ships!”

  My captains look up and then to the area of the horizon he is pointing. Eyes narrow until the wind shifts and a flag becomes visible. Then there is shouting and a flurry of motion.

  “Stay with Fallon,” Hagen orders before turning and running toward the rail, his hand raised to catch a rope to swing over to the next ship.

  The others follow suit as Fallon stands at my side for a moment before he turns to me. “Go to my quarters. Get the anchors up,” he yells at his crew, who are already moving to do as he commands. He glances back at me. “Now, Reyna. It’s the King.”

  His words kick my body into motion. Fear races through my body. The man who killed my family, who is hunting me, is drawing closer. I make it across the deck almost inside his room when I realize the box is still on the deck. Spinning, I run right into Colin, who is holding the box against his chest.

  “Oh god, thank you.” I take it from him.

  “Get inside and put the bar across, Miss.” He shoves me slightly to emphasize the words. I look at his face as he jerks the door closed. “I won’t let anyone past me.” His words are muffled but full of conviction and a little bit of fear.

  I see a large, heavy board beside the door and bend down, setting the box down before straightening and hauling the board into place.

  The quiet night is filled with yelling as the ships move out of the circle and raise their sails trying to move away from the King and his fleet of ships. I look out Fallon’s window, and my heart drops. There are so many of them, and they are gaining on us.

  We lost so much when the gods went to war, but one thing man refused to give up or forget was how to build weapons, and I can see the guns on the ships just waiting to fire on us.

  I refuse to sit here and do nothing.

  Chapter 32

  FALLON

  He will kill us if he catches us. The crews will have a choice, death or join him. My brothers and I won’t get a choice; he will kill us, but only after punishing us.

  Reyna’s fate will be much worse.

  “Get us underway now,” I scream as images of other women he captured play through my mind.

  I can hear my brothers yelling at their crews. We all are having the same thoughts. Hagen moves in behind us and rolls his guns into place. He will give us as much time as possible before joining us. The Black Wolf is the lightest and fastest of our ships, for it carries nothing but its crew, guns, and munitions. He is our protection and he had spent the day stocking those supplies, preparing.

  We knew the King would come. I had hoped it wouldn’t be this soon.

  I’m not surprised when Reyna flings open the door and rushes out, dressed in tight pants and a snug shirt. She runs straight for me.

  “Tell me how to help.”

  “The crew knows what they are doing.” She frowns. “I’m sorry, love. You haven’t been on board long enough to get a job, but I swear if we make it out of this, I will teach you every damn job on this ship.”

  I watch as she gives in, but an instant later, her eyes drift past me, and I know the moment she sees Hagen’s ship.

  “Why is he not here with us? What is he doing?” Her voice is loud, even with the noise of the crew.

  “He is our defense,” I reply calmly.

  “What? No!” she screams at me all the while keeping her eyes locked on the Black Wolf.

  “He has the guns, Reyna. That’s all he carries on that ship. His crew is made up entirely of gunners from other ships,” I explain, hoping to get her to understand. “He gives us time to get away, then he runs. The Wolf is fast, very fast.”

  She looks unconvinced until she sees the guns fire their first shots. The King’s ship is safely in the middle of the armada, out of reach, but the first ships take direct hits. Those ships fire back, and as the sky lights up, Reyna’s eyes shift and her hand comes up, finger pointing.

  I follow it and feel dread settle in my stomach. Dark ships with dark sails are sneaking up in the darkness on each side of us. A trap. They kept their lantern lit so we would see them coming. I run for the wheel and spin it while reaching down into the chest that sits below it. Straightening, I fire the flare gun and light up the night.

  Shouts ring out, and the others see what we see and start to turn.

  “Hagen!” Reyna screams as we all realize their plan.

  I watch in horror as the ships turn, cutting him off.

  Reyna stands frozen, watching as seconds tick by. Then she does something I’m unprepared for. She starts to run, racing over the deck until she gets to the stern and as I watch, she never slows, just jumps up on the rail and then dives for the water. The whole crew stops, unsure what to do.

  I run and peer over the side, searching the water for her, and I see her head bobbing and watch as something much more than a ripple flares out from her body. It bounces the ships as it moves farther and farther away.

  As the other ships close around on Hagen and the King’s fleet begins to draw closer, the water begins to boil with activity. The whale from earlier is at Reyna’s side, holding her up and keeping her safe.

  The Black Wolf has turned toward us and is blocked by one ship. If he can get aro
und it, he can make his getaway. They do not know his secret. He doesn’t just have sails; he has an engine, one that runs on biofuel.

  We all watch as her creatures come to her call. It has grown quiet on our ships as we wait to see if we will lose our brother and our queen.

  “There,” Wilder yells from his ship, and I look to where he is pointing.

  I don’t see whatever he has grown so excited about, but I do see the pirates swinging over to Hagen’s ship. Why aren’t they just firing on him? I watch as some fire guns, killing his crew but not him. The King wants him alive.

  My back itches at the thought.

  Motion catches my eye. Refocusing on the water, I finally see what has gotten Wilder so worked up. Tentacles. Very large tentacles, many times the size of those that had rocked the skiff early this night.

  Reyna had said it was a baby. What monster has come to aid her? What monsters lurk down in the deep?

  The dark gray flesh slides silently over the hull of the ship, then another follows it and another. I blow my whistle three times quick, signaling Hagen to be ready. We watch as he cuts through those that dared to come aboard, tossing some into the dark waters as he tries to get back to the wheel. Just as he reaches it, Reyna’s scream cuts through the night as he is shot in the leg. He goes down on a knee before pulling himself up.

  Others’ screams fill the night next as we watch the ship blocking him get pulled over and then apart by the creature. The engine is silent, but I know he has fired it up when he powers forward, cutting through the wreckage. He doesn’t slow until he is alongside us.

  I stare in wonder as the same creature that tore the ship to pieces like it was nothing gently lifts Reyna up, placing her on Hagen’s deck. His crew gives it and her a wide berth, even as they throw pirates over the side to the creature.