Ding.
Lucian groaned as he rolled off the pallet onto the ground. The sound came from somewhere down the shore.
"That sucks," he said, rubbing his aching arm.
He stood slowly and walked out into the cold, silent corridor.
He opened a wooden door and found eleven children asleep on straw pallets, packed like sardines. He closed it again quietly and kept walking.
Outside, the sky over the bay was the same dark as it had been since he came to the island.
He looked around. The base was surrounded by tall cliffs and vegetation that would be impossible to climb. Four separate shelters. Smoked food hung from a line, and a kid was asleep leaning against one of the posts.
It seems the only way out is the path we came down, or the sea.
At the dock, six men were working.
Old enough to call adults, hauling crates up a plank onto a boat. It was smaller than the ones Lucian used to see in Linberg. Single-masted, the sail furled tight along the boom, low and fast-looking in the water.
"Watch it, new kid."
"Sorry."
Lucian moved to the edge of the dock and watched the crates go up.
"Why are you here? You're just getting in the way."
He turned.
A crow sat on a post at the end of the dock, red eyes fixed on him. He had no idea how long it had been there. Not until it made a sound.
"Talking bird?"
It stayed a moment longer. Then it opened its wings, went up over the water in a wide circle, and came down on the shoulder of a young man leaning against the rail of the sailboat.
He was maybe sixteen. Black hair, and eyes that sat half closed like he had only just woken up. White shirt, too big for him, sleeves swallowing his hands. Black trousers.
"Who are you?"
"Cade. Third head," he said, yawning.
"I'm Lucy. I was just looking at the boat."
"I know who you are, kid," Cade said, rubbing the crow's head. "Blessed or not, I still don't understand why my brother chose you."
He pushed off the rail.
"Since you're awake. Follow me."
He stopped after two steps.
"And don't get comfortable. You've been here one night."
Lucian said nothing and followed him. This one was a head, so being careful was the right choice, especially since he was not hiding his hostility.
. . .
The room was carved back into the rock, wider than the others, with a round table and a lamp burning at the center of it.
Killian sat at the head of the table with his boots up on it. Ghoul stood behind him. Selena was to his left, drinking something. Cade dropped into a seat on the right, and the crow hopped down onto the table and stayed there.
Lucian bowed slightly to Selena, then took the empty chair.
"How was your first night?" Killian asked.
"Better than expected."
"Good." He took his feet off the table and sat forward.
He reached inside his coat and put something down on the wood between them.
It was a single sheet. The ink was red. The whole page was written in blood.
Lucian did not move. His eyes went to the door.
He remembered a conversation from his father's office. Red ink meant Demon.
One of the Demon class abilities, called a blood contract. It worked like a normal contract, except that breaking the terms cursed the violator's blood. And it was usually used for one thing. Dominating people. Mostly by the Demon Faction.
He looked up.
Killian was watching him with open interest.
"There it is," Killian said.
"You're from the Demon Faction." Lucian was already standing.
"No. I'm not." Killian denied it instantly, with a sour look.
Selena set her cup down. "We're not from the Demon Faction."
"Ahmm. See, Cade? He knows the class and the faction, and he's an orphan kid," Killian said.
"That doesn't prove he's cut from the same cloth as us," Cade replied. "And looking at his reaction, I don't see any reason to trust him."
"His reaction is normal," Selena said. "The Demon class is considered evil in the west."
"You can just say I'm a rogue demon with no interest in that crazy cult."
"I don't understand," Lucian said.
Selena turned her chair slightly to face him.
"You know how many classes there are?"
"No."
"There are thirteen. And the west splits them into three categories." She raised a finger. "First, the six Orthodox classes. The ones the big countries hold and control."
"You could say they're the classes with an Orthodox God behind them," Killian added. "You probably grew up praying to one."
"Second, the three Evil classes, run by organizations influenced or corrupted by the old gods," Selena continued. "And last, the four Gray classes. They aren't tied to the gods, but they're still dangerous because their origins are unknown."
"But some awakened, like Killian, don't belong to any of them. Others call them rogue."
Lucian loosened a bit as he heard the explanation. It was a new piece of the puzzle, fitting into what he already knew. But he was not sure any of it could be trusted, especially with a leader who was a Demon, someone who would be considered a criminal in Valeria the moment he was found.
Lucian said nothing and stared at the paper instead.
He did not see any option here that he could refuse. Follow the flow, plan later.
He read it. Most of it seemed ordinary, like the contracts he had signed in his past life. Years of employment, restrictions, compensation, and so on.
Fortunately, it was not a slave contract. But the penalty was worse than death.
He kept reading, and his eyes stopped on one line. Too vague, and far too important for an eight year old to do.
"My job seems odd," Lucian said, pointing at the line.
"Oh, you noticed." Killian's smile widened. "That's the other thing."
He put both hands flat on the table.
"I'm making you a head."
Cade's chair scraped.
"What? You said you were still considering it."
"Yeah. I'm done considering it."
"No." He was sitting up now, and the lazy eyes had opened all the way. "He's a kid, and he's barely been here a day."
"Who knows if the southern port comes for us over the stunt, you pulled getting him out."
"I agree with Cade," Selena said. "He just got here. Blood contract or not, we need time to decide."
"It's decided. My instinct tells me he's the one we need in this role."
"I'm telling you, you're making a big mistake, brother," Cade said.
"So, you're deciding this on your instinct again," Selena said.
"Yes." Killian said it flatly. "We're all here because of my instinct."
The two of them stopped, as if they had both given up at once.
"No need to make that face," Killian said. "It's a head role, so I have the perfect job to test him."
Cade's face contorted. "If you're talking about that job, then sure, with that face he can get close. But can he do it?"
Selena spoke without raising her voice. "I patched him up nine hours ago. He can't even walk properly. Whatever you're planning, he can't do it yet, and if he tries, he'll die."
"Relax. I got new information on the target. He's got another week to recover."
Lucian had no idea what they were talking about. But if they were giving him more time, the job was important, and dangerous.
"So," Killian said. "Do you agree?"
"Can I think about this for a-"
"You came a long way just to decline my offer. Right?" He was still smiling.
Ghoul crossed the room and stood in front of the door.
"One change," Lucian said.
"Go on."
"The end of the contract should say I leave the group and the island safely. Not released."
Killian looked at him for a moment.
"Also, I want the girl on the same contract as me."
If the red-haired girl was from the tribe mentioned in the book he had once read, Lucian could gain a powerful ally if he kept her by his side.
"Told you, Cade. This kid has a brain too," Killian said.
"Hmph," Cade replied, with an irritated look.
Killian stabbed his finger, and the blood moved across the paper as the terms rewrote themselves.
"Now sign."
Lucian cut his palm and let the blood fall onto the page.
Done.
He took his hand back and looked at the mark he had left.
"There's a guide for you outside," Killian said, already rolling up the contract. "Go familiarize yourself before the job."
. . .
Lucian came out of the room with his palm wrapped, the cut throbbing under the cloth.
There was a boy waiting in the corridor.
"Nice to meet you, Fourth he-" He stopped. "Wait. You're a kid."
"You're the one who was asleep on the post."
"No, I'm not." A pause. "Please don't tell."
"I'm Lucy."
"Kid Jeff. I'm supposed to show you around."
"Alright," Lucian said, and his stomach growled.
"Have you eaten?" Jeff asked, awkwardly.
"No."
Jeff grinned like he was about to solve a serious problem.
"Then we start with the kitchen," he said. "Sister Rachel will feed you. Her food's actually good, which nobody expects in this place."
"Although she's not a real sister, all the kids just call her that." Jeff was already walking, talking over his shoulder. "Like Sister Selena. Isn't she a nice leader?"
"How's your arm? I heard about what you did in the pit, so I thought you'd be, you know. Bigger. Older." He turned around and walked backward for a few steps, squinting.
"Wait. How old are you? You look like you're my age."
Lucian followed him with a tired look, remembering how Belle used to talk the same way while walking the hallways of the manor.