The Curse of the Blessed

Chapter Seventeen

Once Lark and I were warm and dry, and had decided which bunk we were going to take, Sharla brought us back to the common room, where Bran and Reed were waiting for us. Dren was also there, but the moment he saw Sharla, he shot her a glare and stalked away.

"Now what?" Reed asked.

Sharla shrugged. "We hang out. We exist. We man the ship and keep a lookout for more Blesseds with our powers, or, if we don't have the kind of power that can do that, we figure out something else to do."

"What do you do?" I asked.

She grinned proudly and stood a little straighter. "I'm responsible for any heavy lifting that needs to be done. I also send out rock creatures to look for more Blesseds, when I can."

"You can see what they see?"

"Uh..." Frowning, she shook her head. "Not really, but if I send out creatures in little groups—flocks of birds or swarms of bugs—I can figure things out by their proximity to each other and any vibrations they feel."

"Sounds cool," said Lark.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Bran, who had walked over to stand beside me.

"What?" I asked.

"Can we talk?"

"Sure."

"Not here?"

I frowned, unsure why it mattered. "Okay?"

He walked over to a couch in the corner of the room, where there were few people about, sat down, and patted the couch beside him. I sat.

"What do you need?"

"Uh..." He ducked his head downward, staring at his hand, which slowly clenched and unclenched in his lap. "I... What would you say if, even though you three want to continue the quest, I stayed here?"

My gaze had been wandering about the room, but now it snapped to his face. By the look on it, he wasn't kidding.

"Why?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I just... I don't like fighting my parents' battle—my town's battle—especially since I don't think they should have sent out children to do this in the first place. And I like it here. The people are nice, the rooms are nice. I feel like I belong."

"Makes sense." I relaxed into the softness of the couch, laying my arm across the armrest. "You're sure you want this?"

"Yes."

"You'd never see your parents again. You'd probably never make it back to the village, unless there's a Blessed there who needs rescuing. And, don't forget, we'd all miss you."

"But you could come, once you've broken the curse. Or even if you don't break the curse. If you fail, we could be a plan B." A slight smile curled his lips. "I've just never felt like this before. I feel good, useful, right, like I know what needs to happen next. I'm home."

"Then stay."

"You don't think the others will be mad at me?"

"No. I don't think so."

"And you're not mad at me?"

I hesitated, then said, firmly, "No. I think you're doing what's right for you. If this is what you want, you should go for it."

"Okay," he said. "Okay. I will."

There was a short silence.

"Good," I said, pulling myself out of the couch with a little difficulty. "That's settled, then."

Lark and Reed and I talked with Sharla a bit more, while Bran lurked in the corner. I was happy for him. Or at least, I thought I was. I'd miss him, of course, and I knew that our mission would now become much more difficult without the surplus of power he was able to provide, but that didn't matter. He was doing the right thing. For so long, he'd been limited by what he was, and by his parent's choices. Now it was time for him to forge his own path.

Sharla looked up from the rocks she was animating for us, to the room's entrance. I followed her gaze. Captain Rayan and a man who looked very much like her were walking toward us.

"Captain Leith," Sharla breathed, looking at the three of us out of the corner of her eye. "He must be here to see you, to talk you through whether or not you want to join the crew. I'll leave you to discuss that in private."

"Bye," called Lark.

Sharla shot a grin back over her shoulder as she walked away.

Furniture rose out of the ground in front of us, and the captains each sat in their respective spot. Captain Rayan chose a rounded armchair, whereas Captain Leith sat on a strange, squishy puff of cloud that looked as though it would either be extremely comfortable, or extremely not. With a quick gesture of her hand, Captain Rayan called Bran over to sit next to us.

"What's happening?" he asked.

Captain Rayan grinned. "As you may have guessed—or as Sharla may have told you—this is my brother, Captain Leith. You can call him Cap when I'm not around, and Captain Leith when I am around."

"Or you can just call me Leith," Leith added.

She nodded. "That too."

"Anyway," said Leith, "now that we're both awake, we've come to talk to you about whether you'd like to stay on the Calamity and be a part of its crew."

Bran frowned. "What do you mean, 'Now that we're both awake?'"

"We alternate sleeping schedules," Rayan explained. "We both have the same power, so as long as one of us is awake at all times, the Calamity will always keep going. If we both slept, it would turn back to cloud, and everyone on it would fall to their deaths."

"Ah," said Reed, a thoughtful smile spreading across his face. "That makes sense."

"Anyway," Leith interjected. "To get back on topic, what are your first thoughts when you think about staying here?"

Uncomfortably, Lark said, "We have a quest to complete. If we stay with you, our town continues to be cursed."

"Oh," said Leith, a touch surprised. "You're from that town?"

Reed nodded.

"Don't they treat Blesseds horribly? Why would you want to go back?"

"Our families are there," said Lark, meeting Leith's gaze. "Family is family, no matter what."

"And they'll think better of us with the curse gone," I added. "We'll have saved them."

Captain Rayan hesitated. "I wouldn't count on that. Sometimes fear is stronger than relief."

I shook my head vigorously. "No. My mam won't let them do anything to me."

"Can she protect you from the entire village?"

"Maybe not," Reed cut in, leaning forward, "but my father can."

"How?" Captain Rayan asked.

"He's-" Reed paused, suddenly uncertain. He stared down at his hands for a moment. Lark put a hand to his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, which seemed to bring him back to himself. He shot her a grateful look and turned back to the captains. "He's the Head Man."

Oh. OH. That's crazy! You know what else is crazy? To become the Head Man, his father had to get people to vote for him. I'd like to be the Head Woman. Just saying.