Chapter 4
Location: Unknown, within a wooden structure ashore
There was a pinching pressure at my side that I felt long before I could open my eyes.
Had I died? No, I could still feel, so that meant I was alive.
There was pain in my side and my chest, and I sensed someone above me.
I found a bed’s softness under me, though I realized I couldn’t feel one of my feet no matter how hard I tried.
My hands and fingers burned and throbbed.
The image of the brig exploding flashed in my mind, and suddenly I felt too much, remembered too much. My eyes flew open.
“Inno.” The voice was female and right above me, pressing down on my chest.
I couldn’t see her; I couldn’t see anything. Everything blurred together with long trails of white. Iron pressed on my shoulders until my back met with the softness of the mattress again.
“Gentle or you’ll crack her clavicles.” The woman’s voice again.
It was to the left of me now. There was a surprising amount of calm and steady authority in the woman’s smooth alto voice that eased my panic.
Whatever ease the voice had brought was destroyed when my eyes focused on the yellow-eyed monster pinning me down.
I screamed and flailed, desperate to be anywhere but near him.
The woman quickly moved in front of my face. I blinked and blinked until the trails of white only outlined her slight frame.
“That’s it. Focus on me,” she whispered, and I did.
She was beautiful in an unconventional sort of way.
Silky black hair coiled neatly at her nape with a scarlet pin.
Her large, dark eyes were like pools of night set behind black lashes, slightly too big for her face.
She had a severe upturned nose that was not unbecoming to her features.
High, round cheekbones and small, thin lips, a face that, were it not paired with such a velvet voice, would have looked severe and harsh though still beautiful in its own right.
The trail of white faded, and the lines sharpened in my vision, and with it the pain increased.
“Inno, you ought to leave before she fully wakes and sees you again.”
The iron on my shoulders left, and I realized it had been the strange man’s hands holding me in place. I tried to sit again, but the woman, with her own viselike grip, pressed me back down, stopping me.
“You should really stop that; I’m almost finished,” she warned.
I stilled. The soft authority of her voice left no room for anything but compliance. I followed the delicate line of her arm to see her long fingers expertly stitching the wound at my side where the plank had stabbed me.
At the sight, vomit filled my mouth and tipped over my lips and dripped down my chin and neck. I felt her turn my head sharply and press down until my mouth emptied.
She finished her stitching and took a moment to admire her work before giving me a small smile and moving to clean my face with not-so-gentle hands.
“Where am…” was all I got out before I blacked out completely.
When I woke again, the pain had lessened.
My eyes adjusted to the view of a ceiling made of wood.
The room was quiet and peaceful. I flexed my hands and stretched my fingers over a thin, cream blanket.
I looked at its finely knit texture as I flexed my toes, relieved when everything moved as it should have.
“Clara, how are you feeling?”
I twisted my head to see the woman from earlier sitting on a small settee to the right of the bed.
Tension coiled inside my body, causing me to wince. I glanced across the room to see if the monster was there. He wasn’t. As if sensing my panic, the woman rose from her seat with slow, confident ease and came to stand at my bedside. There was something so odd and interesting about her.
The scent of dried roses and red wine with a whisper of incense brushed my nose as she approached.
There was an air of authority that surrounded her I found myself envious of.
I was surprised to find sadness anchored in her dark eyes when they met mine.
She wore a warm ivory dress with delicate lace that went high up her slender neck and closed in the front with a Whitby jet brooch and matching black teardrop earrings.
“Who are you? Where am I, and how do you know my name?” I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain ripped across my stomach and caused me to collapse.
The woman rushed over and pressed a cool compress against my forehead. “Lie still.” Her commanding tone caused me to freeze. She softened immediately. “Lie back and I’ll explain everything.”
“I—my ship, Mick—they are all dead. He killed them all—I watched him.” My voice warbled.
Her tone sharpened slightly. “But you are not dead, are you?” She raised a single black brow.
“N-no,” I answered.
She nodded, and her dark brows pulled together slightly. “And do you know why?”
“No,” I breathed, rethinking my trust in the woman.
“Because Inno, who takes pity on no one, showed you mercy. Do you know why?”
“No,” I whispered again with a shake of my head.
Warmth touched her face, brightening it slightly. “He said you remind him of me and that, even though he only saw one thread of me in you, it was too much for him to harm you.”
My brows pinched together upon hearing her words. There was absolutely nothing about me that looked like her. She was elegant darkness, with confidence and ethereal features; nothing like my murky blond hair, sun-hardened face, and quiet countenance.
“Not in appearance, but in tribulations as a woman in an unwelcome field,” she added before continuing on.
“It’s really quite an impressive thing, you see, as Inno has until this point shown no trace of empathy to another soul aside from myself, children, and animals.
This is fantastic. This is why you are not dead.
And in sparing you, he’s given us an answer to our problems.”
My head pounded painfully, but I tried to push it away.
“You’re saying I’m not dead because that monster saw I was a female and decided to drag me to safety,” I muttered.
Had my head not hurt as it did, I’d have rolled my eyes.
It would be the first time being a woman had ever saved me from anything.
Her eyes hardened, and the forearm, which she rested on the edge of the bed, pressed against my side.
I cried out in pain. “No. The only reason you are not dead is that I stitched you up and tended to your wounds. Should you refer to him again as a monster, I can promise you, you will not walk out of this room alive.” Her voice remained soft, making the threatening undertone more intense.
“Do you understand?” She pressed her arm harder against my wound.
“Yes, yes! I understand,” I cried. I’d have told her anything she wanted to hear.
She slowly nodded and removed her arm to sit on the settee once again. “Your side required minimal stitching, but the cold plunge getting you here caused a bit of damage to your left hand and right foot.”
I wiggled the mentioned appendages, and my eyes widened in fear. They felt fine, if not sore.
“Unfortunately, frostbite set in badly, and I needed to remove three of the toes and a small part of the foot. You will probably walk fine eventually, just with a limp, but for a bit you will struggle. As for your hand, I’m confident you will regain feeling in it in due time, though when, I cannot say. ”
“My toes? My toes are gone—part of my foot? But…I can feel them wiggling!” I cried out as I realized that was why I couldn’t place the odd feeling when I tried to move it.
Tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes as I struggled to lift my leg, only to see it heavily bandaged.
It occurred to me in that moment that I was completely at the mercy of the woman; there was no way I could run.
Was it possible that she had done this intentionally, so I couldn’t escape?
“I also found this,” she said as she held up my small logbook.
The only item in my possession that I cared about. “My logbook,” I muttered.
“It seems they’ve sent you to scout the land?” Her mouth tightened into a harsh line. “You are a woman; this is no doubt a tremendous opportunity for you.”
“Yes, it is—was,” I stuttered. She had no idea how important this had been to me.
“For that then, I cannot express how truly sorry I am for what I will ask of you.” She nodded slowly.
“It’s imperative that no one else comes to this land—that they understand it is not for them to take or own.
No one must come here, ever. I understand what this means for you, and I understand that despite the death of your entire crew, they will only send out more to scout this land. ”
Were it not for the pain in my body, I would have believed I was in a nightmare. Every hair on my body prickled and rose as I waited for what she would say next. She had proven she was not above hurting me, and that she defended and adored such an absolute monster let me know I couldn’t trust her.
Her face and all her composure fell as her brows lowered, giving me a painfully understanding look. “This is rare, extremely rare for a woman. You are eager then to make history?” she asked.
I nodded apprehensively. “Yes, and I-I will. They—we deserve it as much as any man.” Even in near delirium, I was prepared to defend women in men’s fields, as unwise as it might have been. It was alarming the number of women who were against it as well.
Her eyes flickered closed for a long moment.
“Yes, believe me, I understand the position you are in, probably better than most.” Her chest rose with a deep inhale as her face saddened.
“However, I cannot allow you to return with the contents of this logbook. No one can know we are here. They must never, ever look at this place again, not on paper or in person.”
I couldn’t lose my logbook. It had turned into a friend somewhere along the months at sea and now held the last memories of my adventure—of the many moments with Mick that I’d been unable to see for what they really were.
It was more than just a logbook; it was my story.
“Please, I won’t tell them you are here, I promise.
I will not tell a soul, but I must keep my logbook.
It has become my friend. I can keep them away from this area—I’ll say we never made it here, anything—just please don’t take my logbook,” I stammered.
“Do not take this from me when you’ve taken everything else. ”
A devastated look crossed her face. “They would find some weakness in you and coerce you; they are men, they would not take your word for it. And you, girl, are hungry. I can see it in your eyes, for I have had the same hunger in my bones. It’s why Inno brought you here—the part of me he recognized in you.
” She looked as if she were about to cry, and no words could express how unnerving it was.
“I will avoid them, the British Admiralty, all of them—my family.” My throat tightened uncomfortably.
“Even my mother—I promise. I will go somewhere else, so they will think I’m dead as well.
Please.” A heavy sadness pulled on my heart thinking about never seeing my family again, but after the failure of this expedition, I wasn’t sure my father or grandfather would see me again, anyway.
She straightened her posture, but the look of sadness remained.
“Unfortunately, I need you to return. I have no choice but to ask for your help in saving the lives of the many who will try to come here. I need you to encourage them to abandon all thoughts of ever inhabiting this place, or they will all die. Innominatus will make sure of it. They can come after we’ve gone. ”
I nodded quickly, but my heart sank. She was going to destroy my logbook. “You’re going to destroy it, aren’t you? My logbook.”
She looked down at the leather-bound book in her lap. “I hope you can forgive me, but while you slept, I read it, intending to destroy it after.” She stood with the book in hand and drifted to the bed and, with resistance painting her face, she set it on my chest.
I tried to grab it hastily, but my fingers refused to squeeze in the way I commanded them to. “You’re not going to destroy it,” I whispered, unable to understand what was happening.
Her bony fingers touched my forearm and squeezed gently. “Consider it a symbol of trust. I need to tell you a story, and it is my hope that in telling you this story, you will agree to help us.”
The man appeared suddenly, and his eyes latched on to the woman as he settled against the doorframe, tucking his hands in his pants pockets. Admiration overflowed from his intense amber stare, never looking away from her.
She took a deep breath. “My name is Victoria Rose Frankenstein…”