The Feral Mark

Banished. Outcast. Forgotten.

Those three words were a bitter taste on my tongue, but that was how they described me now.

The boat rocked gently, knocked by the waves of the sea as three coven sisters rowed me out to the Isle of the Forgotten. I glanced toward the mainland, which was my home for my entire life, but they had deemed me unworthy of being part of their group.

A rough wave knocked the boat, sending me sprawling on my backside.

“Get up, you stupid wench,” Aveline said, standing only long enough to jerk me up by the arm. “Nothing you do will save you.”

I glanced up at her, my eyes widening. She had been sweet to me all my life until now.

The other two in the back, who I didn’t know as well, sneered.

“No wonder the coven wants rid of you,” the one on the left snapped.

“Nobody wants a thief in their village. You’re lucky you’re from a coven.” This time it was the one on the right, the dark haired woman, who spoke. “Shifters and vampires aren’t as nice. Not all who they throw out make it to the Isle.”

Their words were as sharp as daggers, branding me as useless, stupid, and an unwelcome trespasser in what had been my own. Even on the sea, they were ruthless.

I turned to look over my shoulder, noticing the Isle growing bigger and bigger. Any moment we’d land. Once I arrived, I knew I’d never go home. No one ever did and no one knew what happened once they left their outcasts there.

It was horrible to think that I would be made to go, but here I was.

They finished rowing and stepped out once we were close to shore. I stepped out, trying not to fight what I already knew was coming. The last thing I needed was an injury as soon as I got to the Isle.

“Go on,” Aveline said, her voice low and menacing. She rose her hand, threatening me with magic. “I could kill you right now, but that would be too kind for the likes of you.”

I laughed, but that only held back the tears threatening to escape. “”You should,” I whimpered as a rush of cooler water went up my legs. “It would be a far better ending for me than letting me die on the Isle.”

She gazed at me thoughtfully, as if she were considering it, then shook her head. “No, you are going to say on the Isle to rot.”

“I didn’t do what I was accused of,” I whispered as she got back in the boat.

I doubted she heard me, not that it would have done me any good. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t already tried explaining that the blame had been placed on me and it was Tera who had taken the things. I guess they would figure it out eventually, because things would still get taken with me gone.

I took a step back, slowly getting out of the water as I watched them row away. One of the women looked back, a wicked smile gracing her lips.

“Good luck, you cursed—”

Her words cut off. I wasn’t sure if it was the sea or if she got nudged that drowned them out.

“Cursed?” I scoffed.

As if on cue, my stomach burned. It was low on my hip, in a spot no one would ever see as long as it wasn’t deliberately revealed.

“Stupid mark,” I spat. “They already hated me and now they call me cursed because of you.”

I didn’t dare lift my shirt to even look, mostly because my hands were still bound. The sun was setting and I had to get my hands free if I wanted to stand a chance of surviving.

Slowly, I turned to look at the wilderness beyond the shore. My gaze lingered on the dark, twisted trees and the bright green vines crawling along their bark. Deep purple flowers bloomed along those vines, but I figured they were deadly. Most pretty things were.

I stared past the vines to the canopy. “Maybe I should climb up there for the night.”

But then I remembered a few stories from those who had come here before. They said creatures lived in them, ones they wouldn’t even discuss out of fear. Others who were left here had been snatched off the shore by those creatures and hauled up the massive trees to the very top where they met their end.

I swallowed. “Nevermind.”

My thoughts drifted as I realized the ground wasn’t that safe either. The creatures there were just as deadly and would eat you in one bite. I glanced at the shoreline, wondering which would be better.

I could wait here and die or I could go into the forest and possibly meet my end quicker.

“Oh, what have I gotten myself into?” I asked no one, then signed. “No, what did Tera get me into?”

My heart thudded in my chest as I took a step closer to the forest, but then I stopped. I looked at the sea behind me, wondering if I would just be better off going into the water. At least there, I could drown without being eaten.

Then I thought again. No, I would get eaten there too.

With that thought in mind, I set off in search of a rock or something sharp to cut the rope. If I wanted to survive so I could enact my revenge, I had to have a fighting chance.

“I guess it’s just me and the Isle now. Long may I live and hopefully escape this place,” I muttered.

I found a rock about a hundred feet away, near the treeline. A creature of the night called into the late evening air, sending a chill down my spine. It wasn’t cold yet, but the thin fabric of the dress was barely enough to provide any real warmth, especially with a setting sun.

I got to work, trying to rub the ropes against the rock’s sharpest edge. The woods were growing darker by the second with the setting sun. The chill in the air made everything feel damp, as if it had rained not long ago. I pushed and dragged repeatedly, begging it to work.

“Please, just let me get my hands free. Oh, please.”

That’s when I heard it. There was a low growl followed by an odd clicking sound. I froze, the rope still caught on the rock. When I turned to run to get away from whatever was coming out of the woods, I was jerked back hard.

I hissed as I looked at the rock. The rope was caught on the edge. Unless it was cut through, I was trapped.

“No, no, no.”

Another growl filled the air along with a hiss that reminded me of a snake. I shut my eyes, trying to focus on what direction it was coming from and how far away.

Branches off to my left snapped quickly. I twisted in that direction, nearly falling as I did.

Something dark and shadowed moved through the forest at a speed I didn’t think was possible.

I screamed just as it reached me.