Cursed

by Brent Miller

  Garrick jumped into someone’s backyard then quickly scaled the wall on the other side that separated them from the street. When he dropped to the ground, he unconsciously skidded to a halt. When he looked to his left, he saw Cailean lying on the ground – a hunter with his sword raised standing over him. By his elevated breathing and increased heart rate, along with the apparent wounds on his body, Garrick could clearly see that Cailean was losing the fight.

  Covered in cuts and with blood pouring from a few stab wounds, it was a wonder Cailean had been able to produce such a powerful call. He looked like he had already given up as the man brought the sword down toward him. Garrick was on the hunter tackling him to the ground with the sword only about an inch from Cailean’s skull. The momentum sent the sword flying, clattering to the ground about a foot from the altercation.

  Pinning the hunter to the ground, Garrick threw two punches to his face. Blocking his face with one hand, the hunter used the other to punch Garrick’s ribs. There wasn’t enough momentum to do any real damage, but it was enough to surprise Garrick – and the hunter used that to buck Garrick off of him, rolling over. Garrick fell to the floor and the hunter pushed away, retrieving his sword. Quickly, he brought the blade down toward Garrick. Following his first instinct, Garrick raised his arm to block his face instead of rolling away.

  The sword cut deep into Garrick’s arm, and when the hunter pulled the blade away, Garrick could see his ulna through the deep gash. Adrenaline helped to dull the pain, but it didn’t eradicate it, and Garrick gritted his teeth, trying to remain focused.

  Cailean stood shakily and closed the small distance between himself and the hunter. Placing his foot on the hunter’s back, Cailean knocked the man to the ground and Garrick rolled on top of the man. He punched the hunter anywhere he could find an opening. He tried to reposition the sword in his hand so he could stab Garrick, but it was large and awkward to maneuver in the tight space.

  Garrick grabbed his arm, snapping the bone with ease and dropping the blade to the ground. Garrick tried to follow up with a flurry of punches, but the man kicked him off. Rolling over his back shoulder, he jumped to his feet. Garrick stood as well, lifting his hands to cover his face and backing away.

  Cailean stood a few feet away. There didn’t appear to be new blood coming from the stab wounds, and the cuts were slowly closing. Garrick could hear his breathing slowly settling back into a normal rhythm.

  Garrick ducked as the man swung the sword with his good arm, countering with a hook to the ribs. Stumbling backward, the man fell into another kick from Cailean that knocked him to the ground. The sword dropped, and Cailean quickly picked it up.

  The man stood and threw a punch at Garrick, but he weaved backward. He avoided a few more punches from the only operable arm and blocked a kick. The hunter threw another punch, and Garrick dodged to the side, throwing a hook to the hunter’s exposed jaw. The impact spun the hunter toward Cailean, who drove the sword forward and stabbed the man’s heart. Cailean released the sword as the man fell dead between them.

  “What’s going on?” Garrick asked, fighting through the agony that seared in waves through his arm. As the adrenaline faded from his bloodstream, it was replaced by pain. He bit his teeth down, willing the effects of the silver to end quickly.

  “I don’t know,” Cailean replied pensively. “For the first time, I remember changing back. We didn’t sleep – we just changed back knowing we had to run. Finally, we found somewhere we thought was safe. We found some of our old suitcases and put on some dirty clothes.

  “But the hunters were after us. They chased us into the woods. Dad told us all to run. I tried to get away, but this one caught me by surprise.”

  “What about the others? Did they make it out?”

  “I don’t know! Honestly, Garrick, I panicked. I thought they all ran.”

  “Aldric would never run.”

  “I know,” Cailean agreed, looking down at the ground. “I should have fought, I know. But it’s hopeless, Garrick. There are just so many of them.”

  Cailean’s eyes welled up with tears. Garrick had never seen him cry before, but he could relate to what was going on in his head. Terrified and guilty, Cailean was trapped in a cycle of questioning his own actions. Garrick himself felt that terrible mixture of emotions on more than one occasion. Being the best fighter and the only one always ready to spar, Cailean seemed like he’d be the most prepared for a fight, but even he wasn’t. As soon as the hunters actually showed up, he had run. He was probably imagining the worst and blaming himself, even though any rational person would have been afraid.

  “Nothing is hopeless. Let’s find them. Just smell for them, your senses are still stronger, from the change.”

  “Aren’t yours, too?”

  “I’m not sure. Just do it, we have to find them.”

  Garrick knew that on some level, his senses were stronger as well, but he didn’t want to try to test the limits of it. It was a fine line which he wasn’t sure how to maneuver yet, so it was easier just to assign the task to Cailean. Garrick also knew that if Cailean were similar to him in any way, it would be better to have a task.

  Cailean choked the tears down, looking up and smelling the air, trying to lock onto a scent. Garrick could tell from the look in his eyes that he wasn’t able to find a trace. Given their distance from the woods, it made sense if none of them had gone the same direction.

  “Alright,” Garrick thought aloud. “We’ll start heading to the woods. Maybe we’ll find them as we get closer.”

  Cailean looked hesitant to go back in that direction, but he nodded. Garrick started running toward the woods. After a brief second of uncertainty, Cailean followed.

  Garrick was the first to break the tree line. It was clear that the others were close when they got near. The clashing of fists and grunts exchanged during a fight were audible, even from their distance. Instinctively, Garrick wanted to call for Hayden, but he couldn’t risk any small element of surprise he had.

  When they crossed into the woods, he slowed to a walk, realizing that they shouldn’t be rushing into the fight. The woods were probably teeming with hunters, and they didn’t want to alert any more of them, so stealth was their best option.

  He held his hand back, signaling to Cailean that he should slow down. Both of them ducked down behind a nearby tree. Garrick focused on listening for any movement in the trees around them.

  One of the hunters was walking slowly, quietly searching the area with nearly silent footsteps. Garrick could hear his heart pounding, though, and the displacement of the air as he swept his bow left to right. On Garrick’s signal, Cailean circled around him.

  Garrick snuck up to one side of the hunter, and Cailean on the other. As a distraction, Garrick threw a rock against a tree. It worked like a charm, and the hunter aimed his bow at the sound. Cailean snuck out of the trees behind him and snapped his neck.

  Garrick and Cailean progressed slowly, trying to sneak their way toward the others. Garrick was the first to see the battle, but Cailean wasn’t far behind him. There were hunters in the trees all around them, shooting arrows for support as the hunters in closer range fought with swords.

  Without discussing the plan, Garrick and Cailean silently ran in opposite directions. Each of them killed one of the hunters before they were caught. Garrick was ambushed, though, by two hunters with silver knives, and he stumbled back into the clearing with the others. Cailean was next to join them, along with five hunters aiming crossbows at him.

  They all shot at once, and Aldric pushed Garrick and Cailean to the ground with one hand each. He covered Hayden and Brooke with his own body. One of the bolts from the crossbows plunged into each leg and three hit his chest.

  Shouting out a battle cry, he ran forward as they reloaded, pulling the weapons out of his chest. Garrick ran after him as soon as he’d regained his footing, but Aldric had a big head-start. Trying to protect his father, Cailean ran alongside Garrick.

  Usin
g the momentum he’d gathered, Aldric stabbed one of the quarrels from his chest into the heart of one of the hunters. Three of the others started running backward, trying to reload their weapons simultaneously. The fourth drove a silver dagger into Aldric’s stomach. Despite the wound, Aldric lifted the man and threw him against a tree, breaking his back.

  The other three hunters shot their weapons. One arrow hit Aldric in the shoulder. The other hit him as he tried to maintain balance, refusing to fall. The third arrow missed entirely, and Garrick had to dodge past it as he ran toward the brawl. Aldric fell to the ground, and Garrick couldn’t hear him breathing.

  “Father!” Cailean screamed. He dropped to his knees beside him, apparently too focused to even consider the hunters anymore. Hayden and Brooke, who had been stunned into paralysis at first, were moving to help Garrick.

  As he reached the first hunter, Garrick kicked and shattered his ribs. Before he even hit the ground, Garrick had ripped the weapon from the hands of another. He threw the weapon into the trees, but the hunter retrieved a silver blade from a holster on his side and drove it into Garrick’s stomach.

  Garrick punched his jaw, shattering the bone. The hunter collapsed, hitting his head on a rock with enough force to end his life. Blood pouring from his stomach, Garrick stumbled forward, trying to keep fighting, but the other hunter kicked his chest, knocking him to the ground as he aimed a crossbow at his head. Before he could pull the trigger, he inexplicably dropped to the ground. Tyler stood behind him, pulling his own knife out of the man’s back. If he hadn’t killed the hunter, with the placement of the blade he’d permanently paralyzed him. Tyler offered Garrick a hand and pulled him to his feet.

  “Why are you here?” Garrick choked.

  “I had a feeling you might need me.”

  “It’s dangerous,” Garrick coughed. He wanted to be upset, but his friend had just saved his life, so he couldn’t keep a harsh tone. “Thanks.”

  Tyler nodded, but his expression suddenly went dark. Catching his eye, Garrick knew exactly where he was staring. He himself turned and saw Hayden running toward him. Beyond that, Cailean and Brooke were kneeling near Aldric.

  Hayden grabbed Garrick and pulled him in for a hug, pressing his body tightly against hers. He avoided making a joke about how she was hurting him due to the situation, so he just ignored the pain as she compressed his wound.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she cried, pulling back to look at him.

  “Yeah, it’s good to see you too,” he replied, distracted.

  “What happened to you?” she inquired.

  “That doesn’t matter right now,” he dismissed. “We have to get Aldric out of here.”

  “Garrick,” she stopped him as he tried to walk away, tears filling her eyes as she shook her head.

  “No,” Garrick refused to accept her implication. She placed a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off and ran to Aldric, falling to his knees at his alpha’s side. Hayden and Tyler walked melancholically to join them.

  “I’m sorry,” Aldric managed to say. Garrick could hear his heartbeat, but it was the faintest he’d ever heard. He honestly couldn’t believe that Aldric was still alive with such a slow beat. Between the silver halting his healing and the sheer number of mortal wounds hemorrhaging blood, Aldric was fading fast.

  “Don’t,” Garrick interrupted. “We’re going to help you. The silver will wear off, and you’ll heal. We’ll get you home and we’ll figure this all out.”

  “No,” Aldric argued. Garrick knew that it was hopeless to make those promises. Transported mentally to what happened with Chase, Garrick found himself in an all-too-familiar situation. He had tried to lie to him – to tell him it was going to be okay. He caught himself making the same empty promises to his alpha as he lay dying in front of them.

  Cailean tried to say something, but his chest heaved, and tears flowed from his eyes, limiting any speech. He held his father’s hand as he looked down at the man who for years had been their symbol of strength and power.

  “You all have to run,” Aldric pressed.

  “No,” Cailean cried. “This is my fault. If I’d been here… If I hadn’t run…”

  “You can’t blame yourself,” Aldric cut him off. “It was my call – I wanted you to escape to safety. I still do.”

  Each of Aldric’s words was becoming more labored and more difficult to understand. Garrick knew he didn’t have much time left. He was only hanging on to deliver whatever message it was that he had for them.

  “They sent everything they have. In this town and any of the neighboring ones. I don’t know why, but Darren, their interim leader, decided that this is an all or nothing attack. There are too many of them, and they won’t stop until you’re all dead. You have to leave town.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Garrick whispered, unable to ignore the same thoughts Cailean had expressed. If only he’d been there, maybe it would have been different. Taking a deep breath, he stood, placing a hand on Brooke’s shoulder to indicate that she should follow. Aldric was an alpha to all of them, but he was only a father to one, and his final moments should be spent with his son.

  The others seemed to catch on to what he was thinking, and they all stepped away to join him one by one. Brooke ran a hand along Cailean’s shoulder as she left; attempting to comfort him, even though everyone knew it was futile.

  “Father,” Cailean cried, tears apparent in his shaky voice. Garrick walked to the other side of the clearing, trying to avoid eavesdropping and give them their space – although it was difficult with his hearing.

  “Son, listen to me,” Aldric said. “I know it’s hard, but you have to leave.”

  “No. This is only because I ran. I swear to you, Dad, I will never run away again. I won’t abandon my pack.”

  “What happened isn’t your fault. But if you stay, what happens next will be. Go.”

  Aldric’s hand moved slowly, closing around his son’s, handing him something. He struggled to move his head closer to his son, whispering under his breath. Garrick couldn’t make out the words he whispered, which was probably for the best.

  “Please, Cailean,” Aldric continued, loud enough to be heard by them all. “Don’t let this be a waste. I need you to be safe.”

  Cailean didn’t respond – he couldn’t. His head fell forward as he sobbed, one hand tightly clasped around his father’s and the other holding onto whatever Aldric had given him. Once again, Aldric leaned his head up, using the last of his strength to be closer to his son.

  “They’ll all be here. They’ll surround you. Run,” Aldric ordered. Nothing was said for almost a full minute, but he finally forced his last words out of his mouth.

  “I love you, Cailean. You’re the best son I could have asked for.”

  The last labored breath passed Aldric Phoenix’s lips.

  Garrick stood with the others. He knew they couldn’t wait long before they all had to leave, but he wanted to give Cailean as much time as he could possibly could to grieve. After waiting a while, though, it was getting too long, and they had to go before more hunters found them.

  He walked back to Cailean, trying to be supportive. Squatting down next to his friend, he placed a hand on Cailean’s shoulder. Cailean tried to shake him off, but he couldn’t muster enough force to actually make Garrick let go. He gave up and just accepted it.

  “We have to go, Cailean,” Garrick whispered apologetically.

  “I can’t leave him.”

  “We don’t have a choice.”

  Cailean didn’t say anything. Garrick could relate, at least on some level, to how he felt. Garrick felt similarly about Aldric. Garrick’s father had left when he was a child. He grew up with just a mother, and he’d never had a problem with that. When he was scratched, though, and taken into this new family, Aldric had filled that role. He was the closest thing Garrick had ever had to a father. Now, he lay lifeless in front of them. Still, he wasn’t going to try to relate to Cailean or compare. There
was no way he could possibly comprehend what his friend was going through. All he could do was be there for him.

  Cailean nodded, slowly bringing his head up and opening his eyes to look at his father one last time. He released his hand, setting it on the ground next to him. Cailean breathed a shaky breath as he lifted his hand and closed his father’s eyes for the last time.

  Chapter 27

  Four months ago

  Garrick opened the door to his house. All of the lights were off. To the best of his knowledge, his mom didn’t have work, but it was possible she’d been called in at the last minute. He flipped on the light to the living room.

  Part of him expected people to jump out at him, but he was also slightly relieved when no one did. Closing and locking the door, he wandered over to the couch and sat down.

  “Surprise,” he heard as Hayden hopped over the couch and sat next to him. Startled, Garrick jumped and turned to face her. He hated being startled, but he assumed that hadn’t been her intention, so he tried to let it go. It was a few seconds before he’d relaxed to speak.

  “Hey,” he greeted. “I thought you were busy tonight.”

  “I have been very busy, thank you,” she said, feigning offense. “How else could I have set this up?” As she asked the question, all of the lights in the halls and the kitchen flipped on simultaneously. People jumped out from every opening and shouted ‘surprise.’ If he had done anything at all besides go straight to the couch, he would have seen someone and ruined her surprise. He wasn’t sure if he was that predictable or if she just knew him too well.

  “Happy birthday, babe,” Hayden smiled, giving him a quick kiss. There were decorations all over the kitchen, but the living room was completely bare. Everyone walked into the living room, talking over each other. Tyler found him first, pulling him in for a hug. Chase pulled him away from Tyler and hugged him next. Finally, Brooke and then his mother, and Garrick almost got dizzy from all of the spinning around to hug new people. Aldric and Cailean were there too, but they settled for handshakes. Mrs. Phoenix was also there, and she wrapped Garrick in an embrace. Garrick was glad Hayden had invited her – it would have felt wrong for the rest of her family to be there without her. Hayden knew that Garrick wasn’t a fan of parties, but this was perfect. A small gathering of everyone important to him was all he could have asked for.