The Zero Curse

by Christopher G. Nuttall

  “No,” Akin shouted back. The noise was making it hard to hear anything. “Rose?”

  “It’s dark down there,” Rose said. Her voice was faint, oddly wrong. I wondered if she was on the verge of collapse. “We could be over the sea.”

  We could be, I thought. I didn't know just how far we’d flown, let alone just how badly we’d been blown off course. I risked looking down myself, but saw nothing apart from eternal darkness. What is down there?

  The flying machine shook, again and again. I saw more flashes of lightning, moving closer and closer. What would happen if we were struck? Surely the ancients had had a solution ... they’d built flying machines that had spanned the entire empire, crossing whole continents in a matter of hours. My rickety old thing didn't seem to compete, somehow. Perhaps the ancients had known how to configure the power to absorb the lightning or ... I mulled it over, then dismissed it. I’d just have to keep going, hoping for the best.

  A gust of wind struck us. I screamed as the flying machine heeled over and fell towards the ground. Rose screamed too ... I pushed my fingers against the Object of Power until they went numb. We were upside down ... up was down and vice versa ... I struggled until we were the right way up again, then continued to head away from the Eternal City.

  “There are supposed to be mountains to the north,” Akin said. I could feel him behind me, peering into the darkness. “What happens if we crash into them?”

  I shrugged. There were mountains to the north. I’d seen them on the map. They’d blocked the empire’s expansion until they’d found passes through the rocky barrier, then spells to reduce some of the smaller mountains to rubble. Now ... the roads that had once passed through the mountains were in bad repair. I didn't think anyone used them these days, save for smugglers and renegades. The entire country was supposed to be cursed.

  But we found a farming community, I reminded myself. The flying machine steadied, just long enough to lure me into a false sense of security. Who knows what else might be here?

  Rose cleared her throat. “What happens?”

  “We die, I suppose,” I said. I’d heard stories about men who’d tried to climb those mountains. Very few of them came back. And a handful who had made it to the top had come back mad, raving about strange temples and statues so high above the ground that no one could live there for long. “We may have to land and wait until daylight.”

  I peered down at the ground, trying to see what was below us. But there was still no way to tell where we were. If we were over the ocean ... or even a river ... we were doomed. Maybe I could lower us slowly enough to give me a chance to reverse thrust, if we discovered we were about to get our feet wet. But I wasn't confident in anything.

  “We must have gone quite some distance from the farm,” Akin said. He sounded as though he was trying to convince himself. “They couldn't possibly catch up with us, could they?”

  “Unless they turn into birds and fly,” Rose said, edgily. Her voice was shaking. “It wouldn't be hard for them, would it?”

  “They couldn't fly as fast as us,” Akin said. “Could they?”

  I had no idea. My calculations - insofar as I’d managed to calculate anything in my head - suggested that there was no upper speed limit, but it was clear that I’d made a few mistakes along the way. And I hadn't known to take a few factors into account. Air resistance alone slowed us down quite significantly. I’d have to go back to my notes and recalculate, once we got home. The way we were staggering from side to side - and being blown all over the place by gusts of wind - didn’t help.

  “I think they can’t track us,” I said. I was fairly sure we’d gone quite some distance from the farm, although it was still tiny compared to the distance we’d have to fly to get home. But now I understood some of the problems, I could modify the Object of Power to allow us to fly faster. “But we might still be close to the city.”

  I gritted my teeth. Fairuza had been at the farm. She still had a chance to catch us, if she caught up before we reached safety. And yet ... if I didn't know where we were going to land, how could she?

  The wind slapped at us, again. This time, I managed to steer us through the worst of it. The framework shivered under me, uncomfortably. I made a mental note to check it as well, when we landed. It was shielded from the worst of the pounding, but it might still be coming apart. I didn't want it to shatter while we were flying away from the hunters.

  “Too close,” Akin agreed, thoughtfully. It took me a moment to remember he was talking about the city. “But we should be safe here for a while.”

  Rose let out a strangled sound. “I ...”

  “Rose?” Akin sounded concerned. “Are you alright?”

  I was torn between glancing back and keeping my concentration on the Object of Power. The wind was picking up again, tapping against the power with steadily growing force. And yet, Rose was in trouble ... she sounded as though she was trying to be sick. I could hear her trying to retch. I ...

  The bracelet glowed, suddenly. Heat washed down my arm.

  Akin gasped. “Rose, what are you doing?”

  “I can’t ...” Rose’s voice was different, as if someone else was speaking through her. I wanted to glance at her, but I couldn’t take my hands off the Object of Power. “I ... help!”

  The bracelet heated, again. I heard Akin cast a spell, only to have it deflected into the air. The flying machine lurched violently, falling several metres - perhaps more - in the space of a second. Rose was using magic ... Rose was using magic on me? What ...

  I swore out loud. The obvious ... I’d overlooked the obvious, once again. Fairuza ... the witch had taken a blood sample from Rose, back when we’d been prisoners. Akin and I knew to watch for unexplained cuts on our bodies, but Rose ... she didn’t know to do it, not instinctively. Fairuza had probably tracked us from the moment we’d left the Eternal City. I was surprised she hadn't moved in sooner, before we had a chance to make friends with the farmers. But how could she have expected me to build a flying machine?

  “Stop her,” I snapped. I heard the sounds of a struggle behind me, but I didn't dare look. We were falling out of the sky, heading down at a terrifying speed ... I had no idea how far it was to the ground. “Stop her!”

  The flying machine lurched, again. Akin was smart enough not to use magic, but Fairuza - or whoever was trying to control Rose - didn't have any such limitations. If we all died it would solve their problems nicely ... I’d made them the wretched potion, after all. I heard Rose gasp as Akin struck her, but she hit him back with greater force. They were both physically, as well as magically, strong.

  My bracelet heated, again. I grunted in pain. Rose was slamming spells into my back ... I hoped it was a good sign, even though my skin was beginning to blister. I’d had worse, back when I’d been learning to forge, but never when I’d had to concentrate so badly. The Object of Power was losing its grip, the magic starting to flare out of control. Akin was trying to stop Rose ...

  She might be fighting too, I thought. Blood magics were dangerous, but not unbeatable ... not if the victim was strong-willed. She knows about the bracelet. If she’s attacking me, she’s wasting magic on me and not attacking him.

  The heat grew stronger, all of a sudden. Perhaps Rose wasn't wasting magic after all. I tried to keep from screaming as I fought for control. I wanted to remove the bracelet, but it was the only thing keeping me from being hexed. And we would all fall to our deaths if the flying machine fell out of the air. It was all I could do to keep the field together. It demanded my full attention ...

  “I can't hold her,” Akin said. “What do we do?”

  The struggle behind me was only getting worse. A stab of fire tore through my arm. I was suddenly convinced that I was about to lose it. And if that happened, we were dead ...

  “Hex her,” I ordered. I could see something moving below us. But what? Water? I tried to slow our fall, but it didn't seem to work. The power was disintegrating. Gravity was slowly reasse
rting itself. “Just ... stop her!”

  There was a flash of light behind me. The Object of Power flared brightly, then gave up the ghost. I screamed as we plummeted, instinctively drawing up my feet. A second later, we hit the ground so hard that the framework disintegrated. I barely noticed. My arm was hurting so badly that I had to remove the bracelet. It took everything I had just to get it down my arm and drop it. And then I froze ...

  “Hang on,” Akin said. I heard the sound of another hex. “Let me ...”

  The pain faded, just for a second. It came back in force when Akin cast a light spell and removed the hex. I bit my lip, trying not to cry out as I inspected my arm. The skin was blistered badly, so badly that it was going to take weeks to recover without magic. I needed a healer, desperately. If I didn't get treatment in time, I might never be able to forge again. I squeezed my eyes closed, trying not to cry. Everything we’d gone through - everything we’d done - might be for nothing.

  “I do know a handful of painkilling spells,” Akin said, quietly. His fingers touched my bare skin. I flinched, but held still. He would have seen similar injuries during his training. “Do you want me to use one?”

  I opened my eyes. It would be risky - even the simplest painkilling spells were known to have side effects. And yet, I could barely move. I didn't have a choice.

  “Please,” I said.

  Akin cast the spell. My arm went numb. It wouldn't last, I reminded myself. The spell simply wouldn't cling to me for very long. Akin would have to refresh it again and again, risking all sorts of side effects every time he cast the spell. My mind insisted on cataloguing all the things that could go wrong. I might lose the ability to think clearly or, worse, become highly suggestible. Or I might just fall asleep.

  Rose was lying on the ground, paralysed. I hoped that Fairuza couldn’t force Rose to cast the counterspell while she was frozen. Beyond her, the flying machine was a wreck. The Object of Power was beyond repair. I kicked it several times, just to make sure it was beyond all hope of reverse-forging, then turned to Akin. He was looking around, nervously.

  “They’ll be able to track Rose,” he said. His eyes flickered from side to side, as if he was expecting an attack at any moment. “Even if we keep her frozen and carry her ...”

  “Or turn her into something lighter,” I added. He hadn't suggested abandoning Rose. I silently blessed him for that. My sisters wouldn't have hesitated. “We just have to keep moving.”

  “And hope for the best,” Akin finished. He shrank Rose, then put her in his pocket and nodded northwards. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  “I’m keeping the light on,” Akin said, as we found a road and headed north. “There’s no point in trying to hide.”

  I nodded, wordlessly. Fairuza had a sample of Rose’s blood. Come to think of it, she might have a sample of my blood too. And Akin’s ... sure, we knew to look for unexplained cuts, but what if she’d taken a sample while we were asleep and healed the cuts before we woke? Paranoia gnawed at my mind, making it hard to think clearly. How would I know if someone used my blood to attack me? What if Fairuza slowly crept into my mind, instead of trying to take direct control? What if ...?

  You’re being paranoid, I told myself, firmly. Blood magic might not work on you.

  The thought brought me no comfort. It might not work on me, but it would certainly work on Akin! I wondered, absently, what would happen if he wore one of my spare bracelets. It might protect him, but ... it would also strip him of the ability to use magic. Rose hadn't worn her own protections in class for the same reason. I wondered if I could give Rose one of the spare bracelets too. It might just restore her to normal.

  But we couldn't count on it, I reminded myself. Blood magics are dangerous.

  I cursed Fairuza, taking refuge in words I hoped Mum didn't know I knew. Fairuza had turned Rose against us, turned my best friend into a weapon that had almost killed us ... now, she was a beacon leading Fairuza right to us. And yet, what could we do about it? Undoing the transfiguration spell might just give her another chance to hex us both, when we were tired ... she might not be able to hex me, but she could certainly knock me out. And then she could keep us asleep until Fairuza arrived to collect us.

  Akin glanced back at me. “What do we do if we run into another village?”

  “We buy our way out,” I said. “Unless you think we can just take what we want.”

  I gritted my teeth as I contemplated the possibilities. Would we find another forge? It didn’t seem likely. Perhaps we’d find a sorcerer who could send a message to our parents, although even that seemed unlikely. Anyone living so close to the Eternal City would want to keep their head down ... I wondered, grimly, just how far we’d actually flown. How long would it take Fairuza to catch up with us? Did they have horses? Or would they turn themselves into birds and fly?

  “We might have to,” Akin said. He looked as tired as I felt. “We are in no state to haggle.”

  “We will see,” I said.

  I felt tiredness seeping into my bones as I walked onwards, steadily putting one leg in front of the other. The road was broken and shattered, covered with potholes; I wondered, as we walked, just how long it had been since anyone had tried to repair it. Tyros had talked of wars, following the collapse. The Sorcerous Wars would have been after him, if my history tutors had been correct. Unless he’d lived longer than I’d thought ...

  Maybe the wars didn't start immediately, I thought. Everyone assumed that they had, but they might be wrong. A month or two might seem a long time to me, yet it would be barely a moment to someone peering back from a thousand years in the future. Maybe some of them thought the empire could be saved.

  My legs ached as my arm began to throb, again. I rubbed it, hoping - praying - that we found a healer soon. I couldn't forge with only one arm! Perhaps, when the sun rose, we could take the time to search for useful plants. I knew how to put together a healing salve using plants anyone could find in the forest, although the nasty part of my mind insisted on reminding me that they might not be so common here. And they might also be contaminated. I hadn't noticed any problems with forging, not on the farm, but that meant nothing. Potions were far more delicate.

  “We need food,” Akin said.

  “Don’t think about it,” I told him.

  But it was useless. My stomach growled, loudly. I tried to think about something - anything - else, but visions of food ran through my head. Bread and cheese, ham and eggs ... I’d even settle for the mess Bella had made, the time Mum had let her work in the kitchen. I don’t know what she did, but it took four maids and the cook hours to return the kitchen to normal.

  Dawn broke, the sun casting long fingers of light over the land. I stared at it, wishing we dared stop for a nap. Surely we could rest for a few hours ... and yet, I knew we didn't dare. Fairuza and her friends would know where we were. They would be in hot pursuit. The only good news was that she probably didn't have a blood sample from either of us or she would have used it by now ...

  Unless that’s what she wants you to think, I thought. It was hard not to be paranoid after everything that had happened. She might be biding her time.

  I eyed Akin’s back. He was strong. I’d known that before Fairuza had made him hit me - a forger required considerable physical strength - but now ... I knew, deep inside, that he was strong enough to overpower me. And then ... I fumbled for the spellcaster, wondering if I should strike first. I could stun him, then ... then what? I didn't even know he was under her control. What if I was being controlled, pushed into striking at him ... I gritted my teeth as my head started to pound. I’d be questioning every thought I had for the next few weeks.

  It grew warmer, steadily. My arm hurt, throbbing with pain. Akin offered more spells, but I turned them down. There was no point in piling on the magic. The spells had done everything they could without knocking me out. I didn't think I’d be able to resist sleep if he cast a few more spells on me.


  Akin slowed, then stopped. His face was flushed with exertion. He’d be tanned - or burnt - when we got back home. Shallot got plenty of sun, but it was far hotter here.

  “I don’t think I can go on for much longer,” he said. “Where do we go?”

  I shrugged. I felt the same way. My stomach demanded food ... my arm hurt, so badly that I knew it wouldn't be long before I collapsed. Perhaps I could put myself to sleep for a few hours ... I scowled, knowing it was impossible. And yet ... I just couldn't go on.

  “I don't know,” I said. The sun was growing hotter, as impossible as it seemed. I looked around, but all I could see were trees and the crumbling road. “I think we have to keep going.”

  We staggered onwards, supporting each other as the heat grew stronger. I stumbled against him more than once as my legs weakened; he leant against me as he fought for breath, trying to keep himself going. I felt a flush of hope as we rounded a corner and approached a roadside village, only to collapse in disappointment when it was clear the village had been abandoned a long time ago. It wasn't even a real village, to be honest. It was more of a hamlet. A handful of houses, a damaged building that had probably been an inn and not much else.