Curse Breaker

by Jaclyn Roche

  “Even if this were all true, which I might come around to believing.” She was doing more than coming around to believing him, but he didn’t need to know how far down the rabbit hole she had fallen. “I don’t owe you my life, and you don’t seem delighted that I am home.” She ticked off the two on her fingers.

  “You’ll rule us all with Osiris at your side.” The empty glass thudded onto the table, leaving an indentation in the wood.

  Kali ignored his rising temper and continue to finish her meal. “So? Why does that matter? Isn’t that what you want?” She popped another piece into her mouth, forcing herself to chew, not just swallow it whole.

  “Viktor, the firstborn, thought he was Osiris reincarnated and found a Hallowed who matched almost as well as you. He wooed her, pretending to love her, but he didn’t. Viktor always spoke of another. His destiny, he would call her. According to an ancient ritual he found on the altar under the great oak he bled the Hallowed with the Sword of Duat. The sword I used to protect you from him. He promised marriage and ruling the world. Of course, he knew she wasn’t his, but he thought she was close enough to fool the curse. He cursed them both. She’s now the wraith creature who wails in the labyrinth and he’s the bullish beast who stalks it.”

  “How am I supposed to save him?” Kali hedged. Information is power, she reminded herself.

  Don’t get jealous that he had a relationship with someone else, Kali. You’re better than that. Don’t be mad that he used the poor girl. Not now, anyhow.

  If she could keep Seth talking, she could learn everything she needed to know. She reached over and took his glass from him. With a bright, fake smile she hoped he didn’t see through, she brought the glass over to the bar set up nearby the table to refill it for him.

  “Only the goddess herself can grant him life or death now. Not even another god or goddess can undo the curse of Isis. Viktor was lucky he wasn’t dealt a straight-out death for getting the ritual wrong as many of our forefathers had. That leads me to believe he is indeed Osiris, not that he deserves to be, for all that he has done.” Seth leaned back in the chair, sipping his refilled scotch, swirling the liquid in the glass. “He should have waited for you. Beautiful Kalissandra Doe from Brooklyn, New York.” His voice turned to honey.

  So silly to be jealous of a woman she had never met. But she knew him. She knew Viktor and loved him her whole life. She leaned back into her own chair and took a long draw on the wine. Seth’s grin was as wide as a cat’s who swallowed a canary and held it behind its teeth. His long fingers tapped the glass, bringing her attention to the black ring with the orange stone set in the middle. She would have overlooked it, thinking it a university ring had it not been black, and the stone matched the one in her necklace.

  “And who are you in this story?” Kali inquired.

  “Just a dear brother who wants to make sure his goddess is pleased.”

  His? She didn’t belong to him, or to anyone. “And if she isn’t?”

  “I will do what it takes to please her.” Seth stood, coming around the table, holding out his hand for Kali. “Come.”

  He captured her hand when she hesitated in taking it and tugged her up toward him.

  He chuckled. “I don’t bite, Kalissandra.”

  But you kidnap and torture women. She shivered despite the tropical temperatures as they ventured out onto his balcony. It surprised her it was next to hers, but he had more of a view of the tropical jungle that she wished she could run out into. They stood at the rail in silence. The wind blowing Kali’s hair back from her shoulders. Seth stood behind her pressing up against her.

  Now or never. She turned to face him. “Please me by telling me why my mother gave me away and why you, or the corporation, didn’t come for me sooner.”

  Seth sighed, running his hand through his hair. “To have a ‘normal life,’ she said, ‘to raise you away from this insanity so you could come back to it with human eyes.’ We found you easily, of course, because of your name, but your mother convinced your father it was for the best, though it killed them to admit it. You were coming into your... gifts... early. They both thought that being away from here would suppress your gifts and give you a chance to live as normal as possible. Your foster mother and caretakers were paid handsomely to keep your information out of the system. Your parents planned on coming for you after your accident with Lucy. They even pulled strings to have you placed in an institution rather than jail and paid the facility well to keep your records private. You weren’t meant to be there longer than the time it took to get to you, but then they died coming to get you. It wasn’t until recently, when the director of the facility had a heart attack and the new one took over, did we find you. I’m sorry, Kalissandra. I should have come for you, myself.”

  “‘Normalcy?’ Do you even know what my life was like?” She felt the heat burgeoning to life within. Rage and despair simmered, fighting to be the dominant feeling. Tears streamed down her face. Her parents wanted her. Her head swam, overwhelmed trying to process everything. Kali swayed on her feet. Stomach turned sour. She wasn’t sure whether to love them for coming for her or hate them for giving her away.

  “Your eyes are glowing, Kali,” Seth whispered awestruck at the sight.

  “They were coming for me,” she whispered. And then they died because they were coming for me. She sank to the ground with her back to the ocean and balcony rail, sobbing tears of light pouring from her eyes. Doubled over, her face buried into her legs, the sheer dress absorbing the wetness.

  Seth lifted her face, wiping away the glowing tears. “They were. They loved you so much, Kalissandra.”

  In that moment, Kali understood why the curse breaker was called Hallowed. She felt empty, hollowed out, and didn’t know what to think of her parents, or Viktor, or even being a reborn goddess who couldn’t control her powers.

  Seth pulled her into his lap and held her until her cries dimmed and became soft hiccups. He tilted her mouth up to his and captured it in a sweet kiss. It felt delightful. Just the escape she needed. The smell and taste of the smoky scotch filling her, reminding her of another who tasted that way. She was lonely, and Seth’s touch took away that loneliness.

  Kali could almost feel Viktor as she wound her arms around Seth’s back. She wondered if he was as smooth and ripped. He wasn’t as powerful, but could that be because of the curse? Did he have tattoos covering his torso, too? She was wanted. Needed.

  She shivered and moaned, turning into his kiss. His hands went to her waist, turning her to press more against him. His tongue entered her mouth, tasting, teasing, and filling. Her own teased out, and the kiss deepened. Kali’s hands went between them, a meek protest before wrapping around his neck. She knew she shouldn’t. There were so many reasons to stop, but whether it be carelessness or the drink or desire, she leaned into him. Her lips parted and allowed him entry. She sighed. Her body traitorous, her core becoming molten from his administrations. Power thrummed through her, and he saw that.

  He wants me for me, right, not because of some prophecy. Could I lie to myself and believe that? He doesn’t need me. Lie. He isn’t using me. Lies again. He does need me. He wants me to stop trying to save his brother; so, he can rule in his stead. Is Seth using me?

  She already had the answers. She didn’t have to search her soul or mind for them. Her instincts were spot on. Seth took what he wanted without a care for others evident with her journey here. Had he truly cared for her or wanted more with her he would have went about bringing her to the Island in a different manner.

  The minotaur’s call ripped through the air. He sounded as if he were lonely down in the maze. She wondered if he wished for her as she did him. The call of the beast broke any remaining traces of the trance she had felt when she had allowed Seth to embrace her.

  Did Viktor know what just transpired? Kali pushed Seth away. He may look like his brother, but he could never replace him. He didn’t have the heart or soul to.

  “I can’t. I won
’t. We won’t. This won’t ever happen again.” She walked off to the other side. Her face flushed. Her breath came in short pants. She felt wrong. Dirty. She had betrayed him, one that she had never known, but loved and feared equally. “I’m not yours. I belong to no one. You can kidnap me, chip me, do what you want, but you won’t ever break me or own me.”

  Seth grabbed for her. “Kalissandra, you are mine.”

  She slapped the hand away from her. “If your story is true, then I’m your queen, the Goddess Isis, and you will bow to my will. I don’t bow to yours.” She put her hands on her hips and glowered at him. In that moment she could believe it. She was a queen, and she would rule them all. He would bow to her.

  “I bow to no one. And you aren’t a goddess yet.” Seth snapped his fingers, and servants appeared clearing the plates. Vassily stood by the adjoining doors. “Tomorrow you will begin your trials.”

  Vassily gasped. “Master Ngozi, she hasn’t been trained.”

  “Tomorrow at midnight. You may have the day to inform her of whatever she needs.” He waved her away in dismissal and turned his back.

  7

  “Follow the heart,” Viktor repeated to her.

  Kali beamed at him. “I am following my heart.” She reached out to smooth away an errant hair from his forehead, but her hand slid right through him. Kali frowned. “Viktor?”

  “Follow the heart,” he demanded, reaching for her and pulling her face close. His mouth captured hers, crushing it under his. Kali tried to grasp him, her hands sliding through his body. The momentary solidity of him faded into the ether.

  “Follow the heart,” Viktor repeated before disappearing.

  Kali screamed as the floor dropped out from below her. Air rushed by, sounding like a jet engine roaring to life. She neared the ground, headed for the large oak tree in the center of the maze to break her fall. The minotaur next to it roared and stomped his hooves. Dear goddess, he was menacing. Kali did not want to encounter him that night. His eyes glowed a bright crimson. She pumped her arms and legs trying to move herself with the wind. “Please don’t let me crash.” But she didn’t want to get caught by the minotaur, either. Steam poured around the silver ring in his snout, its tongue darting out to lick his chops.

  Kali bolted up in the bed before colliding with the ground, her heart thundered in her chest. She pulled the covers tight when an adjoining door separate from Seth’s clicked open.

  “Hello?” she called out, stepping away from the comfort of the bed in the unfamiliar room. Moonlight danced on her feet as she walked toward the hanging tapestry. “Is anyone there?” Kali stopped and watched the wall hanging billow out from the wall, a soft breeze tangling the fringes at the corners.

  She reached out and pulled the brocade back, revealing a doorway to another room. She looked around behind her, making sure there wasn’t someone she overlooked lurking about in her rooms before stepping through the door into the hidden rooms. The ocean was much louder in here despite the doors to this balcony being shut. Moonlight illuminated the silent chambers save for the sound of her bare feet that glided across the floor.

  Kali’s heart thumped against her chest. “Hello.” Kali’s voice was too loud for her own ears.

  A large painting over the fireplace caught her attention. Viktor. She’d recognize those mossy eyes anywhere, even in a child. He stood by a little girl, also with green eyes, younger than him, and the two figures behind the children she presumed were his parents. His mother and father, standing as if they were royalty posing for the painter. Their clothing, pristine and white, seemed to billow in an invisible breeze standing before a maze. The mother held another boy with eyes a touch lighter, Seth’s eyes. The mother wore a necklace much like the one the little girl wore. Kali fingered her own. Narrowing her eyes, she stepped forward. Her necklace was on the little girl. She reached out to touch the painting with a single finger. Viktor, his father, and Seth all wore the same rings, the one she had seen on Seth’s finger at dinner. That would make five stones. Five orange stones all cut into different shapes. One for each member of the family.

  Her heart ached, longing for belonging and a family she didn’t think she would ever have. Kali turned, catching her reflection in the mirror. Her tawny waves flowing down her shoulders and back. Her own green eyes bright in the almost full moonlight. Family... Could it be? She didn’t know for sure, but her heart felt as if it would burst at the thought. She couldn’t remember much from before Lucy adopted her at age seven. Her gut turned heavy with information she didn’t want and wasn’t ready for. Were her parents the same as Viktor’s and Seth’s? Did she just kiss her brother? Kali’s stomach turned.

  Footsteps rang outside the apartment. She started, tipping off balance. Kali reached out to steady herself before crashing into the table behind her. Her hand landed on the painting.

  Shit. She winced and kept her eyes closed. “Please don’t rip or fall.” Removing her hand inch by inch, she waited for the crash to the floor. Instead, the painting swung wide, a fingerprint scanner behind it. For shits and giggles Kali tried her fingerprint, and the lock opened. How could that be? More unanswered questions. She reached in and removed Viktor’s ring. Why wasn’t he wearing it? She would have thought it would be on him even if she had never seen it on his finger in the beyond.

  Kali took off the necklace she wore and compared the two. Squinting, she moved closer to the balcony to see better, comparing the two stones against each other. The light of the moon shone down upon the stones, causing them to glow. Both gems heated in her hands. They became too hot to handle, and she dropped them. Crap. A small fire circled the stones. Without thinking of her bare feet, Kali stomped on the rug, trying to put the flames out before it spread further. That was going to be hard to hide.

  Kali gasped in pain. That would leave a mark. She examined the redness on the sole of her foot. With luck, it wouldn’t blister.

  Her mouth parted into an O, the pain in her foot forgotten. The two stones were now one. How did that happen? The moonlight? How magical. The stone was larger. Both the ring and necklace mountings were now empty. Kali reached out to touch them but pulled her hand back because the metal and gemstone felt as if they just came from a kiln.

  She moved the table over to cover the burn hole and hurried back to her rooms, sliding the secret door to Viktor’s apartments closed. Kali dove into bed, holding her prize and examining it until the sky became streaked with pink. Many new unanswered questions rolled around in her head—a few she didn’t want to admit and others she refused to ask Seth. Kali pulled up the covers and sank down into the bed watching the moonlight fade into morning, listening to the sounds of the island waking up and servants who bustled about in the secret tunnels. The ones she searched for the previous night before going to sleep but didn’t find.

  8

  The ancient horn blared, signaling the beginning of the hunt. Kali wasn’t sure if it meant her hunt or the minotaur’s. The beast roared along with the call. She followed the same path she had days previous, ignoring both the cheers and jeers from the onlookers that filled the seven floors above her. The railings were sealed with mesh wire to keep others from joining her. The other Hallowed watched her, hatred abundant and obvious, shooting her a death stare since her fate was tied with Kali’s—win or loss.

  Kali shook her head and returned her concentration to her task. Vassily warned her not to listen to the bystanders as some would lead her astray on purpose to see her destroyed by the minotaur.

  “Think of them as the plebeians of Rome and you their gladiator. Not all want to see the gladiator win, m’dear.” Kali didn’t understand then, but now with all their voices raised up calling for her to turn this way or that way she did.

  A low growl from the other side of the tall hedges jerked Kali from her intended path. Just because he didn’t eat her last time didn’t mean he wouldn’t this time. She didn’t want to test her theory yet that he dreamed of her as she dreamed of him. She needed all the sto
nes and to figure out what to do with them. Kali felt at a significant disadvantage to her predecessors who had tried and failed before her. They had training and studied the curse of Isis and the Osiris stone. Kali had not. All she had were dreams, and the two forged into one stone hidden in her clothing. Until she found the other stones and got Seth’s, she wouldn’t be able to assemble what she had thought was the Osiris Stone—the heart of Osiris, himself. The goddess only knew what to do with the stones then to turn beast to man and raise the dead god and goddess.

  Vassily hadn’t had the time to relay all the ancient stories earlier in the day while she had bathed, primped, and dressed in ritual attire by the servants. They assisted her into the black dress. Kali had seen no one else wear black on the island except for the blacksuits. Vassily said that it was to help her blend and hide while she completed her tasks. Her attire was the one gift they would give her to help her through. He shooed the others away while he swept her hair up and secured it. For the final touch, he fastened the tiara around her crown. It sat low on her head just at the top of her forehead, the design intricate. Kali felt prepared for a wedding, not a life and death test. When she asked Vassily how to break the curse, he simply told her she would know what to do. To trust her heart.