The Cursed Key

by Miranda Brock

  Wouldn’t it?

  The way that energy had bloomed above my hand had been so strange, and yet a part of it had been familiar. I had even enjoyed the buzzing across my skin, that light and power. It was a disconcerting thought because, surely, I would know if I had done that before.

  I stared at my hand, recalling the confrontation in the woods. It had just appeared without thought. Even now, I could almost feel the tingling across my palm. My heart pounded against my ribs. I wasn’t just recalling that tingling. It was happening again. Right now! A small bit of energy swirled over my hand, twisting like water between my fingers.

  I quickly thrust my hand under the table and squeezed my wrist, glancing wide-eyed around the café as I tried to snuff out the growing power. It seemed like minutes passed before I was able to pull back the energy trying to burst forth, though in truth, it had most likely only been seconds. I peered around again, but it didn’t appear as if anyone had noticed.

  My hands wrapped around the warm cup, and I sat back, taking a sip. I held onto the cup for dear life, as if it would anchor me from inadvertently bringing forth that power again. I pulled in deep breaths through my nose and tried to calm my racing heart, punctuating the breaths with warm, delicious sips. What was I going to do if this invasion didn’t go away?

  A shadow passed over me as someone strolled by on the sidewalk outside the window. A moment later, the bell above the door chimed. I continued to attempt to enjoy my latte, the strain finally beginning to ebb, when a new sensation came over me.

  I was being watched.

  I peeked up from my cup to find my eyes locked with a man across the room. A breath of relief sighed through me when I realized it wasn’t the man from the woods. I returned to my latte, but the feeling persisted. Another quick flick of my eyes found the man was still staring at me.

  The man wasn’t someone I recognized, though being all the way across the room, I couldn’t derive much besides dark hair and casual attire. I tilted my face back down and tried to ignore him.

  His staring continued; I could feel it. It wasn’t as if it was the first time I had been stared at, but I certainly wasn’t in the mood for any type of interest. After shooting him a slight scowl and angling my body away from him, I hoped he would take the hint.

  He didn’t.

  A peek out of my peripheral showed him still looking and leaning forward slightly. I shifted in the chair, growing uncomfortable. After another few minutes of his attention, I decided to get up and head home. I tossed my cup in the trash near the door and headed out with a quick wave at Gina.

  I was only several feet down the sidewalk when I heard the quiet jingle of the bell. I looked over my shoulder to find the man following me.

  Is this guy for real right now?

  My mind worked quickly. This wasn’t just some guy wanting to hit on me. His pursuit wasn’t a coincidence, not with the key and everything that had followed. Could he be working with that man from the woods? Perhaps I had witnessed too much, and this was the guy sent to finish the job.

  The intelligent thing to do would be to find refuge in a shop or restaurant. It was still early, though, and most of them weren’t open. Besides, what if this guy was dangerous? Would he hurt innocent people to get to me? I couldn’t let that happen. I would just have to lose him, somehow.

  Going straight home wasn’t an option. The last thing I wanted was for him to follow me to my house.

  His footsteps scuffed on the sidewalk behind me, and I picked up my pace. Taking a sudden left brought me between two buildings, and as soon as I was out of his sight, I ran. When I reached the end of the short alley, I took another left to double back.

  Dismay washed over me when I found him still on my trail. I twisted between buildings and crossed the street back and forth a few times. Trying to escape from a stranger with probably ill-intentions was difficult without raising the alarm of those beginning to venture out into the brightening day, but maybe that was a good thing. Maybe someone would notice, and he would stop.

  Did I need to call for help?

  But if I did, what dangers would I bring to anyone who tried to assist me?

  As I continued to try to lose him, it seemed that no matter where I went, he easily kept up. A horrible part of me thought about reaching into my bag and taking out my knife.

  Surely the situation was not desperate enough for me to stab the guy?

  But what if he was like the other man?

  Making a swift decision, I ducked into another alley. I waited. My body tensed as the man’s footsteps clomped closer. He rounded the corner quickly, then stopped. I didn’t waste a second. I grabbed a hold of his shoulders and jabbed my knee sharply upward. He immediately doubled over with a groan, and I shoved him aside.

  I ran, no longer caring if anyone found it alarming. Looking over my shoulder, I found that he had finally stopped his pursuit. Still, I couldn’t take any chances. I took a roundabout route back toward the woods. After another cautious search to assure myself the man was truly gone, I stepped onto the trail that would lead me back home.

  My hands clutched the strap of my bag. What was I going to do now? Would he keep searching for me? The other man seemed to have known I had possession of the artifact. Would it be so impossible for this man to find his way to my home?

  I kept a sharp eye out as I jogged down the trail, glancing frequently behind me to assure myself he wasn’t following. The only sound was the slight sway of the canopy of the trees and the occasional rustling of leaves from squirrels and birds. My cheeks puffed out in a relieved sigh as I neared the end of the trail.

  Finally, I seemed to be in the clear.

  Or so I thought.

  As I lifted my head to check how much farther my home was, the man stepped out from the trees in front of me. I wasn’t thinking as I embraced the tingling in my hand that flared up in response. The warm energy came easily, and I found myself welcoming the power. My feet shifted apart, and I held my hand back slightly.

  The man showed no outward shock at my sudden display of power. If anything, it appeared to make him angry. He lunged toward me, his dark eyebrows lowering over golden-brown eyes.

  Slowly, never breaking his stare from mine, he reached his hand toward me. “We don’t want to do this so close to civilians, do we?”

  My eyes flicked beyond him. I could see my house ahead while voices reached me from behind. People were starting up the trail.

  “I don’t have to hurt you.” His voice, deep and rich, was stern. He stepped closer, and I shifted back. “Just give it to me.”

  “Give you what?” I snapped, but I already knew what he would say next.

  “The key. Give me the key.”

  Chapter 9

  Blood pounded in my ears. Energy still swirled around my hand as the man stared at me. He was silent, waiting for me to give him something I no longer had. I had to get away from him, but how could I without causing a scene? My newfound magic hummed through me, eager to scatter any caution to the wind.

  The man spoke, slow and soft. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Why did he keep saying that?

  “I just want the key,” he continued again.

  After my previous encounter with a stranger, I definitely didn’t trust this one. Obviously, he didn’t have anything to do with the man who had already taken the key, otherwise he would know it was already gone. How many others would be after me because of that relic?

  Perhaps it would be better to just tell him I didn’t have it, but a stubborn part of me didn’t want to admit that I had lost it. Besides, what would he do if he found out I didn’t have it anymore?

  “You can’t have it.” I could hear the neighborhood waking up; the occasional voice carried on the breeze, punctuated by the slam of a car door. “You need to leave.”

  My mind whirred as I tried to figure out how to get away from this man. What would happen if I hit him with the power whispering through me? Would it kill him, shred him ap
art with the force of it, or make him scream?

  I shoved the thought away. I didn’t want to hurt him, I just wanted him gone. If I could somehow get out of his sight long enough to get to my car, I could leave until I figured out what exactly was going on.

  “I can’t do that.” The man’s feet drifted apart, knees bending a fraction, and he leaned forward slightly. “I can’t leave.” His eyes flicked to my hand, to the new power there. “That key is dangerous.”

  I couldn’t deny that after what it had done to me. Picking up that key had given me some kind of magic, terrible visions, and now people were after me. That thought did something, triggered some sort of instinct to defend deep inside. Just like the energy that came when I had encountered the one who took the key and now this man, my body seemed to react. I shifted, readying myself for a fight.

  The man didn’t seem surprised, just as he hadn’t seemed deterred by the swirling energy around my fingers. That made him seem more dangerous to me. Had he seen these things before? Would he be able to tell me about what was happening to me?

  His foot inched closer to me, and then the man was running straight at me, faster than his physique suggested was possible.

  Before I could really think about what I was doing, I loosed the energy around my fists. He spun, the untethered energy smashing into the walking path. The ground trembled as cracks spider-webbed from the impact. I darted into the trees before he could reach me.

  The snap of twigs and shuffle of leaves told me he was in close pursuit. So much for trying to be subtle. I hoped nobody would come to investigate and get into harm’s way.

  I pushed my legs harder, swerved left and right between the trees to try to throw him off. I made a slight angle toward my house, hopeful that I could get away from him fast enough to get to my car.

  The power that had been coursing through me seemed to have evaporated. I pulled my bag around my hip, reaching into it to try to get to my knife. It was stuck. I gave it a particularly sharp yank, losing my concentration and tripping over a fallen branch in the process. I fell, and the knife flew from my hand. The man would be on me any second. I shoved aside leaves and debris, trying to find my trusty Chaucer.

  Twigs snapped, and a shadow fell beside me as my fingers closed around the handle. I flipped over to find the man barreling toward me. His intentions were clear: to grab me and take the key he thought I possessed. I leaned back, bending my knees and then shoving my feet hard into his stomach as he reached for me.

  The man tilted to the side and fell to a knee. I scrambled up with my knife and continued to dash through the woods. What was with this guy? Why was he so desperate to get his hands on the key?

  Through the trees, the angles of my house came into view. If I could just get to my car…

  A gasp filled my lungs as an arm reached out. The man’s hand gripped me, strong and relentless, and jerked me around. He shoved me against a wide tree, the bark digging into my back. His hand pressed against my collarbone, holding me firm against the trunk. His dark brows were low. Slowly, his face tilted down, and when he glanced back up, his eyes were wider.

  Held fast in my right hand was my knife, and I had the point threatening to slice a hole right through his dark blue T-shirt and up under his sternum.

  “Get your hand off me.” I spat the words through clenched teeth. The man froze for a second before still stepping closer to me. I opened my mouth to protest, and he held a finger to his lips.

  “Shhh.” It was then I heard the voices. The rhythm of a pair of feet hitting the trail reached me. A couple of people were jogging not too far away. “Don’t scream.”

  I lifted my gaze. His face was so close, I saw a few days’ worth of stubble peppering his jaw. He smelled like sweat with a peculiar undercurrent of citrus and petrichor. His body was practically flush with mine. It irritated me. I put pressure on the knife and scowled.

  “You don’t scream,” I muttered.

  His cheek jumped, though whether it was an angry tick or a barely contained smile, I couldn’t tell.

  The couple paused, and the two of us froze behind the tree as they remarked on the marred trail. I pulled in deep breaths as the man, who refused to give up, and I waited in silence. Finally, the footsteps continued and faded through the forest.

  I pushed against the man’s firm hand. “Back off.”

  I punctuated my demand with another slight upward jab of my knife.

  “You’ll want to be careful with that knife,” the man said.

  “I think you are the one who needs to be careful.” I didn’t break my hard gaze from his peculiar golden eyes. As I stared at him, I couldn’t help but have a strange sense that I’d seen him before. I worked to try to place him, but I was coming up blank.

  Slowly, he eased up on me. Just slightly. “Give me the key.”

  “You sound like a broken record.” I tried to edge to the side, but he shifted, too.

  The stranger’s nostrils flared wide as he pulled in a deep breath. “You smell like fresh dirt. Been doing some gardening?” His fingers drifted across my collarbone, dropping a little lower. What was he trying to pull? Was he that desperate to be stabbed? “Where is it?”

  He was looking for the key!

  “I don’t have it. Now, get your hands off me.”

  Making a deep noise that seemed like a cross between a sharp sigh and a growl, he finally backed off. “Just tell me where you buried it.”

  I jerked my head back toward the opposite direction. He merely grumbled something and started to make his way in the direction I’d indicated.

  “It isn’t there.” I was uncertain why I was choosing this moment to be honest with him. If I was smart, I would let him go off deeper and take my chance to get away.

  The man turned. His face was blank, and I wondered if it was the calm before the storm. That hidden, familiar power hummed quietly within me.

  “You just told me you buried it.”

  I shoved away from the tree, keeping my knife clenched in my hand. “I did. And then someone else dug it up.”

  He stepped closer. “Who?”

  “I don’t know. He seemed…familiar. I’m not sure why, though.” I paused, recalling the strange man. “He was ancient.”

  Eyebrows raising, the man near me said, “An old man took the key?”

  “I didn’t say he was old. It was more like, he felt...from another time.” I couldn’t quite explain the encounter myself. “He wasn’t a normal person.”

  The man nodded as if he hadn’t expected anything else. “Which way did he go?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. He just disappeared.”

  Crossing his arms, the muscles banding his arm straining against his shirt, he glowered. “You let this man get away with the key?”

  “I didn’t let him. He took it, then attacked me.”

  “After you buried it.”

  I didn’t appreciate the accusing tone. Admittedly, looking back, it was probably a foolish thing to do. The key had brought those horrible visions, though, and, at the time, I had not seen any other option.

  I glared right back up at the man and crossed my own arms. I wondered if he noticed I kept my knife blade pointed in his direction.

  “Who are you?” I asked. “Why do you want my key?”

  “Your key?”

  I hadn’t realized I had called it mine. True, I had found it and whatever danger it had brought into my life, I couldn’t help but feel it had been meant to stay in my possession. “Yes. My key.”

  The man studied me for a minute. He lifted his hand. “I’m Kael Rivera. I work for PITO.”

  I waited for him to elaborate. No dice.

  “Never heard of it,” I said.

  “The Paranormal Intelligence and Tracking Organization.”

  I couldn’t stop the laugh that came. It sounded made up. His scowl deepened.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “The what organization? Come on.”

  He didn’t repeat himself. Instea
d, he started pacing. A deep growl rolled through his wide chest. He mumbled as he opened and closed his hands. Then, he suddenly whirled to face me. I brought my knife up in a knee-jerk reaction, ready for an attack.

  “I have to find the man who took the key from you. Or rather, found it after you buried it.” His eyebrows lowered, and he shook his head. “I have to get it back.” He jabbed a finger at me. “And you’re going to help me.”

  I really had no desire to see that strange man again. There was something dangerous about that ancient person. Still, I knew I would go with this man. Not because I trusted him. Far from it. If anything, I just wanted to figure out what this guy, Kael, knew about all of this. And above all, I knew I had to get the key back.

  The power within me seemed to purr in agreement.

  Besides, it seemed there was something dangerous about me, too.

  Chapter 10

  I was eager to leave the woods with the CIA wannabe, but Kael insisted on seeing the spot I had buried the key for himself. My arms were crossed, my hand still holding my knife, as I met the man glare for glare.

  “I don’t see why you need to go over there. I told you, that other guy took the key.” My palms tingled at the thought of that man. Another reason for me not to go over there. What if it triggered the strange magic that had taken to bursting from me without thought?

  Kael took half a step closer, his hard stare fixed on me. “I want to see if I can catch his scent before it fades.”

  It was difficult for me to restrain from rolling my eyes. Catch his scent. Was that kind of lingo required when working for some kind of investigation unit? The man was a boulder in front of me, feet planted firmly, all crossed arms and bulging muscles. Nope, he definitely wasn’t going to give up.

  I sighed and rounded the tree against my back. “Come on.”

  I kept an eye out for anyone coming through the woods. Other than the couple who had already passed, the area seemed unoccupied. We reached the walkway that cut through the forested park, and I flicked a quick gaze at the marred surface. It was crazy that I had done that with a burst of energy from my hands.