Adversity (Cursed #2.5)

by Claire Farrell

  “We’ll talk to Joey tomorrow.” He sounded defeated, but he stared hard at me. “You look exhausted.”

  “I haven’t slept much lately.”

  “Those dreams again?”

  I was embarrassed that he knew the dreams were affecting me so badly, but they had begun to overshadow my real world problems.

  “They’re intense,” I admitted. “I wake up feeling like I’m a different person. It’s kind of freaking me out.”

  Worry tightened his face. “Maybe you should talk to Byron.”

  I felt badly for worrying him, so I tried to brush it off. “Maybe it’s not anything supernatural. I feel like I’m coming down with the flu again, too.”

  Stress filled his voice as he asked me about the last dream, but I couldn’t even begin to explain it to him. I ventured to tell him something that had been bugging me, though. The dreams had seemed so real and were always about the same people. They brought out such a fierce reaction in me.

  “Do you think maybe it’s like a memory or something?” I asked

  He paid attention then. “How could it be a memory?”

  I hesitated, but I had to get it off my chest. “Like… a past life or something. Mémère believed in reincarnation. She said we all get a second chance at life.”

  I knew I made a mistake as soon as I heard his reply which was tinged with laughter. “You think you were a gypsy in a past life? Think maybe you’re the one who cursed us?”

  That bothered me, and I ignored him for a while. Nobody ever gave me the benefit of the doubt. They all insisted on casting scorn and doubt on everything I believed. How dare they?

  Byron and Jeremy returned, bringing news that a number of werewolves had been hanging around the hospital, and I feared for Perdita more than anyone else.

  Opa waded into the middle of the conversation which made everything a million times worse. Nathan stormed off and left me to listen to the ensuing argument.

  “You have to take back that command,” Byron said, referring to Opa banning Nathan from seeing Perdita.

  “It’s necessary.”

  “How the hell could that be necessary? You heard what we said a minute ago, didn’t you? Werewolves are stalking Perdita’s family because of us. Our responsibility is to protect them.”

  “Is it?” Opa sounded so offhand and uncaring that I cringed in my seat, and wished something mystical would whisk me away from the awful atmosphere. Jeremy stood next to Opa, glaring at his own father, which was terrible to watch.

  “There’s only room for one alpha,” Jeremy told Byron. “Maybe we should give him our trust.”

  “None of this makes sense,” Byron insisted.

  “You will do as I say. No more arguing tonight,” Opa said in that tone of voice again, the one that sent cold shivers down my spine.

  Byron spluttered, but no words came out. With his cheeks flushing red to purple and fury burning in his eyes, he strode from the room. Jeremy had the audacity to laugh at him. I couldn’t stand another second of it.

  “Maybe you’re the one who needs a lesson in respect,” I snapped at him before running up to my room to hide away.

  My family was falling apart.

  ***

  Kali

  The day had been long and difficult. Some of the women had argued with her about her foretelling, how her visions weren’t possible because they didn’t reveal what the women themselves wanted. She couldn’t help what she saw, and she couldn’t help them if they kept living for “what ifs.”

  She longed to make the journey back to the camp, but not because she wanted to be with her people. What she wanted was that one glimpse, that one glance back at the beautiful young man who followed her. The embarrassing truth was she needed that glimpse of him; she thrived on it.

  She sensed him behind her, and imagined the dust lifting from his every step. He was protecting her, yet he never spoke to her. He probably had little idea of how she felt whenever she saw him.

  Maybe he saw her as a child. The young women of the village curled their hair with rags and stained their cheeks and lips to make their images more appealing. The only decoration Kali had was her brightly coloured skirts which she couldn’t allow a man to touch. She was strong, rather than curvaceous, and she knew she wasn’t the prettiest of her sisters. Among her people, social stature came with age and motherhood, but surely she deserved more than to be thought of as a child.

  Perhaps he saw a witch, someone to fear, when he gazed at her. His actions could be an attempt to stave off her anger instead of the generous protection she had assumed.

  Worse, he might see her as less than human. She had been judged by many, but she couldn’t bear for such harsh judgement to come from him.

  Agitated, and with her ego more than a little bruised, she realised one glimpse wasn’t enough for her anymore. She shouldn’t allow a man to follow her home every single evening when she didn’t even know his name. She stopped short and turned around, determined to speak to him. Dog growled, but she placed a hand on the animal’s neck to quiet him.

  “Why?” she demanded.

  The man came closer, giving a little shrug as he pushed the sleeves of his shirt higher on his arms.

  “You insulted my wife, and she spread rumours about you. As it was my wife who made this walk dangerous for you, I thought it was my responsibility to make sure no harm comes to you this way.”

  “She insulted me and you!” Kali blurted.

  He smiled, and her knees weakened. “I’m used to it. It means little to me.”

  “Well, it means a lot to me,” she insisted. “Surely a man wouldn’t stand to be treated that way?” She immediately regretted her words.

  The corners of his lips turned down. “Most see me as a boy.”

  He wasn’t a boy, not to her, not with his muscular shoulders and arms from working the farm.

  “I didn’t mean any harm,” she said, hesitating as she tried to think of a way to change the subject. “What age are you?”

  “Eighteen.”

  “Eighteen? But she must be…” Kali covered her mouth.

  He smiled. “Older? Yes. My family has always been poor. Most of us here live under the whims of the landowners. Her family wasn’t one of the very wealthy, but they worked hard to buy land. In fact, her family owned the land we worked on, and with it, the roof over our heads. The rent wasn’t high, but when my father died, my mother fell behind on payments. She ended up owing money to everyone. Marusya's father had no sons, and his only daughter had come to terms with being a spinster. Still, he couldn’t bear to dip into his pockets to pay the wage for a farmhand, so he offered us a deal.” He cleared his throat, and she could see how hard it was for him to tell the story.

  “What was the deal?” she whispered, rooted to the spot.

  “No eviction if we gave him a son-in-law. My eldest brother was already married. My younger one was too young, so it was left to me. They had money. My family didn’t, and they needed me to… do something about it.”

  “What age were you?” she asked, intrigued that even the gaje had strange ways of arranging a marriage.

  “Almost sixteen.”

  “I’m sixteen. I should have been married by now.”

  “Why aren’t you?”

  She smiled. “I’m special. And I’ve got Dog here to protect me, so you don’t have to follow me around. I’m used to the kinds of rumours women like your wife enjoy spreading around.”

  She moved to walk on, and held her breath with anticipation of his next move. As she hoped, he called out to her. “You tell fortunes?”

  She hesitated.

  “Care to tell mine?”

  She should have kept moving. She should have walked back to camp, straight away, and never stopped to speak to him at all. He was different, though, and he spoke to her as if she were a worthy person. Never as something he could use. The sadness in his eyes compelled her to make him smile, or at least try.

  “What’s your name?”
he asked, his voice urgent.

  “Kali. And you?”

  “Andriy. Andriy Ivaneska.”

  “Well, Andriy Ivaneska, why would you want to see your future?” she asked, watching him under the cover of her eyelashes. “Why not let it surprise you?”

  “I enjoy hearing you talk,” he admitted. “Your voice is different. Peaceful.”

  “Shouldn’t you be working?”

  His neck and ears turned red. “I should, but I paid my younger brother to take my place.”

  “Why?”

  “I hate the farm. And now that my wife’s father is dead, I have some money. But I don’t know what to do with it.”

  They watched each other in silence. She realised they had more in common than she expected, and a dangerous attraction pulled at them, the kind that broke hearts and ruined futures. And there she was, standing at the brink, about to fall in, and wanting to. Pretty words weren’t pushing her; a warm embrace wasn’t tipping her over the edge. The possibilities of a different future are what brought her to the edge. She wanted to believe things might change. For the first time in her life, she was tempted to see her own fate, to watch it unfold before she took that step over the precipice.

  But she didn’t look.

  And she took that first step toward him anyway.

  Chapter Eight

  Amelia

  I was huddled up in bed, still thinking about Kali and Andriy, when Nathan pounded on my door.

  “Get up! We have to see Joey before school.”

  Grumbling, I did as I was told because I couldn’t bear an argument, although I dreaded the reception we’d get from Perdita’s cousin. I couldn’t think straight while my head was still full of my dreams of Andriy and the mistakes a dream girl was making, mistakes that felt as though they might be my own. Not all parts of the dreams were clear. I couldn’t remember every detail when I awoke, but his face was burned into my memories. Now that I knew his name, I couldn’t forget him if I tried.

  On the way to school, Nathan seemed wound tight with tension. I could have choked on it. Didn’t he realise I had my own problems to deal with without having to worry about his?

  “Any idea where Joey might be?” he asked, slightly calmer once we were inside the school grounds.

  “How would I know?” I asked. He wanted me to check the classrooms. “Ugh, fine.” Anything to get away from him.

  With Nathan following, I searched some classrooms for Joey. Nathan would have a better idea than me where the kid was, but he couldn’t do anything for himself when he was stressed out. Werewolves. Always needing girls to solve their problems.

  I eventually found Joey, alone. I could almost hear him mentally swearing when he caught sight of me. His eyebrows rose at Nathan’s slightly aggressive entrance.

  Joey stood, looking entirely put upon. “I don’t have time for this.” He gestured to his books.

  “It won’t take long,” Nathan said. “Tell me what’s happening. Please.”

  A bitter glare. “If you cared, you’d have already gone over there to find out.”

  Nathan clenched his fists in frustration. “Joey, please. It’s complicated. Trust me. I want nothing more than to go over there, but I can’t right now, all right?” He took a deep breath. “Just tell me he’s okay. That she’s okay.”

  He stared at Nathan steadily, different emotions crossing his face. “Whatever. You’ll hear about it from someone else anyway. He’s not okay, not exactly. He woke up yesterday.”

  “Woke up?” I blurted. Was it really that bad?

  “Yeah. He was in some kind of a coma. They had no clue what was happening. They gave him a blood transfusion, and they think his body reacted badly to it. He’s pretty sick, but nothing the doctors give him seems to help.”

  Nathan twitched visibly, and my stomach churned with apprehension. Not good, not good.

  “They think maybe he was already sick, and the attack triggered it, because no way would he be this sick over a dog bite. He has to stay in for a while.” He shrugged. “They don’t know what’s wrong, not really.”

  “And Perdita?” Nathan asked weakly.

  Joey took his seat again. “She hasn’t gone home yet,” he said, opening one of his books.

  “Is she at the hospital alone?” Nathan asked, his voice harsh and accusing.

  Joey didn’t seem impressed. “Sometimes. But her mother turned up yesterday.”

  The way he said it chilled me. I would give anything to have my mother turn up. “Is that such a bad thing?” I couldn’t help asking.

  He turned his face full of scorn toward me. “Sounds as if you don’t know Perdy at all.” He picked up a pen and flicked through a couple of pages of his book, clearly dismissing us.

  “Can you give her a message?” Nathan asked. I had to hand it to my brother. He was definitely persistent.

  Joey shook his head without looking at us. “Tell her yourself. Won’t matter if it comes from me.”

  Nathan’s face flushed such a deep shade of fuchsia that I felt sure he would hulk out and flip over a table or something. I cringed, waiting for him to explode.

  “I don’t want to make things worse.” His voice had tightened, coiled up with pain.

  “I’ll tell her to call you. That’s all.” Joey’s wall was back up. There was no way we were getting through to him. Nathan wouldn’t follow me out of the room, so I grabbed his arm and pulled him after me, surprised by how easy it was to move a werewolf.

  “What’s wrong with her dad?” I asked to try to distract him from the whirlwind of emotions obviously spinning in his head. He looked tortured. That wasn’t good for a werewolf. Even I knew that.

  “I don’t know, but I need to see her.”

  “You can’t,” I reminded him, instantly regretting it. He let out a grunt of rage and slammed his fist into a locker, leaving a significant dent in the metal and sending my heart straight into my throat. He rushed off, but I couldn’t move; I was shocked by the force of his anger. I had never seen him so unhinged.

  I knew with certainty that he needed Perdita now more than ever. And there was nothing I could do to help him or me. My own temper was scaring me. What hope was there for me if even Nathan couldn’t control himself?

  School started and in class, Ger kept asking me questions, but my mumbled monosyllabic answers soon silenced her. I liked her well enough, but I couldn’t focus. Nathan’s anger had knocked me off balance, too, though deep down, I knew my dreams had more to do with my imbalance than I liked to admit. Everything about the dreams bothered me now. In my dreams, people were used for the gain of others, and two people wanted comfort from the one person they were supposed to avoid. Kali’s situation seemed so disastrous and tragic and as hopeless as my brother’s relationship. To feel that connection with someone must be amazing, and I had a little taste of it every night.

  I was late to lunch, but made it in time to see Aaron towering over Nathan. They weren’t speaking, just staring at each other. Aaron stepped back a little, a look of alarm on his face. Maybe he saw the wolf behind Nathan’s eyes, or maybe he realised Nathan wasn’t backing down. Of course, Aaron also wouldn’t want to back down in front of everyone, so he made a pathetic little smirk and threw a punch.

  I flinched as his fist flew toward Nathan, who blocked it easily, then sharply struck Aaron twice in the face before anyone could react.

  Aaron fell back, but Nathan grabbed the back of his shirt before he landed, forcing him to turn and face the ground, his body held up only by Nathan’s grip. Everyone gasped as one, unable to break the spell. Nathan said something to Aaron, but his face was ugly, with more than a little of his animal side showing through. I took a step, half-afraid he would suddenly phase and rip Aaron apart, but I stopped. What on earth could I do to stop him? Shame flooded me once again. I was afraid of my own brother.

  I could have sworn Nathan’s shoulder blades jerked out of place, but the principal arrived, and called out my brother. He snapped out of it, reini
ng in his wolf. I saw the horror on his face as he realised what he had done. Blood ran down Aaron’s chin and neck, while half of Nathan’s friends glared hateful daggers at him, and I… I was more shocked than anyone. Nathan had control, but he’d totally lost it, all because he wasn’t close to Perdita. His actions only reinforced what I already knew. That curse had to go.

  The principal and Nathan left, and all hell seemed to break loose. Everyone spoke at once. Excited, hyperbolic comments filled the room. The incident had looked bad enough without people’s overreaction making it sound worse. Aaron, soaking up the sympathy, was escorted out, and he looked back at me with an unmistakeable sneer on his face. I wished Nathan had saved a punch for me.

  A girl grabbed my arm. She was someone I didn’t remember ever seeing before. “Oh, my God. Your brother is so going to be expelled! I heard he was kicked out of his last school for stabbing someone. Is that true?”

  “I… what?” I asked, barely able to get out the words.

  “She’s busy. Get lost,” said Tammie as she accompanied me from the room.

  “I… that…”

  “Yeah, I know. Keep out of there, or they’ll never leave you alone. Trust me on that one.” She shook her head, smiling. “Your brother’s not so quiet, is he? They always say they’re the ones to watch, eh?”

  I rubbed my temples, unable to figure out what kind of parallel world I was in. Nathan almost turned into a werewolf in front of people. Tammie was helping me. What on earth was going on?

  As if she realised the same thing, Tammie made some excuse and left me alone. No longer hungry, I decided school was a bust and went to the office to complain of a migraine. They didn’t send me home, but they let me sit in a dark room until school ended. The principal nodded knowingly at me. Why did life have to be so complicated in normal ways when it was already so complicated in a dozen abnormal ways?

  After school, I worked up the courage to talk to Nathan.