The Third Sin

by Tamara Geraeds

  “So what exactly did she do?” I ask, clenching my fists. Please don’t say it, please don’t say it.

  The last ring of the chain under D’Maeo’s hands lights up and it falls to the ground. He stands up and I move out of his way, so he can release Vicky of the other chain.

  “She was thrashing around,” he says, “screaming like an animal, growling even.”

  Vicky frowns and I try to suck in air.

  Even Maël pitches in. “For a moment, I thought she wanted to rip my throat out.”

  “She had just gone… wild,” Taylar adds. “As if she was-“

  “Possessed,” I finish for him, after a deep breath.

  “Exactly,” he and Jeep say at the same time.

  “But she’s not, because now she’s fine,” I continue.

  All eyes turn to Vicky, who smiles apologetically. “I am. I’m fine.” She looks at Maël. “I don’t want to rip out your throat, I promise.”

  The beautiful African queen smiles. “I know.”

  D’Maeo looks up from his work with the chain. “Perhaps some kind of power from the Shadow World came with you.”

  “I hope not,” Taylar mumbles, fumbling with his shirt while his eyes dart around the room.

  I chew on my lower lip. “No, I don’t think that’s it.”

  When everyone turns their attention back to me, my throat tightens again. I’m afraid to say this out loud, but I’ll have to. “I’ve-“

  Suddenly, D’Maeo is thrown backwards with force. I freeze when Vicky sits upright, clawing at the cuff around her arm. She is cursing under her breath. The words are barely audible, but I can tell that they’re not English.

  After a minute of yanking on the chain, Vicky lifts her head and looks around. She growls at me and I take a step back instinctively.

  “Okay, take it easy.” I raise my hands. “Follow my voice, Vicky. I know you can hear me. Push it away.”

  “See, she’s gone mental!” Taylar shouts.

  Vicky immediately focuses on him. She bares her teeth and hisses. Taylar turns his head away. His eyes meet mine. “How can you say she’s not possessed?”

  “Because…” I swallow my nausea and try again. “Because I’ve seen this before.”

  D’Maeo steps up next to me. “Your mother?”

  “Yes.” My voice is strangled.

  I drop onto my knees next to the bed. “Please Vicky. Not you, too. Don’t let this happen again. You are strong enough to fight it.”

  She gurgles and spits blood in my face.

  Jeep rushes to her other side and wants to grab her arm to keep her down, but I raise my hand. “No, leave her. It will pass in a few minutes. Maybe sooner.”

  Vicky tries to sink her teeth into his arm and he fades away.

  “Are you sure?” he asks me from a few feet further back.

  I use my shirt to wipe the blood off my face. “Yes.”

  When I let go of my shirt, I realize there’s more than just blood on it. Tears have unwillingly started to flow.

  “Listen to me, Vicky. You have to fight this. You have to come back to us.”

  Her whole body is writhing, like a snake’s, meanwhile fading in and out of sight in an attempt to escape from the chain.

  “Don’t worry,” D’Maeo says. “These chains are designed to hold ghosts.”

  I shake my head. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

  Curses in a strange language come out of Vicky’s mouth. Her eyes flash red. A piercing scream almost rips my eardrums. Then she suddenly falls quiet.

  Jeep jumps back to her side and fastens the second chain around her left wrist.

  I sigh deeply. “I can’t believe this is happening.” My thoughts whirl around each other, digging up every memory of Mom and Vicky and comparing them. Charon’s words come back to me.

  “Maybe my mother went to the Shadow World, as well? Or my father did and he brought something back with him?” I turn to D’Maeo, who’s watching Vicky quietly. “If that is the case, can we vanquish it?”

  He rubs his beard. After an agonizing minute of quietness, he answers. “No, if something came back with you, more people would have been affected by it.”

  From behind me I hear Maël’s cape rustling as she steps closer. She lifts her staff and pushes it gently against Vicky’s chest. Only her cape moves as she stands perfectly still with closed eyes.

  After a minute or two she pulls back her staff and shakes her head. Her tiny black curls move back and forth. “I can find no evil in her heart. There is no entity within her.”

  Vicky opens her eyes and gives us a surprised look. “Hey…” Her voice falters when she notices the chains. “Why am I tied up?”

  D’Maeo gently touches her arm. “Because-”

  Vicky cuts him off. “No wait, I remember.” She squints at the ceiling. “I had no control over my body. It was hard to think. I wanted to ask for help, but strange words came out instead.” Her eyes meet mine. “You said you’ve seen this before. Was it the same with your mother?”

  I raise my hands in frustration. “Yes, but I don’t know why this is happening! Or even what it was!”

  “It’s not possession, I heard Maël say that.”

  I drop down onto the bed next to Vicky and rest my head in my hands. “It can’t be an illness, either, right? I mean…” I wave at her transparent body. “You’re dead.”

  “So it’s something that affects the living and the dead,” D’Maeo says, plucking his beard.

  Vicky’s hands rise and come back down on the bed hard.

  We all jump back again.

  “I know what it is,” she says.

  Blank looks answer her. Everyone is anxious to hear what she has to say, except for me.

  Please don’t say it. It can’t be true.

  She closes her eyes and shakes her head, as if she doesn’t want to believe what she’s thinking, either.

  “Well, what is it?” Jeep asks.

  She wets her lips slowly. “It’s a curse.”

  CHAPTER 9

  D’Maeo paces the room. “It makes sense.”

  “It does?” My head is still resting in my hands. It’s so heavy. “How?”

  “The violent, possession-like fits your mother used to have started out of the blue,” he says, still moving around. “And they ended just as suddenly.”

  “Yes, without reason.” I follow him with my gaze, trying to urge him on.

  “But was it really?” he asks, giving me a slight smile. “What happened soon after the fits stopped?”

  I shrug. “A lot happened. I discovered magic, I met you guys, I fought demons. So?”

  “Yes, but…” he points a finger at me, “what started all of that?”

  Finally it hits me. “Dad died.”

  Taylar steps forward with a confused look on his face. “I don’t get it. Your mother was cursed by your father?”

  Jeep hits him softly on the back of the head. “No, stupid. His father was cursed. The curse affected the one he loved.”

  Taylar’s eyes dart from the tattooed ghost to me and then to D’Maeo. “What does that have to do with V…” His mouth drops open. “Oooh.” He grins at me. “You love her!”

  Jeep hits him again, harder this time. “Obviously, dimwit.”

  I clasp a hand over my mouth. “This is my fault?”

  Vicky grasps my hand. “No, don’t think that way. You didn’t put a curse on me.”

  “No,” I say, gritting my teeth. “So the question is: who did?”

  Jeep rubs the tattoos in his neck. “That will be hard to find out.”

  Vicky squeezes my hand and when I look at her there’s surprise on her face. “You do?” she asks softly.

  I immediately know what she’s talking about and kiss her. “Of course. Hadn’t you noticed? I thought you could read feelings?”

  She blushes. I guess I finally found her weak spot.

&nbs
p; “How can I not love you?” I whisper and her blush deepens.

  “So what now?” the young white-haired ghost asks, still grinning from ear to ear. “How do we break the curse?”

  D’Maeo stops in front of Maël. “We’ll have to find out why he was cursed and by who.”

  Maël nods. “Yes, but how?”

  “I was hoping you’d know.”

  I think of my visit to Tartarus and stand up. “I might know a way.”

  I fill them in on my conversation with the Ferryman and the memory I saw. They all listen wide-eyed.

  “Maybe Charon will let me take a look at my father’s memory. He can probably find the one in which Dad gets cursed.”

  Jeep chortles. “You really think he will show you a memory? I bet he has better things to do. Your meeting with him was a one-time occurrence. Somehow I can’t picture him greeting you with open arms.”

  I shrug. “I could try.”

  Maël leans on her staff. “I think there might be an easier way.”

  She exchanges a look with D’Maeo before continuing. “We could summon your father.”

  My heart seems to stop for a moment. My ears buzz and I forget to breathe.

  Vicky’s thumb caresses the palm of my hand. Slowly, I return to the real world.

  “We can do that?” I whisper. It never even occurred to me that we could. I can see Dad again? Ask him everything I ever wondered about? Why he left us, how he died…

  D’Maeo’s stern voice pulls me back to reality. “Don’t get your hopes up. There’s always a chance that we don’t get an answer.”

  A thought pops up in my head. “Guys? What if this curse also caused him to change? What if that was the reason he suddenly became so violent?”

  Jeep and Taylar frown, but D’Maeo gives me a small smile. “Sounds like a possibility.”

  Maël taps her wand on the floor. “If that is the case, breaking the curse is even more important. We don’t want Dante to turn evil.”

  “Please lock me up if that happens,” I say, looking at the ghosts one by one.

  “We can’t, remember?” Taylar says. “We have to do what you tell us.”

  “That’s why I’m telling you now. If I’m not me anymore, don’t obey me, and lock me up. Make sure I can’t hurt anyone.”

  Maël points the top of her staff at me. “He’s a smart boy.”

  I grin. “Thanks.”

  Vicky moans from beside me. “Can we get back to freeing me, please?”

  Jeep tilts his head. “Is that safe? I mean, she can go crazy any second, right?”

  “Oh yes, just like you.” I beckon D’Maeo.

  Jeep is suddenly very interested in his sleeves. “Yeah, well…”

  “Can you please free her?” I ask the old ghost when he appears at my side.

  “Of course, master.”

  “Maybe we should just tie both of them up,” Taylar says, with a sideways glance at Jeep. He dodges Jeep’s fist and apparates to the window. “I would feel a lot safer.”

  I scratch my head. “No, we’ll need all our powers to take care of this curse. And to cure my mother.”

  Taylar avoids eye contact. “Yeah, I forgot about that. Sorry.”

  “That’s okay. I wish I could forget about it, too. But the thought of her locked in her own mind breaks my heart. She’s been through enough.”

  “I agree.” Vicky stands up and kisses me. “We should save your mom first. The curse can wait.”

  Before I have a chance to argue, our clothes ripple in a sudden gust of wind.

  An envelope lands at my feet with a soft rustling. Familiar, incoherent lines are drawn on the back.

  I close my eyes for a second, praying I just imagined it. But when I open them, the envelope is still on the floor. A third set of demon cards has arrived. More Cards of Death and another person to save.

  “Great timing,” I sigh. “Just what we needed.”

  CHAPTER 10

  I feel like squeezing the envelope to a pulp, but common sense keeps me from acting out on my urge.

  “I still don’t understand how this works,” I say, pulling out the Cards of Death. “Lucifer needs a soul connected to every circle of Hell to escape, but why?”

  Jeep scratches the tattoos on his left arm. “You said the circles form a sort of prison for him, right? Maybe these souls can somehow destroy the circles.”

  D’Maeo nods. “Exactly. One soul from every circle.”

  “But what’s so special about these souls? Why them?”

  D’Maeo and Jeep shrug, while the other ghosts just stare into space.

  I wave the cards in front of me. “And why does he keep going, when he didn’t get the first two souls? Doesn’t that mean he can’t get through? Why is he trying to get the third soul, while circle nine and eight are still closed?”

  D’Maeo puts a hand on my arm to keep it from flailing. “We know as much as you do, Dante. The only thing we can do is keep saving the souls the cards point to, and keep trying to find out more about Lucifer’s plans.”

  I fling the cards on the bed. “I hate this.”

  Vicky grabs my thighs and pulls me closer. “We all do. It’s hard to be chosen, but we have to keep going, even when fate throws us challenge after challenge. You know the expression, don’t you?”

  “Which one?” I grumble.

  Her hand touches my cheek and electricity shoots through me.

  “Life gives us only what we can handle,” she says.

  Taylar raises his arm to shoulder height and flexes his biceps. “Which means we can handle anything. We’re stronger than the Hulk.”

  Jeep grins as he nods in my direction. “He’s not called Banner by accident.”

  I forget about Vicky’s touch for a second. “The Hulk is real, too? And the Avengers?”

  The young ghost exchanges a quick look with Jeep. “That would be so cool, but… no.”

  Jeep slaps me on the back. “But Banner is still a good, strong name.”

  “Yeah, right. Thanks.” Depression falls over me again. No superhero help is coming our way. We have to solve everything on our own. How to save another soul, how to vanquish the demons that will be coming for us soon, how to make me remember the premonitions I had about the Devil, how to break the curse on Mom, and the other curse on Vicky…

  I pull back from Vicky’s touch with regret. “Hey, we have a spell to lift a curse, don’t we? It didn’t work on my mother, but it might work on Vicky.”

  Vicky sits up straight and picks up the cards. “No, we can’t use it. For it to work, we need to know who put the curse on your father. Besides…” she holds up the Cards of Death, “we have someone else to save first. Nothing else matters until we do that.”

  I open my mouth to protest, but she stands up and kisses me. “That came out wrong,” she whispers. “It all matters. But if we don’t save this soul-“

  I kiss her back. “I know, the world will end and there will be no one else left to save.”

  She smiles. “Well, it won’t end instantly, but yeah, that’s basically what we’re looking at.”

  I pull a face of deep discontent at her. “Fine, but as soon as we have time, I’m freeing you from that curse.”

  There’s a twinkle in her eye when she pulls her black top back into place, revealing a bit more cleavage. “Sounds good to me.”

  “Can you two please stop flirting for one second,” Taylar says. “You’re driving me crazy.”

  Vicky throws her black-and-blonde hair over her shoulders. “Jealous, Taylie?”

  He snorts. “Trust me, you’re not my type.”

  D’Maeo claps his hands like a school teacher. “Okay people, time to get back to business. Shall we go downstairs?”

  Maël and Taylar have already disappeared, but Jeep is staring at the bed.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask him.

  He clears his throat and turns his hat around in his hands.
“I just thought that maybe we should take the chains with us.”

  Vicky looks up sharply and he backs up a step. “Oh, not just for you. They might come in handy when the ghosts under my skin act up again, too.”

  She sighs. “You’re right. But…” She hesitates and I nod at her to go on. “I want to fight at your side, but maybe I should just stay here. I don’t want to jeopardize the mission. What if I get you killed?”

  Jeep swats her words away as if they’re annoying flies. “That won’t happen. We’ll keep an eye on you. And you’re strong, you can fight this curse.”

  I point my thumb in his direction. “What he said.”

  Her transparent cheeks turn red again. I’ve never seen her blush so much in one day. I’ve never seen her blush at all before actually. It makes me realize there’s more to Vicky than meets the eye. She’s not just tough, witty and caring. She’s much more.

  While D’Maeo takes the chains off the bed, I hold out my hand. Jeep vanishes and Vicky and I walk to the kitchen together.

  She puts the Cards of Death in front of my seat and fills a glass of water, which she puts next to it while I sit down.

  I smile gratefully at her. “Thank you.”

  “Does anyone else want some water?” she asks.

  They all decline, their faces full of disappointment.

  I guess I’m not the only one who could use a break.

  As soon as Vicky sits down, I slide the cards to her and stand up again. “You guys start without me. I’m going to the supermarket to get us something decent. What would you all like? Cookies, coffee?”

  They look at me wide-eyed.

  I spread my arms. “What? I know you don’t need it to survive, but it’ll make you feel better, maybe even help you think. A good meal, too, or some snacks.” I bend over to Vicky. “Do you still have a pen and a piece of paper in that endless pocket of yours?”

  “Sure.” She hands it to me and I jot down cookies and coffee.

  “Okay, what else?”

  “Hot chocolate,” Taylar says.

  I smile. “Good choice.”

  After a minute I have a list of about twenty things. “That should do it.”