The Curse of Oberon (The Inglewood Chronicles Book 3)

by Croston, Jeremy

  “An explanation would be peaches and cream, but I’m still out in left field on what the hell I’m actually talking to.”

  The first voice gruffed in some language I didn’t understand. It sounded pretty hostile and not one I’d want to get on the bad side of.

  The friendlier voice took a turn again. “Maybe this would be easier one at a time.” Where I’d felt three distinct presences (me and whatever the two of those things were), only two remained. The main door to the house opened and the form of Billy Winchester entered.

  I didn’t know what to say as he grinned up at me. Could this really be him? Then he spoke, it was the same voice as before. “Sorry if this form is not appropriate.”

  “You can do whatever you want, just don’t expect me to be all that friendly like.”

  We stood there, in awkward silence. “The counterpart to me is not so cordial. Questions you may have about the curses afflicting you would be best served to me.”

  I frowned at him. “You’re one of the curses aren’t you?”

  “Indeed I am. I am an old Gaelic curse that has gone from wolf to wolf, doing the bidding of the one who created me.”

  So this thing was created by Oberon. “You’re master’s messed up a lot of good people’s lives.”

  “I have witnessed this first hand, but in each time I have tried my best to minimize the damage.”

  Maybe it was looking Billy’s face, or maybe this conversation was revealing some deep hatred, but I lost focus and everything faded away. My mind rushed back to me and I was around the campfire, the Sphinx sitting across from me.

  Maybe she did have my best interest in mind as her face was etched with concern. “You were not down for nearly long enough. Did something happen?”

  “The curse from the sword is really mean, angry like. He didn’t have much to say.”

  She nodded accordingly. “Not to be surprised, especially since I get the feeling that one originates from the Pit, just as I do. Not all the creatures from there have my sweet disposition.”

  I could believe that. “The other one was the one from Oberon. I know it’s silly, but seeing it and having it take the form of my dead best friend really pissed me off.” I was still a bit riled up. “I guess you could say I lost my composure in there.”

  “It happens to the best of us, but fortunately, you made enough contact that I think I can draw it out again.” That was good, I guess? “If you give me a few moments to think on this, I do believe we can have you make contact again. That is, if you want to?”

  It’d be easy to turn yellow and say no. I had a million and one good reasons to tell her no thanks and move on. Unfortunately, I’m just too stupid to do something sensible. “I think it’s worth another shot.” I did have one request though. “Is it possible to make contact with just the curse from Oberon? The other one, man I just don’t know about that one.”

  She placed her hand on my chest where the ugly looking resided. “Yes. As long as we isolate the two from each other, that should not be a problem.”

  “Awesome.”

  “I do give you this warning – soon you will have to deal with it, as its power is very wild and untamed. It would be best to do so on equal footing.”

  She was probably right; I could feel the heat from it whenever I touched my skin. “I will, but let’s just take this one problem at a time.” I went over in my head the mounting number of troubles I was soon going to be forced to deal with. “There’s no booze on this island, is there?”

  Chapter 9

  **Liz**

  True to her word, Kristie was here a day and a half after speaking to her. I had picked a remote spot outside the city to meet. The last thing we needed was for Connor to find out that Kristie left her jurisdiction and entered his. I did not know why, but something told me Connor was not trustworthy with this situation.

  My old friend showed up ready for battle. Even in these modern times, she still stuck to her roots - leather pants, combat boots, and a crossbow on her back. She looked exactly like a witch hunter from those silly human movies. I would almost bet money that she was the inspiration for the look.

  Her blonde hair, pale skin, and bright green eyes were in stark contrast to her dark outfit. She spotted me in the shadows of a very large tree and joined me in seclusion. “You’re a sight for sore eyes Lizzie. I do hate traveling by airplane. I seem to have issues getting through security.”

  It always struck me as odd that she did not carry an Irish accent. As far as I knew, she had been born in Lisburn, but you never know. What I did know was she was turned a vampire in Germany in the late fourteenth century. She was aligned with a group of witch hunters that stumbled upon a vampire coven. Being ignorant to the differences, they tried to kill the vampires, unbeknownst what they really were. Only a young girl of nineteen, one of the vampires took pity on her and spared her life, turning her into one of us.

  “I am so sorry that it has been so long my protégé.” Yes, I was her creator. “I had wanted to reach out when I came to England, but with Pan and then Jonathan, it became impossible.”

  She brushed me aside. “Nonsense. It takes two to tango and I’m just as bad at keeping in contact as you are.”

  I know it was foolish, but I kept looking over my shoulder, not sure if I was more worried my brother would catch me unprepared or that Connor would stumble upon us. “I have a base of operations set up in Dublin. The local Red Alpha is helping us along with a Red from Arizona, Bernard.”

  “I do not mean to pry, but why the sudden interest in werewolves? As far as I knew, you stayed away from their kind.”

  I had a lot to catch her up with. “I kept my distance for many years, only getting involved in pack matters that affected my territory. Then, on a whim with the Cactus Killer serial murder case, I enlisted the help of a very unique wolf.” Her eyes went wide, knowing what would come next. “Over time, we bonded over our shared loneliness and ended up falling in love.”

  It took much to keep Kristie quiet. This did the trick. “You fell in love with a wolf?”

  “Yes. To complicate matters further, Jonathan killed him during his betrayal of us.”

  “Oh Lizzie, I’m so sorry to hear that!” She rushed forward and hugged me. “The wolf from New Mexico you mentioned?”

  “That is his brother. He is here to avenge Victor’s death.”

  It’d been so long since I cried about the matter. Right there in that spot of trees in the Irish countryside, it all came out again. Kristie just let me get it all out, keeping me close until I calmed down. “Thank you. I guess I needed to get that out.”

  She just kept smiling. “Sometimes it’s hard to remember even though we’re old, we still have emotions. You shouldn’t have bottled it all up like that.”

  I straightened the front of my shirt out, more out of nervous habit. “Yes, I agree with you. As much as I would like to continue mourning, we have work to do. My car is not too far from here. Speaking of which,” I had not even heard a car when she arrived, “how did you get here?”

  “I never leave a trail Lizzie. Suffice to say, I got here safely and without being spotted.”

  She took sticking to the shadows very seriously it seemed. “I am not walking, hitchhiking, or whatever other unscrupulous methods you used to get back to Dublin. We will take the car; Connor is not that all-knowing.”

  Maybe driving with her was a mistake. The entire time back to the hotel, she complained about how erratic and fast I drove. When we parked, she flew out of the car, pointing at me and using a louder than usual whisper to convey her point. “I don’t know how they drive in America, but you almost killed us no less than six times!”

  “Oh stop being so melodramatic. We were never in any danger.”

  She did not stop. “Maybe so, but those pedestrians were. You nearly clipped that couple. I swear, the last thing we need is a vehicular homicide.”

  I ignored her and went inside. She muttered from the parking lot, into the elevator,
and finally into the room. Bernard heard us enter and knocked carefully on the door that joined our rooms. Thankful for an escape from the crazed vampire I had been stuck with, I opened it to see him looking a bit alarmed. “You okay in here?”

  “Yes, I am fine. Bernard, allow me the pleasure of introducing you to Kristie O’Lisi, the Ambassador to Northern Ireland.”

  He stuck his giant frying pan of a hand out. Kristie, who was hiding in the shadows on the dark room stepped forward and took it. The two of them eyed each other up. “A pleasure to meet you Bernard. Lizzie tells me you’re a Red?”

  “That I am.” He took in what she was wearing and seemed to be a bit put off. “Are you some sort of vampire warrior?”

  I did not mean to laugh at her, but it came out involuntarily. She gave me the dirtiest of looks before responding. “I’m a witch hunter. Both Northern Ireland and the Republic are plagued with them. Too many turn dark and cause all sorts of nasty problems.”

  With a final look at me, “I was getting ready to call my family back home. Do you need anything else before I go?”

  “No, just get plenty of rest. Tomorrow, with Kristie here, we will start our search for the witches. She knows how they think and where they would be most likely to hide.”

  He seemed relieved to leave the room. I guess our little witch hunter had a very negative aura. “That sounds like a plan. Good night Liz, pleasure to meet you Kristie.” He gave a half wave before closing the door. I locked it and found my way to my bed.

  Kristie, who never bothered to flip on the light, made herself home on the couch. “That’s one big wolf.”

  “On two occasions I have witnessed him transform. He is destined to be an Alpha one day.”

  “What about your wolf? What was he like?”

  She was going to force me to talk about him was she not? “He was different. Unlike every other werewolf I had ever come across, Victor could not transform.”

  “A werewolf that can’t transform? That’s unheard of.”

  I was battling internally on how much I should tell her. I also wanted to keep my voice low, as I do not think Vic’s family knew what Rosette had told us. “His family has been touched by a curse. None of them know about it, but a friend of ours told me about it.”

  Kristie knew all about curses due to her dealings with witches. “Curses can be just that, a bad thing, destined to ruin the person’s life. Others can actually be quite powerful and give the one holding it the key to great power.”

  “Unfortunately we will never know what it meant. Thanks to Jonathan, his life was cut way too short.”

  Chapter 10

  “Stop it!”

  “Would you quit squirming around?! This would not take nearly as long if you would just stand still.”

  I couldn’t help it. The Sphinx’s nails tickled and each time she ran them down my spine, I got chills. “Why do we need to do this again?”

  She grabbed my shoulders and straightened me up. “I already explained this to you; Oberon’s magic lies in your spinal column. In order to make contact again, I am trying to interact with it and bring it close to the surface.” Her hand tickled me again.

  Trying to no laugh, “And this is the only way?”

  “Just be still and silent.” I shut my mouth and let her go back to work. I twitched again as soon as she started running her nail down, but I controlled myself and stopped. I kept trying to think of unfunny things, to keep myself from laughing you know. The third time she went down and then up, it was getting pretty hard to keep myself from losing it.

  She stopped. “I got you…” Her finger went a bit higher up, coming to rest at the base of my neck. “That is a tricky little curse he used.”

  “The good thing is you found it, right?”

  “Yes and I recognize both Oberon’s magic and the exact curse he used. The woman that earned his wrath must have done quite the number to him.”

  That didn’t sound good. “Is it a bad one Doc?”

  “It is not good in the case you are stuck with it for life. On a good note, it seems mostly content to just be and not do anything more than block your transformation.”

  Well that both sucked and was good news at the same time, I think? “So there’s no way to convince it to let go? I mean, to be able to embrace my inner wolf, that’d mean the world to me.”

  She stayed quiet, her hand resting at the base of the neck. “You will have to focus again, this time concentrate just on this spot where my hand is. The curse from the sword is strong, but we should avoid running into it in this encounter.”

  Talking to curses was still weird. I don’t know what kinda voodoo was inside me, but it was way over my paygrade. I put all of that aside; the chance to transform into a wolf could be at my fingertips, well the Sphinx’s anyway. I couldn’t let that slip by. “Okay, let’s see what happens.” I closed my eyes again.

  It was easy to put all the scents and sounds outta my mind. I had such a focused determination that I worried I was trying too hard. I did as I was told and almost willed myself towards the feeling of her hand. Then like a vacuum, I was pulled in, no longer in control of my own mind.

  When it stopped, I opened my eyes only to find myself back on Neverland. “It didn’t work.”

  “Yes it did.” I remember that voice.

  Where the Sphinx had been was small glowing ball of white light. This was less unnerving than seeing Billy. “I’m never going to get used to this.”

  It chuckled. It was hard to tell if this thing was a boy, girl, or just neither. If I was pressed, I’d probably say neither. “From our last encounter, I assume you are quite mad at me.”

  “Can’t say I’m mad at you directly, but the guy that put you here, I want to kill.”

  It just floated there like it had nothing better to do. “Many of the wolves who hosted me felt the same. What they never grasped the way you have is the power I provided them.”

  I didn’t know what it was talking about. “What about the other curse in me? The one from the sword. Does it cancel you out?”

  “No, it just offers more power. That is not to say its gift would be better served than mine.”

  Ahh damnit, more riddles. “So what have you given me? Is there a chance for me to turn into a wolf?”

  It changed from white to a dull gray color. “I am sorry, but I cannot do that. My main purpose is to kill the wolf of the one inflicted, that way it never returns.”

  I know I heard the words it spoke clearly, but they didn’t stick. “You what?”

  “I am sorry Victor Inglewood, but the wolf born with you is no longer.”

  I felt my chest heaving. The muscles in my body were tensing up. I knew this feeling and who it was directed at. “I’m going to kill him…”

  Returning back to white, “I tried to ease the pain by bonding with your senses. The goal that Oberon created me with was to never kill the host. Too many killed themselves due to what happened to them.”

  “You mean committed suicide?”

  It briefly went back to gray, then white again. “Suicide, being killed by their packs, unable to defend themselves in a fight. Most who were inflicted with me died very young and painfully.”

  Maybe because I had such a good family, but I never had any thoughts of killing myself. A lot in the pack considered me a leper, but none tried to kill me. “I guess it could’ve been a lot worse for me.”

  “It would have been so different with many. Unlike your ancestors, you saw the enhanced senses I gave you as your special gift. I am so pleased to see how you have survived.”

  “You tried to help me? Doesn’t that conflict with your original purpose?”

  “I am sorry, but the amount of time we have is over. Trials are coming, as I can feel my creator’s spirit on this island.”

  Not again. “Give me something to go back with, anything!”

  It flickered again. “Oberon’s curse has done much harm, but in the future, it will bring much light.”

 
; And just like last time, right as we were getting to the good part, I was pulled back out of my subconscious. Waiting for me back in the real Neverland was the Sphinx. “Did you speak with Oberon’s curse? Were you able to gain access to your wolf?”

  “I did.” Of everything it told me, this was the hardest pill to swallow. “My wolf is dead; the curse was designed to make sure I never became a true werewolf.”

  “Oh Victor!” I guess she felt like I needed comforting and she rushed in and hugged me. Forgetting she was an immortal creature full of power, she damn near crushed me. I couldn’t even get out a yelp. I guess my gasping for life was a clue and she relented a bit. “Oberon has gone too far. I never would have guessed he would be so cruel.”

  Knowing that this curse caused so many of my ancestors to die meaningless deaths made my hate for this guy like a bomb that was ticking down. “This curse ends with me. What do we need to do to ensure that?”

  “If we remove Oberon from this world, then I believe that you will be the last to suffer its fate. The curse is unfortunately tied to your life force, but with his death we can prevent future generations from suffering.”

  I was getting ready to tell her the curse’s final words of wisdom to me when I heard a very strange noise. “Is that a helicopter?”

  “What are you talking about? I do not hear a thing.”

  I hushed her so I could listen. “There’s a helicopter coming this way.”

  We waited there and about ten minutes of awkward silence later, she heard it too. “Who would be coming to this place?”

  That didn’t matter. “Can you cloak us or douse the fire? Whoever it is, we don’t know if they’re friend or foe.”

  “I cannot cloak this area, but,” she whooshed the fire away, putting us in darkness. The only light was the sliver of moonlight shining through and the light attached to the approaching helicopter.

  I followed its path with my eyes. It was heading towards a beach not too far from us. “Come on, we’re going to go see who that is.”