The Broken Curse

by Taylor Lavati

  "Hades doesn't have Apollo yet, so there's still time. If I can just hide it, I know she'll find it," my mother says. Her voice is hoarse, like she's been screaming for hours or not been drinking water.

  "Unless Apollo is working with them."

  "He would never."

  "Hermes said they already have Apollo's blood," one of the men say.

  "I know he wouldn't just give them blood," my mother says.

  "Maybe he did when Hades and he were best friends," a red-haired goddess says.

  "That was thousands and thousands of years ago."

  I try to look from face to face, but they blend together. I'm trying to absorb every ounce of information these Originals can give me.

  "Just cover for me, okay?" My mother easily breaks free from her chains and runs over to the contraption in the middle. Another one of the Originals, a woman with bright red hair, breaks free and runs to the door. She presses her ear against it and listens.

  My mother presses a bunch of buttons on the screen and then runs, pulling out a vial from the bottom compartment of the machine. It's the one that we just retrieved. It's full of blood. She runs to the other side of the room and rummages through the closet.

  She finds the case and locks the vial inside. Before she locks it, she quickly scribbles what I'm guessing is the note that I just read and then hides the silver, metal case in the wall.

  "Okay!" She runs back to the bed and straps herself back in. "Hera, come back." The red-haired woman nods and then jumps back on the bed and straps herself in, too.

  Just after the last lock is shut, Hermes enters the room. The timing couldn't have been closer. The metal contraption is still lit up, and immediately, I think their cover is blown. They all yell at Hermes, swearing and screaming at him, but he doesn't even bat an eyelash.

  He walks right over to the machine.

  "What the hell was that? How did this come on?" He presses a few buttons and it dies, the lights all fading. "What did you people do?"

  "Why are you doing this? You know Hades just uses you." Hermes bends down and punches the man right in the face. I recognize Zeus on the table next to my mother, looking no different than the time I saw him with Atee.

  "You won't get his power."

  "You won't get anything."

  "You're just a follower."

  "Would you all stop talking?" Hermes clutches his head in both his hands. He leans against the middle contraption and fights against his head, smacking it with a closed fist. "I'm so sick of all the voices."

  "Are you all right?" Ari lifts my chin with his finger, making me look at him. I nod, trying to shake and sort through the images.

  "It's been thirty seven minutes." Linus taps his watch again, staring at the exchange between Ari and I. The case is in his hand, looking strangely small.

  "Let's be quiet. It's dark, but I don't want anyone to know we're coming." Ari lets go of me and walks a few feet down the dark tunnel. He holds up his hand, surveys it and then nods, waving us over to follow him.

  For a moment, we walk in silence, all walking in a straight line—Ari, then me, then Linus. But, my nerves kick into high gear, and I feel an attack on its way. I can't focus, and I honestly feel like I might throw up, my hands turning sweaty, my heart picking up.

  I speed up and walk next to Ari. I take his hand in mine, my left in his right. He looks between us, a smile on his face. Then he nods. His energy enters me, calming me. I look back at Linus and nod at him, too, and he grins.

  Linus comes up to us, grabs my other hand and, together, we sprint to the finish line in the distance. Well, I hope this tunnel leads to the black castle. It could be a trap, for all we know, and take us back to the entrance.

  But, we have to take the risk. Even though we're sprinting, it's taking a long time. Offshoots from the tunnel jut out in random directions, but they're narrower and dirtier, some look like dead ends. So, we continue on the straight path and don't stop.

  "Is that light?" Ari whispers and slows his pace. At first, I don't see anything. But as I sharpen my gaze, narrowing it straight ahead, I notice a little twinkle of something, far off in the distance.

  "I think it's the end," Linus says.

  "Hand me the vial. I'll put it in my pocket." Linus opens up the case and carefully takes the blood out of the case and places it in my hand. Luckily, there's a stopper at the end of the needle so it can't spill, but the glass looks thin, and I don't want it to break. I put it in my back pocket, the same side as the opal. They're side by side.

  "Are you okay to sprint?" Ari asks, his hand squeezing mine with encouragement as he looks between Linus and I.

  "Yes."

  "Yes."

  And off we go. In just under a minute, we make it to the light. There's no door at the end of the tunnel. Instead, it just ends. We're dumped in what seems like a dead end room.

  "There," Ari says as he notices an opening to the right of us. It's another tunnel, but it's our only option at this point.

  "What do you want to do?" Ari asks us both. I don't think we have a good option, so I just look to Linus for direction.

  "I think we have to go that way. We don't have much of a choice. At least it's just one option. There were so many tunnels back there," Linus says, completely right. We go through the small tunnel, walking slowly incase someone is patrolling in there.

  It's a short tunnel. We walk for only two minutes, and we're left with a staircase in front of us. Strangely enough, it's all white, with pristine, clean steps. It's out of place in this dark, black Underworld.

  The three of us stand in front of it, hand in hand in hand, in silence.

  "You ready?" Ari looks down at me.

  "As ever," I reply.

  "Don't forget to use that rock. Keep the vial safe at all costs." Linus taps my shoulder, looking down at the two most important things in my possession.

  Ari steps first, me in the middle, and Linus behind me. They're protecting me, and for the first time, I don't mind it. The stairs bring us to the castle. I know the second we step onto the floor where we are.

  We're on the main level. The stairs drops us into the hallway, the one I walked down in countless dreams and the one time I was in the Underworld.

  I flashback to the time I was hiding out in a dream. My dream self stormed into the castle crying, because both Ari and Ollie found her. She loved Hades and Persephone, or at least it seemed like it. She trusted them. And they looked worried, too.

  But, I push those thoughts aside. We're here to take back control. Hades can't curse me anymore. He doesn't control my fate. And, if it comes down to it, I would kill him in a heartbeat.

  We step into the main dining hall. I expect to see Hades sitting down for dinner with his wife, but it's vacant. Not even a fire in the fireplace. I let my finger trail along the dark wood of the dining room table, when his voice rings through the black castle.

  "Welcome, lovebirds. Your presence is requested in the back courtyard. Your friends are already here." His voice is deeper, more intimidating than I remember, though I have tried to forget it.

  "Let's do this," I say with as much determination as I have.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  underworld

  Hades and Persephone stand at the end of the courtyard by the altar. As Ari, Linus, and I step out from the castle, Hades claps at our arrival. All of my friends' and supporters' heads turn towards us, their eyes strained, their eyebrows pinched together.

  I try to survey my surroundings with each slow step towards the altar. It's exactly like my dreams, with the exception that before Hades wasn't here yet. I guess that changed when we decided to get the vial in a small group. I look behind Hades but don't see Persephone either.

  "Welcome," Hades says again, his voice projecting in the cavernous yard. At the sound of his voice, the walls shake. Crumbles of rock fall, creating craters in the desert-like ground. Linus lets go of my hand and stands beside Alexius and Lex, both the dark haired beauties' faces draw
n down, refusing to look at me.

  The ground here is flat, no large rocks in sight except the ones that have fallen from Hades's voice. There's a slight slope that leads to where Hades stands. As I look up at him, Persephone steps out from behind Hades, stopping beside him and placing her hand on his chest. Their position above us almost making it seem like they're looking down on all of my friends.

  I pass Heron, Myron, Nikon, and Nikias. They don't sneer or make fun of me now. Instead, they nod with me and Ari's passing. Beside them is Magdelina with Professor La. Even Magdelina doesn't have it in her to belittle me here.

  I pass Professor Orntean and Elytis with two beautiful women beside them. I nod in greeting, since I've never met them, and they bow their heads back with respect.

  Ollie breaks off from my friends and walks on my other side, taking my hand in his. He doesn't make eye contact with me. He stares straight ahead, almost through Hades, and walks at the same pace as Ari and me.

  Lisa and Kara hold each other, while Martin, Mikey and Carter circle them almost protectively. Mikey holds up a fist as I look at him. He pounds it in the air, and I can't hold back my smile. Leave it to him to make this less serious.

  The closest to Hades and Persephone is Shane. I know what he's doing. He's in this for the kill, to avenge his girlfriend. And I can't say I blame him. I would be doing the same thing if it wasn't for my curse.

  Ari, Ollie, and I stop just a few feet in front of Hades. The altar is in front of us. It's smaller than I imagined, but I guess I had some elaborate idea that it would be a large, marble statue that blood seeps into and pours out like a fountain.

  Instead, it's a wooden platform. Figures and symbols are carved into the four-foot tall base. A snake travels from the middle up to the top, its head poking out, its fangs sharp. It's elaborate and beautiful, especially the animals carved into it. The top is like a bathroom sink. The middle is curved down, and there's a small red stain in the center.

  Words are written around the perimeter of the top, but it's in a different language, so I don't understand a thing. There are accent marks and symbols entwined with modern day letters. Despite it being wood, it's very smooth looking. I have to resist the urge to run my fingers along it.

  "I love the army you've assembled. How aggressive of you." Hades snarls with his yellow teeth jutting out. More rocks fall at the sound of his booming voice. His hair hangs down his forehead in black tendrils, like hissing snakes. He's in all black: dressing for the occasion, I'm sure.

  "We just want to end the curse and go home." My voice is louder than I expected. I sound strong and not like my regular self. But I stand up straight and meet his dark brown eyes.

  Hades laughs in my face. "You think this makeshift army is going to scare me?" he questions, although I know it's rhetorical.

  He lifts a hand, and the ground begins to shake from beneath us. I bend my knees so I don't fall over and look toward where Hades's hand is pointing. The entrance to the courtyard is blocked by ground that has risen out of nowhere. It's like a wave of dirt that is frozen in place. We all hold our places in front of the altar, refusing to back down despite the rumbling.

  "Come out, boys!" Hades raises his hands again, lifting them to the dark gray sky.

  All at once, at least fifty gods come out from behind Hades. It's like they move through the walls in a stampede-like formation. My heart picks up its pace, my adrenaline instantly pumping. Hermes leads the pack, a smirk rising from his chin to his brows as he comes over the horizon.

  "We don't want to fight!" I yell so Hades can hear me beyond the rumble of all the demons marching to the canyon. "We just want to end this."

  "You were foolish to bring these people. And now, because of your ignorance and naiveté, they'll all die."

  "Hades, please," I beg him, stepping forward, out of the grasp of my two loves.

  "Just let us up to the altar, and we can finish this. You can go to Earth and conquer it or kill everyone. We don't care. We just want to get out of here," Ollie pleads.

  Hades seems to think about this. He wraps his arm around Persephone and tugs her close to him. She looks at me, something like sadness on her face. She lifts her chin and whispers something I can't hear in Hades' ear. Then a large smile blooms on his face, and she looks away from me, refusing to make eye contact.

  "Come, Eurydice." Hades steps forward and holds up his arm for me to take. I swallow down a knot in my throat and step forward, letting go of both of my guys.

  "Are you going to kill me?"

  "We don't want you to die," Persephone says, still clutching Hades. I look up at him, and he rolls his eyes, trying to play it off.

  "Why not?"

  "We never did this to hurt you. Over the years I've come to consider you a friend. As long as the curse ends, you'll go free." Persephone looks deeply at me, and strangely I believe her words. I don't think she wants to hurt me at all.

  "What about my friends?"

  "My followers are hungry for blood. I can't promise more than your safety," Hades says, and I swear his voice is bored. I look behind me and realize that nobody else can hear our conversation.

  "I don't know what to do…" I shake my head and try to push through the fog of my choices.

  "You do know." Persephone reaches for me and takes my hand in one of hers. "You just have to admit it to yourself. You'll get what you want, we'll get what we want, and we can part ways forever."

  "I'll need the blood from the man who isn't my soul mate then," I say, my voice soft and not as strong as I would like it to be.

  Hades nods and suddenly, noises from around us come back. I hear murmuring from behind us, and I look back into the eyes of Ollie and Ari. Hades stops in front of the altar and moves so he's right behind it, almost like a pastor at a church behind a podium. I follow him, the wood separating us.

  "Which boy should I call up?" Again, his voice erupts in the room.

  "Aristeus." I shut my eyes in pain, praying that Ari understands what I'm doing. I don't want him to see the hurt in my eyes. I hear a yelp, and my eyes spring open.

  "Get him." Just then the earth moves again, and a huge mass of rock juts up in between Ari and Ollie, pushing them apart. Both boys are knocked to the side. I lunge for them, but Hades springs up a rock in front of me that stops me from moving.

  I sidestep it, but another rock appears. Before I know it, I'm caged in rock walls. I slam my fists against the rock, and it barely splinters at all. I scream, but it seems like my yells are trapped in the rock box as well.

  "I'll stay!" I yell to Hades, and within a second, the walls around me crumble. Hades nods at me, and I know if I make a move, I'll be trapped again.

  I turn and see Hermes smile, his yellow teeth gleaming in the strange dark lighting. He sprints right to Ari's side. I glance back at him and watch Ari barely struggle as Hermes moves him and shoves him. Hermes drags him so he's right beside me. The rock walls crumble, and the ground is now littered with rocks.

  Hermes throws Ari to the ground beside me. His body lands awkwardly on the rocks from my broken walls, and I fight myself not to help him up. Ari doesn't whimper. He flips so he's on his knees and then stands up. I can't tell if he's actually hurt, or if he's acting the part as well. My pockets are burning as I debate my next move.

  The vial of blood is in on the left, the opal on the right, both next to each other, begging to be used. This one single moment will change the path of my life. As I touch my pocket, my mind races, trying to think of the best possible outcome, but it comes up empty handed.

  Either way, someone will be hurt. Either way, I will be hurt. There's no safety in this. There's no right answer. I love them both to such an extreme that I'll still be losing someone.

  But, I have to know once and for all who my soul mate is. I have to finally understand what has happened to me. I look behind me and Ollie is standing maybe ten feet away, a smile on his face. He's close enough that when I pull out the opal, it'll hopefully reach.

&n
bsp; I don't think I'll have another chance to use the opal. I look at Hades's face and his eyebrows are raised in question. He's waiting on my next move. I have to use it now.

  I reach into my front pocket and pull out the small box that holds my fate. The royal blue cloth still wraps around the box, and for the first time since I've gotten the rock, I pull the cloth off and stare at the brown box beneath it.

  "What are you doing?" Hades asks, his voice filled with confusion.

  "Ending this," I answer as I open the box.

  Two things happen at the exact same time. Hades lunges for me and Ari stands up to protect me, shielding me with his body. I take the white opal into my palm, holding it face up, and then hide from Hades's attack.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  reveal

  Everything goes deadly silent. I worry that I've gone into a vision, but when I peek open my eyes, I see everything exactly the same as it was. I'm in the Underworld. The altar is in front of me. The same exact spot I was when I tore the opal from my pocket. But everyone is frozen in his or her place. Everyone except me.

  Hades is about a foot before me, his hand reaching towards my face, his claws out and ready to rip me apart. His eyes are drawn together, darkened in a cloud of anger. Knowing that he can't do anything, I let out a small giggle.

  To my left, Ari is mid-air, jumping towards me as if shielding me with his body would fix everything. His dark hair falls in front of his face, blocking his light green eyes.

  The opal in my hand starts to heat up, and I remember what I'm doing here. My hand burns. What feels like a forest fire sits in the center of my palm, like it's trying to eat a hole through my flesh.

  I know that I have to act fast. I stand equally between Ari and Ollie. My hand is still face up, the rock in my hand beginning to glow. I hold the opal in front of Ollie first. I wait for something to happen. Cece said it would shatter, but after six seconds of nothing happening, I can't wait any longer and risk the opal turning black.