Cursed

by Amanda Steiger

  CURSED

  Amanda Steiger

  © copyright May 2007, Amanda Steiger

  Cover art by Jenny Dixon, © copyright May 2007

  New Concepts Publishing

  Lake Park, GA 31636

  www.newconceptspublishing.com

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

  Chapter One

  “Don’t hurt me, Miss, please.” The tall, muscular young man stood with his back pressed against a tree, eyes wide in his pale face. He was clean-cut, wholesome looking, with his blond hair and round blue eyes, but Jessica knew--better than anyone--that looks meant nothing.

  “Why shouldn’t I?” she asked. “You were planning to hurt me.”

  The man tried to swallow, and she pressed the dagger harder against his throat. “I wasn’t going to rape you,” he said, his voice choked. “I swear.”

  Jessica sniffed. “You’re a fool if you think I believe that. And you’re even more of a fool to think you could sneak up on me. We’re in the forest. There’s no one else around. I could hear your clumsy footsteps rustling in the underbrush from a mile away.” She narrowed her eyes, the dagger still pressed to his racing pulse. “Am I to believe that you simply wanted to say ‘hello?’”

  “All right!” He shut his eyes tight, shaking. “I was going to take your money. That’s all, I swear.”

  She felt a twinge of disgust. He was a coward, perfectly willing to attack unarmed, helpless women, but pleading for mercy when the tables were turned. “Even if that’s true, you still intended me harm.” She allowed the hand holding her knife to transform…just a bit. Her short, neatly-tended fingernails lengthened, sharpening into claws, and sleek, silver-gray fur sprouted from her fair skin, covering the hand quickly.

  The man’s eyes, already wide, practically bulged with terror. “Oh God,” he gasped. “You’re a shifter.”

  Jessica smiled coolly, cruelly, allowing him a glimpse of the beast that lurked behind the human mask. She dragged the knife-tip slowly, lightly along his skin, leaving a hair-thin line of blood. Her tongue stole out slowly, licking her full lips. “That’s right,” she said, “so if you’re thinking about making a run for it, I wouldn’t. I can run further and faster than any human. So, now,” she touched one sharp, curved claw to the underside of his chin, lifting his face, “What shall I do with you?”

  “Quite a show, Jessica,” said a full, deep voice from the shadows, and her shoulders tensed. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were a vicious, bloodthirsty animal.”

  She looked up. Her eyes widened, then narrowed. “This is none of your business, Richard,” she said. “Go away.”

  A tall form stepped forward, seeming to flow from the darkness. Clad all in black, with his long, dark hair flowing down around him like a curtain of liquid silk, Richard was shadow made flesh. His pale skin was all the more striking against that darkness. “You’re in my territory,” he said. “Everything that goes on here is my business.”

  “He attacked me. It is my right to deal with the threat as I see fit.”

  Richard chuckled. “My dear, you were never in the slightest bit of danger. I was watching, you know. Had you needed any help, I would have been between you and your attacker in a heartbeat. But I wanted to see you in action, and you didn’t disappoint me.” He smiled slightly, his pale yellow-gold eyes never leaving hers. “You are a force to be reckoned with.”

  The man’s eyes darted from Richard to Jessica. His breathing was ragged. “I wasn’t going to hurt her,” the man said. “Really. I just wanted….”

  “Stop your whimpering,” said Jessica. The man’s mouth snapped shut.

  “I believe he’s telling the truth,” said Richard. “I don’t smell any lies on him. In any case, I think killing him would accomplish little. And it might put you in danger. The human authorities will come after you. I think you will agree that is an annoyance you don’t need.”

  Jessica sighed and released the man, who broke into a stumbling run, gasping with fear, and vanished into the darkness. She sheathed her knife and let her clawed, furred right hand dwindle back to its human form. The hot rage ebbed as the beast retreated reluctantly back into the depths of her human mind, curled up, and waited, dormant but not sleeping.

  “I wasn’t going to kill him,” she said, flicking a few strands of dark, brown hair from her face. “You know me better than that. I just wanted to give him a good scare.”

  “Oh, I think you did. I doubt he’ll try to rob anyone again anytime soon.” Richard took a step closer, his bright, inhuman eyes still studying her face. “Normally, you’re much more careful about hiding your true nature,” he said. “This isn’t like you.”

  She shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest. “He’s a bully,” she said, “someone who preys on helpless people and takes advantage of them. People like that make me angry.”

  Her arms tightened around herself. “Anyway, he doesn’t know my name, and it’s dark enough that he probably didn’t get a clear look at my face. He won’t be able to tell anyone about me.”

  “Why have you come here, Jessica? Somehow, I don’t think you just dropped by for a friendly chat.” A smile curved his lips. “But you did come to see me, didn’t you? There’s no other reason you’d be here.”

  Jessica kept her face neutral, expressionless, willing any trace of emotion from her eyes.

  This, she had learned, was the best way to deal with him, put up a shield, show him a cool, uncaring front. “I have business to discuss with you.”

  “Interesting.” Richard leaned against a nearby tree. “What sort of business?”

  “May we discuss this in private?”

  “The middle of the woods isn’t private enough for you?”

  “I might have been followed by more than that man,” she murmured, leaning closer. “You never know who might be listening. I want to be sure I’m truly alone with you.”

  His smile widened a little.

  She frowned. “Don’t get any ideas. I just don’t want anyone overhearing this.”

  “As you say.” He gave her a small, mocking bow. “If you want privacy, my home is the best we will find. It’s protected by so many wards that nothing alive may approach me without my knowledge.” At her suspicious look, he added, “If we’re going to conduct business, whatever the nature, the least you could do is trust me this much. Have I ever tried to harm you?”

  “No, just done everything in your power to get into my pants.”

  He sighed. “You know I would never force myself on a woman.”

  “Not force her, just bombard her with spells and glams until she can’t see straight. I know how you deal with women, Richard. But I am not some weak-willed human girl. If you try anything on me, I will make you regret it.”

  Richard raised his eyebrows. “I assure you, my dear, I have never needed the aid of spells to win a woman. But you needn’t believe me, if you consider yourself strong enough to resist my magic.”

  “I do,” Jessica said firmly.

  “Then take my hand.”

  She stared suspiciously at the hand held out to her, and slowly took it. Richard’s warm fingers curled around hers, holding her hand firmly. There was a jolt. For a moment, everything went black, and there was a sense of floating in some cold, impossibly vast emptiness, like outer space, but devoid even of stars … and then, suddenly, they were standing in a huge room with wood floors and wood paneling on the walls. Jessica’s eyelids fluttered as she looked around, disoriented. A fire blazed in the hearth. Round, glass lamps, with flickering flames inside, hung from the ceiling on gold cords. All light in Richard’s home came from fla
me. He seemed to feel that electricity ruined the ambiance.

  “You could have warned me you were going to do that,” she said, and released his hand, rubbing her arms. Her skin prickled.

  “Are you all right, my dear?”

  “I’m fine. And don’t call me ‘dear,’” she said.

  She felt his hand on her arm, warm against her chilled flesh. “My apologies. Are you sure you’re all right? You look a bit shaken.”

  She averted her eyes. “It just surprised me. That’s all.” She didn’t want to admit to him how much she hated using the Void to travel, how much that cold emptiness unnerved her.

  The fact that he could do it unnerved her even more. It was a rare and powerful person who could safely travel the Void.

  “Sit,” he said, pulling out an armchair. It was upholstered in sleek, black fur. An animal or one of Richard’s former enemies, she couldn’t say. “I’ll bring you some wine.”

  “That won’t be necessary.”

  “I insist. You are my guest, after all.” Richard left the room. As always, he didn’t seem to walk so much as glide along on his long, lean legs.

  Jessica sighed and sank deeper into the chair. She was tired, and her insides ached. Trying to hide her pain from Richard had been a strain. She knew that he had a keen mind-gift, among other abilities, so if she let her guard down too much, he would pick up on what she was feeling. But she didn’t trust him enough to let him know just how bad her situation was.

  Trust him or not, he might be her only hope.

  She closed her eyes and allowed herself a moment’s relaxation, basking in the fire’s heat, cushioned by the softness of the chair. She felt a light touch on her shoulder and gave a start, eyes flying open. She found herself staring at a silver chalice a few inches from her nose. Straightening, she took it in one hand. “Thank you,” she murmured, but didn’t drink.

  She was very conscious of Richard’s presence nearby, the warmth radiating from his large body. Did he really have to stand so close?

  “You’re not dressed for the weather,” Richard remarked, sitting in the chair across from hers. “Shouldn’t you have a jacket, at least?”

  Jessica glanced down at her clothes. She wore a simple white blouse and faded jeans. “I left in a hurry,” she said, shrugging. “Why so concerned?”

  “Simply curious,” he said, and sipped his own wine. “Why do you not drink? Do you think I would try to drug you?” He chuckled. “My reputation must truly be awful. I’m almost flattered. People make me out to be far more dangerous than I really am.”

  “Your reputation, if you must know,” she said, “is that you’re a flighty fool who wastes his vast fortune and considerable power on wine and women. Also, that you’re about as trustworthy as a hungry fox asking a chicken to dinner.”

  “And yet you’re here,” he said, “prepared to ask me for help, if I’m not mistaken. Either you don’t believe the rumors, or you’re very desperate.” His smile was suddenly gone, his eyes keen and penetrating once again.

  Jessica swallowed. Those eyes had power. The pupils were obsidian ovals ringed by pale yellow fire, animal eyes, but filled with a very human intelligence. “I don’t believe you’re a fool,” she said. “I believe that’s the mask you wear. I don’t know exactly what you’re hiding, but I think you’re considerably more dangerous, and more powerful, than anyone gives you credit for.”

  He sipped his wine. “So then, Jessica, why have you come to me?”

  She lowered her eyes. “I….” She stopped, suddenly, flinching, her fingers tightening slightly on the silver chalice.

  He leaned forward. “Are you all right?”

  She shut her eyes tightly. The chalice slipped from her fingers and struck the floor with a ringing, metallic clatter.

  “Answer me, Jessica.” He gripped her chin gently between a thumb and forefinger and lifted her face. “Open your eyes.”

  When she didn’t obey immediately, she felt the tug of compulsion at her mind. Her eyes sprang open, and she found herself staring into Richard’s. The world was spinning around her. Only his eyes remained still, anchoring her in place. “It hurts,” she gasped. She doubled over, crying out at the burning pain in her middle. Shutting her eyes, she pressed a hand to her stomach, struggling to breathe. The fiery pain spread outward, into her lungs, her heart. Jessica swallowed, fighting to regain control, fighting to keep from screaming.

  She raised trembling fingers to her forehead and felt a warm hand encircle her wrist. She could feel Richard’s breath on her neck.

  Almost immediately, the pain began to dim. He was inside her mind. She felt him there, blocking the pain, shielding her from it. At any other time, the invasion would have frightened her. She was aware of how vulnerable she was like this, open to him completely. Now, though, she was grateful. Anything, to escape the pain.

  “How long have you been feeling this?” he asked softly.

  She took a deep breath, steadying herself. “It comes and goes,” she murmured.

  “Someone has laid a curse on you.” He phrased it as a statement, not a question.

  Jessica lowered her eyes and nodded. There was no point in denying it. Their people were immune to disease. A curse was the only possible explanation.

  “Tell me who it was.” His grip on her wrist tightened. “I will find him.”

  Jessica shook her head. “I must kill him myself. I came here to ask you for something else.”

  “Tell me who it was.”

  “I don’t know,” she said sharply. “Let me speak. And take your hand off me, please.”

  He glanced down at his hand, then slowly relaxed his grip. She could still feel the warmth of his fingers lingering on her skin, as if he had left a brand on her. “Speak, then,” he said quietly.

  “Whoever it was,” said Jessica, “he cast a spell on me to obscure the memory of the incident. I recall it only dimly, like something seen in a dream. When I try to focus, there is a splitting pain in my head. I must remember and find him before this curse claims my life.”

  “You believe it will kill you?”

  “The pain grows worse every day. It’s like hot wire twisting around my insides.” She averted her eyes. “There has been blood.”

  She heard his soft intake of breath. “Let me try to undo the curse, first,” he said. “Then we’ll hunt him down.”

  She shook her head. “This is no ordinary curse,” she said. “If you try to undo it, it will only hasten my death.”

  “There must be a way.”

  “There is. But it can only be undone by the one who inflicted it. I must find him and force him to remove the curse.” She met his eyes. “I must,” she said firmly. “I don’t need help.”

  “Then why seek me out?”

  “As I said, he cast a spell to make me forget. I have my suspicions, but until I know who is responsible, I cannot act. I have little time to waste. There is no room for mistakes. I know that your mind-gift is strong. I came here to ask you….”

  “If I would undo the spell,” he finished.

  Jessica nodded. “I would owe you a favor,” she said. “I’m aware of that.”

  He raised his eyebrows slightly. “You would be willing to bind yourself to me with debt?”

  “I have no choice,” she said. “There is no one else who can do it.”

  For a moment, Richard was silent. “You’re aware,” he said quietly, “that I would have to enter your mind.”

  “Yes. I’m aware.”

  “You are comfortable with this?”

  “No. But it is my only chance.” She stared at the floor. “Please.” It hurt to speak the word.

  Her throat resisted, tightening, but she forced it out. “I have no one else to turn to.”

  Richard was silent a long moment. “I understand,” he said at last. He touched her chin lightly, lifting her face, his yellow eyes looking deep into hers. She felt the strength of his mind-gift emanating from those eyes in waves. A light shiver ran throu
gh her. Most people were not inclined to take Richard seriously, but she had a feeling that if those people could taste his power, they would think differently. She felt her muscles going limp, relaxed, but her body didn’t move, and her eyes didn’t leave Richard’s. There seemed to be nothing in the world except those eyes. Everything else faded away into darkness, but the yellow eyes remained, floating like twin moons. They pulled her in, drawing her closer, swallowing her in yellow fire.

  A part of her instinctively tensed, resisting. The sensation was too much like drowning, a frightening loss of control, a sense of being overwhelmed by another mind. Her breathing and heartbeat quickened, and she tried to look away, but she couldn’t. A small whimper escaped her throat.

  Just relax. The voice seemed to be in her head and ears at the same time. There is nothing to fear, Jessica. Relax.

  The voice was deep, rich, and smooth. It washed over her like the ocean. Her fears, her resistance, dissolved as she relinquished the last of her control, surrendered to the spell of Richard’s eyes. For a moment, she felt as if she were floating. It was an almost ecstatic feeling, a feeling of total freedom. And then there was only darkness.

  Chapter Two

  When she woke, she was in a bed, on dark red sheets, surrounded by red silk pillows. The room was dimly lit. Candles flickered on the small table beside the bed. Richard sat beside the bed, hands folded together. Reflected firelight danced in his eyes. “Don’t try to move,” he said. “Just rest.”

  Jessica tried to sit up, and a wave of dizziness washed over her. She sank back to the bed with a small moan.

  “Told you not to move.”

  “Why do I feel so weak?” Her words emerged thick and slurred. Her lips felt oddly numb.

  “Have you done something to me?”

  “Simply what you asked. I removed the spell. You should be able to remember, now, but don’t try, just yet. Rest.”

  Her brow furrowed. “Why? What’s wrong with me?”

  “The spell was woven very tightly into the fabric of your mind. Removing it was a delicate operation. I fear that if you put any strain on yourself right now, you will end up with a splitting headache.” He reached down to brush a few strands of hair from her brow.