Cursed

by Monica Wolfson

“I’ll be back. Do what I said.”

  Sasha nodded again and smiled. Evan left the room without saying a word to her mother. Willow Bean was bewildered by the rudeness. “Is he mad at me?” she asked Sasha as she dumped her large handbag on the floor.

  “Yes,” Sasha said laying her clasped hands on her belly.

  “Why?” her mother was genuinely flummoxed that she was the target of someone’s ire.

  “He doesn’t like it that I got shot because of you,” she said matter-of-fact.

  “What?” she said. “That’s ridiculous.”

  “Oh Mother,” she said exasperated. “Drop the act.”

  “What act?”

  “I know you are from Tysseland and my grandmother has cursed me,” Sasha said staring at her mother. “I think Gus called it the killing curse actually.”

  Willow Bean seemed bewildered. She crumpled into the spare chair by the bed but wouldn’t look at Sasha.

  “Who told you this tale?”

  “It’s not a story Mother,” Sasha said drawing out the word mother. She wasn’t going to let her off the hook. Her mother had kept her in the dark for too long. She laid it out for her mother and spared no details.

  “My grandmother cursed me to die and hired assassins to finish the job just in case the curse didn’t work,” she said. “I know you are from Tysseland and that’s where she is too. There is much I still don’t understand like the blue sparks and the pendant. I will find out eventually even if you won’t help me.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this before now?”

  “I tried but you were always busy.”

  Willow Bean didn’t argue.

  “Mother what are the blue sparks?”

  Willow Bean stared at her, occasionally blinking. She bit her lip and then pressed them together in a grimace when she realized she was chewing off her lipstick.

  “Blue sparks? I don’t understand. What makes you think they came from you?”

  She told her mother about the three attacks when the blue sparks came to her aid. Her mother was quiet for a minute. For a second Sasha wondered if her mother was as clueless as she was about the blue sparks. Then her mother wrung her hands together and Sasha knew she’d stumbled upon the truth.

  “You shouldn’t be able to do that.”

  “No duh.”

  “I meant,” Willow Bean said swallowing, “You shouldn’t be able to do that while wearing the amulet.”

  She rose from the chair and gingerly sat on the side of Sasha’s hospital bed.

  “What? This?” Sasha pulled the pendant away from her neck. She reached behind and unclasped it. She swung the amulet around by its leather cord. “How is this supposed to stop the blue sparks?”

  Willow Bean sighed and took the pendant from Sasha. She quickly reconnected the clasp around Sasha’s neck.

  “The pendant suppresses magic,” her mother said. “It prevents it from being used on you and from you using your magic abilities. So there should be no blue sparks. So, again, how do you know they came from you?”

  She told her mother about the experiment with the dog. “Were you wearing the pendant?” her mother asked.

  “Of course,” she said frustrated that her mother didn’t believe her. “Without the pendant I die Mother.”

  Willow Bean arched her eyebrows. “Don’t be overly dramatic Sasha.”

  “I’m not,” she said and told her mother what happened when she gave the pendant to her father to inspect. “Do you want another demonstration?”

  She tried to remove the pendant but her mother stopped her. “That won’t be necessary.”

  “I want answers Mother,” she said with as much strength as she could muster while lying down.

  “Of course you do,” Willow Bean said in a condescending tone. “We don’t always get what we want Sasha.”

  She turned away from her mother, not wanting to look at her. She wanted comfort, answers. She felt like she was just getting blame and recrimination.

  Willow Bean sighed. Her shoulders slumped and her head drooped.

  “I wanted to spare you,” she said. “The truth is very messy.”

  “More messy than someone trying to kill me?”

  “Before we do anything, I need to know why your pendant isn’t working,” she said. “I gave it to you to keep you safe.”

  “Forget that,” Sasha said harshly. “A working pendant can’t save me from bullets because guns don’t come from magic.”

  Willow Bean bowed her head in defeat. “You’re right. I have failed you.”

  She was mute for a few minutes. When her mother’s eyes finally met hers Sasha saw pain and regret. She held Sasha’s hands as she recounted her unbelievable past.

  Willow Bean was born into a powerful magical family in Tysseland, a prosperous realm that sits parallel to the one where they reside. In Tysseland many people have special abilities. Those with the most magic, like her mother Queen Vania, rule.

  When Willow was 17 she was desperate to escape. Her mother planned to wed her in an arranged marriage that would bring the queen more power and wealth but leave Willow under the thumb of a possessive, cruel man.

  Before she could sneak away, Queen Vania confronted her. They argued and Willow left, but not before Queen Vania cursed her.

  “You have to understand,” her mother said pleadingly. “At first I didn’t think the curse would work here. This is a different world. Time moves differently here.

  “My mother cursed me when I left her house. I felt her do it but never actually knew what the curse would be. These things aren’t spelled out. When nothing happened to me over the years I figured she cursed my offspring. That would be her style, payback. Take my daughter from me because I hurt my mother. My mother is petty that way.”

  Sasha frowned. If the curse was cast almost 30 years ago before Sasha was conceived why was a talisman necessary?

  “Mother,” she said. “Does that mean there isn’t a talisman?”

  Willow Bean shook her head.

  “There is a talisman,” she said. “The curse needed the two parts to become active. She cursed me, which put the curse in your DNA. Then she needed your DNA to activate it. Getting rid of the talisman doesn’t get rid of the curse. That’s the beauty of it. My mother can reactivate at any time as long as she’s got some of your DNA.”

  Astounded, Sasha didn’t know how to respond. Her grandmother really wanted her dead.

  “So, how do I get rid of the curse?”

  Willow Bean shook her head. “You can’t. She can reactivate it with another talisman. ”

  Sasha felt dread. Was this nightmare ever going to be over? “What if the queen were dead?”

  Willow Bean smiled. “Well that would solve a lot of problems. But I’ve spent a lifetime refraining from killing. That’s what set me apart from my mother.”

  Willow Bean was quiet for a moment inspecting her fingernails and gathering her thoughts.

  “I gave you the necklace because it only made sense that my mother would target you because you are the first born,” she said. “I gave you the necklace to keep you safe and to hide your magical abilities from you.

  “I didn’t want you to find out where I came from. Your father doesn’t even know.”

  Sasha was stunned. Her father didn’t know?

  “So dad isn’t from Tysseland?”

  “No, I met him not long after I got here. A few years ago I went back to Tysseland. There is a very old wizard there, Glenbury, who helped me craft this pendant for you. I knew the curse would trigger when you were 16 or 17. Those are years when you come into your powers. I made the pendant to protect you.”

  “Protect your secrets you mean,” Sasha said harshly. She couldn’t resist jabbing her mother.

  “Yes,” she said morosely. “My secrets aren’t so secret anymore.”

  They were both quiet for a minute lost in their thoughts.

  “There is something interfering with the power of the pendant,” Willow Bean said
. “I have to talk to Dominic about it.”

  “Is Dominic from Tysseland too?”

  She hesitated and then nodded. “What about Gigi and Evie?”

  She got up from the bed without answering. Sasha was sure they were part of this Tysseland group too.

  “I’ll get you answers Sasha,” she said. “Then we’ll work on training you.”

  “So the blue sparks are my powers?”

  Willow Bean nodded reluctantly. “It’s hard to say without seeing for myself. Considering the circumstances we can’t test it.”

  “So what now?”

  Willow Bean clapped her hands together. “That part is easy,” she said. “We’ll get you somewhere safe and go after Nefar.”

  “What does that mean somewhere safe?”

  “It means somewhere that Nefar can’t find you,” she said.

  Sasha didn’t want to let her panic consume her. She had her mother’s help but she wasn’t going to let it interfere with her burgeoning relationship with Evan. He probably couldn’t go into hiding with her. She might have to pull a Willow Bean trick. A plan was already formulating in her head.

  “What about the curse?” she asked.

  “It’s not something we have to worry about right now,” Willow Bean said patting Sasha’s hand. “As long as you wear the pendant, it’s suppressed. Of course we’ll have to go after Vania eventually if you want to be able to practice magic.”

  Willow Bean leaned toward her daughter and kissed her forehead. “I know the draw of magic is strong. It’s a craving you have to control. Don’t worry. I’ll teach you that. I’ve been exercising that control for almost 20 years.”

  “Does that mean you don’t use magic?”

  “Well,” she said coyly. “Not really.”

  Sasha was suspicious.

  “You only use it if it makes you money?” Sasha said but her mother’s attention was drawn away by voices in the hallway.

  “Your father and Hannah are about to come in here.”

  “Ok, one last thing,” Sasha said. “What’s a mukoo?”

  Willow Bean stood up and shivered in an exaggerated way. “It’s an assassin. But don’t worry. We’re going to get him before he gets you.”

  Sasha nodded her agreement. While her mother was busy hunting Nefar, she was going to get the talisman.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Sasha moaned in pain and felt bright white stars burn behind her eyelids. She couldn’t open her eyes. The pain was too sharp, too strong, too much. Her stomach roiled and she turned on her side and retched into a bucket someone put beside her bed.

  “Uhhh.” She couldn’t use her left side, it was paralyzed with agony.

  “I think she’s coming around,” said a voice that might have been Evie’s although she wasn’t sure. The pain was inhibiting her ability to concentrate and she just wanted to pass out and heal while being unconscious. She didn’t want to be awake and instead wanted drugs to put her out.

  She knew she wasn’t in the hospital but she didn’t remember leaving. She couldn’t recall if they’d travelled by car or ambulance.

  “Have you decided if you are telling Martin about this?”

  Sasha perked up when she heard mention of her father. Was he here?

  “Daddy?” she croaked. Her lips were dry and cracked and in desperate need of moisture. She licked her lips but the saliva evaporated immediately. Sasha felt a straw poke her lips as someone fed it into her mouth. She sucked lightly and coughed as some of it went down her airway. Her hacking sent a fresh jolt of agony through her shoulder. She sobbed not caring if anyone saw her cry. She was a wreck and there was no point in hiding it.

  “Prop her up so she can drink properly,” her mother snapped the instruction. Sasha didn’t need too much awareness to recognize her mother’s voice. Willow Bean always made herself known.

  “Do you need a pain pill honey?” Gigi said. Sasha cracked open her eyes and saw the blond beauty sitting on a chair beside her bed. Her hair covered half of her face as she leaned over Sasha’s body to readjust the covers and plump the pillow.

  “Drugs,” Sasha moaned and felt her skin go clammy. She needed to stay alert but she felt the blackness creep in on the edges of her consciousness. She didn’t know for how much longer she could hang on.

  “Give her something,” her mother said exasperated. She was impatient about something and Sasha didn’t care about the drama. Her mother could figure it out without her.

  “Wait,” she barked. “Will it interfere?”

  Sasha didn’t know who her mother was talking to. “No,” Evie said softly. “She doesn’t have to be awake although it might help.”

  Willow Bean crouched over her daughter’s body and shook her lightly on her good shoulder. “Stay with us Sasha,” she said. “It will be over soon.”

  Sasha tried to sit up so that she could see what was going on. She’d managed to keep her eyes open for more than ten seconds. Her mother, Gigi and Evie were in Sasha’s bedroom. There was a bowl of a foul smelling herb paste that Sasha hoped wasn’t for her.

  She wasn’t wearing a shirt and instead sat in her bra and jeans. She figured her mother had undressed her and she wished she’d been able to do it herself.

  Sasha didn’t remember much after her mother and Evan left the hospital. She thought she was healing fine although that could have been the pain pills talking. She’d had minor surgery and didn’t seem in great jeopardy so she was curious about what Evie was going to do. Sasha thought she was recovering and was confused as to what Evie was doing. She wanted to ask questions but her mouth felt so dry and her head was fuzzy. Her eyes drooped closed again and her mother shook her awake.

  Evie leaned over Sasha and spoke quietly into her ear. “I’m going to put this elixir on your shoulder. It might burn for a minute but hold still. Ok?”

  Sasha nodded slightly and squeezed her eyes shut. She preferred not to watch her own torture. She could feel Evie’s hands on her shoulder as she peeled off the bandages. She felt a light sting as the paste was applied to her wound and the smell made gag.

  “We should have used that Vick’s vapor rub to ward off the stench,” her mother sighed deeply as if she didn’t want to be in the room and had better things to do.

  Curiosity got the best of Sasha when she felt a tugging at her shoulder and she opened her eyes. There was a yellow glow around Evie’s hands that were on Sasha’s wound. She could see the skin knitting itself back together and felt a pull as the skin and tissue sewed itself together. Instead of being gross and bloody, her skin was smooth, no hole in sight. The procedure concluded quickly and when she was done, Evie leaned back and smiled.

  “Thanks,” Sasha said with heartfelt feeling. She was grateful to her mother’s friend for shortening the time it was going to take to heal. Sasha could still feel an ache in her shoulder but the sharp pains that made her moan and beg for drugs were gone.

  Sasha leaned toward Evie with her good arm and gave her a hug and peck on the cheek. “You must be very popular,” Sasha said.

  Evie tilted her head to one side. “Why do you say that?”

  Sasha frowned. “I’m not sure what powers anyone else has but yours are the best.”

  Evie patted her good shoulder and rose from her chair. She crossed the room and left through the door with a small wave. Gigi followed Evie blowing a kiss to Sasha from the doorway. Her mother was last.

  “Get some rest,” Willow Bean said. “We’ll talk tomorrow about where you’re going.”

  “Mother I don’t want to leave,” she begged. “I have a life. I have the track team, school, my friends.”

  Willow Bean frowned and looked impatient, her fingers tapping against the wood around the doorway.

  “It’s only for a few days Sasha,” she said. “Don’t be so dramatic. Everything will be the same when you get back.”

  At first Sasha incorporated the sound of rocks hitting her bedroom window into her dream. She sat up suddenly when the noise persisted
. She pulled back the covers and flicked the blind off the window an inch and peered outside. No one had come to her bedroom window after midnight before. She wasn’t a sneak out of the house in the middle of the night kind of girl. When she saw it was Evan she yanked the blind up, unlocked the window and pushed it open.

  She wore a tank top and underwear and was slightly self conscious about her nakedness. She hopped back into bed while Evan shut the window and sat on the edge of the bed. She pulled the covers up to her chest and leaned against the pillows. She rolled to her side to make room for Evan if he chose to lie beside her.

  “How are you?” he whispered.

  “Mmm,” she sighed. “Better now that you’re here.”

  She could see Evan smile and his teeth glowed white in the dim light. He leaned over her and kissed her feather soft on her lips. She leaned up wanting more but he pulled away fast.

  “I don’t want your parents catching me here,” he said. He rubbed the forearm of her good arm.

  “How’s the wound?”

  She pulled the strap of her tank top away to show him the puckered skin where the bullet hole used to be. The skin was tightly stretched as if she’d had a facelift on her shoulder and pale but otherwise unmarked.

  “Wow,” he said admiringly. “Can I touch it?”

  She nodded and he reached out with his hand and caressed her wound. She felt his fingers tracing the shape of the bullet hole but there was no pain. Her smile grew wider.

  “I am pain free.”

  Evan shook his head in disbelief. “How?”