Cursed

by Owens, Wendy

  CONTENTS

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Dedicated to my Joshua, I love you so much.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to my editor Ashley who helped make my book stronger. My cover artist Claudia Lucia McKinney for doing an amazing job capturing Sophie. The beautiful Laila for being the model for Sophie, I can't imagine anyone else. And lastly thanks to all my beta readers who helped make this book even better.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Gabe’s stomach twisted, each knot tighter and more agonizing than the last. He wiped his sweat soaked hands on the legs of his jeans and searched the nearby crowd for a familiar face. He imagined that if he could just catch a glimpse of Sophie, everything would be alright. Unfortunately, Sophie was nowhere to be found. Gabe felt hopeless.

  The roar of the crowd began to grow. He heard them harmoniously stomping their feet in a rhythm that cried out for battle. Gabe glanced across the arena to several cages that were shielded by large cloaks. Whatever was inside was clearly becoming agitated by the noise of the crowd. The captive creatures began beating against the bars. Random secret shrieks and growls came from their general area.

  “Rampart Manor!” Gabe heard Uri’s magically amplified voice shout over the thunderous group. “Let’s be honest, we all know the reason why we are gathered here today. Yes, yes, of course we want to support our dear friend, Gabe. But, let’s get real for a minute. Day in and day out we learn and train and grow as Guardians. We do as we are told and follow the rules. We all work hard. Now it’s our turn to watch some demons tremble in fear! It’s our turn to watch the hunters become the hunted. Who is ready to see some fighting? Better yet, who wants to see what our great protector is made of?”

  The crowd erupted into a frenzy at Uri’s words.

  The past summer had been full of blood, sweat, and tears for Gabe, but it was also an experience he would not trade for anything. He had grown close to Sophie and all of his new friends. Uri had even become what Gabe would call his best friend; something he had not had in his previous life. As appreciative as he had grown of Uri’s humor, right now, in this arena, was one of those moments he wished Uri was able to contain himself.

  Gabe had felt somewhat confident about his tests when he awoke that morning. He had spent every free moment studying and practicing for this all summer. Though it didn’t take long before he realized what Uri had done. After the tenth or so person wished him luck and expressed how much they were looking forward to seeing him in action, Gabe knew Uri had decided to make this day into a big event for the entire manor, even though Gabe was not comfortable being a spectacle.

  Gabe’s confidence quickly disintegrated into rage, conjuring visions in his head of strangling his dear friend Uri for inviting a crowd to watch his tests. It was hard enough for him to concentrate alone in complete silence knowing what was at stake. He wasn’t sure how he would be able to do anything with a hundred of his future classmates looking on. Gabe knew that failing today would not only let down everyone who helped him, but could also have his mentor, Michael, questioning if he had made a mistake in choosing Gabe.

  “Get over here, Gabe.” Uri motioned to his friend to join him in the circle. Gabe reluctantly walked to his side. Uri grabbed his hand and raised it high into the air in a triumphant motion. “Are you ready to kick some demon tail, my friend?”

  Gabe glanced over his shoulder at the rattling cages and could only feign a smile for a short moment. As he looked back to the crowd, he saw Michael standing off to the side with an expressionless face, his arms crossed, watching intensely as the scene unfolded. For a moment, Gabe thought Michael may step in and stop the side show antics. When Michael just continued to watch, Gabe knew he was on his own.

  “So everyone knows the rules…” Uri shouted. “Oh yeah, that’s right, there are no rules! Gabe can showcase anything and everything he has learned to stay alive!”

  “I think you’re exaggerating a bit, don’t you?” Gabe mumbled under his breath to Uri. He was sure Michael wouldn’t let him die in these tests. At least, he thought he was sure. Gabe quickly looked at Michael again for some reassurance. He still displayed no change in expression or stance.

  “Don’t worry,” Uri continued. “We will all be safe. There is a protection spell on the arena so the demons won’t be able to escape. Just you and them!” Uri patted Gabe on the back heavily. Then he turned and scurried out of the arena. Uri’s words made Gabe even more anxious as he stumbled forward.

  Gabe turned slowly, his hands feeling like two large boulders hanging from his sides. He watched in horror as Uri and two other men pulled the draping from the three cages.

  Inside the first cage was a smaller creature. Gabe thought it stood perhaps only three feet high. Behind it swung a long tail that was adorned with a large round ball on the end of it. Though it had long fangs, Gabe thought that overall it seemed fairly harmless and did not feel terribly threatened by it.

  As the creature spun wildly in the cage, it swung its large tail. The ball tip came down onto the floor with a great thud and four inch razor-sharp spikes shot out over its entire body, including its tail. The calmness Gabe had felt about this demon quickly fled...

  Gabe closed his mouth, realizing his shock was clear from the expression on his face. The next cage caught his attention. It was surrounded by gray smoke. The creature inside had a large snake like body with dozens of legs. It looked like a cross between a centipede and a King Cobra. It stared directly at him as it spit little round balls of fire in the air. As the balls extinguished into clouds of smoke, Gabe debated which demon was worse.

  The third cage, Gabe noticed, was much larger in size than the rest. Instead of bars, it was composed of tall walls of solid steal. He heard a pounding from inside and could see the walls vibrating from the thunderous booms. Whatever was inside of it, Gabe was sure he wanted no part of.

  Again Gabe looked back at Michael, hoping he was about to step in, but all he did was give him a nod. A nod? Really? I don’t need a nod. I need someone to stop this! Gabe thought.

  “Gabe,” Sophie’s voice came from behind him. He spun around to see her shining face, though it did have a worried look on it. “You’ve got this!” Somehow with those words from Sophie, his confidence was restored. He was ready, or as ready as he was ever going to be.

  “A spike monster from the Gorgon underworld.” Uri shouted to the crowd as he used a long rod to unlock the cage before quickly stepping away.

  Michael had not come to visit with Gabe much over the summer, but he did grace him with a quick meeting a few days earlier. It felt, in a way, like he was bringing him a warning. Michael had expressed to Gabe that it was very important he remember everything he had learned about the underworld.

  G
abe had studied alongside his friends all summer, spending many hours with Sophie in the library. Now that he was face to face with his first test, Gabe wished he had studied the books more, and Sophie’s eyes less.

  Gabe had learned that there was a realm between earth and hell called the underworld. It was the barrier angels and demons could dwell in, but not go beyond. Angels could not cross into hell. Demons were not able to pass into the earthly realm. There were also restrictions on hunting in the underworld, as it was supposed to be considered safe ground for all.

  The underworld was split into sections. Each area was ruled by different races. A few were indifferent to the battle between angels and demons, happy to stay to themselves. Most though were on the side of the demons, angry that they were also not allowed to pass into earth’s realm. This made the underworld into hostile territory for Guardians and not the neutral ground it was supposed to be.

  Gabe began to move from side to side in a defensive manner, trying to anticipate the spike monster’s next move. He frantically tried to remember anything he could about the Gorgons. He dug through his memory, searching for something about their race or about the underworld that might help him defeat this spike monster. Gabe recalled reading that the Gorgon territory was desert-like. He couldn’t imagine how this information could possibly help him defeat the beast, though.

  Before another thought could cross Gabe’s mind, the spike monster came bounding into the circle with a snarl and huff. Its spikes were retracted as its head wobbled. The monster’s eyes darted from side to side, clearly disoriented and agitated by the presence of the crowd. Gabe saw under the natural light, away from the cage, that the creature's skin shimmered with a purple glow. Had it not been trying to kill him he thought he might have actually appreciated it as a remarkably handsome creature.

  Its beauty quickly faded for Gabe when the monster locked in on him and focused all its anger and frustration in his direction. The spike monster swung its tail wildly while stomping one foot into the ground repeatedly. As it let out another snarl, the monster lowered its eyes, locking its gaze on Gabe before allowing its spikes to emerge from their hiding place beneath its skin with an unsheathing noise. Catching sight of the steel like spikes glistening in the sun, Gabe felt panic rush over him.

  Gabe looked again in Michael’s direction. He still stood watching, but appeared slightly alarmed. Glancing back at the crowd, Gabe caught sight of Sophie, who was simply nodding at him in a reassuring way, a smile planted firmly on her face. He saw her mouth the word, “Focus.”

  Before Gabe could even comprehend what was happening, the beast came charging at him. He didn’t have time to think of which defensive spell would work best. As the monster’s spiked tail came swinging around in his direction, Gabe jumped as high as he could. When his legs could take him no higher, he felt himself fall to the earth. He rolled quickly to one side in an effort to remove himself from the range of the monster’s tail.

  The spiked tail embedded itself in the earth with a great thud, mere inches from where Gabe landed. Gabe seized the moment to roll up onto his knees, crawling backwards to create distance, before hopping up onto his feet. Out loud, Gabe began repeating everything he could remember about the Gorgon race in an effort to think of something that would aid him in this battle.

  He knew most of the creatures in the Gorgon territory had skin that was thick, almost like armor. Though he was sure the skin came in handy for the Gorgons, he didn’t see how this detail could help him.

  The creature retracted its spikes, freeing itself from the earth. A moment later, its mighty tail swung at Gabe. This time he wasn’t able to move out of the way quickly enough and it knocked him off his feet. In a calculated manner, the spike monster raised its tail high into the air. It hovered for a moment. Gabe watched in horror as it pushed out its dagger-like spikes once again.

  The beast brought its tail down at Gabe’s head with such great force that it caused the air around them to stir. Just in time to avoid the spikes, Gabe rolled to one side and jumped to his feet. The crowd let out a gasp of relief.

  This dance they found themselves in was not going to end well for Gabe, and he knew it. It wouldn’t be long before he was too slow to avoid the attacks.

  Gabe looked at the dust in the air, still stirring from the last strike. That’s it! He thought. At last Gabe had an idea for a spell that might actually work. First he needed to cast an air spell.

  Gabe took a few steps back to have a moment to regain his composure. The spike monster clearly was not willing to give him much time, considering it already had its head down, ready to attack yet again. Gabe stood, focusing fiercely on the animal.

  Somehow, in that moment, all the noise in the room seemed to fade away. Gabe felt his belly burning hot. The beast was running full speed in his direction. When he could no longer contain the energy, Gabe pushed his hands outward towards the monster and shouted, “Ventus tempestas.”

  An invisible force shot out from his hands. The crowd began to roar with approval as they watched the dust blowing around the spike monster. The creature began to lose footing. With the hurricane-like wind blowing against it, the monster was clearly struggling to find ground.

  Gabe felt a triumphant rush wash over him. He raised his hands, preparing to finish the beast with one more wind storm blast. The creature swung his tail around and dug its spikes deep into the earth. No matter how much force Gabe tried to add, he could not seem to budge the monster.

  Exhausted, Gabe pulled his hands back and fell to one knee, trying to catch his breath. Clearly his idea was not working as he had hoped. He needed to rethink his strategy and fast. He pushed himself back up to a standing position. Gabe glanced over his shoulder again. The beast was charging full speed in his direction. He felt his stomach twist. He knew he only had seconds before the monster was upon him.

  There was not enough time to run and nowhere for Gabe to hide. Digging his heels in, Gabe feared he already knew what the result of hand to hand combat would be. None the less, in a matter of moments, Gabe would have no choice.

  He reached for his sword. He was about to unsheathe his weapon when he had one last idea. Staring at the ground between himself and the spike monster, Gabe began to repeat the words,

  “Earth into sand,

  Unable to stand”

  The spike monster did not seem to pay much attention to Gabe’s words. It simply continued charging, clearly with the intention of mauling him. The creature increased its speed. Sprays of hot saliva flew out from the corners of its mouth. With a triumphant glare in its eyes, the monster moved in for the final blow. With its next step, the earth gave way under the beast’s feet. In a moment it sank into a ten foot circle of quicksand. The crowd cried out with an approving cheer. The animal thrashed wildly in an attempt to escape, but found itself sinking further.

  Gabe knew the sand would only hold the spike monster for so long. He needed to take further action to ensure it was no longer a threat. Thinking quickly, Gabe knew exactly what to cast.

  Looking into the animal’s eyes, Gabe could see it was consumed with fear. It was simply trying to protect itself. He didn’t want to prolong its horrific experience any longer.

  “Perpetuum Somnum,” Gabe said, directing his hands toward the thrashing animal. A second later the poor beast was asleep and snoring quite loudly, its still body no longer sinking.

  Gabe sighed a breath of relief, but before he could turn around, he heard the latch to the second cage release and felt a growing heat behind him. Gabe took off running at top speed to the opposite side of the arena. He did not know where the second monster was exactly, but he knew he wanted to try his best to put some distance between them.

  When he reached the other side, Gabe turned and saw the creature crawling towards him. Though it had dozens of short legs, it seemed to slither.

  “From the Volsunga area of the underworld, Gabe will next fight a fire breathing lindworm serpent.” Gabe heard Uri’s voice bellow out
from an unseen corner. The words filled Gabe with terror. He may not know much about the Gorgons, but he had been thoroughly warned about the Volsunga. They were a tribe in the underworld that stayed to themselves. Everyone thought it best for all parties involved.

  They dwelt in volcanic areas and worshiped what they called a fire god. Gabe remembered one story in particular about a Guardian who had been discovered in their territory. The story went that this Guardian was on the trail of a demon he wanted to question about some recent attacks on humans. He had stumbled into Volsunga territory unknowingly. Apparently, the Volsunga felt an appropriate punishment for getting lost was to burn him to death.

  Gabe tried to put the story out of his mind and focus on battling the lindworm serpent that was now quickly approaching him, puffs of gray smoke billowing behind it. Its large cobra head was arched back, ready to attack. Gabe struggled with how to proceed. Once again, he remembered Michael’s words. He had used the treacherous quick sand traps of the Gorgon desserts to trap the spike monster.

  This serpent was different. Gabe had absolutely no clue what he could possibly use about the Volsunga to defeat the lindworm serpent.

  It moved quickly. Gabe struggled to stay out its flames. No matter how hard he pushed, with every step he made it seemed to gain on him. He knew he would not be able to avoid its attack for much longer.

  Still at a loss on how to destroy the beast, Gabe had an idea. It may just buy him the time he needed to think of something. He ran in the direction of the crowd as fast as his feet would carry him. Gabe knew that everyone in the arena was not in harm’s way thanks to the protection spell. It didn’t mean the lindworm couldn’t see or hear the crowd, though. Standing in front of the bleachers, Gabe looked down at his own torso and shouted, “Effingo”.

  A moment later, he looked up to see the arena littered with look-a-likes of himself. The duplication spell had worked. Gabe watched as the serpent caught site of the numerous Gabes, clearly confused and disoriented.