Cursed

by Christina Bauer

  The wagon took off with a lurch. Elation and terror battled it out inside me. I was escaping. This was really happening. The falcons were keeping the guards at bay while we raced away at top speed. Perhaps things would be easy from here on out. I slumped against the wooden floor of the wagon and sighed.

  That’s when Marlene’s voice reverberated across the desert. My stomach fell to my toes. Blue flashes lit up the sky. The ground shook with a roll of thunder.

  I couldn’t believe this. We finally made some headway and the guards called in Marlene. I thought through the Grand Mistress spells that she could use. There were only a handful that would be deadly in a situation like this. I risked a peep over the edge of the wagon as it lurched along. I thought about Tristan’s warning.

  Please, don’t let her call skull seekers.

  Blurry shapes shot out from open gate. The specters were made of blue light, with skulls for faces and bodies that resembled blurs of sapphire-colored mist.

  There were skull seekers, all right. Poisonous teeth and all.

  I lay back onto the wagon’s floor, stared up at the blue sky, and let out an inarticulate ‘argh.’ All my Necromancer control evaporated. “This was supposed to be a simple escape.” Part of me knew I was ranting, but I couldn’t stop for some reason. “Walk through the gate. Rowan knows magick and—poof—I’d be gone.”

  Rowan called over his shoulder. “You’re wearing enchanted manacles. I was never going to poof you anywhere.”

  “That’s not what I meant.” I couldn’t believe I was about to say this. “Skull seekers are coming.”

  “What?” Rowan looked behind us. All the color drained from his face. “Lady, give me strength.” He turned forward, raised his right arm, and started a fresh round of incantations. The horses took off at a supernatural pace. It was a good idea to give them magickal velocity, but I’d cast quite a few skull seekers myself. Speed alone wouldn’t be enough.

  “You need to—” I wanted to explain more, but I couldn’t. My entire body flared up in agony as the magick on my manacles took effect. Knives of pain stabbed up my arms and sliced through my chest. I forced one more word through my gritted teeth. “Rowan.”

  “I know the manacles are hurting you,” Rowan called over his shoulder. “Once we get somewhere safe, I’ll cast a spell to break them.”

  I could hear the eerie, chattering laughter of the skull seekers as they drew in closer. The way things stood, we’d be torn apart in an instant. “No.” I panted through the pain. “Protection… Skin.” It was all I could get past my lips. Hopefully, Rowan would understand.

  “I’ll cast it.” Rowan launched into a fresh incantation. The veins in his right hand glowed red as thousands of crimson snake scales appeared over the surface of the cart and horses. I could feel my enchanted manacles repelling the magick away from me, but at least, the protective skin materialized inside the back of the wagon. The leathery coating radiated raw power. I exhaled.

  We had a chance at surviving.

  The specters slammed skull-first into the wheels. My body smashed against the wagon’s side and the impact felt harsh as a hammer. I’d sent skull seekers into the side of a mountain, where they’d sent wall-sized chunks of rock tumbling onto the ground. How long could Rowan and I hope to hold out?

  The cart teetered onto its left wheels, ready to fall over and take the horses with it. Fresh pain from my manacles stabbed straight through my abdomen. I curled forward and moaned.

  Focus past the hurt. Stay in control.

  The cart rode on two wheels for what felt like ages. We were going to collapse and be easy prey. What was worse, since Marlene’s power came from the Tsar, my manacles wouldn’t repel those skull seekers like they had the protective skin from Rowan.

  We needed to get back on four wheels.

  At last, I was able to think past the pain. Shifting my weight, I lunged onto the right side of the wagon, hoping my movement would help steady the cart. The wagon balanced on one side for a few more yards before landing back on all four wheels with a thud. I slumped onto the wooden bed. That was close.

  The seekers whirled around for another attack. Their cackling laughter turned piercingly loud. I braced myself for another impact. The wagon was already cracked in some places, even though rowan cast the protective skin. Some floorboards had even split in two. I wasn’t sure we could handle another assault.

  On this pass, the seekers went after the horses, crashing into their flanks and biting at their faces. The pitiful neighs tore at my heart. The animals bucked in terror. I pulled at my irons. What I wouldn’t give to rip these off right now.

  The cart rumbled over uneven ground. A loud snap sounded and my heart sank. I’d heard that noise before. One of the horses just broke a leg bone. I looked up to see the two animals lose their footing and topple to the ground. The wagon flipped over.

  Sire, protect me.

  Everything blurred into a single jumble of pain and movement. The cart rolled and shattered. My leg got skewered on the shaft of a wagon wheel. One thought broke through the chaos.

  So, this is how I die.

  Seekers closed in on me. Razor-sharp teeth latched onto my limbs. Each bite burned like acid. I flailed at the seekers, trying to swat them with my manacles. The irons barely made them flinch.

  “Stop!” I howled. It seemed like their hollow blue eyes and cackling laughter were everywhere at once. What a nightmare. I kept trying to hit them, but my movements turned sluggish and weak. A sickly taste filled my mouth, and I just knew it was from the poison. It had already started to kill me.

  A burst of red light filled the sky. Rowan’s voice echoed over the desert. Fresh worries darkened my thoughts.

  Don’t let them get him, too.

  Another burst of red light shone and the seekers stopped gnawing away on my skin. The crimson brightness flashed once more, and the seekers dissolved into thin air. I patted my arms, feeling the open wounds but no ghostly skulls. Looking up, I found Rowan standing over me, the hood of his cloak pulled away. His rugged features were tight with worry.

  Every inch of my body ached. The manacles burned into my wrists. Bites from the seekers were already pulsing with poison and hurt. “What happened?”

  “I cast some sun spheres. Those burn away seekers.”

  Those were the bursts of light that I’d seen before. “Well done.” I slumped onto the sand, every last bit of energy seemed drained from my body. I lay on my back and stared up into the blue expanse of sky. The seekers were gone and I’d escaped. It was tempting to rest but things weren’t safe this close to the Midnight Cloister. “We must get—”

  Something pulled on my ankle, and it took a huge amount of energy to lift my head and check it out. A guard was crouched beneath my feet and had grabbed my foot. I tried to break free from his grip, but the poison was muddling my head. My body wouldn’t even twitch on command, let alone kick the man away.

  Rowan was on the guard in a heartbeat. With a single swoop of his arm, Rowan pounded into the other warrior’s head. The guard’s helm crushed inward from the force of Rowan’s blow. I’d never seen anything like it. The warrior slumped to the ground, dead. Blood oozed from his helmet onto the sand.

  One guard was down, but how many more were out there?

  We needed to get moving. There had to be more guards coming. I struggled to sit up, but my body wouldn’t shift.

  Someone scooped me into his arms and ran. I stared at the firm jawline and green eyes. Rowan. I wanted to ask a question. What about the guards? No matter how I tried, my mouth wouldn’t form the words. It took everything I had to hoist up my head and look over Rowan’s arm to the desert behind us.

  What a sight. Great red scorpions were bursting out of the sand, grabbing the guards in their claws and dragging them back underground. Termites, falcons, a sun sphere, and now scorpions… I never imagined that Casters had this kind of power.

  Rowan curled me closer to his chest. “Don’t worry. I’ve taken care o
f the guards. There’s a place not far from here where I’ve set up everything to get those manacles off you. It’s warded so they won’t see us. Do you understand me, Elea?”

  I did, but I couldn’t get the word ‘yes’ past my lips. I jiggled my head in a kind of nod. It was the best I could do past the pain. The bites on my limbs, the hurt on my wrists, the stabbing wound in my thigh… It all meshed together in one overwhelming agony.

  “We’re almost there.” I was dimly aware that we’d stopped before a circle of darkened sand. “Listen to me, Elea. We’re standing before a walkway that leads to some underground caves. I enchanted the entrance to look like sand and warded off the entire area. I’m taking you down now. Don’t worry if it gets dark.”

  I wanted to nod, but I was past that ability. Rowan rushed forward and I had the illusion that we were walking through the earth, but we were soon inside a network of underground caves that were made of red stone. Although the air was fine here, I was finding it harder and harder to breathe. My body was breaking down.

  Rowan rushed through some passageways and into a side chamber. He gently set me down onto a blanket. “This is the room I prepared for you.” The cave was tall and narrow with a small opening to the sky. Some tiny jars were lined up on the floor. Rowan waved his arm and a campfire appeared in the center of the room. The flickering light gave me another glimpse at the bite marks on my arms. Angry purple lines covered my skin. Black puss oozed from the sores. The sight made my pain worse, somehow.

  Rowan lifted one of the jars. The image of the sun and moon were pained on the side. “This is what Oni and Yuri gave me to break you free from those manacles. Once they’re off, I can cast more spells to heal you.”

  Somehow, I forced out one word. “Good.” Nausea and pain whipped through me. I arched my back and moaned.

  Please, don’t let me die here.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I’m not sure how long I lay there while Rowan poured different powders into stone cups. With each passing minute, I felt my heart struggle harder in my chest. The poison burned deeper on my seeker bites, making it feel like a thousand knives were digging into my skin at once. I was being sliced apart, over and over.

  As last, Rowan knelt beside me. “It is ready.” He scooped paste from his cup onto his fingers and brushed it onto the skin beneath my irons. The substance felt cool and soothing. I could cry, the relief was so sweet.

  “My Lady, your servant calls to you.” When he spoke again, Rowan’s voice resonated with power and magic.

  Give me lion’s strength, viper’s speed,

  Break through these bonds, set your servant free.

  Rowan lifted up his right hand; the veins inside his skin shone with crimson brightness. A crackling sense of energy filled the cave. The very dust motes in the air glistened with power.

  Time lost all meaning. It felt as if my life had always been this agony, and it would stay that way forevermore. Days, weeks, hours… it was only pain. It would always last. I became aware of Rowan gently brushing his fingertips across my brow.

  “Do you wish me to go on?” His eyes were filled with sympathy. “It’s almost dawn.”

  I forced one word past my lips. “Dawn?”

  “You’ve been here all night.”

  My breaths came in rough wheezes. This was it; I was dying. Tears streamed down my cheeks. For the first time, I noticed the deep circles under Rowan’s eyes. He couldn’t keep this up much longer.

  “If I stop trying to break your irons, then you can pass on to the Eternal Lands.” The rugged lines of Rowan’s face softened. “You’ve been at death’s door for hours, Elea. I don’t know how you’ve held on, but there’s no shame in wanting it to end.”

  “No,” I rasped. “Curse.”

  “I’ll find a way to free you, Elea. I swear it.”

  For a moment, I let go my will to live. Maybe Rowan was right. It’s only a matter of days before I die anyway. And Rowan had promised to free me from my curse. An image appeared through the haze of hurt in my mind. I saw Rowan at the oasis, pleading with me to give him my totem rings. And I’d found him in my dream. I reached out, grabbed Rowan’s hand, and tapped my chest weakly. “Lady.” Somehow, I managed to flick my hand toward Rowan. “Sire.”

  Rowan frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  There was so much I wanted to tell Rowan then, but my mouth was beyond saying the words. I wanted to picture the Lady of Creation and ask her for strength. Maybe I was half dead and fully insane, but suddenly, this seemed to be the only thing left to try. I gestured lamely to the dishes of herbs. “Hy… Brid.”

  Rowan’s eyes widened with understanding. “You want to know how to call upon the power of the Lady. Try some hybrid magick with me as your guide.”

  I closed my eyes. It was the closest I could get to a nod.

  “That’s a brilliant idea.” He gently brushed some stray hairs away from my cheek. The motion was comforting, as was knowing that he understood what I wanted to try.

  “Have you tried to summon Caster magick?”

  “Scarab.” My voice was barely a whisper.

  “That’s right, you found the beetle and were trying to break the manacles that way.”

  I nodded as icy fingers of cold dug into my skin and organs. My entire body began to tremble.

  Rowan shook his head. “You’re freezing.” He scooped me into his arms and set me across his lap. He rubbed my arms and legs. “Better?”

  Warmth flowed through my limbs. For the first time since my escape began, I truly felt something other than pain. “Yes.”

  Rowan kept up his steady touch. My heartbeat steadied. Huge gulps of air finally made their way into my lungs. I leaned into Rowan’s shoulder. I couldn’t remember any place that felt more soothing.

  “Caster power comes from the Lady of Creation. The first thing we teach young Casters is to picture her. After that, you ask her for what you need, like you heard me do.”

  The cobwebs in my head started to clear. I understood exactly what he was asking for. “Go on.”

  “The Lady is tall and lithe with golden hair that hangs in waves to her waist. Her home is a garden of green trees, sparkling brooks, and mossy stones. Every beast imaginable roams there, free and at peace.” He brushed the backs of his fingers against my cheek. More warmth flowed into me. “Can you see it?”

  I closed my eyes. An image of rolling green hills filled my mind. My muscles loosened. Pain still sliced through me, but the cuts weren’t as deep. “Yes.”

  “Good. The Lady wears a crown of daisies. Tiny bluebells are woven through her hair. Can you picture her?”

  My mind cleared. I could see the Lady standing on a rolling green hill, her loose yellow dress fluttering around her legs. She had bright blue eyes, long golden hair, and strong cheekbones. “I can see her.”

  Rowan slid a line of paste down my throat. “Now, ask her what you need.”

  I kept the image of the Lady bright in my mind. “Heal me.”

  A trickle of magic wrapped about my wrist, right where Rowan had rubbed on the paste from Oni and Yuri. The pain inside my skull lessened. A purple light began to glow beneath the manacles.

  Rowan’s eyes brightened as he pressed the paste onto my lips. It tasted of berries and spice. “Keep fighting, Elea. Allow her power to move through you.”

  The image of the Lady seemed closer now. I could see the strong line of her chin and a sprinkling of freckles across her nose. Her green eyes locked with mine.

  All of a sudden, gusts of ethereal power drove through my soul. My body felt weightless. A loud cracking sound filled the air. My manacles tumbled to the floor. The biting pain around my wrists vanished.

  The irons are gone. I’m free.

  The bite marks burned into my skin, and my leg ached from where it had been skewered by the wagon. I’d gotten rid of one kind of hurt, but so much else remained.

  “Don’t worry,” said Rowan “I can heal you.” He rubbed my back in soothing st
rokes as he began another incantation. Soon his healing energy flowed through me. While the Lady’s power felt like a gust of air, Rowan’s energy was all solidity, warmth, and comfort. I don’t know how long I sat there, soaking up his strength, but some part of me never wanted to leave. At last, I remembered Petra’s warning about emotion and control. I started to move away, but Rowan’s hold on me tightened.

  “You need more healing. A few more minutes.”

  I rubbed my wrists, not believing the manacles were gone. “We did it.”

  Rowan rested his chin on the top of my head. “Yes, we did.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

  More of Rowan’s warm power flowed through me. Suddenly, I couldn’t remember when my eyelids felt so heavy. Maybe I’d just doze off for a second or two. I wanted to ask Rowan a question, but other words fell from my lips instead.

  “Must… Sleep…”

  “That’s all right, Elea. You can sleep now. I’ll finish your healing.”

  And I drifted off into the finest rest I’d had in years.

  Chapter Nineteen

  When I opened my eyes again, I was curled up on a pile of furs and wrapped in soft blankets. On the other side of the cave, Rowan lay on his side, fast asleep. It felt wrong for him to be uncovered when I’d been so carefully tucked in.

  Rowan opened his right eye. “You’re staring at me.”

  I shrugged. “You gave me all the blankets. Now, I feel guilty.”

  He grinned one of his crooked smiles. “All part of my master plan.”

  “I always suspected that you had one, you know.” I rolled onto my back and looked up through the hole in the cave’s ceiling. A full moon shone in the night sky. Oh, no. I sat bolt upright. “How long have I been asleep?”

  “Only a few hours.”

  I exhaled. “Good.”

  Rowan sat up slowly. “How do you feel?”

  “Better.” My wrists and thigh still hurt, but I supposed that was to be expected. Beside me, the flames on the campfire crackled and flared. An ember landed on my ankle, setting off a tiny burst of pain that quickly disappeared. It was a small reminder of the agony that awaited me on Sunday. I shivered at the thought. “What day is it?”