Cursed Witch

by September Stone

She shakes her head. “No, it’s not off limits. I just wondered what has you this far off the beaten path. We’re nowhere near your room or the cafeteria.”

  I walk toward the window and peer out at the sparkling, dew-wet grounds. I learned a long time ago that the best way to lie is to stick close to the truth, so the story takes shape easily on my tongue. “I was just lost in thought, I guess. It’s so peaceful here. I don’t get a lot of that back in the real world. This place… It’s unlike anywhere I’ve ever been.”

  She nods knowingly as she steps into the space beside me. “I know what you mean. It’s part of the reason I stayed after they broke my curse. This place is so pure I never wanted to leave.”

  “You can just do that? Never leave?”

  Kari scrutinizes my face. “Is that what you want?”

  I hold up my hands. “I didn’t say that. But there is an appeal here I can’t deny.” I shrug. “It’s not like I have much of a say in the matter anyway.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I’m a daemon,” I say simply. “I was under the control of a master until about a week ago, and I’ve already felt one spell trying to tether me again.”

  Her nose wrinkles. “If someone did a tethering spell, how are you still here?”

  I hold up my left hand to display the mark on my palm. “I figure it has something to do with this. And as soon as it’s gone, it’s only a matter of time before I’m someone else’s bitch. That’s my lot in life.”

  Kari presses her lips together. A muscle in her jaw jumps. I hold as still as I can, trying not to spook her. It’s clear there’s something on her mind that she’s wrestling with whether or not to mention. Although I have no idea what she could have to say, I’m looking for any information I can get.

  Seconds tick by before resolve settles in her eyes. “What if I told you it doesn’t have to be that way?”

  I arrange my features into a look of polite confusion. “No offense, but I don’t think you understand what you’re talking about. Part of the magic of my kind means that the right spell can bind me to someone else’s will. Now, unless you have some equally powerful magic stashed around here somewhere, I don’t see that changing.” I try to make it sound like a joke, but once the words are out of my mouth, I study her face for micro expressions—a twitch of the lip, the darting of the eyes—anything that might clue me in to her knowing more than she’s letting on.

  But instead of closing her down, my words open Kari up. Her eyes glisten with excitement as she takes a step closer. “What if I told you that you won’t have to live in fear forever? A time is coming when daemons won’t be bound to anyone anymore.”

  Her words are so out of left field it takes a moment for me to get my head around them. “What are you talking about?”

  She squeezes my wrist. “The time of ascension is nearly at hand. Then, everything will change.”

  Before I can formulate a response, she releases me and strides down the hall, her movements like dancing.

  But her joy doesn’t reach me. The time of ascension? What the hell is that?

  I have no idea, but I know one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt: I don’t want to be anywhere near this place when it happens.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Bryn

  During breakfast on our third day at the Temple, my plate is more full than is probably polite, but I can’t find it in me to care. After another late-night strategy meeting in Poe’s room where he, Calder, and Silas mapped out all the likely ways in and out of the secret hallway and the guarded room while Taj and I worked on creating some charms to help with the theft, I spent a second late-late night with Taj and Calder in my own room. Although my left shoulder is a little sore from sleeping crammed between the two of them on my tiny twin mattress, I wouldn’t have our sleeping arrangements any other way. Now that I’ve slept snuggled between the men I adore most in all the world for the last two nights, I never want to go back to sleeping alone.

  After the first night I spent with the two of them, I feared I’d wake full of regret. When Calder invited himself into my room while Taj and I were making love, it was like a revelation. If we’re going to make this work, I can’t compartmentalize. Calder and Taj each have a right to know what I’m doing in my time spent with the other.

  And to their credit—and my delight—neither one of them have been weird about it. Despite the fact that the twin mattress we’ve shared is hardly big enough for two—let alone three—neither one of them have complained about sleeping so close to one another in the nude.

  Last night when we went back to my room, it was the most natural thing in the world for Taj to help Calder undress me. And although Calder took his time exploring my body, playing my clit like a violin and making me come twice before finally plunging deep inside me, Taj didn’t begrudge him a moment of it. Sometimes he drew near, caressing my breasts or kissing my mouth, but others he stood at a distance, letting Calder have me all to himself. And when it was Taj’s turn, Calder alternated rubbing my back and tweaking my nipples with sitting back and watching as Taj and I wound each other up.

  It’s been blissful, and I know how lucky I am to have these two wonderful men giving me everything I crave. But somehow I still want more. And no matter how much I want to ask for it, I haven’t been able to bring myself to put voice to my growing desire—not yet. Because although Calder and Taj are adapting well to taking turns with my body, I don’t know how they’ll react when I ask if they would consider…

  I can barely think it without my cheeks heating and my panties growing damp. I know how amazing it feels make love with them individually, but I long to know what it would be like to have them inside me at the same time.

  Poe pauses with a piece of buttered bread halfway to his mouth, his brow knitting as he looks at me across the table. My blush deepens as I cross my legs as covertly as possible. I don’t like the idea of his shifter nose picking up just how wet and needy my thoughts are making me.

  At least now that I’m training with Kari, I won’t have to get up close and personal with Poe. With as wound up as I am right now, I don’t know if I could handle it. At least when Kari and I spar, I’m not left with aching nipples and a swollen clit. Not that I want Poe to see to either of those tender spots on my body, no matter how much he affects them.

  As if summoned by my thought of her, Kari leaves the long table at the far end of the room and strides purposefully toward our group. Her eyes are so bright I can feel the excitement radiating off her before she reaches us.

  “Tonight,” she announces when she reaches the head of our table.

  Calder and Taj exchange glances, a fact that Silas doesn’t miss.

  “What about tonight?” I ask, pushing down the mental images the word dredges up in my head. I squeeze my thighs tighter together.

  “The ceremony to break your curse,” Kari clarifies. “The priests say they’ll be ready to do it tonight. The spirits have been kind indeed.”

  Poe straightens his back, his jaw tightening. “You’re saying they know how to fix us?”

  “Yes.” The word trips over Kari’s lips like a laugh. “They’ll spend today gathering the elements and preparing the sacred space for the ritual, and tonight, we’re going to break your curse.”

  Every atom of my body vibrates with nervous energy as the priests lead the way to an outbuilding I have yet to step foot inside. Dusk is falling, and the woods around us are alive with the hum of insects and the calls of birds.

  This stone structure is smaller than the one we’ve been staying in, and it’s circular. As we draw nearer, a sense of peace seems to radiate off the building.

  Ahead of me, Poe is a ball of tension. His shoulders are hunched and each of his steps is labored, as if he’s walking to face an executioner instead of the healing we seek.

  Taj and Calder, on the other hand, bounce as they walk, clearly as excited as I am to not have the specter of death hovering over us.

  Silas is the only one I can�
�t get a read on. Everything about him is entirely neutral, from the look on his face to his posture. It’s difficult to tell how he feels about the coming ceremony.

  Once inside the circular building, Kari directs us where to go. The five of us sit on the spots Kari indicates. Taj and Calder are on either of my sides, and Silas and Poe sit across from me. I try to catch their eyes and smile, but neither of them glances up.

  Robed priests and priestesses filter into the room after us, filling in the rows of benches surrounding the open area where the five of us sit. Kari stands to the left of a long stone altar, and Brother Anson stands behind it. Once everyone is in place, Brother Anson raises his arms and begins chanting words I don’t understand in a low, measured voice. Within a few seconds, the rest of the robed figures join in.

  Kari said all we need to do is sit still and accept the healing as it washes over us, but I suddenly wish there was an active way for me to participate. Simply sitting here is making me anxious.

  My left palm starts to tingle. The sensation is almost pleasant and I close my eyes, willing the magic to wash through me and do its work.

  But when the chanting changes, the mark begins to prickle and burn. A sharp cry escapes my lips before I can stifle it. Kari warned us this might hurt, and I don’t want to distract the priests from their ritual.

  Instead, I try to fill my mind with images of the future. I’ve never really allowed myself to imagine what my life will be like because I’ve never been promised control of my destiny. First, I was Mona’s captive, doomed to do her bidding until my usefulness dried up. After my escape, this curse loomed over me, threatening to steal my life before it could really begin.

  But now, I can do whatever I want—go where I want, be who I want. And most importantly, I can be with who I want. With Taj and Calder by my side, my future will be bright indeed.

  Something in the air changes and my eyes snap open. Although I couldn’t sense it back when I was Mona’s slave, I’ve experienced enough since to recognize dark magic when it’s present. It isn’t the ritual itself—I can still feel the healing intent of the chant as the words swirl around us. This darkness rises from something else.

  “Stop!” someone shouts over the drone of the chanting. “Stop! You’re killing them!”

  The burning in my left palm ratchets up so high I’m sure my hand must be engulfed in flames. But when I look, the flesh is whole and uncharred. Then my eyes land on something else.

  Sprawled out on either side of me are Taj and Calder, their eyes half open and their limbs convulsing.

  The chants die, reverberating ominously off the stone walls as the whole place breaks into movement. Two robed figures rush to Taj and Calder, rolling them on their sides and murmuring words over them in a language I don’t understand. I reach for them, but I don’t know what to do. Their names echo through the room and I don’t realize I’m the one shouting them until Poe pulls me against his chest.

  “Give them room to work, kitten,” he says, his words rumbling against my ear.

  Silas’ voice rises over the din. “What happened? What the hell’s going on with them?”

  “I… I don’t know,” Kari stammers.

  “Get them to the healing ward!” a man shouts.

  I peek out around Poe’s broad body to see robed figures gathering Taj and Calder up in their arms and rushing them toward the door that we entered through. I make a move to follow them, but a man steps into my path.

  “What in creation happened here?” Brother Anson says, his voice low and dangerous.

  “Shouldn’t we be asking you that?” Silas snaps. “Kari said you were going to break our curse, not try to kill us.”

  “And the ritual should have,” Anson says, his eyes cutting to Silas. “The spirits assured us this would break the death mark, and it didn’t.”

  Silas glares at the man. “Don’t make it sound like your spell was just a dud. This is worse than a failure. You hurt people! So much for an all-knowing spirit world you commune with.”

  “The spirits can only answer questions they’re asked,” Anson says, his voice low. “Which can only mean one thing: You lied to us.”

  His accusation cuts me to the bone. That’s exactly what we’ve done. We never came here for healing—we came to steal. And now we’re paying the price.

  “Like hell we did,” Poe snarls. “Your people inspected the marks themselves. It’s not our fault you screwed up.”

  Anson’s eyes narrow. “You were each cursed individually?”

  Poe’s jaw tightens, and I can’t keep my gaze from slipping to Silas for a moment.

  “No,” Poe says after a long second. “Bryn was the target. The rest of us were touching her when it was cast.”

  Something flashes in Anson’s eyes. “And is there anything else you want to tell me about this curse?”

  Silas blows out a breath. “It wasn’t designed just to kill Bryn. The woman who wanted her marked also plans to siphon off Bryn’s magic into herself when Bryn dies.”

  Anson shakes his head slowly. His smugness from a moment before evaporates, leaving behind a man who looks simply tired. “It’s too late to change what happened now.” He meets my eyes. “I’m truly sorry, but I don’t think there’s anything we can do. This curse afflicting you—it’s beyond dark. It’s unnatural. I’ve never heard of a death mark branding anyone other than the intended target. I fear the spirits will be no help.”

  My heart twists in my chest. “What about Calder and Taj?”

  He huffs out a deep sigh. “With magic like this, I’m not sure what we can do for them. I assure you our healers will do everything in their power to wake them, but I’m not sure what can be done. A spell like this—one that seeks to strip away not only life but magical essence—is unholy. As such, it may be beyond our capabilities.”

  His words enter through my ears, but I can’t make sense of them. “I don’t understand.”

  Brother Anson scrubs a hand down his face. “I don’t know what happened to your companions. And I’m not sure we can fix it.”

  The proclamation turns my bones to jelly, and in the next breath I’m careening toward the floor. Poe’s strong arms keep me from collapsing, but no force on Earth is enough to keep me from breaking into a million tiny pieces.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Bryn

  My whole body trembles as I pace in the medical ward hallway. Kari offered to stay with me after she showed me the way, but I declined. Or maybe I didn’t. I don’t really remember. Everything’s been a blur since they carried Taj and Calder away.

  This is all my fault. I should have just gone along with our original plan. Get in, get the staff, get out. But no. I had to convince the others to let the priests try to break our curse. What was I thinking? Sure, Kari claimed they were able to break her own curse, but how do I know that’s even true? Perhaps that’s just what these people want others to believe so they can convince them to go through with spells like this. They could have been sucking out our power or our life force, and…

  I stop my paranoid thoughts in their tracks. Lillian is the one who wants to steal power, not the Order of Theurgy. If they had really wanted to harm us, they wouldn’t have stopped as soon as Taj and Calder started convulsing. I have to believe these are good people who were just as taken aback by what happened as we were.

  Otherwise, what hope is there in the world?

  Footsteps reverberate off the stone walls and I turn, hoping to see Kari or another robe-wearing priest, but it’s Poe who emerges from the shadows.

  My chest clenches with an emotion I can’t name at the sight of him. I’m not sure whether it’s longing for his familiarity in this terrifying situation or sadness because his face isn’t one I desperately want to see.

  His brow is knit as he approaches, his posture tight like he’s preparing to fight. Or flee. “Any word?”

  I shake my head, my throat constricting too much to speak.

  He lifts a hand, hesitating for a
split second before settling it onto my shoulder. The warm weight is comforting, sending a wave of strength through my whole body.

  “Do you think they’ll be okay?” I manage after a few moments.

  Poe doesn’t look at me. His jaw is set as he stares at the door leading into the ward. “It’s not for me to say,” he says at length.

  His words hit me like a physical blow and I curl forward. But his hand doesn’t leave my shoulder, keeping me anchored and upright, pressing strength into me.

  “I’ve been investigating since Kari brought you down here.” He stops, scanning the hallway. “Where’s Silas?”

  I blink. “I… I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since the ceremony.”

  His lips press into a tight line, but he doesn’t share whatever thoughts fill his head. After a beat, he shakes himself and takes a half step forward, lowering his voice. “I might not be a witch, but I’ve lived with the elders long enough to know a thing or two about how spells are supposed to go. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

  I nod. “I mean, my experience is mostly limited to making potions, but I agree. Something wasn’t right.”

  His mouth works as if he’s chewing on his next words. “I talked with most of the priests who were there. If they’re all lying, they’re excellent at it.”

  “But you don’t think they’re lying?” I’m not sure what he’s getting at, but puzzling over his words is far better than worrying about Taj and Calder, and I grab on to the distraction. “What’s the alternative?”

  He lifts a shoulder. “They really are what they seem. Do-gooders. People striving for peace and committed to helping people.”

  I wrinkle my nose. “Trust and optimism? That doesn’t sound like you.”

  He cocks an eyebrow. “And how exactly do I sound?”

  “Suspicious,” I offer. “I’m sure it comes from your line of work. But you never take anything at face value. So I’m surprised you’re giving these people the benefit of the doubt is all.”