Cursed Witch

by September Stone

  I hope.

  My heartbeat hammers so loud in my ears that I’m afraid whoever might be guarding the iron door will hear me coming. But the hallway remains still and silent as I approach.

  Halfway there, a dizzy spell overtakes me and I have to stop and lean against the wall for fear of falling over. I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. Now isn’t the time to faint.

  When the dizziness passes, I slide my hand into the front pocket of my jeans and pull out two of the charms Taj and I crafted during our strategy meetings in Poe’s room. The first is a thumbnail size slice of clear quartz which will create an audible diversion to pull the guards’ attention. The second is a small blue-green piece of labradorite infused with a glamor spell.

  I throw the clear quartz down the hall, praying no one notices it whiz by. A muffled skittering echoes quietly down the hall as it skids across the floor, and I grip the glamor crystal to activate it, counting the seconds until the first diversion begins.

  “Someone! I need help!”

  The disembodied male voice floats down the hallway and I hold my breath. For a moment, nothing happens, and I can’t decide whether that’s a good sign or a bad one. Either there are no guards down the hall today or they’re under instructions not to leave their post under any circumstance.

  The magical voice calls out again, more urgently this time. Seconds later, three cloaked figures emerge from the adjacent hall. My breath hitches as one glances directly at me, but he doesn’t react. Because he’s looking through me. The transparency glamor is holding. As the distraction spell sends up another shout and all three guards start for the sound, I release a shaky breath.

  So far, so good.

  I creep forward as soon as the mouth of the hallway is vacant. Three guards remain at their post. Although three is better than six, adrenaline still surges through my veins as I sneak toward them. It feels like electricity is coursing through my muscles, but at least I’m steady on my feet—for the moment.

  Even if they can’t see me, there’s no way they’ll miss when the door they’re protecting opens. I pull a small baggie out of my pocket and loosen the drawstring, my fingers trembling. Once these guards inhale the powder within, the confusion spell will kick in, and they won’t notice when I sneak through the iron door.

  I’m about to pour the powder into my palm when arms close around my middle. A startled cry escapes my lips. The guards by the door perk up, but confusion knits their brows when they peer toward me.

  I struggle against my captor, but whoever has a hold of me pulls me steadily backward. I fight the urge to plead my case. For the moment, I’m still invisible. If this person releases me, it’s possible I can run away before they ever know who I am.

  The three guards who went to investigate the distraction jog back to their post as the arms continue to drag me back toward the short stairwell. The cloaked figures don’t give me or my captor a second glance as they turn back down the hall they’re assigned to protect.

  As I’m dragged up the stairs, my mind spins with a plan. I’ll wait until this person lets go, then I’ll run and hide. While they search for me, I’ll get somewhere inconspicuous before ending the glamor. By the time I emerge, no one will be the wiser I was anywhere near the forbidden hallway.

  My brain screams that there are too many holes in my plan, but my fight-or-flight instincts won’t hear the concerns. When the first doorway beyond the stairwell opens and I’m dragged inside, my muscles are coiled tight and prepared to run.

  Until my captor speaks.

  “What the hell were you thinking?”

  Silas’ voice sends a shiver down my spine. As soon as the door swings closed, he releases me and I spin to face him. Except he’s not there.

  I rub my eyes, peering around the room. A large wooden desk occupies one corner, and sunlight steams in through the drawn floor-length curtains. “Silas?”

  In a blink, he appears before me, his face red and his eyes deadly. He holds up his palm to reveal one of the glamor stones Taj and I made. “I hadn’t seen you all day. Poe didn’t know where you were. You weren’t with Kari. You weren’t in the healing ward. Imagine my surprise when I checked your room and saw most of our mission supplies gone.”

  I look down at my shoes, a shock shooting through my system when they’re not there. Neither are my legs, arms, or hands. I murmur the incantation and pocket the stone as my body shimmers back into view. “How could you see me?”

  He raises his eyebrows as if surprised by the question. “Glamors don’t work on daemons.”

  The revelation hits me like a punch in the chest. “Are you telling me someone could have seen me? If one of those guards was a daemon, they would’ve known I was there. Why didn’t you bring this up when we were planning?”

  He narrows his eyes. “What? Now you’re suddenly concerned about holes in plans?” He holds my gaze, daring me to respond.

  But I don’t have anything to say. His implicit accusation brings every shortcoming of my actions into sharp relief. After I left Poe’s room, I needed to do something—anything—to help Taj and Calder. But I could have put us all in danger if I’d gotten any further along before Silas showed up.

  He sighs. “I didn’t say anything about the glamors when we were planning because I’m the only daemon here. Poe and I have been around the temple and the grounds enough that if there was another one, we’d have found him by now. Besides, it’s common knowledge daemons are immune to that kind of magic.”

  I cross my arms over my chest. “Well, I didn’t know that.”

  “I’m thinking that’s only the beginning of what you don’t know,” he snaps. “How were you planning on getting out of there once you found the staff?” He lifts his eyebrows, but he doesn’t give me the space to come up with an answer. “By the time you got out of there, the other three guards would’ve been back. Even if your glamor crystal was still holding, they would’ve seen the door open.”

  I suck in a breath, ignoring the logical part of my brain that cheers along with his assessment. “I would’ve figured it out,” I insist.

  He snorts. “Why now? Do you realize how reckless that was? And what if you did manage to find the staff? How were we going to get out of here without anyone noticing? Calder and Taj aren’t exactly fit for travel. Even if we managed to get a head start, we’d be easy to catch.”

  Tears spring to my eyes as emotions swirl through my body. Embarrassment. Shame. Anger. Fear. Each one vies for dominance and my chest aches with each breath I struggle to suck in. “It’s the only way,” I say, my voice coming out shaky. “You don’t understand. Kari and I…”

  Silas holds a finger to his lips, silencing the words on my tongue. Before I can ask what’s happening, the sound of a doorknob twisting turns my blood to ice.

  My brain stutters to a stop as Silas grabs me by the hand and pulls me toward the nearest window. I’m not sure how he expects us to get through. All the windows here are old, and the few that do open are on cranks that allow for a crack of a few inches. There’s no way we could fit through an opening like that.

  But Silas doesn’t slow to look for a way through the window. Instead, he tugs me behind the heavy curtain, arranging it around our body so it swallows us like a cocoon.

  I hold my breath as the door creaks open, afraid the sound of my rapid inhales will give away our position. My whole body quivers like it’s made of jelly. The adrenaline that made me feel strong only moments ago seems to have run dry, and the weakness in my limbs returns with a vengeance. Silas keeps one arm locked around my back, pressing me close to him and keeping both our bodies still. When I do trust myself to breathe in without making too much sound, my senses are filled with the heady scent of a fire—smoky and a little dangerous, but also comforting.

  I’ve noticed the smell before, but I never associated it with Silas. I’ve never been this close to him—a fact I’m suddenly acutely aware of. He’s not much taller than I am. How have I never noticed b
efore now?

  Footsteps sound through the room and Silas’ grip on me tightens. Instinctively, my body relaxes against him. Even with danger lurking just beyond our cocoon, being this close to Silas makes me feel safe. I lean into the feeling, tethering myself to it to keep from tipping over the edge into panic.

  “Come out,” a familiar voice whispers. “I know you’re there. I can see your shoes.”

  For a few moments, Silas’ arm remains firmly around me. I soak in as much of him as I can, not sure what fate awaits us on the other side of the curtains.

  When we finally step out from behind the fabric, Kari’s eyes are filled with an emotion I can’t quite identify. Anger, for sure, and confusion. But there’s something else mixed in, too. Something like betrayal.

  “I just heard some guards saying they think someone was trying to break into the treasury,” Kari says, her voice quavering. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t tell them exactly where you two are?”

  My stomach tightens, but Silas lets out a short chuckle. “Feel free to tell your friend where you found us.” He glances at me, giving a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. “Looks like our secret’s out. Should we tell her all the other places in the temple we’ve been exploring?” He casts Kari a meaningful look. “Always adds a little excitement when there’s a chance of getting caught. I’m sure you understand.”

  I clench my fist, digging my fingers into the palm of my hand. The story might have worked on anyone else, but after this morning, Kari knows about my relationships—or lack thereof—with each of the men I arrived with.

  Kari scrutinizes Silas as she steps in closer. “Don’t lie to me. I need to know why you were trying to get into the treasury. If you explain it to me, I might be able to convince the priests to be lenient on you.”

  Her eyes don’t flicker to me for an instant, and guilt twists my stomach. She believes Silas was trying to sneak in. Does she think I was stopping him? Or that he’s the mastermind behind the plot?

  And while defiance flashes in Silas’ eyes, I’ve been around him long enough to see something else, too. Hurt. Of course Kari would assume a daemon is in the wrong here. Despite sticking up for Silas when it seemed Brother Anson wanted to send Silas away, at the end of the day, she trusts him less because of what he is.

  “It wasn’t him; it was me.” The words tumble out of my mouth so quickly, for a second I’m not sure Kari made sense of them. But when she turns, her confusion isn’t the general sort when someone misunderstands something someone has said—it’s specific and pointed, like a knife.

  Silas catches my eye and jerks his head to the side, but I ignore him. I owe Kari the truth.

  “We didn’t come here to be healed,” I say, not meeting her gaze. “Our plan was to sneak in and out without your people ever knowing we were here. Before we came, we made a deal with Elowen. She said she’d break our curse if we brought her the Staff of Rahn.”

  For several seconds, Kari stares at me, her face hard as she takes in my words. When her mouth opens, I expect her to shout, to scream, to call for the guards.

  What I don’t expect is a deep-throated laugh to bubble past her lips.

  “What’s so funny?” Silas demands.

  Kari presses her hand over her mouth, trying to suppress her giggles. “What makes you think we have the Staff of Rahn?” she asks, gasping. “I’ve never heard something so ridiculous.”

  “But… But Thalassa…” I meet Silas’ gaze, desperate for him to say something that makes sense. Back in the undine’s cave, she accepted the terms of our trade and gave me the information I wanted before everything took the turn it did. “She didn’t lie. She couldn’t.”

  Silas’ face is creased with confusion. “Maybe she thought she was telling the truth. Or maybe they used to have the staff, but they don’t anymore.”

  Kari shakes her head. “The Order never had the Staff of Rahn. What would we do with a relic like that? I told you, all our magic comes from the spirits. If it’s their will to give us the power to accomplish something, then we can do it. Without them, we’re nothing. If we had the Staff of Rahn, do you think we’d spend so many hours a day in prayer and meditation?”

  Tears spring to my eyes and a wave of dizziness makes me sway. Silas grips my elbow to keep me from pitching forward.

  Tenderness fills Kari’s face. “I won’t turn you in,” she murmurs. “I can’t imagine how afraid you must be with this curse hanging over your head. And with Taj and Calder in the healing ward… You’re desperate. But now that I know what you need, I can help. Let’s go to the library. Maybe there’s something there that can point us in the right direction.”

  When I don’t speak, Silas accepts Kari’s offer on my behalf. I wish I could feel as hopeful as she sounds, but icy dread surges through my veins. We’ve marked off one place where the staff is not. That narrows our search radius to the rest of the world.

  We’ll never find it in time.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Bryn

  I don’t know what we’re going to do. This was our best lead—our only lead—and it dried up faster than a drop of water in the desert sun.

  I don’t last long in the library. While Kari and Silas dive deep into research, my fuzzy mind won’t let me focus for more than a few moments at a time. When Kari suggests I take a walk around the grounds, I jump at the idea.

  The gentle birdsong in the forest surrounding me should grant me a bit of peace, but even their sweet calls sound like mocking in my ears.

  Maybe I should just keep walking. It would probably be better for everyone involved if I wander into the forest and never come out again. At least then, Poe and Silas could live out the remainder of their lives in peace. And Calder and Taj…

  Tears spring to my eyes. Will they awaken before the curse takes us? Will I ever have the chance to tell them both what they mean to me?

  A handful of robed figures wander the grounds, but even their silent company is too much for me at the moment. When I spot a path leading into the woods, I follow it. The dirt here is smooth and well-worn, but the trail is empty.

  I’m not sure how long I’ve been walking when footfalls pound the path behind me. The scent of basil floats on the breeze.

  “Tell me it’s a lie.” Poe’s face is a mask of rage when I turn to face him.

  Under ordinary circumstances, a look like that would twist my insides, but now his anger just hollows me out. I can’t even summon a response to his demand.

  “Silas said you made a move on the treasury. Alone. In broad daylight. Tell me he’s lying.”

  I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. The staff’s not here.”

  Poe releases an impressive stream of curses. “Just how in blazes do you know that?”

  “Kari told me.”

  Poe balls his fist and raises it like he’s searching for something to hit. But after a beat, his arm falls back to his side. “Of all the stupid, reckless things to do. Did you even have an exit strategy? That’s the whole reason we haven’t moved on the room already. And what were you thinking, telling Kari what we’re after?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I snap. “Didn’t you hear me? They don’t have the staff. It’s not here. Thalassa lied, or she had the wrong information. We’ve just been wasting our time.” I suck in a breath. “We’re going to die, and it’s all my fault. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone to talk to Thalassa alone. Silas had to come in and save me anyway. She was messing with my head in there. Maybe she did something to confuse my brain so I only thought I heard her when she said where the staff is.”

  He crosses his arms over his broad chest. “Oh, it’s all your fault, huh?”

  My breath hitches. I suppose the truth was bound to come out eventually anyway. At least if it comes out now, I’ll carry one less burden with me to the grave. “It should’ve just been me who got cursed. It was supposed to be just me. If you all hadn’t been there, none of you would be cursed now. Not you or Taj or Calder or…”


  “Or Silas?” Poe asks, his brows hiked. “In case you forgot, he was the one doing the cursing. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s his.”

  Anger flares in my gut. “It wasn’t his choice! He had to do what Lillian commanded. It’s not like cursing me was his idea.”

  “So what?” Poe asks. “And while we’re taking a trip down memory lane, maybe you’ll recall I wasn’t exactly there to help you that night. If I hadn’t been tracking you for a bounty, maybe Silas wouldn’t have caught up with you at all. Maybe it’s my fault we’re all cursed.”

  I shake my head. “That’s ridiculous.”

  “So is the idea that it’s all your fault,” he says firmly. “Lillian ordered you cursed. So far as I’m concerned, the buck stops with her. Trying to blame yourself only takes the responsibility off her.” He holds my gaze for a long moment before sighing and resting a hand on my shoulder. “We need to come up with a new plan. If the staff’s not here, we’ll need to figure out where it really is and go get it.”

  The tender touch is a total contrast from his words in his room earlier today. “The sooner the better, right?” Bitterness tinges the edges of my words.

  He tilts his head. “Well, yeah. We’ve got a little less than two weeks before the full moon, so sooner is definitely preferable.” He studies me. “But I’m thinking you’ve got something else on your mind.”

  I bite my lower lip, punishing myself for not keeping my emotions in check. “I’m sure after I came on to you, you’re looking forward to never seeing me again. I feel like I should apologize.”

  He removes his hand. “There’s no need to apologize.” The corner of his mouth twitches. “Unless you didn’t mean it.”

  I consider the conditions. When Kari and I discovered the information about magical focuses, my path seemed so clear. If having sex with Poe would help him and Calder and Taj, then going through with it was a no-brainer. I hadn’t been able to see a downside to the situation.

  But was I only propositioning Poe because I thought our joining would help our group? The truth I hadn’t allowed myself to consider slams into me with enough force to take my breath away. “I… I did mean it.”