The Broken Curse (6 page)

"You're not coming," I tell her.

"Like hell I'm not. You don't tell me what to do," she yells, jumping up from her bed. Immediately, her face transforms into anger. She may be small, but I don't want to be on the receiving end of her angry rants.

"I can't risk you getting hurt. You mean too much to me."

"And you mean too much to me to just let you go and leave me behind. I can help you. I want to help you. Let me."

"Kara, this isn't a joke. You saw those guys. Those are just grunts. The demons in the Underworld will be serious and dangerous. It's a risk I'm not willing to take."

"So you're willing to risk strangers' lives, but not those who actually
want
to help and
want
to support you." She's pacing up and down our small room. I can practically see the heat from her non-stop, shuffling feet. I hoped that she'd understand that I just want to protect her. She's one of my only true friends.

"Please don't do this to me," I beg her. I move forward and take her hands in mine and make her meet my eyes. Her eyes are vibrant today, but filled with anguish.

"I'm coming, and you need to accept it. You're lucky Junior isn't begging, too."

"He wanted to come, too?"
 

"Of course, he did. He loves you, just like I do. We want to help you. You have to accept that." I step back from Kara and turn to face the bathroom door. I run my hand through my hair and let out a sigh.

"Okay," I relent.

"Okay?"

"Yeah. I mean, I guess I have no choice." I turn to face her and she's transformed yet again. She's happy, excited; her eyes sparkle with love. It's completely misplaced, though. I still hope that I can convince her to stay behind.

"So, will you start training me now that you've given up your tough girl act?"

"Sure," I respond, knowing that she needs the help the most. She hasn't figured out if she has a special ability. She's decently fast, but with training she could be faster. We're all eighteen now, so it'll be interesting to see how our abilities will change.

"Now?" she asks, her eyebrows perking up.

"No, not now. We have to get ahold of Mikey and everyone and tell them the plan tomorrow. Unless they know already?"
 

"Only I do. I've been meeting with Professor Onassis to talk about my powers—or lack thereof."

"Oh." I'm a bit jealous that she's spending time with Professor Onassis. She's supposed to be my mentor. I push the jealousy down, knowing that she only comes from a good place and my emotions are misguided. "Well, then let's get everyone together and have them meet at the training center tomorrow."

"Yay! Can we get a pizza and drinks?"

I shake my head from side to side. "Sure."
 

"I'm going to shower and head to bed. Are you okay?" I ask her, noticing that her face already looks better. She nods, but she's already lost to cyber space. Her laptop is out and booting up, and she's texting away on her phone, her fingers moving a mile a minute. If only her legs could do the same.

I shower without enjoying the heat, and get into comfortable clothes. I unwrap an IcyHot packet and place it on my lower back. The smell of methane assaults my nose, and it's very welcome. It reminds me of VaporRub my dad used to put on me as a child.
 

Speaking of Dad, I quickly grab my cellphone and type an email. I'll have to go visit him soon. I miss him terribly. I send the message to him and then climb into bed. The lights are all off in the room, except for Kara's desk lamp, which is as bright as ever. She's on the phone with someone—I'm guessing Junior by the lovey dovey tone of her voice. But I'm so tired that I don't even care that she's being loud.
 

"Night," I tell her as I already drift off.

"Night!" she yells back, and then I pass out.

I know I'm in a dream the second that I become conscious. Professor Onassis told me to dream tonight, but I completely forgot to focus on the Underworld or my future when I fell asleep. Which means I could be anywhere and any place at any time.

I stand up from the hard ground and dust off my butt. Immediately, I think I'm in the Underworld. I'm not sure if it's the smell or the temperature or just the subconscious recognition, but in my gut, I know.
 

I'm on top of a large hill, beside my dream self. She's staring down at something, so I follow her gaze and am amazed at what I see. Two armies clash together, creating one large pushing and shoving mass with hordes of bodies flying and sprinting and attacking in the center of the large crater-like land.

It's clear who's losing and winning; unfortunately, my team is getting pushed farther and farther back towards the side of the castle. I recognize familiar faces in the warriors. spotting Mikey right away as he's attacked from behind.

He's in a battle with a large demon with black hair. Mikey zips back and forth, transporting from place to place, getting a jab in here and there. He's not panicked or rushed. He's smart with his movements. Shane comes into view, and he's helping Mikey confuse the demon.

Bodies litter the ground everywhere: soldiers from both sides of the war dead. I try not to look at their faces for fear that I might recognize someone, but it's impossible to look away.

As I begin to walk down the hill, I notice a body at the bottom, on top of the pile. My eyes meet with Kara's, but she's no longer there. Her eyes are glassed over and vacant. She's gone. She's dead.
 

"NO!" I scream and run for Kara. I cradle her head in my hands and lean into her chest, trying to breathe life back into her body. But when I look down I see that my touches do nothing to her. She doesn't budge when I try to cradle her.

I look back up at the hill and see my dream self. She doesn't show any emotion at all; she just stands there looking like a statue. She just watches the chaos that takes place below the hill and a small smile emerges on her face.

"Let's go," a faint male voice says.
 

"They're all going to die," my dream self responds. The male is invisible to me for some reason. I can feel his presence, hear his voice, and I know that he's there.
 

"You ended your curse, Hades is stuck here. We've done enough. Leave them. It's time to be free." The man is so familiar to me. Despite the fact that I can't see him, I just know that I know him. His face is revealed as I narrow my gaze, and it's Ollie. He's smiling, happy, despite the dead bodies piling on the ground.
 

Something is wrong here.
 

"Okay," my dream self answers. She turns and takes Ollie's hand and kisses him on the lips. He elongates it and bends her backwards, dipping her as he sprinkles kisses along her neck bone. They clasp hands and turn together, walking in perfect harmony. It's a strange image, almost nightmare-like. What if this is just a nightmare? A real,
human
, nightmare?

My dream self walks away, and I'm left alone at the bottom of the hill, sitting in a pile of death. I'm left watching my friends and family die. One by one. And I can't do a single thing to stop it.
 

CHAPTER SEVEN

torn

I wake from the nightmare, and instantly all the images of dead bodies ingrain in my head. I dart up, clutching the sheets, and look around the room. My heart is beating out of my chest. I glance across the room and see Kara sound asleep, her chest rising and falling evenly.
 

I run to her side of the room and shake her awake. I can't do this. I just saw her lying in a heap of death, her eyes glazed over. I can't risk her. I can't go through with this.

"I changed my mind," I say as I shake her more. Her eyes blink open and roam with worry. Her black pupils dilate way too fast, the yellow in the center of her eyes electric. She sits up in bed and glares at me, running her hand through her light blonde hair as she yawns. I can tell that I've taken her off guard, but I can't do this.

"What do you mean?" Her voice is like a mouse: minuscule and soft.

"You can't go with me."
 

"And why not?"

"I had a dream, and it doesn't go well."

"Really?" Her eyes draw downward in defeat, and I don't have it in me to break her further.

"Yes. Please, don't say anything to anyone yet. I have to know how the war will end before I drag you down there. Maybe you can just stay behind," I offer, shrugging.

"Do I get hurt?" she asks me.

"Worse," I answer, but don't let her linger longer.
 

"Ryder!" she yells as I jump off her bed and run to my side of the room. I quickly rummage through the floor of the small closet and rip off my pajamas. "Listen to me!" She grabs me and spins me around, her strength actually startling me.

"I'm not risking your life. I won't do it." I shake my head and rip my arm from her grasp. I throw on my shorts and t-shirt and lace up my sneakers as she refuses to budge.

"I've respected your choices. Why can't you respect mine?"

"I do respect you. You're so brave and strong. But that doesn't mean I'll let you die."

"Your visions change all the time."

"I know, but—"

"Just don't make any decisions. I want to come. I want to risk my life for this cause. Give me that choice." Her eyes are so strong, and they aren't filled with anger. She's so pretty, inside and out. I can't imagine seeing her like I did in my dream.

I dart out of the door and don't stop until my brain shuts down and leaves me alone.

I run to my favorite place. I stop where there's a little scenic overlook right off the main highway. It's about a seven-mile run from the school gates, but the pain is well worth it. I try to come here at least once a week to clear my head and decompress. I only ever cry here because nobody stops and bothers me. Nobody asks me questions or probes into my mind.
 

The noise from the constantly passing cars drowns out my thoughts, and I love the fact that I can't really think, while thinking at the same time. I always leave at dusk and feel a hundred times better. This is the second time I've been here this week, but I think I need it now more than ever.

The green bench overlooks a valley between two large mountains. The bench is so high that everything in front of it is visible, like a picturesque hideaway, even though it's right next to a busy highway.

Nestled on the left mountain is the school. You can just barely make out the gates and tall buildings through the evergreen trees. The other mountain is completely bare. It doesn't look like there's much civilization living on it, if any.
 

One day, I'll go to that mountain and check it out. I'll run through the hills and explore it all. But I just don't have the time now.
 

The valley between the two mountains is full of green life. There are trees and a small, bubbly stream between two smaller hills. But it's wilderness—a rare, uninhabited gem. A group of deer usually wander by the stream. Birds are constantly fluttering up the mountain and down through the trees. There's a bald eagle that watches from where I sit. Sometimes we talk. Sometimes we don't.
 

"Mind if I sit?" Ollie asks me, coming out of nowhere. I jump a little at the sound of a human voice. Nobody ever talks here. People only stop off to look or go to the bathroom behind the large evergreen tree.

"Sure," I say, smiling at up at him as I regain my zen mood. He sits right beside me on the bench, our thighs touching. A jolt of energy shoots from our slight touch up to my heart. I suck in a heavy breath and slowly let it out through my nose.

"How are you? I haven't seen you since your birthday."

"As good as I could be," I answer vaguely. I shrug my shoulders, and he opens his arms for me to enter.

"Come here," he says, smiling down at me. I lean over, scooting across the wood, and rest my head on his shoulder as his arm wraps me up and pulls me close. I'm close to sitting on his lap, but I hold back. I don't want to get too close right now. Our love curse is the last thing I need in my overworked brain.

"Professor Onassis wants to create an army and go to the Underworld," I tell him, staring blankly at the green mountains. I don't really know why I tell him, other than the fact that I know this time he'll definitely want to come with me. There's no way he'd let me travel to the Underworld without him again.