The Broken Curse (9 page)

We round a corner for mile three when two large men jump out from behind the bend. I never even see them until it's too late. Immediately, I lunge forward in attack mode, but Kara is slower. One of the guys knocks her to the side, completely blind siding her, and she falls over like a rag doll.

I ignore my instincts to attack the man in front of me and rush to Kara's side. I get there before the man can punch her and intervene. I kick him right in the middle of his chest. With my powerful strength, I can feel his ribs bend and crack beneath my foot. He leans forward and clutches his chest with both hands.

The other man comes at me from behind, trying to grab me around the waist, but I refuse to let him. I jump into the air, pushing myself off the ground, and slam the man behind me in the face with a fast jab to the jaw.

He recoils, blood trickling down his face and onto his yellow short-sleeved shirt. Knowing they're on the losing end, the two share a nervous glance and then sprint into the woods. Once again, I ignore the need to chase them and check on Kara, who's sitting on the ground.

She has a sad look on her face, one of defeat and frustration. I sit beside her and wait for her to speak, knowing that I don't want to make this worse. But when it's apparent she won't, I make the first move.

"You ready to keep going?" I ask her, nudging her shoulder with mine. Her cheek is a little red, but she's not bloody, which is a very good sign. She doesn't look to be hurt, only saddened.

"It hurts how weak I am."

"What happened?" I ask, touching various parts of her body to make sure that she's not broken. "Where did they get you? Are you okay?"

"I mean weak like I'm barely even above a human in strength and speed. I suck at this Nephilim thing."

"No, you don't." I rub her back softly, nurturing movements up and down.

"You're literally the worst liar on the face of the planet." She cuts a glare at me, and I can't even rebut that.

"You just haven't gotten your powers yet. They'll come, I know it." I give her a hug, one of the few I've genuinely cared about in the past few months. "Let's get back to our run. It'll make you feel better," I promise.

I jump up from the grassy ground and reach my hand down for her to take. She looks up at me and takes my hand, letting me drag her up.

"That actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Kara says as we round the corner to the student center. We both slow to a walk and catch our breath, panting and huffing and puffing through the warm air.

"I told you. It's completely relaxing, and now we get to eat a yummy meal. Make sure to load up on protein and drink like three glasses of water," I tell her, wanting to make sure that she feels okay. "The last thing we want is you getting dehydrated."

Kara grabs the doors for me, and I enter the dining hall first. It's nice and quiet, only a few people lingering around, most of whom I don't know. I'm sure in the next few weeks more and more people will start to fill it, but for now, it's perfectly quiet.

After filling our plates, Kara and I sit at a random, vacant table and dig in. We're quiet, mostly because between bites Kara taps away on her phone. It isn't long before Junior and Ollie find us and when they do, both of their faces light up with joy at the sight of us.

"Hey," I say in between bites. Junior's tray is loaded with all different kinds of sugary breakfast cereals and Ollie's is nearly identical, though he grabbed a bunch of slices of bacon—one of his favorite foods.

Junior sits beside Kara, and Ollie takes the seat directly next to me. His tray lands with a bang, and I glance over with a question. He smiles, though.

"Hey," I whisper to Ollie and smile up at him.

"Hey back." He nudges my shoulder with his. I lean against him as I eat and savor the warmth that floods into me.
 

"So, what's going on today?" Junior asks Kara. She grins at him, staring right into his eyes. It's like they can speak in just glances and looks.
 

"We're going to the gym after breakfast, but I'll be around all afternoon. Right?" She looks at me as if asking for permission.

"Yeah. I'll only make you stay at the gym for an hour or two."

"Where were you guys this morning?" Junior asks, rubbing his eyes like he just woke up. "You totally left without a peep," he whispers to Kara.

She points her finger at me and says, "Ryder, here, made me go for a run."
 

"You asked me to go!" I yell, chucking a Cheerio at her face. She dodges it, but doesn't have enough time to anticipate and react to the next one. I stick out my tongue at her, and she mimics me back.

"Guess what? A couple guys attacked us on our trail," Kara says, widening her eyes like it's actually a good story. I kick her under the table to shut her up. She yelps, and then Ollie glares at me, his eyes wide.
 

"What happened?" Ollie frowns and scoots closer to me.

"It wasn't even a big deal," I try to brush it off.

"What happened?" Ollie repeats. He ignores me completely and stares right at Kara, his eyes penetrating her.

"There were two guys. They came at us, and Ryder totally kicked butt. They ran away into the woods before she could finish them off."

"Are you okay?" Ollie looks me up and down as if checking for injuries.

"I'm fine. It wasn't even a big deal. They weren't strong at all. And since they ran away, it was clearly just an isolated incident. I wouldn't worry about it." I nod at him, flashing a smile so that he knows I'm sincere.

"Well, we shouldn't go out alone anymore. Always be in a pair," Ollie says, as if he makes the rules. His arm tugs me close to him, and he kisses me on the top of my head. I lean against him while I finish off my Cheerios.

I watch as Junior and Kara exchange loving whispers. Both of them have smiles permanently glued to their faces. Junior nuzzles his nose right along her cheekbone and kisses her temple. Her eyes flutter shut as he peppers her with love. They're so adorable it hurts.

"Come on, Kara. Let's hit the gym," I say after we all finish eating. Junior and Ollie still have food on their plates, but I'd rather go to the gym with just us than with the boys, too. Kara doesn't need distractions—what she needs is to focus her skills and work hard.

"I'm really tired," she says, faking a yawn. "I think I'm going to have to skip the gym. We'll work up to the two a day workouts."

"Are you serious?" I ask back, deadpan. I stare at her, wondering why, when I see Junior's arm wrapped around her, the other on the other side. They're totally going to go upstairs and make out. I guess that's her version of a workout.
 

"Whatever. See you later," I say as I toss my tray in the garbage bin and head towards the large double doors. Just when I think I've made it out alone, Ollie hollers from behind me, asking me to wait up.

"Pairs, remember?" he smiles, a big toothy one. For some reason his smile transports me back to our first meeting. I get lost in the memory of our relationship before it got all messed up. Suddenly, my vision starts to blacken. And unwelcome feeling settles in my gut, and I fall fast into a vision.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

past love

"Marry me?" The familiar tremble of Ollie's voice settles over me as I awaken into the vision. My eyes flutter open, and Ollie stands before me, his icy blue eyes waiting on my word.

"What?" I ask as I take in my surroundings.
 

We're outside in the middle of some woods. The ground is wet from the morning dew, and it glistens as the sun peeks over the mountain range behind us. I can feel the heat on my back, and it feels like the first warm day of summer.

The flowers are peeking their colorful heads out, just beginning to come to life, and in the distance, I can hear a faint babbling from a river. It's oddly quiet, save for some crickets and early morning birds. I don't hear a horn, or car, or anything man-made.

"Will you marry me, Eurydice Cobalt?"
 

At the words, my eyes dart down to Ollie. I realize that he's down on one knee, his hands cradling mine in front of him. His eyes are glassy, like he's on the verge of crying, and a weird eruption of joy pounds at my chest, filling me and consuming my entire being.

"Yes," I answer, like I know I'm supposed to.
 

Ollie jumps up and effortlessly lifts me into his arms. I wrap myself around him, feeling an overwhelming amount of happiness fills my veins. I get lost in this stolen moment as he twirls us in slow circles, placing kisses all over my face.

"In one day's time, you will be mine," he whispers into my ear as we celebrate together.
 

"One day?" I ask back, my voice foreign and oddly light.
 

"But, of course. I've made all of the arrangements with your family. We wed tomorrow afternoon at the old church down by the mill," Ollie explains.

"Wonderful," I answer.
 

Ollie leads me back towards a house, which I guess must be ours. As we step closer and closer to the house, I realize that it's the cabin in the woods, the one that Ollie loves. The one that I love.

"Is this your house?" I ask him, hoping not to screw up the future. I don't know what has happened up to this point, so I don't want to change anything by accident. I'm so confused by this vision.

Ollie doesn't answer, so I look over at him, and he has a Christmas morning grin on his face. He continues to lead me towards the house, and when we stop right in front of the wooden door, he pushes it open.

"This will be ours."
 

It's identical to the cabin I know and love today. A few kitchen appliances are missing, but the feel and layout is the same. The small kitchen with wood counters is to my left. There are four stools against the counter and a bowl of fruit on top. The living room with the fireplace is in front of me, empty and lifeless, yet still emitting a homey vibe.

Ollie places his hand on the small of my back, and I jump from the scare. He chuckles at my jitteriness.

"I have a special room to show you," he says, leading me up the small stairs. He pushes open the door past what I know to be the master bedroom, and when I look in, I'm amazed.

"Whoa," I mutter, taking in the room. It's beautiful, completely furnished as an art room, with easels lining the high windowed walls, offset by the tables in the middle that contain every type of tool an artist would need.

"Do you love it?"

"I draw?"

"Honey, are you ill?" Ollie asks as he rests the back of his hand on my forehead. "You love to paint. It's your passion. I made this for you to practice whenever you need to."

"I know," I say, faking it. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"I have work I must attend to. Explore, enjoy. I'll see you at our wedding."

I realize that I'm not coming out of the vision when Ollie leaves. I don't know why I'm here, but this is by far the longest vision I've ever been in. I stand idly in the painting room, but have no idea what to do with myself.

I don't have a creative bone in my entire body. I quietly leave the room and shut the door behind me. For some reason, I don't want to look in the room. It just reminds me how different I am in every life. I go down the stairs and busy myself in the kitchen and explore the living room, checking out what's in different drawers.

As the sun leaves, I realize that there's no electricity here yet. I search high and low for a lighter or match or something to get the fire going, but I can't find a single thing.
 

So for hours on end, I lie on the uncomfortable, hard sofa in the freezing cold living room and stare into space. Ollie doesn't come back and I fall asleep.

After people shove me around, dress me, and shove food into my mouth, I'm somehow wrapped into a whirlwind of white on my wedding day. I meet my father, who is supposedly some high class diplomat.
 

It's weird, because in other visions, I feel connected to people, especially when I'm actually in the vision and not watching. But I don't know any of these people. I don't
feel
like I know them either. Something feels off, and I just can't place it.