The Curse Girl (7 page)

I opened my mouth to ask a question, and he held up a warning finger. “One day, a beautiful girl came to our door. Her horse had thrown a shoe and she was stranded. It was Marian, of course.” He sighed. “She was the prettiest girl either of us had ever seen—her black hair was like a swath of ink down her back, and her eyes—she had the ability to look at you and make you feel like a prince or a complete idiot with one glance. Robert was smitten—he gave her his best carriage to borrow, and he saw her home himself. For the next several months he pursued her, and finally she agreed to marry him and they made plans to wed.”

I noticed that his fingers had knotted up the napkin in his lap.

“A few weeks after their wedding, Marian found out that Robert was seeing another woman. She was furious—when she heard the account from the lips of the detective she hired, I thought she was going to stab the man. But she just stood there like she was turned to stone, and outside the sky turned black with storm clouds. Then she dismissed the man, turned, and went to her room. I found her writing a letter there—”

“The letter we found?”

“Yes, I think so. She stood when I entered, and she looked at me with those cutting eyes and she said she hoped I wouldn’t turn out like my brother.” He fell silent at that point, his chin in his hand. He stared at the candles on the table. I wondered what he was thinking about. Did he think he’d turned into his brother?

I waited for him to continue. The silence walled me in, brittle as glass—any noise I made would shatter it. I sat without moving until he stirred.

“Where was I? Sorry. She left that night. She wrote the words of the curse on a letter and left it in the front hall. I woke up to a pounding on the front door—someone from the town come to tell me my brother had dropped dead in a bar brawl at eleven thirty that night. I found the letter from Marian the moment after I received the news of Robert’s death. And the curse, as all spells do, took effect at midnight.”

“But your brother was dead—” It was beginning to make sense. My stomach dropped as I understood.

He met my eyes. “Yes. My brother was dead, and the curse fell on me instead. And because of Marian’s fury, the curse was too powerful. It enveloped everything. The servants were bound, Rose too, and the house. And so we are all prisoners. Waiting for the day it will be broken. Waiting,” he grimaced, “For you.”

“I thought you said you didn’t need me.”

He rubbed his forehead. “I said a lot of things. I was really angry the other day, and sometimes I’m too hasty. You found this letter. You’ve proven yourself surprisingly insightful. Maybe we do need you.”

I shifted in the chair. The tiniest trickle of good feeling, mixed with discomfort because I still didn’t like him, puddled in my stomach. He’d locked up poor Liam, for instance. And he was a complete jerk. But . . .

“What happens to you all if you don’t break it in time?”

His voice was flat but steady. “Then we become cursed forever, stuck in the forms we take at night until we die.”

Rose put her hands over her eyes. Even her fingers had the rosy blush of new buds. Suddenly I felt horrible for her. She was just a little kid, really. She hadn’t asked for any of this any more than I had.

Or, to be fair, any more than Will had.

“We want the same things,” I said slowly.

“Are you trying to offer me a truce?”

I shrugged. “I don’t like you. This doesn’t mean that. It just means that I want out of here as much as you. And you’ve finally realized I could help you.”

“So you’ll quit storming out of here every night?”

“Only if you quit insulting me at every opportunity. And only if you start acting nicer. And only—” My heart pounded. “If you release the guy in the labyrinth.”

Rose lowered her hands from her eyes. Beside her, Will tensed. “I’m sorry, but that’s impossible.”

“What has he done? Why must you keep him chained up like that?”

“Never mind that. It’s none of your business.” He put one hand on Rose’s arm, because it looked like she was trembling.

“It’s wrong! You shouldn’t keep him a prisoner. He’s in pain down there.”

“Don’t speak about things you don’t understand.”

“You’re right. I don’t understand. You should make me understand by explaining.”

He stood. I could feel the anger rolling off him. “No. I don’t have to explain anything to you.”

“What about the truce?”

“We’ll work together to break the curse. That is all. Take it or leave it.”

“What about Liam?” I faced him stubbornly. I wasn’t backing down on this. “You’re a monster to keep him down there.”

He glared at me, but slowly the fury faded from his face and his shoulders relaxed. “He can’t be free until the curse is broken, either.”

I sighed. I didn’t know if I could believe him. But we really needed to work together. I held out my hand. “I’ll work with you. For Liam’s sake. And my own. Not yours.”

He took my hand and shook it. A shiver ran up my arm, and I dropped his hand as soon as the handshake was done. I didn’t really want to touch him.

I was doing this for Liam. For poor Rose and the servants. And for myself.

Not the Beast.

EIGHT

After I made my uneasy truce with Will, things settled into a pattern. The days blurred together like rain-soaked watercolors. Will continued to be an ass, and I continued to alternately fight with him and ignore him. Rose, on the other hand, was becoming more likeable every day. She had a timid smile that infected me and made me want to smile back. She began following me around, puppy-like, as I wandered the house looking for ways out and trying to think of what the curse riddle could mean. When Housekeeper brought me lunch during my searching, she started showing up to eat cucumber sandwiches and drink tea with me. Will, on the other hand, avoided me like a cat avoids water except for dinners, which he strictly observed.

On my own, I spent a week searching Marian’s room for anything that might be mentioned in the curse, and I visited Liam every night in the labyrinth, telling him about my progress and pouring out my heart to him.

“I hate Will,” I said one night as we sat together in the darkness.

Liam’s chains clanked as he shifted positions. “Hatred is an ugly thing, Bee. It’s like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it gets. It corrupts the person holding it inside. Look what happened to Marian.”

I didn’t know what to say. I felt guilty now. “What did happen to Marian after she cursed everyone?”

Liam sighed. “She’s a shell of her former self. A twisted, ugly woman.”

“She’s still alive?” I vaguely remembered Will mentioning it. Why hadn’t I thought about this before?

“She lives in the Fey Lands.”

The Fey Lands?

“What’s that?”

Liam hesitated. “You’ll have to ask Will about that.”

“Will hates me more than I hate him. He doesn’t tell me anything.”

“He’s a broken person inside, and he’s lashing out. I think he wants your friendship. He’s lonely, you know. He just doesn’t know how to ask for it.”

“My friendship? I doubt that,” I muttered.

Liam was silent, which is what he did whenever he thought I was being unreasonably stubborn.

“Fine. I’ll try to be nice to him. And I’ll ask him about the Fey Lands.”

“Thank you,” Liam said. “He needs it. I promise. Everyone needs love.”

I supposed he was thinking about himself when he said the last bit. I’d noticed how his screams and groans had diminished since I’d started visiting him at night.

Maybe his bit of the curse was getting better. Maybe I was making progress somehow.

~

We were eating dinner. Or rather, Will and Rose were eating. I sat toying with my food, trying to drum up enough courage to ask him my question. He seemed to sense my trepidation, because he kept shooting me looks I couldn’t decipher. Like he could tell I was nervous, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to encourage the feeling or soothe me.

Nervous anticipation slipped down my spine. I was just going to bring it up then, point blank. “If Marian is still alive, then why can’t we just ask her to lift the curse?”

Will froze.

“That’s a really bad idea.”

“Why?” I demanded. I was sick of him making cryptic statements and never following up with explanations.

“It just is. Marian is crazy now. She’s been completely corrupted by her magic. She won’t do anything for us.”

“What about me? What if I asked her? She doesn’t hate me.”

“She hates everyone,” he said.

Silence fell. Will glowered at his food. I chewed my lip. I had another question to ask.

“What are the Fey Lands?” I didn’t mention Liam.

“Oh!” Rose said, like I’d uttered a swear word.

Will lifted his eyes to mine, but didn’t say anything for a long moment. I knotted my fingers in my lap. Had I said something very bad?

“The Fey Lands,” he repeated, looking unhappy.

Rose seemed giddy, like I’d brought up a forbidden but secretly dreamed-about topic. “Will won’t let me go there,” she said.

“What is it?” I asked him directly.

“This house, once cursed, became part of another world. The curse binds it to the Fey Lands, a meeting ground for all things magical. It’s why we’re unstuck from time.”

“And we can go there? I thought you couldn’t leave the house.” I didn’t really know if I wanted this. I just wanted to try
something
.

“Technically, my house is now a part of the Fey Lands now, so the rules are different. But we can’t stay in the Fey long, and we can’t escape through it. We can only return here. But going there isn’t a good idea. It’s dangerous, and besides, Marian is there.”

“Perfect. We need to talk to her. And I’m not afraid of the danger.” I was totally afraid of the danger.

He shook his head. “It isn’t what you’re expecting. It’s not a nice place.”

“How in the world do you know what I’m expecting?”

“Trust me. You don’t want to go. It’s only going to depress you. And it’s not going to fix anything.”

First of all, he’d just thrown down a challenge. Second, when did he care about my feelings? I was suspicious. I crossed my arms and scowled. “I want to go. Now.”

“Now?” One of his eyebrows arched up dangerously.

“Yes,” I whispered.

“You’ll have to change,” he said, giving me a once-over that suggested my jeans and t-shirt were akin to beggar’s clothing in his eyes. “Something more, ah, grand. Seamstress probably has just the thing.”

Rose clapped her hands. “I’ll help. You’ll look beautiful. Just like a real lady.”

Somehow I doubted that. But I didn’t want to ruin the smile on her face. So I said it was fine. Whatever.

After dinner I went to my room and dragged out one of the dresses in my closet. I gazed at the thing with a critical eye, and sighed and pulled it on. The fabric was black and lacy. The ruffled skirt dragged on the floor, and the bodice was so tight I could almost feel my ribs cracking.

“You look dazzling,” Rose said with a dreamy smile. “Like an angry princess.”

Grimly, I surveyed my own reflection in the mirror. I looked like a cross between Scarlett O’Hara and a Goth rocker chick. I ran my fingers through my hair a few times—not much I could do there—and went to find Will. Rose trailed behind, muttering about wanting to go too and how unfair everything was.

He was waiting in his study, the room with the giant hourglass. I entered quietly and stood at the door. Rose didn’t follow. She knew where she was and wasn’t allowed.

The hourglass sat on the table in the center of the room just as I remembered. The sand inside glowed faintly, mocking me with its glimmer. We had so little time left.

But it was Will who drew my gaze. He stood before an ornate, floor-length mirror, adjusting a button on his shirt. He’d slicked back his hair and put on a long black coat that made him look dangerous and hard.

When he caught sight of me in the mirror, he turned with a half smile. He looked startlingly handsome, and a shiver went through me. I made a mocking, half-hearted curtsy to hide my fluster.

“Hmm,” he said, which was the only comment I got on my appearance. I resisted the urge to say something snarky back. Right now I needed to
not
get into a fight with him.

“Shall we?” He held out his arm, and I walked forward and took awkwardly. I’d missed my Prom, but maybe this was a close enough substitute. All we were missing was the way-too-heavy bush of a corsage on my right shoulder and my stepmother taking too many photos while we posed on the front porch, smiling tightly.

“What happens now?” We were just standing in the middle of the room, in front of the mirror. “Shouldn’t we go through a door or something? How do we get to the Fey Lands?”

Will glanced down at me, and his sharp blue eyes made me shiver. “We go through the mirror. Hold your breath. This is unpleasant.”

He took a step forward, and I didn’t have time to suck in air before we were falling.

NINE

We were lost in a fog. I couldn’t see anything. At first my skin froze, and then it burned. Involuntarily I took a lungful of air, and it burned like I’d inhaled a mouthful of mouthwash. Cold and hot sensations scalded my throat and nose. Was I drowning? I thrashed, and arms wrapped around me tight.

“Stop struggling!”

Light and sound rushed around us without warning, and the ground sprang up like magic beneath our feet. Will had me in an awkward embrace, and he looked annoyed about it. I sagged against him, which was the last thing in the world I wanted to do. But my legs wouldn’t support my weight. Over his shoulder, I could see a stone wall and dozens of people. A few were looking at us curiously.

“Stand up,” Will said in my ear. “You’re drawing too much attention to us.”

I tested my legs, and they were working again.

“Sorry. I—I forgot to hold my breath.”

He let go of me and stepped back. “You’ll live. The barrier feels like ice and fire, but it won’t hurt you.”

I wanted to snap at him about how much “won’t hurt you” had actually, really hurt, but he offered his arm and I took it without speaking, because we had other things to do tonight besides fight.