The Curse of Betrayal (29 page)

Which is exactly what we’re looking for. A loophole.

I continue reading through the book, probably faster and more in-depth than I’ve ever read before. The words just add up fast, and I read them with ferocity. I finish the book and sit back in my chair, trying to fully absorb what I just read before I report back to Professor Onassis.
 

To make a curse you need a reason—what your outcome is going to be. You need a way to end the curse—or a back out plan. And you need all the parties’ blood to enact the curse. For most, if you’re cursing a person, you need their blood to start it, and then you need to use the blood to finish it.
 

It’s funny because when I think of a curse ceremony, I would think there would be candles and altars and some spell you have to recite, but the book says that’s not really the case. All you need is a vial of the blood, a piece of paper that says what the curse is, and its stipulations. Then you pour the blood, no matter how little, onto the paper, and it will ignite in flames if you’ve done it correctly, destroying the paper and the way out.
 

“I think I have something here,” I tell Professor O, lifting up the book so she can see what I am reading. “Hades did the curse for a reason. He had some outcome that he wants to happen and he wrote that down. There also is a way out of the curse that only he knows. There has to be according to the balance of curses.”

“So there is a loophole,” Professor Onassis mutters to herself, nodding her head as if she knew it all along.

“What would he want to happen from cursing us?” I ask plainly since it doesn’t make sense to me. Ari and Ollie don’t have anything Hades wants. The gods know I don’t either.
 

“I guess that’s what we have to find out next.”
 

“This is impossible.” I drop my head to the table. There’s no way we’ll be able to figure it out. We’re doomed to live this out forever. Only Hades knows, and I damn well know he’s not going to give it up.

“We still don’t know if the attacks have to do with you, sweetie. Keep researching,” she commands, lifting her little brows at me.
 

“Ugh,” I groan, not wanting to read anymore. This is all pointless. I have a feeling that this curse will never be over, and I’m doomed to die over and over again for the rest of my existence. Nonetheless, I don’t want to upset Professor Onassis, so I read for another hour about other’s curses and how they were able to get out of it.

I head back to my room to change, but the door is already open a crack. This is becoming a normal thing apparently, so I peek in, being ever-so-silent and see Megan sitting on my bed. She has her legs crossed at the ankles, and she looks distressed. It makes her seem much younger than she already is. I walk in, and when I drop my bag on the floor, her head darts up, her eyes finding mine.

“I’m sorry I let myself in. I kind of wanted to talk. To just you,” she says, her eyes pleading.

“Yeah, sure.” I hop up on my bed to sit next to her.

“These attacks and stuff are kind of freaking me out. I wanted to ask you a favor.” She surprises me. I nod, urging her to go on. “I wanted to see if after dinner, you’d help me in the gym. Teach me some moves or something.” She bows her head, blushing like a ripe tomato.

“Really? Me?” I wonder why out of all the guys and our friends, she’d ask me for help or advice. It doesn’t make sense.
 

“Yeah, I saw you last time. I just trust you more, and I don’t want to tell anyone else. It’s kind of embarrassing,” she admits.
 

“Oh yeah, I won’t tell anyone. Promise,” I vow.

“Want to go after dinner tonight?”
 

“Sure.” She must be happy because she leaps up from the bed and hugs me tightly, saying thank you over and over again. She holds onto me fiercely and then finally releases me so I can breathe again.
 

“Let’s go to dinner together.” I quickly throw on a coat but leave my bag in the room. I tug my cell out of it and check my messages. I have an email, most likely from dad, so I make a mental note to check it later.
 

Megan and I walk to the student center, but I hold my hand up to stop her when I hear some whispers around the corner. She frowns at me, but I shush her, holding my pointer finger to my lips.

I lead us to the wall of the admin building and look around the corner, spotting Professor Nike and a group of adults. I pause to listen, Megan right behind me.

“My child is not staying here if it’s not safe. For god’s sake, your school was attacked by a flock of demons!” the person exclaims.

“Listen, it was an isolated incident.” Nike holds up his hand to control the person. “The school is protected by an invisible barrier.”

“That doesn’t make us feel better about them going on the retreat!” Another woman confronts Nike.

“We need to give the children a sense of normalcy. We’re bringing all of the teachers for added safety, but we’ve removed the threat.”
 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the woman, most likely a mother of some child, sneers at Nike.

“We believe the attack was over a student at the academy. We’ve removed her, and it seems we’re safe. I assure you, your children are in no danger,” Nike sternly says.

“How do you know?” the guy who first spoke asks.

“I interrogated them,” Nike answers, which shuts the other right up. I peek again when I don’t hear anything, and the group is walking towards the student center.

“What was that?” Megan whisper yells at me.

“I don’t know. Parents don’t think it’s safe here, I guess.”

“That’s weird, though. All the teachers said it’s safe. I mean, do you think we’re going to be attacked again?” She pauses as we both think in silence. “This is exactly why I have to get stronger! I don’t know if I have special powers. My gods. I’m not good at this.” Megan erupts in hysteria. I grab her shoulders to settle her down.

“Listen, the teachers say we’re safe, so we are.” I meet her eyes, and she nods at me, starting to calm down. We walk the rest of the way to the student center in a nervous quiet. It’s obvious we’re both unsettled.
 

We walk together straight to the food area and buy dinner before we join our group of friends at the usual table. When we sit, the group is having a heated discussion about something having to do with the field trip—shocker.
 

“It’s like thirty degrees: I’m not swimming.” Kara gawks at Shane.

“We’re not swimming, just jumping in and then getting out. It’s fun,” he says, while both Mikey and Carter nod in agreement beside him.

“You’ll die.” Megan shakes her head at them. She bumps Shane on the arm, so he scoots over, making room for her. She plops herself down between him and Carter. I place my tray on the spot next to Mikey and sit on the end so Kara doesn’t have to move. I look across the table, and Lisa gives me a lopsided smile like she’s not sure how to act towards me anymore. I think it’s hilarious, and I smile genuinely back at her, loving the awkwardness.

“Why are you jumping in water in February anyway?” I ask them, amused.

“It’ll be March soon so it’s not too bad. It’s fun!” Mikey says, nudging me sprightly.

“Right…” I say back, but remain skeptical. I listen to their bizarre conversation as the boys try to convince us to go swimming. I know for sure I am not doing it, so they’re really just trying to convince Kara since she’s the one who’s being the weakest in her argument. I finish eating and spot Megan widening her eyes at me and then averting them to the door.

I furrow my brows, because I don’t know what she wants me to do. She tilts her head a little to the door again and then shakes her head, so I’m looking at her.
 

Realizing she wants to go to the gym, I say, “Hey, guys… I’m going to head out.” I stand with my empty tray in my hand. I dump it in the trash and then put the tray on the belt by the kitchen to go get cleaned. I head back to the table to get my stuff and realize I have to do all the work. “Megan, want to walk with me?” I peer at her so she picks up on my point.

“Sure.” She jumps up from her spot a little too zealously. She’s blowing our cover.

“I’ll come, too.” Kara starts to stand, pushing herself up on the table.

“No!” Megan and I yell at the same time.
 

“Um…okay,” Kara mumbles, staring at us both like we have three heads.

“I mean, you don’t have to. I’m just tired.” I yawn and reach my hands out. I rub my eye, pretending to act like I’m about to pass out from exhaustion.

“Okay, weirdos.” Kara sits herself back down in her seat, dismissing us with a frown. She rolls her eyes at us and then goes back to her conversation with the group as if nothing happened. I head out hurriedly with Megan trailing me. We jog out of the building, and once we’re in the cold and alone, I punch her arm.

“What the hell, Megan,” I yell at her.

“I choked. I didn’t know what to say!” she defends herself.

“They know something’s up.”
 

“I’ll deal with it later, I guess. Let’s just go,” Megan says, and I follow behind her, running through the windy night to the training center.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

after hours training session

The training center is shadowy. I’ve never been in here with the lights down or while it’s empty but it’s freaky. The main gym looks much bigger when it’s got nobody in it. The walls are bare, and the floor looks way too shiny for my liking. Megan and I drop our bags near the perimeter of the gym near the bleachers and then scour the walls for the lights. Finally, after we walk around like chickens with our heads cut off, Megan flips the switch on, and the room illuminates a bright, fluorescent yellow.

“Found it,” she calls since I ended up on the other side of the room.

“I can see,” I mutter, rubbing my eyes so they adjust to the light. I meet Megan in the middle of the gym, and we both awkwardly stand there, eying each other. “I don’t know what to do,” I tell her, laughing at us.

“Maybe we fake fight. Grab me or something.” She gestures to me. I grab her from behind and hold her in lock. I clasp my hands together on top of her stomach so she can’t break out. “Ow. I can’t get free.” She tries to push me off her, but she has the strength of a toddler. I loosen my grip so she can do it alone, and she breaks out, turning to face me with a smile.
 

“Was that good?” I shimmy my shoulders up, grinning a goofy smile at her.

“I don’t know.” She drops her head, defeated. “This was a mistake.”
 

“Why don’t we get Ari down here to help us?” I offer, knowing he would do a hundred times better than me. I honestly don’t even know how to fight. It’s all instinct and adrenaline. I know nothing about actual skills.

“I don’t know…” she says, thinking seriously. “Fine,” she finally relents after weighing her options.
 

I skip to my bag on the sidelines and dial Ari with my cell that I dig out of my bag. He asks me a ton of questions before agreeing to come down, so we sit on the bleachers and wait.
 

“Thanks for doing this.” Megan says to me breaking the stillness. Her voice echoes around the gym.

“Of course,” I tell her, shrugging it off.

“I mean, I know I’m the weakest. Everyone treats me that way. I just want to be able to help, you know?”
 

“I don’t think you’re the weakest, Meg.” I wrap my arm around her shoulder and pull her against me on the bench. “It doesn’t even matter. You are helping no matter what.” I give her a tight squeeze and she sighs. The gym door slams shut with a clink, signaling Ari’s arrival. Both of our heads dart towards the noise and Ari waltzes in, wearing sweats and a white tee. I’ve never seen him so informal.

“So why exactly do you need practice fighting?” He looks between the two of us with grooved brows. He gawks at me, like this is my idea or something.

“Just to be prepared. Will you do it or not?” I ask, a bit of anger laced in my voice. It always has to be a fight with Ari.
 

“Fine,” he mutters, turning and walking away from us. We both look between each other and then run to catch up. We shadow Ari around the gym to the weight room. He begins clearing dumbbells from the pile in a corner until he reaches a chest. He brushes crap off the top of the box and then lifts the lid like he’s uncovering some buried treasure known to be worth a fortune.
 

“What’s in there?” Megan asks from behind me. I shake my head, not knowing, and Ari doesn’t bother answering. He just continues rummaging—head first in the trunk looking for god knows what.
 

“Here,” he groans, chucking a stick over his back. It’s headed right for Megan’s face, but luckily, I dart my arm out and catch it before it pierces her. Her oval eyes remain locked on the spear looking weapon in my hand like it could attack at any moment. So I place it on the floor next to us where it can’t harm anyone.

“Why do we need weapons?” I ask Ari, leaning over and tapping his back to get his attention.