The Thousand Year Curse (The Curse Books) (32 page)

The man lays on the bed, his ankles and wrists bound by white, thick chains. Around his wrist are thick lines of red, crusted blood. His eyes are shut and his face is pure white. Involuntarily, I start walking towards the room, wondering what a person could do to earn this torture.

"Ah, he's been a naughty little Nephilim." Hermes says, standing at my side.

"What did he do?" I ask in amazement.

"I believe he killed a demon while on earth. Not positive, though. I just give the beatings, the causes don't really matter much." Hermes says again, that creepy smile plastered to his angelic looking face.
 

"Wow." I mutter. Hermes just waltzes in front of us, leading the way again through what seems like torture chambers. I fall back walking farther away from him, not wanting him to turn on me and attack. I think the boys have the same idea because their formation tightens—only inches of space between us all.
 

"Here we are." Hermes says, stopping us in front of a door. "Your tour is now over. Good luck!" He sings out, retreating back into the dark shadows.
 

I feel relieved that I at least have some hint about my mom. There are twelve people who can be her. I don't really know how many of the 'twelve' are woman but that narrows it down immensely. I feel positive like I might actually have a chance of finding her.
 

I turn facing the two boys not knowing the next move. They both look tired and worn down but still handsome in their respected ways. I walk up to them and stand in front of them in silence.

"Let's get out of here." I say. Ari takes the initiative and leads us through the door. It's a different way than we came in. The hallways are much more narrow and windy. There is a smaller, back door and we go out it. When we get outside the clouds are darker and I feel sick in anticipation for the exit.

There is a stone pathway that leads to the back gate that we take. It's the same gate as the entrance only there is something in front of it—a huge monster.
 

I reach for Ari's hand wanting him to save me again. Ollie notices our touch and tenses up. When Ari sees, he drops my hand, nodding towards Ollie conspiringly.
 

Ollie comes up to me and grabs me by the arm, roughly yanking me back towards his body. For a second I resist but then I stop as Ari walks towards the monster slowly. I try to focus on what exactly is sitting there. It's dark so it's hard to make out all the creatures features.
 

It's a dog. I can tell by it's body and eyes. It is black with some white on the feet and chest. It isn't a normal dog, though. Firstly, the dog is enormous. It is three times the size of Ari. Also, it has three heads—that is the real kicker.
 

As Ari gets closer to the dog thing, the beast starts to growl, showing it's sharp fangs. Drool starts sliding out the sides of one of its mouth, dripping down to the floor in nasty white puddles. The other heads start to growl as well, following what the center one does. They look vicious with their pointed teeth on display. They could easily eat Ari in one big bite.
 

"Ari! Wait." I call out to him. He looks back towards me, putting a finger to his mouth, shutting me up. He turns his attention back to the dog's heads. Once he is within touching distance, he stops walking, freezing, not moving a muscle.
 

"What is he doing?" I whisper to Ollie. He looks down at me with sad eyes but answers my question honestly.
 

"He's talking to the dogs. He's convincing them to let us through." Ollie explains.

"That's impossible." I state. You can't talk to dogs. Plus these dogs are evil. I doubt giving them a treat is going to have them grant us free access to the exit.
 

"It's his gift." Ollie tells me as if hearing my thoughts.

"Talking to dogs?" I question. He gives me an exhausted expression but continues his explanation.

"Talking to animals." He says. I'm not sure what he is doing until he reaches towards the dogs, making me hold my breath. He pets the dogs head, each of them and they groan into his touch.
 

"Let's go." He tells us, flashing me a cocky smile, knowing he just got us out of a big mess. Ari leads the way, then me, then Ollie like a protective bubble. "Would you like to meet Cerberus?" Ari asks me as we pass by them.

"No way. She's not going. It's too dangerous." Ollie objects but Ari's eyes stay trained on me, waiting for my answer.

"Yes." I say, my heart fluttering in anticipation. Ari guides me, his hand on my lower back, towards the dogs. I am very hesitant but I don't want to show fear. Ari's hand gives me the confidence I need.

"Hi puppy." I coo to the dog, putting my hand out to show the center head that I am friendly. At first, the heads just sniff me up and down, tickling my sides as their noses probe me. They are so big that when they snort, a rush of wind comes across me. One of the heads licks my head and a gallon of water spills over me, drenching me with nasty dog saliva.
 

"They like you." Ari whispers in my ear his voice giving me goosebumps.
 

"They do?" I ask him, not believing him at all.
 

"Of course." He states. "We should start heading out though before they change their minds." He adds in.
 

I want to get home in the worst way. I want to start searching for my mom. Then I need to come up with a plan to end the curse. Oh, and after that I need to figure out who I love.
 

"Bye puppies!" I yell. One bends down and licks my face. I'm not going to lie, it's disgusting but I have to laugh. Between the rocks, water, dust and now saliva, I am a putrid mess.
 

The boys assemble back into formation—Ari in front, me in the middle and Ollie in the back. We get to a gatehouse and walk inside. The room is tiny, a third of the size of my bedroom back home. Ari presses a button on the wall and after five minutes the door opens revealing a strange elevator.We get in the even smaller room, and Ari presses E.

The ride is horrible. It's ten minutes long which makes sense but still. It sucks. We stand in there in silence, both boys radiating tension like it is freaking oxygen. I can't stand being in the small space as it is. My claustrophobia is in full force and nobody will talk to me and distract me. I try to reach for Ari's hand or even Ollie's but they both reject me, swatting away my hands like I have some horrid flesh eating disease.
 

Finally the ride stops and we exit into a lobby of some hotel. It's weird because nobody even looks twice at us as we step out, exiting the odd elevator. I look back wondering what would happen if someone else got in the elevator and went down but the elevator is gone. The only thing that remains is a button with an awkward shaped key hole.
 

We leave the hotel and continue to walk towards, I'm guessing, our hotel. Ari stops us at a street corner. I forget that we aren't in America anymore.
 

Immediately I recognize the fountain from before we went into the portal. It must be earlier in the night because the fountain is running, multicolored lights blinking in the water. The steps leading around the fountain and up to the church are also lit by white sparkling lights. People hang out sitting and hanging on the steps in cliques.
 

I spot Ari talking to some vendor in Italian. It sounds like, kay journey ay? I have no idea what the hell he is saying but it was definitely a question. The lady responds something like domanika. He asks her another question but I tune out—it's not like I can understand what they're saying anyway.

"I'm sorry." Ollie apologizes to me breaking the awkward silence and finally talking.
 

"Me too." I tell him, taking his hand in mine. He smiles down at me as we sightsee in silence. Finally, Ari comes back to us, reporting back what he found out. Almost on cue, Ollie drops my hand, pretending like it was never there. It is Sunday about eleven pm their time.
 

We agree to the plan of going to the hotel and then leaving in the morning. I need to sleep something fierce and would rather wait until tomorrow to leave. Plus I want to pick their brains about my mom. I need to start looking for her.
 

We get back to the same hotel Ari and I stayed in before and a flashback of that night comes to the forefront of my mind. It was the first time Ari actually let me in to his life. He held me and I held him. We slept together and I was able to comfort him. It brings a smile to my face. I look over at Ari and give him a wide smile. At first he doesn't get why I am smiling at him but I think it finally clicks when he smiles back, winking at me.
 

When we get settled in the room, I decide we should debrief and hash everything out. We need to talk about what the next plan of action is. How we are going to find my mom, what we will do and lastly, my school. I haven't forgotten that Ari wants me to pick up and leave my home. I am also curious how the hell Ollie knew where to find us and how he got there.

It's pretty awkward so far. Ari stands near the window leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest. His foot is propped up on a chair at the table in front of the window—classic defensive pose. Ollie positions himself on the dresser next to the TV. His isn't in a defensive stance but he definitely doesn't look comfortable. I am left sitting on the bed which makes me super uncomfortable. Beds mean sleeping, sleeping means intimacy, intimacy means sex.
 

"Sooo..." I say regretting it right after. Both boy's eyes dart to me. I redden a little at the attention and then ask, "How'd you find us?" I direct the question at Ollie.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

interrogations

"Really, Ryder? That's the first question you come up with. Not what do we do next or how will the curse end. You really want to know how I found you?" He asks, clearly pissed off I asked that first but I think that's a valid starting point.
 

"I thought we could start there." I admit shyer and more reserved. I cross my legs and place my hands on top of them trying to act innocent but I feel embarrassed under Ollie's scrutinizing stare.
 

"Well, let's see. I get home from trying to get info on Nephilim, for you, to find you gone. I go to find Ari and what do you know, he's gone. Since I know Ari and what a dumb ass he is, I figured he took you to Hell instead of just asking people in the real world. Happy?" He bluntly asks, crossing his arms while looking at me dead in the eyes.
 

"Yeah, sure." I say, feeling chastised. "Now what?" I ask them both.
 

"We find your mom." Ollie answers.
 

"No. Actually, first we get you into school." Ari butts in confidently.

"What school?" Ollie asks Ari, neither one daring to make eye contact with the other.
 

"Nephilim school." He says, striding over closer to the two of us. "There's three options—one in New York, one in Louisiana and one in Montana. Your choice." He explains, looking to me for an answer. I guess at least I have a choice in something here.
 

"And I have to go?" I ask him, praying for the answer to be no. I'm getting scared by all the change lately.

"Yes." He answers, pulling up a chair next to the bed, crossing his legs at the ankle while propping them up.
 

"Why does she have to go?" Ollie asks Ari while also standing up, and moving closer to me like a predator.

"Because she is already getting her powers. She has speed and vision. She needs to control it. Soon." Ari says, like he knows everything about Nephilim.

"How the hell do you know?" Ollie asks rudely. I have the same questions, only I would have asked it a tad bit nicer.
 

"I teach at one of the schools, thank you very much." Ari remarks with a proud smile on his face as he quirks an eyebrow towards me.
 

"You teach?" I ask him, intrigued yet in disbelief.
 

"Yes." He confesses. "Which one is it?" He asks again, impatiently.

"Hmm…I mean it would be cool to go far away or something but I think I'd rather stick to New York. That's close enough where I can still see dad and Junior." I try to justify my decision. I feel good about New York. It is only one state away. I won't feel completely gone from my own life.
 

"Good choice." He states, grinning to himself.
 

"Let me guess." Ollie mutters with a sullen expression on his face. "You teach there."
 

"Ding ding ding!" Ari exclaims, sliding me a sultry grin. I decide to change the subject fast, not wanting this room to get any more heated. The amount of testosterone floating around is more than enough.
 

"What about finding my mom?" I ask, wanting to find her as soon as possible.
 

"I can do that for you." Ollie suggests. "I'll try and find her while you're at school." He smiles up at me, glad he's doing something to help me. It's always got to be a competition with these two.

"Who are the twelve anyway?" I ask.