THE CURSED PRINCE: BOOK 1, page 10
Justin knew it was a bad idea. But he couldn’t abandon a child. He tucked the scroll in his shirt under his arm and reached for the child, whom the woman passed to him willingly. Justin looked for the other children to save seeing they were nowhere in sight--another red flag.
The woman released him and seemed to black out. Justin backed away, wishing he could save more people. But no one was moving; he didn’t have time to help anyone walk.
Fuck! What’s going to happen to them? he wondered.
His question was answered when the limp, lifeless bodies of the children dropped from above.
Justin ran as fast as he could while the screaming voices of the adults echoed in his ears. He managed to race down the steps while still holding the calm boy. He rushed back into the tomb, where he saw the chains on the coffin were broken. Justin didn’t stop; he needed to get outside to use his portal spell. He raced out of the graveyard and recited the incantation but was interrupted by a snarling sound behind him.
Justin stopped in his tracks, trying to stay calm and focused, but the sound was close to his ear, causing him to lose the spell and need to start again.
“Leave the boy, rogue,” sneered a whispering voice. “He is of no use to you. All you wanted was the scroll.”
Justin’s heart raced as his ears burned from the voice. He turned and eyed two floating beings with the silver talisman now embedded into their chests. Their eyes were a burning blue, like marbles, their skin transparent, and their mouths showed two protruding fangs. Below them was a two-headed bear; one had black fur and the other brown. Both wore spiked collars and salivated while their white eyes stared him down. Justin was close enough to smell their rotten breath. With a swing of one of their paws, they could slice him to pieces.
Only they didn’t. Why talk to me when they could just kill me? he wondered. He glanced down at the boy and saw he wasn’t normal; instead, he was one of them, trying to bite Justin, but something was preventing him. Justin saw the scroll was glowing again and he didn’t need to guess why.
“You can’t hurt me. But I can hurt you.”
“You know nothing of the power you possess. If you did, you would have already used it,” hissed another.
“Right—I’m out.” With newfound confidence, Justin opened a portal, and before stepping in, he placed the child down just as the portal closed.
****
Justin backstepped into the portal, not looking where he was going or whom he was backing into. His back hit something hard. He turned to see what—or who—it was when something gripped his head, causing his vision to blur and his body to buckle.
Justin released a gasping breath, waking from his blackout.
“Oh, my head—” he groaned, trying to reach for the spot where the pain wafted from but found he was unable to move his limbs.
Upon closer inspection, he saw he was seeing everything upside-down.
“The fuck?” he questioned, tilting his head sideways, trying to get his bearings. He faced a wall holding a purple shawl. The cloth dropped to the floor, revealing a wide, oval mirror and his reflection, showing his legs and arms bound with a thick rope while he dangled by his ankles.
Justin struggled to free himself. The tattered rope gave him the impression he could loosen the knot but it would only tighten around his skin, making it harder to move. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
“Giving up already? Typical. Why did I bother keeping you?”
Justin cringed at the sound of his father’s voice. He looked into the mirror’s reflection, seeing no one.
“It was in my head—he’s not here,” he whispered. “I’m just stressed.”
Justin listened, hearing nothing, and began to calm down. It’s a nightmare, I’m in a nightmare, Justin thought when suddenly a hand grabbed his jacket and spun his swaying body around.
Guild Master Aaron Rahilly formed the Venom Whisperers, who all follow and fear him, especially his only son, whom he stared down now with contempt.
Justin held in his gasp while keeping a stoney expression towards his father.
“Not going to answer?” Rahilly asked.
Justin took a hard swallow before answering. “You keep me around because I am of some use.”
Rahilly stared back, thinking over Justin’s reply, then looked away seeming bored. He released his son’s imprisoned body, allowing it to sway as he stooped down and picked up two items off the floor that Justin recognized as his own.
Justin dangled helplessly while he watched his father pick up the scroll he stole for Yuri and the glass vial with the black matter. “Those are mine,” Justin stated.
Rahilly ignored Justin while the looked over the scroll and vial. Without looking at his son, he studied the scroll. “How did you get your hands on this, boy?”
Justin didn’t want to tell him. It was none of his business. It was his quest, not his father’s.
This didn’t sit well with Rahilly, who turned to Justin and leered down at him. “Getting cocky?”
Before Justin could react, a fist struck his stomach so hard he buckled, coughing out a muffled cry.
Rahilly gripped a fist full of Justin’s hair and yanked his head up. “You have no idea what you have here, boy, so I’m going to take it off your hands. But first, I want to know what this shit is.” He showed Justin the vial.
Justin had to push the contracting pain in his stomach down to speak. He swallowed the urge to vomit while he released a sigh. He glared back at his father with revulsion.
Rahilly only smirked at his son’s disdain. “There it is, the same look that whore who pushed you out always gave me.”
“Don’t call her that,” Justin groaned through clenched teeth.
“Oh, that’s right, you don’t like it when I use her real title. You like Mom.” He chuckled at the end. “Whatever.” His grip tightened the pull on Justin’s hair, stretching his scalp. Rahilly enjoyed the pain he was inflicting on his son. “Tell me what’s in this vial.”
“I don’t know!” Justin barked.
“Bullshit!” he said, releasing Justin’s head with a jerk. “Whatever, boy. Get down from there and follow me.”
“I can’t use magic here.”
Rahilly rolled his eyes before he recited a spell to free his bindings.
Knots be gone, unravel and unwind,
Let loose your grip and ease your bind,
With this spell I do decree,
Unravel now, set this boy free!
The rope holding Justin’s wrists loosened first before his ankles. He was able to bend his body and land on his back instead of his head, yet he still grunted out his discomfort after his back touched the harsh stone ground.
“Great landing,” his father mocked. “Now get up! We’re leaving.”
“You can leave. He’s staying,” Adam said.
Rahilly looked over and saw Adam with a walking pumpkin head beside him. “Oh, look boy. Your hero came to save you.”
“Adam,” Justin said, struggling to one knee.
“Come on, Justin, we’re leaving,” he said with an outstretched hand, not taking his eyes off Rahilly.
“Oh, you came for him? My son? Not this time.” Rahilly struck Justin in the face with his knee, sending him onto his back, where his head struck the ground.
Adam drew his gun and pointed it at Rahilly. “Get away from him.”
“I so enjoy watching him suffer. What do you like about him, Preacher?” He gave Adam a sideways glance to see his stone-cold expression unwavering but his eyes showed his irritation. “I guess since he takes after a whore, your taste is transparent.”
Adam fired a shot that whizzed past Rahilly’s ear, hitting the mirror behind him. “Shut your mouth and step away from him!” Adam roared.
“Adam, be wary,” Poe said, referring to where the mirror once hung.
Adam’s bullet’s impact fragmented the mirror, revealing a portal to the graveyard Justin was in. It showed a stand-off with the hooded beings over one of their foundlings; the night setting was replaced by daylight.
This caught everyone’s attention, particularly Rahilly’s. He clenched the scroll and a wicked grin cracked on his lips. “So you got it from there, where elves cannot tread,” he whispered.
Justin took his chance while Rahilly was distracted. He rushed to Adam, who moved his injured friend behind him, not dropping his weapon.
“Adam, we need that scroll he has,” Justin said.
This caught his father’s attention. He gripped the scroll in his hand and smiled. “Planning on taking it from me, boy?”
“No—I am,” Adam said, stepping forward and holstering his gun.
“Oh, you want to go toe-to-toe,” Rahilly chuckled.
“Give me the scroll.”
“Come and take it.”
Rahilly shocked Adam when he jumped through the portal.
Adam rolled his eyes before looking at Justin. “Why do we need that scroll?”
Justin dropped his eyes to the floor before answering. “Yuri sent me to retrieve it.”
“That elf sent you in there alone?”
“I wanted to hone my skills. I was losing my touch.”
“So you went into a dangerous situation to prove yourself?”
“I went in and got that scroll by myself with no help from—”
“From me?”
“I didn’t want to become a burden, like with that serpent.”
“Justin—” Adam glanced away and noticed Poe was missing. “Wait, where’s Poe?”
Justin looked around, not seeing any sign of the small pumpkin.
They looked at the portal.
“You think he went in there?” Justin asked.
“Where else would he be? How do you feel?”
Justin tightened his stomach to see if the pain from his father’s fist was still there. “I’m good.”
“Be sure. I need you in there.”
Justin’s cheeks burned from Adam saying he needed him. “Adam, you need to know there’s—”
“Day-walkers. I know.”
“But how—”
“Never mind that. Are you ready?”
Justin nodded his head. “I’ll have your back.”
“Good, let’s go. Poe needs us,” he said, taking the lead and stepping through the portal.
CHAPTER 20
Poe wanted to entangle his vine around the man’s throat but didn’t want to react without Adam’s order. When the man rushed into the portal, Poe looked at Adam and Justin, who continued to talk loudly, confusing the small pumpkin.
Poe can’t let the man who caused Justin’s pain get away, Poe thought, rushing to follow Rahilly through the portal. He followed the man through a graveyard and into a tomb. Poe entered and saw a casket open and broken heavy chains on the ground. He noticed a staircase and heard footsteps leading up.
Poe followed the rogue to an open room with five bald beings with white skin surrounding him. Rahilly held up the scroll and moved past the beings to the window.
He turned and noticed Poe. “He sent you. A weed, a hollowed fruit,” he laughed.
Poe stood unmoved by the harsh words as he removed his gloves. His focus was on what was in Rahilly’s hand. “Give the scroll to me, and you live.”
Rahilly stopped laughing after hearing Poe’s ultimatum. “Think you can take me on, you pathetic gou—”
His words were cut short when Poe ejected his vine arms that split into several thin tentacles at rapid speed. Rahilly didn’t have time to counter when the left vines sliced into his hand, breaking his grip on the parchment, allowing Poe to encircle his vines around it and bring it to his side.
All this while his other appendages slammed into Rahilly’s chest, driving him backward with such force his back shattered the glass window, sending him plummeting.
Poe stared at the damaged window while his vines reset themselves. He slipped on his gloves, making sure to keep the scroll close to his body as he knew the day walkers still surrounded him. “I have no blood for you,” Poe calmly said without looking at them.
“We want nothing from you, Abomination. Return the scroll.”
If the word abomination was an insult, Poe never expressed it. “Scroll means nothing, but Poe’s friend means everything.”
“You will sacrifice your life for mortals. Where is your honor? We’ll make you watch their deaths.”
Poe turned to the five beings and smiled. “You may rule the day, but I rule the night.” Poe’s carved, vacant holes spread open, forming one large hole that spewed out darkness toward the beings.
****
Justin followed Adam through the doorway, holding his breath, hoping he wouldn’t have to see the pale bloodsuckers again, but after discovering Adam was aware of the beings, he felt a bit safer.
They arrived at the graveyard blanketed in sunlight.
Adam glanced around for Poe, not seeing him, then turned to Justin. “Where do you think they went?”
“Maybe the manor.”
“Where’s the way in?”
“There’s a back door in a tomb.”
“Okay, taking the lead?”
Justin moved forward, leading Adam into the tomb where the open casket sat, and the staircase was still visible.
“All right, I can lead again.” Adam pulled out his dagger and moved up the stairs. “Be ready for anything.”
“Okay.”
When they reached the top, the grand room, Justin saw that the scattered bodies of the villagers and the hovering bodies of the pale vampires were gone.
Justin scanned the room while he moved with Adam, seeing no sign of Poe.
“Poe!” Adam called out.
“Adam, do you think it’s wise to make noise?”
Before Adam could respond, a loud crash echoed from a nearby room.
“That came from the room where I found the scroll,” Justin said.
They rushed to the room, finding the door open and Poe standing by a large broken window and several robes scattered on the floor.
“Poe!” Adam called, rushing to him.
Poe turned, seeing his friends and holding the scroll.
Adam kneeled, grabbing his shoulders. “Poe, are you all right?”
Poe said nothing as he stared at Adam and then glanced up at Justin.
“Maybe he’s in shock,” Justin said.
“Poe, buddy, are you hurt? What happened here?”
Poe started to respond when a roar erupted behind them.
Adam rose and turned to the noise, placing Justin and Poe behind him.
A werebat the size of three bears walked in on all fours, with black-gray fur. Its thick, curled claws tapped the marbled floor while its blue eyes leered at them.
“When I tell you to run, run,” Adam whispered without taking his eyes off the bat.
“You do know a bat has exceptional hearing?” Justin whispered back.
A normal bat would release a sharp chirping sound but as a werebat, it discharged a screech that rattled the room and windows.
Adam said nothing and signaled Justin with his finger to grab Poe and run as he pulled out his gun and raced toward the bat.
Justin wanted to help but knew his job was to get Poe to safety. He scooped up the pumpkin and ran to the far side of the room and slid under a table to wait for their chance to get out.
Adam unloaded his weapon into the beast, hitting his chest and head.
This caused the werebat to stumble but not fall, not surprising Adam. But it was a good result for him as the werebat kept its focus--solely on him now.
Adam saw Justin and Poe under a table, waiting for the bat to move from the doorway. So he stood his ground, holstered his gun, and grinned at the monster, who roared before charging at him.
“Justin, run!” Adam screamed, unsheathing his sword and taking a battle stance.
Justin saw their opening and ran for their lives out of the room, through the grand hall towards the stairs.
“No, Justin. Adam!” Poe cried.
“Adam can handle himself! When he says run, we run!”
“No! Adam!”
“Right behind you, buddy!”
Adam’s voice startled Justin and Poe when the brawny man ran up beside Justin and swooped him onto his shoulder, still holding Poe, who gripped the scroll.
Both--Rogue and Pumpkin viewed the Werebat healing from the several wounds Adam inflicted on it, bearing down on them while Adam masterfully skipped down the stone stairs without slipping. They reached the bottom, and Adam never lost a beat as he charged out of the tomb towards the portal. The Werebat took flight and beat them to the portal with great speed, blocking their escape.
Adam skidded to a stop holding his friends. He was about to turn and run the other way when the Werebat doubled over, seeming in pain.
Did my strikes land a kill? Adam wondered. He tried to shift around the bat to reach the portal when he saw what was tormenting the bat. Something was bubbling under the fur on his back. The creature recoiled in agony when the parasites ripped from the flesh revealing pale, wet ovals. Adam lowered the pair so he wasn’t the only witness to the revulsion he was seeing.
“What the hell is that?” Justin asked, his face distorted.
“It’s having babies,” Poe said, unmoved, his carved expression unchanged.
“Justin, make a new portal.”
“If I do, they can come through that one. It should be closed first.”
“Then close it.”
“I didn’t open it so I don’t know how.”
Adam watched as five bald spawns erupted from the creature’s back and hovered naked in the air, showing no sexual organs.
“Poe, give me the scroll.”
Poe obeyed, handing the parchment over.
The werebat collapsed exhausted while the beings absorbed the sunlight, growing stronger and baring their fangs.
Adam managed to get them close enough, where he grabbed Justin and Poe and tossed them through the portal.
Poe extended his vines to catch Justin before he smacked the ground.
Justin scrambled to his feet. “Adam, come on!”
“Get going. I’ll be right behind you! I have something to take care of!”
“No, Adam!” Justin cried.
