Cursed

by Sue Tingey

  “She’s top of her class,” Petunia told me with a proud smile. “If she’s still doing so well by the holidays she’ll move up into my class. That’s why she’s working so hard.”

  “So, you’re still happy here?” I asked.

  “Oh yes,” Angela said, her light brown eyes looking at me with a wary defiance. “I really love it. You’re not going to make me go back, are you?”

  “Not if you don’t want to.”

  She shook her head. “No, never.”

  “Never is a long time,” I said.

  “You’re still here,” she said, crossing her arms.

  I had to smile; in less than two weeks she had grown from a frightened little girl to a confident young lady. “Yes, I am,” I said.

  She frowned, as if something was troubling her. “Have you seen Daddy?”

  “No,” I said, and to be truthful there had been so much going on I hadn’t given him much thought. Then it suddenly occurred to me that last time I had seen him, he had been in Kayla’s care. Did that mean his body was one of those thrown over the cliff at the villa?

  “What?” she asked, her tone anxious. Whatever she might say, she still cared about her father. I forced myself to smile, but she wasn’t stupid. “Has something happened?” she asked.

  “No, at least, nothing for you to worry about.”

  “But what about Daddy?”

  “I’ll make some inquiries and see if I can bring him to see you.”

  Angela shook her head. “No, don’t do that.”

  “Don’t you want to see him?”

  She bit her lip. “I want him to be all right, of course I do, but,” she gave a big angst-filled sigh that only prepubescent girls seem able to pull off, “I really don’t want to see him. He’ll want to take me back home and,” another sigh, “I really don’t want to live with him anymore.”

  I could understand that. He had betrayed her and her mother. In time she might forgive, but I doubted she’d ever forget. I glanced over my shoulder at Jamie who was standing behind me just inside the door. I could see Jinx out of the corner of my eye. He was leaning against the doorframe; half inside the room, half out. I guessed Shenanigans was outside in the hall with Leila. I didn’t know where Vaybian was, but he and I would have to talk: if anyone knew where Philip was it would be him.

  “We’ll come back in a few days,” Jamie said to Angela, “I’m sure we’ll have news of your father by then.”

  She gave him a shy smile. “Thank you.”

  “I’m taking it that Philip wasn’t among the bodies thrown over the cliff?” I said as we descended the stairs back to the barroom.

  “No,” both my men chorused.

  “I would have told you if he had been,” Jamie said.

  “I need to speak to Vaybian,” I said as I reached the bottom of the stairs. “Where is he by the way?”

  “I thought he was behind us when we left the table,” Jamie answered. We made our way across the bar to where Kerfuffle was waiting, but Vaybian was nowhere to be found.

  “Where’s Vaybian?” Jinx asked. His tone made me look at him; it hadn’t been friendly.

  Kerfuffle wasn’t oblivious. “I think he went for a piss. What’s the problem?”

  Jinx scanned the bar and Jamie followed his gaze. “Not sure, but for someone who promised to protect Lucky with his life an hour or so ago, he is strangely absent.”

  “I don’t think you can read too much into him not being here, Jinx. Kerfuffle is probably right and he’s gone out back,” Jamie said.

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “What are you thinking?” Jamie asked. I saw the way his eyes were constantly moving as he looked around the bar and I began to worry. Although Jamie and Jinx were sometimes at odds with each other, when it came to my safety they were definitely as one.

  Then a dark green figure appeared in the doorway and Vaybian pushed his way through the other customers with hardly a by-your-leave, his face back to its most arrogant. I cursed inwardly; I had so hoped we were over all this, and now, with my men all het up, I could see a confrontation coming on, which would end badly—and I doubted it would be my Guardian or Deathbringer who would come off worst.

  “Where in the fires of Hades have you been?” Jinx asked as soon as Vaybian was within hissing distance.

  Vaybian’s lips curled into their usual pompous sneer. “Doing my job, what do you think I’ve been up to?”

  “Your job?” asked Jinx, clearly not impressed.

  “Yes,” the green demon said. “My job.”

  “Explain,” Jamie said, his tone no nicer than Jinx’s.

  “I swore on my life to protect my lady’s sister and this is what I am doing.”

  My two demons crossed their arms and fixed him with stares that were so steely they were bordering on sword stabbing.

  “While you were engrossed in feeding your bellies and visiting orphaned children, I was watching one who was watching us.”

  “Orphaned?” I said, more alarmed by this word than any other danger. “What do you mean by ‘orphaned’?”

  “Lucky, for goodness’ sake,” Jamie snapped, “Philip Conrad is not a priority here—your safety is.”

  I glared at him.

  “Perhaps a bad choice of words,” Vaybian said. “But we cannot speak here. There are too many ears listening and too many eyes watching.”

  Jamie and Jinx moved in close to him so they were huddled together. “We are being spied upon?” Jamie asked, to which he received a curt “yes” from Vaybian.

  Jinx glanced over his shoulder toward Shenanigans who was making his way across the bar, and gestured that we were leaving with a jerk of his head toward the door. Kerfuffle hopped down off his chair and Pyrites padded out from beneath the table, growing to a size that meant my hand could rest comfortably on his head as he stalked along beside me.

  Vaybian walked ahead, while Jamie and Jinx walked either side of me and Pyrites, Kerfuffle and Shenanigans followed behind. My guards were suddenly taking their duties very seriously.

  Once outside the inn, Shenanigans and Kerfuffle took the lead and Jinx and Jamie dropped behind me, with Vaybian guarding my left and Pyrites my right.

  “Where are we going?” I asked Jamie, glancing back over my shoulder.

  “Out of the fortress and into the open,” he said.

  “To somewhere Baltheza will have no ears,” Vaybian said.

  “You think he’s spying on us?”

  “There was one in the inn who was taking more than a little interest in what we were saying and doing,” Vaybian said.

  “You have a name?” Jinx asked.

  Vaybian shook his head. “No, he kept his face in shadows.”

  “One of Amaliel’s men?”

  Vaybian glanced back over his shoulder at Jinx. “I hope not,” and it wasn’t just Kayla’s green captain who had to suppress his fear.

  Jamie and Pyrites ferried us over the fortress walls and out into the countryside, then we walked for a bit until we were in clear open space. Considering we were in a world where they didn’t have directional microphones, spy satellites or any other technological wizardry, my men were mighty paranoid and it made me doubly so. I supposed people who could communicate by staring into bowls of water, or travel between worlds by stepping into a black void had equally strange ways of spying on each other.

  When we reached a hill from where we could see for miles in every direction, Jinx flopped to the ground and the others joined him after having one final look around. Jamie took my hand and pulled me down to sit between him and Jinx with Pyrites lying across my legs.

  “Right,” Jinx said and all eyes were on Vaybian.

  “While we were eating,” Vaybian began, “a figure slipped in from the back entrance and stood at the bar with his back to us. As soon as the small table next to ours became free he sat down, again with his back to us.”

  “So?” Kerfuffle asked. “The place was packed out.”

  “When
you went upstairs he called over a serving girl and they had a whispered conversation during which she glanced toward the stairs and then laughed, saying, ‘No, those are the family quarters.’ He then paid her for his drink and left. I followed him out into the yard, but he had disappeared.”

  “When you say disappeared, what do you mean?” Jamie said.

  “Just that: I could only have been a few steps behind him, but he was nowhere to be seen.”

  “He must have left the inn running,” Jinx said.

  “Have you considered that it might be you who’s being spied on?” Jamie asked Vaybian. “Baltheza isn’t at all happy with you, after all. He may think you’ve got something to do with Kayla’s disappearance.”

  “When I first spotted the spy, yes, I thought it was a possibility. But when you went upstairs, it was obvious it wasn’t I who was under surveillance.”

  “This isn’t good,” Kerfuffle said.

  “It may be Lord Baltheza is just keeping an eye on Lucinda …” Jinx said.

  “Now say it as though you believe it,” Jamie said.

  Jinx lay out on his side, resting on one elbow and plucking a piece of grass, tapped it against his lips. “We’re missing something, I’m sure of it,” he said.

  “So, we know that Kayla may have been abducted in order to frame her for the attempt on Baltheza’s life, but is there another reason anyone can think of?” I asked.

  “They tried to take you too. Is that correct?” asked Vaybian.

  I nodded.

  “Perhaps they knew you would look for Kayla …”

  “So, Mistress Lucky may have been the target all along? Although, it seems stupid to go after a woman marked by two such powerful demons,” Shenanigans said.

  “The Sicarii didn’t know Lucky was marked by us,” Jamie said. Then he paused and added, “You don’t suppose this has anything to do with Lucky being a Soulseer?”

  “No one knew,” Jinx said, then he and Jamie exchanged a very dark look. “Amaliel Cheriour knew,” they said together.

  That was a conversation killer; even Pyrites looked worried. “Do you think he told anyone?” I eventually asked.

  “He would have told Baltheza, surely,” Jamie said.

  “I doubt it,” Vaybian said.

  All eyes turned to look at him. “Really?” Jamie said.

  “Despite Amaliel providing the court with the entertainment Baltheza enjoys the most, there is no real love lost between the two of them.”

  “And you know this how?” Jinx asked.

  “Watching them when they’re together, listening to what’s said. General observations of Baltheza’s body language … and if he did know Lucky was a Soulseer, I very much doubt she’d be welcome at his court.”

  No one had to tell me why this should be, Jamie and Jinx had already explained: the voices of the dead could tell me secrets that some wouldn’t want me to know. For a moment we lapsed into silence. We had got a bit further in our reasoning, but we had no hard evidence to back it up. The only thing we could do was return to court and hope Baltheza’s spies would come up with something soon. However, before we headed back, I wanted the answer to another question.

  “Hang on,” I said, as the others stood. “Vaybian, can you tell me where Philip is?”

  “Lucky,” Jamie gave an exasperated groan, “Philip is not important.”

  “Maybe not to you, but he is to Angela, even if she won’t admit it,” I said, giving him a don’t-you-dare-mess-with-me stare. “Vaybian?”

  “The last time I saw the human was at the villa, the night Kayla and I went to the olive grove. We left him in the corner eating.”

  “And he definitely wasn’t at the bottom of the cliff?” I asked Jamie again.

  “No,” said Jinx and Jamie together. “Although his body could have been washed away,” Jinx added.

  “I don’t think so. I wasn’t unconscious the whole time I was on the beach. When I came to I crawled over to the others to see if any of them had survived,” Vaybian’s voice cracked a little. “I don’t remember seeing him down there and I think I would’ve.”

  “So they must have taken him,” Jamie said.

  “But why?” Shenanigans asked. “What good would he be to them?”

  There was definitely more to this than a simple kidnapping, the troubling thing was we were scrambling around in the dark while the enemy—whoever they were—marched ahead.

  With that happy thought in mind we got up and made our way back to the very place I really didn’t want to be, but we had little choice. Baltheza had welcomed me in his court and insisted I stay at the royal palace. To disobey would appear disrespectful—and probably land my guards and me in a whole lot of trouble. We were walking on eggshells with Baltheza’s sanity as it was, all I could do was hope he didn’t intend to have another of his banquets followed by his idea of “entertainment.”

  There was one good thing about staying in the palace—I might get the opportunity to creep into the great hall when no one was about, then I’d be able to question the spirits.

  By the time we reached the fortress walls the light was fading and the two moons were beginning to rise above the horizon. The twin suns had almost disappeared except for the last few rays, which tinged the darkening sky.

  I didn’t want to cross those walls, and would have climbed up onto Pyrites and asked him to take me away if I could have, but it wasn’t an option: I had to find Kayla, and now Philip. I had no idea what part he had to play in all of this, but the fact he was missing too worried me. I had a feeling I may find some clues to their whereabouts inside the palace walls.

  “What are you thinking?” Jinx asked.

  “She does have that look,” Jamie said.

  “What look?” I asked.

  “The ‘I don’t care what they say I’ll do exactly what I want’ look,” Jamie said.

  “Pyrites, be a good lad and take Shenanigans, Kerfuffle and Vaybian over the wall, James and I need a quiet word alone with your mistress.”

  Kerfuffle and Shenanigans climbed onto Pyrites without comment. Vaybian didn’t look very happy, but then he very seldom did, so who knows what he was thinking. As soon as they were gone both my men turned to look down at me; Jamie frowning and solemn, Jinx with crinkles at the corners of his eyes and lips twitching. Jinx could never stay serious for long.

  “Out with it,” Jamie said.

  “Out with what?”

  “You know very well. I can practically see the cogs turning inside your head.”

  “Strange choice of expression when you don’t have anything mechanical in this world.”

  “You do in yours so don’t try to change the subject.”

  I frowned up at him and he frowned down at me and when Jinx began to chuckle our frowns became glares as we both turned them on him.

  Unperturbed, Jinx began to laugh out loud. “My, my, my,” he said, “I can’t wait for you two to have a real barney; sparks will certainly fly.”

  “Jinx, can’t you be serious for once in your life?” Jamie said.

  Jinx flashed teeth. “You, James my boy, are serious enough for the both of us.”

  Jamie closed his eyes and took a deep breath, I think counting to ten. Jinx gave me a nudge and winked, his expression slipping from devilish to innocence personified as Jamie’s eyes opened again. He wasn’t fooled so easily; he ignored Jinx and came straight back to me.

  “Why do you want to find Philip so badly?”

  “Well, it’s the right thing to do—”

  “Lucky, the man is a total bastard. Even his daughter wants no more to do with him.”

  “I know what he tried to do was terrible, but sometimes people do terrible things for good reasons.”

  “He manipulated you, lied to you and then betrayed you,” Jamie said.

  “I seem to remember he wasn’t the only one who manipulated me and told me lies.”

  Jamie had the good grace to dip his head in agreement. He had lied to me; lied to me b
ig time, all so that I’d invite him into my home. And I still couldn’t quite believe he’d managed it so easily on the very first day I met him.

  Jinx put his hands on my shoulders and turned me around so I was looking at him. His jovial smile had disappeared. “Lucinda, believe me when I tell you Philip Conrad is not a good man.”

  In my heart, I knew they were right. I just wanted to give Philip the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to believe he did what he did to save his daughter. Otherwise I would have to face the truth—I’d been gullible, naive and perhaps even a little bit stupid.

  “I’ll say no more,” Jinx said, “other than I want you to promise me that if it comes to it you’ll not risk yourself for Philip Conrad,” and Jamie gave a grunt. “Please?” Jinx added, and his expression was so anxious that I heard myself saying, “Yes, I promise.”

  “Well, I’m glad we’ve got that settled,” Jamie said with a certain amount of sarcasm.

  Jinx reached out to trace his fingers along my cheekbone. “Yes, so am I. Though I must admit, I’d like to find out why Philip Conrad was of interest to the Sicarii, wouldn’t you brother?”

  Jamie opened his mouth to say something, changed his mind, then gave a slow nod. “Yes, yes I would.”

  “There might be some answers in the great hall,” I told them.

  “That could be dangerous,” Jamie said. “You really don’t want anyone in the palace realizing you can see the dead.”

  “I thought maybe we could go and investigate when everyone’s asleep.”

  “I don’t think there’s ever a time in the palace when everyone is asleep. There’s always someone up and about. Guards, servants and don’t forget Amaliel; I don’t think he ever goes to bed. Although, there might be a quieter time to go …”

  “I’m with our lucky lady on this one, brother,” Jinx said. “It is strange.”

  Jamie thought on it. “All right. Though I suggest we investigate at first light. Anyone who’s about will be rushing around getting breakfast or changing shifts and we won’t look like we’re creeping around like thieves in the night.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Jinx said.

  I agreed. I could wait just a little longer if it meant not bumping into Amaliel in the darkened corridors of the palace. The thought of it alone gave me the heebie-jeebies.