by Gwynn White
Find out what’s coming next at www.aeon14.com
Dark Eyes: Cursed
Jamie Campbell
Copyright © 2013 Jamie Campbell
Jamie Campbell asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author.
About Dark Eyes: Cursed
It’s time to break the curse.
For centuries, the Black Eyed People have been suffering at the hands of a witch’s curse. Unable to overcome their compulsion to kill, no-one is safe.
Sixteen year old Ariel Cole doesn’t know anything about the new guy in school except that she is strangely mesmerized by him.
Learning Gabe is one of the Black Eyed People, she knows she must break the curse or risk losing him forever. With her love greater than any murderous compulsion, she delves into a world full of witches, warlocks, and dark magic.
Caught in the middle of an urban legend, Ariel and Gabe must face their darkest fears or the curse will claim more victims and tear them apart.
I
The Meeting
“Love is like a war: easy to begin but very hard to stop.”
* * *
H.L. Mencken
Chapter One
Ariel didn’t know what made her look at him, but once she did she couldn’t look away. He was captivating, mesmerizing, and everything she shouldn’t get involved with.
“Who’s that guy?” She asked her best friend Cassidy. She always knew the gossip at Central Heights High School. If she didn’t know about it, then it didn’t happen.
“He’s new,” she replied simply.
“And?”
“That’s it. Nobody knows anything about him.” She shrugged, obviously not as affected by him as Ariel was. She wanted to shake her for more information but knew she was telling the truth.
“What’s with the sunglasses, do you think?” Ariel asked casually, trying to play it cool. She didn’t have to know Ariel could feel her heart beating faster with his presence.
Cassidy finally looked up to stare at him too. He was standing by his locker, intent on something lurking in the space. His sunglasses were dark but they were inside, there were no harmful UV rays in the corridor.
“I guess he wants to look cool,” she said. Ariel didn’t agree, he looked cool without the sunglasses. He didn’t need them to pull off his look. “Come on, we should get to class.”
Ariel nodded and allowed herself to follow her but she continued to watch him until they turned a corner. She took a photograph in her mind, trying to remember everything about him. From his blonde hair to his black skinny jeans, she wanted all the details.
She spent the rest of the morning hoping she would run into him. Ariel didn’t know what grade he was in or whether they would have any of the same classes, but she was on the lookout. Several times Cassidy asked her why she was so distracted but she couldn’t let her know the truth – she would never hear the end of it. Cassidy would come up with some crazy plot to get them together. Normally Ariel wouldn’t have cared, but this guy was different. She was sure he wouldn’t be into playing games.
When lunchtime came, it was like Ariel had already lived a complete week. The lines went endlessly slow, the entire time she had to make conversation about English class. Cassidy thought they were wasting time learning about old books, apparently Twilight was the future.
They found a table in amongst the chaos of the cafeteria and sat. Ariel pushed her lunch around the plate, trying to make it look more appetizing – it wasn’t working.
Then it happened. Across the room, Mr. Mysterious was sitting at a table by himself. He still wore his sunglasses and the slight frown on his face. Nobody was paying him any attention except to avoid sitting near him.
“The poor guy, he’s sitting by himself,” Ariel said aloud before she could stop herself. Cassidy turned around to see what she was talking about it.
“Maybe if he wasn’t so weird-”
“He’s not weird,” she cut her off, snapping. She instantly regretted it. “Sorry.”
“If you like him so much, maybe you should go sit with him,” Cassidy replied indignantly. Ariel knew she had offended her, but she would get over it.
“Maybe I will.”
She arched one of her perfectly plucked eyebrows at her friend in challenge, not believing Ariel would actually do it. In all honesty, she didn’t think she would either.
But Ariel picked up her tray and headed over to his table. She had to know more about him, it felt like she couldn’t live another moment without doing it. Cassidy’s eyes burned on her back the entire way.
Ariel slid onto the bench across the table from him. His head shot upwards with the noise. Without seeing his eyes, she couldn’t tell his reaction to her presence. She felt her stomach do a back flip with nerves.
“Hi, I’m Ariel. You’re new, right?” She tried to sound happy and positive and not the anxious little girl that she felt.
“Yeah.” He wasn’t exactly one for many words, obviously.
“How are you liking Central Heights High so far?”
“Okay.”
Perhaps coming over was a huge mistake. Obviously the guy didn’t want to talk. But Ariel wasn’t prepared to give up yet, Cassidy was still watching and waiting for her to scurry back. She didn’t want to do that, not yet.
“Is it different to your old school?” She asked, still trying to keep her voice light.
“Not really,” he looked down at his lunch again. “I sat by myself for a reason.”
Was he seriously telling her in a not-so-subtle way to leave? There Ariel was, trying to be all nice and friendly and he was being outright rude. Perhaps he wasn’t the kind of guy she thought he was.
“Well, I should go then.”
“Bye.”
He didn’t even look up as she left. Ariel took her tray and returned to Cassidy. Her anger grew with each footstep she took.
“He told me to go away, how rude. Can you believe it?”
Cassidy grinned. “I told you he was weird.”
Weird or not, the guy had a serious problem. Still, Ariel couldn’t help but keep flicking her eyes his way. There was more to him than he let on, there was something behind the wall he built around himself. She just knew it and she also knew her mission would be to find out.
Chapter Two
Ariel’s mom was late to pick her up – again. She wished she would just let her walk home, it couldn’t be any less safe than standing at the school gates for over an hour every day. Someone could just as easily abduct her from there, she was always the last to be picked up.
The sounds of a scuffle caught her attention, perhaps she wasn’t the last one there after all. Ariel turned around to the courtyard and saw the source of the noise. Carson Bentley, the school’s star hockey player, was doing his usual trick of intimidation. He and two of his friends had someone cornered.
She would normally pretend she didn’t see it, only because Carson didn’t have a problem exacting revenge when someone got involved in his business. Besides, it wasn’t like there were any teachers still around to tell, they all fled like rats on a sinking ship shortly after the bell rang.
But Ariel saw who they were picking on and couldn’t stand idly by. She hurried over to the courtyard before she could talk some sense into herself.
“Let him go,” she yelled. “He hasn’t done anything to you, Carson.”
The hockey player had Mr. Grumpy Mysterious by the shirt collar, their faces just inches apart. He still wore the vacant expression on h
is face, as far as she could tell through the sunglasses, anyway. He wasn’t reacting, not even trying to get out of Carson’s grip.
“Let him go, Carson,” Ariel repeated, trying to get through his thick skull. She considered he had taken one too many pucks to the head.
“Oh look, your girlfriend has come to rescue you, how sweet,” Carson sneered into his face. He still didn’t say or do anything. Did the guy have a death wish? Ariel was starting to think so.
They stood there for an agonizingly long period of time. She pulled at Carson’s arm and he swatted her away like she was a fly. Ariel was half of his size, there was nothing she could physically do to stop him.
Finally, he pushed the guy away. “Stay out of my way next time,” he threatened before leaving them standing there. They waited until they left the courtyard before moving themselves.
The guy picked up his satchel and glared at her, she could feel it even through the dark shades. He didn’t say anything, just started walking away from her. Ariel couldn’t believe it, she stood there with her mouth agape.
But only for a second. “Hey! A thank you would be nice,” she yelled after him. He kept walking. “What’s your problem?”
He stopped walking, his back was still to her. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“Well, it didn’t look like you were going to do anything about it.”
They were both frozen like statues. He was mad but so was Ariel. She didn’t have any idea what was about to happen and that scared her a little. But it also excited her just as much.
He turned around slowly and started walking towards her. She couldn’t move, all she could do was stand there and watch him. Ariel buzzed with anticipation.
He stopped right in front of her. She could feel his piercing gaze through the sunglasses, she wished he would take them off so she could see it for herself.
“If I did something about it, he would be dead right now,” he said evenly, like he was just stating a fact. It made all the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She was speechless.
He walked away just as calmly. Ariel waited in her spot until she could no longer see him. Only then did she regain the feeling in her legs. She hurried back to the school entrance and waited for her mom, wishing she would hurry.
“Will you get away from that window,” Cassidy sighed. “You’ve been staring at him all afternoon.”
“I can’t help it, I can’t figure him out,” Ariel answered before doing as she said. She moved from the windowsill to the bed and Mr. Mysterious left her view.
Ariel was surprised to hear his family had moved in across the street from Cassidy’s house. From the information she had gathered so far, he apparently lived with his parents – or at least a motherly and fatherly type. She thought his father had a job but his mother was often home so she may have been a stay-at-home mom.
“What’s to figure out? He’s a jerk.”
“There’s more to him,” Ariel protested. There had to be, nobody acted like that without something else going on.
“You’re a gorgeous girl, Ariel, find someone else to obsess over,” Cassidy teased, even though she was completely wrong. Ariel had never had a boyfriend before, it wasn’t like they were lining up to date her. She may as well have been invisible for all the guys at their school cared.
“I’m not obsessing over him.”
She gave Ariel that ‘sure, let’s pretend I believe you’ look. “He’s not worth it. You deserve better, even if he is sexy in that brooding kind of way.”
Now it was Ariel’s turn to raise an eyebrow at her. “You think he’s sexy?”
“He’s not exactly my type, but I know he’s yours.”
She didn’t know she had a type, but apparently Cassidy did. Thinking about it, she supposed she was right. Ariel always fell for the lost souls, the ones nobody else wanted. Perhaps it was all she thought she could get. Now that was a depressing thought.
“So did you hear anything else about him?” Ariel asked hopefully. A whole three days had passed since he started at their school, that gave her plenty of time to do some digging. She grinned and Ariel knew she had something. She was bursting to know what it was. “Well? Share, now.”
“His name is Gabe Snow. According to the rumors, he had to leave his last high school because he was kicked out. The family never stay anywhere very long,” she took a breath. “They don’t even own the house across the street, they’re just renting. They don’t put down roots.”
Ariel didn’t care about any of that stuff, all she could think of was Gabe. His name was Gabe. Mr. Mysterious was starting to get clearer in her mind. Gabe.
Chapter Three
History was normally Ariel’s favourite class, she loved hearing about the scandals and drama that took place so long ago. But today, sitting in class, all she could do was sneak looks at Gabe. He was in the back row, his sunglasses firmly on. He barely moved, not even a twitch. It crossed her mind that he may have been asleep.
It must have occurred to Miss Perry too, she singled him out when looking for answers to the quiz.
“Mr. Snow, we are indoors and safe from the sun’s laser beams. Kindly remove your sunglasses.” She stood waiting while the rest of the class turned to stare at Gabe, anticipating his next move. It was impossible of course, nobody ever knew what Gabe would do.
“They’re prescription,” Gabe replied without a hint of emotion in his voice.
“Don’t you have regular glasses for class time?”
“No.” He really was a guy of few words. Ariel resisted the urge to roll her eyes, Gabe seriously didn’t know what was good for him. Surely he had to care about something.
“Well, you don’t need glasses to listen, take them off.” Miss Perry gave him the death stare, expecting her order to be followed. She was normally a good teacher if you did what she said without hesitation. All the boys in the class normally loved her.
Gabe just sat there, unmoving. He didn’t even attempt to take off his sunglasses, he just stared straight ahead like he was trying to tune her out. It was weird, Ariel could practically hear Cassidy saying it across the room.
“Mr. Snow?” Still no answer. The vein on Miss Perry’s neck was starting to throb as her anger boiled. “Get out. Go to the Principal’s office and explain to her why you can’t follow directions.”
Without even a sigh or protest, Gabe gathered his books and left the classroom. Every single set of eyes in the room watched his every movement. Ariel’s included, they were wide with shock. He hadn’t even argued or tried to defend himself. The guy had a serious problem, she just wished she didn’t care to find out what it was.
“Now, we can get back to the lesson plan,” Miss Perry sighed as she picked up the thick textbook. Ariel suddenly couldn’t sit there any longer, she had to get out of there. Her hand shot up in the air before she could stop it. “Miss Cole?”
“May I go to the bathroom, please?”
“Be quick about it.” She returned to the front of the room as Ariel grabbed her bag and hurried out.
She had no intention of going to the bathroom, instead making her way along the corridor. Every sense she had was on the lookout for Gabe. If history had taught her anything, it was that he had no intention of going to the Principal’s office. He wasn’t one to do as he was told.
Sure enough, the door slammed at the end of the hallway as Gabe disappeared outside. She followed, desperately wanting to see where he went. Ariel couldn’t explain why but it was like they were tethered together by a piece of string. She had to know everything about him.
Outside, Gabe crossed the football field and headed for the woodlands that surrounded two sides of the school. It was dense with old trees and off limits to students. It never stopped people going in there, but they weren’t supposed to. It was a good make out spot – apparently, Ariel wouldn’t know.
It was darker under the shade of the trees, sunlight filtered through the leaves and danced on the ground in a snowflake patte
rn. She had to watch where she was going to keep from catching her foot on a fallen branch.
Gabe didn’t seem to be having the same trouble. With his head held high, his stride was confident as he walked ahead. His blonde hair flopped with each step, the gentle breeze ruffling it slightly.
Suddenly, he stopped. Ariel did too, almost losing her balance in the process. He didn’t turn around but she sensed she had been caught. It wouldn’t have been hard, she wasn’t exactly a stealthy mover.
“Go away,” he said into the forest.
“No,” Ariel replied defiantly, she didn’t really have anything else to say. It wasn’t like she had a good excuse for following him. Some may even have called it stalking.
“Why can’t you leave me alone?” It was a fair question, one Ariel probably would have asked too. The problem was that she didn’t have an answer. She didn’t even know why she couldn’t leave him alone. Was that how obsessions started?
Who was she kidding? She was already obsessed. “Because I can’t figure you out.”
“Go back to school.”
“No.”
He continued walking without another word. Of course, Ariel followed in silence too. He knew she was and didn’t try to lose her. He could have even slowed down slightly, but she couldn’t be sure. It may have just been wishful thinking.
As her feet were starting to get sore in her shoes that were inappropriate for hiking, Gabe stopped again. They had reached a creek where he sat on one of the large rocks by the bed. Instead of the rustling of leaves, now the only sound was the trickling of water.
Ariel stood there awkwardly, wishing she had a plan. He seemed to be just sitting there, staring at the water like it was a crystal ball. She sat on the rock beside him, she had come this far it wasn’t like she could play shy now.
