The Thousand Year Curse (The Curse Books)

by Taylor Lavati

  He lands perfectly over the river and onto the bank. His foot touches the river briefly, sizzling as it burns but it doesn't matter. He did it! He must have been holding out on me because there's no way he could have done that before. He must really want that kiss.

  Instead of gloating or being super confident, he just strolls right up to me grabbing onto my hips. He lifts me up in his arms like you see in the movies as I wrap my legs around him. He starts walking us back towards a wall until my back hits it.

  He doesn't start off slow or easy. He goes right in for the kill. He parts my lips wide and thrusts his tongue deep in my mouth, leaving me gasping for air. He touches every part of my mouth with his. It's not sloppy, just full on passion. I try to go stroke for stroke with him but I'm losing my breath.

  I can't keep up with his kisses. They're just too fast and strong and not enough time to breathe in between. I pull away from him before I pass out from lack of oxygen. He doesn't drop me or let me go. He stands there holding me, his eyes a mix of dark evergreen that I love. I peck him on the lips and rest my forehead against his as we stare into each others eyes.

  "Did you get what you wanted?" I ask him winking, liking the confident side he brings out in me.

  "I got way more." He whispers, taking my hand and kissing my knuckles. "Thank you."

  "What did I do?" I question him.

  "You gave me strength." He states. I just smile up at him. Since that river went over perfectly, we decide to keep going to the final obstacle. I don't want to stop for anything. There is one river left and it's called Styx.

  Apparently it is the river of hatred. Ari says that there is a ferry that will be able to take us across but it only takes dead people so we might have to swim. Either way he claims it isn't going to be that hard.

  I don't believe him for one second.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  meeting charon

  We make it to the Styx in record time. I'm not keeping track of how to get here or names. Hopefully, I'll never have to come down here again.

  The Styx river is very different from the other ones. Firstly, it's huge. Instead of going across our path like the previous ones, it is the path. There are no rocks along the sides, there is only water with no ending.

  It's very swamp like, the water grey and murky. Plants and trees sprout out everywhere and it smells foul. I can't even begin to imagine the creepy crawling things under the surface. This ferry man better give us a ride.

  "The ferry operator should be here soon. Let's just wait it out." Ari suggests, leading us towards a wall.

  "Good call. I'm not swimming in there." He laughs at me but I don't care. I'll make him throw me again before I swim.

  We wait about five minutes before we get bored standing still. That pop tart didn't hold me over for long so I suggest eating.

  We plop down on some larger rocks and have our own picnic. I gulp down another gatorade and pop tart as Ari does the same.

  I am very surprised by Ari as I ruffle through his backpack. He is a very smart packer. He brought the essentials, food, bandages and other first aid supplies. It makes him my number one travel companion, should I come back.

  Another ten minutes go by and a rumble breaks the silence. We spot a boat in the distance so Ari packs up his backpack fast, putting our garbage and bottles back in the bag. We wait for the boat to reach us. As the boat, if it's even called a boat, comes closer I get more and more nervous. It is one of those boats you would see in the bayou of Louisiana with the huge fan on the back propelling it forward.

  I stand holding Ari's hand but am positioned behind him protectively. Normally it might bother me but I don't feel like he's restricting me. He doesn't tell me what to do, he lets me choose. I am down here after all.

  "Charon, old friend." Ari says as if they are old friends. The guy looks at Ari like he has two heads and I start to worry. This guy is so scary, with a huge muscular body. He looks evil but his eyes are kind, in a confusing way.

  I thought Ari had big muscles but this guy is insane, like a body builder. He's at least double the size of Ari with light skin but similar dark hair. His face is small in comparison to his body, making it like a little pea head. His eyes are what get me though. They are deep brown with flecks of yellow, filled with emotion.

  "Aristeus, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Charon asks, amused.

  "I need a ride to the main gates." Ari cuts right to the chase. I hold my breath for the guys answer. Please say yes, please say yes. I can't swim in there. Please don't make me.

  "You know I can't do that." He proclaims.

  "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't urgent." Ari tries to persuade him.

  "You put me in a tough place." Charon answers back, a little regretfully.

  "I brought you something." Ari reaches into his backpack and takes out two golden discs. They don't look like much to me but it clearly intrigues Charon. His eyes practically pop out of his head as he reaches for the discs. When he's too close, Ari pulls them back, not letting Charon touch them.

  "They're yours for the trip."

  After a moment of thought Charon answers, "fine, you win. Get on." Ari hands him one disc but holds the other one back. "When we get there, this is yours." Ari states as the man turns his back to start the engine. Ari climbs onto the boat first and then reaches down to help me. He lifts me up by the arms and then pulls me onto his lap.

  "Tell me how you've been." Charon tells Ari, starting up small talk. We are now cruising across the water with some serious speed. I try watching the landscape around me but I lose track of where I am getting dizzy as air whizzes past my head with great speed.

  "My luck is turning up." Ari smiles down at me. "Charon, this is Eurydice." Ari introduces us. The man looks back at me with an open mouth, awkwardly tainting our introduction.

  "Eurydice? It's a pleasure to finally meet you." He states honestly, making me smile.

  "And you as well." I say, trying to mimic the way he speaks. He sounds very old like we are all prim and proper.

  "Tell me how you met this time." Charon demands, not leaving us any room for discussion. Ari opens his mouth to talk but Charon points to me, silencing him. I don't even know what to say.

  "We met at school actually. He forced me to show him around and then he took me out on his bike after he pissed off my boyfriend." I get out a very condensed version. I meant it all as a joke but Charon isn't laughing. Instead his face pinches in in confusion.

  "Your boyfriend? I'm confused I thought you two…" He trails off.

  "Charon, that's enough." Ari cuts him off, rubbing my back in small circles.

  "I'm with Ari right now, but I met Ollie, or you know him as Orpheus, first. The reason we're here is to get some answers about my past. I want to know it all." I explain to Charon, trying to make him understand without sounding stupid.

  "I see." Charon states. He says nothing else the whole ride, leaving the air filled with a heavy tension. He's probably questioning why I am sitting on Ari's lap when I have a boyfriend.

  This freaking trip feels like it's been weeks. I've been with Ari this whole time and he's taken up my heart and my mind yet I can't get rid of the feeling that Ollie is my soul mate.

  When we get to the other side of the river swamp, I stand up, stretching on the back of the boat as it slows. My elbow cracks as I move and Ari laughs at me. I jump off the boat with Ari's help but he remains on the boat speaking in whispers with Charon. I can tell that I'm not invited to the conversation so I turn the other way and pretend to be looking around, when really I try eavesdropping.

  All I can pick up is Charon telling Ari that he is finally getting his chance and that it is his time. I don't really get what he means. Ari pays Charon with the second disc and they hug saying their goodbyes. Ari waves as the boat leaves and then comes back over to my side.

  "What was that about?" I ask him once he's next to me.

  "Just saying goodbye. I rarely see him and doubt I'll see him again." He
tells me as we start walking along the final leg of this journey.

  The gates ahead of us are three times the height of the Field of Punishment. They are pure black with hardly any space between each of the poles. It is almost like there is a dark cloud over them, warning people to stay away.

  "No matter what happens just remember that I'm here for you, okay?" Ari stresses to me, lifting my hand to his mouth. He gives me a kiss and trails them up my body to my mouth, giving me the confidence I need to push through this final encounter.

  "I know you are." I say as we waltz up to the gate. There are no locks or buttons to press. Instead Ari just goes right up to the gate and pushes it open. We slide in and then Ari shuts the door. Why it is so easy to get in?

  "It's meant to let people in. The hard part, for most people, is getting out." Ari warns me.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  hades isn't friendly

  There is a whole new dimension inside of the dark gates. The place is enormous. The black gates go around the entire area. In the middle is a huge castle made of black stone. There are spires traveling high into the sky also hauntingly black.

  The ground is all dark gravel and rock. There is no sun in the sky but oddly enough it isn't pitch black. In front of us are two huge doors leading inside Hell, two stories high at least.

  Before we open the doors, I grab onto Ari's shirt and pull him into me for one final kiss. It's almost sad, like we know everything is going to change in a few minutes. It's a perfect kiss for the moment. He deepens our touch and I moan into his mouth when his hands roam over my body.

  "What the hell!" Somebody roars, tearing us away from our loving embrace as if we got shocked. We both look around to see where the voice is coming from but I can't see anything. I turn towards the castle and spy a figure standing in the doorway, their face shielded by the darkness.

  "Ollie?" I shriek at him, recognizing his body shape. "What are you doing here?" I ask, sprinting towards him. I wrap my arms around his neck not even thinking about it.

  "What are you doing here?" He asks, pushing me off of him. I take a step back facing Ari, pleading with my eyes for him to help me out but his face is unreadable.

  "We came down to find my mom." I try to explain but my voice comes out child like and frightened.

  "Your mom?" He questions me, taken aback.

  "Yeah. I want to find her." I explain to him.

  Silence ensues and I can tell everyone is freaking out in their own heads. The tension in the air is palpable. I can feel it slivering around me like a snake, suffocating my lungs.

  "And in between getting down here and lying to me, you thought hooking up with him was a good idea?" Ollie bites out at me, barely able to look me in the eyes. I step back from Ollie unsure of what he is going to do as he eyes Ari aggresively.

  "It wasn't like that!" I plead with him on the verge of tears.

  "What exactly was it like?" He asks me and I'm unsure of how to answer him. It's all so confusing to me. I can't articulate what I am feeling. I screwed up and I get that. I can't help these feelings though. It's not like I'm choosing to fall in love with the both of them.

  "It just happened. I can't explain it." I say, feeling awful.

  "Can we just go figure out her situation and get the hell out of here?" Ari cuts in to the conversation, pushing past both me. He gets in front of Ollie and stands there, their eyes dead locked.

  In a split second, Ollie pushes him down on the floor and jumps on top of his fallen body. His fist slams into Ari's face over and over again splashing blood outwards. I rush to their side, grabbing onto Ollie's shirt.

  I try to pull him back off Ari but his shirt rips in my hand and he lunges forward, landing another hit square in his jaw. I look down at Ari to see if he's moving and he's just taking punch after punch, not moving a single muscle to stop him.

  "You're going to kill him!" I scream out of Ollie hitting him on the back to get his attention off Ari. I'm genuinely scared for his life and would rather have Ollie attack me than kill Ari.

  "Get off me." Ollie bites out, still pinning Ari down.

  "Get off of him first!" I yell, pulling his arms off Ari's broken and beaten body. Ollie walks away in huffs, stomping his feat and unclenching his fists. I hold back tears as I bend down towards Ari's lifeless body.

  "Are you okay?" I ask him, cradling his head in my hands. He doesn't saying anything but his chest moves up and down so I know he's alive.

  "He's fucking immortal. He's fine, Ryder." Ollie says pulling me up. "Can we talk?" He asks me, his eyes now soft blue and gentle. The difference between now and just a few moments ago where he turned into that monster is unreal.

  "Sure." I mutter, letting him take me away from Ari.

  "I don't get what you see in him. That guy is a sad excuse of a man and he's manipulating you. Don't you see that?" His voice is so hard it leaves me scared and shivering.

  "You don't know him." I say, my voice small.

  "Oh, I do more than you do right now, Ryder."

  "No you don't." I lash out, hating the way Ollie is talking to me. Both of us eye each other, neither saying a word. I'm so upset with Ollie but really, I get it. He saw me kissing someone else. I just wish he would understand that I don't have much control over my emotions right now. I can guarantee it's because of this curse.

  "Will you come inside with me?" I ask Ollie hoping that we can clear the air, move forward, get some answers and then get out of here. Once we're back on earth, I can try to sort out my feelings.

  He doesn't say anything instead he takes my hand in his clenching it too hard. He pulls me against his chest, gripping me tight. He takes my head back in his hands and gives me a passionate kiss. It's all wrong though. It seems spiteful like he is trying to say 'screw you' to Ari and me. I will not be used.

  I pull back from the kiss, turn and see Ari, now fully awake and back to normal health, staring between us. He looks pissed but more so, hurt. I look back at Ollie with his smug grin across his face and slap him.

  The sound echoes around the castle as silence takes over between us. Ari rushes over to me retaining me from hitting Ollie again. He tries hard not to touch me anywhere inappropriate. For once Ari is actually considerate of other peoples feelings. Ollie reaches up touching the spot that I hit him and looks at me bewildered.

  "That kiss was bullshit. You did it to piss Ari off. You used me." I screech at him. I pull away from Ari and walk past the two guys and into the castle of Hell not scaring if they follow.

  Immediately after getting in the castle, a sense of de ja vu washes over me, remembering it from my dream. I am on the bottom floor near the stairs that I walked down. I know that if I keep walking forward I will hit that big dining room. I am hoping that Hades will be in there like my dream.

  I walk through the doors to the big room and am disappointed when it's empty except for a small fire crackling in the fireplace. There is a long table down the middle. The floors are wooden and the walls are dark. There are candles against the walls that are dimmed down, creating an eery atmosphere to the room.

  "Who are you?" A voice booms out towards me. I glance around but I can't see anything in the dimly lit room. I keep moving around the dining room, searching for the voice.

  "What do you want?" The same deep voice calls out again. The noise right behind my ear. I jump back in fear, searching for the owner of the voice.

  "Get out!" The voice screams out making me bend down as it sounds as if it's directly above me.

  I start to turn around and run when I collide straight into a body. I push off thinking it must be Ollie or Ari but it is neither. It is him. The man I have been looking for.

  "Hades." I whisper in disbelief.

  "In the flesh." He responds. He looks much scarier in person. His giant height creates dark shadows as he loom over me. His hair is darker than before but looks to be damp. He smells of burning wood and something acid like. He smells kind of like how vodka tastes—bitter and burnt.


  "I'm Eurydice." I say, holding out my hand towards him formally.

  "I know." He states, looking at me harder, refusing to touch me. His eyes go up and down my body at least two times before he walks around me in a circle, studying me. "It's true. You have God's blood coursing through your veins." He drawls out as a statement.

  "I do." I say very simply. He looks pissed. He opens his mouth to say something to me but shuts it as my boys walk through the door. Ollie first then Ari trailing behind. They walk right up to me and stand on either side, their faces hard yet expressionless.

  "The whole gangs here. I have to say, this is a first!" He says delightfully clapping his hands together manically. The smacks echoing through the room.

  "I want to know who my mother is and I want you to end this curse." I demand acting brave. I decide to be like Ari, straight forward. I need to say what I need to say and move on.

  "No. And um, no." He states dismissing me as he walks away out of the room. The way he walks pisses me off. He is so cocky that it's annoying and grates on my last nerve. He has every reason to be. I mean he is the ruler of the Underworld but still.

  I follow close behind him. "Please just help me. I don't want to have this curse anymore. It's gone on too long." I plead with him, as the boys follow close behind.

  "Why would I end the curse when the game has just changed?" He questions with amusement in his voice. He smiles back at me but continues to walk towards the other side of the room.

  "What game? This is my life!" I complain, making him stop his retreat.

  "Ah, but in this life you shall have to choose." He tells me, simply winking towards the boys standing a few feet behind me.

  "Choose what?" I ask no one in particular. He looks at me, tilting his head to the side, willing me to understand. It sinks in. In my previous lives I have loved both Ollie and Ari or one of them. I never have had to choose who I want to be with since I die so early. Now I have five hundred or more years to be with one of them. I can't love them both. I know that.