I have been stuck in this house for what seems like months and nothing has changed except my patience. Every day is the same thing. Wait for Mum and Papa to wake, drink some concoction Papa comes up with, realize it does nothing to help me, wait for Papa to bring me some kind of animal to eat, and then wait for it all to start over again. I know Papa is doing his best to find a way to 'cure' me, but honestly, I think it is a waste of time. His and mine. There is no cure for this curse. That is about the only thing I am convinced of. Well, that and the fact that I am going to go absolutely crazy if I do not get out of here soon.
The only thing keeping me remotely sane is the time I have to myself when I can practice with my sword. I found that I did not need as much sleep as I used to, so I use the time to train. Of course, it is not the same as training with mum and papa, but it will have to do. Most of the time, I am able to sneak out to the stables for more room. It is one of my new abilities. Absolute stealth. Now that would be an amazing trait to have as a Hunter. If only I could hunt.
Oh, how wonderful it would be to get out there and put my new skills to use. I was a great Hunter before, but now, I would be unstoppable! And, every time I think that way, I would remind myself of how the first Cursed One I ever came up against turned me into one of them. Still, I really would be unstoppable now.
The horses were getting used to my presence in the stable now. It is a good thing. The first few times I snuck in here, they almost went crazy and I was sure the noise they made would certainly get me caught.
I am practicing my jabs and thrusts when I smell him. Thomas is here, near the stable I am in! Without thinking, I glance up at the loft about fifteen feet above me and jump. It hardly takes any effort to make it up there and any other time, I probably would have been impressed with myself. Instead, I hide behind one of the bales of hay that filled the area up here.
"Anala?" His whisper is loud enough to slightly annoy the horses. "I saw you come in here, where are you?"
"You should not be here, Thomas," I murmur.
He looks up at the loft, squinting in the low light, trying to find me.
Being able to see perfectly at night, another skill I have acquired. I see his beautiful face in the moonlight as clear as if we were in the bright daylight.
"Come down. Talk to me."
"I cannot. No! Do not come up here!"
He stops climbing the ladder and sighs. "I know you come in here to train," he says. "That must mean you feel better."
"It means I need to train or go crazy," I answer. "I am still - sick, Thomas. You should not be near me."
"Tell me what is wrong with you. You sound fine." He kicks the hay in front of him. "People are saying you have the black death. Are you dying, Anala?"
Ironically, I do not know the answer to that question. Hell, I do not even know if what I am is dead.
"You cannot be here, Thomas."
"You cannot die, Anala," he responds. "I have not even kissed you, yet."
My heart skips and then drops. If there really is no cure for me, I will never be able to see Thomas again.
"Thomas, do not say things like that."
"Anala, you must know how I feel about you. I have been so worried about you. Months! It has been months since I've seen you. I miss you."
"So you decide to watch me and follow me here?" I know it is not what he wants to hear, but I have no choice.
"What else am I to do? Your father will not permit me inside your house, and no one will tell me what is really wrong with you. If you are so contagious, why are your parents not sick."
"They are doctors, Thomas. They know how to protect themselves."
"Ugh! None of this makes any sense, Anala!"
"Shh! If you wake papa up, we will both be dying!"
"I am sorry, I am just so frustrated…wait! You are dying?"
It is silly that the only thing I can think about is how thick his accent gets when he is frustrated.
"I did not say that, Thomas."
"Let me see you, Anala. Please?"
"I cannot, Thomas. You have to go. Now. Do not ever come back."
"That will never happen, Anala. I will keep coming back until I get that kiss."
He walks out into the complete darkness and I follow him. When I am convinced there is not a chance he can see me, I take his hand. I have to cover his mouth to keep him from yelling out with surprise.
"Damn! What kind of Hunter am I if I cannot hear you coming up behind me?" He asks, breathlessly.
I say nothing and keep my eyes lowered on the off chance he may be able to see. Without a word, I lean in and kiss him softly on the lips. His grip tightens in my hand, and I linger just a little too long with the kiss, then push him away.
"There is your kiss, Thomas. Now you have to stay away."
I'm gone before he has a chance to respond. I will remember that kiss for years to come.
"Anala," papa calls from his lab.
I - with much effort - stifle a sigh and join him. "Yes, papa?"
"Try this one." He hands me a container with yet another elixir of some sort that I am sure tastes as awful as all of the others.
"Papa..." I want to protest so desperately, but I remember why he is doing this. I take the vial and drink it fast. Of course, I expect nothing, so when I feel something it takes me by surprise.
I double over in pain, feeling the now familiar ache in my teeth and burn in my eyes. Papa runs to my side, but I hold him away with my arm outstretched. The sensation inside me is so odd. All of a sudden, memories flood my mind and my heart feels - full. There is no other way to explain it.
"Anala, are you ill? What can I do?" I hear panic in papa's voice and hear mum rush in.
"What is it? What happened?"
"She turned after drinking the elixir. I am afraid I may have done the one thing we did not want to do," papa tells her sadly.
"Oh, Henry! What will we do?"
"Stop! Both of you. I am fine." I look up at both of them, knowing full well I still have the eyes and teeth of a Cursed One. I need them to know that even though I look like this, I have not been lost. "I am not sure what you did, papa, but I am still here."
Relief floods both of their faces. I think they are actually getting used to how I look when I 'change'. How strange my life has become.
"Can you explain what happened?" Papa asks.
"I - I am not sure. I think the pain is what made me change." I could feel myself returning to 'normal' as I speak. The bizarreness of it is reflected on mum's face.
"A defense mechanism," she says quietly.
"Hmm. After the initial shock," I continue, "the pain became tolerable. Then these memories inundated me."
"Memories?" Papa put his glasses on and searches for his tablet to take notes. "Memories of what?"
"Me," I answer. "From when I was a baby, until now. It was as if my entire life rapidly passed through my mind. But, I could vividly see each and every detail." I pause while papa wrote his notes, continuing only when he looks up at me. "Then my heart…" I place my hand over the beating in my chest. Is it odd that it still beats, I wonder.
"Did it hurt?" Mum asks.
"No, mum. It was - happy. Light and free." I look at papa. He needs to record this part for sure. "I think...I think I was feeling my humanity," I say softly.
Papa's hand pauses. He looks at me and his mouth holds the slightest of grins. "It is a start," he says and carries on with his writing.
Mum kneels in front of me, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "I do not feel your humanity will ever leave you, honey," she says as she places her hand on my cheek. "Your heart has always been strong."
I smile. I do not know if she is right, but I do know that as fantastic as the elixir was, it was not a cure.
"I am still Cursed, mum." I know they do not approve of that name for me, but let us be honest. It is what I am, humanity or not.
"We will keep working," papa says as he labels the elixir and stores it securely
in a lock box.
"Papa, do you actually think there is a cure? We have been doing this for months now and we have found nothing."
"That is not true, Anala. We have discovered that your blood can cure wounds."
"I make a great ointment. Wonderful." My sarcasm is not received well by papa, but I do not care at this point.
"Anala, we are learning much more than that. Research and experiments take time, child. It does not just happen overnight. We wait for the frogs or rats to react with your blood, we keep preparing things for you to try. We do not give up. I only wish I had a Cursed One to experiment on…" Once again his voice trails off as it does when he is distracted.
I am Cursed, but I know what he means by wanting one to test on. With that, I saw my opportunity and I grab at it as quickly as I can.
"Let me hunt, papa, and I can bring you one."
"Absolutely not. It is out of the question."
"But, papa, you need a Cursed One and only I can get you one."
"I will find another way."
"How? You are constantly here in your laboratory. Mum has not hunted since I - changed. Other Hunters will not bring you a Cursed One alive, it is against the code. You certainly cannot tell anyone what you would need it for. I am the only choice."
"She has a point, Henry," mum says.
"She also said why it is impossible. Hunters cannot know what has happened to you. If you go out to hunt, you will be seen. I cannot allow it."
I begin to protest and mum leaves the room - thank you for the support. "Papa, I can stay out of sight. No one will know I am out there or what I am."
"Anala..."
"Wait, please. I have skills that no other Hunter has, papa. I could be a benefit to the other Hunters without them even knowing."
Mum walks back into the room holding a stack of what looks to be black clothing.
"She can help, Henry. Without you and me out there, the Hunters are losing hope and patience. Cursed Ones are growing in numbers. I hear what is going on out there," mum answers papa's unasked question. "Our Hunters think we have abandoned them, Henry. They say they understand we must look after our daughter, but these men and women leave their children everyday to fight with a chance of never coming back. We could send Anala out there in our place. Henry, with her skills and strength, she would be better than both of us put together."
I let the small feeling of pride course through me as I wait for papa to consider mum's argument.
"There is too much risk, Eleanor. Do you know not what they will do if they find out about Anala?"
"I have thought of that, Henry, and I do know the risk. I believe Anala knows the risks as well. She will be careful."
"She allowed herself to be bitten. Do you think she is ready for battle?"
Ouch. Hurtful or not, he is right and it will serve me well to remember that.
"I am ready, papa. I made a mistake. It is something I will not allow to happen again. I have learned my lesson, I assure you."
"Henry, before you say more, I have been working on something," mum interjects. "I knew the day would come when Anala would need to get out. You knew it as well. She is a Hunter, in more ways than one now. We must not keep her locked up. I think it would not be good for any of us." She turns to me and holds the clothing out. "If your father approves, you must wear this at all times when you are out hunting. There are no exceptions, Anala. You are no longer a part of their group out there. You are on your own."
It stings, hearing I am no longer a member of the Hunters society in the basic sense. I understand what mum is telling me. I could help them, but if I am ever in danger, no one would be there to help me. I will take that chance.
I unfold the clothes and find fitted trousers and tunic. The belt that accompanied them was also black and wide, specially made to house daggers or other small weapons of my choice. Leather knife sheaths, again black, were fashioned to strap around my thighs.
"You will wear this cloak at all times, Anala." Mum hands me the garment that is surprisingly light despite its appearance. "I have made sure the hood covers most of your face, but you will still be able to fight with it on."
"You have thought this through, woman," papa says in wonderment.
"I have."
Papa rises from his chair and steps to mum, giving her a small kiss. Without a word, he retrieves a box from his workbench and brings it to me. "Open it," he orders.
Obeying, I open the box. Inside are what looks like two hilts from swords. Odd, there are no blades.
"I do not understand, papa."
He takes one 'hilt' and holds it out. With a push of a button a blade appears as if it were magic. I gasp in awe.
"How?"
"I have been working on this for a time now," he says in answer. "Hunter's swords have become cumbersome. I wanted to develop something that would give us more of an advantage. These would allow us to easily hide our weapons. We could perhaps catch Cursed Ones unaware." He hands me the sword. Expecting it to be as heavy as my sword, I overcompensate.
"Careful," papa says and steadies my hand. "If this is what you want, I will agree. However," he continues before I can celebrate, "you will need to train with these new swords, first. I do not anticipate you having trouble, but you will give me a week or two nonetheless."
"Yes, papa." I am no fool! I would agree to almost anything as long as I got to hunt!
"I will also need to take you out hunting…for food. You will need to be able to take care of yourself out there."
Well. That is something I was not anticipating. I suppose I do need to learn to hunt for my own food. Having papa teach me should be natural, but there is nothing natural about this. Set it aside, Anala, and do what needs to be done, I tell myself.
"Yes, sir. But, papa, what of your experiments? If you are busy training me, how will you be able to work in your lab?"
Papa considers for a moment. "I suppose I could get word to Bernard. He could come in and help until I am able to get back to it."
Bernard Luxford is papa's former apprentice. I do not know much about him other than he and my father had a falling out years ago. I wish I knew now what the feud was all about. Maybe then I would understand mum's disapproval of papa's suggestion.
"Like it or not, Eleanor, he is talented. We can keep an eye on him, but I need someone who knows my methods."
"You have me, Henry. I can help."
"You do help, my love, but this is turning out to be more than you and I can handle alone. I had this thought before agreeing to train Anala to go back out. Bernard is our only choice."
"I do not like it, Henry. But, we will do what we must to help our child." Mum puts her hand on my shoulder and squeezes. "Go try on your clothes so that I may do alterations if needed. Then, you and papa can train."
The week of training with papa has made me feel...normal, again. Of course, I am stronger and faster now, but papa seems to be able to keep up with me without much struggle. That should not surprise me being who he is. Everything feels right when I am training. I do not have to think about anything that is going on in my life, I only have to focus on what I am doing at this very moment. And, this very moment, I am about to finally defeat papa in our sparring contest. Unbelievable. Yes, it took me becoming Cursed to do it, but I will not think of that in the days to come. I will only think of finally besting the leader of the Hunters.
"Well done, Anala." Papa wipes sweat off his brow and smiles. "I think you have finally learned to concentrate on the fight and put everything else aside."
That is the best compliment papa could give me. My skills, as papa has told me, were almost unparalleled. It was my mind that was not ready. Until now. With everything that has happened, everything that I am putting my parents through, I have vowed never to make the same mistake that got me into this mess. I am focused. I am ready.
That is, until I had to hunt with papa for food. If training made me feel normal, that made me feel like the abnormality I am. What an od
d feeling it is to have your father watch as you hunt for animals with your bare hands, and then let instinct take over when you catch it. I am not sure whether I should be embarrassed or if papa is embarrassed enough for the both of us. These times together were often spent in complete silence. Neither of us know what to say, so we say nothing. But, papa would always act if nothing is out of the ordinary when we get home to mum and she asks how everything went. Eventually, even hunting for food became somewhat normal.
"Someone is here, papa." I stop short of our home, returning from our last day of training when I smell the different scent. "I do not know their smell."
"You are sure? We are not expecting anyone."
"I am sure. I can hear mum talking to him." I tilt my head and listen. "She does not sound as though she likes him."
"That must be Bernard," papa says, a hint of a smile touching his words.
"Will you ever tell me what happened with him?"
"One day, child," he answers. There is something in his voice. An anger, but also - guilt? That does not make sense, but I do not question him now. "Now, we must get you inside undetected."
"That is not a problem, papa. Go ahead. I will make it to my room unnoticed."
Papa only hesitates for a moment, then shrugs and walks away. Obviously he trusts that I can do what I say. It is a fine day. My first spar win and the trust of my father. A fine day indeed.
When I do slip into my room - undetected, of course - I hear angry whispers coming from the other room.
"You bring me here when your daughter may have the black death?"
"She does not have the black death, Bernard," papa retorts.
"That is not what I heard. No one has seen your child for months. How am I to know she is even still alive?"
"My daughter is none of your concern. I asked you here to help me. I am experimenting on Cursed Ones. I intend to find a cure."
"A cure! For Cursed Ones? Are you mad? There is no such thing! You should know that better than anyone."
"You do not know that! If they can be turned, they can be cured!" Mum whispers, heatedly. "You know how talented Henry is. I told you this was a mistake, Henry."
Destined to Kill: A Destined Novel (Destined Novels Book 1) Page 3
