Curse Breaker_Enchanted [The More Epic Version]

by Melinda Kucsera

  “There’s someone there I need to talk to.”

  She shook her head. “Oh no, there’s only one monster incarcerated there. You can’t possibly need to speak to him.”

  “If there were any other, I’d take it. Do you have a key to that place?”

  Her hand dropped from her throat to the chain around her neck. Through the violet of her dress, she gripped a slender object. “If I don’t have this key, what then?”

  “Then I’ll wait, but I’d rather not. This issue is important. It affects Lord Joranth’s personal property. An object he’d be quite angered to find damaged if you catch my meaning.” Jerlo threw in a wink because his bald statement demanded it.

  She nodded, though her face remained bloodless. “I know something about the object you referenced. How does talking to that monster safeguard it?”

  “By helping me eliminate a threat that’s long been festering. One this monster played a role in unleashing.” Jerlo’s lips twisted in disgust at the thought of Hadrovel being helpful.

  She took that all in with a couple of startled blinks then nodded. “I don’t like this, but I can’t refuse your request either. If talking to that monster will safeguard that object, then I must help you. But I warn you. He’s been incarcerated for almost five years. Being so long in solitary confinement does strange things to the mind. Don’t expect to get much from him.”

  “Thanks for the warning. I’ll keep that in mind. Shall we go?” Jerlo gestured to the deserted hallway behind him. He felt the crystalline glares of the statues parked there.

  She debated for a moment then darted inside, leaving the door cracked open. “Let me just grab a light. It’s best we go in daylight when the tide’s out.”

  “And why is that?”

  “You’ll see.”

  Her ominous promise echoed in the sudden quiet.

  Jerlo patted his pockets for his chunk of lumir. He had a feeling he’d need its light where he was going. What have you gotten yourself into? Trouble most likely, but he pushed that thought away.

  She reappeared before he could brood overmuch and slipped past him into the corridor.

  Jerlo rushed to catch up. She had a long stride accentuated by her divided skirt flaring behind her. “You could just give me the key. I’m not going to release him, just talk to him.”

  “Do you even know where the oubliette is?” She didn’t bother to look at him. Her long legs kept churning despite her impractical garb as she entered a stairwell and descended without a backward glance.

  “It’s not in the dungeon, is it?”

  She paused and leaned against the enclosing wall. The staircase wound around a central pillar that had been left undecorated by the Litherians. Maybe they’d missed it during their last decorating spree. The bluish glow of the lumir stick in her hand emphasized that nakedness. The play of gold light and shadows turned her face into a caricature as she studied him. No doubt she was trying to figure him out. Plenty of women had tried, but none had ever succeeded.

  Jerlo folded his arms over his chest. “What’s your name? I told you mine. It’s only fair you return the favor.”

  “No.” She turned on her heel and passed around a bend taking the cold light streaming from her hand with her. Only her light footsteps signaled she was still on the staircase.

  “Wonderful, I’m heading to the oubliette to talk to a madman guided by a bitch called ‘No.’ You have no sense of irony.” Jerlo cast his eyes heavenwards at the darkness falling over him. He withdrew a yellow pebble from his pocket. For a moment, he held the sun in his hands. Its cool, polished globe nestled between his thumb and forefinger.

  Opening his hand, he released the lumir crystal’s glow. Concentric rings of brilliance pushed the darkness away, but it wasn’t the sun. This magic light was as cold as the damp stairwell.

  “Someone needs to interview Hadrovel. Must that someone be you?”

  Jerlo started. Who had whispered that? The voice was pitched low like a man’s, but its softness could have masked a woman’s voice. “Who goes there?”

  The woman called ‘No’ had either left the stairwell or descended too far to hear his shout.

  “You tried to kill him. What makes you think he’ll speak to you?”

  “Who said that? Show yourself.” Jerlo pivoted, scanning the smooth stones for signs of his mysterious interlocutor. He held the lumir crystal at eye level as the old rhyme recommended. But its light didn’t reveal anything but naked stone, gray as a storm cloud.

  “Jer-lo, who are you doing this for?”

  “Who are you? How did you know my name or my plan?”

  Jerlo whirled, but there was still nothing but lumir-lit stone and shadows above and below him. How did this creep know about Sarn? That boy was a secret he and his Rangers had been keeping for almost five years now.

  “How do you know about him? Answer me.”

  “You’re not doing this for Sarn. No, you’re still waiting for him to become someone else’s problem.”

  ‘Someone else’s problem’—the phrase trapped Jerlo and its truth hammered him. He tried to shake it off. He had to get a fix on that voice, but it was bouncing around and seemed to come from everywhere at once. Then it faded out leaving Jerlo alone on the stairs. Was the lumir light he clutched dimmed by this exchange? Were the shadows sharper edged below? Jerlo rubbed tired eyes with his free hand dispelling the fantasy.

  A moan startled Jerlo. He’d forgotten about his guide. Jerlo hurried, but his short legs curtailed him to one step at a time.

  Around the sixth bend, he found her. Her lumir stick had fallen several steps below, and its pitiless light illuminated a crumpled body wrapped in purple crepe. Jerlo peeled the thin silky garment away from her skin and felt for a pulse. Finding it, he probed for broken bones as he turned her onto her back. No screams meant she likely hadn’t broken anything. She blinked dark eyes up at him from a face that remained beautiful despite the new bruises. She was a pretty complication, nothing more. He reminded himself.

  “What happened?”

  “I thought I heard something. When I glanced behind me, I must have stepped on my skirt or caught it on something because the next thing I know, I’m falling face first into darkness.”

  “What did you hear?”

  She shook her head and winced. “I thought I heard a whisper, but it might have been an echo. It was too soft to hear.”

  So there had been someone on the stairs. Relieved, Jerlo squatted on the stair nearest her. “Could someone have pushed you?”

  “No, I fell on my own and reinforced the stereotype of a helpless female.” She twisted her lips in disgust then pushed away from him so she could sit up unaided.

  Jerlo barked a mirthless laugh at her self-pity.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Lady, I don’t know who you’ve been hanging out with, but all the women I know are strong and brave in their own ways.”

  “You’re lucky to know such women.”

  “Luck has nothing to do with it. Now, what’s your name? I don’t want to shout, ‘hey you’ next time I lose track of you.”

  Her face reddened, but she held out a hand. “I’m Vanya, and by all that’s holy, I hurt.”

  “Well Vanya, it’s nice to meet you. I think we should sit here for a spell until you’re less sore unless of course, you want to hand over that key. I can find the oubliette on my own.” Jerlo eyed her ample bosom and the silver chain dipping between the tops of her exposed breasts.

  “No, I have to take you.” Vanya gripped the key through the thin material of her dress. “I have to make sure that monster stays locked up.”

  “Why would anyone release him?”

  “I don’t know, and if you didn’t have express permission from the Lord of the Mountain himself, I wouldn’t take you.”

  “Good to know he’s in a high-security ward.”

  “Quite secure. There’s no escape for that villain,
not so long as I hold the key.” Vanya lifted the key from between her shapely breasts and regarded it as if it held the secrets of the universe in its dips and folds.

  “You were one of his victims.” Jerlo nodded as a great many troubling things fell into place.

  But Vanya was so lost in her contemplation, nothing external registered. “A man set apart, a child caught between—in these troubled times, the twice-dead still breathes,” she said as she turned the key in her calloused fingers.

  “What was that?”

  Vanya shook herself. “Just something Lord Joranth—I mean the Lord of the Mountain often says. Every time I hear it, I remember that horrible day.” Vanya dropped the key into her blouse and gave her corset a push sealing it between her pale breasts. Those perfect globes had escaped bruising during her fall. But her hand hovered over them as her chest swelled with mounting anxiety. “Do you ever think of That Day?”

  That Day—the day when Hadrovel should have met his end. Oh, Jerlo recalled that day with startling clarity.

  “Why didn’t he die?” Vanya asked. Her plaintive question was a thread that snapped and twisted in the currents stirring the air.

  Want More? Read Curse Breaker: Darkens for FREE. Go HERE to tell us where to send your copy. Characters are standing by to send it. Don’t leave then hanging!

  Want More?

  So do we! We want to know if there are more demons unaccounted for and what happens when Jerlo comes face to face with the man who almost killed Sarn. Read the epic showdown for FREE. Go to HERE to tell us where to send your FREE copy of Curse Breaker: Darkens. And if you happen to see our author, don’t tell her we’re doing this. We don’t want her to know we’re giving away books.

  Would You Give Us A Star?

  Know what would make this book even more epic? If it starred a review from you. We love feedback, don’t you?

  As fictional characters, we exist because you read our stories. So, we have a vested interest in getting as many eyes on our exploits as possible.

  You can help! Tell everyone you know about us! And if you’ve got a minute, drop a line letting the world know you loved (or loathed) us. We’re really hoping for the former. The world needs more love (and more magical mayhem).

  And just so we’re clear, any errors are the author’s, not ours. Our job ends when the world’s saved.

  Thank you for reading Curse Breaker: Enchanted [The More Epic Version]!

  Characters Speak

  Hi Readers!

  Thanks for sticking around. I hope you enjoyed Curse Breaker: Enchanted [The More Epic Version]. By the way, this is Ran, son of Sarn. Oh come now, you didn’t think I’d let Melinda have the last word, did you?

  We tried that in the original version, and her note left me in tears. So, for the ‘more epic version,’ I thought it was time for a change. Hope you don’t mind. (Please don’t tell Melinda.)

  Where is our faithful scribe? She’s writing our next adventure. I set her some tight deadlines, and there might be a hungry dragon waiting outside.

  Whoa! Put the spears down. Melinda’s okay. We’d never harm her. She’s our author. Without her, I wouldn’t know half of what my dad’s thinking. And while we’re on that subject, please don’t tell my dad. He has no idea there are two books detailing his exploits, and I’d like to keep it that way.

  And don’t tell Uncle Miren either. I borrowed his notebook so I could read his account of this incident and I might have misplaced it. Purely by accident, I assure you. I’m still a good boy.

  Before I relinquish the word processor, I want to thank Melinda. She used her magical abilities to reach into my dad’s mind and pull out the entire story. Reading this book explained so many things. You have no idea how many questions it answered. I love my dad, but communication is not one of his skills. (I blame Uncle Miren for that.)

  Bye for now! See you in Curse Breaker: Faceted! (Unless you invite me to your inbox—wink, wink, nudge, nudge. You know you want to!)

  In Memoriam

  The cast of Curse Breaker: Enchanted would like to take a moment to remember Carolyn Kucsera, (1984-2014).

  We thank Carolyn for making her last request about us. If not for her last wish, our story might still be languishing on Melinda’s hard drive and you, dear reader, might never have met us.

  So, thank you, Carolyn. We wish you were still in our world, but don’t worry. We’ll take good care of your sister and make sure Melinda keeps her promise to you. She’ll keep publishing stories until—wait a minute!

  Did a dragon just swoop in and abscond with our author? Why that bat-winged—we’ll be right back. While we rescue our author, you can check out our previous encounter with the dragon in: How A Dragon Foiled My Dastardly Plan.

  We’d Love To Hear From You!

  Yes, we’re fictional characters, but we love to invade your world whenever we can. And let’s face it, between books, we don’t have much to do except entertain you (and stalk our author).

  Each week we go to hilarious lengths to bring our stories to you. This book is proof we sometimes succeed. Check out some of our favorite mini ad-ven-tures:

  Interview with the Commander: the Free, the Nailed and the Dragooned

  Want us to invade your inbox each week? Sign up here, and we’ll drop by.

  Stay in touch! You can contact our author or any of us characters by tweeting us @MelindaKucsera or by leaving a comment on our new group or our Facebook page.

  Thank you for reading!