Cursed Sight

by T. G. Ayer

  “Langcourt has a doppelgänger?” asked Max, his eyes hooded and dark after listening to her tale. Throughout her monologue he’d remained in total silence.

  “Is that all you got?” asked Allegra. “Cathenna? The Temple of Apollo? Delphi? All unbelievable and fascinating and yet your focus is on the doppelgänger?” She shook her head, not sure if she should be amused or annoyed.

  Max grinned and nodded. “Of course. What else could my focus be? Pythias are a dime a dozen,” he said airily. “Now doppelgängers of mass-murdering-Pythia-torturing killers? They aren’t common.”

  Allegra laughed, taking a sip of her chocolate. “You’re calling me common, are you?” She felt a little more relaxed now, especially after spilling all the details of her dream to Max.

  Max shrugged in answer, his expression a little distant. Then he looked over at Allegra, his expression grim. “This vision you’ve had . . . whatever it is you’ve seen . . . it would be easy enough to dismiss as just a dream. But you must remember who you are.”

  Allegra frowned. “So you think the dream is real?”

  “I don’t know. You saw a Pythia in her time, two thousand years ago. It’s easy to assume you were dreaming. It’s also easy to accept it would be real. There is no way to definitively know until it happens again.” Max nodded to himself as he spoke. “You saw someone who looked like Langcourt. That could just be your subconscious worried about where he’d disappeared to, and what his connection is with the Pythias before you.”

  Allegra nodded and got to her feet. She headed over to the window and stared out at the mountains in the distance. “I know. A part of me knows I can’t expect the dream to have been real, but another part of me feels like there cannot be any other explanation of it. It feels wrong to negate it, to label it a dream and push it aside.”

  Max walked over to Allegra. “If you feel that strongly about it then I think you should explore the dream a little more. Perhaps write it down in as much detail as you can and then you and I can go over it together.”

  Allegra looked at him, her eyes wide with surprise. “That’s a quick turnabout.”

  “Not really. Not if you consider that only you know what the dream is about. Sometimes Aurelia used to channel visions and she’d only speak in Ancient Greek. Who knows? Maybe Aurelia was also seeing something from the past. What we can’t do is ignore something that could be significant.”

  Allegra nodded, making a mental note to ask him for more details about Aurelia. He’d not been too forthcoming so far where it came to Aurelia. “What we can’t do is ignore what we came here to accomplish.” As she spoke the words she realized she’d all but forgotten about the disaster that would soon fall upon the city. “And now that we are allowed to stay, perhaps it’s time to go have a look around.”

  Max nodded, then gave Allegra a narrow-eyed inspection. “Don’t you think you’d be better off staying here?”

  Here where it’s safe, was what he really meant.

  Allegra shook her head. “Not a chance. Besides, how would you know what to look for if I’m not there to guide you? I’m the one with the memory of the place in my head.” Max opened his mouth to protest but Allegra reached out and placed a finger on his lips. “Don’t waste your breath fighting me. I’m going and that’s that. I didn’t come here to while away my time inside the room.”

  Allegra’s monologue faded away as she realized where her finger was. Beneath her flesh she felt the soft curve of Max’s skin, and suddenly, despite her distrust, she wanted to be near him, to feel his breath on hers, his arms around her body again.

  Max’s breath quickened, warmer now on the tip of her finger and Allegra retrieved her hand. The moment she broke contact she felt bereft of his warmth. And though they no longer touched, the awareness in the room remained, heavy and pulsing around them.

  Allegra watched Max take a step closer to her and she willed him to take one more, her heart thundering as heat filled her body.

  A rapid blast of knocking on the door shattered the vortex of emotions between them.

  Startled, Allegra took a step back and forced her features into something she hoped resembled calm. If her cheeks were red though, she didn’t have a hope of projecting serenity.

  A late breakfast was being delivered but despite her hunger, Allegra wished the wait staffer had never come by.

  The man set the food on the table beside the window and from the furtive glances he gave her she began to wonder if he’d come with the intention of seeing the Pythia rather than merely doing his job.

  He met her eyes on the way out, and the ice in his expression was enough to confirm how he felt. Another thing to consider was the possible existence of a traitor within the ambassador’s staff.

  When the door closed, Allegra turned to Max. “We need to move on this as soon as possible.”

  “Yeah. I saw that.” He was staring at the closed door, his eyes contemplative. “I suspect there is much more going on here than first meets the eye.”

  Allegra took a deep breath. “Right. Let’s eat. I want to do some sightseeing as soon as possible.”

  Chapter 18

  The people of Qusqu were a strange lot.

  Langcourt stood on the shallow balcony halfway up the side of the pyramid, surrounded by a thriving jungle filled with green trees and exotic birds. Even in the middle of the day the call of the jaguar was not unusual. A wild place indeed.

  One crying out to be tamed.

  Langcourt considered the different tribes and states of the people he’d met since he’d arrived here two weeks ago.

  The common folk were not the subservients you’d find back home in Brittanica. Here, where the emperor ruled with a brutal and bloody hand, the people were fiercely proud warriors who live, not in fear of their tyrannical king, but with a passionate loyalty that would put the head of anyone who challenged, in danger of ending up on a spike.

  The High Priest Chief was going to pose a problem to Langcourt’s plans. Their first meeting hadn’t gone well. Not as far as Langcourt was concerned. While Roquefort busied himself with genealogies and Langcourt’s agents scoured the earth for crucial information on the mysterious Pythia Allegra Damascus, Langcourt found himself at particular odds with the priest.

  Of ancient tribal stock, the man was formidable, ruthless and entirely unpredictable. Perhaps it was Langcourt’s inexperience with dealing with these almost-uncivilized people, but he found the experience distasteful.

  Likely what added to his dislike was the sense of power Langcourt had felt running through the chief. What extra sensory perception the man possessed, Langcourt was none the wiser. Not that he planned to remain so. He’d already begun to investigate the man.

  Had he not discovered the chief’s plan he’d have negotiated easily enough and taken what he could get from the man. Now, things were different. He owed it to himself—if not humanity—to keep a closer eye on this high priest. Langcourt’s concern now was not merely the power the man possessed but the undeniable strength of it.

  In his lifetime, Langcourt had crossed paths with hundreds, if not thousands, of abominations. The power they’d possessed had ranged from a flickering flame to raging fires. Sinchi was a volcanic eruption.

  Far too much like the Pythia.

  And that was the crux of the problem.

  Here in Qusqu Langcourt had found himself faced with two paramount problems, two abominations whose powers were fed by the innate strength of gods who had no business interfering in the lives of humanity.

  Langcourt was not about to turn a blind eye. Nay, he’d spent so many years fighting these abominations that it would be insanity to ignore it right now. He’d come to find refuge but his destiny always seemed to follow him.

  His own purpose as the quencher of the flames of abomination seemed to have more control of his life than he himself did. And he wasn’t complaining.

  Now, all he had to do was to find out how to snuff out the power feeding the chief’s veins. How
to access the god and sever the connection to the man.

  Langcourt smiled and nodded to himself. He had a plan.

  If the god didn’t come to the man, then the man would go to the god.

  Chapter 19

  Max suppressed a self-recriminating sigh as he motioned to Allegra to cross the road.

  Allegra’s revelation about her dream had set Max more on edge than he’d expected to be.

  He suspected his discomfort was intertwined with the secrets he kept from her. He’d given her only a tidbit of detail regarding Aurelia, and he hadn’t missed the curiosity in her gaze. To her credit she hadn’t pushed him about his service to the previous Pythia, and he knew Allegra wasn’t the type to pry even if she was owed that information anyway.

  Which she was.

  Max was just being unfair to her. His own feelings didn’t matter in the greater scheme of things.

  Max nodded to himself and focused on their next step.

  Looking over his shoulder, he decided it was time to let Allegra in on the bad news.

  He leaned closer and she complied, shifting toward him, her ear tipping close. He took a breath. “We are being followed.”

  Allegra’s eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed as she studied Max’s face. “For how long?”

  She was beginning to get to know him too well. “Since we left the embassy.”

  She shook her head and followed him in silence as he headed inside a small market. Stalls were set up haphazardly, forcing tourists and shoppers to wander around seemingly aimlessly.

  Max guided Allegra along, keeping up the pretense of taking the Pythia on a sightseeing trip. They moved past stalls piled high with colorful rugs and pillows, heading toward the busiest section: the food stalls.

  The air was filled with the smells of cooking cornbread and spicy chicken. The aisles were thick with people waiting for their orders. The system was pay, get a token and move to a new line, so each stall had two sets of lines, taking the mayhem to second-level insanity.

  Max touched Allegra’s arm and pointed at a larger stall that had provided a long table at which their customers could consume their orders of flat cornbread filled with chicken strips, peppers, chili and a strange avocado paste.

  Max ordered two, partly to satiate his taste buds—which had begun to water as soon as he’d gotten the smell—but mostly to keep up the pretense of sightseeing as the average tourist would.

  Taking their tokens he led Allegra to the table, and leaned an elbow onto the roughly hewn wood, scanning the area for their two tails.

  “Where are they,” Allegra asked, giving him a cheery smile.

  He glanced at her, and through an equally happy grin he said, “Two of them, tall, dark and dangerous.”

  “Exactly the way I like my men,” murmured Allegra, her eyes flitting left and right.

  Max gave her a sideways glance and let out a bark of laughter. She’d been on edge most of the morning but hadn’t lost her quirkiness. His eyes drifted across her frame, taking in the long coffee-colored dress/coat and the brown leather pants beneath. Despite the heat she’d worn brown leather boots as well, giving her a very badass, far-too-sexy look.

  Allegra smiled back at him, her expression a little too cheeky for his liking. Was she flirting with him?

  He didn’t think so. Especially since he was yet to give her a proper explanation of the whole General Aulus debacle.

  He was just about to tell her they needed to talk when their order was called up and he had to leave her side to fetch it. He wasn’t comfortable with leaving her all by herself and was beginning to think they should have organized additional security.

  When he returned to the table, bearing two steaming hot cornbread rolls, he found Allegra attempting to fend off the attentions of a couple who’d managed to occupy the narrow space Max had just vacated.

  Handing Allegra her food, he glanced at the two interlopers. “Is everything okay?” he asked, staring at them perhaps a little too long. He figured intimidation would work better than a physical attempt to get rid of them.

  The woman, a little too blonde to be a native in these parts, leaned forward conspiratorially. “We know who she is, but don’t worry. We won’t tell.”

  Max raised an eyebrow, giving his roll a longing look. “So, who is she? This all sounds rather mysterious.”

  The woman pursed her lips, irritation plain in her eyes. “The Pythia of course. Do you not know who you’re escorting around?”

  Max took a bite, accepting the nosy woman wasn’t about to leave them in peace anytime soon. After chewing and swallowing, he wiped his mouth off with the heel of his hand. “Are you telling me she’s the Pythia? As in the Oracle woman?” He made a face, as if he found it hard to believe.

  Then he looked over at Allegra, hoping she’d play the part.

  “Are you really her?” he asked, his voice pathetic and totally in awe.

  Allegra laughed. “Sorry, but no. As much as I wish I could tell the future, you’ve got the wrong girl.”

  The woman’s mouth turned upside down and she gave her partner a sharp stab to the ribs with her boney elbow. “You said it was her,” she hissed at him, her dark green eyes flashing with venom.

  He held up his hands. “Hey, sorry if I was wrong. Coulda sworn it was her.” His lips slanted in a strange smile, his eyes gleaming as he studied first Max and then Allegra.

  The woman gave a hard grunt and spun on her heel, brushing past Max so hard he almost dropped his food. He shoveled the rest of it into his mouth, glad to see the back of the woman.

  But something nagged at the back of his mind. Was it the woman? She’d certainly been obnoxious enough.

  Max couldn’t put a finger on it so he turned back and focused on Allegra. She’d also finished her food, and was squashing the wrapper into a small ball, giving her mouth the same treatment he’d given his. Their meal had come without paper towels and he made a mental note to carry some around with them wherever they went. Though the food was good, the all-round customer service was certainly not equal to the NGS.

  Then he stopped himself. He wasn’t usually this judgmental and he needed to stop. “We should go,” he said leaning toward Allegra.

  “Do you see them?”

  “No. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t around. This is their territory. They’ll blend in too well.”

  “So, does that mean today was a waste of time?”

  He shook his head and offered her his arm. “I wouldn’t think so. The day’s not over yet.”

  “So where to next,” Allegra asked curling her fingers around his bicep as he began to track a steady pace through the crowd.

  “We go-”

  Allegra’s fingers tightened on his arm and Max turned to check what was wrong.

  Allegra was staring up at him, a strange confused expression on her face. For a moment, Max wondered what was wrong.

  But then he saw the blotch of red on her chest. Red that soaked into the pale fabric and began to spread in a large bloodstain.

  And then Allegra sank to the ground.

  Chapter 20

  Max paced the stone floor in front of Allegra’s room. Had there been carpets beneath his feet he’d have worn a line in it by now. The embassy doctor had been and gone, and though the man had been calm and sensitive, assuring Max that Allegra would be okay, and insisting he get some rest, Max had continued to wait for the other shoe to drop.

  Why was it so hard for him to hope, or at least to be positive about Allegra’s recovery?

  Max was a hardened soldier. He’d seen three tours on the frontline, fighting in the African jungle and the depths of the Mongol horde, and even a small skirmish in a land on the other side of the world called Aotearoa.

  Despite such bloody battles under his belt, the sight of Allegra’s blood flowing from her body, coupled with her collapse, had rendered Max just about useless.

  He’d at least been able to make the call to the embassy to call for help and an am
bulance.

  And then he’d sat on the dusty ground, surrounded by curious passersby, with Allegra cradled in his arms. He’d refused to let go, and had only allowed the doctor to take her from him when the man had reminded him she could die if Max didn’t let him do his job.

  Now, she lay unconscious on the bed, her skin pale, her golden hair combed and tucked to one side. Les had arrived an hour after the doctor had completed his surgical removal of the bullet from Allegra’s chest, and had remained at Allegra’s side.

  It was a strange thing, watching the woman he had once loved, nurse the woman who was now his entire world.

  He wasn’t sure what he would have done without Les. She’d washed Allegra’s skin, cleaning off the remaining bloodstains and soil. She’d combed through Allegra’s hair and removed her makeup, then proceeded to bully Max into getting some sleep.

  He’d obeyed more out of exhaustion than anything.

  Now, he stood on the threshold of Allegra’s room, leaning against the doorjamb, watching her as she slept.

  “She’s still unconscious,” he said more to himself than anything.

  “The doctor said not to expect an overnight recovery, Max. You need to take it one step at a time.” Les was walking to him, a mug in her hand. “Coffee?” She held the mug out to him.

  Taking the drink, he shifted his gaze back to Allegra’s unmoving form. “She looks so vulnerable.”

  “Just because she’s a powerful oracle doesn’t mean she’s no longer human.” Les smiled. “Besides, she should look vulnerable. The bullet hit her half an inch above her heart. It missed the collar bone in the front and the shoulder blade in the back. No permanent damage. She’s one lucky girl.”

  Max sighed, wrapping his fingers around the warm ceramic of the mug and taking a refreshing sip. “It’s my fault. I should have been more careful. I got complacent.”

  Les shook her head, placing a hand on his arm. “Max, you can’t blame yourself. This situation . . . Allegra knew what she was walking into. Don’t diminish her efforts in this by making it your responsibility.”