Cursed by Death

by Basia Pike

  A small smile curled onto her lips, and her cheeks flushed a rosy red color.

  Later that afternoon I was sitting in the entrance hallway reading documents Helen had written on the Kugarar and their history when Andre stirred me from my thoughts.

  “Elijah, I’ll be joining you all at dinner this evening.”

  Oh God. “Why’s that?” I asked.

  “I’m leaving tomorrow.”

  I closed the file I’d been reading. “Where are you going?” I asked.

  Andre gave me a I-can’t-tell-you look which had become all too frequent of late.

  “Let me guess, you can’t divulge that information?”

  Andre laughed. “Quite right.”

  I sighed. A feeling of doubt crept over me at the thought of leading the team. Since I’d met the rest of the group I hadn’t really taken on the role as leader. Everyone looked to Andre for guidance.

  “Elijah, don’t worry you are meant for this role. You will still have Helen, who will help you with planning, and she’ll keep tabs on the Kugarar.”

  “How does she do that?”

  “She monitors time travel. We know who travels from Undir Trenu, and anyone else who travels are individuals or members of the Kugarar. She figures out their patterns and chases leads with contacts we have within the times where it seems their activity is heightened. The Verndarar may only include eight people, but our network is extensive, with people of all races, stationed throughout the past, present, and future.”

  “When will you be back?” I asked.

  Andre took a sip from his hip flask. “Unfortunately, I don’t know yet.” He took in a deep breath. “I’ll also be telling the rest of the group about the origins of humanity, so they better understand what they’re fighting for.”

  I froze hearing this. “You won’t be…?”

  “Don’t worry, your secret will remain yours to keep. I need you to tell everyone that dinner will be an hour earlier tonight.”

  “Sure, no worries.” I had no intention of telling any of the Verndarar of my magical origins, perhaps not ever. Not only did I not want to break the code, but how could they look up to me if they knew I was a witch?

  “Elijah, I know you’re worried about taking control, but I have the upmost confidence you’ll be fine.” I couldn’t help the small smile that spread onto my lips at how Andre always thought his words put people at ease.

  “Oh, I’ll be fine, then,” I said, in a sarcastic tone.

  “That’s the spirit,” Andre said, walking away, either not aware of the sarcasm or deciding not to acknowledge it. I shook my head and stood. Mary was sitting reading a book in the corner of the hallway. I approached her.

  “Mr. Abbot … I mean Elijah,” she said, stammering a little.

  “May I have a seat?” I asked, in the friendliest tone possible.

  “Of course.” She placed her book down on the coffee table.

  I sat down next to her. “Andre asked me to tell everyone we will dine an hour earlier tonight at seven o’clock.”

  “Okay, is that everything you wish to talk about?” she asked, her British accent was so evident when she spoke. I shook my head.

  “I wanted to ask how you’re doing.”

  She took in a deep breath and sighed. “I’m okay. It is ever so scary, the thought of having to fight anyone in real life. I do not fit in here. This place is beautiful, but our task is too daunting for me.”

  I gave her a small nod. “Don’t worry, Andre believes you’re right for the team, and I trust his judgment.”

  “Okay, thank you,” she said. She picked her book back up.

  “I’ll see you there then?” I asked.

  She looked up, irritated, and gave a small nod. It was Sunday, our day off. I knew everyone else would be out. I headed to the arena first as it was almost impossible to tear Luciana and Julius away from it.

  I walked through the huge glass door of city hall and out into the gleaming sun. Undir Trenu was always at a warm and ambient twenty-four degrees; the fake sunshine warmed my face.

  In the night time there were stars, and the moon phased as it did on Earth, again affixed to the roots. I walked along at a casual pace by the side of the lake, taking in the calming water and people rowing boats. It was a twenty-minute walk to the arena.

  I walked through the entrance, and as I’d expected Julius and Luciana were training together.

  “Elijah, have you come to train?” Julius asked, noticing me first.

  “No, it’s our afternoon off!” I exclaimed.

  “What are you doing here, then?” Luciana asked. She scowled at me her arms crossed over her chest. I knew that tonight I would need to confront her about what exactly I had done. If I was to lead her then I needed to know what her problem was.

  “Andre asked me to tell everyone we’re having dinner an hour earlier tonight at seven o’clock in the dining hall. He is leaving tomorrow.”

  Julius and Luciana looked at me, puzzled. “Who will train us?” Luciana asked. They already knew my position was leader, but perhaps since Andre had been taking control they’d forgotten.

  “I’ll take over.”

  She shook her head and turned her back to me without saying another word.

  “Andre will explain everything to you this evening.”

  “Okay, we’ll be there,” Julius said.

  I gave him a grateful nod and then headed towards the café where Tom always spent his Sundays. He’d developed a bit of an addiction to coffee and buttery pastries since arriving here. It was only a few minute walk from the arena. As I walked along the street I thought about Luciana’s reaction to being told I would take over.

  I could see Tom in the window of the café at his normal table, along with Casey and Josh. The bell rang as I walked into the quiet café.

  “Elijah, come and join us!” Tom said. “What brings you here?”

  “I was looking for you. Andre wants us to have dinner early tonight. Seven o’clock in the dining hall.”

  “What’s the occasion?” Tom asked.

  “He’s leaving.”

  Tom’s face faltered a little.

  “Why would Andre leave?” Casey asked.

  Other than Luciana, I’d gotten on well with everyone.

  “He will explain everything to you later.”

  Tom’s brow furrowed, perhaps unsure why I didn’t tell them, but I didn’t feel like relaying the truth about witches, werewolves and vampires, I was happy to leave that to Andre. I shook my head ever so slightly. “Well, since you’re here, do you want a coffee?” Tom asked.

  “No, I can’t stay. I need to find Deon.”

  “We saw him on the way here heading to the gym about half an hour ago,” Josh said.

  “Thanks. I’ll see you later,” I said.

  “See you later,” the three of them said in chorus.

  I headed back out into the streets. Deon ensured he spent at least an hour in the gym every day. I walked a few minutes back towards the city hall, not paying attention to where I was going, and knocked into a young woman, who dropped her bag on the ground.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, kneeling down to help her collect the spilled contents of her bag.

  “Don’t worry about it,” she said in a distinctly British accent, smiling at me. She had dark curly brown hair and brown eyes.

  I passed her the items she had dropped and we stood there a moment in an awkward silence.

  “I’m Eve. What’s your name?” she asked, holding out her hand.

  “Elijah,” I replied, taking it. “I’m sorry again about bumping into you.”

  I started off again towards the gym.

  “Elijah, would you like to get a drink sometime?” This took me by surprise, and I turned to face her again. “Here’s my number. Call me sometime?” She passed me a business card.

  “Okay … thanks.” I carried on feeling a little surprised. The business card she had given me had “Eve Snow” written on the front, and it
said, “History of Magic Researcher.” I stowed the card in my pocket.

  The gym was a small square building with tinted glass windows. I walked through the entrance and was greeted by Alexander, the owner of the gym.

  “Elijah, what brings you here on a Sunday of all days?”

  “I’m looking for Deon.”

  “Our resident gym-goer. He’s in the weights room.”

  “Thanks.” I walked into the weights room, where Deon was bench-pressing over three hundred pounds. I waited until he finished his last rep and placed the weights down on the stand.

  “Elijah, what are you doing here?” Deon asked, getting up from the bench and walking over. He was wearing a vest top, his muscular arms bulging on display. He’d always been a well-built guy, but the past month he’d hit the gym hard, and with all the training had bulked up.

  “I’m looking for you. Andre wants us to meet for dinner tonight an hour early at seven o’clock.”

  “Okay, I’ll be there.” I gave a small nod and turned to walk away. “Do you want to lift some weights?” Deon asked.

  “Not really.”

  “I find when something’s on my mind it’s a good outlet.”

  I shrugged. “I’ll give it a go, but I can’t lift that.” I pointed at the huge amount of weight on the bar.

  “How much can you lift?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Try this.” He lifted the bar off the stand, placed it on the floor, and grabbed a bar already loaded with weights off a nearby weight stand.

  “How much is on there?” I asked

  “Two hundred pounds.” I sat on the bench and lay down on it, getting myself into the correct position. Deon stood behind me to spot me.

  “Ready?” Deon asked. I nodded and lifted the bar off the stand. I puffed at the weight and steadied it, before bringing the bar down and then back up. I managed seven reps before my arms hurt too much, and I put the bar back.

  “That was good,” Deon said, patting me on the shoulder as I sat up. We spotted each other for an hour, then I was exhausted. Deon had been right though, it helped me blow off steam. We returned to the city hall together and headed back to our rooms to get ready for the evening.

  17

  I sat on my bed in my suit waiting for seven o’clock. A knock on the door startled me.

  “Who is it?”

  “Tom. Can I come in?”

  “Sure,” I said, jumping up and opening the door.

  “I was ready early, and bored.”

  I laughed as Tom slumped down onto the sofa in my room. “Want a drink?” I asked, walking towards the counter where I kept the bourbon.

  “Sure.” I poured two glasses of bourbon and handed him one.

  “Thanks.” It fell silent between us as we sipped our drinks.

  “How are ya feeling about Andre leaving?” Tom asked.

  “Nervous. I’m not sure I’m ready to lead the training and the group.”

  “Really? Ya are ahead of all of us by miles in training.”

  “I know, but it’s a huge responsibility. I don’t look forward to trying to train Mary.”

  Tom laughed. “Yeah, I don’t envy ya. But … Andre has said I av to be ya second in command and help ya in any way I can.”

  “I can think of no one better.” I held my glass out and Tom clinked his against it, downing the rest of the whisky.

  “Shall we?” he asked.

  “Yeah, let’s do this.” We headed to the dining hall, where everyone was already sat around the table.

  “Tom and Elijah, late as always,” Andre said, and I shook my head, looking at my watch.

  “It’s one minute past seven!”

  “Not to worry, sit down.” Andre signaled at the two empty seats. “I have gathered you all here today as I am due to leave tomorrow. Elijah, will be taking over operations as of tomorrow.” I watched people’s faces as Andre broke the news to them. Most people’s expressions seemed unchanged, other than Luciana, who glared at me.

  I took in a deep breath and looked away from her. My stomach churned at the thought of confronting her.

  “However, I have to tell you an important story that is at the center of this fight you’re all about to undertake. If you would all listen, I will tell you it before we eat…”

  Elijah heard a couple of grumbles of protest, but Andre seemed to either not hear them or not listen.

  “The year was 3258 BC. Earth was a place where humans were yet to exist in the form they do in the present. Animals co-existed with a powerful human-like species called vampires, a species that lived on the blood of animals.”

  “Wait, are you trying to tell us that vampires are real?” Casey exclaimed, interrupting Andre’s story.

  “Casey, I asked you all to listen. Save any questions until the end.”

  “God, this is like school,” Josh mumbled to Casey.

  “What was that, Josh?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Now, where was I? Oh yes … like humans, they were a compassionate and caring people. However, as with all walks of life, there were the evil ones. It took one heartless and brutal vampire to make a terrible mistake that changed the entire course of history, and the world which they lived in.”

  He cleared his throat before continuing. “Veritas, the second-born prince of the Cureliva, who were the royal family of vampires, was a difficult child, one that his parents could not control from a young age. He showed an inclination towards violence. Things only got worse as he got older. He almost killed his best friend, Emoril, and he rebelled against his parents at every turn. That ended on one fated day—”

  “Is this a true story?” Tom asked, and Andre glared at him.

  “Thomas Walker, what did I tell Casey? Yes, it’s a true story. Now, no more interruptions please.”

  He took a long sip of his wine.“Everything changed when Veritas got into a fight with his father, the king. It wasn’t the first time they had fought. However, Veritas’ true evil showed through on that day.

  During the fight, as it was becoming clear to him that there was no way he would win, he sank his teeth into his father and drained him of blood, killing him. It’s believed by many that he hadn’t intended to latch on with such a fever, but once he started he couldn’t stop. He couldn’t hear the shouts and cries of his father writhing in agony, or his mother who was trying to pull him off. The power of the blood overwhelmed him. It was the first time in known history one vampire had drank another’s blood, and it was much more satiating than animal blood.”

  “That’s not true!” Mary blurted out. “Vampires don’t drink animal blood, they drink human blood.”

  Everyone turned to look at her in shock.

  “I didn’t expect you to interrupt me, Miss Anderson!” said Andre. “If you would listen, you will learn the true story. If anyone else interrupts me, I will—”

  “You will what?” I asked, chuckling. It was amusing to see him so flustered.

  “Never you mind! No one interrupt me again. As I was saying, Veritas held his dead and lifeless father in his arms. His mother was in shock and despair. In that moment, despite knowing he had killed his father, all he could think about was draining his mother of blood.

  His mother was too busy grieving over her dead husband to notice him advancing. He took her by the neck and buried his fangs into her, sucking the life out of her. Every action has a consequence, and little did anyone know that Veritas’ actions that day would change the entire course of history. The war between vampires, witches, and werewolves is one that stretches to the beginning of mankind…”

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t listen to this without saying this is bullshit.” Josh said. “Vampires, witches and werewolves don’t exist.”

  Andre took a deep breath, throwing his hands in the air. “Josh, are you telling me you have traveled to an alternate dimension which exists outside time, but you can’t believe vampires, witches, and werewolves exist?”

  Josh had a sheep
ish look on his face. “When you put it like that … I guess it could be possible.”

  “Look, the story is almost over. Please listen to the rest. As I was saying … for the first time in history a vampire drank another vampire’s blood. For thousands of years vampires had lived by drinking animal blood. It was their natural food. Vampire blood was addictive, and Veritas couldn’t resist the urge to feed on his own kind. The blood made him the strongest vampire of all time. He tore his way through entire villages and became feared, even by his friends and family.

  “His siblings, Joric, Elaric, Sparta, and Seraphina, took a stand a year later and struck him down together. They couldn’t allow him to continue killing. However, after seeing Veritas’ power, they became obsessed with creating a creature that had the same blood as vampires.

  “They searched for a way to create a vampire that would be prey rather than predator. It took years, but Veritas’ younger brother Sparta was successful in using ancient magic to create humans from the blood of vampires to use as blood banks.

  “For over a thousand years, humans were enslaved by vampires. Vampires herded them like cattle. However, their creation was much more intelligent than animals. As their numbers increased, humans came to realize they had power in numbers. In addition, many vampires either abused their human blood-bags or fell in love with them. They reproduced, and gave birth to a powerful hybrid, witches.

  “The mixture of the magic from the vampire bloodline and the humanity of a human made them powerful. They were much like humans in their morals and didn’t need to feed on blood. They only drew the magic from a vampire parent.

  “They became resented by vampires because of the power they held, and so they broke away from their creators. Witches formed covens and united against the vampires. They became the key to freeing humans from slavery, and drove the vampires into hiding.

  “This led to a war between witches and vampires, as the witches shielded humans from the paranormal world. Despite the magical power of witches, vampires were still strong and brutal, and they had power in numbers. After years of war, one witch believed she knew a way to bring an end to the war. Edina Molinson created a spell to bind the blood of a wolf with a human’s. She believed it would create a force strong enough to defeat vampires once and for all, and end the struggle between them. This led to the birth of the werewolf race. However, despite being created by the witches, they didn’t take orders from them, not in wolf form. The witches had created a creature as brutal as vampires, and often more dangerous because of their lack of control.